someone is standing

I can't believe that Cora is already crawling at lightning speed, standing, and eating on her own. She's a pro. Here is my little princess hanging out with me in the kitchen.

I looked at this picture, and for the first time, I actually see ME in that face. I mean, I have always seen a squishy blend of Israel and me, but in this photo, I specifically saw LEAH popping out of those circle features.

Standing all the time! It's her favorite thing to do.

Quinn and I were bored on a rainy day, so we started putting a snail shell on our noses.

Cora wanted the shell, so she kept smooshing Quinn's face to get it. I secretly enjoy it when Quinn gets conquered by Cora, as it doesn't happen often.

Quinn fell in the tub a couple days ago and cut the back of his head. Here's a crime scene photo below. It was "juicing" for quite some time afterwards.

come again

We try to read the Bible every morning, and Quinn always asks what certain words are, or asks good questions. This morning I read Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches," and Quinn emphatically said "LIKE SLOPPY JOE'S!" huh?

Granted, I did mention that we are having sloppy joe's for dinner, but I still don't see the connection.

camping at 78%

At the last minute, and against our better judgment, we quickly packed up the car on Friday and went for a camping trip to Little Bennett. The idea was that Cora and I would eat dinner with Israel and Quinn, and then they'd stay the night, and we'd come home. Well, of course, just as we are pulling in, it starts raining. It rains as I set up the "pack n play" for Cora and as Israel sets up the tent. It rains as Quinn is out looking for firewood. Cora commences to eat many tree-parts that drop into her little crib. We hastily cooked hot dogs (yummy thanks to Israel) and the rain subsided a bit. Then we had fruit, chips, and finally roasted marshmallows.

After dinner, Israel was psyching Quinn up, saying "Are you ready for an adventure??" And Quinn finally looked around after saying "yes" a couple times... and said "Where's the adventure?"

Cora and I left for the night as Quinn and Israel went out exploring in the "deep, dark woods" with their flashlights. They went in the tent for the night, and were so hot and sweaty that they decided to finally pack up and come home at 1 am! Quinn slept for a couple hours in the tent, at least! But they will go again soon with more planning and hopefully less rain.

This shot reminds me of her daddy. What do you think? Oh, and by the way... if you are taking the time to look at my blog, please send me a comment, as I'd love to hear from you!

back to their roots

Hello everyone,

I love taking pictures of my little ones. Both of them were playing on the railings one morning, so I just started shooting away. This was an "overalls" kind of day. I love how I get to dress them every morning. I call this day "back to their roots" as I explained to Quinn he's wearing Liberty overalls from Grandpa Ford, the kind that all his farming relatives wear in Mississippi. And Cora has a special overall dress that I just had to get for her.

Quinn is growing up tooooo fast. He looks like a teenager here to me.

I helped Israel with a photo shoot last weekend, so Johannah came to watch the children.

Cora cracks me up...

Cora has started picking up food and feeding herself! What a big girl. This is the first time she got the opportunity and she was a pro.

These little ones are best friends. Sometimes I have to tell Quinn to stop hugging her so that she can move around and crawl. =) They even have a game they play together that Quinn made up... it's called "Handsies".

Cora is 9 months! so we celebrate with drawing her blood

Cora, Quinn, and I (always together, we 3) went to the pediatrician yesterday for her 9 month check-up. She had to get a standard blood test, so here is my little pumpkin afterwards with her band-aid. As you can see, it didn't stop her from playing ball last night.

We brought Subway home after the doctor visit, and someone decided to get his own lunch. Check out Israel's blog too for a picture that he took!

bath time

It goes without saying that Quinn and Cora LOVE taking baths together, and Cora gets very excited when we even get near the tub. She still chews everything in sight like a Labrador puppy, due to only having 2 teeth with 2 more getting ready to pop through any second. So last night, she bit Quinn's toes in the tub and left quite a mark.

Reading!

Quinn and I have been doing "school" for about 10-15 minutes each morning, and he is doing really well! He knows his lower and upper case letters as well as sounds, so now we've been working on sounding out words for reading. This morning, he read, "A fat cat ran at a fat rat." all by himself! Yeh!

Duck the Turtle

Quinn, Cora, and I went outside on Monday like we always do and we found something special...

a tiny little Water Turtle on the sidewalk by Lake Marion and I had to pick him up. He was just the cutest little thing. I asked Quinn what we should name him, and he said...

Duck. Duck the Turtle, oh my.

After talking to my sister Courtney, the veterinarian, we decided not to keep him, but to let him go that night. They need a special environment, and they can also carry Salmonella. yuck. So goodbye, Duck. You will be missed.

Easter and It's-About-Time-Haircut

Hello All!
The Groveman family had a fun Easter packed with candy, Grandma's house, and even a trip to the movies! Oh, and the most important news of the week...

QUINN GOT A HAIRCUT!! yeah! We opted for the Faux-Hawk, but it really is quite a versatile, schnazzy cut for any 2 year old.

Here's some shots of Easter Day that I took, along with Johannah, and Chavia snapping away for me so that I could be in the shots. Thanks girls!

One try that momma did of Quinn... this is awesome.

Another try... ah, much better. A bit more natural, and less scary.

Here is Quinn during his photo shoot wearing daddy's non-prescription glasses! Abraham is holding the reflector for Israel, and that's what is in the corner of this shot.

Mission Statement

Hello, Happy Easter, and welcome to Leah's blog! Israel has his own professional blog, but my blog is intended for family musings.

The name comes from Ruth 4:11, and as cheesy as it sounds, this story is true... On January 2004, I was sitting next to Israel hearing Wayne Grudem preach a message on Ruth, and as he read that passage, I had a peace in my heart knowing that I would marry Israel and do just that.

This blog has my Ford family in mind, and for all the other Groveman groupies out there. I want to make this my place of posting photos of the children as well as funny little happenings/sayings, and even occasional recipes as I am passionate about cooking. I didn't say I was good. I said I was passionate.

Anyways, I am a tad bit busy these days, but giving the Ford's an opportunity to see my precious ones is of highest priority. After all, now I know why my mom always said that she loved being a mom. How encouraging to hear that as a small child, and now twenty years later, I fully understand.

Buckle your seat belts, because we Groveman's are doers and adventurers and shooters of wild beasts and that's just describing Tuesday's. Well, we humor ourselves and at least think of ourselves that way. As Quinn would say, "My so excited!"

Currently our brood consists of four. Leah (or Momma), Israel (or Dad), Quinn Wallace (2) and Cora Shiloh (9 months).

Quinn just finishing a mug of hot choco. There is a whole series of photos I took of him thoroughly enjoying this treat, and those are soon to come, possibly in the next post.

Cora, just being Cora. How do you describe Cora except that she is a spicy cinnamon stick covered in baby plushness? This is Cora belting out her signature girlie Growl.