Nancy Rose Burns

At 8am Saturday morning I got a phonecall from Molly asking if I got her message....she apparently had called just hours earlier on route to the Hospital! This baby was coming a week early! See there's something that must be understood here in our friendship....neither Molly, Brandy, nor I have sisters so its in times like these we get the chance to step in and fill the role....their friendships to me are absolutely priceless.....so naturally I jumped in the car, talking to Bran (still in SK for another 6 months) and raced to Greenville Memorial. Not too much later, Nancy Rose Burns was born! 7 pounds, 5 oz, and gorgeous!

Look at Molly! Just after having a baby she's still beautiful!

And that precious baby girl; she doesn't look much like Kate but clearly just as cute!

sweet little faces...

These are the sweet faces I get to see all day everyday. Somedays are super hard---like today. Bennett has a sinus infection and bronchitis. Celia can't/won't do what I ask her to do....she finds several things to do before obeying.....today was hard. These are the sweet faces I need to remember on days like today....

(Note above, Bennett's hair GROWING and the big bash on her forehead above her eye. She took a diving header into the activity cube at the library....)

behind the scenes...

As we got ready for the party there was lots of hanging out with E and Hunt and especially Cooper. Bennett can't say Celia yet but she's got "Cooper" down pat.

Here the girls have Cooper cornered

Daddy and Celia walking on the dock...

...and smiling for the camera!

Lowcountry Love

We headed south again to Charleston for the weekend to celebrate the engagement of our dear friends Billy Flynt and Renee Butler. We were able to have most of the camp crowd over to hang out and celebrate together! Billy and Renee started dating the same summer Dave and I did and are going to be married, 6 years later, this spring! It has been so much fun watching the Lord grow them in their relationship and we truly cherish their friendship! Also at the party we broke out our own wedding video to replay the now famous moonwalk-faceplant-drop-kick routine as performed by Billy---cheers!

The soon-to-be Flynts and the Kulps

our camp clergy...

a sampling of the party goers

Foxy Helen Smith, with us, who tells the MOST hilarious stories ever!

SNOW DAY!!!

This morning I got up to go to prayer with my girlfriends and when I walked outside it was snowing! It wasn't just the dusting kind either, but real snow! After prayer I rushed home and Dave and I woke the girls, fed them, and bundled them.....Bennett looked quite "sausagey" if that's a word.....it was great! Here are some pictures from our time this morning!

This is our girls' first snow!

Bennett testing out her snow legs...not too sure about it

We plopped Bennett and Owen down in the snow and they just sat there stuck...looking a bit like little teddy bears! Celia was thrilled with it!

Here is Celia helping Daddy make a snow man.

The finished product! Matt Purdy and Daddy did a great job!

Here's Matt and Owen sledding....Owen definitely wasn't too sure about it!

The group shot...Linley, the Purdys, the McCanns (note Lucy lurking in Sean's jacket), the Hunts, and the Kulps with our gorgeous snowlady!

Mr. Matt Avery

Our friend Matt was able to come visit this past weekend and got quite a glimpse into Dave's life. In just 48 hours he went to an apologetics class, moved the offices at Uptown, went to the Uptown Community Dinner, and played with our girls. We were glad to get to see him! Celia particularly took to Matt; in fact she interviewed him to see if he was good friend material....
Celia: Are you nice?
Matt: yes
Celia: Are you funny?
Matt: I think so
Celia: Would you like to be my friend?
Matt: yeah!

We miss you Matt!

ballet class

Celia has been going to ballet class for about a month now. She really likes it for the most part. There's one part each week that she sits out and watches but her favorite part is the jumping on the bar. Today they jumped from first postion to second and then back to first....all the while jumping to "who let the dogs out"....not so sure about that...but anyway she comes out all hot and sweaty with 2 stamps on her hands. She's new to the structured class thing but so far so good. I get excited because in June we get to sit through our first recital!

still alive....

We haven't posted in forever but we're still alive! This has been a sick winter for the Kulp girls but today we're fairly well. This is what our afternoon was like....play dough and smiles!

Bennett serious at work...the hard part was trying to get her to stop eating it.
This was her first play dough experience...

Celia, the mastercraftsman

Bennett is one of the happiest kids I've ever met, not biased seriously.
She smiles all the time and her laugh is infectious!

And Celia, always the performer, making a funny face!

The Royal Affair

We had a blast at Celia's birthday party this year! We invited just a few of her friends from Charlotte and celebrated like true royalty! Here are Kayla and Jack Waters (Jack was our knight in shining armor who rescued the princesses from the dragon and freed them from the castle!)

But first there were princess birthday hats to create! Here is Danielle helping Kayla. Jack was just next to her but busy engraving his sword with a black sharpie.

Here is Paige with Ryann....Ryann is clearly enjoying herself!

And Celia busy at work....

Not to be outdone is little princess Bennett who had some help with her princess attire...

Its truly impressive to see Natalie dressed like a princess. She is a tomboy through and through and can scale any tree quicker than any boy but here is she posing for the camera. Perhaps we released her inner princess.....

And finally the birthday girl blowing out her candles. We love you sweet Celia!

Happy New Year too!

This year we rocked in the new year with some old friends and some new while a true slumber party was going on upstairs....Celia, Bennett, Owen, and Lucy all sound asleep through the night!. We're so thankful for our friends here in Charlotte!

When I get 3....

Celia turned 3 yesterday, January 5 and it was a big day. She'd been waiting for the chance to chew bubble gum. So we loaded up the troops and walked to the corner store and she picked out 2 packs....strawberry and watermelon.

Then she tried to open it while we had to pay for it....she can't take the wait anymore!!

Here is the first taste!

We told Celia not to swallow it but just chew it. This is how she answered when I asked her if she really didn't swallow it and if she was chewing it....she was so excited to keep chewing like a big girl!

And this is the puddle splashing event that led to the first piece of gum falling out and into the puddle where she quickly picked it up and I interevened so she didn't get rainy gum disease!

Happy Birthday Dargan!

Sweet Anna Dargan is 1! Her birthday lands on New Year's Day and here is a shot of the birthday girl!

all under the tree

Most often what occurs prior to the picture taken is far more accurate in capturing the life and times of those in the staged photograph. If you could have seen the occurences before this one you'd have seen.....E forgetting to turn on the camera prior to the snap, Henry wailing and not wanting to take a picture while Ben picked up and plopped him down in spite of Henry's wishes, Samuel being sweetly smug about the fact it was Henry crying and not him, Dargan laughing and looking to climb towards Wizzy, Celia yelling about wanting to hold Dargan, Wizzy sitting calmly through the whole thing, Bennett wanting to break free and head back to the breakfast table, Dave laughing at imitating the chaos only making it worse and absolutely funnier and Mary ready to break out of the picture because it takes so much to get so many of us to smile at the same time and look in the same direction.....this is what it looked like in still frame...

beard buddies

Here are the grizzly beasts as we left Charleston

Christmas Cousins

The Jacksons visited E and Hunts a few days after Christmas. It was great to celebrate with them and hang out with the fam!

The big kids formed a band. Check out Samuel rockin out on Ben's violin!

Meanwhile the babies were on the move into the secret room!

Christmas morning!

We woke the girls at 7:30 just like normal and Celia asked "Is Santa here?" We went downstairs and after a posed group shot (the girls appear to be sleeping but they're not) we tore into the den to see the stockings.

Mommy amid the mayhem...

Celia got a new big-girl babydoll and named her Jayne Mac (clearly we miss the Rhodes family!!)

Bennett in her cap....this was actually Uncle Beej's hat when he was 3! 30 years later its still as precious!

Christmas Continues

In Charleston visiting E and Hunt, the girls had some lowcountry fun. Here we are about to go on a tightsless walk. I can't believe how warm it was!



Also Celia got serious about Santa. Here she is writing a note to him and the picture of his milk and cookies. Until she went to the mall searching for Christmas gifts with Daddy she was sure he was pretend. After she freaked out last year upon seeing him we just told her he was a story. Well that lasted til this year when she came home from the mall and announced "He is real. I saw him!" She is also apparently concerned for his salvation because on the way to church this morning after we prayed for Daddy and Mr. Tom (our pastor who was actually out of town), and Jack and Kayla who were going to their church, she prayed for Santa and his reindeer.

the milk and cookies.....

The potty pro goes to Charleston...

Potty training is still going strong. Here is Celia with her latest student...