Maya Playing the Harmonica

In case you haven't seen Maya in a while, here is one example of how you might find her on any given afternoon:

Rite of Passage

Earlier this month, Sam embarked on his first rite of passage: A road trip without Mom and Dad.  Our good friends were traveling to Houston to see their family and so we sent Sam along to see his Grammy and Grandpa.  Sam has always been a great traveler, but we were anxious to see how he would do without us.  Needless to say, he was just fine and discovered that he gets to eat Fruit Loops every time he stays at a hotel.

Once he got to Texas, Sam had a blast with Grammy and Grandpa.  These are a few picture highlights of his trip to the Blue Bell Factory, his Uncle Steve's house, Texas Blue Bonnets, his first cowboy hat, and a fishing trip with Grandpa:

The highlight of the trip for Sam was a trip to Sheppard's Barbershop in downtown Conroe, TX.  This is a man's place and Sam loved his guy time.  A sheriff came in and showed Sam his badge and he loved it. We found out later that this was the first time Sam had bubble gum.  Out of all the stories we heard from his trip, we heard the most about Sheppard's.

On a side note, Sam came home from the trip with a "street" name.  For those unfamiliar with growing up in urban communities, most kids are given a street name while they are growing up.  For those of us that have gotten to know kids in South Atlanta, we often have to sift through what are street names and what are given names.  Well, Sam got his street name given to him by Leroy on this trip.  His street name is now "Oatmeal."  Next time you see Sam call him Oatmeal and he will give you a pretty good laugh.

Friends

Sam and Maya are blessed to have many friends in their lives from church and from the neighborhood.  We are excited for the group of kids that they will get a chance to grow up around.  They have already started creating some great memories together.  Here is the our young ones on Easter morning getting ready for some breakfast:

Maya and her friend Abby have developed a wonderful friendship together.  Maya loves "her" Abby (she also refers to Sam and "her Sammy D").  Something tells me that Maya and Abby are going to get along just fine for a long time to come.

What we love most though are how great friends Sam and Maya are turning out to be.  They really do love each other.  If they go to bed without the other, the one that went to bed usually comes out upset because they want to go to bed together.   The other night, they spent the better part of an hour talking to each other in bed before they fell asleep.  Maya must have a hug from her Sammy when he comes down in the morning (Maya is usually for about an hour or two before Sammy).  

We are grateful for their relationship and don't take it for granted.  Both Katie and I love our siblings and are grateful for the relationships that we have with them and are thankful that it looks like Sam and Maya will share that special bond together.

Gardening

After an almost 3 year hiatus, the Delp's are back to gardening!  Something about digging in the ground when the littles ones are crawling in it makes it a little hard to get motivated!  This year we have done quite a bit of work in the back yard after the tree came down and we put a fence in.  Here is a bit of the work that we have done:

We are utilizing this space as a fruit, vegetable, and rose garden.  Thus far we have blueberries, strawberries, peppers, herbs, tomatoes, and zucchini growing.

This is our attempt at being Georgian, a Peach Tree:

Sam and Maya have really taken to the garden and Sam especially loves to "check" on his flowers daily. He gives me updates as to which flowers have bloomed and which plants have fruit on them.  No strawberries yet for us:

Sam has enjoyed eating Dill, Basil, and Spinach directly from the plant.  Thanks Grammy and Grandpa for teaching him this great trick.  Though something tells me he will enjoy blueberries a little more.

My favorite addition to the landscaping are the lights that lighten the walking path at night.  Sam and Maya love to "turn them on" each night.  They put their hands over the solar censors to turn the on.  It is pretty funny.

Baseball

Sam loves his Baseball! He got a hard bat for his birthday and this is what he did with it! We can't wait until baseball practice starts this week to tone his skills!

Look at that concentration!  Just like Daddy taught him...keep his eye on the ball!

Pictures from Sam's Birthday

Sam turned 4 a few weeks ago and we have a wonderful Baseball Birthday party for him down at the Carver High School Baseball field.   Here are the pictural highlights of the party!

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