Happy Thanksgiving!

My mom and RT came for a visit during Thanksgiving. It was a real treat to share our first turkey day back in the states with them. It was such an awesome day...very relaxing since I made most of the food a day ahead of time. I was able to enjoy the parade (YAY!) and made a scrumptious turkey. I'm so thankful for the many blessings I have and FAMILY is at the top of that list!

From white belt to yellow belt

Logan has graduated to a yellow belt in his karate class. We're very proud of him! He has shown tremendous growth in the 3 months that he's been attending. He has shown great focus and concentration in learning karate.

Fighting stance

His teacher, Mike Cassie, has been such a blessing. He is stern with the kids but it's what is needed when instructing them on how to protect themselves. They snap to attention like little soldiers at the sound of his voice. He teaches them discipline and respect for themselves and one another.

Logan and his buddy, Duke. They started the same day and made yellow belt at the same time. These guys are two peas in a pod who sometimes get into trouble because they try to make each other laugh all the time. Duke always has a smile on his face especially when the teacher requires him to look tough. It's the funniest thing!

Trunk or Treat!

Halloween night was our trunk or treat at church. What-a-crowd! It was a bit chilly out but I was happy to not sweat for once on Halloween! The boys enjoyed checking out their loot although for Ryland it was everytime that someone put it in his bucket. He thought he had to eat every piece right away! Our truck was decorate in a Navy theme. I carved 8 pumpkins! That's gotta be a record for one person, if not, than it's one for me!

A battleship in the moonlight

The Amys...hey that would be a great name for a rock band! Amy was my Navy cheerleader as she was wearing the traditional Navy colors of gold and blue. If you notice the pumpkin in the back that says Anchors Aweigh...I did not spell that wrong. I received a lot of comments about that but that's how it's spelled in the song....I swear!

I had to pry this child off of this ride. He kept trying to escape and run back to it. My guess is that he liked it....;-)

The kiddos had more fun passing out the candy than collecting their own. I had to keep a watch on Logan, his serving was a fistful and Tyler's was one piece.

Casting Crowns

Casting Crowns was one of the first Christian bands that I listened to when I became a Christian 5 years ago. I had the opportunity to see them when they were in Memphis thanks to my mother in law for buying the tickets AND my sister for watching the kids. It was an awesome concert and I received a renewing of my faith because of it. Listening to the music live was like being transported back in time to my "baby" Christian days. I'm so blessed to have had this experience. They will forever be one of my favorite bands.

A visit with family

My sister came to stay with us during the week of Logan's birthday. The cousins meshed so well together. The little ones followed each other everywhere and the big ones...well let's just say that Logan was the leader of the pack. We had the pleasure of taking them around Memphis to see the many fun spots that we have enjoyed such as the Children's Museum, the zoo and the Firehouse museum. We even had a chance to dress up in halloween costumes and attend the annual Zoo Boo. I think that they had more fun just being together and playing.

This is just a snippet of our week together. There are many more photos in the web album.

Wii party for Logan

Logan turns 7!!

We celebrated Logan's birthday with a Wii marathon. His cousins came all the way from NC and he was also joined by old and new friends to help him celebrate his special day. Who needs birthday games when a Wii is around? Not these kids! We couldn't pry them away from it for the cake!

Happy Birthday Logan!! We love you!!!

Put your shoes on!

Over the 3 years on Guam I craved a bible study like I had in NC which was Community Bible Study. I did not spend much time in the Word while on Guam because I didn't have a bible study to really force me to get into it. I know that's not an excuse by all means, but it's mine.

By Divine Intervention, I ran into a mom at a playground a few months ago and she told me about a study geared towards moms. It turned out to be just what I needed.

We meet to discuss the book "High-Stepping in Heavenly Places" with a group of great ladies and then we break to hear the author, Jean Stockdale, speak. Let me tell you, this woman is right up there with Joyce Meyers in my book. She has a gift for public speaking and can draw you into her story as if you're two moms sitting down for coffee.

In this study we are delving into the book of Ephesians and Jean adds her "mom" twist so we can better apply it to our daily lives. One thing that sticks out for me is that Jean calls us "Beloved", a word that Paul uses several times in the New Testament. Each time she speaks that one word, it is a reminder to me how much God truly loves us. In Hebrew it actually stems from two words 'ahebh' which means "to breathe" or "to long for" and 'agapao' which means "to prefer". God "longs for" us and "prefers" us. WE are His Beloved!

Halloween Preview

The only costume that he would agree to wearing...

Our Weekend

This weekend we went to the Casey Jones Train Museum. Have you ever heard of Casey Jones? I never had but apparently he's pretty famous and has been since his death. He crashed his engine into the back of another train over one hundred years ago but he saved everyone on board in doing so. He could have jumped off to save himself but he stayed on board to slow the train down as much as he good to save his passengers. That's quite a man. There was song written about him, movies, tv shows, and merchandise galore. I sure do hope that his descendants are benefiting from it. There is an entire village with his name on it. Below are a few pics from the museum except for the first one. The boys had AWANA tonight and they had to dress up as royalty. As a "class" project this week we made the crowns and I picked up a few shields and breastplates at the dollar store to complete the look. They really wanted to bring their swords but I didn't think that their leaders would appreciate that!

Can you tell who's into Davy Crockett?

Little man did not want to be with his brothers, he had to be by himself like a big boy.

Happy Fall!

A very Magical Week

Back in the spring, while still on Guam my friend, Kerry and I were chatting about taking a trip to Disney to utilize the military free pass for active duty. It was quite a deal that we couldn't pass up and was also a chance for us to spend some time with one another because it had been 3 years afterall! In the 3 years time frame, things had changed a great deal for both of our families. I had a baby. She had adopted a little boy from China and moved from NC to PA. The week was one of constant movement. We all had a great time but I think if we do a vacation annually, it will be some place far, far away from an amusement park! I am so glad that we had the chance for our families to mesh and get to know one another again. Kerry's son Jacob was Logan's very first best friend.

Many more photos in the web album for your viewing pleasure!

School Picture Time

Now just because the boys (meaning Logan) are not going to a conventional school does not mean that they can't have their school pictures taken! I'm a member of a homeschool group that publishes a yearbook annually. I could not resist having the other boys get their school pics taken even if they aren't in school.

Lost his first toof

My little boy is growing up! The day I saw that tooth wiggling was one of excitement (for him) and sadness (for ME!!). He certainly is like his mama too because he was very apprehensive about losing his teeth (or change of any kind). He would proclaim that his teeth were "just babies!". When it really started wiggling we tried to coax him into tying a string around it to get it out but he simply was not having it. He eventually just lost it eating a pb&j sandwich. He said it tickled coming out. Guess that's a good thing since he has several more to lose and I think I'll go a little crazy if he reacts this melodramatically with the rest of them! ;-) Like I said....he's just like his mama.

A visit from PapPap

How blessed we are to have a carpenter in the family! PapPap joined us for some work and fun although I'm sure he'd say it was the other way around! The boys really needed a swing set to get some energy out and PapPap sure did come to the rescue. He built an awesome swing set that I'm sure will last for years to come. The boys had a great time "helping" and also enjoyed taking him around to see the Children's museum and the zoo.

Thank you so much for the swing set PapPap!! It's the gift that keeps on giving because it is used EVERY day!

Visiting campers or is it camping visitors?

This past weekend Chris' dad and his wife Shirley came for a visit. They brought their RV up and set up camp at a state park to the north of us. Shirley had lots of fun things for the boys to do. They got to search for fish with their nets, examine bugs under magnifying lenses, and roast marshmallows. Ah, who doesn't love the outdoors? We had a visit from a cheeky little raccoon while we were eating. He got a squirt from the water bottle and was on his way. I wish I had some good pics of that. It was pretty funny. We all enjoyed our time with Granddaddy and Miss Shirley. We look forward to our next exploration with them!

CMOM rocks!

CMOM is Children's Museum of Memphis and boy did we miss having a children's museum around. The boys had such a good time here. I brought them back again yesterday and Ryland squealed with delight when we pulled into the parking lot. They got to play in an actual cockpit of a FedEx plane, "fish", play dress up, drive fire trucks, grocery shop and much more. I can tell this is going to be a place we frequent a LOT!

Fun times with Grammy!

After I left the mountains I took a trip over to visit my mom. We had a great time with her and on our last day Christy, Chris and the kids stopped over for some Monkey Joe fun. The boys loved it. Afterwards we had a barbeque and bonfire (mini) with smores and hot dogs a-plenty!

Reunion in the mountains

We had a great time visiting with my sister and her family. The boys loved hanging with their cousins Ethan and Emerson. It's been a non-stop Ethan-fest here at the house. Below are snippets from our visit. I had the joy of celebrating Emerson's 2nd birthday with her.