The Smith Family of Six

HELLO WORLD

2010-01-06T12:36:00.002-05:00

Hey! I am still here. Again, I have been busy, and I just haven't taken the time to update the blog yet. I need to spend a good hour or more updating this site and another. I also have another reason:

I am having TERRIBLE camera problem right now. I can't find my battery charger for my camera. The camera will only run on this special battery pack--similar to what is in a cell phone. It can only be charged with this one charger that I CAN'T FIND!! So, all of our pictures from Christmas to now have been with the good old fashioned 36mm camera. It has been so odd for me. It is like stepping back in time when I take a picture. The kids can't figure out why we can't see the pictures right away. Not having easy access to my pics has delayed my blogging as well.

Aaron's Trail Ride

2009-12-08T14:01:00.003-05:00

While we were in TN visiting my family, Aaron rode a horse for the first time. Then on the day after Thanksgiving he went on a trail ride through the mountains with my dad.

Horsing Around With Papa

2009-12-03T17:24:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving Day Festivities

2009-11-29T22:19:00.005-05:00

Time to Eat

Time to Play

Time to Make a Turkey Craft

Granny and Papaw with all of their great grandchildren

The Whole Bunch

Happy 7th Birthday Abigail

2009-11-29T16:56:00.002-05:00

Abigail turned 7 on November 25th. We were in TN visiting my family for Thanksgiving. We had a party at Chuckee Cheese with my parents, my brother's family, and our family. We had family pictures taken just before. That is why we are all in black.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2009-11-22T07:41:00.000-05:00

We have so much to thank the Lord for!

Pics From the Past Week

2009-11-22T07:21:00.005-05:00

The girls in their Thanksgiving dresses. They look like candy corn. They are suppose to have their initials monogrammed on the white part, but that is a LONG story of why they are not.

Our church had a father/son campout this past weekend. Aaron and Asher went. Asher had so much fun. I think he felt like a big boy out there.

Asher before he left. It wasn't really that cold, but he was prepared. The boy with him is Zach.

YEAH! I helped get the tent up.
This is the clay pigeon gun. Asher got on the wrong side of the arm. He has a big bruise.

Asher skeet shooting.

Asher fishing. He caught 4 fish ALL BY HIMSELF!

Aaron and Asher

All the little guys

In the tent getting ready for bed

Asher roasting marshmellows

All the older guys

Abigail had her first guitar lesson last weekend.

Bro. Clarence from our church is giving her lessons.

Just an Update

2009-11-19T16:36:00.002-05:00

I was doing so well at posting everyday, then.....life just keeps coming at us. It has been a whole week since my last post.

Last Friday we had a church family over for dinner. Saturday we spent the whole day visiting church members who are sick or shut -in. Monday I had the normal domestic stuff to take care of and some tutoring. Tuesday Abbie and I got FREE haircuts from a local beauty school. They did a good job, and we will be going back. I am so thankful. We both needed a haircut, but we just didn't have the extra money. Wednesday I had several errands to run and church/kid's club and play practice for church. Today I went shopping for Abbie's birthday and for a few more Christmas items. This afternoon I have tutoring and tonight we have teen club and play practice. Tomorrow I have a little more shopping to do and lots of stuff to take care of at home. Saturday I will be packing for our trip to TN next week. Sunday we have our big Thanksgiving service and fellowship at church. We will be leaving Sunday night after church on our trip to TN. It is easier to travel with the kids at night. THEY SLEEP!! It also saves us a bundle on food. We don't have to eat out all day. Aaron does well travelling at night, so don't worry.

I will have lots of pictures when we get back.

Another Slumber Party

2009-11-11T22:04:00.003-05:00

We didn't have school on Tuesday or Wednesday, so Tuesday night we had two little girls from church come over to spend the night with our girls. We had homemade corndog muffins (cornbread muffins with chopped up hotdogs inside), mac-n-cheese, and rootbeer for dinner. The girls all played for a while. Then we had popcorn and hot chocolate while attempting to watch a movie. THEY STAYED AWAKE FOREVER!!!! Hearing all of the giggles and cheering coming from the living room was cute until about 11:45. I kept waiting and waiting for them to tire. I was so ready to go to sleep. The two little girls from church saw a side of Mrs. Rachel that they hadn't experienced yet, but they did lie down and go to sleep afterwards. :) :)

Of course, they were all up bright and early. We had pancakes and fruit for breakfast. They played Barbies while I attempted to watch the movie that I didn't get to watch the night before :). I curled all of their hair up. Then they played some more. Anyway I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

I had tutoring this afternoon. We had King's Kids tonight. We are working on our Children's Christmas Play. Overall we had a busy, but fruitful day.

No Big Deal

2009-11-10T06:49:00.002-05:00

Today I am thankful for a good night's sleep. Ida made landfall last night. It was a very weak storm. I didn't hear a thing through the night. We do have tons of rain. We will most definitely see some flooding, but that will be the worst of it.

We do have a two day break from school now. We have today off because of the weather, and we have tomorrow off because of Veterans Day.

IDA is Coming to Town

2009-11-09T12:53:00.004-05:00

Today is preparation day for Ida, our first gulf storm. We have brought in all of the outdoor furniture and toys. The vehicles are filled with gas. The water supply is stocked. The flashlights are ready. The phones are charged. We still have to get a radio. Hopefully Aaron is getting that now.

I just got a call from school that it is closing early. I will pick up the kids. When we get home, we will all bathe. Then I will clean out the bathtubs and fill them with water, so that if the power goes out we will have water to flush the toilets. We will eat, and then bunker down to wait out the storm.

Those of you who know me well know that I DO NOT LIKE storms like hurricanes or tornadoes. At least Ida has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but we are still projected to have up to 65 mph winds and gobs of rain. I am doing my best to remain calm so that the kids won't be any more scared than they already are. You know they hear all kinds of scary storm stories at school.

Our Visit With Kayla at PCC

2009-11-08T15:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we went to visit Kayla at PCC. We took her out to eat off campus. Then we went to the Sports Center at PCC. Boy is that place amazing! It was nice when I was college age, but now it is crazy. They have sooooo many neat things in there. The kids had so much fun. We took them ice skating.

Chloe finally got the hang of it.

We met Jackie, a freshman from St. Louis, she helped Asher and Abbie around the rink.

This is a small portion of the HUGE indoor climbing wall. Look at Asher looking up. He was amazed.

Kayla with the kiddos in front of one of the small climbing walls.

The indoor volleyball courts. Upstairs around the courts is for inline skating. Behind the foggy looking glass wall in the back right of the picture is the indoor waterpark.

Here is a portion of the indoor water park. The water park has three waterslides and a wave/surfing pool.

The kids in front of one of the fake trees throughout the Sports Center Addition

We got home around 5:30. The kids were exhausted. Abbie and Justus did walk into to the house on their own, but by the time I got in they were like this in the hallway.

This is how I found the boys this morning--in my bed.

I got up to go check on the girls. At the same time this is how I found the girls--in Abbie's bed.

Church Fall Festival

2009-11-07T09:04:00.006-05:00

Last night we had our Fall Festival at church. The kids played lots of games, ate a truck load of junk, drank liters of coke, won several prizes, and brought home gobs of candy. I had to work a booth at the Fall Festival, but someone else did take my camera around for a few minutes and get a few pictures. Some of them are blurry, but they are better than none at all.

Abbie, Hannah (Chloe's friend from school), Chloe, and BryslynnJustus got a football painted on his face. Asher fishing at the Go Fish game.

Raul walked Justus around since Aaron and I were both in a booth.
The girls doing the Cake Walk. Chloe won some cupcakes. Abbie and Hannah brought home cookies.

Look at Justus' face. He is thrilled about all of the candy in his bag.

After the festival, Chloe had a friend spend the night. I popped some popcorn, and they watched movies in the living room. There were sounds of giggling girls until about 4 something this morning. This is what the living room looks like first thing this morning.

Today we are going to Pensacola to visit Kayla at PCC. We are going to take her out to eat, go see the Lighthouse, go bowling and go ice skating at the Sports Center. There will be more pics soon.

Guess What I Saw

2009-11-05T17:18:00.002-05:00

They do exist down here in AL. They are just few and far between. But I got a rare sighting! I am thankful I got to see some fall leaves. I took a picture just in case no one believed me. :)
Here are a couple of shots of Justus too.

Typical Day

2009-11-04T15:15:00.002-05:00

The weather is absolutely beautiful down here right now! It is bright and sunny outside with a little breeze. The temperature is 75. It is gorgeous! I am trying to enjoy it. Unfortunately I have had a tendency here lately to be negative about the weather rather than enjoy it, because it is not very fall like. I LOVE the crisp fall air, and I have been missing it. BUT.... I need to not focus on the negative and see the positive. I am thankful that we are not freezing down here.

My praise for the day is that Justus seems to be much better! He has had a very good day. I have only heard him cough one time!!

We are doing the usual stuff around here today. I went to school. After school I went on a few hospital visits with Aaron. We grabbed a salad for lunch. I am going to go get the kids from school. Then I will get some more work done for the children's play at church. Tonight we will go to church.

Pictures That Should Already Be Posted

2009-11-03T21:13:00.006-05:00

Justus' 2nd Birthday Dinner at O'Charley's with some friends from church. Notice that all of my kids have food hanging out of their mouths.Justus really got into the birthday cake.

At home he kept sneaking into the cupcakes and eating them. Look at how happy he is though.

However, by the time we got around to the singing at home, this is all that was left of the cupcakes--some crumbs.

Justus loves playing his new piano.

Justus opening his new preschool computer.

Later on, this is how I found these two. They had grabbed pizza without asking and decided to just lay on the couch and eat it. What were they thinking? They aren't allowed to eat in the living room. I am sure that this is the first of many more pics to come in the years ahead of my two boys on the couch eating pizza and watching t.v.

The girls in their new monogrammed church dresses.

I got a great deal on these--only $20.

The girls with their friends from church. Kirsten, Abbie, Chloe, and Bryslynn.

A week ago there was a bad accident in our neighborhood. This is the view of the helicopter from my front porch. Even though it was a tragic event, it was the neatest thing to have a helicopter land in our front yard.

JUSTUS

2009-11-03T06:53:00.002-05:00

Justus had a pretty good night last night. He only woke up once! I sure do hope that this means we are coming to an end of this fight with RSV. I am thankful that he is much better. It was scary for a few days. RSV is not something to mess around with.

Today is suppose to be a plain and normal day around here. I am going to school this morning. We have a special games and chapel week at school this week, so I don't even have to teach today or Friday. I just get to go and to watch the kids be silly and to listen to the preaching. Then I am coming home to just be home and to do mommy/wifey stuff. Those are the best days. As long as nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to post some pics on here today.

Eventful Monday

2009-11-02T21:16:00.004-05:00

Today I started my first week of not teaching the Geometry class anymore!! I am sooooooo excited about that one!! I am an English teacher not a Geometry teacher. A math teacher finally became available to take the class off of my hands!! No longer will I be studying for an hour or more each night just to go in and teach the next day's lesson. Plus, I am now home everyday by 10:30. NO MORE GEOMETRY is what I am thankful for today.

After I taught my classes today, I went to a big children's clothing sale with Cate, a lady from our church, and out to lunch at a local diner. I enjoy going to diners. The food was so good, and there was a lot of it. Aaron kept the kids for us while we went shopping.

I am tutoring again also. I tutor for one hour on Monday and one hour on Thursday and an occasional extra hour. I make $20 an hour for tutoring, so it is a little extra spending money each week. I am using it to buy the kids' winter church clothes and some Christmas presents.

One thing I haven't mentioned on here yet is Justus' sickness. He has had a rough week. Last Wednesday night his fever shot up to 106. He got to a point where he wouldn't wake up and respond to me. We took him to the ER. He tested positive for RSV. He also has tonsillitis. His fever stayed up around 103 until Friday night. He was also vomitting and having awful diarrhea. He is now on some breathing treatments a couple of times a day. He does alright during the day now, but the nights are rough. His breathing is more labored at night. Today has been a good day for him though, so maybe tonight will be too.

Tonight Aaron is at the Saints Monday night game in New Orleans. He went with Joe, Cate's husband. I am at home with all of the youngins. Aaron rented a carpet cleaner for the day, so I am off to clean some carpet. Have a good night.

IT'S NOVEMBER!!!

2009-11-01T12:05:00.002-05:00

First, yes, I must address the fact that I haven't posted on here in over a month. OH MY!! It has been a long time. I have been really busy with our life at home, church, and school. There are so many things to catch you up on that I don't even know where to begin, so I just won't right now. I will post some of the pictures that you missed out on--like Justus' birthday. I can't believe I didn't post any. I will try to be-no, I will be- much better from now on. I will at least post once a week. I use to be good about posting every day. So let me do this.... I will post something everyday. I will at least post one thing that I am thankful for everyday.

I really enjoy the month of November. The weather is cool and crisp--Well, sort of. Down here in lower AL that is questionable. I bake lots of yummy goodies in the kitchen during November and December. It is the one time of year that I really get into the baking. I already started this past week I made cute little sugar cookies in fall shapes, miniature pumpkin pies, and regular pumpkin pies. This coming week I am going to make pumpkin rolls and some more sugar cookies. We eat lots of the goodies ourselves, and we give some of them away as gifts.

I have already started the Christmas shopping. I want to have the majority of it bought and wrapped by Thanksgiving! However, the rest of it I will get during those really good sales after Thanksgiving. I am also making a few gifts for Christmas this year. Those homemade ones are the best anyway--more thought, time, and effort goes into those.

My thankful thought #1-I am thankful that I got to turn my calendar to November today!!

Having Fun in Lower Alabama

2009-09-23T17:59:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday night I had nursery duty, so I snapped a couple of shots (not good ones) of Justus and his nursery buddies. Justus is the oldest. The other boys are all 15-16 months old.
We also squeezed in a family mall trip. The kids rode the carousel.

Everything is business as usual around here-busyness! We have many upcoming events at the church. Several ladies' and I are attending the Deep South Ladies' Conference this Friday and Saturday. I am looking forward to it. It is being held at our school's home church. There will be about 300 other women there. The theme is "Under Construction." In a couple of weeks I have another ladies' LIFT meeting. My theme this time is "Turn Up the Heat." The focus will be on not being a lukewarm christian. The decorations and food will all be chili peppers/Mexican. The other events coming up mostly have to do with the holidays--from Fall Festival to Thanksgiving Service and Meal to Christmas Pageant to Choir Cantata to New Year's Watchnight Service to Valentine's Banquet to February Missions Fundraiser to April Missions Trip. WOW!! What a list!!

School--I had one student slap another student today in my homeroom!! The thing is it wasn't a girl that slapped someone. A boy slapped another boy. Then we had a student have a seizure during chapel today. He is fine and doing well. He has had problems with seizures for sometime. Needless to say, it was an eventful day!!

Progress reports came out yesterday. Chloe did alright she had 4 A's and 3 B's. That is not her best. We found out that her B's (other than penmanship--she has terrible writing) are due to her not completing her homework. She also received one "Needs Improvement" check and the rest "Satisfactory" on her conduct/participation/attitude. She has lost her t.v. privileges until this improves. We have 3 weeks until report cards come out. Abigail did very well. She got all A's and all Excellents in her conduct/participation/attitude. The results from the progress reports are sort of ironic to us, because we have lots of problems from Abbie at home right now and hardly any from Chloe. :)

Enjoy your week!

Do You Like Rats?

2009-09-17T19:21:00.003-04:00

I was greeted with that question by a female student the other morning.

My response was: "Do I like RATS! Well, not particularly."

She then handed me this and said, "I saw this while I was in Houston, and I had to buy it for you."

It is a little chocolate cake made to look like a rat.
I ate the yummy little rat. It was a chocolate covered cherry flavor! DELICIOUS!!

Now, I am still questioning: "Why did she see this and think of me?"

I have shared my love for chocolate and cherries together and my love for Dr. Pepper with the class. Maybe that is why...maybe...

Some Serious Fans

2009-09-17T19:10:00.002-04:00

So, I remember while we were attending Crown College in Knoxville that UT had some crazy fans. However, I don't remember ever seeing a gas station dedicated to the football team. This is where I buy my gasoline and a bag of YUMMY boiled peanuts. I brought my camera along, so I could share it with you.
This is the lady's car that she keeps parked here at all times. They do move it for games and parades.

I didn't take any pictures of the inside of the gas station. I didn't want to alarm anyone. But.... it is filled with memorabilia. If you want to buy a black and white checked Bear Bryant hat (I know about those thanks to my Papaw's collection of stuff) or an Alabama Roll Tide jewelry box or anything in between, this is the gas station for you. They have a WIDE variety.

Picture Review

2009-09-17T18:23:00.004-04:00

Friend and Family Day at Church

We enjoyed a wonderful morning service of singing, preaching, fellowshipping, and eating.

This is Mrs. Melba, our church pianist and our adopted grandmother. She is so kind to our family. She spoils us all. Every week she brings the kids a big bag of individually wrapped M&M's for their lunch boxes. So, everyday they get a little bag of M&M's from Mrs. Melba.

That night we had a good old-fashioned singin' time. We had over 15 specials. The kids (minus Justus) sang with Aaron and I. This picture is actually of our practice time before church. Asher did sing with us during the service. We sang "Here Am I, Lord." We are trying to have them sing with us as often as possible.

This is Mrs. Pearl. I had to throw her picture in here too. She is in her 70's and usually just this quiet little old lady who sits in the back of the church. BOY! Can she really play this bass!! She is part of a group called "Gloryland Singers." She surprised us all.

The church surprised us with this gift on Friend and Family Day. It was beautifully displayed for all to see. I wasn't able to get a picture of that before it was all taken down that night. We now have it hanging above our piano.

I Can't Believe It Has Been So Long!!

2009-09-16T17:03:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness!! It has been about 4 weeks since my last post!!

There is lots going on, I just haven't gotten to post about it yet. I did change our background. This is birthday month at our house. Aaron turned 32 last Sunday the 13th; I turn 32 this Sunday the 20th; and Justus turns 2 on Sunday the 27th. The church threw a big surprise birthday party for Aaron. We had a good time with lots of scrumptious food.

For a quick overview of what has been going on: SCHOOL, SCHOOL, and more SCHOOL. We have been busy with just everyday routines of school and lots of volleyball games and football games. I am overloaded with this Geometry class. I really don't like having to study so much each night just to be able to go in and teach the next day's lesson. I really wish that we would just do the A Beka video class and let me monitor it rather than this route we are currently in. It has just been way too long since I have done a math class. I am having to refresh myself on everything. It takes up too much of my home time. I love teaching my English classes. That is my subject. That is the subject I have done for years. I can easily teach a great Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling, or Literature lesson. All four of those are wrapped up in the A Beka curriculum as English once they hit the 7th grade.

Everything at church is going well. I just saw that the last time I posted we were about to have our Friend and Family Day at church. We had an AMAZING day!! We had 165 in church that day. That is the highest attendance that Crossroads Baptist Church has ever had. Everyone was so excited. How did we do it? Good, old-fashioned door knocking--Contrary to popular belief-it still works!!

We are currently going through a transitional time. Due to some issues in his home that I am not going to talk about, our youth pastor had to be let go, so Aaron and I are now also taking care of the teens. This has added a lot more to our plate. Aaron is now driving the van routes. We are teaching the teen Sunday School class. Also, we have moved the Wed. night teen club to Thursday nights, so that we can teach that. It is also a time of recovery for our youth group and our church. With the Lord's help, we are pulling through. Our church is a little more than an hour away from PCC. Aaron went this week and interviewed an intern. More than likely, we will have a PCC intern start this Sunday!! He will then be helping us with the van routes and the youth. We are looking forward to the help.

Life With the Smiths

2009-08-26T18:05:00.003-04:00

Still we are busy.... I know that it is coming. It has to be. What is it? It is some calm and some routine. We are halfway there. We do go to school everyday. :)

This past weekend was just crazy. We had several unexpected things to come up at church on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I just don't even remember it. It already seems like so long ago. Yesterday, Tuesday, was busy. I had to teach my classes in the morning, shopping and errands in the early afternoon, teacher's meeting after picking the kids up from school, an hour at home, errands to run for church, teen club at church, and then finally home very late last night.

Today, Wednesday, isn't going as planned. During my 1st hour class the secretary informed me that I had to take Chloe home from school due to a high fever. I left school early. I called the pediatrician to get her an appt. The earliest appt. wasn't until 6:40 p.m. So, I took her to the urgent care center. We had a 3 1/2 hour wait until we saw the doctor. Then we had to wait another 45 minutes for the test results. She has strep throat AGAIN! This is the 3rd time in 4 months. Yes, I am thinking that her tonsils probably need to come out. Usually the doctor tells us that she can go back to school 24 hours after the 1st dose of medicine. This time he said she can't go out until Saturday, which means she misses 3 days of school this week. It is only the 2nd week of school!

Thursday and Friday I am going to teach my classes. All of my other plans are cancelled, so I can stay home with Chloe.

We are planning a big day at church on Sunday. It is our Friend and Family Day. We have lots of guests coming Sunday morning. We lunch at church that afternoon. We have a 5th Sunday Sing (lots of special music from whomever wants to sing and lots of congregational music) that night. We are really looking forward to it.

A True Heart Award!!

2009-08-19T18:54:00.002-04:00

Thank you so much to Pilar for giving me this award. This award means a lot to me. I know that I fail the Lord everyday, but I want His light to shine through me. I want to live my life in a way that glorifies Him. I want to be able to hear the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." I am so thankful that the Lord saved a sinner like me!
What does this award mean:

"Those that receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, fun, friendly, loving, and eager to share their love of Jesus with others. They are brave with their efforts to reflect Him in this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you are blessed to know, even if it is only in the blogging world."

I pass this award on to:

Miranda, one of my greatest friends and encouragers

Becky, who has had a rough battle with her health but keeps trusting in the Lord through it all

Corey, my sister-in-law, who has 5 little girls and is starting to homeschool this year

Kristy, a college friend who is faithfully serving the Lord with her family as missionaries to Canada

STUDY????

2009-08-19T18:45:00.002-04:00

How am I suppose to study? I can't keep this crazy cat off of my books. He plops himself down on my books everytime I sit down to read. Seriously....when I move, he moves. When I sit down to read, he lays down on the book.

Back to School

2009-08-17T18:32:00.006-04:00

Today was our first day of school at our new school, Lighthouse Baptist Academy.

The hairbows that I made for about $4.00. They sale these in the stores for $16.00.

Chloe

Abbie

And Asher....

and Asher.....

and Asher again....

and Asher

Aaron took tons of pictures of him. This isn't even all of them. I just laugh everytime I see ALL of these.

The kids in front of their new school.

Abbie by her desk. She is in 1st grade this year.

Asher in his desk. He is in K-4.

Chloe in her desk. She is in 3rd grade this year.

We all had a great first day. The kids came home very excited! They really like their new school.

I had a good first day too. My students were very good. However, my classroom is VERY HOT!! I have lots of students in a little room. I have got to get a BIG FAN in there.

Best Friends

2009-08-17T18:14:00.002-04:00

Abbie has a best friend, Savannah. Savannah lives in Indiana, but....Savannah's aunt and uncle live right here in Mobile. Savannah's aunt is our girls' piano teacher. Soooo Abbie and Savannah will still get to see each other every now and then. Savannah's family was here this past weekend. We invited her over to spend the night. Even though it had been 7 months since they had last seen each other, the two girls were back together and giggling like it had only been a few days. Abbie was so happy.

Abbie and Savannah this past weekend

Savannah and Abbie on Abbie's last day of school in Indiana.

Abbie and Savannah on the first day of school last year.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2009-08-17T17:46:00.006-04:00

This is just a bunch of pictures from when Aaron's family was here to visit. We had a good time! Rachel, Elizabeth, Abbie, Asher, Justus, Chloe, and Hannah
Our newest niece, Emily

Rachel, Julia, Justus, Asher, Chloe, Hannah, Emily, Elizabeth, and Abbie

Everyone trying to be patient as Grandmama passed out some gifts! :)

Justus wanted to wear it all right then.

Handsome Dude!

Rachel and Aunt Nola

Julia wore her sunglasses upside down most of the time. A true blonde! :0

CHEEEEEEESE!

The BIG slumber party!

The hike to the beach from our beach house rental.

The kids did not like having to walk through the tall grass.

The view of the lagoon from the rental.

A late night card game. I have no clue what it was, but they had fun.

Chloe's 8th Birthday

2009-08-17T17:15:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday, our first baby, Chloe Irene Smith, turned 8 years old--I am getting old ;0!

We bought her a monogram cake. Well.....it turns out that her monogram is CSI :) :)

What's Going On Around Here

2009-08-13T20:41:00.002-04:00

Let's see...

Aaron's Mom, sister, our five nieces, and an aunt were here with us from last Wednesday through Sunday afternoon. We had quite a time with 9 kids 8 and under! Chloe's 8th birthday was last Thursday. We had a small party here at home. Barbie seemed to be the theme this year. I do have some pics to post from our time with them all, but for some reason I can't get them to upload right now. I will post them later.

Saturday night Abbie got sick and was throwing up until Tuesday morning. I do hope that the bug is gone and no one else gets it.

Monday night we had parent orientation at our new school. The kids, except Abbie, got to see their classroom and meet their teachers. I got to meet some of my students.

Tuesday I had more teachers' meetings. Wednesday I spent time getting my classroom ready and then King's Kids that night.

Today, we went to an IBF preacher's fellowship.

Tomorrow, I have got to get some major cleaning done around this house. Also, Bryant and Heather Harvey from Indiana are down here visiting family. They are from Blackford Baptist where I taught and the kids went to school in Indiana. Their little girl is Savannah, Abbie's best friend from Indiana. We are going to meet up with them sometime so the girls can play. Abbie is soooooooooooooooo excited. She hasn't really made any close friends like Savannah down here yet. Hopefully this next school year she will find a close buddy.

Monday is the first day of school. We are all excited! The kids can't wait to make new friends, and I can't wait to have a routine back in this house. We need it! I need it!

Teen Camp

2009-08-13T17:10:00.002-04:00

We had Teen Camp the last week in July. We took 15 teens with us. We didn't go to an organized camp with other churches this year. We just did our own little camp for three days. We went to Flint Creek in Wiggins, MS. Pray for our teens. They need to open up their hearts to God's will in their lives. Praise the Lord, we had one teen boy saved!

We stayed in cabins. This was the girls' cabin.

We had three services a day. This was one of the illustrations for Aaron's sermon. We had our services inside of Aaron's cabin. We had to have a make shift altar. Here the kids are gathered around a table to pray. (sorry it is small--I resized it wrong)

We roasted marsh mellows.

One day we had a swimming day--yes separately. Then we all met up in the pavilion for grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

One night we went out for pizza and bowling.

Chloe went with us, but the other kids stayed behind.

Well, It's About Time!

2009-08-13T16:17:00.006-04:00

Finally, some pics from Vacation Bible School! We had VBS the second week in July. As some of you know, due to some differences and changes that had to be made our VBS director dropped out on us the Wednesday before VBS. Aaron and I were determined to not let Satan get the best of us. It was all for the best. We all pulled together. Our church people stood behind us and helped us out tremendously. It was short noticed, but with the Lord's help we did it! God blessed, and we had a great VBS! Praise the Lord, seven little souls were saved. We had 63 kids in attendance.

We had a bayou/swamp theme.
Rally Time

The kids earned tickets for attendance, bringing their Bibles, memory verses, visitors, etc..... Then if their number was called they got to pick a prize from the table.

The girls won the weighted offering. Yes, Aaron wore these waders every night. He even preached in them the Sunday a.m. before in order to promote VBS.

Pharoah stopped in for a few visits during the week. Most of the lessons had to do with Moses leading God's people out of Egypt.

Perfect Attendance

Most Bible Memory Verses

Top Prize Winners

2009-08-13T15:58:00.006-04:00

Thank you to my new friend, Dani Contreras, for giving me this Creative Blogger award.

Now, the hard part.... I am suppose to post 7 things about me that you may not already know. Let me think........

1. I can touch my nose with my tongue. I am not too proud of this, but boy do my kids think that it is neat.

2. I love old time diners. I really should have lived in the 50's.

3. Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper is my all time favorite drink. I can't find it in the can anymore. However, take me to one of those old time diners and I'll have them make it. :)

4. "It Is Well" is my favorite hymn. I want to be able to say...."No matter what, it is well with my soul." That is hard to do, but with the Lord's help and realizing His hand in everything no matter how terrible it may seem, it can be done. What a testimony the author of this song has!

5. I like old houses with a lot of character and a story to them. I don't want a brand new house. Give me the old country house with lots of interesting woodwork and a big front porch.

6. I must have my toe nails painted at all times. They really are just ugly if they are plain! :0

7. I really like crazy sunglasses: polka dots, flowers, big, fun prints, etc.... My favorite pair that I have ever had were baby blue 60's style with white polka dots. However, right now I can't wear my contacts, so..... I am stuck wearing my boring prescription glasses. One day.....

Back to School Ladies' Meeting

2009-08-10T15:20:00.004-04:00

Yes, I know that I still haven't loaded the VBS or Teen Camp pictures and here I am adding ladies' meeting pics. These were a quick and easy add. There are sooooo many of the others to sort through and resize; I just still haven't taken or had the time to do them. I will though. Anyway....

Last Tuesday, we had our Back to School ladies' meeting. I decorated the fellowship hall just like a classroom. I spoke on some basic school rules that can also apply to our daily Christian life and walk with the greatest Teacher of all-the Lord.

The party favors were in the little lunch sacks.

I used school supplies for the center pieces. I also took Jennifer Bender's idea of carving out a real apple and putting a tea candle inside. I collected school photos from our ladies and copied them on the front and back of place mats. We played a "Guess Who?" game with the photos.

We had a small crowd for this meeting, but we had no lack of fun and fellowship.

What's On the Agenda?

2009-08-03T09:21:00.003-04:00

Alrighty, so I was going to put up some more pics yesterday afternoon in between services.... Well...we have had some WILD storms around here lately. Our phone and our satellite box were struck by lightning on Saturday. Then yesterday while we were eating our Sunday lunch the power went out and stayed off until about 5 minutes before we left for choir practice and church. (It was a blessing in disguise, because all of the kids took a nap!) Anyway, I MAY have some time LATE tonight to get those loaded on the blog.

I have a busy week. Tomorrow night I have a ladies' meeting at church. It is a back to school theme. I am looking forward to it. I have collected school pictures from several of the ladies. I am going to make placemats with all of the pics on them. Then we are going to play a "Guess Who" game. Today and tomorrow I will mostly preparing for that meeting. On Wednesday and Thursday I have teacher's meetings at school. Also on Wednesday Aaron's mom, sister, our 5 nieces, and an aunt will be coming to visit with us until Sunday night. I am looking forward to having them down here.

Thursday is Chloe's 8th birthday. After my meetings, I am going to make homemade pizza and we will have a party for her and go swimming in the pool, which has been very hard to keep clear with all of this rain. (I will get it clean and clear; then it will rain and pour buckets for several days, and then the pool will turn green again. ) On Friday, we are going to go eat lunch at Lambert's--very fun and yummy! We have rented a beach house for that night. After lunch we will head over there and relax and enjoy the beach. It is tax free weekend for back to school, so on Saturday Corey and I are going to hit the stores kid free that afternoon.

Have a great week!

I'M BACK -- Now let's start catching up!

2009-08-01T09:17:00.007-04:00

As you already know by my prolonged absence from the blogging world, we have been CRAZY busy around here this summer. Well, now I am back and have a TON of pictures and things to get you caught up on. I may have to skip a few events, because there are so many between just our everyday lives and church activities. When I last uploaded my pics from my camera to the computer there were almost 500.

This is just a cute picture of the kids playing in the gym at church. They got some rope and tied all of these little scooter seats together to make a train. Then they convinced a daddy to pull them around. Abbie is on the first seat, then Chloe, then Justus, then Asher, then a blank seat, and then a dump truck tied on as the caboose has another baby sitting in the back.
On Wednesday nights we have a King's Kids Bible Club. One Wednesday night we had a Water Works Wednesday. We told the kids to wear dark clothing. The local fire department came to provide the water for our GIANT water slide made out of plastic.

We served watermelon.

And...we had a water balloon fight. Asher is getting ready to get Chloe in the pic below.

Chloe with her friend Mikayla. I don't know what this look is for.

The night ended with the youth pastor getting egged by everyone that brought a visitor.

In our everyday life, I can't keep Justus out of the bathtub. He LOVES all water. He climbed into my bathtub shoes and all and turned on the water all by himself. I have to keep all bathroom doors shut. However, sometimes he is just so fast and sneaky.

For the 4th of July weekend we went to Pensecola, FL. We stayed at the PCC Campus House. We went to the Aviation Museum on the 4th. It was amazing!! I recommend it to anyone going to the Pensecola area. It is the home of the Blue Angels. The museum is filled with so much American history. It also has several interesting things from the current war. You can see pieces from Saddam Hussein's palaces and airport. Oh yeah, and the best part..... IT IS FREE!! I would show you pictures from the museum, but..... I forgot my camera. The only ones we have are on Aaron's phone.

We spent the days before and the 4th of July morning in Florida. We spent the afternoon at home in Alabama. Then for the evening we drove to Pascagoula, MS to watch the fireworks over the Gulf. In Pascagoula they shoot the fireworks off of a barge that is out in the water. It was BEAUTIFUL!

The sunset over the water.

All of us waiting for the fireworks to begin.

The beginning of the fireworks scared Justus sooooooooooooooo much. He cried and cried.

He went to Aaron's lap.

He went to my lap.

Finally, he realized that the noises were the pretty lights in the sky, and he was fine.

Asher

Abbie

Chloe

We had some visitors from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Indy, the church that Aaron grew up in. They took us out to eat after church at The Original Oyster House. The kids loved the big shark hanging outside!

Our Homebuilder's Sunday school class had a game night. Here is some of our class playing Balderdash. We had laughed so hard that night! Seriously....Ihad coke squirting out of my nose from laughing so hard!!

Well, that's all that I have time for right now. I will hopefully get back on here this afternoon or tomorrow to put up some more. I have Vacation Bible School and Teen Camp to tell you about.

I Am Still Here

2009-07-12T18:36:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone that is still hanging on to this blog. I am still here. We have just been soooooo busy. We have had some unexpected responsibilities come up lately. I have not had anytime to do much extra lately. Then when I have the time, I am just too exhausted to concentrate or be the slightest bit creative. I promise I have not just let the blog go. Don't give up on me yet. I will be back to blogging when I get some time and energy.

Ice Cream and Summer Time

2009-06-25T00:22:00.004-04:00

Oh what happiness the ice cream truck can bring to a kid in the summer time. These pics are actually from today (Wednesday--My computer clock is off. It posts as Thursday)

These two went directly to the bathtub after this.

Farewell at Steak -N-Shake

2009-06-25T00:07:00.005-04:00

We had the New Testament Church Pioneers from Crown College and Temple Baptist Church in Powell, TN with us for the past two weeks. Our NTCP guys were Justin and Dane. They were very hard workers and a great help to us and our church. We hated to see them go. Check out their blog here and to find out more about the New Testament Church Pioneers go here.

After church on Sunday night, several of our church members went out with us and the guys to Steak-N-Shake. We filled one whole area at Steak-N-Shake. We had a fun time!

Part of our group

Church Preschool Father's Day Program

2009-06-24T23:26:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday, the kiddos were in a Father's Day play at church. Chloe was the narrator. Abbie and Asher had a couple of small lines.

Check out this video of Asher's class. Asher was a microphone hog. He was so funny.
Don't forget to pause the music on the sidebar.

Fishing With the Coffeys

2009-06-24T17:40:00.006-04:00

When Mark and Amy Coffey were here with us for our Missions Conference a couple of weeks ago we went fishing at a church family's house. The pictures are small b/c I copied these from Amy's facebook page. My camera battery died that day

Abbie and Emilee

Asher and Luke

More Vacation Pics

2009-06-24T17:04:00.007-04:00

The back of our jeeplunch time
Justus tried a lemon
Notice the rock in the bottom left side of this picture...

This was on that rock!!! Yes right there!! That close to my kiddos and me!!!!

Then it went into the water....

where Justus was playing!!! It didn't bother us, but it sure was scary!!

Justus LOVES playing in the water!

The kids were exhausted after a long day of riding in the jeep and playing in the creek.

On our way to Dollywood, we saw this coming down the main road. All traffic was stopped dead in its tracks.

The best part was that there were men riding on the top of the house.

The kids playing in the water

the kids admiring the bald eagle

the train ride at Dollywood

Below are a couple of videos. Click pause on the music on my sidebar in order to hear the video.

More of the LIFT "Precious Memories"

2009-06-24T16:35:00.005-04:00

I am trying to get caught up on some pictures and things that I need to post. Here are some more from our ladies' meeting.

That is me behind the dress. Some of the ladies' wanted to get a picture with my head on the mannequin and my dress. Somebody grabbed my camera and got one from the side view.
The wedding cake that Mrs. Sharon, our church secretary, made for the meeting.

We all enjoyed looking through the many wedding albums. It was neat to see all of the different styles of weddings. We had wedding pictures to look at from 3 months ago to over 60 years ago.

The following are pictures of the lovely ladies enjoying fellowship with one anther.

The blonde smiling REALLY big in this photo is Stephanie, the youth pastor's wife.

Lovely Blog Award

2009-06-22T09:08:00.009-04:00

Thank you for this award. A new friend that I have made through blogging, Dani Joy, gave me this thoughtful award. Dani is a missionary wife in Spain. She has a wonderful heart for the Lord, her ministry, and her family. Read her blog here.

Here are the rules:

1. Accept the gift and post it on your blog along with a link to the person who gave the award to you.

2. Pass the award on to other blogs that you enjoy and find to be lovely.

I pass the LOVELY BLOG award onto these old and new likeminded family loving friends that are an encouragement to me:

1. Miranda

2. Jennie

3. Tascha

4. Becky

5. Corey

6. Anna

7. Liz

8. Amy

LIFT Fellowship June 2009

2009-06-16T09:14:00.006-04:00

"Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness."

Psalm 97:12

This is part of what has been keeping me away from blogging as much as I would like to. The "Precious Memories" LIFT (Ladies In Fellowship Together) meeting is tonight. I have been planning and creating for several weeks now. I am pleased with how it has all turned out. I am really excited about tonight. I hope that all of the ladies enjoy it!

First--the finished cone vases that I have been working on. The attached paper has the theme and verse on it.

I got a dress mannequin and put my wedding dress on it.

We even have an aisle runner with flower petals.

I am giving a shout out to the Dollar Tree. They have some great wedding stuff to play around with!

Every one gets their own diamond ring tied around their napkin.

I plan to post some other pictures of the actual meeting tonight. As I said, I am EXTREMELY excited about it. I have an actual wedding cake coming too!

Keeping My Promise

2009-06-13T00:02:00.003-04:00

So, yesterday I promised to load some more pictures on here of our short vacation. Well, I didn't have much time today, but I added these. We were climbing the fire tower on the top of some Mountain.

I will try to add some more tomorrow.

We Are Still Here

2009-06-11T17:50:00.002-04:00

I know; I know. I said that I was going to post some more pics on here soon. It takes a little while to add pictures to the blog. It is not as quick and easy as I want it to be. I just haven't taken the time to do it yet.

I am making a promise to do it tomorrow! So, check back on Saturday.

Good Fellowship with Old Friends

2009-06-05T12:04:00.004-04:00

It is Missions Conference at our church this week. We have some friends of ours from college here with us, Mark and Amy Coffey. They are representing The Peru Bible College and Vision Baptist Missions. We got to know them very well on the activity center porch at Crown College--that was the place for couples to sit and spend time together. The four of us spent many hours rocking together in those rocking chairs laughing about what was going on at school at the time and talking about our married lives to come and our ministries to come. We also had some great debates about a few other hot topics. We are having a great time --10 years later-- catching up.

Here are a few pictures of our trip to the USS Alabama yesterday. Again, I have a lot more to post of our time with them, but..... I don't have enough time to post right now. Check back again later. Chloe isn't in the picture, because she stayed with my parents. We will have her back home in a week or so.

We're Back

2009-06-05T10:53:00.006-04:00

We had a wonderful time at my Mom and Dad's in TN. The only complaint is that it was too quick and too short. But.... I had to hurry back for our church Missions Conference, which has been very encouraging. We have had great services. I don't have any time to post about our trip right now so, I will leave you with a few pictures. There will be many more to come soon.

We went on a jeep trip in the mountains on Saturday.

They look like they should be on the back of motorcycles. On a jeep ride hair blows everywhere. This is a solution. Check out Chloe's teeth!! Moving to Alabama has been rough on them. :)

One of the many waterfalls that we got to see. We walked across this one.

Playing in a creek somewhere in the middle of the woods on top of a mountain.

One of the beautiful views from the fire tower at the top of the mountain.

Much more to come soon! Check back in a few days!

I will post them as soon as a get enough time.

Vacation Time

2009-05-27T03:00:00.000-04:00

It is vacation time! The kids and I are leaving tomorrow to go visit my family for a few days. Aaron can't go with us this time. Pray for me as I travel with all 4 kids by myself for this trip - all 8 1/2 hrs. I am hoping to be able to stop halfway in Birmingham and spend the night with some of my family there. It all depends on what time I leave here.

Obviously, I won't be posting for a little while, but I will have lots of things to post when we get back.

Cades Cove and Dollywood, HERE WE COME!!!

Our Memorial Day

2009-05-26T11:33:00.004-04:00

We had a great day of honoring and remembering America's soldiers yesterday. We took some flowers and some Thank You cards made by the kids to a POW from the Korean War that attends our church. We were going to go to the USS Alabama Memorial Park, but the rain just didn't let up enough until late in the day.

We made an unexpected trip to the doctor's office with Justus. His body was covered from head to toe with a rash. He has had a little bit of a rash around his mouth and on the tops of his legs for several weeks, but this came all of the sudden and everywhere. He has two different rashes. The one around his mouth and on his upper legs is a type of eczema that could be on going for a long time. The one that came so quickly is a viral rash easily treated with some benadryll.

We rented a couple of movies and watched them during all of the rain. Then when the rain finally stopped, we went swimming for a while and grilled some steaks.

Our New Pool

2009-05-26T10:57:00.003-04:00

We finally just had to say goodbye to our other pool. I never could get it fixed. Emily sent us a new one. YEAH!! So.... here is

OUR NEW POOL!I want to recommend this pool to anyone and everyone considering buying one but can't afford an expensive above ground pool. It is a million times better than the other blue bubble looking pool that we had. The kids really enjoyed the other one, and Aaron and I enjoyed it just to get in and cool off a little. This is one that Aaron and I too will be able to swim in. They are both made by the same company Intex. However, this is a little more expensive, but definitely worth it. This is a 15x48 round pool. It is available at several different big chain stores. It also comes with the ground cloth, the filter, the pool cover, a cleaning net and pole, the skimmer basket to catch leaves, and a pool vaccuum all for $299 at Wal-Mart. Really, if you are thinking about the other cheaper above ground pools....DON'T do it. Aaron and I bought two of those ourselves. We should have saved our money and just bought this one in the first place. It is going to last much longer. You will be much happier with the choice.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POOL

New Haircuts, Glasses, and a Praise

2009-05-23T19:43:00.012-04:00

Today was the day of loooooong overdue haircuts.

Justus always does so well. Today the barber let him play with the brush.

Asher did not get a haircut. He looked through the newspaper.

Abbie was glad to get her haircut.

Chloe did not want a haircut.

But.... She liked it afterwards and looks sooooo much better.

On Thursday Chloe had an eye appointment, and we found out that she needs glasses. We picked them up today.

PRAISE

I told ya'll a few posts ago about my teaching part time at the kids' school next year. I have another praise concerning that. At first, I was being offered a teaching position in the Kindergarten classes. As most of you know, that is NOT my age group. I have my degrees in secondary ed. English and School Administration. All of my teaching experience, other than Sunday School, has been with junior high and high school- most of it being in English classes. I was willing to teach the Kindergarten if that was where I was needed, but I was really wanting and hoping for something different. Anyway, after seeing my resume, they have hired me to teach all of the high school English next year!!!! I am so excited! I am so thankful to the Lord!! They currently have an English teacher, but they want me for next year. The administrator said that he will be talking to her soon. Don't worry, she is not being fired. She is just being moved. I will also be teaching a geometry class. I am a little nervous about that class, because it will be a new one for me. It is one of those subjects that you have to use in order not to lose. I will be doing some extra math studying this summer. I haven't taught any math classes in several years. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I am so thrilled! God once again has provided for our needs and our wants!!

Dessert With Justus

2009-05-22T20:22:00.005-04:00

Lick the plate...
Smile and see what is so funny.....

Can't figure it out. Lick the plate some more.....

That was sooo good. Can I have some more, Mommy?

Thank You, Grandmama!

2009-05-22T18:44:00.006-04:00

Thank you, Grandmama for the toys and the candy (We miss your candy drawer).

Watch the videos below. Pause the music on the sidebar in order to hear.

UPDATED Special Prayer Request

2009-05-20T08:50:00.007-04:00

Dixie Herring is a friend of mine from college. Her dear nephew, Josiah, was diagnosed with a brain tumor about 2 months ago at only 4 years of age. My heart and prayers have fervently and tearfully gone out to them ever since that first day Dixie sent me the message. This has been dear to my heart also because, Josiah is the son of an independent Baptist pastor (Such saddening things are not suppose to happen to families like this. Right? Wrong. It could be ANY of us at any time.), and he is the same age as our dear Asher. Asher is so sweet and such a joy to my life daily. I have taken for granted the health that he has- that all my children have-- and the time that I have with them each day.

Little Josiah went on a Make A Wish Trip to Disney World with his family two weeks ago. On the last day of the trip, Josiah went into a deep coma. This family has had such great faith and dependence on God during this time--a time when so many would blame God and ask why. This Mom and Dad have been such a great testimony to me and so many others. I would like for you to read this last update from the father made after his son fell into a coma and pray for this dear family.

At 3:00 AM on Friday morning the team from Air Ambulance arrived to transport Josiah Lee from Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital in Orlando, Florida to St. Lukes in Boise, Idaho. Suzie went along with Josiah because the airplane could only accomodate one family member. Little Jason and I followed along on a commercial flight that arrived in Boise only a couple of hours after Suzie and Josiah. Our time at Disney on Josiah's Make A Wish trip was wonderful, but it is good to be back at "the happiest place on earth" - home.

Suzie and I met with the doctors yesterday afternoon after they examined Josiah and ran another CT scan. The doctors told us that Josiah is in a deep coma, and there is no chance of him waking up again. There has been massive hemorraging in Josiah's thalamus. The bleeding within the tumor and around the tumor has doubled the size of the affected area in his brain. With both thalami severly damaged, the 'brain within his brain' has all but been destroyed.We have been encouraged by movement, response to touch, and a flicker of the eyelids during the last few days. However, this activity is because the lower part of Josiah's brainstem in unaffected. The upper part of his brainstem, wherein lies the "soul" or conscious part of man, is damaged beyond repair.

These rapidly growing tumors need a tremendous blood supply to in order to keep growing. But the rapid growth rate means that the blood vessels being formed to supply the tumor are very weak and susceptible to rupture. The oncologist compared it to a hastily constructed refugee camp versus a well-organized and structured city. If we had started radiation immediately after Josiah's diagnosis, this incident could have happened sooner because radiation can sometimes aggravate the tumor and make it even more angry. The doctors informed us that it is very unlikely that radiation could have prevented this from happening.

I do not believe God caused this tumor, but I do believe that with all the thousands of prayers and fastings God is certainly at this point in complete control of Josiah's situation. We felt a tremendous peace about following the doctors advice and going on our trip to Florida before treatment began. Is it a coincidence that Josiah lapsed into a coma on the last day of our trip and only a few days before treatment would begin? We asked believing in faith that God would give us a miracle and perhaps God in His infinite goodness has given us mercy.Unless there are any significant changes, I will not be posting anymore updates except for my reflections of the last month with Josiah. We want to preserve the dignity of our son and honor him in such a way that brings honor to our Saviour.

To the army of prayer warriors that have interceded on behalf our precious child, I am deeply humbled and grateful for the time spent in prayer for my son. Fifty-one days ago our world came to screeching halt while the world for everyone else continued to revolve. And yet so many thousands have allowed their world to come to a frequent stop that they might pray, fast, and weep for little Josiah Lee. This has meant more to me than I can ever express.I have not stopped praying for a miracle. Our compounded problems have not made it more difficult for God to heal Josiah. He can heal with as much ease today as He could have a month ago. But I must also recognize that this could be God's answer to our prayer. On Monday morning Josiah went into a deep sleep. In a tremendous way Josiah is already 'asleep in Jesus'. How my heart and soul longs for the day when we live together with Him!

"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection." (Hebrews 11:35)

Standing atop Mount Moriah, I am still facing a sacrifice that I do not want to make. I look to the thicket, and it is empty.

Those last words are so heartbreaking. I can't imagine being faced with such. Not wanting to let your child go to God, but knowing that he is God's, knowing that you gave him back to God as soon as God gave him to you and now God is taking him home, understanding and trying to accept that this is God's will. How difficult!

Today, little Josiah has gone home to be with the Lord. Please pray for the Herring family.

UPDATE: Here are the father's words this morning after the homegoing of his son.

12:22 AM on Wednesday morning, Josiah Lee was embraced by his best Friend. Ten days ago he fell asleep in Disney World and this morning he woke up in heaven. It doesn't get much better than that for a four-year-old kid. Fifty-five days ago Josiah's journey began. His short life recently touched thousands and some of us were privileged to bask in the warmth of his light for almost five years. Looking out from the balcony of our room in the Disney resort over the splendor of the Magic Kingdom, Suzie commented that the whole Disney trip seemed almost surreal. Last night as Suzie and I were reminiscing about little Josiah I realized our life has been surreal. Josiah lived a "Make A Wish" childhood. One day soon we'll get our wish trip when we're reunited with our little blonde haired, blue eyed boy - 'Siah, my Siah'. "For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us... that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)

My trials and troubles are small.

I Need Your Opinion

2009-05-19T23:37:00.004-04:00

I saw these yesterday on Jennie Bender's My Spot blog. I gathered my stuff and started making them last night. I found this pattern on another crafty blog.
Then I used my scrapbooking scissors and paper to make these. I used gold and silver glitter glue and added the dots.

I holepunched a hole on two sides and strung a ribbon through. But... here is my problem... They are suppose to have a handle and hang kind of like a purse, but I can't hang them like that on the back of our metal chairs. So, I attached a magnet to the back of them. I am now trying to decide what to do with the handle. Here they are hanging on my fridge.

Leave it like this with a bow on the top.

Cut the ribbon and stream a pretty bead or two on the ribbon to add weight so the ribbon will hang nicely on each side. Obviously, I don't have a bead added here yet.

Just forget about the ribbon and go super simple.

What should I do? Or do you have any other ideas? I need some feedback.

Videos of the KIddos

2009-05-19T22:49:00.004-04:00

Both of these are from tonight. I was trying to get Justus to say "night, night." Of course, he wouldn't. The other video is of Abbie and her friend singing at the church fish fry. Remember ot pause the music on the side, so you can hear.

Church Fish Fry

2009-05-19T22:18:00.004-04:00

We went to a church Fish Fry tonight for our Shining Stars (senior citizens/retired) group from church. We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was gorgeous. We all had a lot of fun.

Justus was trying to hit a baseball. He just couldn't figure out the big bat.

The kids played a game of follow the leader.

Abbie and her new best friend Kirsten played horse shoes.

The kids hugging Mrs. Melba. She has really adopted our kids since we moved here.

Half of the group eating away.

The kids trying to eat and keep their plates from blowing away in the warm wind.

Justus loves the older men. He went from one to the other all night.

Abbie and Kirsten sang a special of "Jesus Loves Me" for everyone. I have a video of it. I will try to post it.

Chloe sang a solo of "1,2,3 Jesus Loves Me". My video didn't turn out.

Some of the group singing together in the living room.

Justus is soooo my son. We were loading up in the van, and he had to pick up every single toy before he came to the van.

Showers of Blessings

2009-05-19T10:29:00.006-04:00

So, I never made it back to the computer yesterday to update this blog. I got caught up in some crafting stuff for my ladies' meeting. The meeting is not until June 16th, but I have a lot to create myself in order to keep the meeting inexpensive yet fabulous.

What's Up with us? Our days have been packed with the end of school events, church activities, and household stuff. Last week Aaron and I did squeeze in a half day at the beach with the boys while the girls were in school. We missed having the girls with us, but at the same time it was good to go without them. The kids are so young that we have to keep a very close eye on all four of them. There is a strong undertow on Dauphin Island. It was nice to each only have one child to hang on to. Aaron and I were able to relax a little more. We are going to try to go one more time this Thursday. Then school will be out, and we will gladly take all four of them.

God is so good to us!! As I have said before, we are so glad that school is almost out. We are excited to have found a good church school to enroll the kids in for the upcoming school years. We have been concerned for the cost and how we were going to afford it. It is more expensive here than it was in IN. We started looking around for a part time job for me. The thing is I didn't want to have to be away from the kids for the summer and especially not during the school year when they are away from us most of the day anyway. It is important to us that WE are the ones training them. God has brought the perfect job to me!!! I will be tutoring a boy in reading for the summer. I will be using an intense tutoring curriculum called Lindamood-Bell. I will be tutoring him each day at the church from 9-12. I will still be right there for the kids if they need me. Aaron will be the one taking care of them while he works. It is great that we have a gym, a play ground, a t.v., and lots of kids' videos at the church for them to stay entertained during that time. Then we will still have all three meals together and all afternoon and evening to enjoy our summer. Our financial needs will be met! I am being paid well. I will make in the 8 weeks what we need to get all three kids enrolled, buy their books, pay all of the other miscellaneous fees, and pay the first month's tuition!! I am so thankful!! God has provided for us in a way that is just perfect for our family! I am still so amazed each time at how He cares and provides for us in every way! Then on top of this great tutoring job, He has provided an opportunity for me to be able to teach part time at the kids' school next year. So, tuition will be payed each month, and I will still be with the kids! On the days that I am teaching, Justus will be with Aaron, and if it is needed we will have a lady in the church watch Justus.

Today I am busy crafting for the ladies' meeting and cleaning around the house and spending time with the boys. Tonight we are going to a fish fry with our church's senior citizens group. Wednesdays are always busy and with no time to spare-speech, piano, baths, dinner, King's Kids. Maybe, I'll get to post again on Thursday.

IT'S MONDAY!

2009-05-18T11:51:00.002-04:00

I have lots to do today. I am hoping to grab some time later on this afternoon to let you know what has been and what is going on around here. I am tempted to do it right now, but I really need to get some housework done. I really don't need to get sucked into the blogging world right now. Check back later!

A New Week

2009-05-11T09:58:00.003-04:00

Like I have already said, I am trying to get back in the habit of regularly posting on my blog again. So... today I am just checking in and telling you the plans for the day.

YEAH!!! We are starting the week off with everyone well. I am doing the regular Monday household chores inside that have to be done after our fun-filled and busy weekends---- a quick pick-up and organizing of each room, vaccuum, and mostly laundry because I don't usually do any laundry on the weekends. It is amazing how much laundry a family of six can dirty over the weekend. Asher has speech therapy at 12:30 at the school.

Aaron and I have a parent/teacher conference with Abbie's teacher at 1:15. We have a couple of concerns to discuss with her and Abbie (Nothing that is a complaint about the teacher, but some behavior problems we are having with Abbie and think are happening at school as well). The thing is when we asked for the conference, the teacher sent a note back saying she was glad. She wanted to meet with us too, because she has something to discuss with us. UH! OH! ---could be good---could be bad. Abbie has all A's, so it is not a school work problem. She has gotten all smiley faces on her daily behavior chart except for one day, but.....

This afternoon I have got to get some things rolling for my ladies' meeting coming up in a few weeks. I have also started a ladies' area in one of our foyers at church. I have a bulletin board and a table set up. I am using this area to keep all of the ladies updated on the times, themes, and needs of upcoming ladies' events and ladies' ministries. I need to get a few more things done for that today as well.

I hope to get some weeding done tonight. It is already too HOT to do it in the daytime now.

As for the rest of the week... it is busy. We plan to redeem the time and get a lot accomplished at home and at church. We are hoping to also get in a relaxing trip to the beach on Thursday.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T13:34:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day

A Post Two Days In a Row!!

2009-05-09T20:11:00.004-04:00

This is how Asher has spent too many of his days during this last month....

sick and asleep on the couch. This was taken yesterday in between all of the throwing up. We did end up having to cancel our dinner guests again. I hope that they don't start to think that we don't want them over. We are rescheduling it again.Justus plays a lot with Asher during the day while the girls are at school. Yesterday he found one of the girl's computers and played with it. He had no idea what to do, but he sure did try to figure it out.
We did make it to the birthday party today. The kids made cards and colored pictures for the birthday boy before we left.

When we got home I blew up the swimming pool tube again, so we could go swimming. It was very hot today. Aaron and I got in and tried to find where the hole was. We went over each part, but still could not find anything. However, as you can see by the deflated pool.... SOMETHING is wrong with this thing. This picture was taken about an hour after I filled it up. The tube won't stay full, therefore the water keeps getting out.

However, on the happier note....we can't believe that it is the first of May and we are swimming in the pool!! This would not be happening in Indiana. The water felt soooooo good. It was just right! So even though the pool was deflating as we were in it, it didn't stop us from having a good time while the water lasted.

Justus was all pooped out after the birthday party and fell asleep, so he missed the swimming in the pool. He had a good time in the bathtub!

Life as Usual

2009-05-08T07:33:00.003-04:00

I am trying to get back on top of posting every other day or so, but it just hasn't happened yet. That is probably a good thing though, because that means less time that I am spending at the computer each day. :)

We have had a wonderful week around here.

Monday was filled with laundry and rain outside, so we watched movies and stayed inside. One bad thing...we put up our pool last week. It is one of those ugly blue bubble looking pools that you see in lots of yards. The kids had so much fun playing in it. Anyway, something happened to it during the rain storm and the air tube part went flat. We filled it with air again, and it went flat again after several hours. I can't figure it out. I can't find any holes or cuts. It is a brand new pool. We had one last year and never had any problems with it. There has to be a hole somewhere that I can't find. Tuesday we brought a little more culture to our lives and went to an art showing. One of the ladies in our church is a painter, and she was a featured artist in the show. Every Wednesday is extremely busy but encouraging around here. Asher has speech at 12:30. The girls have piano at 3:15. Then it is home for quick baths and dinner before church. There is no time to sit down or play, so we can make it on time for King's Kids. Praise the Lord, I was able to lead a nine year old little boy to the Lord this Wednesday after King's Kids! Thursday was an easy going but productive day. IT CAN BE DONE! I got lots of laundry washed, folded, and hung up as well as several other household chores. Today my plans were to meet another mom from church at The Watermelon Patch, which is not really a field of watermelon vines and dirt as I thought. I am so glad that I looked it up online, so I would not be looking for a bunch of watermelons in the middle of town. It is actually like a mommy and me play place with classes and play areas. Well, these are no longer the plans. Asher started throwing up about 4:00 this morning and hasn't quit yet. He wants to go play though. However, I don't think that the other moms would appreciate me bringing my sick child to an area with lots of other kids. Yes, someone in this house is sick again. :( Everyone was good for four days, so I will take it. It is better than no days. I am just smiling and laughing at someone else being sick. No, I am not glad that he is sick, but this continuous merry- go -round of sickness is getting humorous. Maybe, I need to send everyone away for a couple of days and scrub and bleach this house. Tonight we have plans for our youth pastor, his wife, and their little boy to come over for dinner. I am hoping that Asher will not still be throwing up this afternoon. This is already our second time to schedule them over for dinner. We had to cancel last time when I was really sick. :) Tomorrow we are suppose to go to a 1st birthday party.

Overall, we have had a happy week. God is good to us.

Ministry Involvement Fair and Youth Auction

2009-05-04T11:35:00.004-04:00

Last night at church we had a ministry involvement fair in our gym. It is sort of like a job fair only it is for all of the different ministries of our church. We have ministry team leaders. They are to supervise and manage the area of ministry that they are given.We had a table set up and decorated for each ministry and the team leaders were at their tables. Each table also had sign up sheets. The members went around from table to table, looked at the displays, asked questions, gathered information, and volunteered for the areas that interested them. We had a table for everything from the nursery to maintenance to the kitchen to helping with baptisms. We also had tables of finger foods and chairs sat around in circles for the members to be able to leisurely walk around, eat, and mingle. This was our first time and our church's first time to do one of these. It was a huge success, and will become an annual event at our church. Aaron, of course, is over all of the team leaders. However, he did take the team leader role of the baptism ministry. The people who sign up for this ministry help lead people who are being baptised to the right areas to change, make sure we have towels, clean up the rooms afterwards, etc... This is really a behind the scenes ministry.
Aaron and I together are the team leaders for King's Kids, our Wednesday night kids Bible club.

I am the the team leader for the ladies ministries. This ministry includes everything from ladies' fellowship meetings to decorating the bulletin boards to secret sisters to meals for the sick to the food pantry.

After everyone had time to walk around the ministry involvement fair we had a youth auction in the fellowship hall. The junior high and high school kids were auctioned off to do work around the home of the highest bidder. The money raised goes towards their fees for camp. We won two boys. They will be weeding our flower beds, mowing, and trimming!

Chloe watching the auction with her friend Maggie.

Nursing Home

2009-05-04T11:19:00.002-04:00

The retired seniors in our church visit a local nursing home weekly. Last week Aaron and I joined them. The boys were with us too. We had a good time. Our Shining Stars group played guitars and the piano. Everyone sang and sang and sang and sang some more.

This lady from the nursing home brought her tamborine and played along.

Our New Pediatrician's Office

2009-05-04T11:12:00.002-04:00

Asher enjoyed one thing about his visit to his new pediatrician. Each room overlooks different gardens. Asher's room was the turtle room. He got to watch 3 big turtles and 1 itty bitty baby turtle.

Chloe's Field Trip- 5 Rivers Park

2009-05-04T10:51:00.002-04:00

Chloe's field trip was a couple of weeks ago, but I am behind on posting.

Chloe at her desk.Chloe's class listening to the presentation about red bellied turtles. Chloe is the hairbowed girl in the middle back of the picture by the framed artwork. Chloe with her friend Mikayla.

Seriously, What is Going On?

2009-05-03T11:23:00.003-04:00

Asher's CT scan came back normal, but the blood work showed inflammation somewhere. So.... the doctor ordered some more blood work and a stool sample to see if anything can be found. If not, we are assuming that all is back to normal right now.

I seriously don't know whether to laugh or cry. Yesterday morning on the way to the church Abigail threw up all over the van. Her temperature is 101. She threw up all night, and it still hasn't stopped. We are just passing this from one to the other over and over. It has got to leave this house!!!!

Today is a big day at church. We have a big ministry involvement promotion going on tonight. We have the gym set up with decorated tables for each ministry of our church. Each table has information on what that ministry does and there are sign up sheets for our members to sign and get involved. It is sort of like a job fair only it is a ministry fair. I am hoping and praying that Abbie will have stopped throwing up so we can go. I am the ministry leader for two tables. I really need to be there.

Quarantine Us

2009-05-01T11:25:00.003-04:00

So....I said in my last post that I was feeling better, but Asher had a fever. He has also been complaining for a few weeks of his stomache, side, and back hurting. I took him to the doctor. They did a urine test. It was fine. They did a blood test. It came back saying that he had some inflammation somewhere in his body and they scheduled a CT scan. Yesterday morning we went to the hospital and he had the CT scan. We do not know the results yet. We may get them today. We may not get them until Monday. We are praying that they will find the inflammation quickly and that it can be easily treated.

Chloe came home from school yesterday and didn't feel well. I took her temperature---101.2. Several people in our church family are sick with flu like symptoms as well. We are planning a major lysol wiping and spraying at church. All door handles, drawer knobs, light switches, etc... are soon to be sanitized. Pray for all of us to get rid of this. We are just passing it around and around over and over again.

I'm Still Here-Don't Give Up On Me

2009-04-28T10:39:00.003-04:00

Wow! This is a long time of no posting for me! I am still here. I have just been really sick. I am so thankful that I am now better. I had no desire to sit at the computer at all, much less actually post something. Now, I am all better, but.... Asher has a high fever again. When it rains it pours in this house--at least when it comes to sickness. I am taking him to the doctor this afternoon.

I am soooooo behind on things in this house. It is definitely NOT RACHEL CLEAN!! I stayed on the couch most of the time when I was sick, but I am still a little drained of energy. I have got to get an energy boost and get this place organized and clean. I have to do both of those together. They go hand in hand to me. I can't clean without organizing, and I can't organize without cleaning. It is a daily thing in this house to keep all of the closets, drawers, cabinets, etc... organized. I don't mean that I organize each one every day, but I do have a system and I put things in their place daily. When I am down, things are not put in their place and begin to pile up. Then the things that were put away were not all put where they belong, so order now has to be restored. Anyway you know.... It is just different when it is not mom doing it....

I do have some pictures of Chloe's field trip to post, but I will do those at another time. I need to get busy.

I will leave you with a cute poem I borrowed from a friend.

If you give a mom a muffin,

She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.

She'll pour herself some.

Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.

She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.

She'll remember she has to do laundry.

When she puts the laundry in the washer,

She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.

Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.

She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").

The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.

She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.

She will look for her checkbook.

The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.

She'll smell something funny.

She'll change the two year old's diaper.

While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.

Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.

She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.

Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.

And chances are...If she has a cup of coffee,

Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Author Unknown

A Grand Reunion

2009-04-19T16:19:00.016-04:00

On Friday Aaron took the kids and I to Hattiesburg where I grew up. It was soooooo exciting!!! I have a dear friend Melissa (Missy). We have known each other since we were 7 years old. We were the best of friends from then until we were 16 when I moved away. We have been able to keep in touch off and on through the years, but we had not seen each other since our Junior year in high school. This is us at age 16 and the last time we saw each other.
This is us 15 years later!!

Melissa has one little boy, Cade. He is 4 years old. We spent a couple of hours catching up at her parents' house.

We also took the kids to the park and met up with a few other friends.

This is us with Roblynn. She is a teacher at our old high school.

This is us with Tanya.

We also went together to our old high school. Aaron was surprise by how small it was. I don't know what he expected, but he said this was not it. Everything was the same other than a new roof because of Hurricane Katrina.

The parking lot still has not been paved and the football field is unchanged.

There were new bleachers in the gym.

The same mile long hallway. This is all the highschool now. It use to be half junior high. They have built a junior high building and an auditorium.

We took the kids to Kamper Park for a couple of hours and then we said our goodbyes. I am thrilled to be reconnected with Missy. We will be getting together again very soon and very often. Hopefully we can pick up right where we left off all those years ago... just now a little older and wiser.

When we were little my brother use to say that he was going to drive the train at Kamper Park when he was all grown up. Bo, these are for you.

The house I grew up in on Monroe Road.

We parked directly across the street in this parking lot to take the picture. Can you believe it? This use to be nothing.

Then just past a few houses down is this. As kids we use to walk down the street to the little convenience store and buy candy. Now we would just walk across the street or have to walk down this busy road to get to the old convenience store.

The other house we lived in on Pep's Point Road. My dad painted his work truck camouflage right under that carport.

Daddy's favorite restaurant was the Mexican Kitchen. It took us a while to find the new location. These are for you Dad.

Abbie thought the salsa was HOT!!!

The old girls' home at Blue Lake. It was late at night so it was hard to get a good picture. Katrina did a good bit of damage on the buildings.

Fun in the Sun

2009-04-19T15:50:00.005-04:00

This past week was Spring break and three of the four kids were sick most of the week. Finally, by Thursday morning all fevers and coughs were gone. We loaded up and went to Dauphin Island beach. We found a nice spot with no one around. We all came home tired and sunkissed.

Resurrection Sunday and Six Salvations

2009-04-12T19:05:00.010-04:00

We had wonderful services at church today. We had a Sunrise service at 7:30. Aaron left the house at 6:00, and I had the kids to get up and going. Boy! That was early when you have four kiddos to get all dressed up for church. We made it on time though.

The assistant pastor preached for the first service, so Aaron led the music.

Chloe was singing away in the Sunrise service. Asher did not feel well at all. That is him all curled up. He has had a fever all weekend. It was gone this morning, so I went ahead to church. He slept or cried the entire time. His fever was back when we got home. After the Sunrise service we had a breakfast fellowship. The men cooked the breakfast for us.
During the second worship service, Abbie's and Asher's class put on a little play. Asher wasn't able to do his part.

The choir sang a few specials.

The best news is that I had the opportunity to lead a 10 year old boy to the Lord today after Sunday school and an 11year old girl to the Lord today after children's services!! Praise the Lord!! I have had the privilege to lead six young souls to the Lord this week!!

Obviously, because Asher was sick, we did not take any family pictures today. Here are a few that we did get.

Hair Bows

2009-04-09T20:04:00.003-04:00

This afternoon I made these hairbows for the girls to match the Easter dresses that Emily/Grandmama got them. I used the iron-on monogram letters. The ends are wet from the stuff I used to make the ends not fray. It will dry and not be seen.

Here are a few others that I made today.

Spring/Summer Centerpiece

2009-04-09T13:48:00.001-04:00

2009-04-08T18:15:00.002-04:00

This is our most recent family picture. We took it for our church directory. It is always dificult to get all four kids looking and smiling. Chloe is halfway smiling and looking. Asher is smiling but not looking. Abbie is looking but not smiling. Justus isn't looking or smiling. :) We have every combination except smiling and looking.

Child's Play

2009-04-07T08:58:00.006-04:00

We had a fun filled family weekend. I am working my way backwards with these pictures.

Sunday night was our monthly fellowship night at church. The kids played one pitch baseball in the gym. Chloe had a great time. She is a pretty good little player.

Meanwhile... Abigail is more like me. This is what she did the entire time she was "in the field." She really should just be on the sidelines cheering. That was always the best spot for me too.

Asher didn't feel too well, so he slept most of the night away on the front pew. He didn't want to eat or play.

Justus enjoyed the food long after everyone else was finished. He ate two full pieces of corn on the cob. He knawed them clean. We had movie and game night at home. We played Old Maid and Crazy Eights. Justus really wanted to play too. He just kept chewing on, throwing, or bending the cards.

He spent a lot of time just laying on the table watching.

The kids love being able to play outside so much down here. The weather is fantastic. However, we did have a ton of rain the past two weeks, which makes a ton of mud. Abigail found a huge mudpuddle to throw things into. Of course, she fell in. She cried. We all laughed hysterically.

Watch the Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama video Play Line Rider and N Game

2009-04-06T10:03:00.005-04:00

Here is another hilarious news broadcast that was on our local news. I just can't believe they seriously report this stuff on the news. Click on the link below to view.

Watch the Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama video Play Line Rider and N Game

Posted using ShareThis

Anyone Have a Boat?

2009-04-02T13:02:00.004-04:00

Boy!! Have we been getting the rain down here!! It has rained hard for many long days and nights during the past two weeks down here in South Alabama or LA (lower Alabama) as the locals say. It is some serious tropical storm rain with some major winds. The road signs across the street from us are completely out of the ground and gone. This rain makes the rain we got in Indiana look wimpy. It is not time to build an ark yet, but we may need a small boat. Our yard and driveway are covered with standing water. We have a detour taking the kids to school because of the roads being washed out. We don't like the rain right now, but I am sure that it is a blessing. The rivers and ponds were really low. The bay was also getting down to really low levels. This rain should fill them back up and then some.

We have been doing some more work on our church website. I actually linked blogs to our ministries and photo gallery. We are able to be more creative and add more pictures that way. http://www.crossroadsbaptistmobile.com/

We had our opening night of King's Kids Club last night. It went as well as it possibly could for the first night. Most of the kids really liked the competition part. Those that didn't made it clear that they didn't like the work. Chloe was the first one to finish a memory goal card!! Yeah! She loves it! Abbie did also. She almost has hers memorized! Asher needs a little more work, but he is only 4.

Now, that we have gotten the King's Kids going. I am on to completing my next church project: my first ladies meeting here at our new church. It is next Tuesday. I have to do some more studying and get a couple of more things organized. I will do the decorations Monday. Then the final touches Tuesday. Many ladies are excited and planning to attend. I am looking forward to it.

Asher's Speech

2009-03-30T11:35:00.006-04:00

YEAH! Asher officially starts his speech therapy again today!!

As most of you know our Asher has had a battle with his hearing due to chronic ear infections until he was 15 months old. He has had three surgeries to improve his hearing. He has now gone from 32% hearing in his ears to 100% hearing. We give God all the glory for his full recovery!! After his 3rd surgery he was tested and there was only 1% hearing improvement. We started praying and had our church start praying. A month later at a routine well child check-up his ears were tested. He had full hearing!!!! The pediatrician sent us to an audiologist that day to have his hearing retested in a sound proof room. Sure enough, the test again showed full hearing. The doctors were stumped! We weren't! God did it!!!

He has been through over a year of speech therapy before but without his full hearing. Therefore, there was no improvement. How can you say it correctly if you can't hear it correctly?

Now that he has full hearing we have been working to get him back into therapy through the public school system. They will give therapy for special needs as young as three. He has been to a speech therapist for the past couple of weeks, but just for some testing. He failed his speech test!! That is a good thing. It means that he needs therapy. He starts his actual lessons today. He will be going twice a week until the end of the school year and in the future for as many years as needed.

If he attends Kindergarten in a private school we will have to pay for the lessons during the kindergarten year, but not in the other school years. I think it is a trap to get parents to leave their kids in the public school system. Once the child has gone one year, the parents are more likely to leave them for the other years.

Still Catching Up- VBS Cajun Bayou Luncheon and King's Kids

2009-03-29T16:44:00.008-04:00

Today after our Sunday morning service we had a luncheon fundraiser for VBS. We are doing a Cajun Bayou theme for VBS; Crocodile Doc is our VBS mascot. We served red beans and rice, jambalaya, mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets, cornbread, mississippi mud cake, and dirt pudding with gummy worms. Our church folks gave donations to eat. All of the money raised will go towards VBS.

We had 92 people in the services today. I am not sure how many people stayed to eat. I do know that we set up 75 seats in the fellowship hall, and they were all taken. I had to open up the side Sunday school rooms for overflow.

These are some of the kids that we pick up on the van.

Our kiddos

Some of the kids playing in the gym after the luncheon.

Our King's Kids program officially starts this coming Wednesday. We are sooooo excited to get this program started. We have been working hard and long days to get everything prepared.

The King's Kids Award Wall: The kids will work towards earning badges, a t-shirt, ribbons, trophies, and several other things.

We have taken a hall way in the gym and made it to display all of the badges as the club members earn them. Soon it will be lined with ribbons and filled with badges.

More Catching Up- Asher's Overalls and Abbie's Field Trip

2009-03-29T16:00:00.010-04:00

Asher got these new red and white checked overalls. He loves them, because they are red- his favorite color. Aaron can't stand them. He says that they are girly. I think Asher looks so cute in them. I am going to switch out the buttons for some baseball buttons and maybe put some thing baseball on the front.

Abigail had a field trip this past Monday to the Partridge Plantation.

Two of the "3 Little Pigs"

The pigs and their brick house.

The gravestone of the Big Bad Wolf.

The plantation owners took the inside of an old bus and turned it into the baby animal petting area.

Abbie petting the baby bunny.

Abbie petting the baby chic.

I had to go back inside and take a picture of the bus. It was so neat and creative.

They also had this great swing made out of a log that looked like a horse. Several kids piled on this thing at one time.
The old hound dog that came along for the hayride.

This old looking outhouse had just a regular toilet in it. Very funny!

Abbie with some of her class. All three of the girls in this picture with Abbie live on our street.

The wash bucket
Abigail did not feel very well on this field trip. At lunch time she did not eat; she fell asleep. She slept an hour and a half with kids running, playing, and screaming all around her.

Catching Up

2009-03-29T15:35:00.006-04:00

Again, we are really busy around here with church and home. I am going to try and get my blog all caught up on pictures. So, here is the first of several posts of pictures.

Kayla and her mom were visiting Pensecola Christian last weekend were able to come and spend the night with us last Saturday and go to church with us on Sunday am. Then they came back on Wednesday, took all four kids to the Exploreum, and came to church with us again on Wednesday night. We miss Kayla a lot. She has a special place in our hearts and really our family. We were all glad to see her, the kids especially. We are all looking forward to her being at PCC in the fall. She will only be about an hour away from us. Last Sunday night was our first baptism service since we have been here at Crossroads Baptist. Praise the Lord, eight people were baptized! We already have another baptismal service scheduled for April. Praising the Lord again for the souls that have been saved!!

I Have Been Tagged

2009-03-25T10:21:00.008-04:00

Pilar has tagged me. I have to tell 7 things about myself that are not common knowledge. Yes, I have done this before, but maybe there is something about me you don't know yet!

1. I am not usually a materialistic person, but.... I would love to go one day and buy some REALLY expensive high heel shoes. If they cost that much, they have to be comfortable. Right?

2. Financially we had to enroll our kids in public school after our move in order to finish the school year, and I am HATING it. This last 9 weeks can't be over fast enough. They WILL be enrolled in church school or homeschooled next year. I don't like having absolutely no sayso in what is being taught to them or shown to them or sung to them.

3. I want to take a cake decorating class someday. You know they offer those at Hobby Lobby.

4. I could spend several hours in Hobby Lobby.

5. I really enjoy teaching, but... I like for my students to be in at least the 4th grade. I just don't enjoy it as much with the younger ones. You would think I would since my kids are not that age yet.

6. I went to Christian school for 1st and 2nd grade. I went to public school for 3rd-10th grade. I went to Christian school for 11th and 12th grade.

7. In 4th-10th grade I was a cheerleader. I was that homecoming and cheerleader girl in junior high and high school--- a long time ago. I don't know that girl anymore.

I am tagging:

Tour Our New Home: Part 4- Master Bedroom and Laundry Room

2009-03-24T18:21:00.004-04:00

So here is the last of our new home. The master bedroom off of the living room.

The view from the door

The view from the door into the master bathroom.

Laundry room- view from the door. The other door goes to the garage.

Tour of Our New Home: Part 3- The Girls' Rooms

2009-03-23T21:28:00.006-04:00

The second door down the hall on the left is Chloe's room. It still has some plain parts. It is still a work in progress. It is harder to decorate in horses and still be pretty than I thought it would be. Plus we are renting, so we can't paint anything on the walls. The view from the door

The very plain wall. She wants something above her bed. I am trying to come up with something that is different than what is above Abbie's bed. Any ideas?

This is her area to pretty much do whatever she wants with as long as it stays neat and clean.

I took a simple cloth drawer set from Target and put horse wall stickers on the fronts.

The second door down the hall on the right is Abigail's room. It almost finished- just a few more touches.

The view from the door.

The wall stickers on the door and the bed I found at the Dollar Tree.

Aaron built the bookshelf when Chloe was our only child. I saw it in a Pottery Barn catalog. They had all of the measurements listed, so he built it himself.

I really like the little beads added to the ribbon on the curtains.

I am going to cover the top of this toy box with some batting and fabric to make it a little comfy seat at the end of her bed.

I have some ribbon and beads to try and do something with the top of this mirror.