A life with boys!

Two peas in a pod!

Watching a movie and sharing popcorn!

These pictures I took of Elijah and Timothy are too cute. This is exactly what you see if they both are awake...they are always together. When I was pregnant with Timothy, Bryan and I use to comment to each other that we were worried that Elijah would not have anything to do with a new baby. We just knew that Elijah would think he was too big to play with a smaller brother or sister. Boy were we wrong! These two love each other and it is the sweetest thing to watch. Timothy can hold his own and gets right in there with Elijah to play chase, cars, blocks, you name it and those two can play! It has been very heart warming to see Elijah give and do for Timothy. The other day Elijah wanted to read to Timothy but Timothy did not quite understand. They are so precious! When I go to put Elijah down for bed or nap Timothy will go as fast as he can to get in Elijah's bed and Elijah would love for Timothy to be able to sleep with him. My heart melts just talking about it. My prayer is that these two and the other children would always share a close bond. That is something I hope and pray to foster and encourage in them.

I have to tell you what Elijah told me the other day....We had pulled up into Lowe's parking lot and Bryan said "Do you want me to run in or are we all going to go in?" I responded with "I would like to go in and just look." Elijah quickly said "They don't have girl stuff in there." Yes, he is 3 and I never know what he is thinking or going to say. There is never a dull moment around this house...Praise the Lord!!! I love my boys and girl (and whatever the new baby is, just add her or him to that)! :)

Praying you all have a great Saturday and a awesome worship full Sunday!!

Fall is here!

OK, so it doesn't feel like fall, but Wednesday was the official first day of Autumn! I just love this time of the year, when the weather begins to cool down...not too much. How can we see the wonderful works in the changing of seasons and NOT KNOW that there is a God? God is the one who changes the seasons but even more so He is in the heart changing business. Just as He changes the seasons He so wants to change our hearts from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh (soft heart).

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

I am reminded of when the Lord changed my heart! I was 19 when God revealed my sin and my need for Him. It was then that He removed my heart of stone and put within me a heart of flesh. God began forming me into what He ultimately wants me to be. I turned from my sin and began to follow Him. No, I am not perfect but everyday I have to die to myself and allow God to be Lord of my life, allow Him to be in complete control. I want Him to be in charge because I know that I will mess things up. Now that God has changed my heart I want everyone to hear His message through what He has done in my life. The message, that I was DEAD in my sin and without hope until He brought life to me through the death of Jesus who paid for my sin when He died on the cross. That is right, there was nothing I could do to save myself it was only because of GOD that I am alive today. No, I wasn't a "bad" girl but even good people spend eternity separated from God in hell, and that is exactly where I was headed. I am being sanctified every day and pray that my life would be one that pleases the Lord and brings Him glory!

Pregnancy update....

I am 5 months (which is 23 weeks) pregnant today! I had my check up this morning and all is well! We heard the baby's heart beat and it was in the 150's. I love to hear that sound...you know that sound if you have children. Isn't it amazing? The Dr. I am seeing is precious and she is leaving to go into practice in another city. The great thing is is that I can follow her!! Yea! We have prayed about this and we feel that God has opened up this door for us. I had to make the decision to either follow her or choose another Dr. within this group she is with now. So beginning next month I will be driving a little further but I will still be able to use the same Dr.! Things are great here. The pregnancy is going very well. Believe it or not the more children you have the different things you experience. Because this is my 5th baby, the Braxton Hix contractions are a little more noticable and other things like that. We are praying about names for the baby and know that God will give us the right one. Sarah said the other night that she is OK if the baby is a boy. I just know that what ever God gives us will be exactly what we need! As you can see from the picture I do have a baby "bump". The kids are getting excited! Isaac, Sarah and Elijah have felt the baby move and they love it when they can feel that. Of coarse by belly button is sticking out by now. It is wild that my kids think that is one of the neatest things.

One last thing...to all my blogging buddies. How do you increase the font size of your headings on the side bar. Help!! I like to blog but don't know all the secrets! My headings on all my things even the date on my post seem sooooo much smaller than everyone else's.

Recipe

Touchdown Taco Dip

1 can 18 oz refried beans (I actually used a larger can)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 C sour cream

2 Tbsp taco seasoning mix

2 garlic cloves, pressed (I actually used a dash of garlic powder)

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 medium tomato, diced

4 green onions with tops, chopped

1/2 C pitted ripe olives, sliced

Tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spread refried beans over bottom of greased casserole dish. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning mix. Add garlic and mix well. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over bean dip. Spread cheese over top. Bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle tomato, onions and olives over dip. Serve with tortilla chips.

This is so good!! A sweet lady at church gave this recipe to us and I made it and we loved it!! (Sorry I don't have a picture to go with the recipe.) I wanted to share it with my blogging family so that you too can enjoy it and pass it on. Since football season is here maybe this would be a great game day snack! Hope you all enjoy!! Thank you Meridee for sharing this recipe with me, it is delicious!!

The ending to a great vacation!

Timothy riding Sarah's scooter. He thinks he is as BIG as the rest of them!

Bryan starting the fire.

Elijah thought it was his job to keep the fire going.

Isaac and Sarah helping to pack up and go home.

Timothy finally gave up and took a small nap while we packed up.

Our plans were to stop and the way home from Sevierville and camp again, but God had different plans. We had to head back home and do some things so we postponed our final camping trip to the next night. I am not complaining because it did give me a chance to do some laundry and unpacking. The next afternoon we loaded up and headed to Henry Horton State Park, which is not far from us at all! We got a late start and actually had to go by and grab some burgers for supper instead of grilling out at the campsite. Once we arrived and got our tents set up and the fire started it was dark. We were so thankful for our ONE camping lantern...until it fell and bust into a million pieces!! Thankfully Bryan had brought his flashlights. We sat around and talked and the kids drew by the light of those flashlights. The batteries ran out right about bed time! OK so we did not focus on the negative we thanked God that we actually made it there safely, that He had provided supper, we were spending time together as a family, that God had protected each of us from getting hurt when the lantern busted and He provided light for us until the very moment that we did not need it any longer. Isn't God good!!! Bryan loves to go camping and I know that, so that is why we enjoyed this time so much. We enjoyed the morning and then after lunch we packed up and headed home so we could all get a little rest. Memories, memories and more memories.

Back to real life now and the fun and rest we had on vacation makes it easier to get back into the swing of things!! We enjoyed every day of our vacation and look forward to the next time we can get away!

My mother has requested that I post the group picture, so here it is! The whole crew together in our matching shirts. Thank you Mom and Dad and Pop and Gigi for a heart full of unforgettable memories.

Vacation (Part 3)

Isaac and Sarah coming down the water slide!

I am so glad these two have each other. They did alot together!!

Daddy even joined in on the fun!!

Elijah surfing the waves!

Timothy playing in the kiddie pool.

Bryan even got in on the surfing action.

I love this man more every day!!

Our family, in our matching shirts.

Sarah painting her pottery.

Isaac is careful when painting his pottery.

Enjoying our "mommy date"!!

Our family enjoyed this vacation so much. Of coarse sense I am 5 months pregnant there was not a whole lot for me to do. I just enjoyed watching my kids have fun!! Bryan was right there with them and I think he finally had rode too many times and got a little "sea sick". Bryan is such a great hubby and father, he just jumps right in there to do what ever needs to be done. On our first evening there I had a little scare. Elijah had gotten in trouble and was being stubborn so I picked him up and sat him in a chair and must have pulled something because I got a pain that really scared me. So much so that I am not to pick him up any more. All is well but for that night and the next day we were all making sure I did not do much and we wanted to know that I and the baby were OK. We all prayed and just asked the Lord to be with us. By the next night I was feeling much better, Praise the Lord!

Isaac and Sarah loved all the rides! Isaac even rode the surfing ride so much that he could get up on his knees and ride! Sarah is not afraid to try anything, she was not afraid of any of the rides, not even the surfing ride! Elijah's favorite thing was the wave pool! I believe him and Bryan were in the wave pool most of the time, he LOVED it! Elijah also got to ride some of the water slides some (depending on which life guard was there). He rode one water slide 9 times in a row, 6 times with Bryan and 3 with Pop! Timothy's favorite thing was the little spouts of water that would shoot up. I believe we wore that boy out, it did not take long and he would be ready for a nap. Of coarse vacations never last long enough! :) I even said this morning, "Hard to believe this time last week we were at the water park!". Mine and Bryan's favorite thing was spending time with our family and not having things of this world demanding us!

One morning I took Isaac and Sarah on a "mommy date". We went to this little shop by the gift shop that was called "Polka Dot Pots". It is a pottery painting shop and we had the best time. I let the kids pick something out to paint and then we had a coupon for a free ornament, so I got to paint the ornament. It was so nice to spend some time with just the two of them! My mom kept Timothy and Bryan and my dad took Elijah to the tool store! Elijah loves tools and he got to pick something out at the tool store.

Vacation (Part 2)

My dad and Isaac

Bryan and Elijah (don't they favor? or am I the only one that thinks so?)

The Girls!!

Pop and Timothy

My dad and Isaac riding the waves in the wave pool!

My mom and Sarah riding one of the water slides!

Pop rode the water slide with Elijah 3 times in a row!

Gigi riding one of the water slides with Sarah!

Last Friday we went to Sevierville, TN for vacation with our family. Each year we go on vacation with my parents but this year we also got Bryan's parents to come up for a couple of days and be with us. My parents were there on Friday and then Bryan's parents came up Saturday morning. It was so nice to get to spend time with each of our parents. Yes, each grandparent rode the rides with the grandkids!! It was so fun, and we made alot of memories. The grandparents were so great about riding the rides...they did not mind a bit. They did not just ride once they rode multiple times and even some of the grandparents got to ride with each of the grandkids!! Matter of fact maybe the grandkids were a great reason to ride, if not for the grandkids they may never have done it. I know these are times that my kids will never forget and have made special memories in their hearts forever!

We all bought shirts that matched and wore them out to eat on Sunday! We got a lot of compliments on the shirts. The pictures above are of us in those shirts...everyone had a match!:)

We loved having a chance to do things and spend time with both sets of our parents. Our kids love their grandparents and it shows!! I had a ton more pictures that I wanted to post but that would have been WAY too many! I picked the ones I thought everyone would enjoy and the ones that captured the fun we had!

Thank you Dad and Mom and Gigi and Pop for making our vacation so much fun! We can't wait to do this again!!

Day 1 of vacation!

Isaac and Sarah helping pack their things up! This is their tent that they slept in!!

Mine and Bryan's tent...Elijah and Timothy slept in our tent with us.

Elijah playing with the flash lights. That boy is an outdoor boy and loves flash lights!

We have been on vacation for a few days! A much needed and long awaited vacation. Every year we go on vacation with my parents to the beach, but because of the oil spill we were scared to go to the beach and decided to go to Sevierville, TN this year. Because we love to go camping but don't do it often we decided to leave a day early and stop half way and camp. We arrived at Cumberland Mountain State Park and unloaded and set up camp! We roasted hotdogs for supper and enjoyed being outside. The weather was nice but sprinkled a little during the night. The next morning when we woke up it began to rain a little harder than a sprinkle so we decided that before it got too bad we would pack up and get an early start to Sevierville. Although our camping was not a long stop we enjoyed it and are already planning on going camping somewhere else real soon!! As you can see in the pictures we are "tent" campers. Bryan and I have had our tent for about 13 years and before Isaac was born we went camping often. The last time we had been camping as a family was when I was pregnant with Timothy so it has been almost 2 years! The kids had so much fun and loved being together as a family and being outdoors. Nice to get out and enjoy God's wonderful creation all around us!

Fun!!!

Enjoying the outdoors and more

My wonderful hubby!!

The three bikers!

Timothy is trying to pull that car out of the ditch.

The last time Sarah has been on the scooter.

Look at that pro!

That is a wild man!!

Oh the weather has been so nice here lately. We are loving every minute of it and soaking in some sunshine. The kids have gotten out and rode their bikes alot. Elijah got a bike for his birthday and I was beginning to think he would never ride it, just too busy doing other things, but he has rode that little bike out this weekend. He loves being able to ride with the big kids and he does a really good job. Sarah has just now learned to ride with no training wheels. When we first took them off she was so upset. She was just determined that we just needed to get her another bike with training wheels, we informed her that that was not going to happen. Well she practiced for a few days and then had no interest in it at all. For her birthday we got her a scooter and that just took over the bike. She has not even thought about the bike since the scooter. On Saturday I encouraged her just to get her bike out and try riding it even if it was one time. Well of coarse, the tires on the bike were as flat as pancakes. So as soon as daddy could he aired those tires up and she hopped on that bike and has rode it all over the place. She has even asked to go out and ride her bike and hasn't rode the scooter since. Isaac loves being outside and would ride his bike til it was so dark out that he couldn't see anymore. He is the kid that loves to ride but enjoys it even more if he has someone to ride with. He is even doing those more experienced things (like "no hands", or standing up on the peddles, etc.). I thought for a while that he would be in to skate boarding but he seems to have stuck with the bike. I remember when he first started to learn how to ride with no training wheels, I thought we would never get it, that he would be too scared to learn, but I am so proud of him. Isaac does really well on his bike. While the kids were enjoying a day riding bikes my dear hubby was mowing the grass. He is such a great husband and does an excellent job of taking care of the yard and so much more. I could go on and on about all the many things he does to help us out and bless me. He is the greatest!

Pregnancy update: I will be 21 weeks this Wednesday! I know this is not a great picture of me but just wanted to let everyone know how much I was showing. This baby is moving so much and I love it!!! Sarah felt it move the other day and she was so excited. She is the first of the kids to feel it move. Again, it is so hard to believe that I am half way there! This baby will be here before we know it! Don't forget you can vote what you think the baby will be, boy or girl. Just look on the side bar of the blog and cast your vote.

Happy Birthday, Big Brother!

Isaac at 7 weeks!

Isaac a little over one year old!

I made cupcakes and put the whistles on top.

Friends gathered around the table.

Trading cards!

Spend the night crew!

Isaac has turned another year older and I just can't believe it! It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with him. We have kidded him that this will be his last year in the single digits! :) His actual birthday was a couple of weeks ago on a Friday. We took the kids to a Hands-on-Science Center and then afterwards we went to eat lunch at the restaurant of his choice. We received a package from my parents that had some really great birthday surprises!! Gigi came up on that Friday night and got to spend some time with us. She came with birthday wishes and a surprise too. He had a really great day and had the best time. Because Bryan was busy on the Saturday of his birthday we postponed his party until the next weekend. For his party he had asked if he could have a spend the night party. Just so it would not overwhelm this mom, we decided that he could only ask a couple of the boys to spend the night. So he invited all his Sunday School class and then his friend across the street. The boys had a great time. Instead of gifts we asked that each boy bring a small pack of his favorite sport trading cards. Once we ate supper, which was hot dogs, the boys opened their cards and mixed them all together and then they got to choose so many and then they could trade. It went better than I thought it would. The boys loved trading cards and could have traded all night. Each boy got to take his final stack of cards home, it was neat!. Isaac does not care for cake, he wanted chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Well, I made the cookies but made cupcakes also. Those cookies are Isaac's favorite (I will have to share that recipe some time).