Remember when...

we had the flu right after Joanna was born? Well I found this card the other day that Sarah had made for me and Joanna that week. I just wanted to share it and it was so sweet. I really thought that week would never end, but it did and we are trucking right along!!

This is Joanna in her bouncy seat!! Yes, I am putting it up because she no longer wants to lay in it, all she does is sit up in it. She is the cutest little thing....I am so blessed!! :) Hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend!! "...and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you FREE!!!" John 8:32 Our freedom is found in Jesus Christ and Him alone!!

Cookout

Timothy thought we had to work for our food! LOL! :)

Cooling off with a drink in the shade!

Such a beautiful girl!

I think he wanted to play with the "big boys".

A ride in the wagon is so much fun!

The guys always enjoy a round of corn hole.

The little guy is waiting to play the next round.

Not quite sure who won....

the guy in the orange has such a good arm....and is pretty nice looking! (He is MY hubby) :)

So nice to sit and enjoy some fellowship

The ladies had just as much fun as the guys!

Saturday evening we went to a cookout with some of the couples from the church. We all had a great time and the food was delicious. It is always such sweet fellowship when we are with other families from our church. Lots of FUN!! Thanks to Chris and Lindsey for having all of us in your home (and yard). I tried to take pictures of everyone but I know there was a few people that I didn't get. One of those being Sarah, she had already left to go to the play and another little girl who was in the play and her mom had already left too.

Adventures of Peter Cottontail

Sarah (aka: Happy Jack Squirrel)

Lily (aka: Spotty the Turtle)

Emily (aka: The Mink)

Kenzie (aka: Jenny the Skunk)

We presented our "Actress" with a bouquet of flowers. She was so excited!!

Maw and Sarah

Elijah and Bryan

Isaac and Paw

Elijah and Joanna

Me and Timothy

What a weekend! Sarah had her play on Friday and Saturday night and then Sunday afternoon. She did really well and was so cute! I have included pictures of the others in the play that we go to church with. They all did a great job! My parents came to see Sarah in the play and we had a fun time with them. We took my dad out to eat for a belated Father's Day. We took him to Bell Buckle Cafe and it was so yummy!! It was real nice to have my parents here and they were, as always, a huge help! :)

Youth Camp Week

Haley and Joanna

Sarah waiting her time to bat.

Elijah, Isaac, Timothy and Will loved playing ball together.

Last week Bryan was at Youth Camp all week. That means I was a single mom with 5 kiddos and on three of those days there was 7 kiddos. NO I am not crazy, we had a good time but missed daddy very much!! One of our staff members at church went to Youth Camp a few days and his two youngest children stayed with us while the mom was at work. Haley and Will were so good to have here with us! We played board games, played on the Wii and even enjoyed some outside time. Haley was a big help and did really well with playing with the little boys, holding Joanna and being Sarah's buddy. Will enjoyed playing with the little boys as much as playing with Isaac. So I do believe it worked out really well the days they were here. Then on Friday we had some more friends to come over and spend time with us. What a busy week but it was fun and made the time go by fast!

Happy Jack Squirrel

Sarah is in a play this coming weekend and she is Happy Jack Squirrel. The play is The Adventures in Peter Cottontail. Their costumes are suppose to be animals in clothes so this is a picture of Sarah in her costume. I am NOT a sewer but I had to make her costume. Actually all I made was the tail and attached it to the dress and then I made her ears. Someone will be there to paint her face. She is so excited! I will do my best to post more pictures of the play and her in full costume.

A Wonderful Father!

Just getting started...

The final product!

Just one of the many things that Bryan does for his kiddos. Yes, to the kids and I he is "Father of the Year"! Bryan has sacrificed many hours to build our kids a playground set. He has done a great job and the kids have already enjoyed playing on it. My kids are very blessed to have a dad who loves them unconditionally, prays for them, teaches them about his heavenly Father, plays with them, spends time with them, goes above and beyond to build them things and the list goes on! I could not have chosen a better father for my children....God did an awesome job when he chose Bryan to be my hubby and the father of these children. Isaac, Sarah, Elijah, Timothy and Joanna love their daddy so much. He was gone to Youth Camp last week and when he came home those kids were just over joyed to see their daddy and to love on him. Bryan is a great dad and his greatest desire for his children is that each of them would come to have an intimate relationship with God....that makes me so proud to have him as a daddy for my kiddos.

Helpful Hints

Wanted to start with sharing what Timothy's chores are. Remember Timothy is 2 so his chore list is shorter than the other kiddos'. There is not a whole lot that Timothy can do on his own but he loves helping the others do their chores which helps him learn. He can put toys away and loves for me to sing the "Clean up" song while we put the toys away. He can clean up his place after a meal, he still has to be reminded though. He likes helping Elijah sort and put up the silverware, he doesn't help every time but some times...he is learning! Timothy also likes to help carry the basket of dirty clothes to the utility room. He tries to help fold the towels and wash cloths. I would say that he is still in training but doing a great job!

4 years and 5 months

Last Friday we took Elijah and Joanna for their check ups. Elijah went for his 4 year old check up and did really well. He weighed 40 lbs. and was 40 1/2 inches long! He is a growing boy! I said we took him because he had to have shots and Bryan had to be there for that. :( Miss Joanna turned 5 months old today!! Her check up was her 4 month old check up and she weighed 16 lbs and 7oz. and was 27 inches long!! My how she is growing!! They both received great reports and things are looking good! Thought it was neat that these two went for their check ups together because they LOVE each other! Yes, Elijah is still crazy about her and she laughs or smiles at him all the time!! Melt my heart! :) Hope to post more this week!

15 Years!

Last week was our 15th wedding anniversary! 15 years has flown by so fast! A lot has happened in those 15 years also, 5 children, 4 ministries, moved 7 different times, death of grandparents and so much more. There has been happy times and sad times but there is NO one else I would rather go through these things with than Bryan. He loves me unconditionally and is a man who LOVES and FOLLOWS God!

Bryan had planned us a special get away last week but God had different plans. We were suppose to leave Thursday afternoon and come home on Saturday. At the beginning of last week we got news that one of Bryan's best friends from high school passed away and his wife had asked Bryan to do the funeral. Visitation at the funeral home was Thursday night and the funeral was Friday so that changed our anniversary plans. We know that God wanted us in Clay County to be with Jason's wife and his family and friends. So we headed to Clay County on Thursday and stayed with Bryan's parents that night. While Bryan was at the funeral on Friday the kids and I got to enjoy the pool! It was so nice and the kids and I had so much fun being together. Since Pop (Bryan's dad) has retired he was there to help me out and he was a huge help. He took pictures for me while the kids and I swam and then he held Joanna while I played with the kids in the pool.


Sarah was a fish! She had the best time playing in the pool. She was the one that swam the longest. Sarah also was the one who got a sunburn. :( I loved watching her enjoy her time in the pool. As always she was really good about playing with the little boys.

Elijah and Timothy had to have a ride on Pop's "tractor". This was the highlight of their time at Pop and Gigi's. They enjoyed the pool too but this was their favorite. Those two boys would ride a tractor every day and all day long if they could.

Timothy fell asleep before the ride was over. It did not take him long to perk up and get ready to swim. He enjoyed the pool also, probably the one who enjoyed it second most!

I got Joanna in for a little while. She liked it more than I thought she would. I didn't know how she would do, but I think she would have let me hold her in the pool all day if I would have. She could not do the float very well since she isn't sitting up on her own yet.

Isaac had some ball games so he stayed here in Tennessee with his baseball coach. Their family is some good friends of ours and they have 2 boys right about Isaac's age so they had a blast. Isaac stayed with them for 2 nights and then he was invited to a birthday party on Saturday night so he stayed with that friend on Saturday night. This family goes to our church so Isaac just went to church with them and then we picked him up at their house on Sunday afternoon. Wow! That boy has never stayed that many nights away from us, we thought he would get home sick but he didn't!! Isaac had the best time being with other boys and spending time with his friends!!

So Bryan and I ended up staying in Anniston on Friday night and Saturday night. That was our anniversary get away. My parents kept 3 kiddos and we took Joanna with us. We had such a relaxing time and enjoyed being able to finish a conversation that we started! :) LOL!! We went to eat at the Olive Garden, China Luck (two of my favorites) and then Chick fil A. On Sunday we went and picked up some lunch and took it to my parents house to celebrate my Dad's birthday! It was so nice to be able to spend some time with my Dad for his birthday!

My Dad does so much for us and is always there for us. I wanted to make his birthday special. Wish I could have done more! The kids enjoyed taking turns blowing out the candles. So thankful that my mom and dad kept the kids for Bryan and I to have time together. It was a great weekend with my hubby. I look forward to MANY more years with him!! I love you Bryan!

Helpful Hints

We have found that something that is very helpful in our home is a chore chart. There are a TON out there that you can purchase but we just typed one up on our computer and printed it out. Be creative and come up with one that works for your family. Ours is a basic one with each childs name and the day of the week and what their chore is for that specific day. We also have chores that we do each day that are not on the chore chart (i.e. make beds, brush teeth, clean up place at the table, etc.). When the kids are smaller I make them some chore cards with their chores on them. A good place for us to start is with laundry, when Isaac and Sarah were smaller we started them out with folding the wash cloths and then towel and then clothes and so on. I will admit that I had to bite my tounge, I wanted them to fold them like I wanted them folded. I was missing the point, they were learning and as long as it was getting done then I needed to be Ok. Example, Sarah would fold the wash cloths in a triangle, they were folded and she had done it and done a good job! Now that Isaac and Sarah are older I have went a step further and taught them how to fold the towels so that we can get them in my small cabinet. A year or so ago we began to teach Elijah how to fold towels and wash cloths and now he can do all of that by himself while the rest of us are doing other chores. Another chore we have taught the kids at an early age is unloading the silverware out of the dishwasher. I put up the sharp knives and then let them put up the rest. Great way to learn sorting, a little bit of school here!! :) Now Elijah does the silverware and Isaac and Sarah can clean out the rest of the dishwasher. This year we began teaching Elijah how to make his bed. I will be the first to say that it is not perfect, but he is learning and becoming a big boy. I have also been teaching him how to fold his own clothes, he is doing so good. Let me add that at my house it is not "Oh mother dear I would love to" and then joyfully it gets done. No sir, it is sometimes not an easy task to teach them or to make sure they get it done. Yes, it would be so much easier for me to do it myself but then I would not be doing them any good...they might not ever learn. I wanted to post a couple of pics of Elijah's bed making and clothes folding. I think I might also post some of their chores and the child's age on my next Helpful Hints post.

Elijah's bed after he made it, all by himself!! He likes for his pillow to stand up like that, so cute that he has his own way of doing something....but it gets done.

Then he decided he would make Timothy's bed.

Timothy's bed made by Elijah.

Folded clothes by Elijah

Elijah turns 4 (Part 2)

June 2008 (1 year old)

At his first Birthday party!

March 2011

I wanted to share some other things about this 4 year old! Elijah is my boy that never wears out. When his feet hit the floor in the morning (which is usually 6:00) he is wide open and doesn't stop til nap and then he crashes but gets up ready to go again and then crashes one final time at bedtime. He talks all the time at home but hardly says a word when we are out and someone speaks to him. We have seen him come so far and grow up in many ways. Elijah will say whatever he is thinking and is real confident in what he says. I could tell you stories forever about things he has said that are just hilarious!! He LOVES Joanna and thinks she is the greatest! Just tonight on our way to church he was leaning over touching her and I asked him to stop and he said "Why?" I then replied with "Why do you have to touch her all the time?". Elijah real sweetly said "Because I love her so much Mommy". When I was pregnant with Joanna I would I ask the kids what they thought the baby would be, well one night I asked Elijah that and he said "Mommy, why do you ask me that all the time?". I just have to smile! He is also my stubborn child, he shall not be moved! Bryan asked him the other day if he wanted to play baseball or football one day like Isaac and he said "No, I just want to work". He loves tools and I have caught him in the garage with some scrap boards and he has informed me that he is building Sarah a tree house. I am so thankful for him and so excited to see all that the Lord is going to do in his life!