Decade over! High School!?!? What?

It's been a busy summer and not much time for blogging, but I am a little emotional today. I can't believe that my "baby" has been on this earth for a DECADE today! And tomorrow (to help with my emotional instability), I will have TWO of my precious children in HIGH school! Where has time gone? So, in their honor--here are a few pictures of how they've grown!

Brett's 1st year coaching Luke's soccer team.

Katie and Hannah being silly! Love those smiles!

And last...the decade old boy--Luke (with his best bud, Phillip!)

Memorial Day

I read this in an e-mail this morning and thought I'd share it on here. The older I get, the more I respect and appreciate all those that have served our country! Thank you Daddy and Gene, Sr. for your time given for our nation.

It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.


It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.



It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the
VETERAN who
salutes the Flag,


It is
the
VETERAN
who serves
under the Flag,


ETERNAL
REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON
THEM.



God
Bless them all!! Makes you proud to be an American

What a "loverly" morning!

Have you ever just had a day that you needed to re-connect with family?? This was the morning for us. It seems like life is so busy lately that we have not even had a moment to catch up with everyone. So this morning...homemade "IHOP" pancakes were on the griddle with the bacon frying and coffee brewing. We sat down to the table with the aromas filling the house and had great conversation with four maturing children! It seems like they have just grown up overnight. I am sure that we were warned about this moment from those older than us--we listened, but not truly, because this has hit us by surprise it seems. What a joy that the Lord has given us this opportunity to parent all four of these blessings! It is easy at times to loose sight of all it, though. Gene and I have had the Lord speaking to us in recent days about...are you really seeking first HIS kingdom??? Are we? Are you? I would have to say that this morning, we did! No worrying about the laundry that is behind, the groceries that need to be bought, the cleaning to get caught up on or the other busy-ness that we can get caught up in. Life is really simple--love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Applying that is not so simple. I think today that the Lord enjoyed our pancakes, bacon and coffee (and most importantly, our conversation) and was pleased. Thank you, Lord, for the simple things that remind us to return to You!

Luke playing handbells

Well, here he is...Luke playing handbells! I can't believe he is the last one in the family to have the honor of playing the handbells at our annual Christmas music at church. He was really very excited about this, though it may be hard to tell in the pictures :0)

Friday after Thanksgiving traditions

Before I begin, let me apologize for being so far behind in my blogging. I feel like a traitor since any spare time I have, I tend to be "nosey" and check up on everyone on Facebook. I'll try to catch this blog up during the next couple of weeks.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we always put our Christmas tree up. That night we have cheese ball with crackers, special sausage from Hickory Farms, some chocolate covered "whatever" that we've made and homemade punch. While eating, we put on the ornaments, eat some more, decorate, eat some more, decorate, eat some more...think you get the picture!

These are some of our favorite ornaments because a special lady at our church, Emily Bolt, made these for us. Each year, we anticipate her creative, personalized ornaments. She certainly has a gift that I would love to have!! Maybe one day, she will teach me and the girls how to do these.

Thanksgiving Day

Paula was kind enough to spend most of her afternoon shooting family pictures for us. You'll soon see on our Christmas card what a great job she did!

The Bat Burger

A few random bites of a burger resulted in the "Bat Signal" roaming through our home. I'm sure you can guess who was eating it...you guessed it...LUKE! (of course, Katie was the one to think of actually taking a picture of it--those two are always up to something!).