Date Night

Thursday David told me he called his Mom and asked her to watch the kids while we went out Friday night. Wow! Adult time. After almost 17 years we really do love spending time together. He knows just when I need it. We had the most wonderful time eating at Dominique's in downtown Lawrenceville. The food was awesome. It turned out to be a beautiful night. Did you know people really get married at the courthouse steps? We saw at least 2 weddings while we were walking around. We topped the night off with some ice cream and spent some time at the bookstore. After putting the kids to bed we watched a movie. A big thank you to my sweet hubbie. I really needed a night out after a long week getting ready for VBS. You saved me, baby!

It's Great To Be 5!!

Tea party with Alexis.


Pool party at Reece's.


Jenna and Carter at Jump Zone.


Jenna and Trinity.


It's been party month at our house. There were so many babies born at our church in may of 2003 that they need their own Sunday School class-Ha. We had a lot of fun going to all the different parties and celebrating all our friends turning 5!

Ahhhh.....Summer!

Kendall, Jenna, and Sadie Hill on the last day of Preschool ("Freedom Day").



Jacob and Mrs. Chambers.



Jared at field day.


Friday morning I woke up to summer! Even though I still work in the summer and have a lot going on, this is what summer means at my house:

1. No gettin up at 5:45.
2. No delivering children to 3 different schools.
3. No stress from delivering children to 3 different schools.
4. Morning walks in my beautiful neighborhood.
5. Sitting on my front porch (I'm trying Mom)in the morning with a cup of coffee, bible, and devotion book in hand.
6. Evenings at home with my family.
7. No baseball!
8. Going to my aunt's in South Carolina.
9. Hopefully getting away with david for a couple of nights.
10. Did I say, more time with my famiy?

Yes, summer is here but I am also so very thankful for the past school year. The Lord provided for a great school for Jacob. He finished 6th grade and did such a great job! Jared finished 4th grade and also did a great job especially since he had his appendix out mid-year! Jenna did great at preschool and we're looking forward to Kindergarten in the fall. Our life is pretty much the same year round with the same routines but I am so glad...."Some Things Never Change!"

My Heart Aches

This is a picture of well-know artist Stephen Curtis Chapman and his family. Yesterday his son accidently hit his sister Maria in the driveway of their home and she was killed. My heart aches for this family. I was sobbing when I read about her story. She and Jenna were born the same month and both just turned 5. I can't imagine waht this family is going through. Please go to Maria's blog and read more about her and leave a comment for the family. This storm they are going through is one that I can not imagine!

The Night The Lights Went Out in Monroe

Last night we had some bad thunderstorms. We were at the ball field when they called the game because of lightning. As soon as I pulled in the driveway and went in the house the electricity went off. David was at the fire station (of course). I gathered candles and flashlights and everyone went to the living room. We got Jenna's 10 inch portable DVD player and started to watch 101 Dalmatians. They were so cute huddled together. Especially my "almost" 13 year old. He started out listening to his I Pod but ended up huddled up with everyone else. (I was too lazy to get my camera out of the van.) Surely the electricity will come back on in time for American Idol!!!!!! No such luck. The storm stopped but still no power. Finally, I put flashlights in the kids rooms so they could have some light and we started our prayers. I prayed the Lord would allow the power to come back on so our food would be saved. I didn't even finish the prayer when it came back on. The boys could not believe it. They were so amazed by that. The funny thing is, it didn't stay on. So I prayed again that it would come back on and stay on. It did about 15 minutes later.

I was bummed about missing American Idol but not about the time I had with the kids and the opportunity for God to show himself to my kids through prayer. I was also thankful that David was safe. He was right in the middle of some really bad storms.


"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

The Last Two Weeks

We went to the Tennessee Aquarium on Thursday. We LOVED it. Jenna loved the butterfly room. She found a "buddy" that would sit on her finger.

Mel's graduation party.



Kentucky Derby breakfast.


The official covered bride of Kentucky in Switzer.



This was taken at a beautiful rest stop outside of Chattanooga-Tennessee River behind us.


The last two weeks have been so busy around here. It will continue to be that way until next week when school is out (what? school out?). I'm having a hard time finding time to blog so here is a summary of the last two weeks:

Thursday, May 1 we left for Chattanooga to meet Mom. A BIG thank you to my hubbie for taking us and for taking care of things at home for 5 days!
Friday, May 2 left Chattanooga for Kentucky.
Saturday, May 3rd we went to the Kentucky Derby breakfast.
Saturday afternoon we spent the day with my brother and his family at the farm in Stamping Ground to celebrate Melanie's graduation from the University of Kentucky.
Sunday morning we went to the graduation, to my sister's house, then spent the night in Nashville.
Monday morning we left for Georgia.
Tuesday I went back to work and tried to get back into the swing of things.
Thursday night, May 8th-ladies tea.
Friday night, May 9th-Jenna's party
Saturday morning, May 10th-Alexis' (Jenna's friend) birthday party
Saturday afternoon-Jacob ball game and pedicure with Mom and Jenna.
Saturday night-Longhorn's to clebrate Mother's Day.
Sunday, May 11-Mother's Day
Monday, May 12-spent day with Mom
Tuesday, May 13-Mom left for Kentucky

Happy Birthday Jenna

It has been crazy around here for the past 11 days. So much to blog about...so little time. I'll start with Jenna's party Friday night. We had a BEAUTIFUL night. Jenna had a horse theme to go along with the "Kentucky theme" for our week. We had pony rides and bunnies to pet. It was so nice to have so many friends here
(16 kids to be exact). Noone was afraid of the ponies and rode several times!

Ladies Tea

Every year our church hosts a ladies tea. I have done a preschool table and a fireman table. Some time ago I had the idea to have my Mom come to visit and do a "tribute" to her (and my history) by doing a Kentucky table. I decided to also have Jenna's birthday party the same week so Mom could come and then, of course, celebrate Mother's Day with my Mom.

We had such a good time at the tea. There were a lot of tables all decorated in many different ways and represented each ladies personality.

I called my table "My Ole' Kentucky Home". Mom found plates with horses on them, my centerpiece was roses (derby is called the "Run For the Roses"), and I put pictures all around of me growing up. My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, my friend Cheryl and Melody, one of my Sunday School teachers (Brenda), and Ms. Marie (she cleans our preschool and worship center building and is the hardest worker I have ever seen!) sat at my table. I had derby hats for everyone to wear. Their gift was the Kentucky Derby glass for this year. Our speaker was wonderful. Kathy spoke on leaving the exchanged life for Christ. It's very hard to explain what she teaches but the gospel was presented in a very unusual way. It's based on the teaching of Bertha Smith . She was a missionary to China.

A good time was had by all. Now, on to getting ready for Jenna's party.....all I want for Mother's Day is a nap!!!

What I Prayed (wished) For

Almost 17 years ago I married the man of my dreams. 12 years ago we were blessed with a son. 9 years ago we were blessed with another son. I thought that was it for us. I wanted a girl so bad but didn't think that was in God's plans for us. We decided after much prayer that we wanted a third child and would be so happy with whatever the Lord gave us. I still prayed for a girl. Then, I couldn't get pregnant. A couple of years later we got pregnant and after an ultrasound on December 23rd of 2002 we found out our gift was a girl.

To my Jenna:
Our third child
God's precious gift
Such a beautiful smile
and warm personality
You light up any room
You always make friends
You love Annabell
And your family
Your kind heart makes me cry
You brighten my day
You make me laugh
You complete our family
I love you

Happy Birthday Jenna!

I'm no poet but this is what I feel today.