Fall Festival 2008

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Little John, Maid Marion, Lady in Waiting, and Robin Hood

The Pringles Can Quiver

Little John's Pillowcase covering

The Lady in Waiting

Maid Marion

Checking out the inside of the fire truck.

Indiana Jones...Sam Beman

Praying for Countries

This morning I started the day off sitting on my front porch in the freezing cold with my Bible and a cup of coffee. I began reading in Proverbs 28:2 "When a country is rebellious it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order." And it just jumped off the page at me.

So I spent some time praying for our country and the hearts of the people in our country. And the more I did this the more my heart began to pray with Joy over in Zambia. They are having their Presidential elections this week. And you can imagine what uneasy feelings are going on in that country. You can follow along with Joy in her blog (see list on left).

Please pray for both of these countries in the coming days and weeks. I am praying for God to make it clear to the people of our country who that Man of understanding is. I know John McCain is this man.

Camera Fun

My Artistic Beach Photo

Change is Happening....

We are undergoing a lot of changes at our house:

1. Chris started his new job as the Minister of Preschool and Children at Lakewood Baptist Church. www.lbcpc.org

2. We are getting our produce from the Saturday Downtown Market in Columbus, GA

3. I am trying to feed us as much organic as I can. ( Three years ago, Sylvia tried to teach me about organic eating and making my own bread. A year later my parents gave me a mill and a bosch. So I started making my own bread. I began to realize the damage of milk with growth hormones and antibotics). So I have slowly made changes to get us to where we have to be all or nothing. So I am trying my best to only feed our family the best quality.

4. We are trying to reduce all our spending. I am sure everyone else is feeling the pinch, but when you have 6 people in your family, you have to work really hard at it. So I am trying to make this a big priority.

5. David is for now an after-school, evening- schooled kid. Chris helps him on his school work in the evening and then Chris and I discuss what David needs to do the next afternoon. We have done this all week, and it has really helped David a lot. He seems to be able to focus better. I guess he is too much like his Dad. Let me just say, it has been a HAPPY week!

6. A new schedule. We are working better at staying on a regimented daily schedule. So far, so good. Now if I could just get up earlier it would be great! I actually did get up early one day this week, had my quiet time with the Lord, and crawled back in the bed til the kids got up. Nice thing about tomorrow, I get to try again.

How about you, any changes in your life or lifestyle??

The Hudson's Visit

To try and sum up the trip with the Hudson's is impossible to do. When they pulled in the driveway, I wasn't sure if I should hug the kids or Amy first. This family is so precious to us. That just last night Chris asked if he could play online with his best friend Jeremy. I for see that we will have many wonderful years of friendship, and not just the adults, but the kids as well. It was really strange, watching them head back to Texas. I felt like it wasn't the first time we would leave each other. I felt like we were starting on the first of many road trips to be with our friends. God has richly blessed us. And we are all so very thankful and grateful for this gift from God.

Wednesday fun

Our tradition on Wednesdays use to be meeting the Hudson's at the church for dinner and then going to mission friends. So the kids thought this was a special night to visit us at our new church and have dinner together before going to their mission friends class. It really meant a lot to them all.

Panama City Beach - Day Six

Leaving to head back to Phenix City.

The sunsetting over the Hotel across from "Our" road.

David playing late night football.

Deadliest Catch....Panama City Style!!

Glow stick fun

Panama City Beach - Day Five

I think this pictures sums up our trip. The guys really had fun together, going out to lunch, playing board games, and talking church. Amy and I of course loved being back together again. The kids were a delight. Amy and I didn't realize how much work took out of spouses, but they really needed a vacation, and looked so refreshed when we left.

Again with these two!

Daddy and the boys.

Friends forever

Aren't they sweet?

Our good beach picture.

Molly and her shells.

Julia and her mom walking on the beach

Tiny little fish

Grant and David enjoying the pool.

Panama City Beach - Day Four

We would go over to Grandmother's condo to swim in the heated pool. We were all very thankful for her hospitality, and the snacks.

Notice how Abigail does not have on her floats. She was doing her Aerial work. Swimming under water with her eyes open.

Caleb would jump in the deep end over and over.

David just swam all over the pool.

One night of kid fun. Playing the DS.

Something we saw often, Molly and Caleb buddied up. No, Amy and I not arranging their marriage, ....unless they ask us to!!

Panama City Beach - Day Three

Our morning with the Hudson's satrted with breakfast on the porch.

Kite flying on the beach.

hunting for shells, building castles, and playing in the water.

The girls just loved the beach. And the 6 months apart really didn't seem to phase them. They picked right back up, like leaving them happened last week.

Playing war in their matching PJ's. We had no TV and only allowed a little time on the DS. It was great to just relax and be together.

Panama City Beach - Day Two

We awoke to a beautifully clear day. The water was so clear,and the critters...hermit crabs everywhere. We went over to Grandmother's Condo and Sarah had come down to play at the beach too. So we all headed to the pool and then out to the beach. We had a nice Shrimp dinner and Chris stayed at the house eating a burger. Then we played at the beach until dark. Sarah went home and we got ready for the Hudson's arrival. As you can imagine, there are no pictures of them getting to the house, we were too busy hugging and crying to think about making pictures.

Panama City Beach - Day One

We rode down on Friday morning and arrived to the lovely beach house in time for lunch. I have pre-cooked a lot of meals to cut down on our expenses with this trip. So it was really nice to walk in the door and have everything we needed for lunch. Then we had to take a couple of steps in the ocean and and let our toes feel the sand before heading over to see The Gonzales Family. The kids had a great time playing together and Sylvia and I swapped recipes and homeschool plans. It was a great time to be with our seminary friends. And then the kids went fast to sleep.