Christmas Fun

Wow...we have done so much it is impossible to catch everyone up on it.

First...we went to the Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree. We have done that every year since we have lived here and the kids do look forward to it. This year was no different. This year I think Samuel did a great job. He picked the tree (Squeaky wheel gets the most grease I suppose!)

We have also been to see Santa. You can tell by the pictures that Gracie wanted no part of that this year. We had figured that would be the case since she has been frightened by the cow at Chick fil a numerous times and by the Robin at Red Robin. Needless to say the boys did well. Samuel was on task as always telling Santa exactly what he wanted. Benjamin seemed a little reserved (from being on a stage...we think!) And after their turn was over he really wanted to run back for a hug. We are planning another Santa outing...just so the kid can get a hug! So the funniest thing about our trip to see Santa was Samuel's discovery! "Did you know that Santa had church clothes under his costume? He cannot be the REAL Santa! Unless they go to church at the North Pole? Do you think they do?" I told him I suppose they did. Santa would want to go worship God too! UGH...the questions that kid comes up with!

So here's some pictures. ENJOY!

Time for Thanks

Every year at Thanksgiving I have time to reflect on God's goodness to our family. My prayer for this year is that I would never forget these wonderful blessings as I am learning to trust my sovereign Savior to guide, protect, and hold my family with His loving hand.

This year was a huge lesson in trust for me. I had two MRI biopsies for breast cancer. Both times they were benign. Although I have no desire to go through this again God showed me that He is indeed in control of our life's circumstances. For His sovereign control of my life, I am thankful.

This year marked our THIRD year here in Richmond. Some of you know that I was never exactly EXCITED about this move. I have never lived out of the state of GA and surely never this far north. But God has blessed me with some wonderful friends that I feel are as close as family and a wonderful church family that has supported my family like no other church I have attended. For this exceptional body of Christ, I am thankful.

This year my Granny went home to be with her Lord. This was the first relative that I have lost as an adult. It was hard for me to be so far from my family while they struggled through the last months with her. It was hard for me not be beside her as she took her last breath. But for the wonderful lessons of Christ's faithfulness that she left with me and the Godly example she was to me, I am thankful.

This year as every year I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. I don't tell him often enough what a good man he is. I don't tell him often enough that I love him. But, he has been my rock and support and a wonderful example of God's love for me. For him I will always be thankful!

This year my children give me so many reasons to be thankful. First and foremost both the boys asked Jesus to come and live in their heart. What more do we have to really be thankful for. I can only pray that God continues to work in their lives to bring them closer to Him as they learn more about Him.




Benjamin never ceases to amaze me. His smile is enough to make me melt. When he hugs you tight it makes you want to hug even tighter. It's incredible to see God working in His life and I am thankful that God chose me to be His mom. This year I am so thankful that he has completely potty trained, spoken in two word sentences, and learned to completely dress himself down to his shoes and socks! He is learning to read and count in school and the teachers love him. I know there is so much more that he has learned this year and I can't even imagine how much more he will learn in the years to come. For God's special gift of Benjamin I am thankful.

Samuel is my protector, my knight in shining armor. He has grown up so much this year. He is such a great friend and brother to Benjamin and has become a protector of his baby sister. This year I am thankful that although I wasn't really ready to give him up to "big school" this year, God helped guide us to that decision. I am thankful that he has learning how to deal with his anxiety over new situations, making new friends, and learning how to be completely independent. I told him recently that he was learning how to do so many things now I hope I would still need me. He smiled and said "Mom...you still have to help me do SOME things!" After my first miscarriage I prayed for God to give us another child. For this wonderful answer to prayer who is more than I could have imagined, I am thankful.


Two years ago, my baby girl arrived. Although we didn't get pregnant trying to get "the girl," I was pleasantly surprised. I cannot believe how much fun she has been. She has always been VERY attached to me and that is VERY tiring but when I hear her little voice say "love you" when I leave her bedroom at night... I think that it is indeed worth it. The other day we had the best mom and daughter day at the mall. We tried on hats, scarves, jewelry, shoes...and then sat down together to share some chinese food. (Rice happens to be Gracie's favorite food!) Even though we only had a two year old conversation then, I don't think I will ever forget that day! I miss my own mom so badly and I regret that our time together was cut short. But I feel blessed to now have my Gracie...we have a lot to look forward to TOGETHER! For my beautiful baby girl, I am thankful.

Of course the list could go on and on and I won't bore those of you kind enough to read this. But...I do think it helps to have a written reminder of God's faithfulness...just in case we ever forget.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So...things here have been crazy lately. We have been really busy lately...the pictures above can prove it! Halloween came and went. We went to Knoxville for Homecoming and then visited the Dixie Caverns on the way home. This past weekend we visited Henricus, VA. They had replicas of the Powhatan Indian homes and tribes and also the American settlement there.

Also, our sweet little Benjamin has been sick on and off for three weeks. It's always concerning when your kids are sick and the drs don't really seem to have an answer. We are on some new medicine now in hopes it will kick whatever this is we have. He's still been trying to do some work at home. Today he told me he was going to do some writing. He wrote a lot and then read me what he wrote. He told me a lot of words from "ho ho" to "earrings" and every one's name. Cute thing was when he turned the paper over it was his name written about 25 times. Truth is, he really is learning a lot at school. He had three E's this past report card and one was in Math. All the others were S's. That's enough to make you cry! Here's the secret...I always knew he could do it!

My big boy Samuel is really doing well in school. You would not believe how much he LOVES school. He talks about it constantly. He is learning to read and really wants to read EVERYTHING. I was proud to get the chance to volunteer in his class the other day. He beamed the entire time I was there. It made me feel good that he was proud of me. He's really been helping Brian a lot. Such a little man. He helped rake and bag leaves the other day. He was out there working hard for a really long time. His other interest lately has been football. Much to his father's delight...he chooses to watch football. This Sunday he chose to watch part of the Cowboys/Redskins game by himself. Thankfully he was pulling for Dallas! :) He says he would be really good at football..."he can zig and zag and go really fast!" Maybe he will be heading to Orange Country one day!

Oh my little Gracie. She's basically potty trained now. Can you believe that? I have never been one to love potty training and wasn't really ready to start that all now. But...she really wanted to do it! She has had only a handful of accidents and really seems proud of herself. She still has no desire to wear "big girl pants" but is comfortable in her "diaper panties" (pull ups!) She now seems to love to watch "mooes." Problem is she loves to watch the same ones over and over. Right now it's Dora (the big sister one with the babies) and this Bible Songs DVD we have. I think Santa might have to bring some new "mooes" this Christmas. She's also learned to drink from a straw finally! I knew she could do it but she was scared of spilling water on herself. The first time she did it was quite a production. Every sip she took she would twirl in a circle and say "hooray Gracie!" That was cute but lasted for almost the entire first cup of water!

We cannot wait for the holidays and hope we get a chance to see everyone soon!

Treasures...

According to Webster's Dictionary a treasure is something of great worth or value. Lately I have been trying to savor the time with my kids as precious treasure. I know that every day I get to spend with them is truly a gift from God, something of great worth. It's something I most definitely don't deserve. They say and do so many things that I don't want to forget. I think maybe I should carry a tape recorder with me so I can remember them.

Here's a few things I have to write down.

Samuel has truly become the thinker. He hears things at school every day that he has to process and think about. Lately he is thinking about his teeth falling out. I think his best friend at school told him he thought his tooth was falling out. So...Samuel has been contemplating what happens when your teeth fall out. Here's a few things he thinks...

"How do you talk and eat when you don't have any teeth?"
"When are your teeth going to fall out again (talking to me)?"
"Do you have to go to the beach to get the salt water for your tooth? ( I think his friend told him that you put salt water on the tooth when it falls out! That one has him really confused!)
"Does the tooth fairy only bring money or does she bring toys too?"
As you can see he is going to be fully prepared when his first tooth finally gets loose.


This past weekend we took a trip to Carter Mountain to pick apples. We love this trip and look forward to a fun Fall family time every year. This year we weren't sure if we would have to cancel since we thought the weather might be too rainy and cold. We told the kids that it's a lot colder on top of the mountain because the higher up on the mountain you go the colder it gets.
Samuel's thought was "Mom, do you think God is REALLY cold? He is really high up there."

Benjamin and Gracie really have become best playmates. They play follow the leader almost everyday and I am not sure who likes it best. They carry on conversations that only they understand and they can really "crack" each other up. It so funny to eaves drop on them when they are playing. I know that one of the many reasons Gracie was given to our family was for Bubs. I have a feeling she's really going to be an important person in his life.

Bubs has also become quite the popular kid at school. Everyday when I drop him off or pick him up, children who I have never seen talk to him. I cannot tell you the number of times I hear a kid say "Hi Ben" when we are walking in to school. It's so cute! He just smiles his sweet smile and says "Hi!" Who couldn't love that kid!

Well...Gracie has become quite a talker recently. However most of what she says is in her own language. Here are some more words from Gracie language.

"be up"...this is clean up but she means a broom
"bookie"....milk
"draw" ...a pencil/pen
"eyes"...glasses
"au ga be" ...we think she is saying "Follow me..." She says that when she plays follow the leader.
"Dubadub"...this is the name of her best friend
"ride"...stroller or a buggy
"naynay"...pacy
"panties"...pants

As you can see we laugh all the time at the funny words she uses.

Well...I could write all day about the funny, sweet, and touching things the kids say or do but there just isn't enough time. I am so thankful that God has chosen me to be the mom to these three wonderful kids. It's truly a time to "treasure."

Time for School

Well...I thought it might be nice to catch up here. Just had a friend tell me that he wishes I would blog more often (thanks Ryan! :) ) So here goes...

Well...I guess one of the biggest things that has happened in our house has been the start of school for the boys. This year I sent both Benjamin and Samuel off to "big school." I was quite proud of myself the first day. I held it together until they were out of my sight. What a strange feeling to surrender your protection and control of your child to someone you barely know. I have really had to dig deep and with a lot of prayer and tears I have made it through the last few weeks. Even Brian commented that I "did better than he thought I would."

As far as the boys go, they are doing well. Benjamin is repeating Kindergarten and for the most part mainstreamed. He goes to a Resource Teacher for Language Arts (Reading) and Math. Of course...everyone loves him. It's so funny to walk into that school and have teachers and other children I don't know say "Hi Ben!" and most adults comment about how "sweet" he is. It makes a mom feel to good to see the teachers lovin' on my kid! What's not to love, right???

And Samuel has made me so proud! My shy, sensitive, and thoughtful child was so nervous about the first day. I had to promise him the first day that he was going to have so much fun he wouldn't miss me. (He said he didn't...but any mom would hope that he did miss me just a little!)
He's already made two little buddies. He says he ALWAYS plays with them on the playground and ALWAYS eats lunch with them. His teacher tells us he is doing awesome and just how smart he is. I already knew that and basically I just needed Samuel to figure it out for himself. Oh...and he started to take Karate lessons. His "Master" just gave him two stripes on his belt for being the best listener. He commented how well he listens and follows directions for his age. I think the class boosts his self confidence. He does beam when he talks about Karate the way dad beams about UT football (GO VOLS!)


And...little Gracie is doing just fine hanging with mom. We have had lots of fun. Fortunately, she loves to shop! It's been a blessing to have the time with just her. Her little personality has started to come out so much. It's been fun to be able to do things that a two year old little girl would like to do. Although she desperately wants to go to "her school," I think she would rather be my sidekick and mommy really likes that too!

Then one day Lord willing she will be ready to leave the nest too...

Zip Line

Recently we have had a lot of fun around here. We finally installed a zip line in the backyard. The boys have been loving it and here are a couple of videos.

Samuel and Gracie sing Happy Birthday

Gracie and Samuel sing Happy Birthday to Gracie but Gracie thinks we are singing to Bubby. I think she's pleasantly surprised when she realizes it's her birthday we are singing about.