What Been Happening Around Here...

Well, I have kind of neglected our blog for a while. With school back in session, our lives seem to race into turbo speed. Between soccer games, piano practice, homework, church activities and so on, we seem to be running at all times! Speaking of that, Charles & I went to a Family Driven Faith conference over the weekend with pastor and author, Dr. Voddie Baucham. It was by far the most incredible, practical seminar that I have ever experienced. From his conference, we have incorporated family worship into our daily lives. We have always had Bible and prayer time as a family but we are now being diligent about worshipping as a family. This involves us being in the Word, praying together and singing worship songs to God. It is such a sweet, special time!

Let's see what other exciting things have happened...we did have the "scare" of Hurricane Hanna ~ I use the words "scare" and "hurricane" very lightly since it was barely more than a thunderstorm. We didn't even lose a twig or leaf off of a tree! The kids did get a hurricane day because of the threat of the storm so they were home on a rainy day! It was also the day that we had new carpet installed so on top of being home on a day where they could not play outside, we were all stuck in the master bedroom for a good portion of the day! We watched more Disney and played more board games than I thought possible! They did have fun making carpet angels on the carpet once it was finished. (notice the "big kid" who was also down there...)

This past Sunday, September 14 was our 12 year wedding anniversary! We enjoyed dinner at Miyabi's Steakhouse. Charles wanted sushi and I wanted steak so that was the best compromise! It was so yummy! Then today is our sweet Rebecca's 9th birthday. I cannot believe how quickly the years are passing. When she was born, people told me all the time to enjoy every minute because the days flew by, and I never realized how true those words were! She is in her last year of single digits! We went to dinner on Monday for her and my mom (whose birthday was yesterday) at Moe's. She is having a belated birthday party because she wants a sleep over. We have decided to do this on October 24 which is the opening night of High School Musical 3 so we'll take her friends to the movie and then come back home for a girls night out filled with dancing, make up and all kinds of fun girl stuff! Should be a weekend to remember...

First Day!

Well, say goodbye to summer vacation because off we went to the 1st day of school this morning. I ALWAYS get a picture of the kids right before walking out the door on the 1st day. Rebecca (going into 3rd grade and school being old hat now) moaned a bit when I pulled out the camara. Oh well...she'll understand one day. Andrew was so excited about his 1st day of 1st grade. He came into my room this morning at 5:30...(boy takes after his daddy on that) and crawled into the bed with me. I hoped (to no avail) that he would fall back asleep and I could enjoy the last sweet hour of sleep before being awakened by the alarm. Instead, we spent the hour talking about 1st grade and having desks instead of tables and Mrs. Folsom and the new kids in his class and his new bookbag and his new shoes and... and ... and...! :) Although I'm a little tired this afternoon, that hour with him was precious and I even got a little sappy (which if you know me, is quite uncommon) thinking how fast the years would fly by and I wouldn't have my sweet boy cuddled up to me sharing his thoughts, excitements and fears!

Rebecca was even up by 6:30 and I was afraid that I would have to drag her out of bed since she slept until 8:30 or 9:00 all summer! With all of us up early, I jumped into super mom mode (again, not my style) and made everyone omlettes! They enjoyed them so much that I didn't break the news that next week, we'll probably be back to cereal and maybe a piece of fruit! After they were safe in their new classroom, I met some friends (other moms who had just dropped off kids) for breakfast. We had such a great time!

Since I had already started the day with a bang, I decided to keep it up. So, before going to pick up the kids, I packed up the beach bag, boogie boards, shovels & pails and changed into my swimsuit for a surprise trip to the beach. I was so proud of myself because I was sure to be nominated for mom of the year after today. Well, God must have thought that I needed to be brought down a notch or 2 because about 1/2 way to the school (I only live about 3 miles away...), it started to drizzle. ...just a summer shower, it will be gone by the time I get there... well, by the time I got there, it was pouring. Teachers were using golf umbrellas to walk the kids to the cars. When Rebecca & Andrew got into the car, Andrew asked "why are you dressed like that?" thinking that his mom must surely have lost all sense to be in a swimsuit and cover up when clearly we were in the middle of a thunder storm!

So now we're home, I'm typing this blog and they're watching cartoons on pbs.

God's Blessings

Well, today my parents are celebrating 37 years of marraige. It is so awesome to see firsthand how 2 people (who, I promise, could not be more different) have stayed together in an age where divorce is so accepted. I have seen them walk through just about every hardship and trial possible and come out on the other side stronger and better because of it. Because of my wonderful parents and their shining example, there is nothing that Charles & I could face that would cause me to walk away from the vow that I made to him and God. Thanks mom and dad.. I love you more than you'll ever know!

Before I close, I want to ask you to keep Chris & Shelley Talbott in your prayers. They were blessed on Friday with a beautiful baby girl. They learned that she has Trisomy 13 which has a grim prognosis. We know that we serve a God Who is so much bigger than our minds can comprehend. There is a link on my page to their blog (The Talbotts). Please read their story and you will see how they have put everything into God's hands. They are a true testimony of faith during the hardships that we face as married couples. Please leave them comments of encouragement and most of all pray for their sweet family as they walk through the days to come.

Go See This Movie!!

On September 26, a movie called Fireproof will open. It stars Kirk Cameron and was made by the same people who made Facing the Giants (which if you haven't seen that one, it is great!) Anyway, Fireproof is about a fireman (Kirk Cameron) who is struggling in his marriage. In a day where movies (especially the romantic drama type) are filled with language and non-Biblical views of sex, it is so exciting to see a movie coming out that praises marriage and the idea of working through struggles instead of bailing.

I can't wait to check out this film! I must tell you, though, that when I was in high school, I was confident that I would marry Kirk Cameron (along with every girl my age, I'm sure). While I am now well over my infatuation with him and so totally in love with Charles, I am still very excited about seeing one of my childhood heart-throbs starring in such an inspirational film.

Charles & I lead a small group at church which consists of married couples and we focus a lot on marriage and relationships so this topic is near and dear to my heart. I hope that everyone will take time during the opening weekend of this movie to go see it. Because it is a Christian movie and a lower budget movie, the turnout opening weekend will determine how long it stays at theatres. As Christians, let's take a stand and show Hollywood that while we love the entertainment of seeing a movie, we want more that are uplifting and family oriented! I am posting a link to see the trailor preview for it.

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

Happy Birthday, America!

We had an extended Independence Day celebration. We usually go to Kiawah Beach on the 4th with Charles' family, but his sister & mom had to work that day. So....the kids and I went to Kiawah with his family on Wednesday (the 2nd) on their day off and then we went to Folly with Charles on the 4th! I didn't get ANY sunburn on Wednesday (which is amazing); however, I was not so blessed on Friday. I'm in a bit of pain today. The kids enjoyed boogie boarding. Then Andrew fell off and landed on an oyster shell, resulting in a pretty bad cut on his foot. You'll see him in the pictures getting some treatment from the lifeguard. He was quite upset over the whole event; although, he did lots of attention for the rest of the day and an icecream from Grandma! Friday night, we went to Charles' sister's house and had a nice dinner and then we shot some fireworks! They had a blast (except for Andrew, who is dreadfully afraid of fireworks!) He stayed far away with us in his uncle's truck! (Charles has some pictures of the evening on his camara. I'll load some once he emails them to me!)

My parents are in Atlanta for their annual trip to see the Braves on the 4th and 5th (my dad's birthday!) My mom gave him this as a surprise for his 60th birthday. Well, he turns 63 today and they've been going each year since! I don't think that she intended it to be an annual trip...just worked out that way! ;)

Ah Sweet Summer...

Every Friday, Charles & I look forward to our date night! The kids spend the night with my parents every Friday so we take advantage of some alone time! We usually go out to eat, to the mall, a movie or some typical date type activity. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to grab a sandwich at Subway and head out to Folly Beach for an early evening picnic. It was so peaceful and relaxing after a long week at home with the kids! (who are getting quite bored with summer already :) Anyway, we watched the sunset and took this self portrait! It was quite humbling to sit and just watch as the ocean waves hit the shore. Our beach trips are usually busy and filled with collecting shells, building sand castles or jumping waves. It was nice to just sit in awe of God's amazing creation. To think that the mighty ocean is held in God's hand and knows right where to stop yet can be seen as far as the eye can see... WOW!

June Fishing

We just returned from our annual trip to Clark Hill Lake. We stayed in a cabin there with my parents. We started joining them there about 3 years ago (prior to that, they did "tent camping"... once they decided to do my kind of camping... you know, a cabin with a/c, I decided that camping is not so bad!) The first year, the kids were looking forward to the trip and kept asking when we were going, to which we would reply, "June." Well, Andrew then started asking, "When are we going June fishing?" The trip then adopted that name!

Charles was just with us over the weekend because he didn't have any vacation time yet... :( but we really enjoyed that time with him!

Andrew is hiding out to attack with the water gun!!

Rebecca is saying "Excuse me?' I just had to capture that expression on camara!

Every afternoon, the kids looked forward to fishing with Papa.
The highlight of the trip was when Andrew caught the biggest fish of the trip...his foot long 1 1/2 pound bass.

Andrew and his Papa (my dad). Don't they look alike? We want to get t-shirts made for them with "me" and "mini-me" printed on them!

After a long day of fishing...dreaming about the one that got away!