Summer Vacation Over Already?

What happened to "the lazy days of summer?" We have definitely not had too many lazy days, but we have enjoyed sleeping in on a few days.  Grayson and Parker loved sharing my bed while Daddy and Kanon were gone to baseball tournaments.

I think this is the sweetest picture.  Grayson's little face here looks just like she did when she was about 3 years old.  Cute little bubble cheeks.
And... now school starts back next week.  I cannot believe summer 2011 is already over.  We missed the beach and have to make that trip up very soon.  My toes seriously need to feel some sand. But for now.. back to crazy schedules, homework, activities and meetings.  And then.....a very special event in September, the wedding of my cousin Derek. Parker and Grayson are both in the wedding and we are so excited to share this special day with Derek and Ashley.

Their engagement picture is so beautiful, Ahhh!!!to be that young again.  I pray that God blesses this marriage with lots of love and lots of beautiful little children. My Aunt "Rine" and Uncle David need lots of grandchildren to spoil rotten.

River Part II

Just press play....Kanon jumping about from about 30 feet in the air.  He just informed me it didn't look high in the video, but it looked very high from the tree.

 See....I actually kayaked and of course I had to put my legs out so I could get sun at the same time.

Scott, Grayson and Ashlyn riding in the canoe.  This was after Don had to leave a little early for a stinkin meeting at work.   Mr. Scott gave Grayson a paddle and started letting her paddle and every once in a awhile, you would hear Mr. Scott say " Grayson, you paddling or splashing?"  Love it!!

River Mermaid & River Rats

What a great way to spend the afternoon following Church today.  Grayson said it was the best day of summer! A beautiful sunny day spent riding horses for Grayson then cooling off in the Etowah.  I should probably start by apologizing first for the lengthy post but I cannot wait to share the pictures of all the fun we had today.  Tyler has promised he is definitely going with us next time.  If he had been there, it would have made the day even more perfect.  After Church today, we were blessed to get to spend the afternoon with some of our favorite people.  Thank you Warners for opening your home and of course Lora your sweet dad's home on the river to us.  We cannot wait until next weekend!!!

Oh yeah.....Don's still got it!  Look at my sweet husband flipping off the swing.  Kanon and Parker thought it was pretty cool that Dad could hang with them. Cause....you know our kids think we are ancient most of the time.

I have lots more to add, but I will save it for tomorrow. Tired and ready for bed tonight.  I even have pictures of me Kayaking....yes....really.  Thank you Lord for this wonderful day with our amazing friends outside enjoying your beautiful creations.

Hurry Up.....Slow Down

As I sit here about to update the blog with yet another activity or event that we have been a part of, I stop myself and just sit here.  Is that really what today's post should be about?  I feel like God is steering me in a different direction and I must say I feel totally out of control.  Don't get me wrong, I sit here most of the time utterly amazed at our many blessings, but somedays I get that feeling that there's more.  I get the feeling that I should be doing more. Don and I have been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan as part of our sunday school lesson and it definitely brings into perspective our faith and christian walk and what it should be about. Yesterday as we were on our way to Monroe for yet another baseball game, Don made the comment...that we need to seriously clear out all the "junk" from our lives.  He said we should control our schedule not the other way around and I agree wholeheartedly!  We get so caught up in all the events, activities, work things, sports, etc that we forget what is truly important.  We have to make serious changes though if we want a different outcome.  It's like the saying, "Don't do the same things and expect a different result". So...I am going to be proposing a "family" meeting tonight at our house, they will love that :).  As I sit here at yet another crossroads in my worklife (partly by choice and partly because of the need to care for my mom), I plan to seriously pray about what is God's plan for my life.  My first and most important role is wife and mother and I am not willing to compromise that role for work.  The kids start school in two weeks and I feel the clock ticking faster and faster on the amount of time we will all still be under one roof as Tyler will head off to college in two short years, then Kanon will follow not too much later.  If I could turn back the clock, I would in a heart beat.  But.....I can't so it's time to take control or better yet it's time to give God all the control for how we spend our time now.

Shake It Up......

Shake it up was this year's theme for vacation bible school.  Kanon had planned to teach a group but was unable to because of baseball, but was sweet enough to help out on his one night off from baseball.  Parker and Grayson were anxious each night to get there and Grayson would talk non-stop when I picked them up.  Tyler was a tremendous help in taking them and picking up the first two nights while I was in Dalton watching Kanon play baseball.

This picture was the night Kanon helped.  If you look closely, you can see Parker in the orange, Kanon in purple in the middle and Grayson in the back in red & white.  The music was loud and fun!

Our youth minister was the Chef.  He was hilarous in costume yet his message is powerful.  He relates so well with the kids. Pastor Mike even got a pie in the face since the girls raised the most money for area missions.

Grayson had a blast with Sydney and Ashley.  Sweet girls!  Vacation Bible School is the best place for our children to continue to hear night after night the wonderful message of our Lord and Saviour.  It warmed my heart and made me smile each night to walk in and see them singing his praises, dancing and worshiping HIM!

2 Outs...Big Hit....

Catching up

This week Kanon and Don are in Augusta playing in the GRPA State Tournament and I am determined to get caught up on everything around the house including this blog.  I'm a little sad that I am unable to see Kanon play this week, but I just couldn't leave mom for that long.  I have friends updating me during the games and taking lots of pictures and if the team makes it to the championship game on Saturday, then I will definitely be there for that game. 

Summer is flying by as usual and even though we have been unable to fit a beach trip into our jam packed schedule, we are still enjoying playing close to home.  Don says Labor Day Weekend may be spent at the beach.  We have completed some small projects around the house and finally started settling into a routine with my mom and all her nurses, occupational therapist and physical therapists.



Baseball is not all we have done this summer, even though it has been the majority. We have made cute little desserts, went to the movies and Don and I even went to the pool by ourselves.  No kids!!! I think that may just be a first for us cause we always have at least one with us anytime we head to the pool.  It is really all of these little things that make up our very special family time. 

Kanon went camping Sunday night with about 9 other boys at the fabulous Mayo home.  They have lots of land on the river, pool, lighted basketball, canoes, kayakes, boat, 4 wheelers, gators, etc...a teeneage boys paradise.  Let's just say when I picked Kanon up from there on Monday.....I have never seen him that dirty. I think they tried out everything.  I have probably said this before, Kanon really has some amazing Christian friends and I don''t worry at all when he is hanging out with these kids.  I wish I had pictures to post. I asked Kanon if he took any with his phone and he said they left their phones up at the house and they slept in tents by the river.  Boys don't even think about taking a picture of something, they think they will remember these times forever.  Looking back I thought the same thing and now I wish I had taken more pictures of all the fun I had growing up.

Happy 4th of July

Here is a glance at how we spent our holiday weekend.  We had a blast at the Warners as usual.  This 4th of July Celebration has become a tradition for our family. 

We watched fireworks....

We Swam.......

We laughed with friends.....

We laughed at friends......:)

We pretended to be to cool to be there....

We played corn hole until dark.......

We rested........

Then we danced the night away under the stars......

Lifetime Friends

You know those friends that you have had forever and know without a shadow of a doubt that you will still be friends even when your in the nursing home, April is one of those friends.  She knows everything about me and STILL loves me.  Through the years you make new friends that are always adding to and making your life so much better, but if your fortunate enough you will have one or two "lifetime" friends.  Don and I are both blessed with a few lifetime friends that we can't live without.  April and I can scream at each other one minute and love each other the next minute.  I never had a sister, but if I did I think it would be a little like our friendship.  She always shoots straight with me and has never been to keen on telling me what I wanted to hear, always brutally honest with me.  Everyone needs at least one person in their life like that.

(Excuse the picture quality, it was taken quickly from my husbands phone).  Me and April on the back of the 4-wheeler at my party.  This is April's husband driving us around.  What country girl has a party without a 4-wheeler :).

I have lots of pictures to add when I get the chance to share all the details about my surprise 40th birthday party.  My husband and friends were awesome and I got to celebrate just exactly how I wanted.