Little Things

6 Months Old

2012-02-09T17:35:00.000-05:00

Well, now that Eden is just a few days away from being 7 months old, I guess I should get around to posting her 6 month update!

Eden, you turned 6 months old on January 12. You've had a busy two months since your four month update in November!

You are now rolling both ways- tummy to back and back to tummy. You are getting everywhere! You can efficiently travel all around the room by rolling and scooting. And don't ask me how you spin yourself around the way you do. Daddy and I always think it is funny to see what position you've gotten yourself into when we let you play on the floor.

You are growing fast. You weigh 17 lbs 6 oz (75%) and you are 27 inches long (90%). You weigh more and are longer than Josiah was at six months old!! He weighed 17 lbs 3 oz and was 26 1/2 inches long. But don't worry your two biggest brothers outweigh you by a mile! Noah was 20 lbs 14 oz and 27 1/2 inches and Caleb was 21 lbs 13 oz and was the exact same length as you- 27 inches.
You went on many travels in the past two months. You went to the beach on St. Simons Island, Georgia for Christmas with Grammy and Pop-Pop and to Virginia for Christmas with Nana and Paw-Paw. We sure did have fun watching you on your first Christmas.

You had another great adventure- the Passion 2012 Conference in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. You were an ANGEL! You slept so soundly during the loudest worship of 40,000 college students. And then you always woke up during the preaching. Daddy says it is because you wanted to hear the Word!

Sound asleep at Passion 2012

Dinner at the Georgia Aquarium

You have started eating baby food and love it! The only food you haven't loved is peaches. And I think your favorite might be sweet potatoes.

You are sleeping through the night! You have figured out how to put your paci in if you wake up in the middle of the night and now Mommy and Daddy make sure to put about 5 pacis in your crib with you when you sleep! Way to go baby girl!
You are teething like crazy- chewing and drooling on everything. It won't be long now until we see some teeth.
You are still the sweetest baby girl in the world. We had a few struggles with your feeding in the past month, but thanks to a sweet friend we've gotten that worked out. And even with all of our struggles you were just precious. You are so happy and have a smile for everyone you meet. And your brothers still adore you- remember this when they are teenagers!
Mommy and Daddy love you little lady and we are praying God will grab a hold of your heart- that He would grow your sweet disposition into a beautiful young woman for His glory and that you will always love to hear His Word.

All four at 6 months old

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T12:00:00.005-05:00

Noah's Birthday Celebration(s)

2012-02-07T15:01:00.000-05:00

Well, our little Noah-bear is getting so big. He turned 4 in January. Jack had to be out of the country in Spain and then Peru during Noah's actual birthday, so we had a little celebration here the Saturday before. We don't really do birthday parties so much around here. When they were really little we did a small party with family and a very few friends. But now that they are older, we just ask them what special thing they'd like to do for their birthday and just invite family (if it is on a weekend) and our best friends, the Chambers. This year, Noah said he wanted to go to the Children's Museum and Chick-fil-a. So, that is what we did. The Chambers joined us for a morning of fun at the museum and then lunch at Chick-fil-a. I made Noah Power Ranger cupcakes with icing to match each Ranger. He is the Green Ranger. We had a very fun morning.

Then while Jack was gone, on Noah's actual birthday (a Tuesday) we were at Grammy and Pop-Pop's house. So we had a little Spiderman party. Aunt Stacey came with Owen and Ethan, unfortunately Hayden was very sick and Uncle Andrew stayed home with him. But Noah had a great time eating cupcakes and opening presents.

I think he had a pretty special birthday. He sure is a sweet boy. Noah is so kind and compassionate and I love his tender heart. What fun he is to celebrate!

Christmas Part 2

2012-02-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, will I ever get caught up with blogging? Probably not!

After our wonderful three days at the beach, we came home to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We spent some quality time together making Christmas cookies, taking pictures and going to church both Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. This year, the boys' big present was dress up toys. They each got two costumes (that I got after Halloween for 90% off!), swords and shields. Christmas morning was a lot of fun watching them open their gifts and get to enjoy them. We also took the kids Christmas shopping for each other. Caleb and Noah shopped for each other and Josiah and Eden shopped for each other. I took Noah and Josiah, Jack took Caleb and Eden. Caleb and Noah were delighted on Christmas morning to find that they had actually chosen the same gift for the other! How sweet is that! They both got the other a Power Rangers Samurai Sword. Loved seeing their reaction. Eden had no idea what was going on and really wanted to eat the wrapping paper. Josiah's reactions were priceless- that kid is so expressive! He got excited about every single gift.

When Jack and I got married, we decided that once we had children we weren't going to travel on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We wanted our children to be able to celebrate in our home and be able to enjoy their gifts before we packed them up in a car to travel here or there. We are both so glad we made that decision. I just treasure our Christmas traditions. I love that Jack reads Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. I love going to church as a family. I love staying up with Jack to get all of the presents laid out. I love watching my kids open their gifts. I love spending a calm and relaxing Christmas day together, watching the kids play with their gifts. Wbat a beautiful, wonderful Christmas we had at home.

Then on the morning of the 26th, we packed up the van and headed up to Virginia to visit Nana and Paw-Paw's house for Christmas. We were very excited this year because Aunt Audra, Uncle Hamp and Koty were also at Nana and Paw-Paw's house! You'll never guess what they boys got from Nana and Paw-Paw.... guns and swords!! Ha! This was the weapon Christmas I guess! We really enjoyed our time in Virginia. The boys got to spend some fun time playing with Koty. Their favorite activity at Nana and Paw-Paw's new house is riding the Diego tricycles down their very steep driveway as fast as they can. Almost fast enough to give a momma a heart attack! We went into Danville to a science museum on a cold/rainy day and the kids had fun with all of the interactive exhibits. We spent nice quality time together and the kids all had a great time- even Eden who got a double ear infection. Poor baby! But she was still a trooper.

Christmas was wonderful this year. Full of family time, love and laughter. Filled with the awe and wonder of the birth of Christ. We couldn't have asked for more.

Christmas Eve:

Christmas Day:

Our trip to Virginia:

Christmas Part 1

2012-01-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

Finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas festivities. Forgive me for the long blog absence. Since December 19 we have had Moffett Christmas, our Christmas here at home, Blankenship Christmas, gone to the Passion 2012 Conference, had a BCM Leadership retreat and Jack has traveled around the world- to Spain and Peru! It's been a crazy few weeks!

But I am back and I have lots to catch you up on and lots on my mind and heart.

The week before Christmas we took a few days and spent them with my family. This year, we did something very un-Moffett like.... we broke tradition. Yep, a few weeks before Christmas we decided to make Christmas a vacation and go to the beach! We stayed at a great house in the Sea Island Resort on St. Simmons Island, Georgia. We packed up our presents and had Christmas at the beach. The weather was so perfect- in the upper 60's to low 70's. The kids got in the water, of course. The beach had huge boulders on it that were perfect for playing pirates with the new guns, hats, binoculars and walkie-talkies they got! The beach house had a huge in ground hot tub that was just perfect. The boys called it the hot pool. Even Eden and Ethan were able to enjoy it. We took lots of walks and got to spend uninterrupted quality time together. It was wonderful. Oh yeah, and we took LOTS of pictures, too! :)

Can He Really Be 4?

2012-01-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

Today is my Noah-bear's fourth birthday. I can hardly believe how quickly four years have flown by. Noah, you are a joy. We are so grateful God gave us such a wonderful son. You are funny and sweet. Your generosity is one of your best qualities. You always put your brothers first, offering to give up your toys or treats for them. You still idolize your big brother and the two of you are best friends. I love so much watching you play together. You are a smart boy, too. You are really learning your letters and letter sounds well and your teachers love you. You and Josiah share a room and are really fun to watch together, too. Eden thinks you are great and you are such a great helper. You are still as slow as can be! Nothing ever really gets you in a hurry. But that is good for me, you are helping to teach your Mommy to slow down. You still like to snuggle and play with my hair and I cherish every moment that you do. Noah Jackson, you really are Jack's son! You look like your Daddy and you have his laid back, compassionate personality. Noah, we love you more than words can express. We pray everyday that God would open your eyes and heart to Him and that you would grow everyday in Christ-likeness. We are so proud of you and we can't wait to see all God has for you as you continue to grow. Happy 4th Birthday, buddy.

A Homeschool Christmas

2011-12-16T15:19:00.000-05:00

Last week, in addition to our usual curriculum, Caleb and I studied Christmas long ago and Christmas today. We looked at how the pioneers celebrated Christmas, we talked about the very first Christmas, we talked about the ways we celebrate Christmas today. And then we did something I though was really fun! We looked at the history of our Christmas traditions. We read the book The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne and learned about where Christmas trees came from. It was a great book and very Christ centered. We learned how the first evergreen tree brought inside was by a monk named Boniface who used it to teach about the trinity (triangular shaped tree with three sides, yet one tree) and how Martin Luther brought an evergreen tree into his house at Christmas to teach his children about Christ. He lit the tree with candles and taught his children that Jesus was the light of the world. After we read the book, we marble painted some Christmas trees. Super fun and very much not messy (which I loved).

This is what the box lid looked like when we were done. Kinda neat!

The finished tree- we used dots of glue and glitter to add "ornaments."

While the paint dried, we read the book The Legend of the Christmas Stocking also by Rick Osborne. Again a great book and very Christ centered. This book helped us learn where the tradition of hanging stockings by the fire came from. We read the story of Nicholas, who heard about a poor widower who could not pay for his daughters' doweries to get married. So he threw bags of gold through their window, one of which landed in the girl's socks hanging by the fire to dry. And after we read the story, we colored some Christmas stockings.

Then we read the book The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg. It is the familiar legend about the candy cane being shaped like a J for Jesus and a shepherd's staff and having red stripes for His blood and white for the righteousness we receive in Christ. But at the end of the story was the actual history of the candy. Originally, mothers used sugar sticks to sooth fussy babies. Then a pastor in the 1400's added a crook to the stick so that it would look like a shepherd's staff- he used it to tell the story of the nativity and then gave it to the children to occupy them during the Christmas service. The peppermint flavor was added in America. And it is not known for sure, but most historians believe that one particular candy maker (I can't remember his name!) added the red stripes to tell about Christ's death. After we read the story, we made candy cane cookies.

Finally, we went on a field trip with our homeschooling buddies, the Chambers. Just about 15 minutes from here is Historic Brattonsville- a revolutionary war battle site (The Patriot was filmed here!) and homestead from the 1700's and 1800's. They had an event for Christmas that was really neat. We walked a candle-lit path around the homestead from the 1700's and actors dressed in costume reinacted what Christmas would have been like then. And then we followed the path to the 1800's homestead for a view of the slaves and plantation owners (pre-civil war) Christmases. The kids got to make candles and there was a man dressed as Santa would have looked in the 1800's (there was no Santa in the 1700's in America). He gave the kids a treat and talked about the legend of Santa Claus and when and why he was changed to look as he does today. It was a really, really neat event! The kids had a great time and learned a lot. Christie and I thought it was awesome, too!

Talking to Santa- When he started to tell about Saint Nicholas, Caleb interrupted with, "I know!" And proceeded to tell the story of Nicholas and the shoemaker's daughters. Santa was quite impressed! (As was I!).

Candle Making

We burned our candles at dinner

It was a really fun week. I loved getting to weave fun family activities into their education, I loved getting to teach them the history of our Christmas traditions and show how Christ is at the center of it all. How blessed I am to be able to stay home and teach our children!

Christmas Gratitude

2011-12-10T14:19:00.000-05:00

Last weekend marked our one year anniversary of moving to Rock Hill and our second ChristmasVille! We started our Christmas festivities by going to the Christmas tree farm Friday afternoon to get our Christmas tree. The weather was much nicer this year- pleasant and sunny. We really had fun choosing the perfect tree and cutting it down. Friday night we had the Rock Hill Christmas Parade. We bundled up and I packed snacks and thermoses of hot chocolate. After the parade, Grammy and Pop-Pop arrived with Owen and Hayden in tow! What fun we had with our cousins! Saturday we spent the morning enjoying Christmasville festivities- we made crafts in Santa's workshop, played mini golf, watched a dog show, rode a trolley, and roasted marshmallows. After lunch the three big cousins- Hayden, Caleb and Noah- played outside while we decorated the outside of the house. We enjoyed a nice dinner and then went back up to Christmasville to look at all the lights! We walked up and down Main Street checking out the lights, voted on our favorite gingerbread house and played a little freeze tag. Sunday Grammy, Pop, Hayden and Owen had to head home. But after church, we decorated our Christmas tree. I made our usual fare of pigs in a blanket and sausage balls and cookies which we ate while we hung ornaments on the tree. It was such a wonderful weekend filled with much, much to be grateful for.

401. wagon riders

402. bright skies
403. snuggled up in the wagon

404. my best girlfriend

405. all decked out in christmas finery

406. many helpers

406. my strong men with their kill

407. fun on a mound of mulch
408. caleb- "these trees are too small mommy"- a son after my own heart
409. my two biggest boys pulling the wagon
410. siah waving at every float

411. all bundled up

412. a shooting star
413. small town fun
414. her sweet disposition

415. best friends

416. looks of glee
417. the five with their christmas buddies

418. a sticky mess

419. history
420. grammy love

421. hanging lights

422. a sleepover

423. all of the ornaments hung in one spot

424. our christmas tree

425. a sixth stocking hung with care

Four Months Old

2011-12-01T16:54:00.000-05:00

Eden turned four months old and had her well-check with the pediatrician right before Thanksgiving. Four months old already! Where has the time gone? She is doing great! She is off the charts just like her brothers. Eden, here are some interesting facts about you at four months:

You weigh 16 lbs 2 oz which is in the 90th percentile! By comparison, at four months, Caleb weighed 19 lbs (over the 97th percentile!!), Noah weighed 18 lbs. 14 oz. (over the 97th percentile!). Josiah weighed 17 lbs. 3 oz. when he was five months old (we missed his four month appointment because of Christmas!).
You are so long! You are 26 inches long, also in the 90th percentile! At four months, Caleb was 25 1/2 inches long (75%), Noah was also 26 inches long, just like you! Will you and Noah be the tall ones? Don't worry, sweet girl, I am already praying for a tall husband.... :)
You wear size 9 month clothes! It's because of your length. Your toes are busting out of 6 month clothes and 9 months fits just perfectly.
You have rolled from your tummy to your back and are almost rolling back to tummy.
You love to play on the floor with your brothers, and they love it, too! You have started to really giggle when they come playing with you.
You have figured out when people leave the room and you do not like it! There's no leaving you in the swing while we all go to the other room!
You still sleep swaddled at night. I know you are probably too old to still be swaddled, but you have figured out how to pull your paci out, but you can't get it back in! I have to keep you swaddled to keep those hands away from your paci!
You don't sleep as good as your brothers did, but you are starting to do really well! You have been sleeping about 11 hours, from 8:00-7:00, but I usually go in and feed you before I go to bed at 11:00.
You took your first trip to the beach and you did a great job! Like your oldest brother was, you hate your carseat! But you have been doing better lately and Mommy stood in a long line on Black Friday to get you a DVD player! You love to watch Praise Baby.
You are the star of this family! Your brothers cannot get enough of you, your Daddy thinks you hung the moon. He cannot stand for you to cry at all! People stop me in stores to say how sweet you are. And I think everyone is right. You are a sweet baby girl and I love you!!

Here are all four at 4 months old!

Jesse Tree Devotion

2011-11-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

There may be no one interested in this, but I have taken all of the Jesse Tree devotions that I have written for our family and converted them into a pdf document. The documents contains all 25 devotions with scripture references as well as the ornament templates and a supply list. I have written the devotions and created simple ornaments with young children (preschool-elementary) in mind. So many of the excellent devotions I have found for the Jesse Tree are too advanced for my kids, so I wrote my own. If you have children in this age group and if you want a free copy of the Jesse Tree Devotions, just comment with your email address and I'd be happy to pass it along to you! It has been such a blessing to our family and I'd love to share it with yours!

Advent Begins

2011-11-30T13:27:00.000-05:00

Today we finished our Tree of Thanks

and we begin our Jesse Tree, our 25 day advent devotion, our eagerly anticipating His birth.

I love the Jesse Tree! It is one of my most favorite of our holiday traditions. I love how it traces God's plan of redemption from creation to Christ's birth. I love how it is a tangible way to keep our focus on Christ, everyday. I love how much our kids love it. If you are not doing an advent tradition, you need to do a Jesse Tree. Here is a link to the devotions we use for our Jesse Tree. If you are interested I can email you the templates that I use for our ornaments. Just comment with your email address. Do it! You will not be sorry. Tonight we begin!

Thanksgivng....

2011-11-28T23:08:00.000-05:00

We spent our Thanksgiving at the beach! A very sweet and generous family here in Rock Hill offered us their beach home for free. And we invited our friend Ruth and her brother Eiji to join us. Ruth and Eiji's parents are IMB missionaries in Japan, so no going home for Thanksgiving for them. And we were to thrilled to have them join us. We had an absolutely wonderful week at the beach. The weather was amazing, the kids were great, Ruth and Eiji were great company, the food was yummy. We got to relax and enjoy one another. And Ruth even came shopping with me on Thursday night/Friday morning for Black Friday craziness. I can't think of a better way to spend Thanksgiving.

Ruth and I have been reading One Thousand Gifts together this semester and we finished the book at the beach... so appropriate. A week filled with so many gifts. A holiday that we no longer celebrate once a year, but everyday, every moment, every breath. A way to love a God who constantly, faithfully, unconditionally, undeservingly showers us with His love.

"Crazy, I know, but until eucharisteo had me write the graces on paper, in my own handwriting, until it altered my mind to see the graces in the details of my very own life, I hadn't really known. With every grace, He sings, "You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you" (Isaiah 43:4). "For you are a chosen people.... God's very own possession" (1 Peter 2:9)..... He chose me- us! To be His bride! True, that's the intellectual premise of the Christian life, but only as the gifts are attended, not as ends but as means to gaze into the heart of God, does the premise become personal, God's choosing so utterly passionate. So utterly fulfilling." One Thousand Gifts p. 204

"Is there any greater way to love the Giver than to delight wildly in His gifts? (p. 219). So count the way He loves, a thousand, more, never stop, that when you wake in the morning you can't help turn humbly to the east, unfold your hand to the heavens, and though you tremble and though you wonder, though the world is ugly, it is beautiful, and you can slow and you can trust and you can receive each moment as grace." (p. 224).

376. warm sun on skin

377. the sound of the surf

378. the greatness of the ocean and sky

379. they can't resist the ocean

380. walking hand in hand on the beach

381. her first time at the beach

382. warm ocean breezes

383. nightly card games

384. three monkeys in a king sized bed

385. watching them love our kids

386. siah in the sand

387. the flavors of thanksgiving food

388. a generous family

389. a kind stranger named phylis

390. a hot pink sun hat

391. my four together

392. perfect, unadulterated joy

393. talking God on the beach

394. building sand castles

395. an explosion of color

396. reading a good book

397. the sound of their laughter

398. christmas music on the ipod

399. listening to guitar music

400. the three brothers at sunset

Gifts

2011-11-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

My friend and I have been reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts together. And recently she told me about her favorite Lecrae song. Jack loves Lecrae so we already had the album on our iPod. I really like Lecrae, too, but had not listened to this song a lot. After she told me about it, I listened to it and it is my new favorite song. It says everything so well. Every moment a gift so undeserved that I shouldn't have known. And so I live and breathe and make this list to make my boast in Him alone.

351. middle of the night snuggles with siah, nose to nose

352. baby rolls

353. brother unity

354. christie

355. mild fall temperatures

356. anticipation of time away

355. late night talks

356. spiritual talks

357. tree of thanks

358. remedy church

359. cry of the broken

360. family photo session

361. pumpkin cookies

362. her blue eyes

363. josiah and owen hugs

364. dinner with friends

365. singing

366. apples and peanut butter

367. the incredible colors of a fall sunset

368. laughing with him

369. kitchen experiments

370. reading a good book

371. belly button

372. eden on the phone with daddy

373. visiting with an old friend

374. jamie

375. when she smiles at her brothers

Family Pictures

2011-11-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

One of the very sweet girls who is a leader in our BCM asked if she could take pictures of our family. Photography is a hobby and she wanted some practice shooting a family. Man is she talented! Check out these awesome shots she got!

(You'll probably be seeing this one on our Christmas card!)

Sandy

2011-11-09T16:24:00.000-05:00

God's blessings are always so undeserved, so immeasurable and so perfect. That's how I feel about my friend, Sandy. Her friendship came out of nowhere a few years ago. Looking back now, I can't really remember how it happened that we became friends. God just brought us together like He so often does and I am so very grateful. I guess we can all say that we have lots of wonderful friends but there are a few who are really special, really close. The kind with whom time and distance know no boundaries. This is my friend Sandy. She has been a loyal sounding board, a faithful confidant, a fun friend, someone who I could rely on, a friend who sticks closer than a brother. We've traveled halfway around the world together. Our kids love each other. Our husbands love each other. God is so good, isn't He? Today, I am eternally grateful to God for blessing me with Sandy. Today is her birthday and I miss her. But the beauty of it all is that no matter where we live, I know we'll always be friends. Happy Birthday, Sandy. I wish I was there to celebrate with you. I am praising God for your life today and for His awesome plan in bringing our families together. I love you.

PS- We have no pictures together!! I have lots of Jack and David and of our kids and even one of you and Jack! We need to rectify that!

One Year Ago

2011-11-04T17:08:00.000-04:00

One year ago today we were in Rock Hill seeing Winthrop for the first time, meeting the students at the BCM. One year ago tomorrow we found out baby #4 was on the way!

Looking back, I see God's great faithfulness to us- an amazing ministry, a town we love, the Chambers, a rental home we can afford, wonderful renters for our house in GA, a great group of college students, and our sweet baby girl. It is so clear that God ordained all of the days of the past year- that He was taking care of every detail. He brought us to such a sweet place of ministry and such a sweet place in our family. I am so grateful for all that He has done for us and all He continues to do. For all my life I want to "give Him the glory, great things He has done!"

Four Faces

2011-11-03T15:12:00.000-04:00

Love these four faces. Fuller than full is my heart.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T14:25:00.000-04:00

For the past few Halloween's I've had a lot of fun making the boys' costumes. Plus, they are cheaper and cuter than the ones in the store! As I thought about this year, Superheroes kept coming to mind. The boys love to play Superheroes. They love Batman, Spiderman, Captain America.... but more often than not they come up with their own heroes. So, I decided it would be fun to create our own Superheroes for Halloween. Caleb is currently obsessed with grizzly bears so his superhero is Grizzly Man. Noah's came out of the blue.... Dragon Man- he breathes fire! And Josiah was Lion Man. I had Jack design their superhero logos on the computer and then I created their costumes... I mean superhero disguises. I think they turned out pretty cool and the boys loved them. Eden was of course, a princess. One who if faithfully protected by three heroes. :)

Dragon Man

Grizzly Man

Lion Man

Their Capes

Princess Eden

What am I going as this year? Well, the Queen of this castle, and my favorite superhero Supermom! :)

Snapshots in Homeschooling

2011-10-31T14:09:00.000-04:00

Here's what Caleb has been working on lately:

Bible Costumes: Clothing Then and Now

The Bible is God's "letter" to us. Caleb could write a letter to anyone he wanted to. He chose his betrothed, Ava. :) He wrote it all by himself.

Hebrew and Greek:

An apple tree's seasons:

Write about your Fall Break trip: (again, all by himself)

Memorizing many verses in Proverbs. This one is especially applicable when dealing with our brothers:

Fall Retreat

2011-10-25T22:51:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was Fall Break at Winthrop so Jack planned a Fall Retreat for the BCM students. The kids and I joined them and we had a wonderful weekend. Saturday Jack and I planned an adventure similar to The Amazing Race. We split the students into teams and they had to decode clues, complete tasks and travel to several locations before finally arriving at our destination- Andy's Trout Farm in the mountains along the GA/NC border. We had a wonderful weekend. The weather was beautiful. We relaxed and had such fun hanging out together. I love college ministry. Really, really love it. And I love the way the college students love our kids. I love how much Jack love it- how it fits him so perfectly. There are so many wonderful pictures from our long weekend in the mountains. I had to choose a few.... ok, so more than a few! But I couldn't help it! Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend

Love this man!

I love Noah's reaction to Caleb catching a fish in the next two pictures!

Notice that when Noah caught his fish he ran away!!

Then he came back!

Mommy caught a fish, too! I couldn't get Josiah to come any closer!

Trying to find a signal... it was kind of nice to have no service for a few days!

My sweet friend, Ruth

The place of seeing God

2011-10-25T22:15:00.000-04:00

326. mountains overflowing with color

327. sun glistened spider web

328. birthday fun with sweet friends

329. kissing her cheeks

330. they way he is wrapped already

331. morning fog in the valleys between the peaks

332. reflections on the water

333. the way the college students love our kids

334. singing praises

335. sitting with him in church

336. watching caleb learn and grow in faith

337. after nap siah snuggles

338. noah's soft hands

339. these faces

340. three little monkeys wrestling on the bed

341. "tyder" "pweston" "steben"

342. girl talks

343. chocolates, a hairbrush and silly socks

344. brothers telling secrets

345. campfires

346. stargazing with my oldest son

347. he knows the stars by name

348. he knows my name

349. wedding rings where they belong again

350. little hands in mine

Kids Say the Funniest Things

2011-10-20T16:35:00.000-04:00

Caleb has a loose tooth- his first. And I had not told him about loosing teeth yet, so it freaked him out a little. I explained that when boys and girls are about 5 or 6 years old their baby teeth fall out to make room for big grown up teeth. Then I said, "Oh my goodness, you have a loose tooth! I am not sure I am ready for this!" (meaning he's just getting so big!) and Caleb replied, "Well, it's time, Mommy."

Josiah: Knock, knock
Jack: Who's there?
Josiah: Me!
Jack: Me who?
Josiah: ME!

Caleb: Mommy, want to hear a really funny joke?
Me: Sure!
Caleb: Why doesn't the nose want to go to the eye's school?
Me: Why?
Caleb: Because the eyes say, "Ha ha! You're a nose and you can't come to our school! We don't like you!"
(It took me a while to realize this was his take on "Because the nose got picked on!")

Deep Conversations

2011-10-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

Jack prayed with Caleb before bed, as always and then, as always, I sang with him. And as I was about to leave his room he asked me this question, "Are you going to go to heaven before me?" I was a bit taken aback at such a question out of nowhere and I asked him, "What do you mean?" He said to me, "I mean are you going to die before me? Like when I am a pop-pop are you going to be in heaven and I'll still be here?"

Such a question at bedtime! I told him that, yes, that was probably how it would happen and he got really teary-eyed and asked me why we had to die. And so I reminded him of the Gospel. We talked about sin and the death that comes because we live in a sin-filled world and because we ourselves are sinners. And then I asked him if he could remember why Jesus came. "To die for our sins," he said. And I told him that because of Jesus, death would not be the end. That because of Jesus we would live forever in heaven with Him. I reminded him of the resurrection and how Jesus defeated death. And then I told him that the Bible says that in order to receive the grace and forgiveness offered at the cross, one day he'd repent, pray and give his life to Christ. And that everyone who did that would live forever in heaven with Jesus. I told him that I was just a little girl about 10 years old when I made that decision. And that his daddy was not too much older than he is right now. And then Caleb asked if he could talk to daddy, too. So, I went and got Jack.

When we got back into his room Caleb said, "Mommy, while you were gone I prayed what you said." I said, "You did?" And he said, "Yes. Want to hear what I said? Dear God, please forgive me for my sins. I believe in you and I promise I will never, ever forget what Jesus did on the cross. I love you, God. Amen." At this point, I was quite emotional, although I tried to hide it from him. Jack took over talking with Caleb about the Gospel and about his own decision to follow Christ.

Caleb prays out loud every night after we tuck him in and leave his room. He doesn't like us to hear and I always wish I could make out what he says on the monitor, but I can't. But that night, Caleb asked us if we wanted to know what he prayed every night. "Dear God, Please help me have no bad dreams and not be afraid of shadows. And please let no one come into my room while I am sleeping, except Mommy when she feeds Eden. And God, you're the greatest guy and the most extraordinariest God. I believe in you and I love you. Amen." Then he said, "Mommy, I know what extraordinariest means. It means the most amazing."

We kissed him good night and as we sat down in the living room Jack said, "That was the most awesome thing ever." And it was. I love watching him understand the gospel. I love watching God working in his young heart, calling Caleb to himself. What a privilege it is to be a part of his faith journey, to get to disciple our own son. There really is nothing better. Nothing.

Mother-Son Date Night

2011-10-20T15:17:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, our Chick-fil-a here in Rock Hill hosted a "Mother-Son Date Knight."

I took my two biggest boys on a date. It was wonderful. They got dressed up for me and opened all the doors. I really enjoyed sitting and talking with them. The Chick-fil-a was decorated and they seated you at a table and workers dressed like knights came and served us. On our table was a craft- designing a family crest. And a placemat with conversation starters. It was so fun asking the questions on the placemat and getting to hear their answers. And we even got free dessert at the end! Jack gave each boy some money and they paid for dinner. They were very serious about the whole thing as he told them that when a boy goes on a date with a girl, the boy pays. So cute.

It was a wonderful night. I love getting to watch these boys grow and getting to have real conversations with them as they do. I am really looking forward to many more date nights with the sweet men in my life.

Pumpkin Fun

2011-10-20T15:06:00.000-04:00

Back on October 2, we went to a Pick Your Own Pumpkin patch. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We rode a hay ride out to the patch and picked our pumpkins. The boys got their faces painted and we had a picnic lunch. It was a really fun Fall Saturday.