Family fun and Community Fun Day

Katelyn being an Alabama fan last weekend when some of Tracy's family from Alabama came to visit.

Katelyn playing with Great Aunt Judy.

Giving cuddles to Aunt Amy (MiMi)

Playing on the computer with Nana.

Today we went to our church Community Fun Day and the kids had a blast. Here's Ethan on a pony.

Katelyn got to ride with him too.

They really enjoyed this and didn't want to get off!

They also had fun gyms for the kids to play on and Ethan really liked it. I think he's going to sleep well tonight!

Once again they got to ride in the church train.

We're still alive...

Ethan and Katelyn love Awana's! Here they are wearing Cubbie Bear masks!

Katelyn in her element--half naked and eating a cookie!

DaddyBob bought Ethan and Katelyn some cute Alabama outfits--which they love. Katelyn calls this her Princess outfit and Ethan thinks he looks cool!

We've been doing well, just busy as usual. I have just got to say that tonight has been wonderfully cool. As I sit here typing, we've got the windows open and I LOVE it! : )

School's back in and life is crazy again!

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I started back to school (the kids too) and it has been very busy. Ethan and Katelyn are doing great at preschool. Ethan especially loves it and tells me he can't wait to go and how he loves his teacher and talks about his friends. Katelyn wasn't as happy to return at first, but has settled in nicely. It's such a wonderful facility and the teachers are great!

The above picture was a few days before school got back in when Dad came and helped me clean the house. Whenever I do any cleaning, Ethan and Katelyn always want to help. They have a kid-sized vacuum, mop and broom. We, of course, encourage this!

The video below is kind of dark, but it shows Ethan singing to Katelyn before she goes to sleep. When we were on the youth trip, we were all in a room together so Ethan started singing to Katelyn when she was lying in her pack'n'play. When we got back, she kept demanding that Ethan come and sing to her every night and mostly he loves doing it.

Dance Party- WHOOO!

The kids really enjoyed dancing to the band's music!

Youth Trip to Panama City Beach

This is our first morning at the beach and the kids were very excited to see the ocean from this window in the cafeteria. They couldn't wait to get out there!

We walked out there after breakfast and had a hard time keeping them out of the water! Later we went back and swam and played but I didn't bring my camera. Unfortunately, that ended up being the only real time we got to play in the water as the rest of the week the warning flags were out.

I worried a lot about how Katelyn would do sharing a big room with me and Ethan and the other youth minister's wife and two kids since she is such a light sleeper. She did very well though her schedule was totally off. I took a pic of her sleeping because no one hardly ever gets to see her sleep since opening the door always wakes her up!

Although Ethan claimed he was not tired, he took a few naps too!

These are our roommates and they are all modeling the new stuff they got at a surf shop. Ethan got goggles and Katelyn got a kickboard. The other too got a boogie board and new sunglasses.

This is Ethan and Katelyn living it up during one of our worship services. They called it dance party and would always say "whoo!" afterwards. I've got a video that will be uploaded soon. We had a band from Atlanta called Counting Crosses who were awesome and totally ministry focused. They even led small groups and went on outings with us!

Our second to last day we tried to go to the beach one more time just to play in the sand but a thundercloud chased us away a few minutes later.

Our last morning there and these two didn't want to wake up. Aren't they cute?

This week was very stretching for me in a good way. I had to be more flexible with the kids and their schedules than I've ever been before, but we had a good time. We played in the pool, a little at the beach, went to a water park (Ethan loved the slides), went bowling and shopping and the kids even got to join in parts of the worship service. Although I would have liked to be more involved with the youth, I did try to spend lots of time praying for them. It was a good trip and the youth were impacted in great ways.

A little more thoughtful...

This summer has been a great summer for thinking and understanding truths. They've mainly focused on the power of music to touch the soul (Tracy's iPod he got me has awakened my delight in good worship), the true meaning of being a woman (thanks to the book Captivating) and the joy of discovering God's word anew through study and Christian fiction.

Concerning music-- during the school year, I mostly crave quiet when I have a moment, but in this mostly quiet summer (after the kids are in bed, of course) and during my runs (which I started again this summer) I've discovered the joy of finding music that speaks to the particular moods of my heart. I have had great friends send me music (thanks Sarah) and I've also been exposed to some new Christian groups. For example, I just recently discovered Leeland (click on the link and you can preview their album on their site). My favorite song is "Falling for You" and it talks about falling in love with Jesus again and going back to the place where it all began. I don't think it's just about going back to your moment of salvation, but going back to places where you remember making decisions that moved you away from where you were supposed to be going and going back and making amends in your relationship with Christ. I think that is so healing because how often do we backtrack and try to fix mistakes we've made in the past in any relationship (though we should)? Our relationship with Christ is just like any other relationship and requires diligence and loving maintenance.

And the book--I really believe this book was sent from God in to my unknowing hands one late night at Wal-Mart on vacation (it found itself in the bargain bin first!). I believe I cried through almost every chapter and just wished that I could have found this book when I was a young teenage girl trying to figure out what it meant to be a woman. It has been so healing and so refreshing and has helped me see what true beauty means.

And finally, God's Word (and His Word in fictional form!)--as an avid reader, I can never escape words and their power to transform. With more time to study God's Word, I am every day amazed at how God guides seemingly unrelated devotionals, Bible passages and even fictional books to preach the same message (what are the statistics on that, I wonder?). With ears to hear, I've heard Him so clearly this summer and His message? Well, that's pretty personal. : ) But I will say that it is bathed in love and challenge and moving me past those places where I get stuck. I truly feel the verse "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8) has been my verse this summer.

I'm not sure what is in my future and how this next year of school will be for me, but I know I walk in all that is ahead of me with a sense of God's leading presence and an assurance that He can talk to me through various mediums as long as I have ears to hear!

4th of July Pics a little late

We made a visit to Chau Ram Park to do a little swimming. The kids really enjoyed it, but the water was amazingly cold!

Ethan is such a good big brother!

We didn't go anywhere for fireworks or buy any of our own so we listened to the 4th of July music programs at Nana's house. Here Ethan and Katelyn are "getting down" to Huey Lewis and the News (remember them???).

Ethan is officially just on the big boy potty now, but I though this was too cute! Katelyn likes to sit on the potty to read a book, but has yet to master its real purpose!

Katelyn's birthday---a week late!

Here she is looking at all the Dora stuff. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the cake. It was a cute Dora cake with little figurines: Dora holding a present and Swiper chasing her. Katelyn loves Swiper and if you are doing something she doesn't want you to do she says, "Swiper, no swiping!"

Of all of us, Ethan was the most comfortable in the party hat. He wore it almost the whole day!

Her hat-wearing lasted about 3 seconds after I took the picture!

When I wasn't looking, Ethan tried out ALL of the blowers and promptly ruined them by biting and slobbering. Fortunately, Katelyn didn't seem to mind.

Katelyn got lots of wonderful presents: a baby doll, a little car, a kid cell phone, a dress, a Dora kite, a recorder (I'm not sure yet if I think that one is wonderful!), some cute items from Nana and DaddyBob and two bubble makers!

The big present from Nana and DaddyBob was this beautiful rocking chair they got her. She loves it!

Our big present was a Princess bike!

After all the fun, we went outside so they could play in the pool and use the Bubble machines.

Ethan is obsessed with this bubble machine. We don't let him play with guns, so I guess this is the closest he'll ever get. He runs around outside either chanting "kaboom" or "I got the doctor!". I have no idea why he says that, but he thinks it's funny.

Yes, my little darling is now officially two years old. Her birthday was June 26th--which was also right in the middle of VBS. That's why this post is so late! Her birthday party was last Saturday, and although it was all adults, she (and Ethan) had a blast. Her theme was Dora and while she was taking her nap, we put up balloons and put out her Dora plates and stuff. When she got up, she was so excited and kept yelling, "A party! A party!".

Daddy, Don't Go!

Ethan and Katelyn didn't want Daddy to leave and go to work. : )

Having fun in the sprinkler!

Ethan loved the sprinkler, but Katelyn was a little upset about getting wet!

Playing, Playing!

Katelyn and Ethan playing in boxes.

Here the box is a boat and Katelyn has the oar!

"What's that sound?" Katelyn's favorite question! In this case, it was an airplane. We were outside playing in the sprinklers.

Splashing in a mud puddle made from the sprinklers. Unfortunately, right after this Ethan got bitten by a huge ant all of his legs!

Ethan and Katelyn refusing to let Daddy go to work (video to come later!).

Eating after swimming in the pool of a youth group member.

Ethan and Daddy in the pool! Ethan found the squirt gun and was in love.

Grandpa reading Katelyn her new favorite book--Incredible Me. She even sleeps with it!

Katelyn wanted to see her cute pigtails in the mirror and then Ethan wanted to see himself too!

Smiling for Mama! I finally got all of Katelyn's hair up!

Enjoying summer!

It's been a great couple of weeks beginning summer! I haven't taken many pictures, but we've been busy. We've gone swimming and playing at the lake, swimming in the pool in Toccoa, gone to the library (yesterday they had a magician show!) and had fun at home. We've been reading lots of books. We are doing the Catching the Reading Bug at the library and the kids get prizes after I read them a certain number of books. Ethan likes every time I write a book down on his list (though Katelyn is ahead of him because she isn't as picky!). We've even played in the sprinklers.

I can't believe it, but Katelyn is turning two in a couple of weeks. She's turning in to such a fun little lady. She talks so much now and is such a happy girl. Yesterday, Nana and Grandpa came over and we took the kids to the lake to go swimming and play in the playground. Katelyn was so excited that in the car she kept giggling and and kicking her legs. She's such a happy girl! She's obsessed with Dora, but calls her "D-D-D-Dora!". We're just doing a small family party for her this year since she's still so little and with Ethan always around, she's never lonely for kids anyway!

Ethan and Katelyn are really starting to play together. It gives me a nice break every once in a while, though they mostly want me to play with them. Ethan is blowing me away with how smart he is. The other day Ethan was playing with his legos and he built this tower/rocketship in perfectly coordinated black and red. It was amazing! I wish I had taken a picture of it!

I'm loving being on break. It's amazing that you don't realize how busy you are until you have a moment to yourself. I was running on empty a bit last year! This summer has been so refreshing!

Back from vacation from Myrtle Beach!

I am under the colorful umbrella with the kids. We spent a good bit of time just playing on the beach which went a lot like me chasing them as they ran in different directions and me building them sand castles that they stepped on! It was fun though!

When we got back, we put Ethan's bunkbeds up and he really likes them. Now he actually has room to play with his toys!

This is at Broadway at the Beach an outdoor shopping area. It has everything though--Build a Bear (which Katelyn loved), rides that Katelyn and Ethan really enjoyed, IMAX and even a place to feed fish.

At our favorite place to eat--Japanese!

Ethan showing off his new Cars toy at the Japanese restaurant!

Amy, Nana, DaddyBob, Uncle Kelly and Uncle Mikey!

They really enjoyed the lazy river at the hotel.

As you can see, I didn't actually take many pictures. Nana took the best pictures, that we got copies of but don't have for the blog. It was a great week with lots of fun and shopping and good food! A week isn't long enough though!