Friday, May 30, 2008

We had a successful photo shoot!!

I am in shock, but it's true. We had professional pictures done today and they went well!! We have not attempted this feat since the only other time we have done prof pictures. One less kid and we had a total of two pictures where Madi was present. One of her about to bolt out of the room and the other was the back of her head as she laid on Tim's shoulder crying.

But today was great! I had some UGA outfits made for a great Father's Day gift for Tim. So those were first. Then we did a tea party setting. Then we did dance pictures since we missed those last week due to the tornado. Madi did great until the dance pictures. And I was totally fine with that. We had a great photographer who just let them be natural and play. Pictures to come soon....

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Meeting the Governor

We got to meet the Governor when he came through to see the storm damage. Tim and Kit's home made the front page of the local paper. http://www.ledgernews.com/topstories.html

Sunday, May 25, 2008

With Hope-Please pray for the Chapman Family

Please pray for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. His 5 year old daughter Maria, was killed in a tragic accident at their home on Wed, May 21. Our sweet friend sang his song "With Hope" at Jacob's funeral five years ago. Now that song will be an encouragement to his own family and friends. This is a website you can go to to send your condolences and see a very sweet video of Maria.






With Hope
This is not at all How we thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We has so many dreams
But now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can doCan take away the pain
The pain of losing you
And we can cry with hope
We can say good-bye with hope
'Cause we know our good-bye is not the end
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again
And never have I known
Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more
The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father smile and say 'well done.'
And I imagine you
Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now your home
And now your free
Chorus
We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything
God promised us is true
Chorus
We wait with hope
And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We let go with hope

Update on my inlaws

They are doing well and appreciate everyone's prayers and help. They have moved into the home of a sweet lady in our church. It's a beautiful historic home in downtown Woodstock. It's vacant and for sale. They will be unpacking and trying to adjust while making arrangements traveling to Peru in two weeks. Here are some pictures.




From the top of their street

From the driveway

From the foyer (looking upstairs) Back yard

His Steps Ministries house
This used to be an open field between their house and the ministry
Uprooted tree on the ministry property
His Steps house from the road

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Thank you for the prayers!

Thank you so much for all your prayers. I wanted to give a quick update. There is a LOT of damage, the house is probably a complete loss. But God is AWESOME! So many people helped us out today with babysitting and dogsitting and meals, etc. I was blown away. My inlaws are just great. They are handling this so well. Here are some pics the insurance commissioner took. They are the last ones on the slide show. The tan house with the most damage. http://www.inscomm.state.ga.us/PUBLICINFORMATION/FlashPhotos2.aspx

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Please pray for my inlaws

Tim and Kit's home was hit very hard by tonight's tornado. It's uninhabitable. They are safe and so are their animals. But they are not sure what's going to be salvageable from their home. Right after the tornado hit, it POURED down rain. They have 10+ trees laying on their house and the rain flooded the house. They have a great attitude and immediately went about retrieving the materials that they are to take on their mission trip to Peru in three weeks. They are truly a testimony of God's love and His peace. They are staying with us tonight and tomorrow will begin trying to pick up the pieces.

A Leah funny

Today we are headed to the orthodontist for Mackenzie. And Leah said, "I can't wait until one day I can get bracelets too!"

Saturday, May 17, 2008

China tragedy

This horrible tragedy has been on my heart so much this week.

So many of the lost are children. And due to China's one child rule, many of these parents are grieving their only child. I can't imagine the pain they must feel. Consider reading this story to try to get your mind around the loss these parents are dealing with: http://www.charlotte.com/171/story/624849.html

~Our eyes have been opened to the poverty in China through several friends who have adopted from there. Thanks to Cristy for posting this story on her blog.

There are orphanages that are not safe, so children are living in tents outside in the elements. Here is one example:
*Dujiangyan: Children are safe. Children have been evacuated. Their temporary shelter has no tap water or electricity. They urgently need food, clean water, diapers, and powdered milk.

~So how can we help? Please consider making a donation to Half the Sky, who is a very reputable organization. Ford has agreed to match the donations, so even a small amount will go just that much further. Here is the link:http://www.globalgiving.com/pr/2100/proj2086a.html
Please, please prayerfully consider what you can do to be a part...

Friday, May 16, 2008

Our Zoo trip

We went to the zoo last week. It has taken me a week to recover enough to be able to post.

No, I am only kidding. We had a great time. We went with a group of homeschoolers, so we got a great rate. Tim was planning to go but things finally picked up with the business, so he was booked. So I took the girls plus Mackenzie's friend Kayla. We left the house bright and early with all the food 5 kids could ever need to go the zoo. The drive wasn't too bad. You gotta love Atlanta traffic. We got down there and we parked at Grant Park. Well, that's a good little walk to the zoo. No problem since I had my mack daddy stroller that seats 3-4. I left the food in the car thinking that it would stay cool and we could come back out for lunch. Not the best idea I have ever had. We weren't there 15 minutes before the littles were hungry. This is of course after we visited the zoo potty. So we bum some pretzels from our friends and try to hold out for lunch. They lasted a little longer before they absolutely were going to starve, so we headed out to eat. It was a really nice walk up the hill back to the van. Mackenzie and I really got our exercise taking turns pushing the 150+ stroller.

So after lunch is over we went back in to see the rest of the animals. I haven't been to the Atlanta Zoo since I was a kid, so I was excited too. The gorillas were hysterical. They really act like humans. The mom was taking care of the kids and the dad was laying out in the sun! It was really funny. And we loved the pandas. They were really cute and much smaller than I imagined. We rode the carousel and the train. Madi even rode a giraffe on the carousel by her self!


We made a day of it, so when we headed out we were pooped. We got almost to the car when Kayla realized that one of Leah's crocs was missing. Now had it been a generic croc, it would have been left. But no, it was the real deal with Dora on it. So we hiked back in and thanks to Mackenzie and Kayla found it way back at the very back of the zoo. We finally made it out, I lost 5 pounds and I got the kids ice cream at QT instead of paying $5 a piece at the zoo.

Here are some unlabeled pictures for you! :)

















Thursday, May 15, 2008

We are the proud parents of.....

A middle-schooler. Mackenzie's last day of school was yesterday. My MIL says she likes to think of it as "mental school." I think that's a VERY appropriate description.

She had a great day at Kings. They got out at noon, so we left dance early to go pick her up. Then we went to over to the park to meet some friends. It was raining when we got there but we decided to go under the pavilion and eat and wait it out. GREAT idea. The rain stopped and we had the park to ourselves for a while. We had a great time.

Last night was Mackenzie's award ceremony for Word Of Life at a church near us. Tim had to work late so I decided I would just take the girls. You probably know where this is headed. Since we were at the park yesterday, Vivian didn't get a good nap. I actually got dinner cooked before we had to go. So we were doing good. Mackenzie needs to be there early so we get her settled and the littles and I find where we need to go, go potty (of course!) and just stand outside the sanctuary for a few minutes. Finally I decide that we should go in and get a seat. I didn't really think about it until this very moment, but the kids at this church have children's church. So no one is used to having little kids in the service like at our church. But I thought mine would do fine since Madi and Leah would like the presentation and Vivian could eat snack. Well, we were about 10 minutes into it when Vivian couldn't take it anymore. I was trying to help her with her cheerios and she yelling, "MINE!!!!!" Um how old are you? So I took Vivian and Leah out and Madi wanted to stay and watch. We went right outside the door so I could still see Madi. Well, that lasted about 2 minutes before they wanted to walk around. So we start to walk around the hall. Then I see that the main doors to the sanctuary are open. So I try to quietly turn them in the other direction. This is when it got really interesting. Leah tripped and hit her mouth on a couch that had very hard legs. She's screaming and bleeding. I pick her and Vivian takes off and RACES for the open door (which by this time is starting to close. I am sure the people near it were loving the noise.) So I have got Leah in one arm bleeding and screaming and I pick Vivian up by the arm to try to get away from the door. At this point God sent an angel from heaven to me. This super sweet lady came from around the corner and asked if she could help. So I literally THROW Vivian to her who thankfully went happily to this stranger, so that I could see if any of Leah's teeth fell out. Ruth (isn't that an angelic name?) took us down to the kitchen where she got us ice and paper towels. Then she went (with Vivian still in her arms) to her classroom and got us candy and a bracelet for each of them. It's only at this point that I realize Madi is still sitting in the sanctuary by herself!! So I race back down there and we go back in and sit with Madi. For about 2 min before Vivian is at it again. We spent the rest of the time alternating between standing in the back of the sanctuary so that we could see Mackenzie get her award and out in the hall way.

Vivian topped the night off by setting of the car alarm as we were waiting for Mackenzie. We were still inside the church and I could see the poor people jump from the window. And since this is a rental I wasn't quite sure how to turn it off for a couple of minutes. Fun times!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!


What a great idea to have a day dedicated to mother's! But this year my thinking has changed towards this day. I heard something today that really sums up the way I feel about being honored today. Today is a day to celebrate being a mother. To celebrate these wonderful miracles that God has placed in my life. And instead of thinking of what things my family could do for me, how about thinking of how I can show my gratitude for them? What a thought! This is a day that I can really put into perspective the gift God has given me. I am going to be thankful for the diaper I have to change, the fight that I broke up, the screaming child in the back seat, the mess on the floor, etc. Sure, it's tough. No question. But in those moments they are growing up so fast. I don't want to miss one minute!

Today is a bittersweet day. I miss my mother. I miss my son. But I am so incredibly thankful that God made me a mother! What a precious gift and I pray that all my girls will receive this wonderful gift of their own one day.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers in my life! I treasure you!

Very cool video!

Borrowed from Tiff's blog. I LOVE the idea of having twins and I think this video is so sweet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-wULAaD50

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Awesome yard sale at my house!

I had a yard sale yesterday and today. I almost didn't have it b/c I was thinking no one would come way out here. Plus I didn't have any help with the kids yesterday so I was feeling sorry for myself. But it worked out great. Tim was here today and that was a huge help. We had lots of people and made a TON of $$! I am in shock! And the best part is... I posted the leftovers on CL and freecycle and when we got home from a friend's house tonight, almost everything was gone! And they had neatly placed what the didn't want in a box outside. I expeceted it to be ransacked, so I was very pleasantly surprised.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

A couple of funnies

Leah got a new lunch bag for her bday. This morning we were in the car talking.

Madison : "Hey mama, what are the little white things in Leah new bag?"
I didn't really know what she was talking about so I did my typical, "I don't know honey."
Madison: "I don't think they are food."
Uh oh.
Me: "No they're not food, why did you try one?"
Madison: "Yeah, just one little one. But it didn't taste good at all."
Me: "No we can't eat those. They are just in there so bugs don't get in there and eat the fabric. They are poisonous!"
Madison: "Huh, that's funny, because I didn't get sick!"

Then we got home today our neighbor was cutting his grass. I went to put Vivian down for her nap. She pointed to the window and said, "DADDY!!" One year old and already knows that lawnmower sounds = daddy!

Friday, May 2, 2008

You know you live out in the country when...

ENORMOUS bugs are hitting the window so loud that it sounds like rocks! We have bugs out here that we can't identify.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Charlotte's Web

We went to see a production of Charlotte's Web today! It was fun. We met up with my friend and her kids and had a picnic and thne headed over to the show.


Kayla, Mackenzie, Vivian and Madison waiting for the show to start

Madi and Leah with their programs

Talitha, Lucas and Selah (our new friends!)

Vivian having a moment


Then we got to take pics with the cast. This is Charlotte.

Fern

Wilbur w/ Mackenzie, Vivian, Kayla, Selah, Lucas and Jacob Timpleton

So on the way home, guess what? We have to go potty! Madi does anyway. So we stop at Wendy's. We all go in and Madi all of a sudden doesn't have to go. As I am trying to convince her that the toilet doesn't flush by itself, I hear a blood curdling scream. Leah has an injury. Actually it was a pretty bloody one. She hit her mouth on the sink. She had a bruise on the outside of her lip and I thought she might have bitten through, but I think she's ok.

The rest of the ride was quiet because the littles were so tuckered out!