Wordless Wednesday - I Love/Hate My Dog

This is what we woke to the other day! Time for a new dog bed!

Great Wolf Lodge

Well, we had an incredible time at Great Wolf Lodge last week. We only spent Thursday night there, but were able to spend half the day Thursday and all day Friday at the water park. We were all tired when we left, but it was so much fun! The Great Wolf Lodge is incredible, and we're hoping that our budget allows a visit again soon. Enjoy the pictures and video!

A Very Special Day

This past Saturday, September 19th, was National "Talk Like a Pirate" Day, but it was also a very special day in my life. Saturday was Jeremy and I's eleventh anniversary! It has been eleven years of blessings beyond my biggest dreams. God has blessed us in our marriage and with our family. I don't deserve the man God gave me... but I'll take him anyway! :D He spoils me rotten and I love it.

We didn't celebrate with a fancy dinner and a weekend away this year, but thanks to our good friend Pam who watched all our kiddos, we were able to spend some good quality time alone. We had fun, got some great food, talked about things we never get the time to talk about, had tons of good laughs, and even did some slow dancing to our favorite songs after the kids were asleep.

These days, more and more marriages are failing. Marriage isn't easy and often full of stress and hard times, but we have a good share of great times too! I don't take for granted what I have, and I thank God that he has given us the strength to last. Happy Anniversary to us! Thank you for loving me, Supa'man!

Having Fun!

Hey guys! Here's a fun video I took last week of the kids trying out some products that we were reviewing on My Four Monkeys. They had so much fun! Leter this week we're heading to Great Wolf Lodge and Resort in Williamsburg, so I'll have lots of pictures and videos from that to post when we return. Also, Grandpa Marv is heading our way to visit, so we've got a busy week ahead!!

Rea's Engaged!!!

I am so excited that I can't even begin to tell you just how excited I am!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?! Anyway, my little sis is getting married! That's right. She is officially engaged and we couldn't be more happy. Looks like the date is set for May, and Clay and Andrea have already started planning. Clay treats my little sis so well and I am so thankful that God brought them together. Check out her ring! Isn't it gorgeous?! Thank you to God Almighty from whom all blessings flow!!!

Fun in West VA!

Caitlyn and I went on a trip this past weekend to a ladies conference at Shenandoah Bible Baptist Church in West Virginia. The theme this year was "Under the Sea" and the decorations were incredible as usual. It's the same conference I attend every year, but this was Caitlyn's first time. Caitlyn amazes me with the ease at which she makes new friends. No other little girls from our church attended, but that didn't phase her. She went right in, sat down in her class, and started talking! :D Caitlyn is maturing quicker than we anticipated, and Jeremy and I are so proud of the young woman she is becoming. We had a great time together and with the ladies from our church. We rode up with my good friend, Candy, and were blessed to hear incredible speakers that inspired and motivated us to be better women, better moms, and better wives. Here's a few pictures from the weekend, and a great video of the end of the conference balloon surprise. As you can tell, I had some trouble trying to take a picture of the two us! :) Enjoy!

Our First Week Back to School

I hope everyone is enjoying your holiday weekend and spending it with family! We are heading back to church for the evening service here shortly, but I wanted to take a quick moment and tell you about our first week back to school. This week was our first week back on a "school schedule", and while adjusting wasn't easy as pie, it went much smoother than I expected. The kids have been used to sleeping in so getting them up at 7:30 was a little rough the first few days. They've done really good about getting their morning chores done quickly and Caitlyn has been done with her school work by lunch time two days this week! (heehee, I just looked over and Jeremy and John David are sword fighting with the sticks from their corndogs! As they say, men are just little boys in a bigger body!)

I'm still working on a consistent time for Kylie and John David's school work, but it tends to have to be flexible as a result of Luke's nap schedule not being set in stone every day. He is trying to transition from two naps to one, but hasn't fully gotten there yet. This past week, we didn't get a chance to head to the library, but I'm planning on adding that back in the schedule this coming week. Also, this week Caitlyn starts back to violin lessons and Kylie has her ballet/tap debut! I think we're doing pretty good managing our time, but I'm sure it'll take a couple weeks on the new schedule till everything starts running smoothly. On a high note, the kids didn't forget as much as I had feared during the summer vacation! :D

Here's a video I found of Luke learning to walk. Somehow these didn't make it into the first video montage. I laugh everytime I watch this! Luke has really taken off and is almost running. He has taken a few tumbles and has a bruise on his cheek right now to prove it. I love watching him conque new things. I never knew children could inspire you so much and bring so much joy to your lives!

Party Pics and Video

Mommy's DIY birthday decor - not bad!

It's the birthday boy!




The grill master!
Luke's first tastes of his birthday cake - we'll just forget about the one he stole off the table the night before! :D



Mommy and Daddy trying to clean all the cake and icing off the birthday boy!
Presents! Fun presents! Noisy presents!

Luke really didn't understand the "opening presents" concept so all the kids pitched in.....





Happy Birthday Lukey!