The Best Place in the World

1 sick week + 2 bad days at work = "Calgon, take me away!"

Can't wait till we get to go here:

Summer can't come soon enough!

got seeds?

This is the third year Caitlin has participated in our church's Sunday Night Bible Study for children: BreakOut. It is a pretty intensive study that teaches children some pretty amazing stuff: how to share your testimony, the importance of devotions, not to mention memorizing Scripture. We have been more than pleased (and a little awestruck) at everything she has learned over the past 2.5 years!

Every year the 5th and 6th graders get to take part in a day-long Mission Trip to our Upper Sand Mountain Parish. It is only about an hour and a half from us, but the differences could not be more startling! The people who inhabit Upper Sand Mountain are not typically very well-off. They grow their own food and live very simply. Yesterday our children took LOTS of seeds up there and bagged them into small batches so that the families could come "shop" for what they wanted to grow in their gardens.


Here is our awesome group of 5th and 6th graders who went on the trip. Caitlin is on the bottom row in a yellow t-shirt next to her friend, Olivia. Olivia's mom just happens to be one of Caitlin's small group leaders in BreakOut plus one of my good friends. I couldn't have asked for a better Bible Study teacher for my child.

Here they are hard at work bagging up tomato seeds, pumpkin seeds, black-eyed pea seeds, etc. Really the list goes on and on and on!

It was the strangest feeling all day just to know that Caitlin was not in the same city with me! I was and am so proud of her servant heart, but I prayed all day that they would be protected by God's strong arm.

She still has not stopped talking about the fun they had yesterday. But she is sure that she does not want to see another seed in a long, long time!!!

What a Week!!

Well...we started the week showing our love for each other and with a sick little boy.

He came home early on Monday with a fever of 100.5 and stayed home on Tuesday with his Daddy to recover. This is what I came home to on Tuesday:

Well, he went back to school on Wednesday only to come to me at lunch on Thursday with a fever of 101.5! We left school and immediately made our way to the doctor. The nurse said he felt very hot when she touched him, so she took his temp and it had already risen to 102.3!! She gave him some Motrin, did a strep test and a flu test, and then let him rest.

Lo and behold...Harrison has strep! So it was another day at home on Friday to help him get better. We ended up staying at home on Saturday (except for a quick trip to Publix to rent a movie) so he would feel better for church today.

We HAD to make it to church today to attend the commissioning service for Caitlin's Mission Trip to Upper Sand Mountain. I just got her back, and she had SOOOOOO much fun and is more than ready to serve again on another mission trip. I love that girl and her beautiful heart!

So...a crazy week only to have to go to school on Presidents' Day tomorrow to make up for our snow days back in January. (Although I would rather go tomorrow than in June!)
Lots of prayers have already been sent up for a healthy household this next week!

Siesta Scripture Memory Team Verse 4

It's early in the morning--my favorite time to talk to God! He has already led me to the Scripture Verse I want to memorize next.

"Lord, be gracious to us, we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress." Isaiah 33:2 NIV

Happy Valentine's Day!

We started our Valentine celebration early this morning before we left for school. Caitlin found these Valentine surprises in her chair...

and Harrison found this cute guy in his chair...

WOW! He's as big as Harrison! Another monkey to add to his collection.

A sweet Daddy with 2 of his Valentines

Me and my sweet Valentine children!

We didn't know it at the time this picture was taken, but Harrison was starting to slowly go downhill! At 10:15 the school nurse called me and told me that I had a sick Valentine boy! He had a fever of 101 and had that glassy-eyed look. I promptly took him home and put him to bed. (I knew he was sick because I offered to stop AnYwHeRe to get him something to eat on the way home, and he said he just wanted to go to bed!) He's feeling better now especially since he has had a long 3-hour nap, some Ibuprofen, and a good steak dinner courtesy of Daddy.

Me and my first Valentine
Because I left school early with a sick Hare Bear, I didn't get my Valentine surprise from him. Oh well...I have something to look forward to tomorrow!!
Hope you have a great Valentine's Day and Night!!

Movie Time

So yesterday, even though I wanted to stay home in my PJ's ALL day, we had a pretty busy day planned.
First, Caitlin and her friend, Hannah, had planned to meet up at 11:00 at Monaco Pictures to see...

...which worked out perfectly because Harrison was supposed to go see...

...at 11:30 with friends.
So I got Caitlin and Hannah settled in their movie theater with popcorn and drinks, and Harrison and I walked 3 doors down to our theater to wait for our movie to start. Right as our Previews started, my cell phone started to vibrate. I looked down and saw it was Caitlin calling. Now why would she be calling me in the middle of her movie?!?

Maybe it was because THE MOVIE BROKE!!!! Yes, that's right. All those screaming little girls were devastated because the movie they had been waiting for all those months broke right as it started!

So I met her in the lobby and brought the two disappointed girls in with us to watch "Gnomeo and Juliet." She won't admit it, but she actually liked the movie! It was a very cute story with a happy ending, thank goodness!
There was lots more to our busy day (friends over, playing outside, running errands, eating wtih friends, Bob Jones basketball game, and fun times with friends), but the movie part is the funniest and the one I most want to remember.

Can't Touch This

Well, the weekend we have been waiting for finally arrived....Caitlin's Dance Competition weekend! She has worked so hard since August along with the other 17 girls in her dance class. But honestly....I felt like I have put almost as much of my sweat, tears, time, and gas (plus money!) into this performance. We checked her out of school on Friday to make the drive to Montgomery--this was cause for celebration in itself.

Glad to be here at the hotel for the weekend!!
After checking in, we headed over to the Performing Arts Center to watch some of her friends compete in the Group Competition.

Can you tell she and Kayla are excited?!?

We stayed for about an hour, then hunger took over.

Family photo-op in front of the fountain at the Performing Arts Center
And where did we head for our supper?

Dreamland where we had the best (or craziest) waitress ever. The girls wanted their picture taken with her after they had their "Dance Off."

We then headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep for the competition the next morning.

After waking up WaY ToO early...we ate and got one little girl all dolled up...

Here she is ready to go shake her money-maker!

Practicing for the big number

Group shot of the "Hammertime Girls" before they went on stage. (Caitlin is on the far right at the top)
They went on stage right after this and danced the best they ever had!!! I was such a proud Mama! Although I thought I was going to throw up out of pure nervousness as I was waiting for them to take the stage.

Here are the girls at the Awards Portion. Caitlin is leaping up to go get their medals for 3rd Place Overall in the Junior Division--what an honor, especially if you had seen their competition! They also won a High Gold ribbon, High Points Award for Tap, and Most Entertaining in the Junior Division! Guess Daddy is going to have to build a new shelf in her room just to hold all of her awards.

Good Job, Caitlin!!!

I am One Proud Mama!!!!
We then watched other groups from her Dance Company perform.
After that, we drove over to my Aunt Bobbie's house for a delicious home-cooked meal!! (Just what we needed after our artery-clogging lunch at Chris'!!)

We had a lot of fun visiting with my Aunt Bobbie, Cousin Olivia, and Cousin Laci. We just don't get to see them enough!
Then it was back to the hotel for...

swimming in the pool!
It was a long and tiring day, and on Sunday there were classes the girls attended. It's an honor to take the classes because they are taught by world-renowned choreographers and dancers.

By tonight, though, she was more than ready for bed after her loooooong weekend.

I think we all are!!!! Luckily I get to snuggle with my Hare-Bear after missing him all weekend!

ABC...123

The 4th and 5th grades led the PTA program last Tuesday night by performing a "Tribute to Motown." Caitlin was in the group that paid tribute to the Jackson 5 and sang "ABC...123." Guess who was one of the lead singers?!? (Have I mentioned that she was born entertaining us?)

My baby girl with her backup singers

Front and Center doing what she does best!

Afterwards we had to get a picture of her and her friend, Hannah
*I wish more of the pictures had turned out, but that gym and I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to taking pictures! Just know that she stole the show with her singing and dancing!!

Siesta Scripture Memory Team Verse 3

It's that time again...Scripture Memory Verse! I am so loving learning scripture. It is hard to pick each time, but I think I have a good one. I have had to say this one again and again when things have gotten tough.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4 NIV