Finally Warm Weather!

We are loving this warmer weather! We took a trip to the park with Mamaw and some of our cousins....oh yeah...and Sweet Pea. They have so much fun together! :o)

Ethans Yuckiest Birthday present!

Ethan got so many amazing gifts for his birthday. We are so blessed to have family that loves him so much! Here are a few pics from his party.












I really surprised myself. I hate anything slimy and creepy crawly....especially worms, frogs, etc. But....I LOVE seeing my boys be boys! Most of teh time I stand on the other side of the glass while they show me the frogs and stuff that they find with their dad. When I saw this Earthworm Nursery I had to get it for Ethan's birthday. They love finding worms and make worm farms...but, most of the time the worms don't survive for very long. This thing is really pretty cool. We got the vermipods (cocoons) in the mail today. We had to get them all ready to go in their hatching chamber and they could start hatching as soon as tonight. Then they have to be transferred to the soil. I will NOT take part in that process, but, the boys are so excited. Ethan keeps sitting there watching it. Once there are real worms, the nursery will have to go out of reach where they cant' be helped to escape in the house. :O)

Williamsburg/Jamestown 2010

We were blessed with the opportunity to go to Williamsburg, VA this past week. It was homeschool days there and we got in at a great rate. None of us had ever been before so we were all so excited. Ethan has been learning about American history all year and couldn't believe he would get to go see the "real Jamestown". It was really neat for him to get to see things he's been learning about in person. We spent most of our time in Williamsburg. The had a lot of "interpreters" there to give you as much information as you wanted. We got to sit in a coffehouse and a church where many of our founding fathers spent time. We also visited the jail where two of the cells are still the originals...over 300 years old. Some of Blackbeard's pirates were actually held there. It was a strange feeling walking down the streets wondering who had walked there before us. We got to watch a man give a speech as George Washington. He took questions at the end and was very knowledgeable. Chad, being a Jeffersonian...got George a little offended with his question. :o) We stopped at Jamestown on our last day there. Ethan got to see the waterways that the first settlers used to get from place to place instead of roads. We drove around the island. We didn't have time to see the original landing point, but, we got to see replicas of the ships, a powhatan village, and fort James. The boys loved it! Here are a few of the 400 pictures I took! :o)

Ethan's 6th Birthday

Ethan has wanted to have a birthday party at Pancho's ever since he saw someone get to wear a sombrero there. He was really excited. It was nice to have so many members of our family there to celebrate with us. More pictures from last night and our trip to Williamsburg to come!

So thankful....

Being a mother is the most wonderful thing to me...it's also the scariest. I think about all of the responsibility that lies on me as a mother and I feel so inadequate. There are so many things that I do wrong and don't really know what to differently. But, one thing that these feelings do, is make me turn to God for help. I constantly pray for supernatural wisdom, patience, and knowledge. I find myself always asking for God to help me show love in the way I talk to and treat my boys. I mess up so many times and end up praying for God to heal any wounds that I may cause to their tender little hearts. The most important thing to me is that my boys love the Lord. Not just to have a head knowledge or learn to follow certain rules. I want them to really love Him with all their hearts.

This morning at breakfast we were reading out of their children's Bible. We were talking about Easter and Jesus dying for us so that we could be forgiven. Luke got pretty excited and thought this was all really neat. I asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart and he said "yes". So, I got to lead him in the prayer of salvation. Ethan did this a couple of years ago and I wish I'd written down the date. I'm just so thankful for God's grace and for His love that he pours out on us. I feel so humbled to have lead this precious little guy to the Lord, and I'm so thankful to God for the opportunity. What a great way to start the day. :o)

Fort Myers, FL 2010

I had the opportunity to take the boys on a trip to visit my grandparents in Florida last week. I haven't seen them in a few years and was so happy to be able to get down there finally. So, the boys and I made the 14 hour trip and they did AWESOME! Not one time did they whine or fuss. Although, during the last two hours down, Luke just couldn't stand it anymore and he would randomly scream at the top of his lungs and then crack up laughing. It was pretty funny. He just had too much pent up energy and I guess he didn't know what else to do.

The boys got to see the beach for the first time and were in awe. They didn't stop laughing and running, until, after about 2 hours, they realized it was really too cold to be wet and sandy at the beach.

We went to Thomas Edison and Henry Ford's winter homes and got to see the museum and Edison's lab.

We went to a manatee park and saw tons of them. It was awesome. I lived there my whole life and only saw them once. But, it was so cold down there they huddled near the power plant.

We went to Sanibel Island and visited the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge. Ethan go to do their Junior Wildlife Manager Program. He got an offical badge that he is extremely proud of. :o)


We had a great time and although we didn't do our official schoolwork...it was very educational....I love homeschooling.










Click to see the collage bigger.

January 2010

The boys grandparents got them some super cute outfits for Christmas and asked for pictures in them. Looking at these pictures, I just can't believe how big the boys are getting. They are getting ready to turn 4 and 6! I just love these little guys so much. They are funny when we take pictures....Ethan tries to make "cool" faces and Luke just wants to be goofy. They end up looking unhappy in a lot of the pictures...but, I still love them. :o)

New Blogsite!

Well, I just got back from visiting my grandparents in Florida...I am missing the sun already! We had a good time and I can't wait to share some pics from the trip. But...I've got lots of client pictures waiting. Also, I wanted to let you know that I am switching to a blogsite...it will be a website and blog all in one. I don't have time to keep up with both...so just head to my website from now on and you will be taken straight there. The switch should take place sometime tonight or early tomorrow.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY NEW SITE!