Jacob's First Sleepover!

Jacob was invited to his friend Connor's 8th birthday party.  It happened to be a sleepover, which he was surprisingly excited about.  He is still unsure about staying away with people, especially for a long period of time.  I expected him to be hesitant about going but he was 100% excited!  They are going to the park today for a birthday picnic! I cannot wait to hear how much fun he had.  I hate that he's growing up but at the same time, I'm so excited for all the new things he's experiencing!!!

Birthday #11 - Jordan

Jordan's actual 11th Birthday was very low-key!  It fell in the middle of the week- Wednesday to be exact.  Jacob had ball practice and we had church.  We celebrated with just the 4 of us at home, giving Jordan his gifts that we purchased. He celebrated with friends at the end of March at an IceMen game and that was part of his gift as well.  We took an ice cream cake to youth to celebrate!  Jordan got to leave school early on 4/13 for KY and MO with his grandparents for Sprint Car races.  He was super excited about that! All in all, I think Jordan had a great birthday.  I cannot believe my baby is 11!

Easter 2012

I almost forgot to post about Easter!  I can't keep up with things here lately.  The boys were up and opening their baskets at 5:30 in the morning.  We then headed for Sunrise Service and tried very hard to stay awake!  After service, the youth group cooked breakfast for the church.  We made pancakes, fruit salad and breakfast casseroles.  Once we cleaned up the mess, we headed to the park for family pictures.  (I'll do a different post about those once I get them off of my friends camera)!  We headed back to the church for morning service and I participated in a signing special with ladies from our church.  It was so powerful!  After church, we headed to my parents house to have Easter lunch.  It was very low key, which it usually isn't.  The boys played with their cousin Justin-baseball and basketball.  My mom, sis, cousin, Jordan and I went for a walk/jog.  It was a great but long day!  Very thankful for the Cross!

Creation Museum Trip

This past weekend, our church took an overnight trip to Cincinnati to visit the Creation Museum.  There were almost 70 people from our church that went.  We were able to fellowship Friday evening at the hotel while the kids went swimming.  Saturday we headed to the museum and had a wonderful time.  The kids learned a lot, their favorite part was the Snakes Alive show.  We attended two other shows, one was the Planetarium- which was so amazing!!!  My mind cannot comprehend all that God has created, the intricate way everything works together.  There is no doubt in my mind that there is a God, I love him more and more every day!

House - Part 1

We finally got the keys to our new home on April 17!  We have been working hard since then to get moved in.  Our good friends the Beard's, have been coming over and working hard right alongside us.  Another good friend Joe, has worked hard on painting the boys rooms and our master bedroom.  We pulled the carpet up in their room and the hallway and found real hardwood that matches the living room/dinning room!!!  We are so excited!  We were out of town this past weekend on a church trip and our friends came over to work while we were gone-what awesome friends we have!  Sunday after church, Brad and Bobby sanded the wood floors so we can get them stained.  We took last night off, we are so worn out!  Jacob had a practice baseball game and it was finally over at 7:30- we headed home after wards.  We will get back to it tonight after Jordan's baseball game.  There isn't enough hours in the day to accomplish all we need to but it will be worth it!

Happy 14th Anniversary Brad!

14 years ago today, I married my best friend!  I love him more and more everyday.  It has been a trying year, building a house, then not building a house, then finding one to buy, buying the house, and in the next few weeks- moving to get our "normal" life back.  We have made it through another huge obstacle and I praise God for it, He gets all the glory!  We had a trying year in ministry last year as well.  Every step of the way, I supported Brad and God has blessed him and our youth more than we could have ever dreamed.  I am so thankful that I am married to a man of integrity and character, a man that loves the Lord with his whole heart.  I pray we have many more years together.  I love you Brad, thank you for being a wonderful husband, father and best friend!

Happy 11th Birthday Jordan!

Today is my oldest son's birthday- 11 years old!!!!  Cannot believe he's growing up this fast, seems just like yesterday we had him.  He's a sweet boy with a tender heart but is definitely going through the pre-teen hormones.  We have our good and bad days but we make it through.  There is a lot of forgiveness in our home, a lot of trial and error!  We are thankful for the young man he is growing up to be, we definitely are blessed with a wonderful son!  We spend most of our time going from sport to sport, watching him play and compete.  He loves all things sports- it drives me crazy but it's what he likes.  He is in youth now, learning the ropes of being a leader and not a follower.  Learning  to have a more personal relationship with our Savior! He does good in school, we have to push him some of the time.  His strongest subject is Math, he makes straight A's in it with no effort at all(not sure who he got that from)!  He is a great big brother, although they fight some.  Today is one of my favorite days of the year, I was blessed tremendously on this day.  I love you Jordan Michael!