Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons...mostly because it causes us to pause and remember how much we have to be thankful for, but also because it brings sweet memories of family! We kicked off the Thanksgiving season with Caleb's school program at Joyland...it was so sweet!
Caleb was an Indian, half of the kids were pilgrims and half were Indians. They sang several songs and ended with a Thanksgiving feast where they sat down together. Caleb couldn't stand the fact that Bennett wasn't able to enjoy the feast too, so he shared his corn and other food with him. Eventually Caleb just gave him the corn, hehe!Once we began our Thanksgiving travels, we first headed to Nashville to be with Corey's mom, JR, and Michele. While they were working, we enjoyed a little shopping and then had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner!We next went to Murfreesboro with Corey's dad, Sue, Michele, Grandma, Aunt Sondra and Uncle Pete...it was another wonderful day filled with shopping, food, fun and especially family.
Last but not least, we got together with my clan...we make quite a large group these days! It's always fun to see the boys with their cousins, and I love spending time with my family...God is so good! We enjoyed another wonderful meal, and Mom, Zachary, Corey, Wave, Dave and I had a blast playing cards until after 1AM. We enjoyed every moment we had together...We have so many things to be thankful for, and our families are right there at the top of the list!

Paint and More Paint

My boys LOVE to paint! At Story Hour last week, Bennett got to put paint on his hand to make a turkey! It turned out so cute! He giggled as I painted his hand and fingers and would've played in the paint all morning!

So, a day or two later when the boys got into the tub and remembered that they had bath paint, they were super excited. No other comments necessary; I'll let the strategically taken bath pictures speak for themselves!

Go, VOLS!

You all know that Corey and I are Titans fans, so what on earth are we doing wearing orange?!? Well, two Saturdays ago, we had the privilege of going to Knoxville to see UT play their Homecoming game. We were invited to go with our friends and faithful Vols fans, David John and Gini Roberts. Unfortunately our team lost...to Wisconsin. But we had such a great time visiting and hanging out with our friends that it was a wonderful day despite the loss. David John is the music minister at our church and does such an amazing job...God really blessed Maplewood by sending him to serve. He truly has a heart for worship! Thanks so much DJ and Gini for your generosity and your friendship!

Leader Day!!!

Caleb's preschool has something very exciting called "Leader Day". Each child has a chance to be the leader for the day and it rotates throughout the year. They each get to be the leader a couple of times, but in the world of preschool, this is a HUGE deal...especially the first time! I was made aware of that by our friends, the Shackelfords, whose son Clayton was there last year. "OOH, you'll want to be sure to be there when he is the leader" I was told by many former Joyland moms.

Well, during the second week of school, the boys and I went to Wal-Mart after Caleb had finished school one day, and a friend (familiar with Joyland) asked Caleb, "So, when do you get to be the leader?" I was devastated when he said, "I was the leader today!"...I had missed his first leader day! He hadn't understood what a big deal it was at that point, but I did. I composed myself and held back the tears and made him promise that the next time he was going to be the leader he HAD to let me know ahead of time!Well, good news! Caleb gave me three days notice this time and Corey, Bennett and I were all able to watch him on his second leader day! I mostly video taped it, but did get this cute picture of the boys. Caleb wanted his little brother right beside him in the circle...he is really sweet about including his brother! He did a great job, and we look forward to his next "Leader Day!"

Sooo behind!...Vacation with the Stephans

I am so behind on my blogging! Needless to say, there's a lot of catching up to do. On our final days of vacation, we ran back through Jackson to see my brother Zachary's hockey game. His team was and still is undefeated! I am so proud...Zachary is the goalie and I'm very pleased that he is not only a talented hockey player, but a good sport and sets a positive Christian example for those around him! Love you, buddy! The boys enjoyed watching him play and playing with Ge and Natiley as always!(I needed a pic of my dad, myself and my "little" brother)After the game, we headed to Martin to visit with my Aunt Carol, Uncle David, JulieAnn, her husband Jeremy and Jayden. As a child, I loved spending time with my cousins...sadly, as we've all gotten older and life has gotten busier, we have not been able to spend as much time together. That is why I was so looking forward to this visit. I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures, but got a cute one of the kids! Saturday night, JulieAnn, Jeremy, Corey and I went to a young couples' Sunday School party while Carol and David kept all three children. We had a great time visiting with other adults our age, and the boys had a blast roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in a campfire at Carol and David's home. Sunday morning we all headed to FBC Martin for worship (my uncle is the music minister there). It was a real blessing to be able to worship with them...it's been a long time! As always, Aunt Carol had fixed a wonderful Sunday lunch before we headed home (she is a wonderful cook...yet another reason we looked forward to visiting!). Thanks so much for a wonderful visit...We love you guys!

2 Days with the Mundays!!!

Seeing as my youngest nephew is now almost five months old and I've only seen him right after he was born, I was so anxious to visit my amazing sister, brother-in-law and five nieces and nephews (not to mention that up to this point the boys kept reminding us how excited they were to see their cousins)! Our two days with them did not disappoint! We arrived Thursday afternoon to a warm welcome and lots of hugs. The boys were immediately ready to play. It was a beautiful day, so they headed outside where Caleb and Titan had a blast playing with the water gun. Wave is always cooking and their home is such a fun place, so for dinner the kids got to pick their own toppings and make individual pizzas. After more playing we did our best (it took about 30 min.) to get all the kids in bed and asleep. Dave, our brother-in-law, is a doctor. He was on call Thursday night, but was able to come home for a little while and visit. I know he was tired, but he is so sweet he sat in the chair and visited until he kept falling asleep. He finally went to bed ( I think it was close to 1AM) and as soon as he laid down he got called in. Bless his heart!Friday morning, Wave had made delicious pumpkin bread and we began our day. It included lots of caffeine in order to keep us awake from our late night. The kids played all morning and then we packed a picnic lunch. Afterward, Corey, the boys and I headed to visit my uncle, aunt, cousins and Mammaw. My precious grandmother now has Alzheimers and doesn't recognize us anymore. This really made Caleb sad. She teared up as we were leaving, and Caleb asked in the car why she was crying. I told him that she was probably confused and a little sad. He said, "Maybe when people get old and can't remeber things, they cry because they want to remember." How sweet...I teared up, because he's probably right. He has such a tender heart when people are sick or hurting. I'm grateful for that! My grandmother was always so kind and loving...I thank God for the wonderful memories I have with her and my Pappaw!Friday night we ALL (Dave too...he's such a trooper!) headed to Bellevue Baptist Church where their family goes to church. They had a great Fall Festival...more like a carnival. They had rides, inflatables, candy and too much fun! We had a scare at the beginning when Koen wandered off, but I stayed with all the kids while Wave, Dave and Corey took off looking. Fortunately, Corey found him pretty quickly after heading to the bumper cars (that's what they were all eyeing when we first arrived). God was so good! Caleb was Superman, and Bennett was a skunk. We finally headed home around 10PM, but not before Dave had stood in line for 45 minutes to get us all funnel cakes. No trouble going to sleep that night!We had to head out Saturday morning...Caleb decided to give Zain one of his baby toys that he rediscovered recently. He'd been sleeping with it for the last several weeks, but wanted Zain to have it to remember him by. Both of the boys love babies, but Caleb absolutely adores Zain. Koen then gave Caleb an armfull of animal toys. And then Caleb gave Koen one of his flashlights. It was so sweet! We are so blessed to have such amazing family! I love my big sister so much and thank God for her and her precious family! Each of her children have such different and wonderful personalities. I am always amazed at the grace and patience with which my sister and Dave raise their children and love each other. They are such a great example of a godly home! We love you guys and enjoyed every moment we were able to spend with you!

Vacation Day with the Frops!

Wednesday we headed to Jackson to visit with my family. We enjoyed the time just getting to talk and visit. Mom fixed her wonderful lasagna, and then we headed to West Jackson for mid-week services. I enjoyed getting to sit in on choir rehearsal and the boys got to be in Mission Friends with Ge. Corey and a friend checked out the youth service. Afterward, we were able to go see our dear friends, Damien, Meg and Kate Nethery's beatuiful new home! Congratulations...we know you've worked so hard and we are so happy for you! Thursday morning we got to hang out with my family in an unusually relaxed morning at home. It was nice! And then mom and Natiley kept the boys so Corey and I could go on a double lunch date with the Netherys. Afterward, Mom met me for a little shopping before we headed to Memphis. I love my family and although I feel like we never have enough time together, but I treasure the time we do!