We Are Having A Ball!!!

What a crazy and fun week! So many things I want to blog about....so many things we have enjoyed....but not enough time to post it all today! Here are a few quick favorites that Sarah picked out for now...

Last Friday was our regularly scheduled nursing home services and shopping. Friday evening was a thunderstorm that took out our Internet...again. Saturday was a wedding of a young man we love a lot and have had the privilege of working with in the past. Saturday afternoon was laundry (still no washing machine at our house). Sunday in between church services was the American Girl Tea. Sunday night after church was time to say good-bye to some of our college students, then home to pack for camp. Early Monday morning our family and 4 of our young people from church drove to Rhode Island for school camp. The older children are at camp having a GREAT time and Sarah and I are having a great visit at her house with the younger kids. I have taken A LOT of pictures and cannot wait to post, but will just put up a few for now. We leave to go home at lunch tomorrow. Hopefully (Prayerfully!!) on Thursday our washing machine and Internet will be fixed. It has been fun to have Internet access at Sarah's though...I was going through withdrawals! ;)


Here is one picture from our American Girl tea. We had seven girls and each had a different American Girl Doll. Many of the girls tried to dress up like their doll...



(Insert Patch the Pirate music here...) "I'm going to camp! I'm going to have a ball..."



Ricky braved the zip line! MUCH more on this later!! (I am so very proud of him!)



Ryan thoroughly enjoyed the cat walk. He seems fearless. Ryan loved going upside down on purpose. ( Be still my heart...)



The kiddos at Aunt Sarah's house are having lots of fun. Here Jack is enjoying his "frog ice cream." (More on that another day.)



Hard to believe we are going home in the morning. Time always flies when I am with Sarah. How blessed I am to call her mine. She has completely spoiled us while we have been here and the kids will not be ready to go home. I have also thoroughly enjoyed my time with Paul, Stacey and Katie. Being an aunt is so much fun!

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Tomorrow is my Daddy's birthday! I am grateful for his influence in my life. He is hard-working and dedicated. He gives his responsibilities a thousand percent and I admire his amazing work ethic. He is very organized and highly disciplined and I have learned so much from him. What a privilege to call him "Dad." Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!

Hope your week is as full of smiles as ours has been. Hope to chat with you all again at the end of the week.

And...

Thanks for stopping by here in Rhode Island!

Basketball

If you have followed our blog you know that Ricky became the proud owner of a basketball hoop for his birthday this past May. It was a very wise investment on our part! Everyone has loved it! I am cleaning through all the pictures I have stored on my computer (Ugh!!) and found his very first basketball picture. I love this little boy who is not so little anymore! And we were Chicago Bulls fans back then. (Go, Michael Jordan!)

I am happy to be on-line again. I have enjoyed catching up with my favorite blogs. I am also really enjoying seeing old friends on Facebook. I like it alot better than I thought I initially would.

It is hard to believe that July is coming to an end!! I have loved our summer and am not ready to see it end....maybe August will drag by....

And we tried a new recipe today called inside-out burgers. My husband says that those are a repeat performance. ;)

It is not too late to give me your ideas for a secret pal night theme. I have enjoyed the ideas that have come in so far! Thank you!!

And if you are someone who stops by to visit and you have a blog, tell me about it!

Hope you are having a great day!

Thanks for stopping by,

For Grandma

This second picture is for my Mom....

Mom, this is when Ricky got his Ebay box from you for his birthday. He is talking to you on the phone and telling you how excited he is about his G.I Joes. I don't think I ever posted it for you.



Thank you for being such a wonderful Grandma to my children. They love you soooooooooooooooo much!

Thanks for stopping by,

Just For Fun

These pictures were taken a few years back. My sons were dressing up like some friends of ours, Brad and Skip. They were putting skits of themselves on DVD and we enjoyed it immensely. Our sons are recreating the star characters. These pictures make me smile....so I am sending you a smile.



Children bring so much joy and laughter. Enjoy the children in your life today!


Thanks for stopping by,

Two Days Without Rain!

And we are tickled pink about it! (Aren't these guys too cute?)



My roses are blooming...



There are toys in the yard...



And basketball is being played!



Jack got more birthday money...and so they match again! This time we got some variety in their matching.



Jonathan



Jack



Joshua



Jonathan has been quickly outgrowing what he affectionately calls his "cow blanket." Last night was chilly. I went to check on him before I went to bed and he was curled up in a ball, but his feet were still sticking out. (It is meant for babies.) I covered him with additional blankets and decided to strike a deal with him the next day. With Daddy's permission, I told him today I would buy him a new blanket in exchange. There was a new blanket he REALLY wanted and so he agreed. I have now retired the good old cow blanket to storage. (I am NOT a pack rat, but some things you just have to keep.) He went to sleep fine tonight, so hopefully the transition is easy. ;) I will have to post pictures of the new blanket sometime.



We had a baby shower for a dear sweet friend, Denise. Several of you know her. What a great gal! Little Kylee is so blessed! Lots of laughter and games-food and fun-gifts and a sweet baby girl...All in all, a very enjoyable evening.




And if you want to "meet" the cute kids you see on my blog then check out my sidebar. I had a good time adding a description of each today.

Thanks for stopping by,

Army Climbers

Our oldest two sons have a wonderful Sunday School teacher. He really knows how to capture the hearts and minds of boys. They love to learn from him! The theme of his class is "army" and the boys have won various army gear from him in his promotions the last few years. Today they took their gear and hiked up Mt. Pisgah. (400 ft. elevation)

The boys played around the property while we waited for the rest of the boys and chaperones to arrive. I took some pictures of the partial group...
Playing in the woods...
I am about to be attacked!
After they left my little guys were at a bit of a loss...they were not quite sure what to do with themselves. (Later, Daddy took us for a drive and to get an ice cream from the best ice cream place in the world--Daddy to the rescue! I love you, Sweetheart!)


Zachary was kind enough to bring me some pictures of their day. The boys had a cookout at the top. The boys cut their own sticks and roasted hot dogs. There is a fire tower that you can climb. It has stairs and is an all metal structure. It goes up 60 feet and there is a trap door in the platform. All the boys went up...except Ricky. For those of you who know him, he has a fear of heights. He did decide to go up though because he strives hard to conquer this. When I saw the picture of him at the top I was so proud of him. I knew about the tower, but never expected him to go up. Way to go, Buddy! (By the look on his face I think he is holding on for dear life!)

Amos is always hanging around!
Ryan with some of his buddies.

The boys even caught a snake. Then they came back to the church and played football. They will talk about this day for years to come.

Praise God for godly influences in the lives of my children. Thank you, Lord, for those willing to sacrifice and invest in others.


Thanks for stopping by,



By the way, if you have a few minutes and want some good, clean fun--check out the youth conference link on the side bar.

Hello Again!

We have had busy and productive days. I have missed connecting with family and friends here for the last several days. We have done so much-for God, as a family, with friends...and we have enjoyed it all.

Ricky has needed a suit for sometime. He has long since outgrown any suits in the house and I have not come across any for him. Grandma (my wonderful Mom!) has decided to make it her mission that all her grandsons have suits to wear. That is a big committment as nine of her twelve grandchildren are boys. Ricky is thrilled to be in a suit. And, I might add, he looks very handsome in it!


Jonathan's wonderful Sunday School teacher had a "green" party. Due to several different sets of circumstances, Jonathan was the only child from the class who could come. This flexible teacher went ahead and started getting any children she could get so Jonathan could still have a great time. And he had a terrific afternoon. I am so thankful for this great lady's influence on my little guy.



The children are thrilled to see some of their closest friends who are home from India for the summer. We are enjoying our time with them immensely.


Tonight some of our friends came over and we helped celebrate their youngest child's birthday. We had a great time-especially the children.





I have several people I need to get back with...

Margaret, we got the package today. Thank you! We are looking forward to the cookies... ;)

Amy, we LOVED the e-mail you sent. Thank you so much for sharing it. We have chuckled all day!

Mom, thanks for the suit! Thank you for seeing a need and filling it. I strive to be so much like you!

I am honored you visited. I would love to hear from you.

And as I have said before...

Thanks for stopping by,