Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful weekend!  We got an unexpected Friday night off from t-ball and the rain made for a perfect evening.  Cooper was able to play his Wii, which he hasn't been able to do lately, so he was in heaven.  Kam and I had some "girl time," which was really just my way of making it cool to lay around and watch TV and snuggle.  And, as long as we made brownies, she was fine with it! 

We had dinner on Saturday night at Cajun Boiler's for Brian's  birthday.  The kids had alligator and loved it, but Kam got a little freaked out when she found out what it was.  I'm pretty sure Mark told her it was chicken.  These girls look sweet in this picture, but I can assure you there is a whole lot of temperament and attitude between these two!  

This is Cooper's new funny face.... we have laughed so hard at him over the last week making this face and this picture really doesn't give the full effect.  I have a hard time being serious when he looks at me like that!


We had a fish-fry at church last night completely put together by the men and it was great!  The food and fellowship were awesome and a nice ending to a wonderful weekend! 

Country Creek Cousins

Over spring break, the kids got to spend some time with Aidan, Kamryn, and Kylie at Aunt Donna's and, of course, they headed to the creek.

Yes, we're a little bit country! This picture might also explain why I sometimes hold my breath when Cooper's in a group of kids.  I never know what that boy's going to do!

Waiting to come in for a bath...

I absolutely love the fact that our kids are getting to play in the same creek that we did growing up!  I cannot tell you how many hours Jamie, Jodie, Brett, Brian, and I spent swimming and catching craw fish in that creek.  Great memories with my cousins and so glad our kids are now making their own!

Easter 2012 - Family Pics

We always go to Mamaw's after church on Easter and take family pictures before lunch.  The kids hate it even though we tell them ahead of time to get ready for it!

Family pic...

Although we didn't plan it, my dad and I coordinated perfectly!  I have no clue why I placed my hand on his belly in every picture!

Even in four-inch heels I'm still way shorter than Mark!

Family pic....notice how much weight Brian has lost!

Love this pic of me and Kam but sure wish I could see her other eye!

Love my sweet kiddos!

Mom and Dad....

Kamdyn and Kamryn....

 Avery, Kami, and Kam....

We love our Papaw!

Mimi and Pop with the grands, minus Campbell, who just wasn't having any part of pictures!

The girls....and Mickey!

The cousins, minus Campbell,Aidan, and Madison....

 

We are blessed beyond measure!!!!!

Easter 2012

We had a fantastic Easter weekend celebrating the Resurrection!  I love this time of year.....the green grass and blooming flowers just shout new life to me.....what an awesome reminder of God's beautiful creation and the hope we have in Him!


The kids ready to dye some eggs....

Now I know why I'm more comfortable behind the camera..... do I look like I've been to a soccer game, softball practice, lunch and light shopping in HS, done five loads of laundry (and put it up!), cooked dinner, cleaned it up, etc.????

Although we never actually hide the real eggs, my kiddos love to dye them and I enjoy it as well...

However, I bought a tie-dye kit and it was a little more labor intensive than normal.  Mark had to figure it out for us and I think it took about 45 minutes to do just four eggs....

Cooper eventually gave up and decided to watch "The Ten Commandments" with Mark instead.  Kam and I ended up doing our own version of tie-dye towards the end.  I think they turned out pretty good though!

The Easter Bunny left a few goodies for the kids....

Kam was ecstatic with her new hula-hoop and she is hilarious with it! 

Cooper loved his new shark zord and told all his buddies at church about the Easter Bunny bringing it to him...

The Easter Bunny also left eggs in the yard for the kids and they couldn't wait to get outside to gather them up!

We decided that Kam looked like an "Erma" with her bathrobe and sponge rollers!  For some reason, she also started calling Cooper "Harold" that morning and it's kind of stuck! 

I made cinnamon rolls in the shape of bunnies but didn't get a picture of them.  It was a mad dash to get to church on time for services.  The kids choir sang and the music was awesome!  We had no Children's Church so the kids stayed with us in "big church."  Let's just say it was a challenge to keep Cooper quiet for a while! 

Spring Break 2012

We decided to go to Shreveport to shop for a few days during spring break.  We chose Shreveport because Branson had tornado damage and it was raining cats and dogs every other direction we could think to go.  Here are the kids when we left that morning....

I've mentioned Kam's love of history.  She wanted to ask us history questions and vice-versa the whole ride down.  Not necessarily our idea of a good road game.  It did lead to an interesting discussion on president's though when Kam asked Mom if Jimmy Carter was a good or bad president!

It's so hard to get two kids to cooperate with me for a picture....

I always have that look on my face like I'm right in the middle of scolding them to cooperate and smile (which I probably am!). 

The Boardwalk had a glow in the dark mini golf course that we kept telling the kids we would take them to, but we only made it there 20 minutes before it closed and Kamdyn decided that Campbell would be scared since it was so dark!  I think Kam was secretly the one who was leery of it!  So we found an arcade instead and let them play for a while.

My kids absolutely love arcades and they want to go to one in ever city we visit....

Jamie made a hotel reservation for us before we left but she's never been to Shreveport before.  As we left the Boardwalk about 9:30 the first night and started driving, she noticed we were driving in a questionable area.  I had vaguely thought that I should have mentioned that to her when she booked rooms but I didn't give it a second thought after that....until the song "In the Ghetto" kept coming to my mind as we drove further on! 

We pulled up to our hotel with a liquor store right beside it (clue #1) and Jamie just got out to go tell them we weren't staying there.  Mom decided to follow her in and had to be buzzed in to even get in the office.   That was clue #2! 

We called Brian and Mark (who were at home playing X-box) to help us locate a hotel and then drove to another one.  Although it was much better, Jamie still refused to stay there.  This is where we began explaining to Kamdyn the difference between a motel and a hotel and she thought that was hilarious!  Mark told us just to go back to the boardwalk and stay in one of the casinos (your safest bet, according to him).  Mom decided that she would just cover the kids eyes as we walked through the casino lobby, but we finally found a safe one and it didn't come to that (but I have laughed at that image in my head several times after thinking about it later).

Shopping day 2 with new sunglasses Mimi bought them..... shopping for two days straight with four kids is really asking a lot!!  The kids were pretty good but I think the adults were completely fried by the time we got home on Friday night.

 Waiting to have dinner...

Mimi and her grands...

On the Boardwalk...

 Mom watching the kids while JJ and I shopped....she's a good Mimi! 

I love that Cooper loves his food! He's a little picky about some things, but it's an event for him when he eats something that he really loves.  He even hums!

We decided on day two to stay in Texarkana so we could go to Brian's game on Friday.  After listening to the kids whine for two days straight about playing putt-putt, we finally found a putt-putt course for them to play on Friday and they had a blast!  Mimi sat in the car with Campbell while she napped....remember I told you that she's a good Mimi!

Watching some Panther softball!  I spent most of the time trying to explain to Kam what the girls were doing now that she's playing softball.  She'd say, "oh, yeah...." like it all made sense to her all of a sudden!

The boys playing with their cars....I'm pretty sure Cooper's eventually ended up in the trash can.  Some really  nice MC dads tried to dig it out for him but couldn't find it!

After the game, we met Dad for dinner.  I'm not sure who was more tired and crabby-the kids or adults.   Next year, I vote for spring break at the beach or on the slopes! 

What's So Good About Good Friday?

"How is celebrating the death of someone good news"? The brutality of crucifixion is horrific so how can that be good news?

Even though it was a horrific death, Jesus being crucified made it possible for you and me to stand right before God. And that’s the good news. No, that's GREAT news! Jesus said, "there is no greater love than to lay your life down for a friend… and you are my friends…" John 15:13

St. Patrick's Day

Kam's class on St. Patrick's Day...... I had to post this one, even though several have eyes closed, because of Kam's pose.  

Ms. Teague and her class.....and at least everyone's eyes are open.