Christmas fun...

The holidays are here and I am enjoying the lights, decorations and delicious food that comes with it! You have to be in the "Christmas mood" after visiting my dear Mother's house...It is beautiful and festive with a pretty tree in every room! She hosted the church ladies Christmas party(Her 10th year to do this, I think!) and we had a wonderful evening! Sis.Bryan was the guest speaker and did a fabulous job as always! Our hearts were touched by what she had to say! We ate Christmas goodies(I always enjoy helping Mother with the food...)and stole each others ornaments...ha! I thank God for the special ladies that shared in our fun that night! Thought that I would share some pictures...

church ladies Christmas party

Our "Thanksgiving" in WV...

Just a few pictures of our fun week in WV...Dan and Becky were the perfect hosts and we all had a "blast"! We ate tons of delicious home-fixed food(some great new recipes), laughed alot, played games, rode 4-wheelers and dirt-bikes, and yes..some of us rose at 3:00 am to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving! We also were able to visit with our good friends..Dave and Annette Marcum---The guys watched the kids and let Nett and I have a girl's afternoon out.(Annette and I have been the best of friends since our days as roomies at G.B.S.) We made more wonderful memories with family and friends!

Happy Birthday, Danny!

Danny's birthday

Happy Birthday, Danny! Hope that you feel celebrated! Thanks for being in our lives...You make every day special! Thanks for all you do to make our lives what they are. I have never met a more unselfish person...Thanks for working hard every day to provide for us, too! You are still my best friend after all of these years! AND you are a great "Daddy" to our kids! Have a fab year! Love you! Go Buckeyes!

Thanksgiving....

It's almost Thanksgiving...What a wonderful time of the year to give thanks for all the wonderful blessings that God has bestowed upon us!I thank God first for sending His Son to die on the cross for my salvation...I am so unworthy! I thank Him for my wonderful family...God has blessed both Danny and I with godly parents and grandparents...we love and appreciate them very much! We greatly miss those who have gone on before us! We also love our extended family very much...our siblings(and their spouses), uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins.I thank God for my precious husband. He is truly the kindest, most thoughtful husband a girl could have...God sent me a wonderful gift in Danny. He is my best friend and is so good to me! We both thank God every day for our three wonderful children-We love seeing life through their eyes...they make our house fun and exciting! We thank Him for all the friends He has brought into our lives...We love you all! We want to cherish the life God has given us! We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving-We hope that you can spend time with friends and family. May you feel God's love and peace! We will be with the England clan in West Virginia(We are meeting at Becky and Dan's house...brave people!)We plan to have a great time! We also get to stop and see our long-time, wonderful friends..David and Annette Marcum and their kids Austin and Emily. Can't wait!

Thanksgiving party

"Alyson Dawn" has arrived!

I wanted to share some pictures of my new little cousin(though I get to be called "Aunt Ronda", I do believe!) Greg and Shelly Penn were blessed with a beautiful, little girl---"Alyson Dawn"--- on October 30, 2007...I praise God for sending such a precious, healthy baby to them...She is so adorable! We are all very happy for them....Congratulations, Greg and Shelly! God has sent you a beautiful gift! We can't wait to spoil her! Corey, Cassie and Cade are all very excited to have a new cousin...

A fun day for the kids...

My kids always look forward to "dressing up" and having fun with their friends on "Jack-o-Lantern" day....They start talking about what they want to "be" the previous year ,I think! Corey is getting a little "mature"-shall we say- and it is harder for him to decide what to be....This year he chose to be a "soldier"...Cassie was an "Ice princess" and Cade was "Woody"(The sheriff from Toy Story). We went trick-or-treating with the Going children....a tradition for as long as we have both had little ones...then on to church which was followed by a fun party including great snacks ,several spills and lots of laughs! I believe that we made lasting memories!

Trick or Treat

Homeschooling Fieldtrips

We are enjoying homeschooling very much....We seem to have a routine that works for us and have enjoyed a couple of fieldtrips. In September, we went to"Holiday Park"(Mamaw Kennedy went with us!)here in Indianapolis---had a great time! There was a really neat nature center, a fun playground and beautiful hiking trails to explore...Corey was thrilled to find a snake on one of the trails. Danny surprised the kids and met us for a picnic lunch. This month we met with some other homeschoolers for a pitch-in lunch, followed by a live presentation by a police officer---He explained to the kids what his job entails and then showed off his police car. It really was alot of fun!

Field trips

Family time

We recently enjoyed some days spent with my Dad's sister and brother-in-law...Norma and Jack Patterson. They reside in Portland, Oregon and flew here to spend some time in Indiana. Danny and I had not had the priviledge of seeing them for almost ten years. They are such wonderful,interesting people...Aunt Norma was a missionary to both Africa and New Mexico. She also was a Nurse Anesthetist for many years. She and Uncle Jack met later on in life and have spent many wonderful years together.We had fun reminiscing...so many good memories! We spent one day at the Gaither Resource Center...ate a delicious lunch and toured their studio. We visited in our different homes and ended our time together with a backyard picnic around the firepit at Daddy and Mother's house. I thank God for my family and for my wonderful Christian Heritage!

Jack & Norma's visit

Belated Church Camping Pictures

Thought that I would share the pictures that I took on our Church camping trip..a little past the fact, but fun memories! The weather was perfect(not too hot.. not too cold)!The food tasted wonderful..It always does around a campfire! We enjoyed hotdogs, hamburgers,smores and even apple cobbler fixed over the coals...then bacon and eggs for breakfast! We sat around the campfire late into the night...singing, talking and yes, bonding!(smile)We went to sleep by the lullaby of a train whistle that seemed to sound every 15-20 minutes!ha! We have a three bedroom tent so Corey and his buddies slept on one side, Cade,Danny and I slept in the middle, and Cassie and her girlfriends slept on the other side..The kids had a blast! We went wading in the beautiful White River on Sat....It was so peaceful..a highlight of the trip! We drove home, a little tired but very happy! We are definitely looking forward to the NEXT camping trip!

Shelly's baby shower

My dear cousin, Shelly (Jewett) Penn,is expecting her first baby...We are certainly looking forward to meeting "Miss Alyson Dawn"! Cassie and I were invited to share in Shelly's church baby shower a little while ago..It was both beautiful and fun! We got to ooh and aah over all the little girl clothes and accessories! Cassie is just going to LOVE being the big girl cousin.She is at that stage where she just loves babies...She will feel like "Alyson" is extra-special! We are praying for an easy, safe delivery!

Shelly's baby shower

I have been tagged!

I am now entering the "tag game" and am supposed to state seven facts about myself: 1. My first boyfriend's name was "Richie"...I met him in the first grade...he came up to my shoulder...I'm sure we made a striking couple.
2. I met my sweetheart (and husband of 16 years) when I was 15. We started dating after I graduated from nursing school.
3. I love "victorian" decorating, but also enjoy other styles.
4. I love to shop!!
5. My favorite season is autumn...the beautiful leaves and cool, crisp air are so refreshing.
6. My favorite holiday is Christmas: memories made with friends and family, wonderful food, and beautiful decorations.
7. The happiest place for me to be is with my husband and 3 precious children...my gifts from God.

I am going to tag:

Kristin
Martha
Catrena
Bette
Shelly
Julie
Rachel

New Pictures

The annual picture time has come and gone...The flurry of getting everyone ready and rushing to take pictures is something every Mom can appreciate, I think!(smile)Trying to get there with clothes, shoes and hair intact is quite the feat! THEN...trying to get "natural smile" and all that...I always love the end result but feel that I have put in a full "Mommy's" day of work! Ha!

new pictures

Corey turns "10"....

Wow! We cannot fathom that our first-born is now in the double-digits! Happy Birthday, Corey! He is truly a blessing to us...We couldn't have "requested" a sweeter, more thoughtful boy. He has brought such joy to our lives. We pray that God will use him in a wonderful way...Danny and I often talk about what a responsibility God has given us in sending us three "little ones". Corey had a fun birthday...We celebrated at home on a beautiful, sunny evening...After dinner, cake and ice-cream(oh, and all the fun gifts!), We ended out on the front porch serenaded by our very own talented guitarist, Nathan,(my brother's 19 year old boy who ,by the way, is an awesome guy!) ....There's nothing like relaxing with friends and family! God is good! ( I'm hoping that the next ten years won't fly by as quick as the last 10 have!)

sept07coreybday

First day of Home School

We got off to a great start...Tuesday was our very first day of homeschooling. The kids have been excited and so have I! Cassie is temporarily in the kitchen until the desk we have ordered for her room arrives. We have plans to join the YMCA, which has various extracurricular classes for home schoolers (art, computers, Spanish, etc.) , as well as facilities for physical fitness. Some great field trips are being enthusiastically planned. We want to visit the Creation Museum in KY soon. We are reassured that this endeavor is God's will for our family!

I thought I would share some vacation pictures...we went to Hilton Head Island at the beginning of summer and were able to share some relaxing days as a family. We took long walks on the beach...ate some delicious seafood and went to sleep by the sound of the ocean.

I have decided to enter the fascinating world of blogging...It seems to be a new "era" in our world and is such a fun way of sharing little pieces of our lives with others. I have so enjoyed hearing from people in other states and even in other countries!( I made Heather's fast homemade rolls the other day....a recipe she shared on her blog! They were very tasty!) I think this is such a neat avenue of "keeping in touch"! I have been inspired and humored...so I thought I would contribute! I am a full-time "mommy" and "wife"...I work one night a week and one night every third weekend in OB(It is so rewarding to get to share the miracle of birth...I could write a book!)...I am soon to be a homeschooling assistant- After much prayer and research, we decided this was God's plan for our children...I am both excited and nervous! We will be using A Beka's dvd program.(Thus, I will be assisting the " teachers" on dvd...) Corey will be in 4th grade and Cassie will start K5.Church is a very big part of our lives too..We are involved in the Calvary Bible Methodist Church in Greenfield. As most people already know...We are welcoming Pastor Mike Mater and his lovely new wife, Michelle, to our church. We are so excited! We just attended their beautiful wedding ... It was very elegant! The music was just heavenly!What a special day to share in their lives! We live close to my side of the family and get together often with them. We try to see Danny's side of the family as much as possible. We love and appreciate our godly parents with all of our hearts! Life is busy but God is so good! We thank Him for our Christian heritage and for all of His blessings on our lives. We just want Him to lead us not only as parents but as siblings, children and friends!