Who Needs Toys?

Well I guess you do need some toys - these Rescue Heroes are the boys favs!! In fact, I think about a half of them will be coming along with us on the move, rather than being packed by the packers. We have one room filled with boxes and bins - all the things we are taking on our "partial" move. This room has become a huge "command center" for missions!



What you can't see in this picture is the many hours of fun that have been had in this room. We are debating on not unpacking half of our boxes in Colorado and just leaving them in boxes - it's more fun for them!

Sneak Peek...

Today I was able to take a few pictures of these cuties. The cute little southern bell, is Zach's preschool sweetheart (you can see why!)









Enjoy your sneak peek Katie, I certainly enjoyed chasing after your kiddos!

Water...

A boy and some water...need I say more??

Memorial Day...

Let's not forgot the many men and women, past and present, who have lost their lives for our freedom...

The Cat is Away...

While the Cat's away, the mice will play right?? I'm the mouse this weekend with Justin gone and the boys in bed, I have nothing to do (except housework) besides play with my blog, my camera, and my 30 day trial of Photoshop Elements. I will apologize in advance for you having to endure this with me.

1. Blog: Notice the bigger pictures. I have been wondering for quite some time how to load bigger pictures on our site. I suppose that I assumed I would be smart enough to figure this out on my own, however after attempting on my own, I resorted to google, and found this link very helpful! Thank you Blue Orchid Blog for your help!

2. Camera: My $25 garage sale lens just came back from the shop. I guess I didn't really get duped, but it did need some work. So I called up a willing friend of mine to see if I could try it out on her kiddos - the weather was perfect...so I couldn't resist! The results were so so, the pictures weren't as crisp and clear as I would have liked - so I will blame it on the lens, not on the picture taker!! The fun part was some of the old historic down town scenery (I'll show you those later)Here are a couple basic shots.





3. Photoshop Elements...wow! It is certainly addicting and I am only using the 30 day trial (26 days now to be exact). Paired up with this great tutorial blog with free actions to use, I played into the late night hours adding some action to my photos. Here is some Honey Retro Action...check these fun one's out!









If you have made it all the way to the end of this post, I appreciate your dedication! "The Cat" will only be gone for a couple more days, so I plan on getting absolutely nothing done in the house...having lots of fun with the kids...and continuing to play with my blog, camera, and PSE!! I suppose I do need to at least feed the children...

Thanks Griffin kiddos for being willing to put up with me and my crazy antics - I hope your mom rewarded you with some icecream or something!!

Farewell Preschool...

This week we had a farewell picnic with Zach's pre-K class! What good friends these little boys and girls have become...

...but on to bigger and better things...for now they think they are ready to conquer the world - the next step Kindergarten!!

On the Move...

In just a few short weeks and our time here in Alabama will be through. As always we have new friendships and new roots and even though we haven't had a lot of time for them to be established, it will still be hard to say our good-byes and start out somewhere new again. The boxes are almost packed, the plans are being made, and the prayers are being prayed...

As we prepare our hearts and the kiddos for this move, we have been bemoaning the fact that counting our short time in Antigua this will be our 5 move in 7 years. How will the boys ever feel like they have a true "home" and strong "roots" and deep friendships when we never get to stay put. But I was encouraged and motivated this morning while reading "Wife of a Soldier a Journey of Faith" by Diana Juergans. Here is what Diana says about "home." "Home is where we live together and decide to plant ourselves and invest our lives. Home is where I have purpose in my heart to live as if it were permanent, instead of living as if it were temporary, just waiting for the next move...Am I willing to put my whole heart into our new home, knowing God has chosen it for our family?" We have loved our "home" here in Alabama and look forward to our next "home" even if it is only temporary...because we do know that is where God has chosen to place our family!

Thanks to all of our friends here who have helped this place feel more like home...we have been so blessed by all of you. Thanks for investing in our lives and letting us invest in yours even though you knew it was only temporary!

Another Program, this time without Pictures!

Justin and I are parents of the year!

Sunday night was the night of the boys' Church Choir program. They have been practicing their songs every Wednesday night since Christmas. Sunday afternoon came and went. We were getting ready to start out on a nice family stroll, when Justin remembered that the boys had their programs to get to (in 10 minutes). I am in my sweats, Zach in his pirate pants, and Seth in stained clothes. We raced into the house, hollered orders at the boys to put on their outfits - thankfully just simple solid tshirts and dark shorts - and we raced out the door. It wasn't until after the boys were up on stage cutely singing "Kom By ya My Lord" that I noticed several things: Zach's t-shirt was on backwards; and not only were Seth's shorts on backwards, but he had one black and one white sock on! Did I mention that we didn't have time to stop and go potty so Seth was doing the "I have to go" dance as well! Oops!!

"Where are the pictures?" you might ask. The camera was left at home in all the hustle and bustle!

Again...parents of the year!

The Final Program...

Remember this??? It seems like just yesterday our boys were having their first day of school. This past week they had their last day...and their end of the school year program.

The program was about dreaming...Kids always say what they want to be when they grow up, but these kids dream about something different. They dream about the circus, pirates, and rock stars...



The 3 year old class was up first, and Seth was the strong man in the circus. Thanks to Uncle Trevor for helping me out with creating Seth's muscles, you can see how successful we were in making them look real; and you can obviously see how strong he thinks he is (top row confidently lifting his bar bells).


Then came the Scurvy pirates. I'd walk the plank with this little pirate any day!

My little pirate kept his eye on this little lady...he is proud to be her prince... and apparently is quite willing to protect her with his pirate sword!

One of my favorite parts of the program was to hear these kids belting out "The Impossible Dream." It was if the kids really understood the road ahead...that they really were ready to face the "impossible" challenges in their future...and they were proud to stand up and say so! So cute!

We stopped at a local ice cream shop to have a little treat after the show! Here is Mr. Strong Man flexing his muscles.

A fellow pirate arrived shortly after...

A school year come and gone...My boys are growing up. In once sense it makes me sad, but in another I can't wait to see what's to come for them. To see the "Impossible Dreams" and the "unreachable stars" they will reach in their lifetimes. I'll leave you with this...

The Impossible Dream

To dream the impossible dream To fight the unbeatable foe To bear with unbearable sorrow To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong To love pure and chaste from afar To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest. To follow that star No matter how hopeless No matter how far
To fight for the right Without question or pause To be willing to march into Hell For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true To this glorious quest That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this That one man, scorned and covered with scars Still strove with his last ounce of courage To reach the unreachable star

-Joe Darion

The G Family...

One of the best parts about Justin coming here to school is that we have met up with many old friends and have made wonderful new friends. Justin's friendship with this special family goes back to the AF Academy days...and I was blessed to get to join in the friendship this year! Our kiddos have become playmates; and despite the fact that in just a few short weeks we will be on to new homes and new adventures, I know we will be friends for life!

This passed week I was honored to be able to take a few pictures for them.

Thanks for a wonderful friendship...and as you walk into this next crazy and difficult adventure you will be in our thoughts and prayers often! We look forward to a time when we are close again!

Dear Molly...

The other day my Mommy showed me your Mommy's blog! I was so excited to see pictures of you! So, today I asked my Mom to put some pictures of me on the computer for you to see!


This week I went to the zoo. It was so fun to play on the play ground, especially since there weren't very many people there!

I love the train...

What is your favorite animal at the zoo? My favorite place is definitely the reptile house with all of the snakes and lizards. But this time my favorite animal was the turtle who was really enjoying his salad. I went back about an hour later to see if he was still eating, but he was done.

My Uncle Trevor is here visiting this week. Can you believe he rode all the way across the country on this "very cool" motorcycle. Every time I go into the garage I have to touch the motor to see if it's hot...so far I haven't burned myself. I had so much fun when Uncle Trevor drove me to the pool...do I look cool or what! It is so loud especially now that he put new "blasters" on the side!

Today was the big day for Uncle Trevor to help us take down the swing set. Mommy has been talking to me about this for a while so that I wouldn't be upset. You see, we are moving to Colorado which I am pretty excited about...but I am going to miss the friends that I have made here in Alabama; and I will especially miss seeing little girls with big matching bows in the their hair! I was a trooper today helping with the swing set, I didn't even cry when it was all done.

Well I hope you like my pictures!!

Love, Zach

Say a Prayer...

We've all done it!! Linked ourselves to someone's blog that we didn't even know. Maybe you've even been sucked into the life of some perfect stranger, caught up in their story, and amazed by their strength. Maybe you have learned from them, maybe you were inspired by them, maybe they helped you become a better person! But for whatever the reason you have become a part of their world through technology. Well...that's what I've done.





For several months now I have been keeping up on this blog. I don't even remember where I found it, or why I started reading it. But this family has inspired me...on the days that my life with kids is crazy or maybe just monotonous, I need to realize that many families around the world would be so thankful to have my crazy life with healthy kids! There are mom's out there who would give anything to hear "mama" one more time. Please take a minute say a prayer for this family who is grieving right now!! Then, go in to your kid's rooms and give them a sweet kiss and thank God that you are blessed with them!

First Time...

This past week a friend of mine asked me to take some pictures of her children. I love taking pictures, but I have never entertained the thought of taking pictures of anyone except my own children. I said yes, but was a bit nervous about the whole deal - "No pressure" she said, she just didn't want to take them all in to the photography studio and she wanted something simple. What surprised me about this whole experience is how much fun I had (despite the fact that Eli clung to my leg and cried for most of it!) I wanted to share a few of my favorites. To my photography friends out there, I would LOVE some feedback and tips as well!

Thanks S family for letting me use your family to learn from!

Helping Hands or Too Many Cooks?

'Tis the season of strawberries! Since we had already run out of the strawberries we picked a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine offered to pick a few more for us yesterday. What a treat to have Delicious strawberries without the back pain from bending down to pick them for an hour!



I decided to try to be domestic and make some homemade Jam. Someone (you know who you are!!) told me this was very simple and easy. I couldn't just make the jam, I needed some fresh bread to go along! Bless his heart, Zach kindly offered to help me in this big task!




He started off quite well - following my every direction, and trying not to make a huge mess. I really hesitated to let him help...but any of you who know Zach, know that he LOVES help his Mommy in the kitchen!



Pretty soon, he was boldly getting his own flour and it was obvious that whatever dough he touched was going to be not only kneaded to death, but full of extra flour. Consequently, he earned his own piece. I told him to do whatever he wanted with it and that we could eventually make a cinnamon & sugar pizza when he was ready!



About 20 minutes and about 2 cups of flour later, he was finally ready!!



Trust me, this was not his finished product, but his little pizza wasn't all that bad, a touch chewy; but not bad for all of the trauma it went through!



With the night still being young, there was still the looming project of making jam, again I have very helpful boys...



It didn't get too messy, until E decided to crawl up onto the table to help as well...or should I say eat. Looks to me, like neither Seth nor Eli are really doing much to help smash these berries!


All in all everything turned out! An hour later, after baths and showers for everyone (including mom) we all enjoyed some of our tasty treats. Maybe too many cooks in the kitchen aren't too bad after all!

It's Finally His Turn!

For a moment his Daddy lost track of him...after scanning the park, he was spotted! There he was sitting at a table of 3 and 4 year olds holding his plate up for a piece of birthday cake...The problem...he wasn't invited! Seth had easily and handily crashed a birthday party!! This past weekend, it was finally his turn to have a birthday party. He has been waiting and waiting for his Hot Wheels party...and finally it arrived!!



Birthday pancakes...surrounded by his best super heroes - Diego (is he a super hero?), Batman, and Arial Flyer and Swoop.


His face said it all!! He had been begging for days to see his cake. It was so fun to see his smile when we pulled the finished product out of the fridge!




He blew his candle out so fast that I didn't get the token "blow out" picture! He begged us about 2 weeks ago to buy him a "four" candle!



The weather was beautiful....we had a bubble station....


...a slip and slide...

...presents...(with a awfully real looking dog)

...lots of rowdy boys...

...and even a couple of girls...

What a fun party...I'm not sure what he would prefer in the future. His own party, or a perfect strangers party!!