New blogger has joined the world!!

Cody has joined the ranks of all the others (especially Noah) and created a blog. Check it out at agent4jesus.blogspot.com

Uncharted by Angela Hunt

"Uncharted" is the story of five college pals who became acquainted while working for an author to help sell his new book. Although they all feel a strong connection and develop deep friendships, after college, and divorce for a pair in the group, they go their separate ways and lead very different lives. David is the only one in the group who reads the book and takes it to heart. Eventually, he is also the one who gets them back together. Agreeing to help on a mission trip, they all have no idea of the magnitude of the adventure, hardship and harsh reality they will eventually have to face. The reader
will find several twists and surprises along the way. Wow! It is definitely a thought provoker, making you evaluate your own life. Angela also provides questions for group discussion.

I read this book over the past few days. It was very interesting and surprising at the end. I'd love for someone else to read this and tell me what they think. It is Christian fiction and I was able to check it out at the library. Let me know what you think.

Kale Tale

Tonight, we went to Lifeway. There is a sale on Bibles and I have been wanting to get Kale one. We bought him a NIrV which is great for kids his age. He promptly came home and spent time looking through it. He came to ask me a question about the inside cover where it asks for your name, date, and who gave it to you. He had filled in his name and in the who gave it to you blank, he put "Lifeway". I thought that was hilarious!! Just a Kale moment. . .

Swimming!!

Right past our house is the neighborhood pool. We generally have not made the best use of this great opportunity. We are attempting to make better use of it now. We went swimming this past Saturday. It was so much fun we stayed for about 3 hours. The boys are always skittish at first but eventually warm up to playing. Jonathan took Cody and worked with him on swimming, diving, and jumping off the board in the deep end. Cody has made great progress and can jump off and swim to the ladder on his own. I worked with Chloe on relaxing in the pool. She had Dora swimmies on but it took her awhile to calm down. Eventually she did and swam/floated around on her own. Her little legs moved VERY fast and she was quite excited. She did not want to get out or have anyone hold her. Next up I worked with Keegan. Amazingly he had no fear or panic so I used that to my advantage. I pushed him really hard and it paid off--he swam from one side of the pool to the other all on his own!! He was so excited!! And I was very proud of him. Kale was just enjoying playing around and going under to find a toy. He was not ready to attempt much more.


Before we left, the lifeguard asked if we had ever thought about putting our kids on the swim team. I was like what you saw is all they can swim. She said she had been watching them and they can do better than many kids on the team and we should try it. So next year I think we might give it a try. She said they work on teaching them how to swim and I figure it beats swim lessons. Swim lessons only last for a week or two. Swim team goes on for about 8 weeks so they get plenty of practice. We'll keep you up to date!


Today, I took the kids back for some more swimming. Again, Chloe swam all around. She even figured out how to float on her back and she would just laugh and laugh. Keegan swam from one side to the other several times. Cody is enjoying working on flipping and practicing his swimming. I think we are going to attempt to head over there each day to keep up their practicing.

Baseball season is over

Keegan finished up today with a great (and long) game. He actually came in and scored a run. He was very excited!! He has done well although backyard ball is even better. The boy lives and breathes baseball and would play every day if he could. We'll have to see what next year holds for him.

Quantico Museum with Papa

Last Friday while my dad was in town, we headed to the new Marine Museum. Before heading that way, we hit Krispy Kreme and apparently the kiddos ate WAY TOO many donuts (thanks, Dad). This was our first visit and it was really nice and not too crowded. The boys enjoyed checking out all the planes and such. It was neat and a very nice set up. Next visit, we hope to head to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. It should be loads of fun!!

One of those things you are not suppose to let your kids do

July 5th Celebration

Before we even moved into our house, we began a tradition--we have a July 4th celebration here at our house. This year marked the 5th year of our fun times. We celebrate it on a Saturday close to July 4th instead of the actual day. Each year there have been new people and it is great to all hang out and have fun. We started at the house, then to the lake where the kids swam and the men played volleyball, then back home to cook hot dogs and eat ALL the food everyone had brought. The food was delicious!! The kids (and there were MANY of them) enjoy hanging out and playing in the backyard. Just as things were winding down a storm began to brew so everyone started packing up and headed out. It was lots of fun and we can't wait until next year.

Missing my boys

Well, my dad came for a visit last week. He left on Monday and since Nana Jo and Granddaddy were coming on Thursday, we let Cody and Kale go back with Papa. This was a HUGE deal for me!! It is one thing when they are close by but not when they are 5 hours away. Anyway, I did good and did not even cry:)) The boys were very excited to go and we will probably have to bribe Kale to get him to come home. They have spent Monday and Tuesday night with my dad and then will meet up with Nana Jo tomorrow and head to her house. And on Thursday, they will arrive back here. I can hardly wait!!

I believe Keegan is more excited about seeing his brothers than the grandparents which is a rare occasion. He has missed them something awful. For one, they all sleep in the same room so he has slept alone and he does NOT like it. He also misses them during the day --some how Chloe and I are not Cody and Kale. Oh, well, they have had lots of fun!

One proud Papa

As most of you know, Keegan decided that his sport of choice for this year would be baseball. I must say that I for one am very glad of this decision. It has brought back a lot of memories of when I played "America's pasttime" back in the day. I was lucky enough to have a great teacher and mentor of the game as my coach...my Father. So with that said, I didn't sign up to be his coach this year but after being out there for a few games and practices I think I might be getting that itch.

I wasn't sure how Keegan would adjust, as he has never really played a whole lot. But he has come a long way. He had two hits last night with runners in scoring position and he also had the chance to throw out three base runners. He fielded all three just like a professional. The first runner beat out his throw. The second runner the first baseman dropped the ball. And the third runner he threw out by a mile. You should have seen the excitement on his face. Needless to say I was one proud Papa.

I think I'll be in the coaching saddle before long. With all my other hats I wear.

Praise Music

Yesterday, we had been listening to Blessed Be the Name on a CD. This is one of Keegan and Kale's favorite songs so we listen to it quite often. Apparently enough tha Chloe has picked up the tune for the chorus. We had turned off the music, but she's in the back "singing" it at the top of her lungs and good enough you can tell exactly what she is singing. It was amazing!!

Air Show pictures

This is one of my favorite especially with the flag in the background. I also made a slide show of more from the NC Air Show we went to at the beginning of June.

Wordless Wednesday

Relaxing Day

So after such a busy day and weekend, the kids and I just hung out at home yesterday. I was such a great mom and let them watch TV all day. I am usually pretty strict about how much they watch, but it was nice to be able to sit and do nothing. They did help unload the dryer, load the washer, and put up clothes, but other than that they just chilled. After dinner, Jonathan played football with the boys outside. I cleaned up lots of stuff yesterday and have about 7 bags of yard sale items. While they played, I went walking with a neighbor. Before heading to bed, I finished a book I had been reading. Such a nice and relaxing day. . . Now off to paint:))