Kings Dominion with the Cliftons

On Friday, we headed back to KD with the Clifton's. It was a beautiful day that started out a little warm, but got better during the afternoon. We made our way through the enitre park riding rides. The big kids as well as the little kids were able to ride many rides just for them. They were completely wore out when we left. It will be quite different this year since all the bigger boys can ride most rides.

Kings Dominion 2008

On Tuesday, the kids and I decided to head to KD for the day. This was the first time we have gone with just us and it was fun!! However, it was a little chilly. Chloe and I had fun waiting for the boys to get off the rides. They rode many big rides. Keegan rode the Hurler for the first time and then decided he did not want to ride anything else:)) (See next post) Kale rode these rides for the first time and would have ridden over and over again. We packed our lunch and went out to eat at the picnic tables which the kids really enjoyed. It is fun to go and have them be able to ride almost every ride in the park. It should be a great KD season!

By the way, the boys chose this slide display.

Pillar Easter Egg Hunt

A family at Pillar filled almost 800 Easter eggs for the Pillar kids. Yes, we have many kids, but about 20 - 25, so each child had LOTS of eggs. The kids had lots of fun hunting and then playing.

Spring Soccer

The boys all wanted to play a sport so we let them choose. Kale chose football (fall), Keegan choose baseball (summer), and Cody chose soccer. This worked out well since the sports are all in different seasons. Cody had his first practice last Saturday--it was very cold! He is excited to be playing again. Enjoy the show!

Spring Break

We have been out of school since last Thursday. We all look forward to this very much as we need a break:)) We have not done too much; just hung out mainly which the boys have thoroughly enjoyed. For all those who have seen our living room paint, you will appreciate the fact that the color exists no longer!! During my time off, I have painted the living room and hallway. (Pictures will be posted later.) It looks very nice and makes our house look brighter. While I have been painting, the boys and Chloe have enjoyed playing outside all day. They wake up before me in them morning and watch TV which happens to usually be CHiPS. They LOVE this show and as soon as they head out they play this over and over. Today, I could hear them outside playing CHiPS and Keegan is hollering, "I'm speeding" over and over so that Kale will know he needs to pull Keegan over. It was too cute!! We did head over to Kings Dominion on Tuesday just the kids and I. This is the first time we have ever gone alone and it was fun. The boys are big enough to ride pretty much every ride so they did. Keegan was done after riding the Hurler; he wanted to head over to the kiddy cars. Kale and Cody enjoyed every ride. Chloe just hung out with me waiting for the boys. It was a little chilly, but fun. We are heading that way again tomorrow with some friends. Hopefully, it will be a little warmer.

Also, I stole the Wordless Wednesday off another blog I check. It was such a cute idea so I borrowed it. Hope you all enjoy!!


P.S. The battery for my camera died and I could not find the charger for the battery. It has been located now and I will add pictures later.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday (a new feature)

Great Wolf Lodge

In February, Jonathan I took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. The place is amazing and so made for families. We were there for 2 nights and 3 days and were completely exhausted when we returned home. That place wears you out!! The boys enjoyed being able to not only watch TV, but watch it in bed as well as eat in their beds!! This is a life they could get use to:)) Chloe loved every minute of being in the water and screamed when it was time to get out. She sure is a different girl then last summer when she screamed every time we put her IN the water. She was able to do everything except for one slide and the surfing activity. The boys were able to do everything and took full advantage of that. We had loads of fun adn it was good family time.

A Night of Fun

Last Friday night, Jennifer Clifton and I took the kids to open gym at Paragon gymnastics. We have been wanting to go and it was a perfect night to head that way. The kids (and Jennifer and I) had loads of fun. We will be back with our husbands so we can participate a little more. This place was worth every penny we paid!! By the way, we were the only adults performing!!

(if you place mouse over pictures, you can see captions)

KEEGAN TURNS 8!!

Wow, it is hard to believe Keegan turned 8 today. Time has flown by in those 8 years some faster than others. Keegan has been through so much in his life, but you'd never know it by his spirit--he is almost always happy as can be!! He enjoyed eating out and bowling last Saturday at Red Robin. They sang happy birthday and brought him free ice cream. Then, he had little cakes at school today. And tonight, we went to Fun Land and he played games as well as hit balls in the batting cage. He did really well his the balls coming at him. Next, we ate at Pancho Villa's where they also sang and let him wear a sombreo. Last stop was at Walmart to get the bat he so wanted. He's playing baseball this summer for parks and rec and is very excited!! Happy birthday, Keegan!!

More surprises in store

On the way to NC, I called granddaddy. Since Nana Jo was not there, I quickly thought of a plan. We would surprise Nana Jo as well. So, granddaddy and I worked out all the details to meet on Sunday. The next day, the kids, Aunt Wee Wee, Papa, and myself went to New Bern to eat and shop at Target. Next, we headed to the mall to surprise Nana Jo. We were quietly walking around Belk's, when Cody spied Nana Jo entering the store. All the kids dove under clothes racks. As they got closer, the boys ran out to surprise them. Nana Jo was overwhelmed!! It was a huge surprise and I was quite excited to pull off two great surprises. We hung out chatting at the wall, then went to Walmart, and finally to the waterfront park in New Bern to play. It was a nice day and the kids had fun running around playing. Check out the pictures!

Surprise Daddy, we're all here!!!

In February, Jonathan and some other church planters headed to Georgia for a conference. My sister was heading to NC so the kids and I decided we would go with her. We did not tell my dad (or Jonathan's parents). On the way, my brother called and realized we were all on our way to daddy's. He was already there, but did not tell dad. In fact, he egged my dad on more about never seeing the kids and stuff. Anyway, when we pulled up, my dad was completely shocked!! He was so excited that he could not even speak. It took him a little while to realize all his children and grandchildren were there to visit.

The kids had a grand time playing in the boat, picking up pecans, shopping, and enjoying family time. It was a short trip, but lots of fun. Enjoy the pictures!

Daddy's girl

So in the beginning, Chloe did NOT like Jonathan and that is putting it mildly! Well, the times have changed and she is ALL daddy's girl. She loves to get her computer and sit as close to Jonathan as she can when he is working on the computer. She runs to him (when he is here) as soon as she gets up and as soon as she gets home. It is really too cute to watch her fuss to put his arm around her and light up when she sees him. So, I'm guessing he forgot all about the beginning when she screamed constantly when he was around. . .Glad to know times have changed:))

It's official!!

Jonathan is a pastor which makes me a pastor's wife?!?!? And my kids PK's?!?!? Yep, you read that right, Jonathan is planting and pastoring Lakeside Community Church. Now, let me back up and do some explaining.

We have been part of Pillar Church, a church plant, since it began over 3 years ago. We committed for a year and even after moving 45 minutes away, have yet to leave. Pillar is family and after having such a difficult time finding a church to begin with, we decided it was worth the drive. Clint, our pastor, and his family have been a great influences in all of our lives. One day, he told Jonathan he thought he should plant a church out here where we leave. We did not believe he was serious. Us, planting a church?? You guys who know us are probably asking yourselves the same thing and 3 years ago our answer would have been completely different. However, we began to pray about it and Jonathan felt like God was definitely calling him to plant a church in our Locust Grove area.

So, in November, we began meeting with 2 other couples, the Clifton's, and our family for a Bible study and church planting. We had many decisions to make including a church name, our church purpose, etc. We also decided to hold a banquet to share the vision of our church. This was an overwhelming task, but to God, it was nothing. All of our hard work paid off, and Saturday night, January 26, we held the Lakeside Community Church Vision Banquet. We had close to 100 people in attendance including area pastors, Pillar members, Stafford Baptist people, community people, as well as many others. We believed it would be ok, but it turned out way better than we could have imagined. God had more plans for the banquet then we knew!! It was beautiful inside and we had a great praise band from Soul Purpose, one of our sponsor churches. We also had a wonderful friend, Amanda Long, write a song particular to all of us that she played piano for and sang. It was amazing and that is not even a good description!! Thank you, Amanda!

Currently, Lakeside meets on Sunday evenings in a local elementary school. Our official launch will be in September, but we have plenty to do in the meantime. We have many outreaches planned to reach our neighbors in the area. Please pray with us as we begin to see God's plans for Lakeside.

So, that means, that yep, I am now a pastors wife which MANY people keep pointing out to me. Are you guys trying to tell me something???

Hellllloo!!!

It has been awhile since we have posted. Life has been very full around here and looks to stay that way for awhile. The kids are all doing great just very tired from our busy lives. Friday, after arriving home from school, the boys promptly laid out on the couches wrapped in blankets, watched movies, and stayed that way until we made them eat. They would not even get up to talk on the phone. It was funny, but sad that they were so tired. After eating, they went back to their cozy spots and chilled. Needless to say, they were to put to bed early.

Saturday, they were much better and played for awhile. Aunt Wendy and Uncle Matt came over to keep them while Jonathan and I headed to a banquet. Many members of Jonathan's family also came up to attend the banquet so they stopped by to drop off Cara and a quick hello. The kids had lots of fun playing games and hanging out. It was a nice relaxing evening for the kids (not sure about the aunt and uncle:)

Sunday morning, we dropped Jon off at church and met the family for breakfast at McDonald's before we all attended church together. After church, we all ate lunch together, then they headed back to NC and we headed home to get ready for Lakeside Church (this will be another post). We got home and put the kids to bed and it wasn't much after that, we headed to bed too. The kids were not the only ones who were tired.

Jonathan and I are both taking online classes right now. He is enrolled at Liberty University and has a full load. I am taking a class through PBS to renew my teaching license. My class is 6 weeks and quite demanding. I have not taken a college class since graduating in 1996! WOW, is all I have to say. I also have to respect Jon a little more for all the classes he has taken and continues to take.

While we are all tired, Chloe on the other hand seems to never be tired. She is a bundle of constant energy and joy. We put her to bed each night around 7:30 and usually at 9:00, she is still back there talking and singing to herself. Some nights, she even gets in the floor in the dark and plays, but she does not come out of her room. She is rotten!! It is amazing to realize she has been home with us for 9 months!!

Anyway, with all that said, we are very busy, but we'd be bored if we had nothing to do:)) Jon's mom is always surprised to find us at home when she calls since it happens so rarely that we are.

Thought I'd share

I saw this blog on another blog I read. This is a family trying to raise money for an adoption of a little girl from China who is a special needs child. Everything has happened pretty quickly and they are in need of funds quickly. This mom makes adorable dresses (as well as other things) for a pretty decent price. Check out the site here http://www.redthreadstitches.blogspot.com/ I hope you find something you like (I sure did:)) BTW, you can buy matching dresses for your little girl as well as your American doll baby (Chloe received one of these at Christmas).

Totally Addicted!!

Ok, so yes, I am definetely loving this digital scrapbooking!! Hope you all enjoy looking at my creations because I sure like sharing them. Anyway, here it is. . .

My first digital scrap!!!

You can click on the picture to make it bigger.


So, I like the idea of scrapbooking and began really well, but. . . it goes a little slow. So, I read up on digital scrapbooking. I like the idea I can sit and do it at my computer without having to gather up all the supplies needed (especially since our space is so limited) and that I can change it around. There are still things I need to work out, but I kinda like this:)) Hope you do, too!

Christmas Round 3

And finally, there was Christmas Round 3. This past Friday, Jonathan's parents, Danny, Carol, and Cara arrived. We are not quite sure how there was room in the car for them with all the presents.

The kids enjoyed all the presents, but most importantly, they enjoyed the company! Again, we ate and ate and ate some more. It's amazing we were able to move on Sunday. The kids had lots of fun playing together and the adults enjoyed conversation (minus the men who went on a 3 hour shopping trip)!!

Christmas -- Round 1 and 2

Christmas Round 1 was quite a surprise. My mom left bags full of stuff for the kids. They were very excited with their new things. They enjoyed the puzzles and games that rainy afternoon while Chloe enjoyed her beautiful, new Bitty Baby. Both have matching dresses! Later in the week, they all enjoyed shopping for new clothes, shoes, and coats with the money she included. To be boys, they are quite selective in choosing clothes and like the preppy look. Thanks, Nama!

Then there was Christmas round 2. My dad aka Papa arrived Friday to celebrate Christmas with us. Little did he kow how exciting it would be. (I ended up in the ER with gall stones.) After that excitement, things died down and the normal fun was had. Dad, the kids, and I went shopping Christmas Eve and I am now the proud owner of a new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi 10.1 MP Digital SLR Camera!! I am enjoying this quite a bit. We attended Stafford Baptist for Christams Eve service. We have done this for the past several years. After this, we ate dinner at TGIFriday's--yea, I had a hard time with this being Christmas Eve dinner, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. From there, you can see the festives in pictures above. The kids had a great Christmas and were very excited about their gifts. We spent the day playing games, chiling in jammies, and eating!! What better way to spend Christmas day:))