First Grade Bible Presentation

Today was a fun day at church for A.J. As part of tradition at Pepperell, each first grader is presented a new Bible with their name engraved on it. Today was A.J.'s turn to get his new Bible. He loved it because it was a nice leather bound Bible with "real" pages! He looked through it the entire service.

Another part of the annual tradition is showing a slide show with a few pictures of the first grader growing up. Unfortunately, their computer was having some issues, and they weren't able to show the pictures. But, they are going to show them next week. I decided to post A.J.'s pictures on here, so you can see how much he has grown!

Here is a video of the Bible presentation:

Here are A.J.'s pictures from his slide show for church:

Left Alone with Daddy

Last night, I was gone for a short time, and Allan was home with the kids. While playing checkers with A.J. at the kitchen table, Abigail fell asleep. When I got home, this picture was in my camera!

So, I guess the lesson of the story is when you are left alone with daddy, you can do whatever you want (including sleeping on the kitchen table).

Emily's Baby Shower

Sunday, I was privileged to help with a baby shower for Emily Meredith. Emily and I went to Seminary together, and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. Her husband, Gary, was the connection that led us to serve at Pepperell Baptist Church. So, needless to say, she is very important to me, and I was very excited to see her.

Emily and me (our first picture together since my wedding):
The shower hostesses:
The diaper cake centerpiece Ashley and I spent hours making (with the help of 3 children):

My Crafty Side

I have really debated on whether or not I should post these pictures. There are several reasons I have been hesitant to post the crafts I have done to brighten up Abigail's room. First, it was my first attempt at both projects, and neither are done to my expectations.

Second (and the main reason) is because I know I will get mixed reactions from my friends. There will be those of you who are crafty who will be so proud of my attempts (thank you Jawan for making me do this). Then, there are my working mom friends who will say, "how nice!," but not in a nice tone because I have so much time on my hands these days (or so I am supposed to anyway). Finally, there are those friends of mine who will say it's great, but they would never try it.

To all my friends... I did the craft, and I am finally proud enough to post it! I was inspired by others, and Abigail's room needed a pick-me-up, so here is my attempt to be crafty:

First, I was inspired by Grace Violet (my favorite blog to read) to try decoupage. Although it isn't close to being perfect, I made small initials for Abigail's wall. (Maybe when I named her, I should have realized "amp" meant she would have power and energy)!

I also made this fabric box following the instructions from a new blog I like (One Crafty Mama). It is the perfect place to store Abigail's headbands and makes a cute accessory in her room.
So, there you have it. My attempt to be a crafty mom. We'll have to wait and see if I ever do it again!

Tumbling

Abigail has been very excited to start tumbling this week. Sherry (a friend from church) passed down 2 leotards to her. She was so excited to get them, she has been wearing them all day every day around the house. She wore herself out in it so much Monday, she fell asleep in the study looking like this:


When Wednesday rolled around, I could hardly contain her excitement to go. That 30 minutes seemed to be over in about 3 minutes. She is already asking how much longer until she goes back. When I tell her next week, she always says, "next week takes a long long time!" I guess you can say I have found something she is passionate about. Enjoy these pictures and a video clip of her flip.

A Few New Things

Back to school always brings new things to the wardrobe of the kids. This year, we are thankful for new Crocs (Thank you Grandma and Pa). Both kids LOVE to wear Crocs, and have a few pair that have lasted 2 years. However, they get icky looking and the tread on the bottom tends to wear down smooth. I let both kids pick their own new pair (with suggestions from me of coarse), and this is what they chose:
A.J. wanted the Endeavor style (which means no part of the foot shows). He thinks he has crooked toes, and he likes his toes to be covered. (However, we discovered at the beach that he got those toes from Uncle Kevin, and that did make him feel better!) He also likes no holes because rocks and dirt don't get in as much.

Abigail always loves her Mary Janes. And, of course, purple was the color to pick!

Abigail is also sporting a new back to school hair cut. I love her hair cut like this, and I think it makes her feel a little older. She also discovered this weekend during Ashley's Just Ducky party, that she loves a headband. That is all she has worn since we went to the clothing show. I think it looks great with her new haircut!

Tutu and Toboggan

Tutu and Toboggan??? I realize that is probably not a title you were expecting today. However, that is what Abigail was sporting around the house the other day. We had to take EVERYTHING out of her closet to get into the attic to find a water leak (yes, we have no other way into our useless attic). While the bed was covered with all of the junk we shoved in her closet, she found a purple tutu I bought her last year for Halloween (which she never wore). She also came across her winter hat from last year. And the result... a tutu and a toboggan. Watch this clip!

3 Going on 30!

Abigail's friend Natasha came over for a few minutes on Tuesday. They immediately got into playing with all of Abigail's girly toys. It wasn't long before they emerged from her room dressed in high heels and adorned with beautiful jewelry. It was definitely a camera worthy moment.

Nana and Uncle Michael

When all the family was here for A.J.'s baptism, Nana and Uncle Michael were the recipients of some evening hugs at the end of the weekend. A.J. stayed in Nana's lap until sound asleep. Those are the moments we all love to treasure. Even Ruby got in on the lovin'!

A.J.'s Baptism

As you probably read a few days ago, A.J. made the most important decision in his life. He asked Jesus to come into his life and made a commitment to give his life to Him. We have all been VERY excited. Today, he was baptized. We were blessed to have our family there with us. We praise God for this decision in his life. Here is a video clip of the actual baptism and pictures of the morning.

A.J. and Allan before they put on their baptismal robes!
This chair was right next to the stairs leading into the water of the baptism. A.J. sat here for several minutes anxiously waiting the service to start. He was very very excited!

World's Longest Yard Sale

I have a new found love... the World's Longest Yard Sale! Allan and I were able to get away just the two of us (thanks Mom and Dad), and we loved it! It was something I never would have thought to do, but it was amazing. We are already making plans for next year. Here are a few pictures of the sites we saw. We get done finding homes for the "treasures" we found, I will post pictures of those, too.

Just a note... if you have never heard of this sale... it is over 600 miles of yard sale. It extends from Gadsden, Alabama (where we started) to Defiance, OH. We made it up about 2 hours north of Chattanooga. Just put it this way... it took us 5 hours to do the first 15 miles. There are places where you shop at homes of people who happen to live along the route, and then there are what we called the Mecca of yard sales -- that is the spots where there were 50 or more vendors in one spot. You really must take time out next year to do this!

First Day of First Grade

A.J. started first grade Wednesday with a few additions to his head! We were at the softball fields the night before, and he and another boy were playing trying to break a stick (which I believe was more of a tree limb). He took it right to the forehead. Two knots later, and we had the first day of school! (Not to mention his tooth he hit 2 years ago is getting darker and STILL hasn't come out!).

He has a wonderful teacher this year, Mrs. Walters, and we are all very excited. During open house, he was quick to tell her he is getting baptised on Sunday. Maybe that is why he had such a smile for the camera on this picture (or it could be because I was making fun of his daddy behind the camera!).

Say a prayer for A.J. as he starts a new year. It is always exciting and a little nerve wracking, too! We know he will do a great job.

Exciting News

If you read the title line... I know your first thoughts... and no, we aren't pregnant! But, this news is even better! Much better.

Last night, before church started, A.J. told me he wanted to ask Jesus to come in his heart. He has been talking about it for quite some time, but has never actually said he was ready. I was concerned it was because we were having Lord's Supper and he just wanted to be able to do that. However, just that morning, I had been praying for God to help me know when he was ready. And He did! He went out with our children's director, Mrs. Peggy, (who does the counseling for our kids making decisions) and prayed with her. We are VERY excited. He RAN down the isle and was telling everyone in church he now has Jesus in his heart and is getting "bapt-ti-tized."

He told me to tell everyone if they can't come to see him get "bapt-ti-tized," then they can watch in on my blog site! He is getting baptized Sunday, and I will be sure to post it next week. Please keep in your prayers as he starts this spiritual journey in life!

Visit with Nana and Papa

We have been waiting all summer for our visit with Nana and Papa. Unfortunately, they live in North Carolina, and we don't get to see them as often as we would like. They were taking a crazy cross-country trip from NC to Kentucky (to see Aunt Laura) to us to Mississippi and back to NC again! We are just glad we got to spend several days with them along their path.

The first night they stayed with us, we lost power for a few hours due to a lightning storm (although we did not even get a drop of rain out of it). During that time, A.J. got Papa to read him a Star Wars book by flashlight. The camera flash makes it look like it was bright in the room, but in reality, the flashlight was the only light.

A.J. was very quick to engage Nana in a Star Wars battle. It isn't very often we see Nana with a light saber, so a video was the thing to do!

One really fun thing Nana and I took the kids to do was to visit a place in Opelika called Frog Legs. It is one large warehouse type building with lots of inflatables. The kids had a great time running around and playing. Nana and I had a good time being in the air conditioning! Plus, they had a jewelry show going on for the moms in the place, so it was a special treat to get a new necklace (thank you Nana).

Papa spent most of his time with us building new columns for my front porch (which I love). As soon as they are painted, I will post pictures. Papa always does a great job helping us with projects around the house.

Throughout the few days they stayed with us, there was lots of time for loving! We can't wait to see them again in October for Abigail's birthday.