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.

Visit at Grandma and Pa's House

This past weekend, we went to visit Grandma and Pa. Pa had been working very hard to buy some old games off eBay to make A.J. the largest castle and pirate game ever. When we arrived, he was shocked to see it and played with it for hours!



After dinner with Kev and his family, the Pope family came over for a night swim. Other than a short time out of the pool for thunder (which caused a great debate to the relation of thunder to lightning... and Brecca and Summer were wrong about), we had a great time. Here are some pictures and a video clip of Claire going off the diving board for the first time.