Staycation

We have had such a wonderful staycation! We visited the Artbarn Tuesday (I took those pictures with my big camera so I will post those when we get home), Wednesday went for a hike, Friday the zoo, and this weekend the Warrior dash at the lake!
We managed to get to the zoo at 9:15. We had front row parking and didn't have to wait in line. Getting there so early we beat the crowd and had a pleasant time! All the animals were our playing and eating. The pandas were sleeping but the rest of the zoo was enjoying the weather. We were able to see all the lion cubs rolling around!!!

























Lots of babies playing around and hanging on to their mommy's. Loved having the opportunity to see them so close!


Know we are at the lake ready to take on the warrior dash for the third year in a row!! Bring on the mud!

Christine

Hiking and exploring

Today we went to Audrey Mill nature preserve! Mom and I took James, Henry, and Thomas. We had a blast checking out the turtles, frogs, and ducks! We went on to explore the historic grounds and then hiked the trails. So much fun and it is so close! Can't wait to go back.
Some of these photos were taken by Thomas:) He was a master photographer using my cellphone today. Out of the 50 he took these are the best.











Henry needed to make sure he had a close look at the creek while cleaning the bridge of pollen.















Christine

Family Mission trip!

This past weekend we had the privilege to go as a family on a mission trip to Tracy city, Tennessee to Mountain T.O.P. We weren't sure what we were in for with the kids and mission but we were excited to share a weekend of service with our kids.
We were given the project to work on a 100 year old house. We were to paint the exterior of the house but it was raining. Luckily we were able to spend the day with the owner of the house socializing and doing odd jobs around her house. She has
4 dogs and 2 cats that love kids
so the kids were in heaven.






Family style eating!





Huckleberry won James heart! Not sure James stopped talking e entire 6 hours we were there. Jennifer was very patient and loved listening to James!


Henry made himself comfortable and took a nap. Poor guy had a oozing ear:( That was the only medicine I didn't take to the mountains. Go figure!!


Yes the dog looks frightened but he was very content in her arms.


My hubby drilling some board above the shower. This picture is proof that he can do home improvement!


The kids behaved well and slept well. We had a blast playing cards and having fellowship. We can't wait to go back again. I have been wanting our kids to better understand the meaning of service to others and this weekend was a great start!

Christine

Gymnastics

One of Henry's favorite things to do these days is gymnastics at the YMCA with Mrs. Emma! After 45 mins of running around with this guy I am sweaty and beat! He gets to hang, climb, and roll. All things he loves to do! Today was the last day of the session so he and his girls posed for a picture.



Don't forget the stamps on both arms!


Christine

Our first child!

As most of y'all know we had to say goodbye to our first child last week. He was only 9! He had been battling kennel cough or so we thought. As the weeks went on he started breathing bad. Come to find out he had lung cancer and it was bad:( boo!! Within days he was not doing well. Thursday and Friday were rough! I am so thankful that Ansley has an amazing support system at school. They were able to help her grieve. We decided we needed to get out of town and go up to the lake. Every turn we took at home reminded us of Oscar. Here are a couple pictures my sister took two days before he passed. Unfortunately I was unable to get him groomed for a month so he has some long hair:)









And here are some favorites...





The kids have been doing better this week. We read a book called Dog heaven. This week Oscar has gotten a lot of prayers for him about playing in heaven! Henry is the only one that doesn't get where he has gone. He still calls for him when we get home or when he drops food on the floor. Bless James' heart he tries his best to get Henry to understand!
Oscar was the best dog. He will be missed. Even his cousin (Caroline's golden) peanut search for him for a good 10 mins when I kidnapped her to hang with me yesterday. She ran around the house with oscars duck in her mouth.
I feel blessed to have such a wonderful mom. She brought us a beautiful picture frame and picture of Oscar in it!!! We love our doodle and are sure he is sitting with Great Grandma and getting spoiled by great Aunt Mary up in heaven.

Christine

Father Daughter Dance

Ansley had her second father daughter dance through the Girl Scouts! Bob took her shopping for a new dress and some sparkling shoes today! She looked gorgeous and was smiling from ear to ear! Here are some photos from my phone. I will upload my camera later.






Christine

Oh Henry

Henry's face is finally looking like I don't beat him! Lets rewind back to the snow days. Henry was protesting taking a nap mostly because he had hit the overly tired mark! In the midst of him kicking and hitting I placed him on his floor (which has carpet). While he was flailing around his leg got caught under him at the same time I put him down. So he went to bed and woke up with a limp. The next day he was still limping. My friend advised us to wait until we got back from our weekend retreat to worry about his leg. We got back Sunday and Henry was still limping and had a tip of his finger missing because he stuck it between scissors that his brother was using! Finally that Friday I took him in and the doctor eased my concern about a toddler fracture. The day after the doctor visit Henry fell on the driveway and scratched his face from the top of his forehead to the top of his lip. So now he not only has a limp and a hurt finger but he has a fabulous conplexion! We are on week 3 and nothing to report. He has gotten his bounce back in his step literally. And we only go through 3 band aids a day!
This is what it looked like before the scab took over!





We like to call him a cat because he has an amazing ability to balance and fall gracefully! He usually walks away laughing but not the past two weeks! Hopefully he will just keep his helmet on he next week!