Hit The Beach!

We were so thankful to be able to take a family vacation this summer! We went to Pompano Beach, Florida which is right outside of Fort Lauderdale. Here we are getting ready for the 14 hour drive!! Yes, 14 hours with a newly potty trained toddler!!! Yikes!! Actually C&C were so excited that the drive seemed to go by fast!
We surprised Clayton and stopped in Gainsville, Fla. to let him walk around the University of Florida. Most of you know that Clayton is a HUGE Tim Tebow fan. When asked to write about a hero in his life at school, he wrote: " Tim Tebow is my hero because he tells everyone about God. He inspires me to play sports and give the glory to God." We got so much joy out of watching him smile at everything he saw! This was Claire's first trip to the beach, so we were anxious to see her reaction......

Well here it is... Hahahaha! As soon as the waves touched her feet, she ran as fast as she could out of the water! No worries, she turned into a fish by the time our vacation was over!
On Wednesday nights at church, Claire goes to a class called "Puggles". The truth they learned this year was "God made everything!" I said, "Claire, this is the ocean that we have been telling you about! Do you know who made the ocean?" Without any hesitation she shouted, "God!"Our family had so much fun enjoying God's creation during this vacation!

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Double Digits!

I know that everyone tells you (especially your mother) that kids grow up so fast and that childhood is a blur, but when you are in the everyday trenches of parenthood it is so hard to remember that!
Well, on Dec. 18th, Clayton turned 10 and I looked at him and realized that what everyone says is true! Here is this big kid with big ideas, big dreams, and a oh so big heart! The Kingdom Challenge at church really had a big impact on his heart and the way he chose to celebrate his birthday this year!
So what happened? Seems like just yesterday I was going to the hospital with all the beautiful Christmas trees on top of the building ready for my first baby-so scared, but so excited and ready to be a mommy! Wasn't it just yesterday that I called my friend for advice and she introduced me to "Babywise" and I was finally able to get him to sleep? I know it was just yesterday that I held him in my arms and thanked God that He had blessed me with a sweet baby boy! Seems like yesterday that we had his 2nd birthday and had a pony at his party because he loves animals! I'm sure it was just yesterday that I took him to swim lessons with Mr. Ed and he learned how to swim at such an early age! I know it was just yesterday that we started attending FBC Powell when he was two! I'm here to tell you it does fly by! Clayton is so different now! Having a double digit boy is a new adventure! I realized this while getting ready for his birthday party. We couldn't do treat bags and he wanted a Florida Gator cake..... I realized I now have a young man that I love so much and am so proud of! I can't wait to see what God's plans are for him as a young teen! Here are some pics from his birthday party at Laser Quest....Clayton, we love you so much and are so proud of the young man that you have become! You will always be my sweet baby boy- a blessing from God!

Claire Turns 2!

So hard to believe that my baby is 2 years old! Claire is a true answer to God's faithfulness! Our family prayed for her for 7 years!! She is a blessing and we are having so much fun watching her grow!
When we asked Claire what kind of birthday party she wanted to have, of course she shouted, "DORA!" She loves Dora and Boots and will dance and giggle every time she hears the "Dora" theme song! We had Claire's party at our neighborhood playground. Here she is swinging with her K.K. and her friend Leah, then going down the slide with her friend Maddie. We also had a Dora Pinata! Here they are pulling the strings to see which one releases all the candy!K.K., Claire's sitter and our dear family friend, made Claire's cake and cupcakes! They were so cute! When we sang to her, I could not help but get emotional! She has grown so fast, it seems like only yesterday I was holding a tiny little baby!The first gift Claire opened was a car from my mom and grandmother. At first she would not get out of the car to open her other presents! She had fun opening all of her gifts! She got a Dora guitar, Dora microphone, Dora doll, Dora coloring book, an outfit from Gymboree, Strawberry Shortcake p.j.s and doll, a Baby Alive and a highchair for her dolls.


One of my favorite times with Claire is at bedtime. I cherish the time when I rock her for a while before I put her to bed! I have always prayed for Claire when I rocked her, and at the end of our prayers we would say, "Love you Jesus!" The other night, she looked at me and said, "Jesus loves me mama!" Oh, it was precious to hear my baby say that!
Father, thank you for my sweet blessing, Claire Elise! I will continuously praise you for your faithfulness! May she grow to love you with all of her heart, soul, and mind!

This Little Light Of Mine...

I'm going to let it shine... This is our prayer for Clayton as he enters 4th grade this year! Clayton is in Mrs. Risdahl's class at Brickey-McCloud. During the first week of school, Clayton came home with a bag and was supposed to find 3 things that represented himself to put in the bag so that his classmates could get to know him better. The first thing he put in the bag was his Bible- He said he wanted his class to know that he was a Christian and his bible was his guide. He told us that he wanted to keep it in his backpack this year to read during school. On the way home that afternoon, I asked him how it went and he was so excited to tell me that Mrs. Risdahl said her bible was too big to fit in the bag, but she had a "Footprints In the Sand" card and wanted them to know that she was a Christian too!
Recently a video clip at church really had an impact on Clayton. It had statistics of people in Japan that had never even heard the name of Jesus and who currently have no access to bibles. He has been telling us lately that he wants to be a missionary in Japan and take bibles to the people there. On our way to school the first day, I was able to share with him that one day God may send him to Japan, but right now we are missionaries at school and that we are on mission to glorify God daily, that there are children at our school that do not know the Lord. I reminded him of his love for the kids that we have ministered to in Atlanta, Georgia and told him to love on the kids in his class just like them! Then on another morning, he told me that he thought God was working on him and trying to teach him something. When I asked why he thought that, he told me that a particular student had a habit that got on his nerves and now that they had changed seats he was sitting beside this person. He told me that he thought God was trying to teach him more about truly loving this person. I'm so thankful Clayton is realizing that God isn't finished with us yet and has promised to complete what He has started! I truly cherish our ride to school together each morning because it has been a time when Clayton and I can start our day with the right focus! I know that the Lord has big plans for my Clayton and I pray that he seeks the Lord with all of his heart and does what he has been created to do...Glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

H-E-R-O , God is my Hero!

The theme for our church VBS this year was "Hero Headquarters". Clayton had a wonderful time learning about people from the Bible that were heroes for God and about how he can be a hero too! Terry and I helped out so Claire went every night too! Each night when we put her in the van we would say , "It's time to go to church!" and she would squeal, "Church!!!!"I helped in pre-school crafts so I brought home a craft for Clayton and Claire that I thought they would enjoy- it was a superhero mask that you can scratch and make rainbow designs. They loved it!


My prayer for my children is that they grow to love God more and more everyday and glorify Him with their lives! I'm so thankful for our church family and how they come alongside Terry and I in teaching them in His ways! Thank you to everyone who helped with VBS! You are truly a blessing to our family!

This Is The Day ,The Lord Has Made...

I will rejoice,
I will give thanks!
And live my life,
to give you praise,
This is the day the Lord has made!
This was one of my favorite songs that the choir prepared for the Easter Celebration! To practice the songs, we have a CD to listen to and I have to say that God used this song to show me that every day is a blessing and that He is worthy to be praised! The first time it really hit me was on a two hour trip to my grandmother's house. I was singing and deep conviction came over me and tears poured, because I realized that so often I don't think God is big enough to handle things in my life. I realized that all of my complaining and griping and wishing for things is disbelief- sin against a Holy God! During the past two weeks, when I have found myself complaining about something, I start singing this song and it changes my earthly perspective to that Eternal perspective that we have been studying about in our Life Group.
Our spring break was a little different this year, because Terry had sinus surgery, so we pretty much hung around the house. Clayton was so sweet, his only request was to go to the zoo. So by Friday, Terry felt o.k. to go on an outing! Well needless to say, the whole way there, this song was going through my head! I LOVE spending quality time with my family, so this was a wonderful day. The weather was beautiful too! God is so good!
First we went to the indoor play area because Clayton thought Claire would like it- well he was wrong- she LOVED it. In fact we had to leave with her kicking and screaming! The first animal we saw was a huge rabbit. When I lifted her up to see it , she clenched her teeth together and giggled! She kept pointing and babbling to Clayton. She is so different than Clayton. He has always been an animal lover and will pet or hold anything! When Terry held her close to pet it , she squealed with laughter, but would not touch it! It was like she wanted to, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it! She enjoyed playing in the "barn".
She also had fun pounding the hammer and making lots of noise!
We did not get to see a lot of animals up close, because it was so hot, they were in the shade! One of Clayton's favorites was when we watched an elephant giving himself a mud bath to stay cool! We watched from a distance!
After walking for a while, we decided to cool off with a drink and some ice cream! Claire shared with Terry. She kept saying, "UMMMMM!" after every bite.
Claire enjoyed the apes best of all! She got up close to the glass to watch them play. She just giggled and giggled!
Terry was getting a little tired and we tried to avoid the "nature trail" and take the short cut so he could rest, but God had plans for Clayton and I. Somehow we ended up on the trail. As Terry and Claire went ahead of us, I looked at Clayton and realized that my baby has grown up so fast! We had a good time just talking together about how God is so creative and must love diversity in the way that he created all of the different animals! He had fun quizzing me on my Tennessee History! I think he was impressed that I got a lot of them right! That was one of my favorite parts of the day- spending time with my precious Clayton! Here we are taking a pic of ourselves in the tunnel!
After catching up with Terry and Claire, we headed to the petting zoo in the kid's area. After watching Clayton, Claire decided to be brave and brush the goats. Clayton said, "Remember Claire, one of the rules is to brush them gently!" The look on her face was priceless! She had such focus- and she was sticking out her tongue, just like her Daddy!
On the way home everyone fell asleep in the car. I was driving and singing.... This is the day-the Lord has made......
What a wonderful way to end a special week!
Father, thank you for the blessing of family time! Thank you for showing me that everyday is a blessing, everyday is a day that you have made and planned for me in your sovereignty! I will rejoice, I will give thanks! May I live my life to bring you praise!