My Dad - by Aiden

Okay, Rick had to bring the kids to me at the office and I was checking my mail...we were just about to leave and go home...Aiden saw a picture of his Daddy from like 6 or 7 years ago on my desk. He said, "Hey that's a picture of my Dad." I said, "Yes, it sure is." Then he said, "Somebody put hair on him." (Rick has recently shaved his head) Then he proceeded to say, "He is so handsome." My little man is becoming more than a "little" man.

I'm a Big Boy!

We finally arrived back in Samantha yesterday and then drove to Kennedy to pick up the kids around 6:00 p.m. I was so happy to see my babies again. Of course, we got good reports from NaNa on how they had been, you know, they eat well and sleep well when Mommy isn't around. Then came the funnies that we had missed throughout the week. I only have a moment, so I will share my favorite.....

Aiden (of course) was crying over something silly that Allee had done to him. NaNa Taylor said "Aiden, you have got to be the biggest cry baby I have ever seen." He said, "No, I'm not"... she said, "Yes you are" He said "No I'm not, but if I was, I wouldn't be a cry baby I would be a cry BOY!" (sorry if I miss quoted some) He is so tied into being a BOY, not a BABY!

HE WON!

Joseph Summerlin, age 12, won 1st place in Keyboard (piano) in his age division. WAY TO GO JOSEPH!! We will be travelling home tomorrow. Please pray for our safety.

Still in Little Rock

Yesterday was full of meetings so we were very tired. We went to the Youth service last night and it was a real blessing. The guy that did the music lead a couple of praise songs that I was unfamiliar with but that were very moving. Here are the words to my favorite one...
EMPTY ME - Holy Fire, Burn Away, My Desire, for anything that is not of you, and is of me, 'cause I want more of you, and less of me....Empty me, Empty me, Use me, Fill me. This song was really touching to me. We should always desire to have more of Him and less of us! WOW! God is so good! The speaker spoke on Goliath and the Power of One. He brought up several interesting stories where "ONE" made a difference. For example, the Titantic was designed with air tight chambers and if 4 of those chambers filled with water, in the event of an accident, the ship would still float. 5 of the chambers were damaged and therefore filled with water when the ship hit the iceberg. Therefore, the ship sank, because of ONE. He gave other examples that were mind boggling.

After the service, we came back to our room and intended to go to bed, but one of our friends from Colorado visited and we ended up laughing and talking until almost 1:00 in the morning. It was so good to join in good humor and Chrisitian fellowship with friends. So, needless to say, most of us slept in the morning, which was much needed and relaxing. Today is usually a lazier day.

We get to find out after the service tonight if Joseph placed or not. His score sheets were really good, so hopefully we will bring home a National Championship!!

Hello from Little Rock

Hello to all. I am writing from Little Rock, Arkansas...home of the .... let's see if I can even say it...Razorbacks! We (Rick, myself, and 6 others from our church) are here for the National Free Will Baptist Convention. This is our second night here. We arrived yesterday around 7:00 p.m., although Rick really tried hard by driving 80 and passing everyone we know, to get us here quicker, we still missed the service. But, that gave us an opportunity to relax and get Joseph prepared for his competition. He competed in piano at 9:00 a.m today! He was AWESOME! He actually brought me to tears! WOW! Here is Joseph getting ready for competition!

We are staying at the famous Peabody hotel...home of the marching ducks. I had never heard of this, but yes, at 11 a.m. each morning ducks actually ride the elevator downstairs, walk a red carpet to music and climb into a fountain of water. Then, at 5 p.m. they march back to the elevator and reside in their $90,000 hotel accomodations. Yes, you read that correct.

Rick and I actually lucked up. They did not have enough double rooms when we arrived and had to put us in a suite! This was perfect because we have 2 teeanagers staying with us and they get to have their own separate room for the price of one and we got a king size bed. Our room is on the 19th floor, with the only floor above us being the Penthouse! You have to use your room key in the elevator to get access to our floor! I have a robe laying on my bed each day, and even twice today. They cleaned our room TWICE!

The service tonight was tremendous! I cannot tell you how awesome it is to hear 3,500 - 4,000 people all worshiping JESUS CHRIST our Lord and Savior and singing praises to Him. It was awesome! We love hearing the Word of God and getting to fellowship with our christian brothers and sisters.

Tomorrow is another busy day of competitions, meetings and seminars, so we are about to settle in and plan our day.

Seeing all the little ones around makes me miss my little ones, but I greatly appreciate all the help from NaNa Taylor, NaNa boo-boo, and Aunt LeLe for helping me out. I need this week for spiritual feeding for myself and it is a lot easier without having babies clinging to your skirt! We love ya'll...hope they are being good!

I've Been Tagged!

Thanks Sarah! I have been "tagged" by Sarah in California. Anyone with a blog join in. I tag Crystal....have fun.
Now, eight random things about myself...

1. If my husband is in the car, I ALWAYS let him drive.
2. I can't do anything by myself. I have to get an opinion from my mom, my sister or my BF.
3. I didn't go try for my drivers license until I had been 16 for almost a year because I didn't want to miss a day of school to do it.
4. My clutter doesn't bother me, but other peoples clutter drives me insane!
5. I used to pretend to be asleep on the couch when I was little just so my daddy would pick me up and put me in my bed.
6. I have to sleep with one leg out from under the cover and I cannot sleep in the middle of the bed.
7. I could lay out in the sun literally all day long if no one would bother me.
8. I worked in a seafood department in a grocery store in college and always smelled bad after work.

Just for Fun!

Hey guys. I just think these are too cute not to share, and since I am just getting started, I think I can back track just a little. Hope you all don't mind. Most of you have a copy of these at home, but when Allee was 6 months, I could not stand the thought of trying to take her and Aiden into a studio to make pictures. The first experience at 3 months was horrible and I never wanted that torture again. As a matter of fact, we just tried again for the first time this summer in a studio together. Anyway, Janet and I took the kids to capital park, a beautiful historic site here in town, and made our own. It was very challenging, because Allee was not sitting alone well but loved to pull up on things, so most of her pics were behind rocks, with us hoping she wouldn't fall on the rock and bust her tooth out. The ground was wet, so keeping Aiden from getting muddy was another task. I plan to take them again in the Fall, or as soon as I feel up to the task! I love taking pics of the kids!

Can you believe how Allee has changed! I think she looked like an angel here!
Aiden really hasn't changed much in a year. He still has a baby face here though!

Birthday Comparison

I know this is old, but I came across it when I was deleting pics and I thought it was interesting to see the difference and similarities between the two. I love looking back, but man, I can't believe Aiden is already 3 years old!

Aiden (above) when he turned one!

Allee (right) when she turned one!

VBS Almost Over!

VBS is almost at an end. We have had a blast this week, but we are ALL extremely tired! The radio station came and interviewed us last night and the kids loved that. I actually heard my own voice on the radio at 6:35 this morning. Boy, that will wake you up! We averaged 75 kids each night, which I was more than pleased with. Thanks to ALL my workers who helped out! Couldn't have done it without them. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pics taken this week.

Allee is singing the VBS songs in the pic below. She loves to sing and dance. I wish I had a video clip to share because she was hilarious trying to concentrate on the motions.

Here is Allee with her pig-tails! She was concentrating on something and I couldn't get her attention.
Aiden and his 2 BF's. He sat with them every night at this table for snacks.

My child loves ice cream, just like his daddy. As you see it is all over him.

Here is Aiden torchering Allee. We had four rings we used each night. He put them all on her and she couldn't move. Of course she thought it was funny!

Aiden takes a dive down the baby slide!

I Smell Cigarettes!

Yes, my little Aiden is at it again! Wed night after VBS, Rick brought Aiden home and said, "Did you tell Mommy what you had to get in trouble for tonight?" I thought, "Oh, No....what now?" He really hasn't been himself this week. I guess he is just really tired. So reluctantly, knowing it could have been anything from kicking someone to standing on a table, I said, "No, what?" Rick said that Aiden and a few more were standing outside and Aiden said, "I smell cigarettes." (The neighbors were actually burning something outside.) He then put his two little fingers up next to his lips and pretended to smoke!! One of the teenagers was with him and said "Aiden, we don't do that." He said, "Well, my PaPa Gene does." So, thanks PaPa for teaching my child! Then, when Rick and I were talking about it and I was telling Aiden that wasn't good for you or PaPa Gene, he said "But, PaPa Gene does it so good!" So, grandparents, be careful! They tell all! Aiden was STILL defending his PaPa last night when we were talking about it. This one is going to be fun!

VBS 07

VBS 07 has been exciting so far. We had the first night at church last night. I am the director this year, by default, so planning and preparing kept me really busy yesterday. But, when the time finally came for the BIG event, all my workers were present, the kids were excited and God really showed up and showed out. We had a WONDERFUL time learning about JESUS...singing, playing games, having fun! Thank God for the rain, but thanks also that the rain stopped for VBS. I had refreshments and games planned for outside and NO other place to put the 68 kids. Here are a couple of pics some friends took for me. By the way, the blog has been slow. I am still not digital, so I have to wait on taking full rolls up and then scan...really a pain right now. Maybe I will go digital for my B'day! Hint, hint...Rick! lol.

Here is Aiden cheesing for the camera as usual!!!

Isn't she cute! I love the addition of the life preserver!

Here is Allee and her BF SLT!

Keep us in your prayers! We have a long, tiring week ahead of us! Please pray that God will bless us with one soul getting saved. That is our ultimate goal. Leading these kids to the Lord.