Last Day of Summer

Today is officially my last day of summer! I have SO enjoyed this summer with my family, and am sad to see it go! Pre-planning starts tomorrow for new staff, so I have to go to work! Marshall doesn't have to start until next week, and Payton the week after that. And although I am amazed at how quickly the summer has gone, I am excited about working with first graders this year. It should be an interesting year.

Since today was my last day of summer we had to do something fun...right?
Brooke and Russ have a boat on Lake Lanier, so we spent the day on the lake tubing, swimming, and even picnicing on the beach. The weather was great! We had a blast.

Payton loved going tubing!

Elijah had so much fun he fell asleep while riding!

Payton and Brooke having fun on the tube!

Marshall and Elijah chillin on the boat!

The Hemlocks

This week the kids and I went on an overnight trip to Monterrey, Tennessee with our wonderful neighbors Amy and Rachel. Rachel's dad lives in a house that is more than 100 years old and sits right on the top of a mountain. As you can see from the picture above, the view from the yard is breath taking! He also owns more than 700 acres up there, including two different ponds to swim in, lots of land for hiking, and more fun than the kids could stand. He calls all of this The Hemlocks, and it has been in his family for generations.

Elijah enjoyed riding around to the different ponds and sites in the Polaris.

This is called the Cliff Field Pool. It is an awesome pond with a beach (he had the sand shipped in!), a slide, a paddle boat, a kayak, a rope swing and a diving board. Not to mention the catfish and large koi that are swimming around in the deep. Other than the beach, the rest of the pond is surrounded by a rock cliff (hence the name). It was awesome. We spent a lot of time here.

Payton and Rachel always have fun when they are together.

Everyone enjoyed the paddle boat.

Payton even got practice her skills in a kayak for the first time.

A good time was had by all...

VBS - Beach Party 2008

This week has been a buisy one as the kids have been participating in VBS at my parents church downtown. My mother has always volunteered in Payton's age group, and this year Elijah was finally old enough to participate too. The theme this year was beach party, surfin through the scriptures. Since I was available, I was the volunteer with the 1st graders, so we just made it a family affair. A fun time was had by all. They even got to touch some real ocean creatures. See pictures below.


Payton holding a starfish

Elijah with the shrimp

Surf's Up!

Questions

Why is it that kids are so good at asking questions? Payton has always been good at asking questions, and now Elijah keeps the questions coming as well. And it is always when your mind is tired and you are ready to "not think", plus it is so hard to explain things on their level. Anyways, I have been so amazed at some of the questions I hear throughout the day from my kids that I started writing them down, and here are some of my favorites...






Elijah-



How are apples made?


Why do things cost money?

Why does Jesus live in my heart? (7:45 AM)


How does a zipper work? (7:56AM)


Why am I white? (while standing in Taco Bell last night around 8 PM)
To which I reply..."because God made you that way!...why, what color do you want to be?"
and Elijah looked around at the people around him and happily said - brown!

How do brakes work?

Payton on the other hand asks really complicated stuff like...

How does electricity work?

What is the difference between a debit card and a credit card?

Or she will read stuff off of signs and ask what it means. She is learning a lot about advertising now that she can read.

Odell's Trees

When our son Odell passed away over a year and a half ago, we had an amazing outpouring of support and love from family and friends. In all this we received 3 trees to plant in honor of Odell...one is a dogwood, one is a red maple, and one a japanese maple. We planted these trees about a year ago and MY HOW THEY HAVE GROWN! We are just delighted that they have done so well, and it reminds us of how God brings new life, and also that Odell is growing up in heaven.

This is the dogwood last fall.

I love it because it is in the backyard where the children play.

These pictures were taken this past April. Aren't the blossoms beautiful?!?

We planted the red maple in the middle of the front yard, and I love it because whenever I look out front - there it is, reminding me of my precious son. Last fall when the tree was still small and just starting to grow, it was shaped exactly like a heart. It was the most amazing thing. It was God's way of reminding us that Odell's heart is healed now and perfect.

This is the tree last year...do you see the heart shape?

This spring the red maple has grown SO VERY MUCH! We went to the beach at the beginning of the summer and we were amazed at how much it grew just while we were gone. Here is a picture of what it looks like now...

*this is an update, I have just added this picture 9/8/08, because it has grown so much more even over the summer. **


We are very grateful to those who gave us these trees to plant in honor of our sweet Odell that we lost so quickly. And I know that it is no coincidence the types of trees they happened to be. The dogwood is beautiful in the spring, the red maple in the fall (not to mention is reminds us of his precious red hair), and the japanese maple is pretty all year round. Just so you know, we have not planted the red maple yet, and that is why I don't have a picture of it.


When Odell was at Egleston and we were 'living' in the CICU waiting room, there was the most beautiful red maple outside the window. Brooke took this picture because it was always so bright and breath-taking. I look forward to the day that Odell's red maple looks like this.

Our Fourth of July

The morning started early today as we all got up early so that Marshall and I could run the Peachtree Road Race. We dropped the kids at moms house, and dad drove us and dropped us at the start line. Marshall ran by himself, and my friend Renee and I walked together. Marshall and I have both done the race before, but it was the first time for Renee. The Peachtree was a bit more challenging this year as they have moved the last part of the race course and it is now uphill. But we did it!







The afternoon included going to an 80th birthday party, spending time with family, squeezing in a short but crucial nap, and of course going to see fireworks that night with the kids and some friends. By the time the day was over, we were exhausted!


My great aunt Christine and aunt Diann were in town from Johnson City, TN this weekend, so we enjoyed spending time with them while they were here. We went to the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday with the whole family and then on to the Varsity for lunch. It was a long buisy weekend and the kids are TIRED.

Elijah with his frosted orange.



This is not a recent picture, it is from a few summers ago, but it shows you my two precious aunts that were here this weekend. They are such kind women. I love them.