Emma Grace has lost her frist tooth :)

Emma Grace lost her first tooth last night! She woke up with a wiggle tooth and work on it all day. She really wanted to lose that tooth. She enjoyed pulling it out and putting it under her pillow. This morning she was happy to receive $2.oo for her first tooth!! Isn't she cute!! Now she needs to lose another one in order to sing, "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth!"

This picture was taken after Bible Study around 10 pm. She is still all smiles :)

Hide n Seek

The kids were playing hide and seek tonight. Anna Clair was the seeker and she came to me in the kitchen saying, "I can't find them!" Then she yelled out, "Noah make a noise, I can't find you!" Well, all she had to do was follow the giggles and she found them :)

I love this picture!

Pumpkin Patch

We surprised our kids with an unexpected trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Lumbardi Ranch. We had a wonderful time picking out pumpkins, wondering through the corn maze, going on a train ride and Emma Grace was brave enough to enter the petting zoo.

On our way to the Pumpkin Patch Anna Clair noticed the moon. She said, "Daddy, I see the moon but he doesn't have his light on." How cute!! We thank the Lord for our precious children!

Beautiful. This was in early October.

Time to pick out our pumpkin!

My 2 favorite guys!!

Noah and I went into the Corn Maze!! We had such a great time. The goal was to get through the maze and find all the animals that were hidden. We had a list of 7. We ended up finding only 5 but had a great time :)

Daddy and Anna Clair took the train ride.

Emma Grace has a love for animals. This sheep wasn't feeling well and Emma Grace was concerned. She loved it!!!

My sweet girls.

Punishment for Criminals

Tonight Emma Grace told us that, "in the old days the criminals that lied or stole stuff had their hands cut off and awful stuff happened to them - some of them were put to death!!" Jason replied, "So what do we do to criminals today?" Emma Grace said, "they get SPANKED!"

The Birth Right

Jason is flying to Mississippi today and visit with his grandfather who isn't doing well. At lunch today Emma Grace asked Jason, "So, is Granddaddy gonna give you the birth right?" Noah says, "No, Emma Grace that goes to one of his children and it will be grandma for sure!" How funny!!

On a serious note, please pray for Jason's granddaddy and grandmother. It's not easy being in their late 80's with failing health. Pray for Jason to be an encouragement them and spend quality time with them this week. I'd really like it if we wouldn't have an earthquake while he is away :)

Picnic at the Beach

The Master's Seminary has a huge picnic at the beach every year. This was our 4th year to attend. We had such a great time with our TMS family.

Noah boogie boarding! He loves the ocean :)

Ross & Lisa

Mrs. Essex & Lissy. This was taken just before a wave hit them and took them under. They were all wet but alright! Thank the Lord for his protection.

The Steinmeyer Family

Mr. & Mrs. Harris from North Carolina. They moved here the same year we did and we love their family.

Dr. Harris is hilarious!! I love the t-shirt!!

Anna Clair and Lissy in the jump house.

Welcome to TMS picnic ;)

My beautiful girls!!

Noah & Sam

Luke - our kids love this little guy :)

Anna Clair

Ross

Heaven

Our kids are soo funny. They had a conversation with us about heaven and this how it went... Emma Grace said, "I wonder if Jesus will play with me in heaven?" Noah said, "I wonder if we'll have TV's, computers and cell phones in heaven?" Emma Grace said, "Oh NO, all the TV's are going straight to hell!!!" That led to a perfect teaching opportunity.

Summer update

We've had a great summer and it's sadly coming to an end. Jason and the kids begin school on August 25th. I'm thankful for all the precious memories we've made this summer. I have many pictures to share with you but my 10 year old computer has finally given out. We are praying for extra funds for a much needed home computer. In the mean time, please be patience as I figure out how to upload our summer pictures to share our memories with our friends and family. I've missed being able to blog :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Wow, it seems like this school year flew by so quickly!! Jason and I are proud of Emma Grace. She loved Kindergarten and had a wonderful year. We thank the Lord for providing for our kids to attend SCCS. SCCS is a blessing to our family!! Emma Grace loved graduation. The kids did a great play then the "official graduation". She loved the play!! She knew most of the other kids parts and not only sang her part but acted it out as well. She was sooooo cute!!!

I took her to get her hair cut and styled for graduation. She felt like a princess!!

This is ear piercing day :) Her graduation gift from me & daddy. She's wanted ear rings for about a year and we surprised her with them for graduation. This is the weekend before graduation. She could not stop smiling that day!!

In the program she was a secretary and she had a solo in the song. Isn't she cute!!!

This is Joanna... Emma Grace's sweet friend.

Our beloved teacher, Mrs. Mothershead.

Our family!!!

Anna Clair & Kitty Cats

Anna Clair loves kitty cats!! She has asked several times for a "real" cat. One day Jason and I were having lunch and I noticed a cat in our back yard. I ran and got Anna Clair to show her. We looked out the back door and she couldn't see him. Then she found him and she went bananas!! She jumped up and down yelling, "I always wanted a kitty cat"!!! She yelled this over and over!! Then Jason said, "do you think he is yours?" and she shook her head yes then very sadly shook her head no. Then she ran outside to "hug" the cat and of course he took off.

Yesterday at the doctors office we looked at magazines. We always try to find cats, dogs, Barney, Elmo, etc... to pass the time. She found a picture of a sweet cat. She explained to me that her cat would live in the house and we would get a "cave" for her cat. I said no Anna Clair a "cage". She was puzzled. I explained to her 3 year old mind the difference between a cave and cage. She didn't get it and still says cave for cage. I thought that was really cute.

This is Mother's day. The girls gave me this cat. It's really soft and cute. I love it!! Who do you think sleeps with it and takes it on walks in her stroller? Yep, Anna Clair :) Jason took them shopping and he lets them get me whatever (within budget) they want... from the heart. I love our tradition. Noah gave me a great key chain and a cool coffee cup. The funny part is that the girls can NOT keep a secret!! After shopping Anna Clair came running in the yard saying, "mommy, mommy I got you this kitty cat"... and then explains to me exactly what the cat looks like and on and on... I thought it was great. Then on Mothers Day morning Emma Grace gets up and says did you have coffee? I said yes - and she said did you have it in your new green coffee cup? Too cute!

Mother's Day afternoon.

Death is not dying, A faith that saves

The following link is to a testimony given by Rachel Barkey. She is a 37year old wife and mother of two. She is dying of breast cancer. In this video she explains that she has only a few weeks to live. Please take time to listen to this incredible testimony!! I promise it will be worth the time you take out of your busy day to be reminded of the gospel and how it should be applied to your life everyday.
Jason and I both love her testimony and cried!!

http://deathisnotdying.com/

Chef Noah

Noah loves to cook. Just about everyday he wants to help me cook but he doesn't like to clean up. He's working to overcome that :) His specialty is eggs.

He would like to have a "manly" apron for the kitchen. Where do you buy a "manly" apron?? Any suggestions??

Camping in California

This spring break our family went on the annual TMS camping trip. We camped at Point Mugu State Park right off of the beautiful Pacific Coast Highway. This is in the Santa Monica Mountains. The most beautiful beach area I've seen in Southern California to date. This week was also special because my mama came out to spend time with the our family and it was a huge surprise!!! She, being full of adventure, came along on the camp out with our family. This was the highlight of her week ;) For those sweet friends that visit our blog - You've noticed by now that I love pictures... so our blog is like a scrap booking blog :) I love scrap booking!!

Our Tent! Well.. it's Darry & Cathy's tent! Thanks!!

Here we are... happy campers

Lisa Jane & Ava Jan

The guys cooking dinner :) It was yummy!!

The first night we had a camp fire. Matt, a fellow TMS student, taught an awesome lesson to us on fear. It was great for the kids as we were in the dark mountains!! It was also very cold at night!!

The next day was an adventure!! All the campers went on a 3 mile hike up the mountain!!

Yes, that's Jason with Anna Clair on his shoulders!! On the way down he had Emma Grace on his back. Daddy had a great work out :)

Here she goes.. up the mountain!!

This is our camp site just half way up the mountain.




What a beautiful view!! It was well worth the hike!!

After the hike down we had lunch and headed to the beach!!

Our beautiful kids ;)

Ross & Lisa Jane

Sam & Lissy

Lisa Jane & Tammy Jean :)

The boys found a star fish

When the tide came in we ventured out on the rocks to see the sea creatures washing up :)

The end of the trip went like this... We get back to camp and it begins to rain. Yes, rain!! Mama and I were very tired, so we decided to go back home with Anna Clair. Jason, Noah and Emma Grace stayed for the last night. (it was a 2 night camp out) Mama was thankful we came home. She said she couldn't have slept in the tent another night. I'm thankful that she went camping and had a great time!!! Jason is ready to camp again... in fact we'll be camping with our precious friends the Duhm's & Steinmeyer in July. Can't wait :)