Spring Break continued....

Here are a few more highlights from our trip back "home".

Tuesday Austyn and I took Stephen to the local Korean restaurant since we do not have anything resembling one in our small city. He managed to eat until he was sick. Poor baby. He was in heaven. I have really grown to love not only the Korean culture, but the cuisine as well. On the way out the door we purchased a big package of pickled radishes and Stephen Baby (his new name for himself) was all smiles. Once they were opened..we had to purchase an air freshener. P-U! From there we swung by the adoption agency to meet a few of my co-workers that had not met the radish eater in person. Naturally, he wrapped each one around his little finger and was just a doll.

When evening fell, we found ourselves visiting with Aunt Mary and Madison and Hampton, affectionately known as Mae and Hamp.

It has been quite a while since we had visited with them, and the kids were beyond excited.

We celebrated some of the birthdays that had passed in the recent months. Mary made one of her scrum-delicious cakes and was quite the hostess.

It was so good to see each one of them again and introduce them to their newest cousin as well.

For some reason I am hearing the words..."...now they work for me. My name is Charlie."

____________________________

It doesn't take Wil and Hamp long to pick right up where they left off...they are truly great pals..and wiseguys :-)

One must not forget that the evening should end in a pretty good talent show of sorts involving some whimsical clothing changes and several Hannah or Troy/Gabriella tunes. These girls were hilarious and we thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment.

Thank you Mae and Hamp. We miss you!!

PS. Mary, I am so sorry about that tree (don't ask..it involves a little misfortune involving Wilson and his inability to hang upside down from small branch for very long)

Divine Inspiration

In case you ever forget that the God of this whole Universe really does care about little ol' you...let me share a first-hand account of his intense desire to not only love us, but to be the lover of our souls (OK, I am a little dramatic today, but this one really got me.)

This morning we had a ladies tea at our church. Feeling the need to serve in some capacity..I did what every good church going woman would do: I volunteered to decorate and host a table at this little event. No big deal, huh? Well, for anyone who knows me, they know this is not my cup of tea (pardon the pun) and I am HGTV challenged. I was feeling a little nervous about the decoration aspect and the pressure was intensified Tuesday morning after bible study and I laid eyes on photos of the tables that had been done in the past. I panicked. I kept wondering how I could bail on the whole thing in some proper etiquette sort of way...

I am embarrassed to admit that after a few hours of really trying to figure this whole thing out..I began to pray (or whine) and ask God to help me. I was totally at a loss. I dragged the girls with me to a discount store and immediately saw a simple potted fuchsia orchid. Perfect. Before I knew it I had a whole theme rolling and was only missing a few little details. One, being a third orchid for balance. Once again, I whispered a small prayer, and there in the very back of the store I spotted one more orchid that someone had left on a shelf in the automotive department (yep). I was beginning to breathe a little easier. Everything fell together with relative ease and with inspiration that came from some place I did not even know I possessed.

Wanna see what can happen when the Lover of Our Souls sees one of his children in distress (even if it seems stupid at the time)?

His word says He will never leave us or forsake us, and I am so encouraged to know that this includes those tiny moments in our lives where we just need to have some details laid out for us.

I think I will be spending my next "tea time" with royalty.

The King of Kings.

Oh, and by the way, guess whose table won a prize for best decorated?

"Martha, Martha you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her."
Luke 10:41-42

Mullet Over

A Good Day at Sea

Landon shares her father's knack for hooking 'em. She made the "Catch of the Week" at the pier a few days ago. Is that what the song "I Want My Mullet Back" is referring to?

There was a time when I aspired to be the next Jacques Cousteau. One good semester in Marine Biology sent me scurrying to the Humanities department. Perhaps Landon shares this...I just keep hoping one of my children will let me live vicariously through their endeavors. Can't just one of them want to dive with the urchins and save the dolphins? Don't think we are not sewing seeds of a love for the outdoors and the wetlands, although we have not gotten as far as placing all the bumper stickers on our vehicles just yet. Is that your car we keep seeing?

Spring Break Visit-a-thon

There's no place like home....

The kids and I have just returned from a week long visit to Grammy and Papaw's house (over the river and through the woods in April, no doubt). We had sure been missing them and were looking forward to spending the week with them. How wonderful it was for the kids to have some much needed time off from school (Spring Break 2008)... We actually had time to visit with some friends and family that we miss so dearly these days. Believe it or not, after all of the running around, we still did not manage to squeeze in all of those that are so precious to us.
I had an itinerary all set up just to make sure not one moment was wasted. The verdict is still not in on whether or not we actually accomplished this goal...I mean, hey, there were four kids to dress and feed every time we left the house. We had an absolute ball and thoroughly exhausted ourselves in a good kind of way (?) I wish you could have seen little Stephen jumping right in on the action and going with the flow...it was as if he could sense that all of these people and places were familiar to us and that was enough for him. Amazing.
I have decided not to chronicle the whole journey, but figured I would share at least few highlights from each day. Words cannot express how happy it made us to be around those who bring us so much joy...it was so nice to be "home" for a short time.

Dinner at the beach with the Thompsons and a walk on the pier.

Like father, like sons...Jon and the boys "check out" the sharks that were being caught in Emerald Isle.

First Stop: The Wooten's

Oh how I miss my Mariel. Such a wonderful hostess. Breaking bread with her family was a neat treat on the way into town on Sunday.

....some of the boys take 5. We managed to squeeze in some "girl talk" even though there were 8 boys and 2 girls running about.

Austyn getting some hugs on our first quick stop to see sweet Maia Faith.

Monday night: Papaw Gary's new place. His bachelor pad was equipped with six new puzzles that kept the littles entertained. Stephen's was a small Disney "Cars" puzzle..Perfect. You would never know Papaw Gary had only met Stephen briefly one other time. Good call, grandpa!

That's it for Sunday and Monday! Sheesh...I am already tired just reliving it.

Double Digits

A decade. That is how long it has been since I became a mother for the second time. Our little Landy Lu (Lu Lu, Landypants, Ta lu la..you get the picture) turned 10 years old last week. What a treasure she is to us. In order to honor her..we wrote her an acrostic that personifies each facet of her personality.

Happy Birthday Landon Kathleen!

Lovable

Athletic

Nurturing

Devoted

Optimistic

Nutty :-)

Per Landon's request: WebKinz Wheel of Wow Cake .

She was allowed to have a few girlfriends over for a sleepover (aren't we brave?). I am nobody's Martha Stewart, so our Webkinz hot air balloon crafts were a stretch for this clueless mom. The girls were great sports..at least until they started sailing them over the landing from upstairs.

:-0

Still very early in the evening...(I think they giggled all night!) Look who snuck in on the action....little Stevo! He and Wilson weren't sure how to act with the invasion of the females.

Luckily, there were Power Rangers close by in case there was a problem.