Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am thankful for:

~Making it through almost 2 weeks of home school!

~That we found a home school band for Brianna and Nicholas to continue with their music.

~Brianna's American Government class! I love finding her working on her government class with her Bible in her lap as she looks up verses about what the Bible has to say about government and laws.

~I love that one of the books that is sitting with Nicholas' school work is his Bible!

~Watching Hunter as he is gaining confidence with his school work.

~We have a speech evaluation in Birmingham tomorrow for Claire. I am thankful that we are getting closer to finding services for her here in Alabama.

~And finally I am thankful for tornado sirens. I know that seems random with everything else that I have listed this week. Well, yesterday the local sirens went off twice. I am thankful for the sirens that warn us of possible danger so we can seek shelter. I am thankful that the sirens give Nicholas a chance to trust God to protect us. He did get worked up yesterday but he is learning to relax and turn his worry over to God. You are never to young to learn that lesson.

Thankful Thursday

This Thankful Thursday I am thankful for:

~The first official day of school! I am now a homeschool mom and I survived the first day and so did the kids! I got the kids new PJs for the first day of school. They wore them all day!

Hunter ready to work.. Brianna working surrounded by her Nick Jonas collection..
Nicholas taking a break to smile for the camera.. Claire wanted me to take her picture too! I couldn't say no!

~The wonderful weekend we had with our Georgia family! We are loving living so close to them!

~Fishing! We went fishing this weekend and all of the kids caught some fish. Nothing beats spending time with family especially if the fish are biting!

Claire caught the first fish of the day. She was thrilled with this whole fishing thing.
Nicholas and his catch..Michaela..


Even Gary got into the action..

Brianna..
Mallory..

Hunter...

Alisha with one of her six that she caught...

Claire with Turner..look how proud she is of the fish she caught with her Batman pole..Priceless..

What are you thankful for?

(Make sure and check out Hunter's birthday post below..)

Happy Birthday Hunter!!

How did my baby boy get to be 9 years old already? I just can't believe it! Our little miracle baby is growing up. Happy Birthday, Hunter. God has big plans for you, I know He does. Just look at how you have grown and how healthy you have been. Kids with kidneys like yours aren't supposed to do as well as you do. At least, that is what the doctors tell us but God has protected you and kept you well because He is going to do great things through you. Stay faithful and see how God moves in your life. I love you!!

Have you seen a cuter baby?

Hunter lovin' on Claire..

Hunter enjoying the spotlight at the beach house..

Time for cake at Aunt Teresa's and Uncle Wayne's house..

Hunter and Mallory (plus Lexie and Bernard!)

Hunter and Michaela (2 peas in a pod!)

Happy Birthday, Hunter!

Thankful Thursday at the beach!!

This Thursday I am thankful for:


~The wonderful week the kids and I have spent at the Outer Banks in North Carolina!
~The time spent with old friends!
~The time spent getting to know new friends!
~The beauty of God's creation - my favorites are the ocean and the mountains!
~Lastly for this Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for Hunter's birthday tomorrow. Tomorrow he turns 9. I will be doing a birthday post when I get back home but until then Happy Birthday, Hunter!

Brianna and Claire enjoying the pool..
Friends enjoying the hot tub..
Claire gets some air!!
Hunter being goofy..
The surfer boys at the beach..Claire and her new friend, Emma..

Together again..

Claire loving her sand box!

The big boys enjoying theirs too!

Best friends forever - Brianna and Caylee

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

This Thankful Thursday I am thankful for the precious memories that I made with Brianna last Saturday. We went to a Jonas Brothers concert together in Atlanta. It was bitter sweet because we weren't sure we were going to be able to go at all. You see, several months ago we bought tickets for their concert in Birmingham as an early birthday present for Brianna. She made us shirts to wear and we had been looking forward to this concert for a long time. Well, the week of the concert we got word about Gary's mom and we knew the concert wouldn't be possible to attend. We quickly found someone to give the tickets to because we couldn't stand the thought of the tickets not be used. At that time, we didn't know when we would be able to attend another of their concerts because those around us were already sold out. Well, as you can see, Brianna received the desire of her heart and God provided us with tickets for their concert in Atlanta the very next weekend. The last time I had checked the concert was sold out but we were able to find tickets 6 days before the concert and they were even better seats than we had before. So this Thursday, I am thankful that my ears were ringing for 2 days after the concert because that meant we were there and we were making memories!

We are ready for the concert!!

Brianna signing one of the tour trucks.
Brianna modeling the shirt she made!

"I'm Gonna Marry Nick Jonas..."

"He Just Doesn't Know It Yet!"

The shirt Brianna made for me.

"Nick's Future Mother-In-Law"

Our view of the stage.

Here they are!! The Jonas Brothers!

Nick - Brianna's favorite!

Nick playing piano..

Nick on drums..
Kevin and Joe spraying the audience with foam..

This is how Brianna looked most of the night!

Curtain call..

The concert is over but our ears are still ringing!!!

Thankful Thursday

It is Thankful Thursday time again. This Thursday I am thankful for:


~All of you! Thank you to all of you who lifted our family in prayer last week. Thank you for your prayers of safe travel and for peace for our hearts. We left our house last Tuesday and met our Georgia family in Nashville. From there we traveled together through the night and arrived in Kearney, Nebraska around 1:00 Wednesday afternoon ( 20 hours later!).


~For family! This past week was the first time all of Gary's brothers and sister had been together since 1997. It was way too long but it was great to reconnect with all of them and with extended family that drove or flew in from around the country.

The Siblings - Marcia, Wayne, Gordon, and Gary
Gary and I, Gordon and Kathy, Myron, Wayne and Teresa, Marcia and Andrew
The entire gang!

~Cousins! All of the cousins were together except for Ryan, who was in summer school at Michigan State. We missed you Ryan. It was great to see them interact and hear them talk and laugh together. They spent hours outside hanging out together!

The cousins before the water fight started!Nathan and Claire.
Claire loved "boy". We tried to teach her a sign name for Nathan but she insisted on calling him "boy"!
Brianna and the Georgia girls!
Michaela, Nathan, and Mallory
The cousins all cleaned up pretty good!

~Grandma Evalyn! I am thankful that we have the assurance that she is in pain no longer and she is breathing free without the help of oxygen! I am thankful that we will see her again! I am thankful that Claire seems to understand that Grandma went bye bye and was with Jesus. It was heartbreaking when we first arrived in Kearney. Claire searched the house looking for Grandma and was asking everyone where she was. We told her that she was with Jesus. After that, every time Claire saw a picture of Grandma she would sign bye bye and Jesus. I am thankful for Nicholas reminding us all of what Grandma always said to us when we were leaving. I will close with those words "hugs are always good!" Evalyn, we will miss your hugs but we will carry on your legacy until we see you again!