August

Uncle Scott had surgery to repair his ACL, so we brought him his favorite thing.
Vicks! Silly guy!

Anders, at his first Open House. Such a big kid now. :(

Jaden, talking franectomy things over with the nurse. He's as ready as he's ever going to be...
Now maybe those two front teeth will grow closer together without braces. 

Mr. Byron came over to teach Brad how to hang crown molding.
We're almost finished with the kitchen! haha

I always have helpers when I paint. 

Jaden's Open House with his teacher, Mrs. Drummond.
He is so excited to have her this year!

Afternoon free time!

A fun day with Weezie, Joe, Ella and Josie!

Taco spent the night and we made playdough and slime again.

Sunday school night out!!

Family game night

Baby A... He loves bar soap. We use pump soap at home, so when he finds bar soap at someone's house, he brings it home and puts it under his pillow.
Better lock up your soap if we're coming over!

Jaden went down front to tell the church that he accepted Jesus!!

These boys did a great job on their reading this summer!

First day of school! It was so bittersweet!
We rode the golf cart because we knew there would not be any parking. Thankfully there's a rain cover for it.
Before Brad and I walked out the classroom door, Anders said "Wait, how long does this last again?" haha He started having second thoughts, but we left before he could change his mind. ;)
Jaden walked into the lunchroom without so much as a "bye". He loved it when we waved to him before we left! :D

Hey y'all, look at my tonsils!

These two are getting lots of play time these days!

CHOM day with the babies.

Some days, you just need to put on your fancy dress and play with the farm house.

Cindy had the sweetest baby shower for her little girl. We can't wait to meet her!

July 17th, I joined 9Round. I'm so glad I did!
Papa Joe, Nana or Weezie come over to watch the kids so that I can go 30 minutes and work out.
It's amazing how pushing yourself so hard physically can make you feel so good!

Jaden accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior! There is nothing in this world more important than that. Words cannot express how proud we are of him.
Before having kids, I said that I would not "let" my kids get saved until at least junior high, when they understood what it meant to ask Jesus into their heart. (God was rolling His eyes.)
Well this was number 785,456,324 of my Never Say Never statements. When the Holy Spirit comes over someone, there is no denying it. It is not up to me to say when my children will accept Christ. They are His, not mine. It is His timing, not mine.
Jaden has asked questions for months and was really searching for answers to life's questions. Finally, on June 8th, de decided to talk to Mr. Kenyon. Since then, he has been reading in his Bible and his devotion book. It is amazing what a 7 (almost 8) year old can teach you. I am so glad that I did not let the devil ruin this time for Jaden. He know he is going to heaven one day!
There is nothing more settling than that.
(I was saved on June 8th, 1999. In Jaden's testimony video, he said "I got saved on the same day my Mom did." He found the date written in my bible. It will always be a special day for both of us.)

I caught these two brothers helping another brother out without being asked to help them.
Anders cut up grapes for Elijah. Jaden cut up Anders' pizza at McAllisters.


The 3 Muskateers
(Elijah is on the floor...)

At the beginning of school, we sat down and went over the lunch schedule. Anders only wanted to take his lunch to school 4 days this month. Well this morning, he decided he wanted his lunch. I told him that he had to make it, if he wanted to take it.
When I say he was excited, that is an understatement. He enjoyed himself so much that he wants to make his lunch more often now!
I'm so proud of him and how he is learning to do things on his own without help.

I bought a ceramic egg cooker from Pampered Chef so that the kids could learn to cook their own breakfast.
Jaden made himself a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich all by himself!
I'm so proud of these boys!

Reading time, after school.

Anders loves to feed Elijah. Here, he was touching Elijah's nose with the spoon really fast and the jello slung off on his face. It was hilarious how it scared him!

Everybody made it to the bus stop today!

Elijah will take whatever pacie he can find!

Where Anders prefers to eat a snack.

10:00 p.m. They "go to bed" at 8:00 p.m.

Charlie and Sam helped me out by watching Cora and Elijah one morning. Sam said I came back too soon! They didn't have enough time to eat the cookies they baked. We love having them live so close!

We took a quick trip to the beach this weekend with Mimi and Pops. It was so much fun!

This is a picture of the total eclipse!!! If you look closely, you can see Mercury in the lower right side. This experience was amazing! It was 1:30 p.m. here.

Sass starts day school. She's gonna LOVE it!

And gymnastics too!

This boy is an entertainer now!

Jaden saved his good behavior points at school so that he could read to Anders' class! He could have used those points to go to the treasure box or to sit in a special seat in class, but instead he chose to read to his brother. My heart just melted!

It's Joe Crow Day!


Activities they choose to do while Brad and I prepare supper...


Elijah's birthday party was so much fun! He loved his cake.
I still cannot believe he's not a baby anymore. :(

The last of the sticker pictures. :(


Sam's Peach Delight.
Enough said!

I always have company when I paint. :)

My latest project. This is Paul and Melissa's kitchen table.
It was originally in Melissa's Granny's kitchen and now it's refinished and in her home.
I love it!

Rainy afternoon game time!
Daddy was in Minnesota for the day, so we had to keep ourselves busy until supper time, so we wouldn't miss him so much.

We had a great August! It was hot and full of new things!
Now we're ready for some football weather!