A Reward From Him!

We are very excited to announce that we are going to have another baby! We found out Saturday morning and can not keep it a secret! The approximate due date is January 30th. Please add this new little one to your prayer list!

Anson had such a fun time calling his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and saying "Guess What? Mommy is going to have a new baby! " It was so precious. He was genuinely excited!

The way we told my parents was pretty cool... I just set up a new blog for them (as a surprise) with pictures of some of their awesome wooden toys and other items. The first post on the page was, "Arin is Pregnant!" So not only were they surprised by their new blog, but by news of another grandchild too! Stop by their blog and look at their great stuff...
www.campwoodworking.com. I have it set up more like a brochure so that they don't have to keep up with comments. It's a start!

Have a Happy Memorial Day!

What a beautiful day!

Our picnic in the backyard today.

What'll ya have? Hot dogs and fries at the Varsity! Yum!

Watching the 16 lanes of traffic whiz by in Downtown Atlanta - by the Varsity!

I think this match was won by Ella!

Spring definitely came in like a lion back in March when we had snow and hail storms, but it appears that it will be "out like a lamb". We are having some very beautiful weather now and we are going to take advantage of it! We ate our lunch outside today as Anson enjoys a good picnic. And in a few minutes we'll be off to the zoo for a couple hours.

And for some recent musings...my little princess Ella is getting some attitude! She has stuck her bottom lip out more than a few times, crossed her arms, and downright cried when I told her "no"! I have to catch myself and not laugh in front of her but it is so funny! Yesterday she was "helping" me in my office and was determined to type on my computer. After a few "no-no's" from Mommy, I finally (very gently) popped her on the hand. Well, you would have thought I had tried to pull her hair out the way she screamed! Not so funny! She turned around and sat under my desk and wouldn't look at me! After spending a little quality time with Mommy in her room (accompanied by the "we don't talk to Mommy that way" and "God loves it when we obey" speaches) she was happy and sweet again! Discipline is a good, good, thing!

OK, off to the zoo!

Don't forget to leave a comment on my Give-Away post on my sewing blog! Many thanks to you all for spreading the word and commenting! You have until Friday, so tell your friends!

Give Away Time!

As you know, I just launched a new blog about sewing and have a few posts up so far. There are many more to come... but I wanted to do my first give-away! So click here to go to Easy Sewing Tips and leave a comment to enter to win a cute little zippered bag! If you link to the article through your blog you will get an extra entry! Thank you to everyone who has left comments! I was able to work some kinks out of the new blog program and it was fun to hear from everyone!! Have a great one and I hope you win!!

Arin

The Ice Cream Man

Gavin came through Atlanta this week and it was great to see him! Anson woke him up at 6:30 am and not me! Thanks Gavin! Anson and Gavin were talking and Gavin asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without hesitation, Anson replied "an ice cream man!" Hey, you gotta aim high! :o)

Thanks to everyone who has taken a look at my new blog! I have been able to tweek things thanks to all of you! Keep the comments coming! I am learning Wordpress fast and this is helpful! Thanks again and I will let you know ASAP about the big give-away! (have I built it up enough?? :o)

Check Out My New Blog!

I am playing around with a new blog about sewing! This was actually Dusty's idea! I finally got it up and running and here it is... http://www.easysewingtips.com/ It is mainly for people who have an interest in sewing, are beginners or mid-level, and folks who like simple, fast sewing projects! Please do me a favor and help me work the kinks out. I am running it through Wordpress and am still learning the ins and outs of their blog program. When you have a minute, check out the blog and leave a comment on one of the posts so I can see how the comments work. If it is hard to figure out or hard to leave a comment, please let me know by leaving a comment on this blog! :o) Got all that? I would appreciate any help and suggestions!! Once I get the kinks worked out, hopefully this week, I will launch it with a big give-away! Keep posted and thanks for your help! I will continue to keep up with this blog too!:o)
Love, Arin

Happy Mother's Day!

This is how my day began! Breakfast in bed cooked and served by Dusty and Anson! Dusty went online and found the recipe for Strawberries Romanov and made it himself as a surprise! He even bought sourdough bread for the french toast, which is another favorite of mine! The flower on the tray is from the arrangement that Dusty broght home yesterday. Dusty took care of the kiddos all morning while I ate my yummy breakfast in bed and took a bubble bath! I did receive the royal treatment today and am very blessed to have such a loving, thoughtful husband and 2 great kids! After church we ate at the Penang Restaurant for our favorite Malaysian meal of Roti Canai and Satay Chicken and Pulut Hitam for dessert. Another yum!

Dusty and I want to say a big "THANK YOU" to our Moms... Toni and Gail. Thank you for all the sacrifies you made to make our childhood so great and for all the love that makes us the parents we are today! We love you!

And a special Happy Mother's Day to Keidi Lewis who just gave birth to their second beautiful daughter on Tuesday! It is very nice the way God brought Eliana into the world less than 2 hours after Grandma Rollins left this world. Life is Precious!

St. Johns River Trip

The Crew! Dusty, Arin, Anson, Mel, Gavin, Toni, Brittany and Jared
At Blue Springs

Dusty cooking the catch of the day!

Our boat

The Blackwater Inn in Astor

Sunrise in our favorite little lagoon.

a moss covered tree... common sight on the river.

An osprey carrying a fish!

Our neighbor in the lagoon

Saw this one as we were cruising by

A gator near our first night's stay

Last weekend we rented a house boat in DeLand, FL and cruised down the St. Johns River! It was the kind of trip that really made you feel like you "got away from it all". We got on the boat Friday afternoon, and after a quick lesson from the marina staff we were Rollin' on the River! We saw tons of alligators, many kinds of birds, beautiful old Florida Live Oak trees eerily covered in hanging moss, turtles, and some other humans too! The first night we tied up to some palm trees on the side of the river in a little inlet called Catfish Bend. We didn't catch any catfish but I did catch the first fish of the trip... a nice little Bluegill! Since I caught the first fish, that motivated the guys to get serious and catch some fish of their own!

Anson had the time of his life! He loved fishing with Daddy and his Uncles, Jared and Gavin. He loved climbing up to the top of the boat, shining the flashlight to see all the gator eyes at night(and there were a lot!) and looking for owls in the trees (didn't see any but we could hear them!). Ella stayed with my parents in DeLand. She wasn't quite old enough to be cooped up in a boat and I didn't want to worry about her flinging herself overboard every second of the trip :o). On Saturday we traveled up river to Astor and ate lunch at the Blackwater Inn. Dusty and I have passed it many times from the road and we finally got to eat there! We had a propeller fixed while we dined and then we were on our way to Blue Springs. We got there in late afternoon and decided to tie off in a little lagoon near by. This ended up to be everyone's favorite stop! It was so serene and quiet, with just the sights and smells of nature. I was a little freaked out going to sleep that night because we had gators all around the boat and I was sure one could climb in my window :o). Well, they didn't and we had a nice quiet night in the lagoon. We did all of our cooking/grilling on the boat and ate very well! One night we had steaks professionally grilled by Mel and the next nigth we had chicken Satay by Brittany! Yum! I made pancakes one morning and dessert the next day.

We all decided that we will definitely do this trip again. We made the mistake of looking at the bigger, more expensive house boats when we got back so we will probably upgrade next time, although ours was perfect this time. It slept 8 but there was only 1 bathroom and 1 real bedroom. The other beds were a double bed bunk bed and a pull out couch. Since we were all family we did not mind the open sleeping arrangement, but the bigger boat has 4 separate beds and 2 baths. Nice!

Check out Jared and Brittany's post about the trip... They are so creative! They even created a trip soundtrack with river songs! :o)

We're Back... and we're gone again!

The window in the Port Wentworth Church

Grandma being entertained by Anson last week

We got home Monday night from our trip and it was awesome! We had such a great time and I will post stories and pictures soon. However, yesterday we received word that Grandma Rollins went home to be with the Lord. She was ready to go and we are glad that she is no longer in any pain, but walking in Heaven with Jesus! We are going to Savannah this evening and the funeral is on Thursday at 10:00 am. The Port Wentworth Alliance Church is cooking lunch for everyone following the service. We are so grateful to that church for all they have done for Grandma and Bennie over the years! Above is a picture of a stained glass window in their little church dedicated to Grandpa and Grandma Rollins. Uncle Bennie (who is mentally handicapped) is doing well and talked to his Mom just before she died (he went up to Aunt Nancy's in NC). He told her on the phone that she could "go be with Daddy" in heaven. Please pray that this transition for him will be smooth. One thing is for sure, Grandma and Grandpa Rollins left a great legacy of love for Christ. They taught all of their children to love the Lord, who taught all of their children to love Him, and now we are teaching our children. One of Grandma's greatest joys was recounting the fact that all of her children and grandchildren walk with the Lord and have a relationship with with Him. What greater joy could there be when you are getting ready to go to heaven, knowing that all of your family will join you there?