Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Our Little Preacher

I was happy to catch this one on video! So many times they will say or do something cute or funny and I can't find my camera... but this time I heard Anson say "Come sit down, Ella. I'm going to read you a Bible story". That was my cue to get my camera. (Notice Ella holding her baby :o) He has come a long way in his story telling since this post in April of 08! I have a feeling that Ella (and Asa) will be preached at a lot throughout the years!

Anson and Ella do get along pretty well most of the time but they are also starting to realize that they can bug each other. Like today in the van, Ella was making a spitting sound with her mouth and Anson asked her to stop. First he asked nicely, "Please stop that Ella". When she did it again and again with a little smirk on her face it escalated to a "STOP IT, ELLA!" Of course that is when I get involved with a "Both of you stop!" followed by a short speech about doing things that make each other happy instead of mad. They will get it one day. They may be 23 and 25 but they won't irritate each other as much! :o)

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Maine Crew



This is a recent picture of my sweet nieces and nephew in Maine. For some reason (or 5 of them!) Aly doesn't get the time to send pics very often let alone time to do a blog! :o) And just imagine that there is one more on the way to make it an even 6! They found out that their newest addition is also a boy and due around Christmas!! So I am earnestly looking for little boy sewing patterns and cute boyish material. Fun! On top of being a (pregnant) full-time Mom of 5, Aly is also homeschooling all the kids. It makes me tired just to think about it! :o) They live in Beautiful Bass Harbor, Maine.


In the picture: Rachel (11) Rebekah (almost 10) Emily (almost 2) Laura (almost 7) and Joshua (5 1/2)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

World, Meet Asa! ..............It's a BOY!!!!






Well, I guess the Lord really did speak to Anson! I went for our untrasound today and the first thing I saw on the screen was the second picture... he was showing off his little boy parts! :o) I said "Oh, it's a boy!!!" The ultrasound technician was impressed that I saw it right away and concurred! It is a good thing we saw that first because for the rest of the time he had his legs crossed at the knees and had his hands over his face. I think he wanted us to leave him alone! :o) He is very healthy and everything is where it is supposed to be developmentally. So today we are praising God for another son! We are naming him Asa Leslie... Asa is a Biblical name and he is in the lineage of Christ (He was a good king of Judah) and Leslie is my grandfather's name, my father's name and my middle name! Anson was very excited and enjoyed calling people to tell them "we're going to have a baby boy!" Ella is excited too but can't put it into words quite yet. :o)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Ella's Birthday

Anson helped me make and decorate the cake!
Ella clapping at her birthday song!

"I'm two now!"



After clebrating her birthday twice in Florida a couple weeks ago, Ella finally had her "real" birthday yesterday! It was just the four of us, one cake, and one present and she loved it! She loved us singing to her when we brought out the cake and she loved her present too so it was a fun time! Thanks for all the "Happy Birthday" phone calls! She learned by the second or third call to say "thank you" after someone sang to her! :o)

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Happy Birthday Ella!

Almost 2!
1 Year Old

1 Week Old


Happy Birthday Ella!! We can't believe that she is two already! She is such a sweet little girl with such a fun spirit. We are very proud of her and know that God has such special plans for her life! Have a happy birthday, little princess! We love you!







Monday, September 7, 2009

My Labor of Labor Day



Dusty and I thought that it was finally time to have living room curtains! We've only lived here 5 years! So I went to the fabric store on Saturday morning and bought the fabric and cut out the curtains. I sewed one pair on Saturday and the other two today! Anson helped me hang the curtain rods and Ella even helped me sew a little this morning! She likes to press the foot pedal! I think it gives our living room a warmer feel to have curtains and not just the blinds.


Today Anson helped me fold the clothes - on his own volition! And then later informed me that he would like "Subway" sandwiches for dinner with all the "gredients"! Ella told me today that she saw "two owls tee" which means two owls in the tree, and prayed for Mommy's baby at bedtime. How sweet! This was after she had to be spanked twice at dinner for standing in her chair and throwing her food! :o) Ah, the give and take! The picture above is Anson and Ella with bubble beards in the tub...

Thursday, September 3, 2009

We're a Minivan Family Now!

Here is the new addition to our family! It's not brand new but it is new to us... and it is paid for! How much better could it get? We have been looking online for a couple months so we knew what we wanted. And after riding in Jared and Brittany's and Chad and Amber's Siennas, we just had to go get one for ourself. The paint combo matches our Lexus car exactly so now we have a matched pair just like Jared and Brittany! :o) Anson and Ella love it too. So now we are ready for baby #3.
And speaking of baby #3, we find out on September 15th wether it is a boy or a girl so we can start calling them by their name! I am so excited to find out!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Florida Fun

Ella helped Gramma with the dishes!
Blowing (or dumping out!) bubbles at Amy's house

Anson and "buddy" the frog at Amy's house


Ella, James, and Charlotte - cousins!



At Silver Springs

Silver Springs - the water looked blue it was so clear!

The girls in their matching dresses taking a ride in PaPaw's wheelchair


Big ol' gator at Silver Springs


Tired Baby James

Tired Charlotte

Tired Ella


Tired Toto!! :o)



We just got back from a very fun trip to Florida! The kids and I went down last Friday and spent a week in DeLand with my parents. We went to visit Auntie Amy, did a lot of swimming in Gramma and Papa's pool, roamed around DeLand, did some shopping, and got to rest too! Anson enjoyed going to the barber shop with his Papa and then going for a treat at the doughnut shop! Dusty flew into Jacksonville on Thursday and we were soooooo happy to see him! He had been in New Jersey for two weeks with one of his painting crews. We are so thankful that he usually doesn't have to travel because none of us enjoyed having him gone! On Friday we went to Melrose to see all the Rollins'! Jared, Brittany, and Charlotte (and baby Naomi, still in utero!) cam Friday also and we all enjoyed visiting. Ella and Charlotte are so cute together. They walked around hugging and holding hands! Then bright and early Saturday morning (really, 5:45 am is pretty early!) Chad and Amber joined us and we all went tubing down the Itchatukcnee River! It was a such a beautiful day and we all had a lot of fun. Ella and Charlotte stayed home with Charlotte's grandma but Anson came and had a fun time! We all rented rafts instead of tubes because the spring water was freezing cold! But the scenery was gorgeous! I wish I could have taken pictures. We saw turtles, ducks, cormorants, and even saw an osprey dive down and catch a fish! Then we ate lunch in Lake City and went to see Chad and Amber's new house and office! They plan to move there in a month to be close to Chad's new office. When we got back to Melrose, all the guys played a soccer game and exhausted themselves. Anson was so proud to be included in the soccer game this time! He is really growing up!

Then on Sunday morning we all went to Silver Springs park! Silver Springs is home to the famous glass-bottomed boats. We took a couple boat tours over the Silver River and saw lots of fish, birds, and turtles and even a few gators. We went to a couple shows where Anson was not shy to ask questions! In the reptile show he asked the man "What do alligators say?" and he proceeded to make a pretty large alligator hiss unhappily! It was great! And then in the snake show he raised his hand and said "That sure is a beautiful yellow snake!"... more of a comment than a question but that's OK! :o)

Then on Monday morning we headed back to Atlanta, and here we are! Now I need to go through all the pics I took and find a few to post here!