The Greatest Christmas Present...

Tonight at dinner we were talking about Christmas... Anson said "I am going to give Santa a present this year because he gives everyone presents and I have never given him anything!" I agreed that this was a good idea. Then Ella said "and I am going to give Jesus a present because it IS His birthday!" I said "That is great idea! Do you know that the best present you could give Jesus is your heart?" And she said "I am going to do that right now!" And she continued to pray all by herself..." Dear Jesus, please come into my heart. Amen". Isn't that awesome? A few minutes later when we were talking about what it really means to give Jesus your heart to make sure she understood, she said "and I wanted to be like Anson because he has Jesus in his heart too!" That was a good way for Anson to see that he is a role model for her and that what he does matters! We proceeded to call all the grandparents, aunts and uncles so Ella could share her good news! Dusty and I are thrilled as parents and fellow Christians that two of our children have made this decision to trust God with their life!! Please join us in praying that they will keep their child-like faith their whole lives!

"For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only son. That whoever believes in Him will not parish, but have eternal life" John 3:16

Atlanta Fall Trip

We went to Atlanta for a short weekend visit last week! It was our first time back as a family since we moved to Florida last summer. The Fall leaves and weather were beautiful! We enjoyed driving around town and being in the big city again. It was funny to hear the kids talk about how Atlanta is different from DeLand (only in every way!). Anson remembered a lot but Ella didn't remember anything! (She was not even three when we moved so that makes sense.) It was Ella and Asa's first experience with Fall leaves and they loved it! Ella couldn't get over how beautiful the trees' colors were! We even got to play all afternoon on Saturday with Sagan, Anson's best little friend in our old neighborhood! We had fun taking these pictures... we have taken Fall pictures in Piedmont Park ever since Anson was a baby and I laid him in a pile of yellow leaves so it was so great to be back and see Asa in the same sweater Anson wore! Happy Fall Ya'll!

Anson at the yellow tree...
View of Midtown from Atlantic Station
Anson likes taking pictures now so I had to pose for him! He did a great job!
Our favorite tree in the corner of Piedmont Park
Our tree

The kids and Sagan. Sharon prepared us lunch on Saturday and we had a great time playing and catching up!
Mommy and Asa (Anson was the photographer!)
Anson and Ella have never seen a working pay phone!
Having quite a conversation!
Piedmont Park
I took a picture of Ella here when she was 10 days old in a little purple outfit...same geese in the background!
Sharon and Asa (We first met Sharon when we were building the house across the street - in the background)
Asa's first romp in the leaves!
Anson and Ella throwing leaves for him
A little sleepy after playing

All of us in Piedmont Park

Ella's 4th Birthday!

Princesses Joanna, Ella, and Charlotte :o)
Princess Ella and Princess Erica!
Erica, Ella, Joanna and Elena
Joanna and Elena, sweet sisters
I caught Princess Grace with a mouthfull of blueberry muffins! :o) Isn't she adorable?
The tea party
The boys had their own table ...
Princess Ella
A house full!

Our little Princess wanted to have a Princess party so we made it a Princess Tea Party! We invited all the little girls to come dressed as their favorite princess and it was so cute!!! They all loved being dressed up! My Mom and Amy helped me set up a tea party for them outside under a sun shade that we had decorated with toole and a Happy Birthday sign. My Mom made butterfly shaped pb&j sandwiches, mini blueberry muffins, and little skewers of fruit, served on silver trays. I made the cupcakes and we had real glasses with lemonade. They thought it was so fancy! And as a special treat (and a surprise to me!) my cousin Erica came dressed as a sparkly princess! It was so cute! We had 28 adults, 15 kids and 3 babies in all! A Birthday to remember! Happy Birthday Ella!

First Missing Tooth!

On the second week of first grade Anson lost his first tooth! It was loose for a long time and it finally came out after school on Aug 31. Gramma had gone with me to pick him up from school. He go in the van and said "Look how far me tooth sticks out!". When we got home it was bleeding a little so Gramma got a paper towel to put around it (Anson is not a fan of blood!) When she got the paper around his tooth, he pulled his head back and she was holding his tooth! He was so happy to have it out! (As soon as the bleeding stopped :o).

That night he put his tooth carefully in the pocket of his tooth pillow (from Toto) and the tooth fairy left him 4 shiny quarters!

Anson's First Day of School!

I can't believe that Anson is already in First Grade! We home schooled him for Kindergarten and now he is enrolled at St. Barnabas Episcopal School. We love it and so does he! There are only 13 kids in his class!
Showing me his first loose tooth!
Ready for school! The whole family rode to school the first day! (It is only 1.5 miles to school!)

Chillin' on the way...

He just jumped out of the van and never looked back! He really likes school and has adjusted well. We are so thankful that this transition in his little world has gone so well!

Alaska Whirlwind

From the train window, just leaving Anchorage
A lake we passed in Wasilla - the beautiful pink flowers are Alaskan Fireweed.
The Princess Wilderness Lodge we stayed in
View from the deck
Just below the deck
Nice cool weather for August!
Mt McKinley!! What an amazing sight to see it rise out of the clouds!

The town of Talkeetna.

Dusty had a job to do in Anchorage, AK so I "volunteered" to go to help him! It was a ton of traveling for such a quick trip but I am so glad I went! Alaska is beautiful!! We got there on Friday Aug. 5, we worked on Saturday, got on the train in Anchorage on Sunday morning and headed to Denali National Park, came back to Anchorage on Monday night and flew home Tuesday morning. Like I said, a whirlwind! But we got to see Mount McKinley in all it's glory peek out of the clouds for about 1 hour and that was amazing! We have decided to go back when the kids are older and spend a couple weeks driving around because there is just so much to see. Here are a few pics...

Anson's 6th Birthday!

Anson started out the day with Pancakes made by Daddy with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and a few chocolate chips - his special request! He wanted breakfast in bed but he changed his mind and had it on the couch! :o) Ella was so sweet... she ran up to get her big pink pillow to make him more comfortable!

After breakfast he got his present from Mommy and Daddy... a new bike!

We had his party the next day (June 18th) with friends and family. This year he wanted a Scooby Doo party (his new favorite show - we DVR the old episodes). And since it is so hot in June, we decided to have water games outside for all the kids. We set up a water ring and baby pool for the little guys, and a couple slip-n-slides for the big kids. Everyone had a great time!

Tring to cool off in the shade...

The boys slip-n-slide... the girls had a different one.

Scooby Doo cake

His binoculars from Toto and Pop

My big Six Year Old!

Happy Birthday Anson!