Our Cheap Art and Jordyn Update

First of all, Jordyn is still in the hospital, which is a good thing so she can get the best pain management and care. They cancelled the surgery with the local doctor and are going to head towards Nashville Wednesday morning for a foot specialist. Many prayers still going up for Jordyn as she waits for surgery. I think that I have thought of them every second!

I spoke with her briefly on the phone last night and her pain was under control by that point and like typical Jordyn she was worried that she was sitting up there with no-make up on and her hair messed up. I told her that she wasn't suppose to look like a "hottie" in the hospital and she replied, "But, I look like a hobo!". Only a teenager would be worried about such things!

Saturday, we ventured to Hobby Lobby to get a canvas that was on sale this week. I have some walls in my home that could use a little color. My budget doesn't allow us to purchase any grand prints or art, so we just made our own. Who needs an artist when I have 4 little artists in the making? So, we made a painting to go in the kitchen. It might not be De Vinci or Van Gough, and I'm sure that we will be the only ones to appreciate its character and charm, but I don't have or even want a house to impress other people. I want a home that has memories and warms my heart to enter.


The final masterpiece that is now hanging proudly on my kitchen wall!

Praying for Jordyn!

I got a phone call around 4:30 this afternoon that my niece Jordyn had been in an accident. I could hear the fear in Denisha's voice as the relayed what little information she had. My heart kind of sank to my toes knowing that no matter what was happening, I was 150 miles away and felt helpless.

Turns out that she and a friend was riding the big gator golf cart like thing down the road and a car hit them and it turned it over onto Jordyn and her leg was pinned beneath. They got the thing off her leg and had to call an ambulance, because her foot was so badly injured. I'm not sure all the details except that it is broken in a few places and there were tendons damaged and she is going to have to get some skin grafting done. It is pretty serious and she could use your prayers.

I can imagine that she is in quite a bit of pain, she is frightened, and they are having to make decisions on what doctors to use for surgeries. I wish that I could be there with them so that I could help or just give them a hug, but since I can't, I will be praying every moment I think of them. I had a church picnic tonight and I knew that my family was hurting and I kept having to put my "pretend" smile on and fight back tears.

Drama Club and the Riverfront

Micah started Drama Club yesterday. He was all smiles going in and all smiles coming out. He was excited about the things that he had learned, and ready to go back next time. This will teach him about all aspects of theater. They learned about lights and sound and next time they will learn about make-up and the kids will get to be painted up. I think this will be a good niche for him and something that he can really get in to.



While he was in class, we took the girls to the riverfront. They have a park area and we took a little walk. It isn't too far from the theater, so it was a good way to kill time and enjoy the beautiful weather.
Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I made an artistic creation, but I'll post more about that later with pictures:-)

Micah's Solo Debut In "Lights, Camera, Action"

The 3rd grade program that the kids have been working on since the first day of school is now over. Micah had a solo in the program and he did great! He was so excited to have been chosen, especially since he is new to the school. He looked so cute in his "costume" and top hat. Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks and smooch those dimples?



Micah is standing somewhat in the middle of this picture. It was taken from far away, so a bit blurry.


I also found out about the drama club that is in town for 3rd grade and older. I called about it today and I think that he wants to try it out. If he wants to do it, he will be going this Saturday for his first class. He loves to perform and be in front of an audience, so this is right up his alley.

Here is a short video of his solo. The sound is not the greatest, but he sounded very sweet up there. He is the one on the right. They had some weird blue spotlight on them, so he is hard to see. Moments like these that makes a mommy beam over with pride!

My Awana Girls

The kids are enjoying Awana at church. The big girls are in Sparks, Chloe is a Puggle, and Micah is in T&T boys. They are all doing great and enjoying every minute of it. The big girls earned their red vests a few weeks ago by memorizing their first scripture, John 3:16. Chloe got her t-shirt last week and she actually carried it around and slept with it for several days. Micah has since earned his T&T shirt (his process was a bit more than the girls) and when we get his, I will post his picture too. But for now, here are my Awana girls:





Micah has a solo in the school's program tonight too. He is very excited and I can't wait to see him. He loves to perform, so that is right up his alley. I'll be sure to get some good pictures of that as well.

The Wedding Pictures are in!!!

Davida (my sister) and all her kids came up on Saturday. It was fun! It has been a while since we have all just spent a day together without any formal plans. We shopped some and we showed them around a bit. I hope that we can make a habit of it. Even though we are 150 miles away now, I think the quality of our time might even be better, because you make a purpose to visit or spend time together.

And, before they left last night, Denisha logged onto the computer and we were all excited that some of the wedding pictures have been posted. This is only a fraction of the pictures that the photographer took, but it makes me even more excited to see the rest (which will be on CD). They are fantastic!

So, here is the teasers to the rest of the wedding pictures!

http://www.cypressspringsphotography.com/webb%5F080608/index.html

Roasting Hot Dogs in the City

Jamie and I have been wanting a fire pit for a while now, so yesterday we decided to go ahead and buy one for fall and let the kids enjoy a hot dog and marshmallow roast. It was enjoyable and there is just something reminiscent and special about eating a roasted hot dog and smores. So, we spent our Friday evening eating outside and then inside for our weekly family movie night (Charlotte's Web).

Eating Smores:





And Chloe decided that Smores was too difficult to eat, and she was thrilled to find chocolate hiding inside. A true woman! She picked the chocolate bar out and left the rest.


Today my sister and her bunch are on their way here. They had a flat tire before they left Murray, so are getting a later start than they had planned. Be thankful for small favors though! At least they didn't have a flat tire halfway here! So, the kids are excited!!

The Weekend Fiasco and Tropical Storm Ike

Our weekend started off on the wrong foot anyways. The stomach bug has been floating through our house for the past several days. It started with Hannah, then me, then Jamie, then Abbi, and now Micah (just today). Friday was when Jamie was the most sick and he had committed to doing a wedding for someone that we graduated with. We haven't spoken to this guy in 15 years and we weren't really best friends with him in high school or anything either. He had regretted this commitment almost immediately since we live so far and he is busy at work, but we thought we'd make good use of the weekend by visiting family anyways (looking at the bright side) and he'd get paid, so that's always a good thing.

Then, of course, we were sick. If it weren't for the wedding, we would have been resting at home in our pj's with a lot of crackers and Sprite. But, we headed the 150 miles towards Murray, then another 25 miles or so to the wedding destination at the lake. Jamie hurried through the rehearsal, because he was so miserable and we left as quickly as we could. He was so very sick. It made me feel so badly for him and the whole situation. It isn't like he could leave a couple hanging without a minister or he would have never gone. He had called into work sick that day as it was.

He did feel decent enough the next day to pull the wedding off, but it was kind of a fiasco from the way it sounds. He planned on doing the service, signing the papers, and getting out of there, but the couple had other plans and things took longer than he had thought. Well, they finally handed him the envelope with the compensation and let's just say that it was kind of a joke. I don't mean to be rude, but it would have been nice to have at least broke even with gas in the car! My dear sweet husband needs to learn the word "no".

It was nice to see the family, but probably would have been more fun on a not so sicky weekend! I'm sure everyone we visited hosed their houses down with bleach as soon as we were out of the driveway.

On another note, yesterday morning Tropical Storm Ike landed in KY. How crazy is that? A tropical storm in KY!?!?! It resulted in a pretty powerful wind storm with winds up to 75 mph. We were without power until midnight, and the schools are closed today. The only thing we had broken was our porch swing. It was like nothing I've ever seen! Crazy! How powerful nature can be!

So, we all went out and cleaned up the yard. Jamie is out there mowing right now mulching all the rest up. I am enjoying the fall-like weather that we are having though.

Here's Micah right before he got sick:



Abbi and Hannah:


Chloe working hard:


And, I have to share. Abbi and Hannah wanted to clean up the neighbor's yard too. She is a young lady, but she is single and probably at work today. They went over and picked up most of her big sticks and raked alot of her yard. I know that the lady will probably never realize that she had 2 little missionaries that worked in her yard that were 5 and 6 years old:

In the Blink of an Eye

The other day, I was looking at old pictures with the kids. They think it is funny to see themselves to "little" and it is fun for us to bring those memories back to life in my mind's eye. They grow so darn quickly! Sometimes I just wish I could just dive into a photo and hold them when they were that little again.

The youngest pictures we have of Micah on the computer was when he was 2 years old. Since Chloe is 2 right now, I dug up photos of all 4 of them at around the same age. It is so funny to look at their similarities and differences. You can tell that they are siblings, yet they are still have their own unique qualities. Micah looks mostly like Jamie and Uncle John (Jamie's brother), Abbi looks like I did, but Hannah and Chloe seem to be a little bit of both of us.

Micah:



Abbi:


Hannah:

Chloe:


I don't have a young picture of Jamie on my computer, so you'll just have to look up at Micah's photo to get an idea of what "little Jamie" looked like. But, here is a picture of myself when I was about 4 or so.




Edited to add: Pat sent us a picture of Jamie at 2 years old.

Big Bugs and Game Night

We had alot of good quality family time during the past 3 day weekend. Friday night we watched a movie, and it (Nim's Island) was very cute and enjoyable even for Jamie and I.

Saturday, we got up and decided to go to the Botanical gardens, because the big bugs are on display right now. It was really hot, but it was beautiful there. They had every kind of plant and flower you could ever imagine and the kids got a kick out of the big bugs.



Big Ladybug


Praying Mantis that Chloe was a little timid around


A little playhouse that was so adorable! Abbi decided that she wants us to build one for her to live in. It had a little kitchen and living area and was set up like a little house inside (even had air conditioning). It also had some toys for kids to play with in there


Dragonflies


Sunday night we didn't have church, so we had a game night. We do that every so often where a child chooses a game and we all sit and play as a family. The first game that was chose was Memory. It was funny, because I thought I'd have to help Chloe so that she could get a few matches. Little did we know that she would whip us all silly! That girl can play! Not only did she win the game (fair and square I might add...she didn't need our help), but she was telling other people where the matches were to their cards as well. Never will I doubt her again!