Saved By Grace.....

It was a great morning for us as a family. Buzz and Sarah Kate both got baptised. Buzz had been as a baby so he decided it was time to get it on the right side of his salvation. This is something I had been praying for so I am very excited.Pastor Neal is so sweet and he asked me how long he needed to hold Buzz down...I said just until we see the bubbles stop!! Just kidding!! I am so glad to be a part of this church family.
This is my sweet angel. She has been so excited since VBS to do this and her first words as she came up was "I get to start my new life now". She loves Jesus and that brings tears to my eyes...

This has lit a fire under Corey and now he has decided to attend the next baptism meeting on Saturday and now he wants to go forward on Sunday to be baptised. What a wonderful week when your family is on fire for the Lord.....

Working 9-5......

Well, I am really working 8:30-4:30, but when you add commute times, it is 7:45-5:15. For those of you who are not good in math...it is a long day. Then you get to figure in all the other things I have going on in my life....it is a really long day. I do love my job and the people I work with are wonderful.
Corey started 5th grade this week. I can hardly believe that my son will be 11 years old. It seems like yesterday that Buzz was almost ready to pass out when they held up the after birth in the delivery room (my doctor had a great sense of humor). I have alot of mixed emotions. Happy to see him grow and know what good kid he is and sad to know that someday soon, my house will be very quiet. Well, quiet once SK is out of the house!!
SarahKate will begin 2nd grade tomorrow. I feel like she was never really a baby. When your child can say "new shoes" at 18 months everytime you pass a Target, you know they are gonna be a "LuLu"..hence the nickname..thanks Miss Glendora!! She is extremely excited and I am thankful knowing that I can go to work and she will have an awesome day because she loves her teacher and will have days being taught and loved!
So, for all you mom's out there, I hope that I am not the only feeling this way this week. Hope your kids are happy, healthy and excited about what the new school year will bring.....

Things I am Greatful for......

Today was my first day of working since moving to Ohio. Well, maybe I should say my first day of working outside the home. For those of you who know me well, I work all the time since my butt has a hard time sitting still. I really did enjoy it and am looking forward to what the future holds.

As I was driving home, I was able to think of other things (except the traffic that may send me off the deep end.) I began to think of all the things that I am greatful for....here it goes:
1. That my friends and family were spared any real damage from TS Fay.
2. That my sister chick Kara is back on her feet after being ill.
3. That Anita is doing well and carrying a healthy baby.
4. That I know I can call Chris or Stacie for whatever I might need today...or any day.
5. That my kids are being well taken care of by Becky.
6. That Buzz is feeling better and it is able to work.
7. That I am able to stay in contact with those I love through this blog.
But most importantly, that I am washed in the blood of the lamb and without Him, all of the above would not be possible.

I just want you all to know how much I love you and how thankful I am to what you bring to my life.....

Camping with Friends....

This weekend, our family and three other families all went camping at Deercreek. These are only 6 of the kids, the other two were not at the site when the picture was taken. The kids really had a blast. They got to experience freedom around the campground which they all thought was very cool. Thank goodness for walkie-talkies. They fished, took walks, rented banana bikes (new experience for me riding these crazy bikes),swam in the lake, played hide and go seek.....they were all beat by this morning when we left....
This is me and my friend Kara. As you can see, she loves "my boyfriend" too and this is what brought us together. Yeah Peyton!!! Can't wait for the season to start!!! The ladies all got into the habit of walking after meals. Don't always let Kara lead..you never know where she will take you (haha)...too much cold medicine!?!?
Me and my hubby chilling out after a long day. The ladies took the girls and Nick to the lake and the guys all went to the dam fishing. We went through 3 dozen night crawlers this weekend!! Serious fishing.
This is our friends Jim and Jayne. They have two boys Alex and Nick and we met them through baseball. Michelle and Matt also came, but had to leave camp to take the girls to cheering so they were not around when the camera came out. Jim made the best brauts!! the onions were great! Makes me greatful that we are all getting togther next weekend for mexican night!
Benjamin stayed home because I did not want to hear him howl at every rabbit so thanks to Chris and Stac for loving on him and taking care of his needs while we were gone. He will be going next time!!

This is Kara's sweet little Emma. Buzz was barking at her so she would run and hide behind the cooler till he walked far enough away from her then she would run after him and try to bite him on the ankles!! Too cute!! We love Emma Sue!!

Well guys, it was a great weekend and we are so thankful to have such great friends to share it with! Makes me excited about all of us, plus Chris and family,Stacie & Nick and Scott and family all getting togther next weekend. Looks like I better get rest this week!!

Give Chris What Is Do.......

For those of you who do not know, this is my friend Chris. When we moved to Grove-tucky, she and her family were our next door neighbors. We hated that house we rented, but we are so thankful for the friends we made in Chris and yes, even John.

Chris was upset when I posted the new book info and the thanks I gave Stacie and did not mention that Chris gives me all her trash mags when she is done reading them. Not that I really care about who is doing who, but they make the time go so much faster at 6 am when you are on the eliptical!

So thank you to my weird and wacky friend. You do make my life so much more interesting and I will miss our afternoons of drinking tea and making fun of Buzz. But we have Saturdays of Buckeye football to yell, scream and pace about my living room...Go bucks....

Look at me Miss Stacie

Although you can not see them, Sarah Kate has her skates on and she spent most of the day on them practicing in front of our house. This is special because my BFF Rose (AKA Stacie) took SK skating on Sunday and she ended up in tears because she was so afraid. She has mastered walking and turning around, next comes speed. We are going camping this weekend so she wants to be ready to skate at the camp ground.
This is her saying "YES" after she balanced herself and kept from falling. She really thinks she is all that now...
This is Sk and her buddy Julia. They took turns most of the day skating and helping each other stand up in the skates! That's what friends are for!! So Stac, she will be ready for skate america next time around!!!

Garden full of veggies......

This past spring I decided to plant a garden once again. Last year, I had some tomatoes and that was about all. As you can see, my pumpkin has decided to grow and the kids have been so excited about having it for halloween. I hope it is still good by then......
Here is my pride and joy...my green peppers.....for those of you who eat these things, I am excited they grew because they are so expensive at the store. Look pappy....wouldn't they make great stuffed peppers????
Here are my salsa peppers! We have gotten about a dozen off the plant so far and I have been able to make salsa for myself and share with my neighbor. Between her herbs and my peppers, we are able to have some great treats!
Here are my first of MANY tomatoes to turn red. When they come in, it will be crazy. Right now, I have at least 25 green tomatoes...with a bunch of buds to start. Looks like I will be busy canning!! Don't worry Pappy, we can make chilli when you come....
Here is a view of the chaos of my garden. Between the three tomatoe plants..four if you include the one that came up on its own (which has three small tomaotes Dad) and the vines of the pumpkins...it is a daily chore to go out there and mess with it. But to tell you the truth, I love it and am very thankful for the food and the relaxation it gives me to go out and do. So, Pappy, thanks for the attention you gave to the garden while you were here...sorry you won't be here to reap all the benefits. Next year, we need to plan a later trip to Ohio.....

Party with the Champions......

Last night was the Mets team party at Coach Scott's house. Everyone was able to make it except Jaxon and Drillion. The kids had a great time. I believe the adults did too!! It was so cool this year because all of the parents got along great and have actually spent alot of time with each other outside of baseball activites. This weekend, five families are all going camping together...CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
This was Casey, Corey and Sarah Kate all with water guns in the back yard. Scott has a great back yard for a party and the kids took advantage of all the space.
Finally, all the kids sat and listened as the coaches spoke about the season...
Here is Coach Scott discussing best moments of the season......guess he kept the water gun in case they got out of line!!
This was the gift the parents got for Scott. He was thrown out of a game because he questioned a terrible call by an ump and all he said was "You've got to be kidding me"...hence why he got the shirt!!! Coach George looking on got a huge laugh out of it!!
Great season guys!!!

The New Do.....

Well, Sarah Kate had finally had enough and decided to cut her hair off. She has been growing it out for two years and yesterday, she said she was sick of taking care of it so to the salon we went!
She has been prancing around my house like nobody's business. She glances at herself at the mirror....puts her hands through it..even the "BAM..I look good"!! Thank you Lord she was not twins!!

So here you go Grandma...hope you like it as much as she does!! Anyone have any suggestions about the loss of teeth?!?!?

First Time Away.....

Well, today, our youth from church left for camp for a week and this is Corey's first time away from home. He was so excited and we were excited for him. He is growing up so fast and was looking forward to spending the week with friends (away from mom and dad) and meeting new friends.
This is Justin, Tyler & Corey next to the bus, getting ready to board. They were all hating us moms snapping pictures so we made it last awhile. I told Corey a picture is better than a kiss so don't push it!
We have 26 kids with 6 adults fro our church going. they will be about 1 and 1/2 hours away at Seneca lake. I went there as a child with my family camping so I am excited for him to go to the same area I did as a child. He is praying there will be some fishing.
I had to make Tyler pose for a picture as well. If Corey had to..he had to! All is fair in parental embarassment!! They left today and will return on Friday afternoon. Please pray they have a great time.
In the jeep was Sarah Kate, Morgan & Julia all happily waving to the boys as they were leaving. Not sure if they were happy to see them go, or go swiming at the Y?!?! I think both!!