Halloween 2015

My babies had a great Halloween!  We went to a Halloween party complete with jumpy castle on Friday night and then to my sister's house for a cookout and trick-or-treating in her neighborhood on Saturday night.  Way too much candy was received and consumed but I guess that is part of the fun of Halloween!

Callie Grace and Caleb's grandmother made their costumes again this year and they were precious!

Quick trip to the beach

We headed to the beach for a quick 3 night trip.  The kids had a ball.  They swam in the ocean (it was cold), played in the sand, fished, swam in the indoor pool and played putt putt.  We were able to spend some much needed time as a family of four.  It felt so good to get away and recharge a bit.  I am always in awe of God when I look out into the ocean.  I also think about how much my mama LOVED sitting on the beach looking out into that same ocean.  I miss that mama of mine.  I miss her gentle ways.  I miss her love.  I miss the feeling of being safe when you are with your mama.  Now I am a mama and I pray my children will look back on their time with me and feel loved beyond measure.

Caleb caught TWO of these fish!  We were so excited for him and he was so excited for himself!

 

And a "just because" picture.  I love my beauty girl so very much.

Caleb's book report and visual aid

Caleb's awesome 2nd grade teacher made learning come alive for him.  He was challenged with completing a book report on his favorite book and choosing a character out of the book to decorate as a pumpkin.  Caleb enthusiastically chose The Nurse from the Black Lagoon.  We went and got the supplies that he needed from Hob Lob and purchased a medium sized pumpkin for him to decorate.   Caleb worked extra hard on his penmanship when writing his report.  He LOVED decorating his pumpkin and was beaming when I dropped him off this morning as he was carrying his pumpkin in to school.  There is no doubt that Caleb will remember his very first book report.  I think he will also look back at his second grade teacher, Mrs. Allen and know that she loved and taught him so much in his 8th year of life.  She has taught him things that cannot be measured on a standardized test.  His tank gets filled daily by her and for that, we are eternally grateful.  We love Mrs. Allen!

Sleeping Beauty

Gamecocks

It has been a sad season for our beloved gamecocks but Kip and Caleb's love for them has never wavered.  Here is a silly pic of them playing around the other night.

Making Cards for the First Responders

While we feel so helpless during this time of tremendous need, my children made cards for the first responders last night.  They are making cookies today and we will take the cards and cookies to the fire and police stations.

Dear Lord, Please wrap your arms around all those that have suffered great loss.  Please help them to know that they are not alone.

Floods in SC

Oh my goodness.  SC, mainly Columbia has been hit so hard with rain floods.  We have been extremely fortunate to keep power and everything is fine at our house.  So many have lost cars, houses and 9 people have passed away from this devastation.  Thousands are without power and water.

Church was cancelled yesterday.  This is how we spent the majority of our day...

You Just Got Served

Callie Grace was charged with serving a neighbor last Sunday night during church.  She decided to serve Ms. Ann, our neighbor who we love.  We got chocolate chip cookies

and made her a little card.  This simple gesture sure made our day and I hope it made Ms. Ann's also.  I often pray for a servant's heart in my children.  I hope that Kip and I will do our very best in modeling this behavior for them.  I truly believe that we are Jesus' hand and feet.