Ellis' Birthday

This little guy turned 3 over the weekend. Look at that face.... Isn't he precious? I am a (tad bit) biased grandmother, I'll admit.

 

His family joined us at the lake for some fun. Had to go on a boat ride and see the lake.

 

The boys deemed this sailboat "The Pirate Ship". I tried to explain it was a sailboat but evidently, 6 and 7 year old boys know all there is to know about pirate ships.

 

He got baseball stuff from us. He eats, sleeps and dreams baseball. He got a ballglove, bat, a baseball T (which he promptly broke on the first swing), and plenty of extra balls. Whiffle of course. We had some batting practice. Doesn't he look cute?

 

He swings for all he's worth. If it's 32 degrees or 100 degrees, if you will throw him the ball he will swing every time. Mike is hoping he will be our athlete in the family.

 

Sharing a cupcake w/Gigi his great grandmother (my mom) who joined us.

 

Kayleigh's Baptism

Today Kayleigh was baptized by our children's pastor Garry Tanner. I can close my eyes and remember when she was dedicated. We are so proud of her and the young lady she is becoming. She has a heart of gold, we pray that she always has this tender heart and seeks to live for Him. Our awesome friend David White took this great shot for us. Thanks David.

 

Kayleigh had both sets of grandparents in attendance, her brother and her mom and dad. She is one loved little girl.

 

Her Aunt Penny was also there and treated her to lunch at Red Lobster after church. Obviously this isn't Red Lobster. They went to the mall after lunch to look for luggage. Penny is going to Guatemala to teach English for two years. She is leaving in July.

 

Interview with Kayleigh about Baptism:

Me: What made you want to get baptized?
Kayleigh: Well, I wanted to get closer to God and to show everyone that I am a Christian.
Me: What does it mean to you now that you are baptized?
Kayleigh: It means that I am going to learn more about God.
Me: What do you think you getting baptized meant to God?
Kayleigh: That I'm a better person and I'm closer to Him now.
Me: Why do you think people get baptized?
Kayleigh: Well, some people do it so they won't go "you know, down to the devil" and I did it because I don't want to take Him for granted.
Me: What did it mean to have your family there?
Kayleigh: It was awesome because I want them all to know I trust in Jesus and I have him in my heart.

Note: Kayleigh opened a card from her grandmother and a smaller envelope dropped out. She read the card and said "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. That's so sweet." Then she opened the envelope and it contained $$. She said, "Wow, I should get baptized more often!!"

Our Little Graduate

 

 

Here's our little graduate. Isn't he precious?? He was soooooooooooo excited to be graduating. I don't even think he realized what it meant to graduate. He began crying with an earache about 4:30 so we weren't 100% sure he would even get to participate but he did. His mom got to go see him graduate, Mike got home from work in time, My mom went and our good friends Tony and Stacy joined us. After the graduation, we went to Dairy Queen where he was treated to a hot fudge sundae. It was a great night. We officially have a first grader now. Where have the years gone?

 

Here he is with his wonderful teacher, Mrs. Forlaw. Doesn't she have perfect hair? But thou shall not covet thy neighbor's hair...... She has been a Godsend this year. We pray so hard for the right teacher for each of the children every year and God totally answered our prayers with Mrs. Forlaw. Mckane just adored her and she truly loved each and every one of her students. I hope we can continue to stay in touch even after we move. Good bye Kindergarten, hello first grade.

Limo Ride and Teacher Gifts

 

Kayleigh was treated to lunch at the mall in style. Her whole class was taken out to eat in this awesome limo. It was her first time riding in a limo. They were all so excited. Here they are!!


This was a reward from their awesome teacher for exceeding their AR goal in reading. Not to brag or anything but Kayleigh exceeded her goal by 22 points. Told you she loved to read. Anyway they had a great time. Kayleigh is the 4th girl from the left standing up. Now, on to teacher gifts.


My very talented friend Ashley paints stained glass windows so we ordered this little baby for McKane's teacher who is also awesome. (We really do pray for their teachers) After I got the window, I had the children place their little thumbprints all around the frame of the window. I then turned the boys into bees and the girls into butterflies and dragonflies.

 

Here they are presenting it to her. They were as excited as she was. McKane is f left wearing number 6.

 

First the happy tears.......

 

Then the excitement...Can you tell she LOVED it.

 

Birthday Girl

 

Eleven years ago today at just about this exact time, my first granddaughter made her grand entrance into our hearts and lives. Little did we know then just how much our lives would change as a result of her birth. We have absolutely enjoyed every minute of her. She is one of a kind, unique and truly a gift to us from God. He looked down and saw our family and said, "Wait, I'm not finished yet." and then he gave us Kayleigh. I'm sure every grandparent feels this way but every mother doesn't get a "do over" like I did. I hope and pray I am doing things a little better this time around. I feel like I need to apologize to my daughters daily for some of my mothering tactics and things I put them through. (Sorry again girls) but I am not alone for MOST mothers out there feel that they would change a lot of things if they had a second chance. Some things never change, like keeping their rooms picked up and completing homework. Those things parents will probably argue about until the end of time. But other things, that do not affect their values and morals and personalities should not be made into such issues. I am definitely learning to choose my battles. I just want to keep her 11 forever. I know there is so much out there that can hurt her and I want to protect her innocence as long as I have breath in me.

 

Over the weekend she got a facial from her mama along with one of her friends. It is starting already, this interest in appearance and clothes and who is her BFF this week. ALl the things pre teens think are SO important. If they only knew.... These things really don't matter in the big picture of life. But they won't realize that til they are much older. (This is turning into a really serious post, sorry guys)

 

Ok, here she is again in all her quirky cuteness. Her other grandmother gave her a Kindle for her birthday and I am a little jealous that she got one before me. We both LOVE to read. I was one of those geeky kids who had the flashlight under the blanket after my mom said lights out. I ALWAYS got caught and got in trouble. Now she is reading Nancy Drew books, my all time favorite at her age. I am so thankful that we share this love of reading.

I will leave you with one final shot, taken this weekend at he lake. Mike was reading his Bible Sunday morning and walked away from his desk. Ellis (who is only 2) hopped up in his chair, put on his glasses (sort of) and proceeded to pore over the scriptures. I can't believe I got this on camera. This little guy runs when he sees a camera aimed at him. Can't imagine why???