Archive for October 2011

Have you ever sat and treasured a moment...hoping that it would sink in and last forever???

Have you ever been so completely surrounded by God's beautiful creation that it takes your breath away???

Have you ever been so quiet, so still, and so peaceful...that you can actually feel your body breathing out a sigh of contentment???

Then you have probably just spent time at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina.
It encapsulates every description of peace...rest...quiet...tranquility.
But beyond that...there is a sense of holiness surrounding the entire facility...almost as if you are standing on holy ground.
A meeting place for God and His people - without distraction - without hindrance.

This weekend, Jason and I joined the pastors and their wives for a retreat up at the Cove.
It was a time of relaxation and rejuvenation (and shopping for the wives! :-).
A time of hilarious game playing till the wee hours of the morning.
A time of endless cups of hot cocoa...delicious frozen yogurt at all hours of the day...and gourmet food eating till there is absolutely no room left in the tummy!!!

It was such a fun weekend...with only one drawback...it was over in the blink of an eye!

Thankfully, the conversations and memories and sweet times of fellowship are treasured away in my heart!!!
Its a bit hard to conjure up the feeling of quietness and tranquility in the midst of this bustling household...but perhaps if I sit real still and plug my ears... :-)

Friday morning...bright and early...the two older kids and I bundled up and headed out for our special date! :-)

We went to Panera Bread for a yummy bagel and then headed over to Matthew's Playhouse to see..

...the Miracle Worker!!!
It was phenomenal!
We have been talking about being "deaf" for several weeks...and Tyler actually wrote a paper about a member at our church that is hearing impaired.
The timing of this show seemed to coincide with what we were learning in school.
And it was soooooo good!!!

The kids were riveted from the moment the lights went down to the very end.
All of the actors did an amazing job!!!

Although I can not relate to the hardships that Anne Sullivan faced in her challenging position...I can relate to her determination to do what is right, even when hard.
Several of her quotes brought tears to my eyes...

It's less trouble to feel sorry for her than it is to teach her anything better.

The world is not an easy place for anyone.
But to let her have her way in everything is a lie.
You've got to stand between her and that lie.

 Obedience without understanding is a blindness.

She'll live up to what you demand and no more.

Watching the show with my two precious kids was the highlight of my week.
And the advice I walked away with from dear Miss Sullivan will stay with me forever!

Last week we headed out with our friends for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.
We decided this year we would peruse the pumpkins, run through the corn maze, take a meander around the grounds...but head to Walmart for the perfect economical pumpkin!!! :-)
(Hey, a pumpkin is a pumpkin, right?)

Jackson didn't get the whole "talk-before-the-pumpkin-patch"...he wanted this one!

Thankfully, having friends there was actually better than picking out a pumpkin!!

The farmers were giving a talk about all the different uses for corn.
Obviously, this was before lunch time...you can see that Jackson was really starting to get hungry!!!

Although we didn't leave with a real pumpkin...I did take these sweet pumpkins home!!!

Daddy had a date night with "just kids" last week and began the carving process...

Messy work!!

Jackson supervised and gave advice were needed.

And now these two sit proudly on our porch...

this one is sadly shrinking before our eyes...it used to say "Welcome"! ;-)

Tuesday afternoon we headed out to the store to get a few staple items...

...and in the process decided to get Hailey's ears pierced.
Isn't that on everyone's shopping list?? :-)

Jason and I had decided to do it the week before...but he chickened out...
not wanting to be a part of the process!!!

While I was looking for paper towels and toilet paper...I walked past the jewelry counter and thought, "Hm, Walmart for ear-piercing? What a good deal! Why not!?"

And this was the end result!

It took all of two minutes for her to calm down from her
"ear-piercing" scream...

And now she is our sweet little princess!!! :-)

After a crazy, busy week...Friday night found us all home and ready for some family time!
Uncle Jeremy came over and we all played a rousing game of Disney Bingo.
Then it was off to bed to get ready for ...

Tyler's big football game!!!
This season, Tyler decided to try flag football instead of soccer...and now there is no going back!
Football is all we talk about at home.
Everyone has caught the fever...and the week all rushes toward Saturday mornings!!!

Jason is Tyler's coach...and of course, he takes this VERY seriously!!!

Amy and Hailey are content to snuggle on the sidelines and wait for snack time!

Hailey is getting more and more wiggly as she is gaining her independence!!

After the games, these two celebrated their sweet victories...Tyler in football and Corban in soccer!!!
Then we were headed home to get ready for some special friends coming over to...

celebrate birthdays!!!

Yummy food, fun fellowship, loud and crazy playing, tons of kids running around...

it was a great way to wrap up our weekend!!

We were at this magical place...

With these magical people...

Having a magical time...

I wish we could magically go back!!!

a little bit more and a little bit more...

Our precious little Hailey Anne is growing up as fast as she possibly can!!!
With three older siblings having fun and being silly...she is aching to get her piece in the action!