Haddon makes a Profession of Faith!

Last night while getting tucked into bed Haddon told Daddy he wanted to be saved. Daddy talked to him for a while to make sure he understood what that meant. Then he knelt with Daddy and prayed, asking Jesus into his heart! It's so amazing to see our children grow, learn, and make such important decisions. God had blessed us with four, soon to be five, beautiful children and I pray that each one has the desire to love and honor Him. Thank you Lord, for all of our blessings!

Click Here to Listen to the Plan of Salvation!

Haddon's Birthday!

Haddon turned 5 on July 16th! In the morning I baked a sheet cake and let the kids decorate it themselves. They did a great job!

We picked up a pizza and met Daddy at the park on his lunch break. We had pizza and cake and Haddon opened presents from our family. It was a lot of fun! It was HOT, so when Daddy had to go back to work, we headed home to try out Haddon's new sprinkler!

Haddon's "official" party was on Saturday, July 21st. It was my Saturday to work, so Daddy was in charge of the preparations. He did such a great job! When I got home he was setting up for all kinds of neat games. The theme was "sports" and Haddon had a chocolate baseball cake and a yellow basketball cake. The kids hunted for toys in the grass, played several relay games, broke a baseball pinata filled with candy and toys, and had a water balloon fight! It was a lot of fun for everyone. I give Daddy all the credit!

Camping Trip!

On Friday afternoon we went boating and camping on Norris Lake with friends. This was our first camping trip since having children, and it was quite an experience-especially being 8 months pregnant! We put the boat in the water and went to find a camping spot. Once there, the kids immediately got in the water while the tents were set up and the fire started. We had sausages and the kids roasted their own hot dogs...well, kind of. After dinner we went back out on the boat and found a nice spot to swim. Everyone went for a swim...it was great, but I had some serious trouble trying to get back into the boat. I thought they were going to have to pull me back to the campsite. Haha!

When we got back to camp everyone changed into dry clothes. The kids looked so comfy in their jammies! We built the fire back up and had Bible Time around the fire. Hayley fell asleep on my lap, exhausted after an exciting day. Around 10:20, John, Eric, Harley, Luke, and Haddon set off for some night fishing. Susie and I sat around the fire talking while the kids played in and out of the tent. Helene found a "grasshopper" that she insisted "really likes me." I had to convince her to finally put it down so he could go back home. The kids went to sleep about an hour later. We tried but ended up back out by the fire shortly after. We kept rebuilding the fire and the guys came back around 1:30. Luke and Haddon had only stayed awake for a short time on the boat. John, Susie, Harley, and I stayed up talking for an hour or so. Eric spent the night/morning fishing. I slept approx. 3 hours, waking up at 5:39am for good. I got out of the tent about 6:15 and a few minutes later Harley joined me. We went for a walk along the beach and made friends with an unidentified animal swimming in the lake. I wish I had my camera with us so I could have zoomed in on him. We still don't know what it was, but we guessed an otter, or something like that. He was just as curious about us. He would duck under the water and come back up and look at us. He did this over and over staying right in front of us until eventually he swam off.

Once everyone was up we had breakfast and wondered where Eric and the boat were. Finally we were able to reach him by cell phone and he told us the battery was dead and he wasn't sure where he was. Thankfully it wasn't the battery after all. He got the boat started and John guided him back to us. We almost had our very own "Gilligan's Island." After his return, we packed everything up and loaded the boat. We took the kids swimming again and a brave Havana and Daddy tried tubing behind the boat. Havana was the only kid to try it and she had a GREAT time! John went too...until he broke the tube! Haha! All in all it was a great time. We got home just in time to deliver a birthday cake, go out for a yummy lunch, and hit the bed for a 3+ hour nap.

A Reunion & The Beautiful Smokies!

A couple of weeks ago I was able to reunite with one of my friends from college, Rhonda-Ponda!! It was a short visit as she and her husband were just passing through on the way to a surprise party for her brither-in-law. We met at Chick-Fil-A and she got to meet the kids for the first time, and we got to meet her husband Tony. It has been 7+ years since we have seen each other! We're hoping to plan a weekend trip to Atlanta sometime to visit her and to go to Atlanta's new aquarium.

After our visit, Harley took the kids and I up to the Smokey Mountains. We had a great time! The kids loved collecting stones in the streams and we even took the several mile scenic loop on the mountain. We were looking for deer and bears. We saw several deer, but we missed a big black bear by 5 minutes! Mommy was so disappointed! We stopped once more on the way home to see if we could find some more neat rocks in the water. We found a great swimming area and although we were not dressed to swim, everyone got in the water. It was a soggy ride home, but we had a wonderful day and hope to get back there soon!

In baby news, I had my fourth ultrasound last week. Hudson weighs approximately 6 lbs according to the ultrsound. The placenta has "moved" out the way and that is no longer a concern! Everything looked great and I am at 2 week appointments now. I will have one more ultrasound at 37 weeks to re-check his size. Here is a picture of his profile, you can see his eye, nose, and lips and the top of his little body. Oh yeah, he has a head full of hair!!

See you soon!