A Gift from The Lord...

Our new house! It's right across the street from the church - in a new subdivision. We're just way too excited! We hope to close at the end of next week and move in next weekend. Praise the LORD! (And, yes, Betty... we have tons of room for your clan when you come visit us next month! yay!)

A Little Truth about The War...

This is a myspace message from my friend, a soldier in Iraq who I went to high school with, sent me today. I asked him what he felt about the war... it's something that we rarely hear about. You know, feelings from the soldiers that are involved with the war more personally than anyone in the media or congress. We never hear what they think about it, only how awful it is that we are still over there and how nothing has been accomplished. Well, here's a little insight from a fellow soldier:

I would like you to know that on behalf of my guys and myself we all appreciate your support. As you said it seems that the media is against us completely. Why, we will never know. I wish that we could go back to older days and just kick their rear ends out of the country or at least limit them on what was seen. Although, you and I both know that will never happen. I just wish that they would tell more of how we have helped these people over here. Of course there will always be organizations out there that are always against us, but that is besides the point. We, the United States along with help from others that believe in better have changed this country, have helped build an economy, and have pushed out most of those that are against a true democracy. Again I would like you to know that we truly do appreciate your support. Thank you.Please take care of yourself and please stay in touch. It really has been great talking to you. Your support to our country and all of us crazy soldiers over here is a blessing, especially with all of the media that doesn't support a war on terror. I look forward to again hearing from you. Stay safe.
Jason

(Jason Logan)

Brayden Lost His First TOOTH!

Ashton's Game Ball

Last week, Ashton had a double header game and received the game ball at the second game. He ha dbeen wondering why he hadn't gotten it yet if he kept doing good and getting people out and hitting well, etc. The reason why he got it was hilarious. He was at third base this time... the player hit the ball and kids were throwing it all over the place, the runner kept going to base to base. Ashton got the ball and was at the pitcher mound (even though he was supposed to be manning the third base), saw the runner going for third base and threw it to third base - but no one was there b/c HE was supposed to be there! I think we were all laughing too hard to remember if the runner went home or not. It was hysterical and the Pirates were up by quite a bit, so that run didn't matter (which was why he was on 3rd base instead of pitcher mound).

Random Pics

This is what Emy looks like everytime we leave the ballpark... DIRTY FACE!


Ashton saved enough money and was able to buy his very own Nintendo DS. He was so excited!



Emy and Papaw Wayne a few days after surgery, in the Rehab center

Daddy said, "Emy, put your undies on."

So, she did!

Ashton's haircut

I had just finished Ashton's haircut when I started on Brayden's. My clippers started messing up, so I had to just shave his head "balded" again. Not a big deal, Brayden has a good "balded" head. After I finished Brayden's and started cleaning up, I noticed hair all in the bathroom sink. I just thought Ashton had hair all over him and just shook it off in the sink at the mirror. Then, Ashton came to talk to me and I noticed THIS!

He took scissors to his hair and cut these chunks out. He was NOT happy with me b/c he knew he made a mistake and now I would have to shave his head to fix it and everyone would know his mistake.


I AM LEGEND, anyone?



Trying to be happy about his new haircut.

He DOES NOT like for me to tell this story... lol

Papaw Wayne

Here's Papaw Wayne and Emy, a few days before his surgery...

Brayden's Field Trip to the Aquarium

Brayden's 1st grade Class


Brayden in Butterly Garden, posing really still so a butterfly would land on him. (no, one didn't, but one did land on my camera and he was so excited!)



SHARKS!

Brayden in a tube with an ugly crab

Me and Brayden in a cave

Me and Autumn - she loves Skittles!

Time to catch up...

Sorry it has been so long since I have been able to post. We've been CRAZY busy these past few weeks. Here's a little catch-up... Around Brayden's birthday, Wayne hurt himself at work. An air conditioner unit fell and he tried to catch it. He started limping around, saying his back and leg hurt. He filed a workman's comp claim and began the horror. After given run around after run around for THREE WEEKS, the doctor's office (provided by workman's comp) finally got an MRI set up and that's when they realized it was something serious (even though the whole 3 weeks, he was telling them there was something very seriously wrong!). His family doctor sent him to the ER in Chattanooga where they discovered he had spine and neck problems. If they would have seen him right when it happened, no surgery would have been necessary. Frustrating, isn't it? But, he had to have surgery on his spine (scary) and everything went very well with it, Praise the Lord. He was in Siskin Rehab center for 2 weeks and the workman's comp is still "under investigation" so he had to go home. He's getting around pretty well with a walker and a wheelchair. It's going to be about a year to 18 months of serious physical therapy and there's still no guarrantee that he will be back to what he was before the accident. So sad.
The day of Wayne's surgery, I had to be in Cincinnati for Eric and Becky's wedding. Emy and I went while Tony and the boys stayed here for Wayne and ball games. We came back home Sunday night. Monday night, Tony and I left for Atlanta for the Orange Conference (a ministry conference-we took Children's ministry break-outs to learn how to improve our Children's ministry). We left Ashton and Emy with the Lannom's (our worship leader and his family) and Brayden stayed with Jason and Michelle. They took him back and forth to school, too. They all had a great time! It was the first time for us to leave our kids with people other than grandparents! But, all went well. We had to leave early Wednesday because two out of three of the Lannom children started throwing up all night. So, we had to get Emy and Ashton and we stayed home for a few days, just waiting for it to start in our family. It NEVER did, Praise the Lord! That sick bug passed through all the other staff families, but not ours. It was the strangest thing b/c Camron and Liz were throwing up on Ashton's sleeping bag and his pillow, but... nope. We were all in the clear and that was a couple weeks ago.
So.... with all that going on, we sold our house during the week after Wayne's surgery (actually the day we left for Atlanta) and have been house looking like crazy for the past few weeks. There's a few prospects, so we will see what works out and what doesn't. We close on our house this week. CRAZY!
The boys ballgames have been a good distraction from the craziness but still adds into the craziness b/c we have barely been at home for the past month. Both Pirates teams are doing VERY well. Brayden's team remains undefeated and Ashton's team only lost their first game of the season. Brayden has been hitting very well... his coach told us last night that he's not even the same kid up at bat since the beginning of the season. He had two great hits last night, but they got him out at first both times so he was bummed about it. It's a good lesson for him to learn, though. Ashton is an all star with hitting and being on the pitcher mound. He stops that ball and throws it to first base like a pro. He lives and breathes baseball. All he wants to do is throw with Daddy. It's very cute and he has improved so much with catching a ball in the air. Just can't wait to see him play for the major leagues one day! =)
Emy is doing good, too. Growing too fast and about to three next month. Where has this time gone?

Congratulations, Eric and Becky!

Emalyn and I went up to Cincinnati for a short visit over the weekend. Eric and Becky had a beautiful wedding! Sorry Tony and the boys had to miss it... Papaw Wayne needed them with him for his huge operation on his spine (which went very very well, Praise the Lord!) Here's just a couple of my favorites that I had to post. Did I ever mention that window lighting is my FAVORITE??? Just look how beautiful these are! I'll post more pics from the wedding next week...


Eric & Becky Schmidt


Kelsey Schmidt (The Little Bride)

Quick Baseball Update

So, we are loving our baseball season so far! Last weekend, Brayden's team won both games - so they remain undefeated - YIPPEEE! Brayden had a GREAT game. I recommended him wear his glasses while he was at bat for this game (just to see if that was the problem, why he had been having trouble hitting.) I got some gruff from Tony and Brayden about it, but they did go ahead and he wore his glasses. He hit the ball everytime he was at bat! So, AH HA! I figured out the problem... poor guy couldn't see the ball until it was right in front of him! Anyway, he had a couple good plays in the outfield, too, so his great job earned him the game ball for that game. He was so excited! I video taped that game and Ashton's game, so I will work on getting those on here for you to see some great hits and some great fielding plays. Ashton was on fire at the pitcher mound... had many outs there! A couple times, he got 2 in a row! We're very proud of our sporty boys. =)

A Fun Week

This was a great week in Cleveland! It was nice weather all week (until Friday... it stormed really bad and they cancelled the ball games). But, we really enjoyed playing outside everyday. On Tuesday, I layed out, reading "And the Shofar Blew" by Francine Rivers (sooo good!) while the kids played outside. I ended up laying out there for 4 hours and was a lobster! I just went back out while they napped, etc. so the hours just slipped by. Trust me, if you've read that book, you'll understand! =) I'm in the peeling stage now, but it still hurts! Anyway, here's some fun pictures from the week and a few of the kids taking advantage of the great weather!


Funny


Emy and Grey Davies playing in their own worship band.



The sprinkler is so fun!

Ashton is going for it!

Emy loved it!

Update on Baseball Games today

We finally got to play our Saturday ballgames! YIPPEEE! Ashton's team lost, but Ashton did great. He hit big off the pitches, ran fast to the bases and made great plays on the pitcher mound. We're so proud of what a GREAT job he did!

Brayden's team won their game - 13-7 and it was an AWESOME game! We had two boys on our team hit home runs; one of those had been striking out every time at bat. It was so great! Brayden did so great, too! Tony worked with him ALL day at batting. He struck out twice, but strugged it off well. The third time at bat (Tony, Linda, Wayne and I were all praying out loud - PLEASE JESUS! Let him hit it!), AND he hit it and made it to first base! We were so exicted! You can only imagine how great he felt (b/c he really was losing interest since he hadn't had a hit since the pre-season scrimmage). The players after him hit well, too, so he was able to run fast to each base and make it home! He said this was the BEST day! He also said he didn't want Saturday to END! So cute. We're so proud of him!

THIS IS WHY WE LOVE BASEBALL SEASON! GO PIRATES!

Brayden's First Game of the Season

Brayden had his first game of the season last night. GOSH! It was a good one! This age group is so exciting! It's all coach pitch - no tee anymore so it's real tough on some of them (Brayden is one of them). He has become afraid of the ball for some reason and hasn't been able to hit anything. He struck out everytime. So, we've go to work on that A LOT. Anyway, we ended up winning the game 8-6. We played against the Nationals, which is coached by our coaches from last year (remember Ryan and Sam?). It was good to see them and strange to not be on their team b/c we had played with them for the past 2 years. Oh, well. at least we won and it was a good game. Here's some fun pictures! They both play again tomorrow. (Ashton's was cancelled tonight b/c of the storms).


Brayden


Swing hard, Brayden!


LEFT FIELD - He made 3 good plays here in a row.

Laughing at himself...

Brayden's Basketball Team Picture

Ashton's First Baseball Game of the Season

Well, let's just say that April Showers are DEFINETLY here in Cleveland! All of our baseball games have been cancelled because of the rain, except one - Ashton's that was last Monday. Our Opening Day ceremony and first games were supposed to be Sat. March 29th, but those didn't happen. Thankfully, Ashton's team won the game Monday night, 10-7. It was supposed to be a tournament, which meant that their team would play in the next bracket, but the whole tournament ended up being cancelled b/c of the rain. Hopefully, we'll get to play again next weekend! Here's some cute pictures of Ashton at his game.


Up at bat



Just got out at first, but still smiling!



His best position, pitcher - made a lot of good plays here (throwing to first.)

Brayden's Spring School Picture

Ashton and the KidStuf Target

Every week at KidStuf, we have a kid from the audience hit the Target to reveal the virtue of the month. Ashton was chosen on Brayden's birthday!

Mitchell, telling everyone "Look at those arms!"

COURAGE - Being BRAVE enough to what you should do even when you're afraid

Great job, Ashton!

Brayden's 7th Birthday Party

Happy 7th Birthday, Brayden!


It's a bowling party!


All my bowling friends:
Drew, Jacob, Liz, Camron, Alex, Michael, Autumn, Brayden, Lane, Easton, Steele, Elleise, Lauren, Ashton (mad b/c bowling was over), Gage, Braydon, Faith and Lillian



Brayden, already choosing which piece is his. =)

7 Years old, how did this day come?

To see more pics, click http://picasaweb.google.com/BrAshEm/BraydenS7thBirthdayParty

Brayden's Treasure Hunt Birthday

For Brayden's Birthday, we decided to make him work a little to get his present. =) So, we made a treasure hunt with 7 clues.




CLUE #1: Go to where you brush your teeth



CLUE #2: Ring the door bell



CLUE #3: Go to where you play, "Spongebob.com"

CLUE #4: Go where Daddy goes potty

CLUE #5: Page #7 in "HOP ON POP" by: Dr. Suess

CLUE #6: Find "Brayden" in Emy's dollhouse

CLUE #7: Where Daphne goes when we leave the house

THE PRESENT IS IN THE CAGE

YIPPEEE!!! Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii and a Nintendo DS case!