Miss Meredith!

The time has come to say "Farewell" to our very dear friend, Meredith. As you can see from the recent pictures, she is much loved by our entire family. (Who else would give you permission to jump on the furniture?!) I will especially miss our time together! She has blessed our lives and we will miss her smiling face terribly. However, we are thankful that we will get to stay in touch and visit in Alabama!

Fun Reunions for Thanksgiving!

We had a very blessed Thanksgiving because we got to reunite with old friends and family that we hadn't seen in too long! On Wednesday, we met Chris Raley (Rich's childhood friend who is like family) and his wife, Giselle; their two boys, Bryce and Jordan; and Giselle's sister and family. We all had a great time catching up and playing around in Williamsburg! We - and several spectators - enjoyed cheering for Bryce as he raced Rich down the Colonial Williamsburg street! I think Rich had to kick it into another gear! Good job Bryce!

Then we headed to Pennsylvania to spend the holiday with Rich's 1st cousin, James, and his family - Pam, Reagan, Payton, Snickers, and Fluffy! We enjoyed every second together! The guys took all the kids Thanksgiving morning to walk in the woods. Pam and I joined them to find two wet and cold little ones! We ate lots of great food, had a dance off, and watched the kids' performances. We went bowling - Joseph's favorite sport! On Friday we went to the Central Market; let the kids see a little bit of Amish life; and visited Hershey's Chocolate World! I don't think we could have all gotten along any better.

We are so thankful for both of these families and the opportunity to re-connect. It was so much fun to see my "biggest kid" with his buddies!

All Jazzed Up - and All Grown Up!

David's 4th grade class did a chorale program entitled "All Jazzed Up". They were all dressed in black and white as they performed jazz songs. When I glanced at David on the end of the risers, I saw a glimpse of my little boy as a he might look as a man! It brought tears to my eyes. He is such a delightful 10 year old. He did a great job singing too!

Caris' Self Portrait Pumpkin!

Caris has lost both front teeth within 2 days of each other! She had just recently lost two teeth on the bottom as well! She has two more loose on the top! She may be gumming her Thanksgiving turkey!

Trick or Treat!

Our beautiful snow princess; rough and tumble Spiderman; and tough guy Ninja had a great time trick or treating tonight! It's a child's dream come true to fill bags with candy while running around with friends! Another big treat was having Uncle Jody here to enjoy gumbo and candy!

Look what I can do!!!!!!

David's Prayer

David was honored to pray at all four church services on Sunday! The sermon was about praying four wishes for your kids. At the end of the service, our pastor wanted to turn it around a little and have a child pray the same four things over all the church. David prayed that we would know God; hear and obey His voice; discover His purpose for our lives; and never grow bored with His church. He did a fantastic job and seemed very much at ease! I think his favorite parts were arriving early for sound check and rehearsal; hanging out back stage with the band; and getting to be on stage with Pastor Stu! It was a wonderful day!

The Competitive Spirit!

By request, I am posting the picture of Rich that was left out of the "Double Digits" birthday! You must remember that this is the man who was explaining to me the need for our boys to learn to balance their competitive nature! Hmm ... I wonder who they get it from?!!!!

Crazy Hat Day!

Joseph had to choose a "crazy hat" for this fun day at school! After dressing him and before he put on his hat, he looked into the mirror very seriously and said "I not think I'm posed (supposed) to wook this hamsom (handsome) for crazy hat day"! What a Rudy!

Double Digits!

David is thrilled to have come into the "Double Digits" birthday! He turned 10 on Monday! (Where did all the time go?) All David wanted was for a few neighborhood kids to get together, play kickball, and eat! (Boys are so easy in some ways!) David was honored that Chris Okyen, a teenage friend, and Meredith May, our church kids' director and family friend, also came to play ball. The girls and little boys joined us back at the house for cake, ice cream, and presents. Dad had to harass the girls at "the girls' table" provided by Caris! The day ended with everyone playing any kind of ball, tag, and battle imaginable! I am continuously amazed at the competitive nature of little boys in particular. David's shirt is covered in balls and says "All or Nothing"! Rich and I were talking about this competitive spirit later; but as I chose photos I didn't have enough room to enter the one of Rich taking on all the boys in the front yard with a Gladiator-like face!! "Boys will be boys" right?! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WONDERFUL 10 YEAR OLD SON!!!!!!!!!!

Soccer?

I know I'm new at this soccer mom thing, but this looks more like a football tackle to me! All joking aside, David is loving soccer! And I am learning a lot! I came up behind David and his friends watching the soccer game ahead of them. They were all sitting neatly side by side. I thought I would walk around to the front and get a good picture of David and his soccer buds. As soon as they saw the camera, I lost the tranquil photo to this fun tackle! It's definitely more realistic!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

I had a great time exploring the Pumpkin Patch with Joseph and his friend. He asked every morning for a week if it was the "pumpkin patch day"! He got to pick out HIS pumpkin from the field we got to on a hay ride through beautiful sunflowers! Joseph is tremendously blessed to have a wonderful teacher, school and class!

Aunt Kristie and Alyssa visit!

Mark and Kristie Benyo were some of our fantastic friends in Stafford, Virginia. They are lovingly called Aunt Kristie and Uncle Mark by our kids because they helped take care of them so many times! Although Alyssa wasn't physically with them in Stafford we all spent much time praying for her! We've gotten to visit with her a couple of times already, but Mark and Kristie are now stationed in Korea. While Aunt Kristie and Alyssa were making a busy trip home to see family and friends we were blessed to have them stay with us for a few days! We had a wonderful visit!

Time with Family!

Last weekend we were thrilled to spend time with our family! Mama C and Papa Joe came to visit! They got to be a part of normal life around here - ballet, soccer, piano, school functions, and a yard sale! Papa Joe was one of Caris and Hailey's customers at "The Best Bake Sale Ever"! On Saturday afternoon we were joined by Aunt Sue, Uncle Ed, Heath, Bronwyn, Baxter, Abigail, Matt, Eric, Ashleigh, Josiah, Anna, Micah, Lydia, and my dear friend, Meredith! We all played kickball, watched football, enjoyed a time of fellowship, and of course, ate! Our family all got to meet Lydia! She and Momma C had fun with the screaming monkey! Baxter and Joseph are big buddies. Abigail and Lydia had fun with the letters and music makers on the frig. Then this Friday night Uncle Eric and Rich braved a camping trip with the 6 oldest kids! They all had a fantastic time! It is such a blessing to live near some of our family and to all get along so beautifully!

The "Big Boys" Fishing Trip!

Rich and David had the pleasure of going fishing with dear friends, Jody, Drew, and Joseph Ogea this past weekend. I'm pretty sure the dads had as much fun as the sons! They caught some good sized sea bass - sometimes even two at a time! Great friendship, weather, and water combine for a fantastic day! They're already talking about going back in the Spring for the "bigger fish"! I thought I would publish the pictures of some of the fish before all the fishing tales began to grow!

New Experiences

We've had lots of new experiences so far this Fall! Christmas came early with a keyboard for the kids. Caris and David are enjoying their first lessons! Caris started ballet classes with her great friend, Jill. Joseph and I experienced his first field trip. We had a great time collecting sea shells and meeting his new friends. Joseph has also begun the daily begging to play with his friend, Steven. In this picture they had put on their chef hats (aka Daddy's head coverings) to "help" me make pancakes!