Story Time with Tim Hudson

Atlanta Braves' pitcher, Tim Hudson, came to the Plaza before the game began and read part of a book to the kids that were there. Laura Beth spotted him before anyone else did!!
Reading the book The Road to the Braves to the kids.
Tim talking about the importance of reading and education.

A highlight of the trip was getting to see and listen to Tim Hudson read Wednesday night before the game. The first 100 kids were able to get a book that Tim autographed and Laura Beth and Carter were able to get that. They loved being near him and listening to him read. What a special time for us all!

Snapshots from Wednesday's game

Daniel, Laura Beth and Katy walking to the game.
Damon and Carter
Uncle Richard and Miss Amy joined us for the game on Wednesday
My angel in the outfield!!
Kotsay put his glove on top of his head during a pause in the game. Carter thought this was great and wanted to do it as well!!

Snapshots from Tuesday Game #2

These next two pictures are out of order because I cannot remember how to work this thing!! Anyways, this picture is of Matt Diaz and Gregor Blanco warming up after the 2 hour rain delay. A bunch of kids (Carter included) were yelling at them - cheering them on. Matt Diaz turned around to them and . . . . . threw Carter a ball (which I caught - again!!)!! He was just walking on air!!!

Laura Beth's sign for Tuesday night's game. It did not last though!!
Carter's sign for Tuesday night's game. The signs did not make it to until the game because a MAJOR rain storm came and destroyed the signs. For 2 hours we kept ourselves busy while we wondered if they would play tonight.
Carter kept himself occupied by playing his own baseball game in one of the corners of the stadium.
This could be my favorite picture from the trip. After it stopped raining, our seats for Tuesday night allowed Carter and I to go right down on the field. He loved being so close to so many of his favorites.

Snapshots from Tuesday Game #1

Carter loves playing at Tooner Field. He would hit the ball and then slide into every base!!
Tom Glavine and Brian McCann getting ready for the game in the bullpen.
I had to take this one of Carter with his most favorite - Brian McCann.
Carter's spot for Tuesday's afternoon game

Our Time at the Bullpen

Carter getting a close look at one of his favorite pitchers - Jeff Bennett.
Eddie Perez, the bullpen coach, and Jair Jurrjens, a starting pitcher, talk to fans. Eddie turned around after this picture and threw BOTH kids a ball from the bullpen. They were so excited (and I was, too, because I caught Laura Beth's!!) to get a ball!! Then Jair Jurrjens . . . .
signed Laura Beth's ball!!! Carter did not want his ball signed because he wanted to be able to play baseball with it!!!
Then, Buddy Carlyle - who also has a 4 year old son named Carter - signed Laura Beth's ball!!
She was so proud!!

Tuesday afternoon game had us sitting right beside the Braves' bullpen. The kids loved being there. By the end of the game they had 3 balls (2 given by Eddie Perez and 1 given by Jeff Bennett) and 3 autographs. Carter just loved being close to the catchers and pitchers!

Special Family Time

Damon and Carter looking into the bullpen.

Carter and me sitting right next to the bullpen.
Laura Beth and Damon after the two hour rain delay Tuesday night.
Damon and the kids Wednesday - 3 games in 2 days!!

As a family, we enjoy our sports. We enjoy playing as well as watching sports together. We especially had a good time just being together these last few days. I think my favorite part of the trip was our family devotional Wednesday before the baseball game. It was so sweet to see that the kids wanted to worship God even though we were not home and to see them lead their favorite songs and pray.

A Trip with Friends

Daniel and Carter love being together. Here they are watching the pitchers and catchers in the bullpen warming up for the big game.
Laura Beth sat by Wayne, Kim and Katy during most of the game while we had Daniel and Carter. Laura Beth and Carter would swap seats every now and then to take turns sitting by their big friends.
Daniel and Laura Beth
Carter and Daniel
Laura Beth was Katy's shadow during this trip. Here they are with their Smoltz jerseys on heading to the 2nd game on Tuesday.

We are blessed with many good friends in our lives. One of those families we are especially blessed to have in our lives is the Wayne Scott family. We all share a love for baseball, football, children and, most of all, the Lord. Kim (the mother) and I grew close while writing the Bible curriculum for the 4 and 5 year old Bible classes at Henderson. From there everything just grew. Our children adore each other, even though there is a 10 year difference between Katy and Carter. I am so glad that my children have such good BIG friends as Katy and Daniel are to them. We were able to sit by each other during Tuesday's afternoon game and just being with them the past 3 days made the trip very special.

Something New . . .

We are headed for Altanta, GA, on Monday. We are all very excited. We just happened upon some great tickets for the Braves games against the Mets - 3 games in 2 days, my kids think they are close to heaven!!! We are in some great seats, thank you Stub Hub!!! Anyways, we are going to attempt to listen to Prince Caspian on CD while we are in the car. Crazy, I know. However, my 4 and 6 year old love "scripture" (chapter) books. We are always reading one, and they are on MAJOR Narnia kick right now. I found the book on tape on ITunes and put it on CD last night. Are there any of you out there who have done this before? Where do you get your books on CD? Do your kids like them? ITunes had a TON of kids books on there, so I was just curious. We shall see and I will report back on Thursday!

School's Out for Summer!

This is Laura Beth on August 2, 2007. It was her first day of Kindergarten. I love the way she is against the door so you can see how tall she is. Laura Beth had a great year in Kindergarten. She grew in so many different ways. We were blessed to have such a wonderful teacher as Mrs. Kim and her assistant, Mrs. Sandy.
This is Laura Beth on May 16, 2008. Today was her last day of Kindergarten. I wanted her to stand in the same spot to see how much she had grown over the year. I don't think I got the best angle, but oh well. We went today to pick up report cards and to say good-bye. However, we got GREAT news . . .
Mrs. Kim is looping!!! That means that Laura Beth will be with Mrs. Kim and her whole class again for 1st grade in the fall, Lord willing. They will get to stay in the same room as this year. We are so thankful that the Lord has already answered a prayer for next year, a wonderful teacher for Laura Beth!! Laura Beth is so excited and has been telling everyone she knows!!
Mrs. Sandy will also get to move with the class. What a joy she is to all of us!! We could not ask for a better team of teacher/assistant for our dear Laura Beth. Now we plan on sitting back and enjoying each other's company for the next 2 and a half months!

Book Review: The Prophet

Francine Rivers has written a series of books entitled Sons of Encouragement. There are 5 books in this series which take a look at different men of the Bible. This book is the fourth in the series (although there is no particular order in which to read them) and it is about the prophet Amos. It took me some time to get into the book, but once I put myself into the book, I really enjoyed it. We don't study the prophets a lot in our churches and we miss so much by doing this. Mrs. Rivers has taken the book of Amos from the Bible and written a background and behind the scenes for us. She is quick to mention in her introduction that this is a book of historical fiction, but includes information from the Bible as well as secular history. The book helped me to see what a tough job the prophets really had as they went to tell God's messages. What I enjoyed most about the book, was at the end of the story there is a brief section of 6 studies that require you to open your Bible, look at the word for yourself and apply what Amos said to the people of Israel to your life. I look forward to getting some more books from this series and becoming more encouraged to stand strong and firm in what I believe.

Book Review: Twelve Extraordinary Women

I have just finished the book and workbook by John MacArthur entitled Twelve Extraordinary Women. I really enjoyed reading this book and working through the work book; although, I must confess that it has taken me a good 4-5 months to finish this book. For 2-3 months I would use this book just 5-10 minutes a day at the end of my Bible study time. I would read a section of the chapter I was in and then work through the workbook answering questions that pertained to that section. Once I clearly focused my Bible study time on this book, I worked through it much faster!!! The book highlights Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Mary, Anna, the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Lydia. History is given on each character from the Bible, but Mr. MacArthur also does a good job going back and giving his reader social background and secular history that helps you understand some of these significant characters even more. The workbook can be overwhelming, but is a great way to enhance your reading of the book. I found, as I went along, that it was best for me to read a section of the chapter and then go through the workbook answering the questions that went along with what I had just read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. As with anything written by man, we must check everything against the Bible to make sure it is accurate, but I found the study encouraging reminding me that God can use and wants to use anyone who is willing to give all for Him. If you would like to buy this book or workbook, you can go to this website to purchase it.

Paper Bag Scrapbooks

To begin making a paper bag scrapbook, you will 2 or 3 lunch size paper bags. You will place them in opposite directions (as seen in the picture) and place them on top of each other.
When you have placed the bags on top of each other, fold the bags in half to form a book (see above picture). Once the bags are folded, you can sew a straight line right up on the side near the fold (see below picture). You can also punch 2-3 holes in the sides and run ribbon through the holes to hold it together.
Once you have the bags put together, you may use scrapbook paper and accessories to decorate the different pages of your book. The only limit is your imagination!!
Some pages will have an opening on the side. From this opening, you can cut a piece of cardstock (the size will depend on the size paper bag, so you will need to measure yours) that is decorated as well. (see above picture) Some bags I have made will have a piece of ribbon or fancy fiber attached to the end to use as a pull.
Though not shown, you can even place pictures and decorations on the back cover if you so desire.

This book shown was made by my good friend, Kim, who happens to be Laura Beth's Kindergarten teacher. She used the books to record different events over the school year. We started making these 3 years ago for our Vacation Bible School Preschool classes. We had drama centers each night where the kids could dress up and act out the part of the story we had heard that night. We took pictures at this center each night and placed the pictures in the paper bag scrapbooks. At the end of the week, the children took them to home and used them to review that week's lessons. We added pictures, die cuts and captions to the books. The parents love them just as much as the children do, so we have begun gathering and assembling them for this year. The great thing about these books are you can do them for any kind of theme. I have made a Mother's Day one for my mom, a baseball one, an FHU one, etc. The possiblities are endless and all you need are 2 paper bags.

Surprise Visit from Cousins

Johnathan and Carter
Laura Beth and Addison
Addison (3), Johnathan (5), Laura Beth (6) and Carter (4)
Addison swings
Carter, Laura Beth and Addison

Yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from Dustin and Rebecca (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law) who said they were coming into town. They asked if they could drop the kids off to play and, of course, we said yes. The cousins, who are 6, 5, 4, and 3, always love a chance to play with each other and live for seeing each other. Therefore, it was a big treat to get to play - even if it was only for a few hours.

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day was a blessing, again, this year. I have really tried as a mother to know my children and their likes as well as dislikes. I have also tried to develop a relationship with my children so they know me as well. This year I was given by Laura Beth a description of me and I smiled because my daughter knows me inside and out!! Here is her description of her mother.

Laura Beth's Mom

My mom's name is Becky.

She is 30 years old.

She has black hair and brown eyes.

My mom cooks the best chicken nuggets for me.

My mom really loves the Braves especially Chipper.

My mom and I like to play Uno Attack.

My mom's favorite clothes to wear are Alabama and Braves shirts.

She likes to eat fruit and Sonic milkshakes.

My mom is beautiful because she takes good care of me, Carter and Daddy.

Carter's Sunday school teachers made flowers for each child to give his/her mother. On one pedal it said, "Thank you for . . . . . letting me sleep with my sister," and on another pedal it said, "I love you for . . . . . cooking." In the middle there is a cupcake wrapper with Carter's picture in it. He was so proud of his special gift. I will treasure all their little tokens of love for many years to come.

FHU Graduation

Saturday was Graduation at FHU. We had a few of "our" kids who walked across the stage and on to different stages of their lives. One graduated from graduate school and is off to Michigan. Many graduated and are moving on to get jobs in their desired fields. One is getting married and starting grad school. We have been blessed beyond measure because of these students. May God bless them in all they do and may they always keep Him first.

Game Ball Winner!!

Our little LB won the game ball from her softball game last night. She was just thrilled!! She made contact each time but went 2 for 3, 2 RBBIs and scored 2 runs!! She also was a good listener to her coaches as she played in the field and ran the bases! She is loving it and we are just glad she is having fun!

Field Day

Total concentration on the egg race
3 of her best buddies - Tyler C., Kendyl and Lillie
At the playground

Class tug of war
3 Muskateers - Lillie, Laura Beth and Kendyl
Potato Sack Races
Shelby T and Laura Beth
Such good friends

We were finally able to have Field Day on Friday - it only took 3 tries due to the weather. Damon, as always, was a dear and took the morning shift. Then I went in at lunch while Mom stayed with Carter and Kealeigh. I appreciate both of them for helping!! Fun was had by all. I think the kids just enjoyed being able to play and be together one last time before school is out!