Has Nature Made You a Giver?

If Nature has made you for a giver;

your hands are born open, and so is your heart;

and though there may be times when your hands are empty,

your heart is always full, 

and you can give things out of that - 

warm things, kind things, sweet things - 

help and comfort and laughter - 

and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.

- A Little Princess

At the Ol' Ballgame!!!!!

The birthday boy deemed the party a success.  Once we got to the field it was a very easy party - feed the kids and let them play!!!  Fun was had by all and I think these pictures prove it!

BFFs - Carter and Hunter strike a pose

I know this is blurry but NONE of them were standing still.
I had to put this picture in there because this is our family!

Carter is so blessed to have such wonderful friends!
Someone commented and said this looks like a casting call for a new Sandlot movie!

Ryan is always so good to Carter!

Tucker, Pearce and Carter

Each all-star left with a bag of baseball tattoos, a bat filled with gumballs and a bag of sunflower seeds. I realized later that I did not get a picture (oops) of them!  Despite that, we had a wonderful time celebrating a wonderful child!

Happy 8th Birthday, Carter!

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Because of Carter's peanut allergy, we can't have all the typical baseball foods at his baseball party, but we got as close as we could.  Brian McCann bobble head and statue held down the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburg Pirates napkins for the guests to choose from after they chose to be a part of the American League with a Texas Ranger plate or part of the National League with an Atlanta Braves plate.  Hot dogs and all the toppings as well as chips were devoured by the all-star children.

Cupcakes made by Gran, Cathy and myself were enjoyed by the all-stars as well.  Thanks to Jennifer Hart, from Hart to Heart Designs, for the amazing labels used throughout the food table.  They were great! She also designed the invitations - which I cannot get to come up on the blog right now.

For the managers (adults) and all-stars who did not like hot dogs, we had HERO subs.  Carter chose his favorite HEROES from baseball past.  So, we all enjoyed Jackie Robinson subs (ham and turkey with Colby Jack cheese), Hank Aaron subs (ham and turkey with cheddar cheese) and Willie Mays subs (roast beef with white American cheese) along with all the toppings for those as well.

The eating part did not last long as the kids were anxious to get back on the field to play ball.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

All guests to Carter's 8th birthday party received a ticket designed specifically for this party (which I cannot get the picture to upload correctly!! Grr . . .).  Guests from ages 3-90 all came with their baseball gear and were ready to play some ball.

Not many can say their 90 year old Great Grandfather pitched at their birthday party!!!

Hunter and Evan give their commentary on the happenings at the party.

Graddy pitches for the Home Run Derby contestants out in the outfield

I was a bit concerned that not everyone would want to play ball as long as Carter would!!!! However, I did have a tough time calling them in for food! They all wanted to be on the field!!!

Dear Carter,

I can't believe you are going to be eight!!!! Where has time gone?  I remember the day you were born and how concerned we were with all the problems you had after your birth.  However, one would never know it by looking at you now.

This year at has been another great year for you.  You have kept playing baseball (all year long) as well as soccer last fall.  This spring we told you to choose between fall baseball and fall soccer.  You chose baseball.  You were FINALLY able to go Mid-South Youth Camp as a junior camper, and, for someone, who won't spend the night away from home unless you HAVE to, you say you are ready to spend the night.  (We shall see.)  Another big first for you this year, was participating in worship service at church.  The youth group led the worship service one night and you led the opening song.  You really thought you had arrived and we were so proud of you for getting up there!!!  You have also led songs before the devotional on Wednesday night and we are so proud of the decisions you have made to become a young man for the Lord.  

I tell people you really keep me on my toes because I never know what is going to come out of your mouth or what you are going to do.  However tired it makes me, I can't imagine my life without you!  You are so thoughtful of others.  At school you always befriend those who need a friend and encourage those who need a kind word.  I call you MY Barnabas because you always encourage me and lift my spirits right when I need it.   While this makes me happy, hearing from others that you do the same thing for other people makes my heart soar.  I hope you ALWAYS continue to do this.  You are such a good friend to those your own age as well as those who are younger than you.  I also love your relationship with the BIG guys.  You are quick to tell anyone that Hunter is your best friend and that you want to be just like him when you grow up.  Go for it!!!! You could not have picked a better example and we all LOVE watching the two of you interact with each other.  I know you were both so glad to see each other last night - FINALLY!

We are just so proud of you.  We are proud of the way you treat people.  We are proud of your desire to do things for God.  We are proud of the way you play ball and how you know sooooo much about it.  We are proud of all your hard work in school.  We are proud of you!  I don't know why God chose ME to be your mother but I am so glad He did.  You have blessed our lives in so many different ways and I can't wait to see what all He has in store for us in the years ahead.

I love you!

Momma

And Now All is Right with The World

because these two are back together.

What poor Carter probably has not realized is that he is experiencing his "lasts" with Hunter this year.  Hunter will graduate in May and I don't know what this little guy is going to do.  However, we are not going to dwell on that right now (don't need tears on the first day of school).  We are going to LOVE this year and cherish precious moments like this.

OUR FAMILY IS COMPLETE AND WE ARE SOO HAPPY!

He Who Tolled the Bell

Pop had another BIG day today.  FHU honored him in their first chapel service of the new year.  The past few years they have selected someone who has given to FHU to be the Master of the Bell.  This person gives a short speech and then rings the bell (one of the first school bells from FHU) one time for every decade the school has been in existence.  The freshmen are also honored and take the following pledge:

As I become a student, I will honor the Christian heritage of Freed-Hardeman University.

As I strive to live the Christian ideals of this university, I will seek excellence in all my pursuits.

As I join the alumni of Freed-Hardeman University, I will leave a legacy of service for those students who follow.

It was a lovely day for a lovely man.  So glad we were able to be there to help him celebrate.

Walking In . . .

President Wiley and Papa

Tolling the bell 14 times (or a few more)

It was a great day! Thank you, FHU!

Getting Closer to Being Back Together

Well, our little world is beginning to get back to normal.  We have missed our college kids so much this summer.  We took the leaf out of the table this summer and when we sat down for the first time Carter declared that it was weird.  I believe his exact words were, "What is wrong with this table?"  So, needless to say, we are glad they are starting to trickle in.  The past two Sundays have just been filled with wonderful sounds of laughter and voices that have been missing.  I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Possibly the BEST silly face picture we have EVER taken!

Carter was glad Seevers was there so he wouldn't be the only boy!

The girls!!!

So glad they are making their way back!!!!!

We are GLOWING with excitement!!!!

It is that time of year again!!!!

SOCCER SEASON

has officially begun and we are just so excited

we are glowing a 

BRIGHT ORANGE color!!!

I mean, seriously, we get the WORST colors EVER!!!  There was last year where we were florescent yellow (with hunter green and black - ew!), before blogging we were peach with navy blue - sounds ok, but looked HORRIBLE!, and it just continues.  However, the girls are great and Cathy and I are the "lucky" ones who get to coach them.  The AYSO was obviously desperate because I have never coached (or played) soccer a day in my life!!!  We have had fun though and that is what counts.  That and how cute do these girls look here is this picture waiting for their second - yes, I said SECOND - game of the day!!!!

Let's Go, Firecrackers!!!

L2L Kick-off

We had our church's big L2L kick-off the other night.  Everyone dressed in their football gear and the line-ups were called out telling us who was going to lead us to victory!!!!  We tailgated with some great food and fellowship as we signed up for the different events we were going to participate in this upcoming year!  I did not get many pictures but here are a few of the wonderful night we had!

crowd waiting as our "team" was called out during the starting line-up!

Mrs. Debbie cheered for everyone holding her "John 3:16" sign!
This was the best part of the night!

Even though we root for different teams during college football season, in life we are on the same team!!!  I love Arika even though I DON'T love that jersey she has on!!!

No, I Did Not Drop Off the Face of the Earth . . .

instead I landed in a third grade classroom a week after school started!

Yes, I am back teaching. Never thought I would do that, but I am.  I will write more about it later but I have a lot to catch up on here at the blog.  So . . . hang tight . . . please pray for me and my family as we make this transition and maybe this week I can catch you all up on my life!

An Apple Lunch for the Teacher

We have always been so blessed to have such wonderful teachers for our children.  We have always had that at the top of our prayer lists and I know God has heard and answered those prayers.  We always try to make the teachers feel special and to let them know Damon and I are behind them 100%.  This year, we thought we might do something a bit different for our teachers the first full day of school.  We mades some of the same things we had for our Apple of My Eye supper and put them in baskets for the teachers to enjoy.  My sis-in-law, Amy, helped me pick out the baskets (there were too many cute ones to choose from) but we decided to continue the color theme from the supper.

An Apple for the Teacher Lunch Basket:

yellow and white daisies

line green silverware tied in a red napkin

chicken salad

(I put the chicken salad in a clear cup then placed that in a clear bag tied at the top.)

Bistro crackers

Sister Shubert rolls

(both the crackers and the rolls were placed their own clear bag tied at the top)

an apple

a slice of apple cake

We hope our teachers enjoyed their special lunches and, more importantly, that we love them and are lifting them up in prayer each day!

The Apples of MY Eye

I sent my "little" ones off to school today.  They are not so little anymore, but they are still my babies (and always will be).  

Carter is off to second grade!!!  He has the new teacher (our new minister's wife) and his adopted grandmother from last year, Mrs. Stella.  He has a classroom FULL of his friends and he is ready for a great year!!!

Laura Beth has graduated to the MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!! That is fourth and fifth grade here.  She has one of our dear friends, Diane Holdren, as her teacher.  She is so excited! She always has said she wanted Ms. Diane and that Ms. Diane would probably scream when she saw her name on the roster.  Well, she did!!!!  Laura Beth is continuing with four of her friends that she has been with for the last FOUR years as well as a few others.  All three elementary schools have merged into this school, so there are a lot of kids in her class she does not know.  We have faith in her though!

You are the apple of my eye!

That's why you'll always be in my heart!"

- Stevie Wonder

LB with Ms. Diane (or Ms. Holdren as we now have to call her)

Carter and Mrs. Judy

Carter and Mrs. Stella - his class' grandmother