pray

II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land".

Hope that you all prayerfully went to the polls today..........God bless America

speed racer

Sunday night was the AWANA Grand Prix at church. Jordan and Tom built his car. It is only allowed to weigh 5 oz. When we got there it only weighed 4 so here's Jordan adding more weight to his car before he checked it in.....

Then they took it in to registration where once the cars were on the table they could not be altered in any way...

His is the black one in the middle. Then it was time to race. You'll see Jordan putting his car on the yellow track. He's number 8

He was in 4 races and won one. So he got to go on to a semi final race. But in the end he lost, but had a great time trying. Now the car is a great toy to shoot around the house and scare the dog with!

knock out

PUT EM UP!!!!!!!!!!Watch out for this tough guy..........look at those six pack abs! How'd you get that shiner (wasn't Cody honest)Here's Jordan with his treasure for the night. Cody was in charge of handing out candy (all six pieces of it since that's all the trick or treaters we got) He stood by the window all night with great anticipation waiting for the knock on the door. It was pretty funny. Hope everyone had a great halloween. Time to decorate for thanksgiving!

treats

Okay bring on the trick or treaters.......Jordan and I made this cool halloween bowl out of yarn and fabric stiffner. We are ready for the little gobblins.

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

Some of our spooky pumpkins......

tomorrow's the big trick or treat........ time to just sit back and wait for the sugar rush!

snow in october?

Well, it was inevitable...........it snowed today As you can see it wasn't inches and inches but it was snow all the same.

Just enough for Snickers to roll in! I don't even have the kids' snow stuff out yet....

our ever changing world

Let me begin by apoligizing to my faithful blog viewers. I know that it has been awhile since I have posted here. Our world is changing here so rapidly that I haven't had the chance to figure everything out yet. Let's see......We got a new computer. I have not figured out all the bells and whistles yet but slow and steady I am sure that I will. I am still working out the kinks of getting pictures into my computer from my camera. Bear with me. Email has been a challenge also but I think that I am getting the hang of it.
Other goings on in our house, Cody is in public school now. He is in 8th grade at the junior high. (Next year high school! UGH) So far it has been going well. We have all had some adjusting to do. Getting the bus, lunch money, homework, ect. I have had to go school clothes shopping! Cody even attended his first school dance on friday. It was a halloween dance. (Help me, I am not ready for this) Jordan is still being homeschooled and really benefitting from the one on one lessons. He goes to a homeschool gym class on wednesdays with a bunch of other kids so that is good for him. He went to a hallwoeen party last night at his friend Dylan's house. We have one more fall ball baseball game (thank goodness because we are freezing at them). Before you know it Thanksgiving will be here.

kitchen duty

I got this recipe in an email and decided to try it. Southern tea cakes..... Okay so they aren't cakes, they're pumpkins but they are yummy just the same.

Autumn Hayride

Jordan went on a hayride last week with his AWANA group from church.

They rode for awhile and then it stopped and they got to get out and pick a pumpkin to bring home...

Here he is with his "prize possession!

No they didn't eat them afterwards, but they did get some yummy ice cream..... mint chocolate chip!

birthday

Saturday we went to my brother Dayne's house to celebrate our niece's birthday's. It's always fun when we go there.
Uncle Tom giving horseback rides.......

Alexis getting excited over birthday presents.....
Then it was time for Tom to have his first try at the Wii.....
Of course he had to try bowling. Such form and grace. he needed a longer approach but I think he still managed to get some strikes. Madisyn whipped up on him in carnival games though! It's alot of fun. We spent some time around the fire then it was time to head for home.

exploring

Jordan and I spent friday afternoon exploring a new walking trail that we found at the park. So nice to be out in nature, in the peace and quiet..... Of course Jordan just loved exploring all the neat things he could find. Can you say "King of the mountain"? or maybe it's just a pile of really big rocks....fun just the same
One of his favorite pastimes, climbing trees
he tried to swing on these vines like George of the jungle but they just pulled right out of the trees.
He also found tons of coal, some really nice pieces too. To him it was like finding gold! Next time he's going to bring a bag!

snacks

With the "stress" (what stress) of starting school and seeing summer come to a close it was time for a run to the ice cream store! Jordan digs in to a double scoop in a cup (yea, less mess) While Cody opts for a shake.
I think it was really just an excuse to get ice cream! happy back to school everyone!

Doggie Swim

Labor day evening our local pool has a special doggie swim every year. So we decided to see how Snickers would do.

As you can see he loved it. He walked over to the 12 feet and dove right in! I had to get in and help him out. We went over to the 5 feet and he chased a ball for a good half an hour. There was another dog neaby that kept stealing his ball! like kids on a playground! Here he's trying to figure out who Cody is (since he's wearing goggles) Snickers did not want to get out of the Pool!

sadness

This past sunday our family lost a beloved member. My Aunt Helga (in the middle of the picture with the hat on) lost her battle with cancer. She was a beautiful person inside and out. We will all miss her very much. She always had a way of making you smile. Rest in peace.

haircut

We just got these photos of our nephew DJ after he got his first haircut. Life doesn't get much sweeter than this!

NALC

Sunday we went to the Letter Carriers Union picnic. It's always a lot of fun. Here's Tom getting soooo excited to be at the picnic! He's praying for a good day! HA For him the best part is over...the food! They have tons of stuff for the kids to do. looks like Jordan beat out the competition!
Cody's getting ready for the sack race. They use priority mail sacks for the race! He and Jordan both played. The winner gets $2 and each participant gets $1. Jordan and I tried the parent child one where we had to each have one leg in the sack. it was so funny, I kind of put him on my hip and dragged him to the finish line!
Next up was the peanut on the spoon race..... harder then it looks but they also got a dollar for that so to them it was worth it! Cody and Tom won the water balloon toss and each got $5 (which Tom promptly gave to Jordan, don't want to start any fights)
They both went for a pony ride...Giddy up!
While Tom and I sat on a swing by the river and enjoyed the "peace and quiet"!Jordan did the only boy thing left to do......Play in the mud and climb a tree!

Day at the museum

We took Aunt Martha to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the Carnegie museum on friday. Here they are about to be eaten......Look Out! Cody and Jordan tried their hand at being Native Americans......needs a little work (I don't think they wore plaid!)
The best part for the boys was seeing the BUGS up close.....

And of course the poisionous snakes. (Jordan still swears he saw a king cobra at camp!)

Sports camp

Jordan had sports camp every evening this week. It a lot of fun. It's put on by a church nearby. Obviously he choose soccer. They also have cheerleading and basketball. We couldn't convince Jordan to join cheerleading. they talk each night about a sports hero who is a christian and have bible study. Jordan got a prize for completing each nights bible study.

Back to school party

Aunt Martha is here visiting from South Carolina. So we had the annual Back to school party for the kids. They played in Nunnies back yard with water balloons, a bean bag toss, and musical chairs. Then everyone made party hats and had delicious cookies that Chloe made (they were yummy, thanks Chloe) and some ice cream. Then it was time for the gathering of the troops for one last picture!