My trip to Canada

My wonderful trip to Canada with my children was sooo wonderful. Here are some highlights of our trip


At the beach with Nanny and Grampy.

My adorable kids.. At my most favorite place on earth

Loving the beach

This is my favorite spot. I used to spend a lot of time just staring at this beautiful ocean.

Playground time :-D

This is Riley with my cousin's son, Rylan. He is 4 months younger than Riley

One of the highlights of this trip was getting to spend time with my 92 year old grandfather

My buddy enjoying time on the deck

I had my birthday while we were there.. Great time!

My parents had visitors in the back yard.. Deer!!! Mommy and Baby.........

My boy loved spending some nice time with his Aunts and his grandparents

Doesn't she look happy??????

This was in front of the place they dubbed "The Secret Garden".. Cute

Beautiful flowers from my mom's garden.. So gorgeous!!!

We got him!!

Dan's 40th birthday is June 9th and soo I wanted to make it extra special for him this year. Since February I have been planning a surprise party for him at church and been begging friends from all over to send cards... We wound up with a decent number and his sister came and made a BEAUTIFUL board with pictures on it as well as two wonderful cakes.. The church people all came together and did food.. It was WONDERFUL!!! Enjoy the shots! The photo board Lynn made.. What an adorable guy!

Cards from all over.. You all still have until the 9th :-D

Of course the cake had to be orange and blue :-D

Riley helped blow out the candles

Don't ya think he looks happy??? And not a day over 39 :-D Just kidding... It was great fun!!!

Girls Night out!

We had the best time last night and I just had to share with you!! My sisters bought Karyss tickets to see Mary Poppins for her birthday. We had the best time.. Our friends Joy and Karis were able to go with us. We had a yummy supper out and then went to the play which was spectacular!!! What a great time!! Highly recommended!


Me and My girl

Joy and Karis

Karyss and Karis

Me and my girl

Pretty girl.. all dressed up

Riley does school work

Hi... Riley and I started doing some "school" at home today just for fun and learning right now.. I would love to hear from other moms out there what you have used for 3 and 4 year olds and what works well.
Just had to share the pictures!!!

A quiet day of prayer and reflection

Dan will just love that I found these photos to post but it is kind of neat that they are sooo similar in pose and location.. Can you tell which baby is Riley and which one is Karyss???

Today we are just having a quiet day.. It is overcast outside and inside we are just having a calm day. We plan to go to the library later but for now Daddy is at a Men's prayer breakfast and we three are here together . The quiet of this morning is giving me pause to reflect on the past years of my life in ministry and as the wife of Dan and mother of Karyss and more recently, Riley... So many things have happened and I am trying to remind myself that God has always been and will continue to be in control. At this time we are facing an uncertain future and my tendency is to worry and fret but I am trying to remind myself of God's constant overseeing of our lives and that His plan is best rather than try to stick my hands in and stir things up myself... That is so hard for me... I want to "Show God" what to do.. Isn't that ridiculous????

For now, I am enjoying the calm quiet and my children as they play...

What Have I gotten myself into???

*** UPDATE**** Well, I made a complete fool of myself and cried during the poem.. UGH!! What a disaster.. But the luncheon was nice

I had to include this picture of Karis and Karyss as the poem I am referencing below is about little girls .. Please read on.

Well now I have really done it :-D

I have volunteered myself to read a poem at our Mother Daughter Luncheon tomorrow.. I have been trying to prepare myself but those of you who know me know that public speaking is NOT my thing and I am more likely to cry than anything else.. Of course the poem is also a very emotional one... See what you think

Tea for Three

Come sit with me and we'll have tea

And talk of things that were and things that are to be

Of places we will go and things we will see

Just the two of us, my dear daughter and me

A little wooden table

With chairs for two, not three

Yes, of course you may bring your bear

and place him on your knee

No longer just the two of us

It's tea for three I see

My dear daughter, the bedraggled bear and me

The years passed be and you grew up

Framed in memory I still see

Cherub hands, dimpled daintily, clutching ivory cup of tea

Twinkle laughter owns the moment

Baby faced and full of glee

Starshine dusted by the angels

Oh, God's gracious gift to me!

If I live to be a hundred

I shall never richer be

Than when I shared your dazzling presence

And together we sipped tea

My dear daughter, the bedraggled bear and Me!

Lee Scott C 1998

Hope you all will be praying for me tomorrow as I attempt to get myself through it!!

Let me know what you think of the poem

It's been awhile again.....

It's been a little while since I have posted again. Here are some photos from our spring visit from Mom and Dad and my sister Lori as well as a picture from our trip to Florida where we saw Shelley my sister.

All of us minus Shelley on Easter Sunday

My two cuties on Easter morning

We ate Easter dinner on Saturday which made for a relaxed Easter Sunday YAY!!!

So nice to have family round on Easter

Riley enjoyed having his Grampy to play with!!!

SOOO glad to have seen Shelley in Florida.. The kids really love her! (and we do too)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Hey.. I think I have a theme going here with Hymn titles...
That is truly one of my favorite hymns.. As I mentioned in my last entry that is also one of my favorite verses..
In these days of turmoil in this country and lots of worry and fears in the minds of people, it is nice to remember that the Lord is in control of each situation... It is sooo easy to complain and murmur against things going on but why is it soooo hard to say "Let's commit to praying about it. "? Does anyone else feel that way?? Thank you , God, for Your continued faithfulness to us..

How Great Thou Art

I am just sitting here reflecting on the Goodness of God and listening to a beautiful rendition of "How Great Thou Art".. We are so blessed and I am sooo grateful for the goodness of God.. I have watched with awe and prayer a possible tragic circumstance unfold in the life of a friend this week (see withsometack.blogspot.com) and have seen answered prayer and the grace of God in the life of this family... It has caused me to look back on the circumstances surrounding my son and my pregnancy with him and how gracious God was to allow him to be born with no defects and prove the testings incorrect.. I know every day people receive devastating diagnoses and test results and I don't think we spend enough time just thanking God when things are going well in our life.
How GREAT You are God... I thank you.

Another verse that I cannot get away from in the last few weeks is " It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness" Lamentations 3:22-23

I am just soo thankful and so blessed.

I would love to hear how God is working in your life.. Feel free to post a favorite verse or blessing

Look what we did today!!!

And yes.. For those of you who are wondering.. We do still live in Georgia :-D

Preparations.....

We are starting to get excited here!!! In less than a week we will be in Florida.. Now if only the weather would cooperate... My sister Shelley will be there too. We are so excited and Karyss is counting down the days. So wonderful that she has a break from school while Mom and Dad are in Florida. I am looking sooo forward to it.. Now if I could just get myself motivated to clean house and pack!!

New challenges

Today we took the poor boy for allergy tests. This grouping was for environmental allergies. He will have food allergy tests in one month. So now we have new challenges. My poor son is allergic to dogs, dust mites, Oak, birch , maple and hickory tree pollen, timothy grass, rogweed pollen and english plantain pollen as well as 5 kinds of mold. So my new challenge is killing mold and mildew. We don't have a lot of it in our home but of course to keep it out of here is the big trick and the dust mites... Lots of things to consider.. Poor baby was such a trooper with three groupings of needles to test him and then six additional on his arm.. It's probably really good there is a month before we have the next round.

Stages of change at our house.....

Our God certainly has a sense of humor. We are going through different stages at our house.. Of course, that is what happens when you have a young lady entering her tweens.......

And a little boy who is STILL potty training (This has not come easily for us!! UGH!)

So I could just sit and cry and wring my hands or I suppose I could actually seek God and ask HIM for help.. It has been a rough few months with Karyss.. We are struggling in many areas and the poor dear is just a mess at this point. I am very excited about a book I was able to find to help her through this time..

As for Riley, we are just being consistent and I think he is training me. I am tied to the clock and running to the potty to make sure we make it in time.. We are progressing.. Strange to have such a large gap and see what a difference it makes.... God knows best. It was His plan for them to be this far apart but.. I guess we just have to get through each stage

I am excited to see what lies ahead for my sweet children.....

Riley's big week

Wow!! What a week it has been. Riley had outpatient surgery on Tuesday. He is fine now and recovering but I am so grateful for God's hand on him. Mommy was quite nervous.. It is at these times that I really need to take a moment and reflect on all God has done and how He continues to care for us..
Now on to Allergy skin tests on Monday. YAY :-(



Riley reading up on Anesthesia in the waiting room..

Just after the nurse gave him some versed to calm him during the procedure

Feeling the effects.. The sweet little lion was given to him by the nurse.. Isn't that sweet. He calls him "Lance a lion"