The Green House

Notes From Addie...

2010-05-29T09:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Addie was busy doing all kinds of art projects,
and as I was cleaning up some of the mess, I found these notes.

I thought they were so sweet and wanted to share them.

I hope Allen looks at the blog today!! :)

It only takes a spark...

2010-05-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Is this a backyard Bible club?

It just might be by the end of the summer!

We have been praying for several of our neighbors and sharing
The Gospel whenever we are given an opportunity.

This late night marshmallow roast,
was one of those times.

Allen played his guitar,
and he even had a request for, Sweet Home Alabama! ;)

This is my mission field,
and I am praying for a fruitful summer.

Allen was the only daddy there and because of that,
he received much of the children's attention.
They all wanted to make him a special S'mores!

You know he loves sweets,
but this was an OVERLOAD even for him!

Daddies are so important,
and that was very obvious that night!

It is not always easy making your
home in an apartment complex,
but while we are here I want to be
found faithful to share
The Gospel with all who will listen.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going, right...?

Pray for us to be ablaze with His Glory
as we go into our backyard this summer,
and tell others of Jesus and His love for them.
I am especially praying for my own
children to seek Him with their whole heart.

We are committing to memory Psalm 119 this summer,
and it has already been such a blessing in my own life.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE...(AND IS STILL DOING)

Audrey Nella Gets A New Dress...

2010-05-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

We went shopping the other day to find Aaron a new suit

and found little girl dresses on sale.
I really liked a pink & green one, but Audrey Nella chose this one.

She was so excited to wear it today and I thought it looked great with her eyes

This picture is SO Aaron it makes me laugh...

and this one also

I held and rocked her the other day,
just amazed at how fast she has grown up.

She's almost out of my arms.

I was going to write a few more things about her,

but she just came down from the nap

she was SUPPOSE to be taking...

(Oh well, maybe she'll let me rock her again!!! :)

Spring Time Fun...

2010-04-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Audrey can swing all by herself!

We are very proud of her and she loves that she doesn't need any help!

If you ever want to spend time with our family,
come to the Chickamauga Battlefield!
We picnic there at least three times a week!

She loves to jump on our neighbors trampoline!

Our morning...taking it one moment at a time

2010-04-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

Addie with her toilet paper wrapped money gifts!

Eating Aunt Jenny's coleslaw

Aaron dressed Audrey

This is a very hard season of life right now, Audrey Nella is a very, whinny two year old(I think she cries every time I talk to her). Aaron wants to be with Allen all the time and cries when he leaves for work, and Addie is just up and down emotionally lately,
BUT...I am so thankful that I have not missed any of these crazy days,
or any of these great moments:

Addie wrapped up some of her money in toilet paper and tape, and gave it to me for my early birthday gift. She told me that she had been loving all that money she had saved at Grammy's. She said that she knew that money was not bad, but that loving it was a sin!

Aaron told me he loves when I listen to him with my eyes!

Audrey Nella gives the best hugs and pats your back when you pick her up!

I love these gifts form God!

This parenting stuff is not for the faint of heart, it is long hard days of consistently pointing them in the right direction, and consistently correcting them.
This is hard work and I look forward to bed every night
(I 'm already thinking about it right now).

I am praying and asking God for His wisdom concerning each of my children, so that I can show them the way of obedience, and if they still do not choose right, I am going to trust God!
Now... you have my permission to remind me of these things when the road gets rough! ;)

Enjoy the Children in your life today!

Happy Resurrection Day....

2010-04-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Cross cake I took to our friends house the other night

was not quite as pretty as this one

Allen iced for me today... :)

This morning while at Easter in the Park,

a little girl from our church

walked by and spotted Aaron.

As she came up to the blanket,

she said, "Hi do you remember me?"

Aaron smiled and said,

"of course I do Liberty"

She walked off and came back moments later

bringing a gift to Aaron,

I mean, she laid it at his feet

with this look in her eye, of total adornment!

It was a package of apple dippers from McDonald's,

she smiled, he smiled, then she walked off.

Coming back a second time

she asked to talk with us for a minute,

I said sure, and then it happened...

She looked up at me and said,

with her hand on her heart

(now imagine these words in a cute little country voice)

"he is my love, and one day I will marry him" ....

I said, "well let me get your picture,

since you're going to be part of my family."

Aaron was so shy, he would barley look

at the camera.

When she left I told him that

he was probably the nicest boy

in his class and that's why she

liked him so much,

and he said,

"well.....actually I'm not really that nice" ;)

Just a few pics of the mass of people that were there
It was a beautiful day and we were praising
The Lord for so many answers to prayers!
Though I wish I had taken more pics today,
I'm sure Cliff and the Media Team will
have all kinds of stuff posted this wk.
http://www.oakwoodbc.org/

And please pray for our Team that will be following up
on all of the decisions made on this beautiful Easter Sunday!

Egg Hunt At Poppy & Grammy's...

2010-04-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

This Week At The Green House...

2010-03-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Bibles & Barbies, you can't beat schooling on Mamma's bed! Me and Allen ;)

Audrey Nella busy playing doll house

and then there is this.....

They are both two edged Swords, so they belong together, Right??

Aaron thought so :)

Fun Time With New Friends...

2010-03-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Today we got to play with new friends Andrew and Olivia.
You can tell how much fun we had!
Can't wait to do it again guys!

Father Daughter Dinner & Dance...

2010-02-25T06:11:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful princess ;)

What a lady
putting on her clear lip gloss with sparkles

She was SO excited about her date with Daddy

This suit is from 9 years ago, so...
give Allen a hand for being able to pull this off!

I think he looks so handsome!

Look at that beautiful sky God gave us...
I can't wait to see Heaven!

She was so ready to get away from me and alone with her daddy

Aaron got emotional on us...
He said, "I have never seen Addie so pretty"

This one says it all...

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T16:07:00.001-08:00

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
Love suffers long and is kind;
love does not envy;
love does not parade itself,
is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely,
does not seek its own,
is not provoked,
thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity,
but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never fails.

1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

We started our Valentine's celebration yesterday with lunch out with Daddy and then Chattanooga Cupcakes!!
Very cute little place, but I wish one of Chattanooga's great photographers would go down there and take some good pics for them,
the website could use some good pics of their delicious cupcakes.
I would do it, for a dozen red velvet cupcakes, but they would laugh, when I showed up with my hand-me-down Kodak easy share Z740!

I know you guys are so jealous right now, but remember love does not envy!! ;)

They were SO yummy

This morning we read verses on LOVE while
eating cinnamon rolls with pink icing and drinking strawberry milk.
Allen and I bought each of them a small gift to show our love.
I felt bad about taking them to Sunday School all sugared up!

We all made love notes for each other throughout the month and put them in a decorated box.
After lunch today we opened the box, and read all of them out loud.
That's Allen reading mine ;) Aaron seals up everything he makes in an envelope :)

It was a beautiful day!

More Snowy Fun...

2010-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

Pictures of our church

You know you live in the country when....

the John Deere clears the church parking lot!!

I know Allen and Aaron wanted to drive it!!

they went to clear the church sidewalks,
looks like they played also!

What a good friend

Grieving With Hope Over Our Dear Friend Martha...

2010-01-29T16:40:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows our family very well,

knows how much we love and appreciate

our friend Martha.

She, with the strength The Lord gave her,

battled cancer with the hopes

of making a comeback.

Martha was a doer and sitting still

for treatments was not something

on her "To Do" list!

She always seemed to know when

the cupboard was bare around here,

and would bring over the best

Chicken and dumplings you've ever tasted

(better than Cracker Barrel!),

I would even eat them cold sometimes!

Of course, Allen and the kids especially liked

when she made snicker doodles,

sweet bread

(that's what we called it)

and banana bread!!

She always gave our children birthday cards,

and I think they thought she was for sure

one of their grandmas! ;)

Martha served The Lord with gladness,

and Thursday night

(on her 77th Birthday no less)

she won her battle with cancer and went home.

She will be missed by so many.

When we heard that she had

passed from this life into eternity,

Aaron said, "well, she is walking

in heaven now with Jesus."

Addie said, "She is not sick anymore,

but I'm still going to miss her,

she was one of my oldest friends."

I love that we can rejoice

that Martha suffers no more,

PRAISE BE TO GOD!!

2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather

to be absent from the body and

to be present with the Lord.

Snowy day and Addie's new look...

2010-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

Our little winter wonder land

They had so much fun playing in the snow

Addie got her "big girl" hair cut today!!

We came out to a van covered in snow!!

"Someones been sleeping in my bed", said Momma Bear!!!

Look how long Addie's hair was :(

More Of Aaron's Birthday Celebration...

2010-01-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

We had family over for cake and ice cream last night to celebrate Aaron's birthday!

It was fun watching all the kids play with the hamsters Grammy gave them.

Aaron really wanted to get that monster truck off the cake and play with it!

He decided last night that his buddy Cole should have that corner piece with the truck on it!

I really love the way he thinks of others!

Audrey would not stay away from the cheese balls

Aaron loves this card so much, he asks Addie to read it to him over and over!
He gave his horses to Addie, because he said the hair on them made them girls ;)
Addie loves them :)

Cousin Noah had fun playing with all the cool stuff

Addie lost another tooth and got paid for it!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Aaron Boy!!!

2010-01-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a fun filled weekend with Grandma and Aunt Angela

Grandma & Aaron celebrated their Birthday's at the KANI House

http://www.kanihouse.com/

It was a lot of fun and very very yummy!

Our Hibachi chef was really nice and kept saying, Happy Birthday and giving Aaron more rice!

He had a plate of leftovers, but

Grandma and I ate it for him the next day ;)

I wish I had more pictures from the weekend to show you how much we did!

5 mile hike with Aunt Angela and Lucy her boxer!!

(I didn't participate in that adventure!)

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at the Towne Lake Arts Center!!

(this was so fun and they sang "Happy Birthday" to Aaron!)

Thanks Aunt Angela and Grandma!!!!

The Whole Armor Of GOD....

2010-01-20T12:36:00.001-08:00

We ordered Aaron The Whole Armor of GOD with his G.G. (great grandmother in Cincinnati)

Christmas money and it was back ordered until a week ago.

Aaron has been watching out the window for the Big Brown Truck to bring him his package and today it came while we were gone!

He couldn't wait to get it all on and take his picture!

He used the box it came in as Satan and,well...it's obliterated!!

Addie used the packing paper for her art work :) She is so resourceful just like her Grammy!

1 John 3:8b

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

He likes his gift so much, he told me he didn't want to grow up, because he would not be able to wear it anymore. He said, "I know I will still want to wear this when I'm a daddy"!! :)
How cute is that??
He said, "If GOD gives me a son maybe he could wear it"
Ephesians 6: 10-20
Finally,be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth,

and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Back Yard That Was 1/2 Full...

2010-01-08T12:50:00.000-08:00

I love when my children (and the neighbors children) see things optimistically,

I kept saying there wasn't enough snow out there to have any fun with, and they kept insisting there was PLENTY!!!

I was seeing the back yard as 1/2 empty and they were seeing it 1/2 full!!!

I made hot chocolate for all the children in the backyard

(yes, we broke our "no sweets in January rule!) :)

and put all their hats, gloves and socks in the dryer for their next session in the snow!

It was so fun to watch them enjoy what little snow we got!

More Christmas Pics...

2010-01-03T07:05:00.000-08:00

I know this is crazy, but this is what my hair did the other night while we were in bed!

I made Allen go get the camera to document this crazy thing!

Allen said I must really love him, that even my hair makes hearts when he is near!!! :)

These are pics from Grandma's house

Do you think he liked his new Geo Trax??
Addie and Aaron already have a soft chair at Grandmas so this year Audrey got one!
and she loves her mixer

The beautiful Aunt Angela and her adoring fans!

Aaron cried when we left, he told Allen his heart was breaking!

Christmas Morning...

2009-12-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Handmade blankets from Pa & Nana

Aaron really wanted this robot arm thingy

With his G.G. money we bought him the full armor of God and this knight cape, the armor was back ordered, so he will be getting it later! :)

Addie got a ring from her daddy, I think she likes it!! :)

Audrey got several outfits with her G.G. money

Dogs with leashes are a big hit in our house!

Christmas prayer...I see some peaking!

Addie wants a real golden retriever,
but this is all she can have right now!

Addie reading the Christmas story from Luke 2

Silly Faces

Cute faces

I think she ate the top off of three cinnamon rolls!

Can you tell we love dogs right now??

We are very thankful for a wonderful Christmas!

The Good, The Bad and the Sassy...

2009-12-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

Every year I try to get the "perfect" picture for our Christmas card, and this is never easy.
This year we had some crying, pouting and even a belly ache by Audrey Nella.

I love my children, even when I don't get the "perfect" picture!

I hope you enjoyed looking at the good, the bad and the sassy! :)

It Snowed Last Night...

2009-12-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Giving Thanks In Mississippi...

2009-12-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

SO MUCH to be thankful for!

We made so many wonderful memories in Mississippi this Thanksgiving.

Here are a few shots that capture the joy we are still talking about.

Crazy Hair Pasta Day...

2009-11-22T10:53:00.000-08:00

Big Bowl of pasta 10.99

Pumpkin pie 5.00

Ratted, Spiked and Gelled Hair 5 minutes

Memory making with my family....PRICELESS

Does This Count As Homeschooling???

2009-11-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

This was a lunch table, a tent and then movie seats!

They love to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
Isn't that great? :)

For breakfast/lunch (brunch I guess) they ate a
whole bag of Tyson Chicken nuggets!

Green Family Trip To The Smoky Mountains...

2009-11-14T18:55:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed getting away to the mountains and spending time with Pa & Nana.

Most of the pictures are from their camera.

They took Addie, Aaron and Audrey for a day of adventure while Allen and I went on a date! :)

These might be from their trip to Fall Creek Falls,
but I thought they were really pretty!

It was a great trip!

Happy Harvest Day At The Green House..

2009-10-31T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like we will be too sick to go to our church tonight for Harvest Happenings,

so we decided to let them dress up in some of their costumes and knock on our bedroom doors to get candy.

Looking Back At Summer...

2009-10-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Bath Time With Audrey Nella...

2009-10-28T16:55:00.000-07:00

It's Fall Ya'll...

2009-10-20T17:41:00.001-07:00

Addison Storey Green Turns Six!!!

2009-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Homemade cards

Writing her thank you cards :) Homemade decorations

She picked out her own cake at Food Lion

For all the family members who look at this, I'm sorry this is it!! :)

She is worth way more than these few pictures her pitiful mom took today!!

She will be having a BIG party on Saturday with her Poppy, and I'm sure there will be more pictures then!

Field Trip Friday..Boys Only Edition....

2009-09-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Allen was going to do this post, but he has been too busy, so I thought I would go ahead and post some of their "Boys only" field trip!

Once again Blogger will not let me move my pictures around!

these were taken when they got back, Aaron had fallen asleep!
The famous Jon Steve!! ha

Aaron very happy to eat Jon's PB&J

Captain Aaron

You know he's never going to stop talking about this day!

a few unedited videos

Allen wanted to put these all together, but this will work for now!

Sorry Jon couldn't edit your wipe out on the last video!

Thanks Jon for being such a good friend to our family!

The Big Surprise...

2009-09-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

When Allen told me that we were going to meet Grandma Friday morning for a Big Surprise,

I had no idea what to expect, and then we turn off the Cartersville exit and I knew where we were going!
The new science museum!
I was surprised and even more when I found out she bought us a membership!!
Yay! :)

This is going to be great for homeschool field trips!

I had a hard time squeezing this guy into a picture!

Can you believe they found him in Wyoming??

Digging for fossils
I did not hear the lady say, "one fossil per child."
We came back with a little bag full.
I wonder what the she was thinking when I kept saying,
"Oh here's another sharks tooth Aaron!"
Next trip I guess we will need to return some of our loot!
Mining for gems!
Yep, you guessed it... we got a little bag full of those also! ;)

They have a really cute area for kids

The outside of this place is beautiful!

Angela surprised us and took off early from her job! :)

Thanks again Grandma!

The Wild Animal Safari...

2009-09-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

We had an adventure filled weekend With Grandma and Angela.

One of our adventures was to The Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

You drive through this park and feed the animals as they come up to your van, it was really gross and really cool all at the same time!

This guy heard that bangs were back in style ;)

Addie wanted one of these piggies so bad!

Got food?

The van in front of us getting accosted!

This guy needed a shampoo desperately, I think he might have been dirtier than the pigs!!

I think Zebras are beautiful

Sweet Momma and her baby

We all felt sorry for these little guys,
the big ones where always stealing all the food!

This one must have been full, he didn't even bother getting up!

a little roughhousing

This guy was my favorite

We thought he might be asleep, but he was just ignoring us

This is what you call a pouty lip

His neck was a really cool example of God's creative genius,

he did this nice long stretch and you could see all the muscles working, it was pretty neat!

it was kind of hard to get good pictures,because every time I tried to take one he thought my camera was food!!

Allen getting in on the action, he was our driver so,
he was busy just trying not to kill any WILD animals!

What a great driver!

This rhino loved the mud and he was brown and crusty from it!

Do you think this guy wants to eat or what??

Aaron giving Audrey a reassuring kiss as the animals get a little too close for her comfort!

They had a walk through part also, but my card on my camera was full, so we do not have any pictures of the Liger (Lion/Tiger mix), bears or several other cool animals!

We really enjoyed our day there and ate the best cheese pizza we have ever had in their cafe'!

Thanks Grandma, it was a great adventure!!

The Never Ending Audrey Post....

2009-08-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

~~~ENJOY~~~

Aaron loves riding this tractor and the boy it belongs to is normally not the sharing type.

You can see the pure joy on his face as he finally gets his chance to ride!

She could not press hard enough to make it go on her own.

Allen has grown some chin hair that I am not a fan of!!

What do you think??

"IT'S A BIRD... IT'S A PLANE...NO WAIT... IT'S SUPER, FAST, BIKE RIDER BOY!"

If you have never had Audrey love, then you need to come over and get some!!

She gives the best hugs :)

Birthday Lunch For Audrey

Yummy...They make their own dough and sauce!!

Two thumbs up on the pizza,
but their choice of music is not family friendly:(

it did bring back some memories though!

New very cute backpack

I think we were all singing "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard

They also have Mayfield Ice Cream

Noah, you are too cute

Birthday Cash

She likes to pay me for taking her picture :)

She started her day off opening up her gifts from Pa & Nana on the potty!

She loves getting mail.

Thank you everyone for the great gifts!!!

We love our family :)

Counting Our Blessings....

2009-08-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Lord has given us two wonderfully healthy years with Audrey Nella.

We love her so much and have enjoyed every minute of her life.

Thank you Lord, for such a sweet gift!

~~~Happy Birthday Baby Girl~~~

Oh, Blogger why won't you let me arrange my photos the way I want them??

So...frustrating :(

I will be posting pictures from her party later.

I have had enough of Blogger today!!!

It's Summer Time, Summer Time, Sum, Sum, Summer time...

2009-07-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

These are just a bunch of pictures from different places this summer.

Blogger is not letting me move them around for some reason, so they are all mixed in!

Sweet little Katie & Audrey Nella in the pool at the family reunion.

What is it about the lap of a great grandmother
that puts little ones to sleep?
Audrey was tired after a long ride in the van and playing at the creek!

Addie told me she was like Eve hiding in the garden from God!

Noah did not want to share his Icee!

Audrey cuddled up with her new quilt.

My Cowboys...

Addie must have taken these; I don't remember this at all!

When Allen was a boy his grandpa told him

that the "good guys" always wear white hats.

When we first met at Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church,

he noticed that a lot of men wore cowboy hats.

Thinking that one might impress me; he went to K-mart

and bought a cheap white cowboy hat.

I will never forget when he pulled up in his Jeep Wrangler, wearing that big white hat :)

He smiled real sweet and said something like " Howdy Mam"

I loved that he was trying to "fit in" with the North Georgia Cowboys,
when he was just a surfer dude from Florida.

This is not the same hat, but it brings back all those memories of our first summer together.

God Made Rats...

2009-06-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

Allen made this video last year and we are just now posting it.

I hope you enjoy our rat adventure as much as we did!

(Don't forget to pause the music first)

This Week With The Green's...

2009-06-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

This week has been CRAZY...
It's VBS week at our church,
Aaron and I have had a stomach bug,
Addie has been loosing teeth and

Audrey has been dressing up :)

My baby has been loosing all her pretty teeth!

While I was tying this pillow on Aaron's bear, he said,
"Don't choke him momma!"

This has been a long week filled with fevers and tummy aches:(

Who is that little girl under the blanket?

This is what she wears to Food Lion because she has so many fans!!

I have enjoyed sitting around holding Aaron and watching Audrey get into EVERYTHING!

Allen said Aaron will never get better, because it's too much fun being sick! :)

The Wedding...

2009-06-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our friends Willie & Cassie were married last year without doing the big wedding thing, but they both really wanted to have their family and friends involved.
We decided we could pull off a wedding pretty cheap if we did all of it on our own!!!
WOW- we had no idea how much work it was going to be!!
It was great for me to experience though.
When Allen and I got married all the ladies at our church did everything for our wedding.
The Lord reminded me of those sweet ladies and the way they had so lovingly helped us.
I'm sure I was not *mature enough to really appreciate all that they did for us.

(*I firmly believe you do not fully mature until after you have children)

~~~The Beautiful Bride~~~ I think they were both exhausted.

~~~ The wedding party~~~

~~~The Groomsmen~~~

~~~Mr. & Mrs. William Turner~~~

~~~The Sister~~~
She looked so great in her dress.

~~~The Sweet Tasters~~~

The other Allen & April and their cute boys!

~~~The Baby of the family~~~

~~~The Son~~~
Bronson would never be still long enough to take his picture.
He also laughed through the whole ceremony!! :)

~~~The oldest daughter~~~
Alyssa looked so grown-up

~~~The middle daughter~~~
Daisha loved the camera and was making sure she was available for every picture taken!

~~~The Mother of the Bride~~~
We all know where Cassie gets her beauty!

~~~ The Cakes~~~
Thanks Whitney, you did a great job!
I heard this cake tasted like a brownie!! ~~~The tables~~~

~~~The friend~~~
I look pregnant in that shirt!! Silk is not forgiving :(

Love this look she is giving me, I told her not to smile so big:)
I loved the shoes they chose :)

They were cracking me up :)
Sweet Leaunna being so shy.
A precious moment before the ceremony.
Thanks to Allen my handsome husband who did all the singing (even though he had a cold) and all the setting up and tearing down of the tables & chairs and putting back all the flowers and plants we used from the church, Danielle for watching children, staying up late dipping pretzels and making gift boxes, Jennifer for helping with all the food and for cleaning up afterward, Jordan for playing the piano so beautifully, and last, but not at all least, Whitney for making the cakes and serving them.

These are only the people I enlisted!! :)

There were many more of Cassie's family and friends who helped make this wedding day special.

Our Day...

2009-05-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

Audrey lied to me!-Aaron

This taste like breast milk!- Addie

Come see my new invention, it's a house where you can hear me pray and talk about God.-Aaron

I will not eat that hot dog, it has bad stuff in it!-Aaron

Can I get a reward for pooping?-Aaron

Cereal.. Cereal.. Cereal Momma!-Audrey

Audrey is being irresponsible!-Aaron

Momma rock with you-Audrey

I almost ate a whole bag of doughnuts at Poppy & Grammy's-Addie

Poppy paid Addie in advance for her 3 loose teeth.

She has been wanting this walking doll at Dollar General.

I told her not to buy it the other day, but I knew she had her mind made up.

For some reason she thought it really walked and talked!

It was so cheaply made and had its arms and legs falling off within minutes.

Poor thing got so upset she threw it in the trash can!

This picture is a little disturbing, but it is what I found when I opened up the closet door to throw something away.

A Morning With Audrey Nella...

2009-05-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

Please, don't think bad things about a momma
who would let her baby play with the kitchen sponge!

I promise, it just came out of the dishwasher :)

I have no idea what the attraction is,
except that she wants to be like her momma, always cleaning!! :)

It was just a little lick ;)

OH, Taste & See That The LORD Is GOOD...

2009-05-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

Saying Good Bye to daddy is so hard for Aaron.His heart breaks every morning when he leaves.

I think Allen would have to leave
the house before 6:00 am to get past this Daddy's boy!

It is really sweet :(

He watches him walk to church until he cannot see him anymore.

Addie and Aaron like to wrap Audrey up in blankets and call her baby Moses!
They play this at least once a day! :)

I don't think The Lord could have given us a better little friend than sweet Katelyn.
She is so well rounded that she can play well with Addie and Aaron.
She has a lot of her daddy in her and that makes for some very fun adventuresome play dates!
Katelyn, you are welcome at our house any day!

They both think that she is coming to play with just them!

Aaron loves that she acts scared of him in his Spider/Super man outfit!!This is her new game every morning...

She gets herself stuck in my shoe rack and then screams for help.

She does it about 5 times before it gets old to her, and then she moves on to the next adventure. Unfortunately this usually happens while I am in the shower and then I have to get out and soak the floor with soapy water!!

Audrey Nella leaving home...

She could not wait to spend the night
with Aunt Danielle, Uncle David and Cousin Noah!

She is going to be another Addie,
always wanting to leave! :(

Kite Flying at The Battlefield

Addie is our pro kite flyer!
I was wondering if she could
get a college scholarship for this?? :) Allen is so talented that he can fly his kite sitting down!

Audrey really tired to fly her kite.

riding on Mommy's knees is more fun though :)

We are memorizing this Psalm, and this is what we know so far!

Psalm 34

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Good Friday Mud Bog...

2009-04-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little late posting these pictures.

God displayed His Awesome Power, as the rain, hail and sun all showed up that afternoon!!

Pretty cool stuff and the kids enjoyed the water/mud puddle afterwards.

These pictures were taken before things got WAY out of hand.

I had to throw away all the clothes they were wearing, it was really bad! Audrey is the only one who stayed clean :)

Katelyn our sweet neighbor.

The pictures are courtesy of her mommy!

Thanks Whitney :)

I wish we would have taken pictures at the end of this,
you really wouldn't believe how bad it got!

Addie kept looking at me like, "I can't believe your letting us do this"

I'm sure that I will NEVER let them do that again :)

A Beautiful Day At The ZOO...

2009-04-17T17:30:00.000-07:00

Silly Faces

My very handsome guys So...Allen got a new very short hair cut...What do you think?
I think he needs to buy some Butch Wax :)
Aaron asked for a buzz!!

Audrey did not want to take pictures today :(

Cousin Noah

Addie didn't mind having her picture taken

We always enjoy going to the ZOO on Field Trip Friday!

Come with us next time! :)

Spring Time Egg Hunt at Poppy & Grammy's House....

2009-04-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

Too many pictures for words

2009-04-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day.

Today is a beautiful day.

Today is a day to Celebrate!

Today is April's Birthday.

April and I were able to get away Tuesday night

to the celebrate her birthday together in Knoxville, TN.

I know... Knoxville?...

c'mon Allen,

VOLS Football &

UT Medical Center?...

Actually, our date began here;

We sat on the porch over-looking the TN River

and watched the ducks.

Great view, Delicious meal, Beautiful Wife...

it could have been my birthday! :)

Then we traveled across the street

to the Knoxville Coliseum for a concert.

But not just any concert!

Chris Tomlin's new release...

...and the new release from Israel Houghton & New Breed

We had an incredible time!

5th row on the floor - Thank You Bobby D!!

(CCM Sunday's on Sunny 92.3)

Met the young couple in front of us; Ben & April...

Pregnant with their first, and when we told them of
our 3 Blessings from our Lord, they laughed and
said we didn't look old enough to have 3 kids!

I think that was God's Birthday present!

I must say with all my heart,

that I am enjoying this journey

with the wife of my youth!

I celebrate you today April,

Happy Birthday!

I love you.

We Love Aunt Jenny...

2009-04-02T16:56:00.001-07:00

When I called Aunt Jenny today it sounded like she was having a bad day!!

I told Addie and Aaron we should do something to cheer her up, and this is what we decided to do. We hope you like it Aunt Jenny!!

Addie explained to me that the "t" was The Cross with Jesus on it and the "y" was a burning bush!!

Jesus died on the cross for you and if you see a burning bush listen!!!

Most of these are outtakes, but if you love us you will be entertained trying to figure out what was being said behind the camera!! :):)

Do You Want To Know Why I am Smiling??

2009-04-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

It is 2:00pm and I still have not been in the shower, but I have not let that steal my Joy!!!
I have been smiling all day, because of several things, but this post is only about two of them!!

1. http://www.christomlin.com/ Allen is taking me to this concert next Tuesday night for my birthday!!! I am so excited about a night with him and the great worship time it will be!!

2. Sunday Addie sat in Worship with me. She loves "Big Church" and begs to go with me every week. While our Pastor was preaching she was filling out the notes. I looked down and was amazed because, I NEVER take notes!! :( She was even filling it out with all the right words :) We have a "get connected" card in our bulletin that you fill out and write down any prayer request. At the end of Worship we put them in red boxes at the doors. When we were about to leave I notice she was still holding hers so I told her to hurry to the box and put it in. One of the men was already collecting them and thought it was sweet that Addie was running to make sure hers got in there!! He looked down at it and then smiled really big. She had put her name and that her grade level was K! In the blank area for prayer request Addie wrote, Tammy Creech. She is a lady in our church family that has stage 4 cancer. Her nine year old daughter was Baptized in our Worship service Sunday and they mentioned Tammy from the pulpit. Addie was really listening and her heart was engaged.

Wednesday, Allen had staff worship time, and when they walk in they grab a stack of prayer cards from Sunday. Allen sat down in the pew and started to look at his cards. Addie's card was in his stack!! How could this be? How could he be holding Addie's card, out of all the staff members and all the cards? Only The Lord loves us like that!

The Lord is in the small little details of our lives. He knew Allen would not be able to see our children that day. Wednesdays are his long days, they start at 6:30am with a Bible study and last until after the children are already in bed. The Lord gave Allen a very special time of Worship that helped him get through a very long day.

I am smiling, are YOU???

A Day In The Life Of Audrey Nella...

2009-03-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Audrey Nella is in the sweetest stage right now,
she has won the hearts of everyone in our family.
This post is all about her and some of her favorite things!

She loves to read in her rocking chair.

I special ordered this chair before Addie was born, and she didn't like being rocked, I think it was partly due to early sibling rivalry. :)
Every time I rocked her, Aaron would kick her from the womb!!

When Aaron was born he liked to be rocked, but Addie got so jealous, I didn't get to do it much.

Now, it's Audrey's turn in the chair and she loves it!! She begs all day for me to rock her. I call it our "God Time" because we look out the window and talk about what God made and how beautiful it is outside!!

Audrey also ask about Daddy a lot because she can see the church from the window :)

Helping mommy unload the dishwasher .

She thinks she is so "Big!"
And there you go!!

After a long morning doing all her chores, Audrey enjoys a Sonic ice cream cone!!

At first she was not sure she could eat the cone
and was drinking the ice cream as if the cone was a cup.

It was cracking me up!

She got the hang of it and ate the whole thing.

She is such a joy to be around and I am so thankful that I get the pleasure of taking care of her and watching her grow.

I love being a mom, and staying home with our children is such a huge blessing from The Lord!!

I don't have a lot by the world's standard, but I will take them over any worldly pleasure!!!

A Hard Day's Work...

2009-03-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hope you enjoy this short documentary of
Aaron's first official "hard day's work"...

Granted, he didn't quite consider it work,
or hard, or a day for that matter
since it was really only about 20 minutes in all.

A big thanks to Rock for the Tractor Ride,

& to Garrett for showing Aaron
how to lay some "mucho blocko" (ask April).

[First: pause our jam list below. Enjoy!]

Thanks again guys for sharing
these great moments with us!!

Ready For Spring??

2009-03-12T17:24:00.001-07:00

Addie and I got the pleasure of going to Totally Posh today.

My friend Missy, just opened this New Salon and invited Addie and I for some Mommy-Daughter pampering!

I could not get a real good picture of Addie's toes because her nails are so tiny.

She asked Missy for Puppy dogs, and I thought Missy did I great job. I told Missy to surprise me, and I love what she did.
I have never had anything this fancy before and now I am going to be spoiled!!

When we were driving home Addie said "Mom, it's crazy how cute my toes are" Then she said "I really like that Missy girl, and she is such a good artist"
Addie was totally impressed and so was I.

I hope any of you girls who look at my blog will go and let Missy do some art work on your toes!!
There are so many things she can do, it will be hard to make up your mind!

Totally Posh
706-861-1900

Come Join Us In The Battlefield...

2009-03-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

You can usually find us at the Battlefield on a pretty day.

Today was one of those days and we were not going to waste it sitting at home!

Addie looked up at the sky and said "Wow, look at the sunlight coming down from Heaven!"

I couldn't agree more :)

Aaron taking a swing

Well... now I think the bat is a gun, or as my friend Steph's boys say "a shooting thing"

Audrey loves to play ball too!

Poppy "trying" to teach Aaron how to play.
It goes something like this; "I will hit the ball way out in that field, and you go get it boy!"
Aaron did that twice and then convinced Poppy to play the real way!

A fun afternoon :)

Our Trip To The Smoky Mountains....

2009-02-28T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is really the only pictures we took.
I have none of Allen or Nana, sorry guys :(

We did not take any of the snow tubing or ice skating we did. It's hard to make sure everyone is happy, take care of three children, have fun and take pictures at the same time.

There was snow on the ground the first day and then it was gone :(

Addie and Aaron loved being in the "Snowy Mountains"

We kept telling them that we were going to the Smoky Mountains and they insisted it was called "The Snowy Mountains"

This might have been the most fun Aaron had, and I did not even put any quarters in!!He begged me to sit in this Batman car.
I felt so bad, because I did not have any money for it.

You can tell he did not care :)

That is suppose to be Allen and Addie! :0

It was so cold.
I tried to take a self portrait of me and Aaron, but I am just not good at that yet!

I'm not sure we knew which camera to look at!

I wish we could hire someone to go around and take our pictures everywhere we go!

I guess I would have to be famous for that to happen huh??showing off their name cups!

We never see anything with Addison on it, so we had to get them.
They did not have Audrey so we settled for "PRINCESS"
Aaron is just not thrilled to be sitting still!
Addie is not so sure she likes giving up her "Princess" title
She does like that her cup is pink, her favorite color!
Exploring the golf course

I love this swimsuit on her!

Nice and modest :)

Now if we can just get her to wear this kind when shes sixteen!

Addie was swimming great in the pool,but none of the pictures turned out. I think I need to invest in the next step in cameras.

Fast Asleep...

2009-02-21T17:40:00.001-08:00

Tonight we met Grandma in Dalton for dinner.

Allen was coming back from Greek class and his friend dropped him off at Red Lobster.

We enjoyed the meal and especially the company.

Aaron fell asleep on the way home and when Allen brought him in he laid him on the steps.

He just stayed that way until Allen took him to bed!

Thanks Grandma we had a wonderful time.

Smart Addie...

2009-02-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Today while trying to get Addie to eat some lunch, I said "just eat 3 bites Addie".

She walked away from her food and came back
telling me she had eaten three bites while I wasn't looking.
I told her that it did not look like 3 bites were gone,
she then proceeds to show me on the chalk board how it happen.

"first I took 1 bite before you told me 3 bites,
then I took 2 bites while you were not looking and that makes 3!"

Though she is very smart and creative, she will not be getting anything else until dinner! :)

Audrey Is Ready To Go Bye Bye...

2009-02-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

Everyday, all day long Audrey Nella wants to go bye bye.

She begs for her coat and hat as soon as she wakes up and then ask for Daddy, looks out the window and points to the church building.

I put that purse in the back of my closet and she always gets it back out!

Just Plain Funny...

2009-02-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when Audrey wipes herself!

She is potty training right now and is always eager to help me out!!

This time she had wiped before I got in there and this was the result!

She would not be still enough for me to take the picture.

We were all laughing at her and she had no idea why:)

Will Babysit For Chili's Chips and Salsa.....

2009-02-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

We played with Noah on Thursday while David and Danielle went on a date.

He was taking a nap most of the time so these are the only pics I took! :)
The whole time they were gone I thought;
"Man it would be nice if they brought me some chips and salsa from Chili's"

Can you believe it?? They did!!!

It was such a treat!!

Thanks, David and Danielle.

Bible Gateway vs Blue Letter Bible

2009-02-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

I really thought that I loved Bible Gateway until I found Blue Letter Bible.

I think they are both very useful study tools, but I just find Blue letter more exhaustive.

They also have Hebrew and Greek texts, which is great for Allen's Greek class right now!

One other source that I just found out about is Bible Map, it takes you from the passage you are studying to the map and shows you where it is.
There are a lot of passages with no location, but still a very cool tool.

I have listed the links below.

See what you think, and have fun studying God's Word!

http://www.blueletterbible.org/

http://www.biblemap.org/
http://www.biblegateway.com/

Yummy Banana Bread...

2009-02-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Allen has been wanting to get this Pampered Chef pan for a long time,
he loves homemade breads.

I just made my first batch of banana bread this morning.

It is pretty good! I needed to mash the banana's a little more though.
We have a friend at church who makes the "Best" banana bread and as soon as Addie saw it she said " Did you make this like Mrs. Martha does?"
She was a little worried it would not be good, I think!! :)

INGREDIENTS
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil ( I used the same amount of applesauce)
1 cup mashed bananas ( used 3 bananas)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I live in a no nut house!)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil (I used apple sauce)and bananas.
Sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir in pecans. Mix well. ( I did not use the nuts)
Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 47 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. The original said to bake longer but I used the 4 mini loaf pan and mine was ready at 47 minutes!

Some extras I just read about.
1 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar * add 1 tsp. vanilla * add 1 tsp. cinnamon * substitute apple sauce for the oil * cooked in a Pampered Chef mini loaf stone pan * sprinkled Ghiardelli chocolate cooking chips (60% cocoa) on top * cooked for 57 minutes