1st Annual Girls Retreat

Last week, Karis and I went on our 1st Annual Girls Retreat!  We went to a friend's beach house to spend the night and have some uninterrupted girl time.  I have been looking forward to this for awhile.  We arrived on Thursday night at the beach house after eating dinner at our favorite place.  We unpacked, surveyed the land, and curled up for a good movie, Ever After, thanks to my friend Lori.

We went to bed rather late, and it took awhile for us to go to sleep, nothing like girls being silly!  I was expecting to get to sleep in late, but at 6:40, YES I SAID 6:40, Karis said is it time to get up yet!  After a few minutes of cuddle time, we got up and went outside to read our Bibles.

We enjoyed an hour or so of Bible reading, listening to the birds, and watching a squirrel a scale a tree.

Breakfast consisted of her favorite, cereal bar and a banana.  I of course had to have a few cups of coffee!!!
We got dressed and ventured out to the beach to walk, talk, pick up sea shells, and see something Karis has never seen before:

TONS OF JELLYFISH! 

We spent a few hours on the beach, and Karis didn't even get wet!  She felt the water with her toes and realized it was too cold.  

This picture depicts the theme and attitude of the retreat, I am FREE!  We were free to discuss our feelings, not do any school work, talk about whatever came to mind, and do whatever Karis wanted to do. I think this freedom of her being in charge, to a certain extent, was good for her and she came out of her shell some.  We read books together, went for golf cart rides, walked, but most of all, I got to know my sweet girl a little better.  I got to listen to her, and she actually opened up.  It is an honor to be Karis' mom, and I am so thankful for her.  I am also thankful to God for this special time.

This is Karis' picture debut.  She took this picture with my camera.

Papa John Update

My dad went for his two week check up at MD Anderson today.  His doctor is very pleased with his recovery and decided to go ahead and schedule his chemo treatment.  There were no cancer cells found in his lymph nodes, but his doctor said that since his tumor was over 4 centimeters (it was actually 4.5cm) that he would need to do four rounds of chemo.  The treatments will be every three weeks, so at least he will have a few weeks in between to recover his strength.

I cannot express how grateful I am to all who have prayed and stood beside us through this time.  God continues to show me His faithfulness and love to all of my family.  Even though my heart aches to be there with my dad, I know that His Creator, Redeemer, and Healer is with him.  It comforts me to know that my dad is in His hands!

Super Heroes Take Two

There is no secret that my son loves dressing up and playing super heroes. A few weeks ago, when his friend Dylan was here, we were invaded by Iron Man and Spider-Man. They were on a mission to "Tony's hideout (with a map in hand)."

Visit to the Farm

For our March field trip, we went to Historic Oak View County Park in Raleigh. The kids were shown what life was like back in the 1800s. The tour was fantastic, and I was impressed with all the kids learned in a short period of time. We learned about raising cotton, why kitchens were in a separate building away from the house, how to wash clothes and other daily chores, and what it would take to make a pizza from scratch.

Tenaya, Karis and Topenga petting a large goat.

Karis washing her clothes!

She got to pick her own piece of cotton and pull the seeds out. It was a lot more work than she anticipated.

Noah got to milk a "fake" cow!

Next installment some more superheros, and what I have been finally learning to do, my favorite new hobby!

Calvin aka Green Lantern

Did you know we have a super hero in our family? His name is Calvin aka Green Lantern~! He is an ordinary, lazy dog by day, but his super powers include: a strong sense of smell (poop and bananas being his favorite), and a mighty bark to alert us of the UPS man, mailman, and that crazy Yellow cat that antagonizes him daily.

Meet Green Lantern:

Next time we need a funny story to tell, we will just dress Calvin up in Noah's super hero masks! If you are in need of a hero, you can call on Green Lantern, but be ware, if he is sleeping, he might not answer you!

Easter 2012

Easter Sunday is always one of my favorite Sundays. I had the privilege of serving in the nursery on Sunday morning, so I loved hearing the kids tell me what their Daddy preached on. After church, we attempted to take some pictures, but as usual, one of my children didn't want to. I am sure you can guess who!

My handsome husband and my little man.

Thanks to neighbor Rich, we got a family photo.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, celebrating our Savior's death and resurrection!

"Up from the grave He arose!"