Water Park Day

The kids ended school with a "water park" day with all their homeschooling buddies.  Karis did all the group games, while Noah stayed off by himself, doing his own thing...

first came the bubbles,

then came the sprinkler, 

and last came the slip-n-slide.

For someone who stayed by my side the first 30 minutes, he looks to be having a good time!

Karis and her friends got their first taste of summer.

First she had to run with the water balloon and sit on it to pop it,

then she had to toss the water balloon to her partner without popping it.

The pool opened this weekend, and the kids are ready to swim, swim, swim.  I don't know that I am, but summer is here.  I am ready for some relaxing, lazy summer days at the pool!

School is ....

SCHOOL IS OUT 

FOR THE SUMMER 

AT 

ALETHIA 

ACADEMY!! 

To think, I have no completed two years of homeschooling!  Wow, God is good and only with His help have we made it through.  I can't believe my girl is now officially a second grader, and that Noah is on his way to learning his letter sounds.  Where has the time gone?  

Now comes the fun of summer!  I am so excited about some of the things I have planned for us this summer.  I want this summer to be FUN, but I also hope to guide us to be aware of the needs of others.  

We will also be doing some math facts review this summer, tons of reading together and on our own, and reviewing all our fun spelling rules.  

I pray this is a summer the kids will remember....

Happy Birthday Dad!

For 33 years, I have been blessed and honored to call this man my dad, my safe place, my rock, and one of my best friends, (only by God's grace).  Today as you celebrate your 67th birthday..

I long to wrap my arms around you and whisper, in your good ear,

THANK YOU...

for being, displaying, loving, teaching, giving, growing, smiling, encouraging, holding, sitting...

in HIM.

I love you beyond words Dad.

I cannot imagine life without you.

God has been good to you and to us for giving you these 67 years.

I pray for many more to come....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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!"

Thanksgiving on Thursday

Yesterday, Thursday March 8, our family received a miracle from the Lord, but let me back up and tell you how the story begins.

A few weeks ago, my dad fell and hit his side on the end of a boat while he was out fishing with a friend. After a few days, and continual pain, he went to get an x-ray to see if he had cracked his rib. The doctor found a mass on my dad's lung in the top right corner. After a CT scan a few days later, the word cancer again entered into our family.

My dad has lung cancer. Yes, our family had already received one miracle where cancer was concerned, my niece Brooklynn is now five years cancer free! The news really hit me hard, not because of the cancer but because I am so far away. The distance between my heart and my dad seemed to be such a huge chasm to jump through, but thankfully, God's peace weaved its way in my heart through much prayer. I found great peace, hope, and comfort in Isaiah 43.

But now thus says the LORD,

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel;

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

-Isaiah 43:1-3a

After a PET scan and MRI, Thursday's news was another miracle for our family: NO CANCER ANYWHERE ELSE! Praise the Lord! The doctor will do surgery and remove the tumor on March 23. It was such a relief for me to book my plane ticket to Texas yesterday and finally know exactly when I will be able to wrap my arms around this most wonderful man, my dad!

Thank you so much for all the prayers and please continue to pray that the surgery goes well.

This trial has grown my faith and trust in our Savior and made Him more precious every minute. His peace and promise to always work everything for our good allowed me to face this trial with joy, no matter the outcome. Thank you Lord!

Adoption Update!

Go to our family blog to read the latest on our adoption, BIG NEWS today!

http://childersadoption.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-big-step-completed.html

Cousins, Blue Bell, and Memaw

After visiting with Justin's family, the kids and I headed to visit mine. Our first few days, when Justin was with us, we spent some time with my folks and my Memaw. We did our late Christmas with my brother and his family, which was great, as usual! We then headed to see Justin's family until he flew back home.

It is always so fun to watch the girls and Noah play together. With Brooklynn and Karis being the same age, and Madison being almost 13 (ahhh!) Noah loves all the girl attention, especially playing with Madi. She is so good with him, a very sweet cousin! The cousins did a lot of playing, and Madi and I got a chance to do some peppering (a volleyball warm up drill). One morning, I stayed at my parents with all the kids, and Madi and I played for about two hours on and off. I felt my age the next morning when my tail bone was so soar I could hardly walk; I forgot I wasn't 23 anymore!

I think riding the four wheeler is the kids favorite thing, especially now that Madi can drive them.

Noah, Brooklynn, and Karis sitting on Papa John's tractor!

I don't know why I never have pictures of my folks or brother and sister in law. I think I get too caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures. We, or maybe I should say I, ate lots of Blue Bell!

On another note, my Memaw, my dad's mom, is not doing very well. She was in the hospital most of our visit, and now she is home with my parents. She is almost 93 years old and has lived a faithful God-honoring life. She is a faithful prayer warrior, and I pray that I will leave a legacy like she has when I am gone. I love you Memaw and thank you for always pointing me to our Savior, trusting in His plan.

Some Holden Love!

Our trip to Texas started off our new year in a wonderful way. We finally got to meet baby Holden, the kids first boy cousin and our only nephew! The visit was filled with many memories, but this first picture captures all our feelings toward this new miracle!

Karis kissing Holden sums it all up!

The very proud Mama, Courtney, and her sweet little man!

Mamou and all the grand kids!

Karis enjoyed lots of holding and feeding Holden! She was so sweet with him. She would have been a wonderful big helper if we would have had another baby! I can't wait to see how God will use her with her new adopted brother, no matter what age he is!

Noah liked looking at and watching Holden, and he did hold him a little.

One afternoon, Grammy and Pop Pop took all of us to a children's museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The place reminded us a lot of our own Imagination Station here. There was plenty of fun to be had and lots of science to learn and explore.

We formed our own Childers' band (minus Mommy):

Daddy and Noah on the drums,

and Karis as the lead singer!

Karis and Noah built their own BIG Lego house!

Of course, we ate tons of good food, spent lots of time visiting Grammy and Pop Pop, Mamou, and Aunt Courtney and Holden. I think for Noah, the best part of the trip was riding down the block in Grammy's new Finn McMissile car that Pop Pop gave her.

The Lord has blessed us with great families, and we were so excited to join in the joy of a new nephew and cousin. We love you Holden!

Christmas in February, What!

Blogging, what is that? Sometimes I wonder why I even try to come up with excuses for not being more frequent in my blogs, but the truth is that lately I just haven't wanted to. So, with a new year already into February, I will give a short recap of our Christmas. The kids and I keep to many traditions, and one of these is baking my Mom's Christmas cookies. This year we invited our dear friend, Mrs. Nancy to come and help.

Nancy was a great sport and help. We so enjoyed having her here to share in our fun cookie baking. Thanks Nancy!

Karis and I also got to enjoy a much anticipated girls day out, with our friends, Tess and Carly Powell, to see Dare to Dream on Ice, presented by Disney. It was a fabulous performance It included a short version of The Prince and the Frog, Cinderella, and Tangled. I was wowed out to say the least. It was the first time either of us had been to anything like it. We loved it, and then enjoyed some more girl fun eating lunch out and making a trip to Trader Joe's with the Powell's.

Karis and me before our girls day out!

One of our other favorite traditions is decorating for Christmas. Karis got to put the star on top of the tree this year.

We had a quiet, fun, memorable Christmas this year, enjoying each other and celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Noah's 4th Birthday

For the first time, we were in North Carolina on Noah's birthday. We decided to throw him a party inviting our church family and some of his friends from the YMCA. I am sure it will only take you one guess to know the theme of his party: CARS, of course, not just any cars though, he was very specific about which cars he wanted on his cake. Instead of being my creative self this year, I decided to just decorate his cake and put some cars on top.

Along with the CARS, Noah wanted a 4 candle. He was very adamant about it.

We had his party at the park down the road, and it was a little chilly. The kids and adults seemed to have a good time, especially when Justin pulled out some games for them to play.

Noah eating his cake, wearing his CARS shirt!

It is hard to believe that my baby boy is four. He has such a sweet spirit, still loves to sit with Mommy, and talks, talk, talks. (I don't know where he gets that from, probably from his daddy!!!) His smile lightens up the room, and his laughter is so contagious. He spouts off scenes from the Cars movies and likes being any number of superheroes: Spiderman, Captain America, Green Lantern, and Iron Man. I cannot wait to see all God has in store for him and for us as he grows up. He is a precious gift!

November Rewind

November went by way too fast. A few weeks after my parents came for a visit, Grammy and Pop Pop came. It was a wonderful weekend with them, doing all sorts of shopping, eating at Olive Garden, going to the Whirlgig Festival, watching some of the kids favorite movies, and having lunch after church with our church family.

The kids loved having them all to themselves, showing off their toys and playing with them. Thanks so much for coming! We had a great time!

Noah, Pop Pop, Karis, and Grammy

We did our third annual Thanksgiving tree this year. It always makes me smile to hear what the kids are thankful for, and it encourages us to be truly access our hearts to see if we are thankful for all things.

We spent Thanksgiving with one of our dear church families, the Reigels. It was so inspiring to see a family sit at a HUGE table spread with way too much good food, smiling and talking to each other. It was an experience, one our family will never forget! Thank you Reigel family for making us feel like family and so loved.