Yikes! Snake in the Yard!

September 24, 2009, Thursday - Well folks...I do not like snakes and today has been my second sighting of a snake in our yard in a week! The first time it was by our water spicket & when I went inside to get Nathan & the camera it was gone. And I could not identify it on the computer what kind of snake it was. Well this time I was able to get Chad, Brittany & Nathan & the camera. I think it is an Eastern Garter Snake. And you know what.....but don't tell Nathan.....it has been odd that Nathan & I have not spotted any frogs in the yard lately...& we were seeing them everyday...well the Garter snake eats frogs, salamanders, fish & earthworms. Oh, my!!!

Chad's Birthday

September 23, 2009, Wednesday - Today is Chad's Birthday! He headed off to work (thankful to have a job) & then we got to party when he got home. At 5:30pm we had a nice dinner with family & then he blew out the candles to his Carvel icecream football cake. Then opened presents all before the kids had to head off to Awana at 6:30pm. It was a nice evening & a great day to celebrate CHAD - our wonderful husband, dad, son-in-law, & grandson! You are loved, Chad!
We had a sports birthday party theme - that is why you see the hats & athletic attire!

Nathan's Fall Season - Soccer

September 12, 2009, Saturday - Today was Nathan's first game of soccer for the fall season. He did really well. He gets so into it. It is fun to watch and cheer for him & the team. Way to go Nathan! He is number 8.

Brittany's First

September 11, 2009, Friday - Brittany has been asking me for a while...."When can I come to scrapbooking with you?" So I decided to let her come this time. I asked her this morning what kind of book would she like to do.....she said "a BUG Book". How I should have known. So I sent all the bug & frog pictures I could find (just going through summer months) on my computer to get developed & I had over 65 pictures. She came with me & she worked the whole 4 hours. She scrapbooked 8 12x12 pages & used all of the pictures! Way to go Brittany! She was focused on cutting those pictures & didn't complain once. She also enjoyed getting to call out the Bingo numbers for our game. She did very good for her first time at scrapbooking.

Nathan's 1st day of Preschool

September 9, 2009, Wednesday - Today Nathan had his first day back of preschool. He was not in a mood to smile for me at the door (which is picture tradition on the 1st day). His teachers are very loving & made him feel at ease. When I picked him up, he was all smiles. What a growing boy!

Preston Loyd Benefit

August 30, 2009, Sunday - After church in the afternoon we loaded up the van and headed to Mooresville for Preston's Benefit event. Boy, was it a hot day, but we had a lot of fun! There were Nascar & emergency vehicles on display, princess for a day booth, food booths, face painting, silent auctions & other things to do. Mooresville's mayor - Bill Thunberg - honored 4 of the firemen that helped save Preston's life. Wow - what an amazing thing to see....these firemen being honored and Preston being there....and Preston then going to each of them & saying "Thank you for saving me"! God is so awesome! Preston has come along way. We also got to talk to one of the parademics that was on the scene to save Preston. He has an amazing story to tell. God saved Preston....and he used those first responders to do it through. Preston is making progress, but he still needs our prayers. Please visit his caring bridge site to find out how you can pray for him also. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prestonloyd


Nathan in the back of a fire truck

Nathan liked this car

Nathan's signs

August 28, 2009, Friday - After the first week of school we went out to eat for supper as a family. Guess where we went....McDonald's! We thought we would go somewhere where we didn't have to entertain the kids at the table waiting for our food. We would go somewhere fun for them...the playplace at McDonald's. But before that we had a family outing to .....Wal-Mart. Good old American Fun. And too our surprise they have a new VF sign of Nathan up. It is a sign of just Nathan. So cool! So we took a family photo shoot in Wal-Mart.
Note: For those of you that have checked your local store & Nathan was not there...check again. VF looked into it and the problem has been corrected. Also note: It is in the Baby/Toddler section, not the boys/men.

First Day of 2nd Grade

August 25, 2009, Tuesday - Brittany had a great day of 2nd grade! She headed to school this morning with new glasses and a tooth missing (she lost her first tooth Aug. 5). Signs that she is growing up. Wow - it seems like just yesterday the whole family was taking her to her first day of Kindergarten. Chad headed to Canada today for work and so Nathan and I took Brittany to class. She settled in well and we headed off. After picking her up she said that she had a great day and that her favorite part was recess because she got to see more of her friends from last year. She knows 5 people in her class this year which is great. So, today was a great day and Brittany is excited for the new school year!

A New Girl

August 20, 2009, Thursday - Brittany has unfortunately inherited both of her parents bad eyes. She went for an eye appointment last week and today her new Barbie glasses arrived. She loves them! She can see a lot better at far away distances. She can read signs far away now.
She looks really good in her glasses too. Now she is ready to start 2nd grade off right!

Uncle Dean

Monday, August 3rd, 2009 - Some sad news came tonight....my Uncle Dean Cooper died this evening. He is my dad's older brother. He was 74 years old and fought a battle with cancer for about 2 years. He was a great man and a joy to be around. I remember growing up and our summer trips to Maine and Uncle Dean would rent a seaplane and take us for rides over Naples, Maine and Long Lake. He always made fun of my southern accent too, but I would tell him he was the one with the accent. I was able to go with my family (mom, dad, and both of my brothers) to the funeral and internment in Maine. It was a very special time to visit with family I haven't seen in a long time. God had perfect timing. My brother, Cory who is over in the Netherlands for 3 years was in the states for training and he was able to change his flight and come to the funeral.
Enjoy this picture looking over Long Lake.

My Birthday

July 25, 2009, Saturday - Today is my birthday! I came home around noon after being at a MOPS planning retreat overnight. Then I got to spend some time to myself and then Mom, Dad and Grandma came over for a cookout. Chad had all the food ready and did a great job cooking on the grill. Then we had cake and cupcakes and I opened presents from near and far. The kids enjoyed the pool on the deck and liked looking for frogs. It was a hot day, but we enjoyed eating on the deck. Thank you for a great birthday!

Preston is coming home

July 21, 2009, Tuesday - I have some exciting news for today - Preston is coming home from the hospital! Yeah! He was in the hospital almost 3 months after being accidentally run over by a riding lawnmower. He has been through a lot.
Praise be to God for healing Preston and preforming many miracles on him! This is a truly special day for Preston and his family. We are so overjoyed for him. He still has many steps in his journey to complete healing, but this is a huge accomplishment to come home now. Way to go Preston!

Our Little Model

July 2009 - BIG NEWS - Our little guy - Nathan is now in 3,200 Wal-Mart stores across the country! Nathan did a little modeling for VF back in February and he was chosen to represent them in their advertising for boys Wrangler jeans! We are so proud of him!

Next time you are in Wal-Mart go check him out. He is in the infant/toddler clothes section. His picture is above the Wrangler Jean fixture. We are going to go this weekend and get his picture with his sign. Pretty cool! He earned some money for his college savings. Way to go Nathan!

Art Camp

July 13-17th, 2009 - The kids have been enjoying art camp all this week. Here are some pictures from after camp when I pick them up.

Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day

July 10, 2009 - Today is the 5th Annual Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress like a cow you get a free Chick-fil-A combo meal. The kids and I headed there for lunch. What an awesome deal! Head there for supper if you want to - it's fun! We also won free drinks, ice cream, chicken sandwich and Chick-fil-A merchandise. We did this last year too and like making it an annual fun thing to do. Enjoy the photos!

Pool Time Fun

Enjoy the slideshow of pictures of Brittany and Nathan at our pool this summer!

July 4th

July 4, 2009, Sat. - We are so excited that our relatives arrived here safely from Wisconsin yesterday. Chad's brother, Doug and his family drove all the way to see us for the 4th holiday. We started off the day watching a local July 4th parade and then the kids played some free games on the library lawn and even got some cute July 4th prizes. We enjoyed snow cones too. Then we went and saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs at the theater. It was good. Then we headed to the Grasshoppers minor league baseball game. The kids had fun on the big playground there and we all had a lot of fun at the game. After the game we enjoyed fireworks shot off from the outfield. It was a very memorable day. Happy July 4th!

Florida Vacation

June 14 - 21, 2009 We had a fabulous week in Florida on vacation. We went to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach. Macie, our really good friend got to come with us. The kids had a great time all week playing together and meeting their favorite Disney characters. One day we also got to visit with my aunt and uncle in Longboat Key and we had a great time on the pontoon boat and swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. We also visited Gatorland in Orlando where my mother use to work years ago. That was fun too. We had a wonderful week and many memories were made that will last a lifetime.