Play ball, Jake!

Baseball has started for Jake.. he's in his second year of machine-pitch and loves it. His favorite sport by far! Here's a pic of my favorite second baseman... :)

Easter 2010

We had a wonderful Easter this year... worshiped at church (Russ preached an awesome message.. twice :) , we then took off the his parents house and enjoyed time with the grandparents and cousins. Madi was obsessed with hiding/finding eggs (plastic) for DAYS afterward! Here is the traditional pics that I force my kids to take out in the front yard every year after they get ready... the boys are trying really hard to contain their excitement, ha!

It's official... son #1 is now taller than me!

Razorback baseball!

Last Saturday we were given some Arkansas baseball tickets, so we decided to treat our two oldest to an afternoon at Baum Stadium. We had the BEST time - the weather was absolutely perfect and the Hogs played a great game with a win against Kentucky. We also got to meet my parents there, who never miss a game. I love my teenagers, they are so much fun to be with. These are times when I wish someone would please press the 'PAUSE' button!

Kristen, me, and my dad (Papa)

My mom, Clay, and Kristen

Russ and I

Coming home ~ way to go Hogs!

Spring Break 2010

I love Spring Break! Such a welcomed time to bow out of the rat race of school and all that goes with it, at least for a brief period! Sure makes me ready for summer! :) We did not do much of anything, except we did get to take the little ones to the zoo and the nature center, which they loved AND we enjoyed some nice weather! Kristen got the awesome opportunity to go snow boarding in Durango, Colorado with good friend Carly and her family. It was her first time and she had a blast. Here's just a few of the pics we took that week ~

Carly and Kristen in CO

Snowboarding!

Madi and Jake at the Nature Center

Jake conquering the climbing wall!

Russ and Madi enjoying the zoo

Madi and I on the zoo train!

Petting zoo

Jake and the rhinos

Happy Big "4-0" to my wonderful husband ♥

We celebrated Russ's birthday back in March by driving up to Rogers and eating at Copeland's - one of our favorite restaurants! Afterward, we stopped by his parents' house in Springdale for cake and presents. I surprised him with an ipod of his very own, and he was SO excited!! He loves it. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome husband, who takes such good care of us, prays for us, and seeks to honor God in everything he does.

Russ and his little man Jake

Madi and her hero :)

...really can't believe our age starts with a '4' now!

Den and Becky, better known as Papaw and Mimi

Congrats to the 2010-2011 Majorettes!

...a little encouragement from Proverbs and her parents on tryout day :)

Redhawk Baseball

Clay is getting the opportunity to play travel ball this year, after playing church league since t-ball. He has "filled in" before on other travel teams in recent years, but this year he's on the roster. Travel ball is not exactly conducive to a pastor's schedule, but we felt like he was capable of, and had earned the chance to play at a higher level. So far, so good - he's loving it! These pics are from their first tournament in NLR... his cousin Drew was playing the same tournament and they got to play against each other twice. Pretty cool to get to watch them both, had to kinda sit in the middle though ;)

Primary position is catcher

At bat

He's #11 at everything!

Clay with his cousin Drew - it was a fun weekend with them!

Winter Dance

Yes, another dance! This has definitely been the year of dressing up for my teenage daughter. She attended her high school's Winter/Valentine Dance with a group of her friends back in February, and had the best time! Here's a few pics...

Matt, Kristen, Nick, Katie R., and Katie A.

Kristen and her friend Matt

Pretty girls!

The boys' basketball season

Well basketball season has come and gone! Jake had a great season as a 2nd grader... he played for JMAC and they came in 2nd at their club. He learned a lot this year, got pretty tenacious at defense, and was able to contribute some points here and there.

Jake #9

This was Clay's first year to play for Chaffin, his role being point guard. Honestly they didn't win very many during the season, but had an incredible run in the city championship at the end of the season. During his final game, he scored 14 points - we were so proud of his effort!

~ S.n.O.w ~

I can't remember the last time our area got to enjoy so much SNOW! Winter '10 was a white one, and we loved every minute of it!

The park looked beautiful

Kristen playing in the snow with friend Caitlin

Madi catchin' snowflakes!

And 2010 begins...

Can't BELIEVE January is almost over... Life is going by at warp speed! Nothing big going on around here, so I thought I would just post some random pictures of the month so far... duck hunting (Russ's love), friends' birthdays, dressing up, and just hanging around the house. Both boys are in the midst of basketball season - wish I had some shots to post, but those gym lights hate my camera :/ Truth be known, I can't WAIT for baseball season... love watchin' my guys, plus baseball = spring/summer is almost here! Just gotta wait a little bit longer....

Kristen's best guy friend, Nick, turned 16, complete with a surprise party...
known him since kindergarten, great kid.
So fun (and a little sad) watching these awesome kids grow up.

My little man Jake getting ready to duck hunt with his dad. I LOVE this picture!

I took this before Madi went to bed... she had made this life size poster
of herself in preschool that day. She was SO proud of herself...

Jake and Clay hanging out watching TV with their best friend Saylor.
This dog is so spoiled :)

Dressing up... this was for an Anniversary Ball that her
high school sorority sponsored. She and her "sisters" put in many
community service hours to be able to attend.
(Pictured here are her friends Caitlin, Spencer, Matt, Vyvy, and Corey)

Kristen and her friend Matt... they all looked so nice
and had a great time.

Sweet friends Vyvy and Caitlin... they looked gorgeous.

Another best friend's birthday - Carly! We love this girl like our very own - she turned
16 last week and Kristen threw her an awesome party with all their friends at Chili's.

My 16-year-old nephew, David and friend Josh came down from Springdale
and spent a weekend with us so they could go hunting with Russ and Clay. What fine
young men - we had such a great time with them.

Two boys, two girls....

Well that is the "title" that I chose for this blog when I started a couple of years ago... obviously referring to my kids, of whom these posts are usually about :-) Actually, this post is about another set of "two boys and two girls" that are unknown to me at this point, but are high priority in my prayers. They are my children's future spouses! Now of course, marriage is FAR in the future for them, especially the younger ones, but I feel it's never too early to begin praying about the 2nd most important decision your child will make (1st being salvation). I started when Kristen was a toddler; as I prayed for her future, I felt absolutely compelled to pray for the man that she would someday make a commitment to. As of now, I pray for 4 nameless people, whoever, wherever they are.... funny to think I could be praying for someone my child goes to school with, or someone I've never met half-way across the country!

My prayers for them include lots of things, but in a nutshell: I pray that as they grow that they would come to know God early in their life, and be not luke-warm, but passionate about their faith; that God would bless their family and protect and prosper them in every way possible; that they would make wise decisions, protect their hearts as teenagers, and place a high value on waiting for my son or daughter; and that the relationship will happen in God's perfect and ordained time. And it could be that my children are being prayed for in this way, as well ~ what an amazing thought!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I'm on the dating/marriage subject, I'll do a book plug. For my older two, it has been "required reading" - haha... and they loved it. It's called "Dateable" and I think it helped answer their questions in a way that made sense to them. When I was teaching youth, a friend suggested I go through this book with my class, which I did and they ate it up! It's great, the best I've seen on the subject in awhile, because it puts the whole dating concept in perspective. It's extremely teen-friendly, aimed at both guys and girls, and speaks the truth plainly with a sense of humor to hold their attention.