Emma Grace dances at Fantasy of Trees

Emma Grace's Ballet Debut

Emma Grace danced this afternoon at the Fantasy of Trees. This was her very

1st performance of any kind. I had no idea what to expect. She has been soooooo excited about "dancing on the stage, just like Angelina Ballerina".

(a little mouse

who loves ballet.) I was afraid that once she saw the big dark stage, she might decide she didn't want to go out there. There are 3 other little girls in her class, all 3 years old. When the bright lights 1st came on they all just stood there frozen for a moment. Then finally they started to dance. They were not even close to doing it perfectly, but they all tried and got up there in front of all those people. It was so cute! We were all so proud of our little 3 year old ballerina girlies! All 4 girls in her class have the same "middle" name. Sydney Grace Ford, Hannah Grace Little, Emma Grace Knight & Riley Grace. Their teacher is Miss Ashley and she is wonderful with them. She has so much patience~ more than I would have! :)

*A special Thank you to Whitney Chambers for showing me how to do a "Ballet bun". Having boys, I had NO IDEA how to make a slicked back ballet bun. I was pretty proud of my very "1st Bun" as well! :)

Fantasy of Trees 2008

On Wednesday, while the boys we at the half day of school, Emma Grace & I went to Fantasy of Trees with our friends Dena & Bailey Byrd. Dena and I use to take Trey and Morgan to the Fantasy of trees when they were little too. (Now they are 14 & 15 years old). It is fun to have 2 little ones the same age again. Emma Grace and Bailey LOVED the Christmas trees, the gingerbread houses, visiting Santa and getting their fingernails painted!

We will be going back on Sunday - Emma Grace dances with her ballet class at 2:45. She is so excited ! More pics to come of that!

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a delicious feast today at our home. We were so happy that Grandma Ruby got to come. It is hard for her to get around as well these days, but she made it!!

Four years ago today (Thanksgiving 2004) ~ after the blessing, John and I announced to our family that we were expecting again! (with Emma Grace)
It was a BIG surprise to everyone, us included!

Now, EVERY Thanksgiving, after the blessing my DAD asks us if we have anymore news to share!
Ha ha - NO!!!!!!!

Oh, give THANKS to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever and ever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

Thanksgiving Feast - Pre school style!

Emma Grace's 3 year old Pre school class celebrated today by having their "Thanksgiving feast". they ate turkey, mashed potatoes, cheese & corn with

apple juice to drink. They each made their own place mat with things they are thankful for written on it. She named off everyone in the family and then goes on to say that she's thankful

for "flashlights" and "frogs" . (not sure where that came from??)
She also put "her babies, shoes and dresses". Sometime I am going to put a picture on here that shows ALL her dress up shoes and dresses. That is all she wears when she is at home - dress up clothes!!! She really wanted to be POCAHONTAS today at school, but I told her it was too cold. So we agreed on "Pocahontas hair". This was my 1st official braids!!!
Having 2 boys, you just don't "do" braids!
Obviously, I need some lessons. She looked more like Pippi Longstockings than Pocahontas.... but it was OK - she was happy with it!
The little boy with the Pilgrim hat is her friend Avery Bolas, she talks about Avery all the time!
Anyway, her little feast was so cute.

A 3rd Grade Thanksgiving!

Well, once your kids get into the intermediate grades (3rd and up) the "party's over", so to speak. It is so sad when they no longer dress up like little Pilgrims & Indians and have a "feast". :( Kids just grow up - that's just what they do. So, those of you out there with preschoolers and primary aged kids - enjoy all the little activities that go along with "being little" Those days will be gone before you realize it!
John and I met Andrew at his school for lunch today anyway. He is still not too "big" to give us both hugs before we left (in front of all his classmates, i might add). I am sad to say that this will soon be a "thing of the past" as well. sniff sniff.
Morgan would have crawled under a table if we would have shown up to have lunch with him and his "8th grade" friends at school today!

The Sunday before Thanksgiving...

Today is the SUNDAY before Thanksgiving. Here are just some "random" pictures from today. We saw these" Pilgrims & turkey" on Middlebrook Pike - on the way to a birthday party that Andrew was attending.
I love Thanksgiving, and all the "fixings". Seriously, I love Thanksgiving because I am such a sappy , sentimental "girl"! I love my family & friends and I thank God for so many things. This POEM is my favorite THANKSGIVING poem. I have sent it out for the past 2 Thanksgivings in an e mail, just thought I would put it on the blog this year. Emma Grace made this little turkey hand print in her sunday school class this morning.


A Mother's Thankful Heart~

I come before you Father
to thank you for this life
the blessings you have given me
as a mother and a wife.

I'm thankful for my children
as I watch them grow and play
knowing that each moment will
live for just today.

Im thankful for the laundry
for the dust to wipe away
I'm thankful for the problems
that make me stop and pray


I'm thankful for my husband's job
the roof over our heads
I'm thankful for our daily food
and the comfort of our beds.

I'm thankful for the errands
the phone that always rings
I'm thankful for the tears we cry
for the joy the laughter brings.

I'm thankful for our family's love
the way we sit and talk
the simple games we often play
the picnics and the walks.

I'm thankful for the little things
that make up everyday
for therein lies Your love, Lord
and the wonders of your ways.

I'm thankful for the memories
that life has brought my way
I count it as Your Blessing,
to be a Mother every day!

Author unknown~

Emma Grace at her 1st Lady Vols game

Papaw got us some tickets to tonights Lady Vols game. It was Emma Grace's 1st UT basketball game ever. She was so excited about meeting the cheerleaders and both Smokeys! We made it until just after half time. We also got to meet Coach Bruce Pearl.
She said "he was so nice!" :)

Glad that UT football season is over~ time for some basketball!

Devotion for today

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10 (NIV)

Devotion:
I opened up my email to discover another one of those forwards we all get from time to time. I almost hit “delete” but my eye landed on this acronym for the word “Home”:

Honor the Lord
Obey His Word
Minister to one another
Establish walls of truth

I was glad I took a look at this forward, because it made me think about whether or not these four components are present in my home. When looked at it in this light, the word “home” means so much more than just a place to live. Isn’t that what we want all of our homes to be? More than a place to sleep and eat and occasionally clean, we want our homes to be a place where lives are shaped into God’s design. This little acronym zeroes in on four important goals we should have for our home. The exciting thing is, no matter who lives there, or what problems we are facing, or what limits we feel like we have, with effort and intention our homes can be places where these four things happen.

Honor the Lord: We can honor God with our lips, but yet our hearts can be far from Him (Mt. 15:8) — and the people who live with us will be the first to know when we do this! Let’s seek to honor Him behind the closed doors of our homes, living out our devotion to Him in a visible, gentle way as we realize that our families are watching.

Obey His Word: Obeying His Word at home is not always easy. The Bible tells us to be submissive to our husbands, to love others more than we love ourselves, and to pick up our cross (as we pick up after our children, or care for our elderly parents). When we do these things with humility, those we most want to impact will notice. More than that, they will file it away in their hearts, and our lives will echo in theirs in ways we can’t possibly foresee.

Minister to one another: Ministry requires us to love others, to reach others, and to lay down our lives for the sake of those God has placed in our sphere of influence. This must happen at home first. And yet, if we’re honest, it’s usually the last place it happens. We go out and give the best of what we have to offer to others, then give our leftovers to the people we profess to love the most. Let’s minister to those in our own homes first.

Establish walls of truth: When I first read this, I will confess that something prickled in me. Establish walls? How is it Biblical to establish walls? I questioned. However, I soon realized I was thinking of walls as a means to keep people out. When in actuality, we need to be building walls of truth—God’s truth, designed not to keep others out but to guard our hearts and give us a safe place to retreat and to rest. These walls of truth make our homes into fortresses—a place to run to when our daily battles wear us out.

These are not things we can just do once and move on. They are daily requirements, regular sacrifices, and even personal struggles. We won’t ever do it perfectly and there will be days we feel we are taking one step up and two steps back. But with God’s help, we can keep working to make H.O.M.E. mean so much more.

Dear Lord, make my home a place that includes these four components. I want my home to be more than just a place to live in—I want it to be a place where lives are impacted and relationships are strengthened. Lord, I need Your help to do these things. Thank You for Your promise to always help me when I ask. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

DISNEY Photo Pass pictures

Here are a few pictures made by the Photo pass people who are ALL over Disney World.
Some of these are similar to the ones I made with my camera.

Morgan's football Banquet

After the KES fall frolic, we headed to Morgan's football banquet. They ended their season 6 & 2 . It was really sad to hear the coaches talking about the boys becoming young men, as they will all be entering HIGH school next year. Which means no more YOUTH league football. It will be high school ball from here on. For these boys, it is the end of their "childhhood" sports era. They are growing up. They have remained so close for so many years. I remember them as being little guys with wobbly helmets and shoulder pads falling off of them, now they are all 14 and headed off to high school in less than a year. Sometimes I wish I could freeze time and keep my kids the same age forever.

Karns Elementary Fall Frolic 2008!

This evening our school had its annual PTA fall fundraiser. This year we called it the "Fall frolic". Each class provides a basket for a basket Auction, we sell Jazzy jars and have a Book fair to raise money for our school. I worked in the sweatshirt sales booth! I love them this year!
Aren't they cute! :)

Disney World 2008

I am finally getting around to putting some of our favorite


Disney pictures on here. We were there Oct. 19-26, during the boys fall break from school. I also made a KODAK Photo show (below) which is on the right of the blog, under all the links. :) We had the best time, and we all agree - It truly IS the most Magical place on Earth! (no matter what your age)

*Emma Grace loves this song ~ "If you can dream". It is on her Disney Princess DVD. She knows almost every word~ so sweet with her little lisp.

Disney World 2008