Patrick's first football game

I can't believe Patrick is old enough to start playing tackle football! I guess it is just part of growing up in the South. He is playing for the Pelham Panthers. His first football game was Friday night. Look how cute he is in his uniform- lucky number 63! Thankfully it hasn't been as hard watching him practice & play as I imagined it would be. Probably because he hasn't really gotten hurt and seems to really like it. They played two games Friday against Helena, losing the first and winning the second. The game was a lot of fun. They have cute little cheerleaders and everything. Sarah, of course, already wants to know when she can be a cheerleader....

VBS

This week I am Patrick's small group leader at our church's vacation bible school. It is so fun! I have a great group of 11 second graders and a teenage helper, too. This picture is of Patrick and his two friends who came with us. Praise & worship is so awesome with kids. They are on fire & not ashamed to dance & sing. I think I might have found another area to volunteer in the church.... :) That is, if Patrick wouldn't be embarrassed to have me singing & dancing with him in church every week!

McWane Center Scout Lock-In

Patrick & I got to sleep under a dinosaur last weekend! We had a great time at the McWane Center. Patrick's Scout Pack had a lock-in. We got to see the Under the Sea IMAX movie. They fed us, did a science lab class for the boys, and we got to explore the adventure halls. Lights went out at midnight, although I can testify that not everyone went to sleep then! I can say that even thought I didn't sleep much, it was nice to be in the air conditioning on an air mattress & not worrying about what bug was about to crawl in your pjs! It was a lot of fun and very educational, too. I highly recommend it if you get the chance to do it with your children. The McWane staff said they offer a lot of lock-ins during the fall. Check it out!

Precious Playdate

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to have a playdate with one of Abby's first friends. Her name is Lydia. We met Lydia and her Mama, Liz, at Clinic 8 soon after Abby was diagnosed. Lydia had leukemia and had to go to Seattle for a bone marrow transplant. She is doing great now and her immune system is finally to the point where they can begin to have playdates. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get to have fun with Liz and all our children (I brought my 3 and Liz has 3 also) at the park. It was like a beautiful dream that I never could have imagined when we first met. Liz and I, even though we have not had the opportunity to be with each other often, have cried and prayed together and experienced things that no mother should ever have to experience. I feel a strong bond with her and am so grateful for her friendship... I am greatly looking forward to many more playdates to come. So excited to see what God has in store for these amazing little girls.

God gave me a sister

Here's my BFF, my sister from another mister, peanut butter to my jelly, yin to my yang (or is it yang to my yin?). Anyway, you get it. Meghan Richardson has been all that to me now for 12 years. We are so alike in big ways- both only children whose Dads were police officers. Both of us love the Lord. Both of us have three children and stay at home. We are alike in ways I can't even articulate. But in some ways we are so different, too, and I know God did that for a reason. We are very much like the other's spouse. Meg is like Jason- very outgoing, imaginative, inventive, hilarious and fun. I am like Meg's spouse, Jeff- fairly quiet, easy-going, supportive and dependable. I am constantly thankful for Meg's (and Jeff's) friendship. We have been with each other through good times and bad. They are family to me. It doesn't matter if I see them once a day (like when we bought our first homes on the same street in Crestwood) or once a month. I know we will always be the same. I truly thank God for that consistent love and support from a friend. God knew I would be an only child, so he gave me the best "sister" ever. Tonight we had a rarity- dinner out alone & then time to go to the thrift store (one of our favorite passtimes). This picture is literally the first one of us alone together in a year! We are always behind the cameras or referreeing our crew so we never get to be in a picture together.

I love you, Meg! Sorry this has been so sappy.

Camping at Piney Grove in Mississippi

Jason's big catch- a large mouth bass

Patrick's big catch- a channel catfish

Sarah's first catch ever- a brim (she did catch bigger ones!)

Riding on Uncle Greg's boat

We had the best time camping this weekend. We had the pleasure of being invited to camp with Uncle Greg & Aunt Cheri and our cousin, Emma Anne. We went to Piney Grove Campground, near New Site, MS. The campground was awesome. It sits on Bay Springs Lake, which is off the Tombigbee Waterway. There is a beach for campers, which the kids loved going to every day. They got to fish with Daddy and Uncle Greg. We saw tons of wildlife, including a family of four armadillos who we saw next to our campsite every morning! We had a big fish fry Saturday night. It was so fun and such a joy to get to spend time with family we don't get to see very often. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, though. It was exhausting for Mama!

more pics of abby inpatient

I don't really have any words to describe how these photographs make me feel. These are from March 2008.