"I'VE BEEN HAD!!!!!"

On Sunday night after church I was under the impression that my friend Nicole and I were going to go to Kohl's to look for a picture frame for a cross stitch that Nicole had done and to look for shoes. Afterwards, we were going to eat at Panera Bread. Well, we left church and we were both starving so we decided to go to Panera first but it was almost 8 p.m. so I kept asking Nicole if she wanted to go to Kohl's first because I thought it would be closed by the time we got done eating. Nicole insisted we go eat and that Kohl's was opened until 9 or 10 pm. which was plenty of time. Well, we get to Kingstowne where Panera Bread is and we park the truck. As I am walking through the front, I noticed that had changed some of the tables around and then I noticed all of my friends from church sitting around this table with a birthday cake. I turned to Nicole and was like, "What have you all done!" Needless to say, I was very surprised that my wonderful sisters in the Lord had planned this special birthday surprise for me and it was a very encouraging time. Thanks to all of you for being so willing to plan this for me and for the love that you constantly show me. I am very humbled by it and Praise God for all of you.

Samantha & David's Wedding

On Saturday, we had the priviledge of attending our friend Samantha's wedding where Christian was the ring bearer. He had been looking forward to it all week as well as Aaron who was given the task of having all of the guests sign the guest book. Both of the boys did a great job and received many complements on their behavior and how handsome they looked. It made me a very proud mom! We had a great time together. I hope you enjoy all of the pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!!

First, let me say thank you to all of you for praying for Joe. He arrived safely at his destination early Wednesday morning and has begun get the lay of the land already. The boys and I were able to talk with him last night and it was such a blessing for all of us.

Christian celebrated his 9th birthday on Tuesday and it is hard for me to believe that he is already that old. It seems like just yesterday he was this little itty bitty baby. We had a great day which began with me finding the boys nestled together in the bed because that is how they wanted to celebrate Christian's birthday together. Then, we met our good friends Debbie and Caleb for lunch at Chicken Out. Next, it was finally seeing Shrek the Third after only seeing the first two movies in the series over the last two weeks. Finally, after the movie we took the boys to Friendly's for ice cream(seeing as how it was 100 degrees here)!!! I hadn't been to Friendly's since I was a kid in Rochester, New York. The waiters and waitresses came and sang Happy Birthday to Christian and Aaron was so embarrased that he hid under the table until they were finished(if you look closely at the picture above you can see him under the table). As usual it was yummy for the tummy and the baby was doing flips in my belly afterwards to prove it. Today, we went to the Becker's house to play with our friends Adam and Will. All the boys enjoyed being knights with swords, having some fun in the swimming pool, and eating NERDS ropes and Ring Pops which left for some interesting teeth and tongue colors. Needless to say, it has been a pretty good week considering we had to say goodbye to Daddy for a bit.

Prayer Request

I would like to ask everyone to pray for traveling mercies and safety for Joe as he leaving this evening for his deployment. He has already left here and is on his way to the airport since they have to be there so many hours ahead of time. We covet all of your prayers during this time of separation and thank you all for your support.

NFL Youth Football Camp

Yesterday, the boys and I had the opportunity to attend a NFL Youth Football Camp here at Fort Belvoir that was sponsored by the USO. If you know our family we are all huge football fans. The NFL Network is basically on the tv 24/7 at our house. At first, I thought that there would not be anyone from any teams that we would know but it ended up that Joe Theisman was there along with Tony Page who use to play for the Miami Dolphins. I already thought that is was pretty cool that the NFL would actually come to Fort Belvoir to begin with but then to meet some famous players was just totally awesome. The boys each got to choose which position they wanted to learn more about, Christian chose the Running Backs and Aaron chose to be a Quarterback. Christian got to work with Tony Page and Aaron got to work with Joe Theisman. They started with stretching drills and then broke off into their individual positions. At the end of the camp, all the coaches sat the kids down and gave them a great talk on doing their best at home, in school, and in football. It was very encouraging to Aaron and Christian and they had a great time. Joe was able to come over during his lunch hour to see the boys and was really impressed with the program. Joe Theisman came up to us afterwards, introduced himself, and complemented Aaron on his hard work. The boys also received a NFL Youth Football Jersey, a gym bag, an NFL Football, and a certificate of completion of the clinic. It was a big blessing for all of us to be involved in such a great event.

It's Time to Spill the Beans!!

Well, I guess it's time to spill the beans that we are expecting a baby sometime around December 21. We went today to Bethesda to have our 18 week Ultrasound to check to make sure that there were no problems with the baby and the doctors were pleased to see no abnormalities and that everything looks good. We also found out that we are having ... you guessed it....another BOY!!! Needless to say, we are very thankful to the Lord that through His sovereign will we are able to have another child and that he seems to be healthy. Please pray for us as we prepare for Joe's deployment in a couple of weeks and the transition that will be for the boys. Thank you all for continually praying for our family during this time. I hope that you will be able to make out the pictures below but it is amazing to see everything on the ultrasound as they are doing it. I am truly amazed at how God forms these little ones and the blessing that they are to us.

A Week in the Outer Banks

We spent the last week in North Swan Beach, North Carolina. We didn't realize that the house we rented was actually down the beach 7 miles in soft sand, but thankfully we had our 4Runner which is 4WD. Needless to say it was an adventure getting down to the house but once we got there it was so awesome. The house was so nice and the view was great. We were about 500 yards from the beach and we were able to listen to the sound of the waves as we went to sleep at night. The part of the beach that we were in the Outer Banks is also home to the Wild Horse Sanctuary. At first, I was a little sceptical that we would even see any. Well, as we were on the beach last Monday, they all of sudden just started walking out from where the house were. Then the next morning, I woke up early because of a certain dog I know(GRACIE) who was ferociously growling at something outside. Well, it was the horses and they were about 100 feet from the house just grazing on the grasses. As I sat there taking pictures of them they just kept getting closer and closer until they were in the back yard and then they went under the house. The houses there are all on stilts. I was so amazed by the horses and that they were not even bothered by any of the people around them. Joe's mom came up from South Carolina for a few days to enjoy with us and while she was there we went to the Currituck Lighthouse and the Wright Brothers Monument. We had a very relaxing time and Aaron and Christian enjoyed the beach, making sand castles, helping Dad fly the kite, and the hot tub at the house the most. We had many beautiful days at the beach decided that we will have to do it again next year after Joe gets back from his deployment.