God kept us safe

First of all I want to go on a tangent and say that I love Summer vegetables!  For dinner tonight we had Pepper Jack Chicken, Fried Okra and some fresh corn on the cob with butter and parsley. Oh and the kids and I picked some cherry tomatoes right off our deck in time to wash and eat them with our dinner.  We all had a busy day today so we were all looking forward to our yummy dinner.  And we did enjoy the first few minutes until the diversion...

Now to the point of this post.  As we sat down to eat, a huge thunderstorm came through our area and it was light to dark in a matter of about 5 minutes.  We knew we were under a Thunderstorm Warning and knew it was coming...quickly.  It eventually started thundering and lightning and Brayden got really terrified of the loud noises and was crying to get in my lap.  And if I were honest, it scared me too (those that know me know that I have always been terrified of storms...but as a parent now have to put on the "it's ok" face).  Besides, after lightning struck our front yard just Sunday...I was a little on edge!  So we spent the rest of our meal with Brayden in my lap and Karis in Jay's lap.  We used it as a teachable moment and began to remind the kids that God is always with us and the He created all the storms, so there is no reason to be afraid (Yea...still trying to convince myself of this!).  Karis said, "Yea Brayden you don't have to be afraid because God made all those crackers!"  She was meaning "firecrackers" because that is what Brayden thought they were.... fireworks.  Although the statement was funny, it was very sweet that she was teaching him what we have been trying to teach her.  God is good!

The ironic part of this whole story is that soon after that we sit down to all 

read our Bible story before bedtime and the title read, "God kept me safe."  God had ordained this day so that my kids would see the beauty of who He is and that He is indeed faithful.  

How beautiful!  The story was about Noah and explained how he obeyed God and how God blessed him and his family and "kept him safe" even in the midst of a flood.  Of course we wanted to stress that God is always with us rather than God keeps us safe because in reality, that is not always the case.  "Safe" to us is not always what God has in mind.  But nevertheless it was a beautiful moment when God opens up the flood gates (pun intended) of wisdom in little ones.  Soon after the story, the kids wanted to go to the window and see if there was a rainbow. We looked really hard for one and although that would be an incredible ending to our God story, we didn't see one (I still think there was one out there somewhere though).  What a lesson for me too...although God is sovereign in all things...there isn't always a rainbow at the end...and even then, God is still good! Don't you agree?

Indoor water park

We are tired of the heat (even pools are hot these days), so we decided to go to give it a try.  It is basically an in-door sprinkler park for kids and is tons of fun.  Not only is it fun but cheap...kids 4 and under are free and my cost was only $5.00.  We went alot last summer and I couldn't believe the difference in how the kids handled it from last year to this year.  Their growth and maturity made worlds of difference!  Last year Brayden was in a baby float and this year (with floaties) was all over that pool!  Karis, too, enjoyed herself.  Our friends Paige, Rachel and Ashley also joined us and all of our kids so there were lots of playmates!  There is also an Olympic size pool there too but only Nathan ventured over there...maybe next year! :)

Karis in the fountains

Brayden...already tired???

The girly girls (with all these floaties, I don't think any of them will drown huh?)

Our picnic lunch was an adventure with 10 kids (all 4 and under except Nathan)!

Karis, Kendall, Drew and Brayden eating apples

Maggie Clark...look at that mischevious grin!

Rachel, Jack, Mary Taylor and Ashley

Karis braving the fountains

Paige and Nathan

Kids eating snacks...swimming makes you so hungry!

Me and Brayden

Nathan swimming the length of the Olympic size pool (17 feet deep)!  He looks like a professional!

Kendall, Karis and Mari-Morgan watching people jump off the high-dive.

Fun day gals!

Bedtime sweetness

Just want to eat 'em with a spoon sometimes...

Playdate with Macy and Kylie

Today we met a good friend of mine Lori in Collierville.  We used to teach on the same team at EPMS for 4 years until I got moved and she transferred to a school in Collierville.  We haven't seen much of each other lately, and school starts back for her next week and we have yet to get together this summer. So we decided to meet up at the Collierville sprinkler park which I have heard about but never been to until today.  We stayed there for a while and then went to Lori's house to eat lunch. She has recently gotten married and I haven't seen her new house yet.  Below are her two girls, Macy (going into 2nd grade) and Kylie (starting Kindergarten this year).

Karis...not really sure what she is doing here????

My mom and her friends came as well and brought  Marlaina and Neila too 

(pictured below with Karis).

Joseph under the buckets... (Yes Joseph...you are on the blog :) )

The girls playing in the sprinklers (Marlaina, Kaylee, Kylie, and Macy)

Brayden drinking the fountain

After we ate lunch at Lori's, we went over to her sister's house, Megan, to go swimming.  She has two boys 4 and 2, so the kids had a blast playing.  This is Macy and Karis in the pool.

Karis swinging...

Macy pushing Karis on the swing

Their backyard was so pretty...we really enjoyed hanging out there.

The treehouse was a hit!

Karis in the treehouse

Thanks girls for a very fun day!

Just hangin' around

Today we spent most of the day at home due to the much needed cleaning and laundry dates I had.  Despite it, we had lots of fun and spent some quality time together as a family.  Here we are just hangin' around...

I was changing Brayden's sheets today and I left the room for a second and came back to this...

Peek-a-boo

Karis was hangin' out at the camp with daddy tonight so Brayden got to take a bath all by himself (don't know that it has ever happened before).  I came back in the room and found him just lounging in the bathtub like he was in a hot tub or something.

Sissy wearing daddy's hat

My sweet little girl

Tonight's Connect Group

My friends, Paige and Mary Beth, decided it would be funny to give me a gag gift for my birthday.  They decided to take me back to the 80's with the jelly shoes ($1.00 Target section).  Karis actually loved them and wanted to wear them!  There were very comfortable I must admit!

My sweet dear friends

After our Bible study, the guys always play the Wii.  Tonight all the kids wanted to give it a try and Brayden was trying so hard here...

There is a lake at Levi and Lindsey's apartment and the kids always love to go and see it and feed the ducks.  Tonight was no exception!  We did feed them for a while until it became X-rated.  I guess it mating season for the ducks...if you get my drift!

And lightning strikes...

So Jay and I were sitting on the couch talking, enjoying my birthday today (kids had just laid down for naps) when all of a sudden it sounded like a bomb had exploded.  Jay was sitting on the couch where he could see out the front window and all of a sudden he ran to the window and said, "Lightning just hit that tree!" When it happened, from my angle all I saw was the lightning flash and our whole yard lit up!  But he said he saw bark and limbs fly off the tree!  We could tell it was bad but couldn't see all of it until we went outside to get a really good look when we saw this...

The lightning split the tree 3/4 of the way down the tree and it will now be dead and soon fall over!  We will definitely be getting it cut down!  If you look closely beyond the light colored wood where the bark flew off the tree, you will see the center of the tree is BLACK.  It literally FRIED the tree!  We are really blessed that it didn't catch on fire or fall on our house!  Or that the lightning missed our house! As far as we can tell, the only other damage is our garage door opener no longer works.  I guess the lightning hit it too!  But we are blessed and I will never forget my 29th birthday!

These are all the branches that fell off when the lightning struck.

Thank you Lord for sparing us!

Happy Birthday to mom

Even though my family had already given me gifts for my birthday, my sweet husband bought me a dozen roses for me to enjoy on my special day.  Thanks sweetie...they are beautiful!

After my birthday dinner last night when they sang "Happy Birthday," Brayden keeps singing it over and over again...."Hap Birday!" and when he finishes the song, he says, "Gin!" (again).  

No material gift could ever replace this video....

Thanks Jay, Karis and Brayden! You're the best!

My 29th Birthday dinner

Tomorrow is my 29th birthday (wow I am getting old!) so we celebrated tonight with my family (Mom, Dad, and Allen).  I have two brothers that couldn't be with us tonight...Matt is in Jackson with his fiance' and Jonathan is in Brazil for the summer.  We missed you guys!  One of my favorite places to eat in the whole world is a Japanese restaurant so we went to Sekisui in Southaven.  We enjoyed onion soup, ginger salad, fried rice, chicken, shrimp, steak, vegetables, and even some sushi.  It was delicious!!!  

Mom, Dad and Karis

Jay and I

Me, Jay, my brother Allen and Brayden

Brayden attempting to eat with chopsticks

Lolli and Karis

My brother Allen and I

My dad trying to eat sushi for the first time...

Our cook Roger

Since it was my birthday dinner, they came out and sang to me and brought out a birthday sundae.  We all enjoyed it!  Notice what Brayden has his eyes on!

Sissy eating sundae

My favorite 3 people in the world!

Get this...I mentioned a while back that I wanted to go to the Carrie Underwood concert in October so my sweet brother went and bought us tickets to go!  I am so excited!  It was very thoughtful of him!

My sweet family

My family pitched in together and got me a new camera for my birthday.  You all know I use a camera daily so it was the best gift ever and it is a very nice one!  Thanks and I love you guys!