FUN times with friends!

Over Memorial weekend, our friends the Kinseys went with us up to my mom's house. My mom lives on the lake, and it is always a blast to have great people to enjoy the lake with! My mom spoils us with delicious meals, the kiddos wear themselves out, we all get a healthy dose of Vitamin D, and smiles abound. :)

Porter took his first two boat rides.

The kiddos caught fish...of course!

Landon caught the most, but Ella Beth caught the biggest. Not that things are ever a competition in our house. ;)

Andy baited the line for Elliott.

My hands were almost always full, but I wouldn't have them any other way. :)

So were Andy's.

LOVE this picture! So thankful Ella Beth has a "grown up" friend (of 8 years old) who is so kind and respectful to look up to. :)

It's never a complete weekend at the lake without juicy watermelon. This watermelon was seriously the best I've ever tasted. Didn't last long!

Arms full, sweet little tongue, and I'm thankful that Jenn was there to capture a couple of pics of me. :)

Snack time after swimming.

Then it was time for tube rides. The kiddos (except for Landon this time) couldn't get enough!

And neither could the daddies. :)

  As always, Landon falls asleep on just about any boat ride. Makes me smile every time. 

We had such a GREAT time, and are looking forward to going again. Landon has literally asked every single day since Tuesday (we left Monday) when we are going back to Mimi's lake. I guess we'd better go soon!

Lake Fun

Last week, the kiddos and I had the joy of spending quality time with my best friend Meredith and her two littles. Our week was unexpectedly cut a day short with the birth of Meredith's new nephew. We hated to have to head out early, but there could not have been a better reason!

The kiddos had a blast together! Of course there were some moments of not wanting to share, but we quickly fixed those moments with the words, "Who's ready to go swimming??!!!!!" Worked like a charm. ;)

In the morning while the kiddos were waiting for breakfast to be made (homemade biscuits [me] & fried bacon [Mere]), coloring was the activity of choice. Even by the smallest ones. :)

We took Buttercup with us since the kiddos hate to part with him. Landon was not in time-out - this picture just makes me laugh.

Buttercup was a hit with everyone. He is such a good kitty...tolerates just about anything!

Remember those magical words that I mentioned earlier? They always produced smiles. :)

I love this picture! Her puffed out cheeks, in mid-air ready for her cannon ball, and her lack of timidity. Very different from last year.

Splash!

I used one of my mom's rafts and made a slide for the kiddos. HUGE hit. HUGE!!!

 

 

Love this smile! Jackson had such a great time in the water.

Meredith and sweet Natalie lounging in the sun.

 

We had such a wonderful few days at the lake. It was relaxing (well, as relaxing as it can be with 4 very lively children running around!), it was refreshing, and it was just what we all needed! I intended to have a picture taken of all of us - or at least of Meredith and me - but that will just have to wait until next time!

Thank you, Mere, for such a nice time. And thank you, Mama, for hosting us. Looking forward to next time!

Urgent prayer requests

Hi, y'all. I have three prayer requests that I would like to share with you.

1) My sweet friend Ashly Tucker is scheduled for her induction on Wednesday. She goes to the doctor on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. for an amnio, and if everything looks good...she and her husband Denny will travel to the hospital that evening to start the induction. 

Please pray that the Lord will keep His hand on this precious baby (they don't know what they are having!). Please also pray for peace for Ashly and Denny as the time for Baby T's arrival is now only days away.

Ashly's story can be found here: http://www.onceuponatucker.blogspot.com/

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2) A co-worker, Bryan Apinis, and his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on August 2. Samuel was diagnosed with a severe heart defect at their 20-week ultra sound.

Samuel has already had 2 surgeries...and he's just 13 days old.

You can keep up with them here: http://apinisfamily.blogspot.com/

They are posting regularly about what's going on, what the doctors are saying, and asking for specific prayer requests. I know most of you probably don't know Bryan, but I hope that won't keep you from praying for him, his wife Katheryn, their two older sons Joel and Caleb, and for their precious Samuel.

Their blog is new, so I encourage you to start from the "oldest post" to get updated with the situation. And, you'll see lots of pictures if you start from there anyway!!!

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3) My friend Christina is pregnant with her 3rd sweet boy, Luke. During an ultra sound around 26 weeks, the doctors found that baby Luke was not growing properly. She has been in for appointments, check-ups, and ultra sounds each week to monitor Luke's progress.

Unexplainable to medical science, Luke has been progressing much better than they ever hoped! I have no doubt that it is from the many prayers being lifted up for Christina and sweet Luke.

The doctors are still talking about Luke being born prematurely, but I ask you to pray that Luke will stay in his mommy's tummy as long as he needs to thrive.

You can follow Christina's story here: http://www.mycanvas.typepad.com/

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On a side note...A - for Ashly, B - for Bryan, C - for Christina. Maybe that will stick in your minds so that you won't forget to pray! A-B-C! :)