Our Family

Monday, May 31, 2010

Another School Year Comes To An End...

It is hard to believe that the school year is over! Jaycie finished 1st grade and Jessica finished 4th grade. They both had a wonderful year... all E's (Excellent) for Jaycie in 1st grade... straight A's for Jessica in 4th grade! We are so thankful for the wonderful teachers and the sweet friends the girls both had!

Jaycie receives the "Book Worm Award" from Miss Lucius...

for always having her nose in a book!

Jaycie adores Miss Lucius!

Jaycie & Malaysia

Ankita & Jaycie

Ankita, Jaycie, Lily, and Savannah

Jessica graduated from 4th grade... sadly, this is her last year in elementary school. The school here only has K-4th, next year she will go to a school with 5th & 6th. This is a big change for all of us and we will miss having her in elementary school!!! They had a graduation banquet and awards ceremony for 4th graders. Jessica received awards for the All "A" Honor Roll... highest average in language arts, science, and health... highest overall average... the President's Award for Educational Excellence... and she received her 4th grade graduation certificate!

Carrie, Joanna, & Jessica

Jessica receives her awards from Mrs. Nexsen.

Jessica receives her awards from Mr. Rogers.

We are SO PROUD of both the girls!!!!!! We are thankful for a great school year... and SO excited that summer is here!!!! As their reward for such good report cards... Jessica got the last book in the Unicorn Chronicles and Jaycie got two new Magic Tree House books... the girls were ecstatic!

Women of Joy

I had the privilege to join a group of women from my church at the Women of Joy conference in Charleston. I really wasn't sure what to expect... and it turned out to be absolutely wonderful! We heard amazing speakers... and went to an awesome concert! I was so encouraged and motivated... especially as a mom. And, to top it off, I got to spend time with some AWESOME friends!!!!

Travis Cottrell led the worship team!

Steven Curtis Chapman -

He was awesome!

Some of the women from our group were able to meet him and his band!

Michael W. Smith - WOW is all I can say!
I would LOVE to see him in concert again!

I had trouble getting good pictures -

this one doesn't begin to capture how awesome his concert was!

Travis & Kate

Sheri & Becky Tirabassi

The Girl Scouts Hit The Beach!!!!

We took two trips to the beach in May with the girl scouts. The first was a day trip with the Brownies. Jaycie and I went down the night before and spent a girls night with Geri and then met the Girl Scouts at the aquarium. After the aquarium, we took the girls to Build A Bear then to Friendly's for dinner. They had a great day!

Mary, Jaycie, Lilly, Harper, Houston, Julia, and Caroline

Jaycie tangled in tentacles!

Me & my sweet girl!

Jaycie made and adopted Isabella... then changed her name to June Bug.

Two weeks later, we took the Junior Girl Scouts to the beach for an overnight trip. They had a blast... we went "walking" on the beach at night... playing in the ocean... then to the aquarium and Friendly's again!

Anne Marie, Katheryn, Mary Frances, Marianna, Jessica, Kayla, and Allie

They were "supposed" to stay dry... ha!

Marianna, Jessica, & Mary Frances

They loved being on the beach!

Nancy (tallest in the middle) joined us late Friday night.

Jessica got new earrings... her first pair of "danglies"... Marlin & Nemo!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

April: Easter, Birthdays, Family, Friends, & Fun

April was a very busy month for us... and I have obviously gotten behind on the blog. I recently found out that my mom prints out my blog and puts the posts in a notebook for my grandparents to read. Seriously, that makes my day... and encourages me to keep posting. We don't get to see my grandparents often... and it makes me smile to know that they can share in our daily lives. So... here is April...

Each of the kids placed a flower on the cross at church Easter morning. These are the song lyrics from church that stuck with us the entire day... "And You lived and You died, and You rose again on high... And you opened the way for the world to live again... Hallelujah for all You've done!" Jaycie, especially, loves to sing... and she told me she wants to be a "church singer" when she grows up.

We also celebrated Jaycie's 7th birthday this month! Since her birthday is usually close to Easter... it always seems as though the celebration lasts all month. And that was certainly the case this month... we celebrated in the mountains at dad's house... at home with James' parents the weekend before Easter... at home with friends... in Raleigh with more family.... and then finished with a sleepover party!

Unfortunately, she had strep on the actual day of her birthday. By that night, she felt well enough to open presents... she loves her new water frogs and named them April & Emma. We did have to postpone her sleepover party... but she felt well enough the day after her birthday to invite friends over for cupcakes around the fire pit! Thanks Hunter, Colin, & Anderson for making her "birthday re-do" so much fun!

When we were able to have her sleepover party... the girls had a blast! The girls started w/Disney Sing-It on the wii... we painted nails... stamped... made friendship bracelets... had smore's around the fire pit... watched a movie... and then they all slept GREAT!

Jamie, Lily, Jaycie, Allie, & Ankita

The girl scouts have also had a busy month! They volunteered to help decorate the church's tent and set up the luminaries at the Relay For Life. Jamie & Jacob liked being our "sand boy & girl"... filling the luminary bags with sand. Jessica and I went back late that evening for the lighting of the luminaries. It was a very powerful ceremony and I am so thankful the girls were able to do this service project!

We also took the Junior Girl Scouts horseback riding to earn their horse rider badge. This was the first time on a horse for some of the girls... they all did SO wonderful! They started in the ring, then each girl was able to go on a short trail ride. They were also responsible for grooming the horses and helping with the tack.

Mary Frances, Marianna, and Jessica rode on Diamond.

Nancy, Chloe, and Katheryn rode on Guthrie.

The kids & I spent a weekend in Raleigh. James stayed home to finish his final project for another MBA class... he is ALMOST half way done!!!! We stayed with Nana & Papaw... Jessica got the dragon picture her & Papaw worked on together (he drew it, she colored it)... we were able to see my godparents... Papaw took the kids for a ride in the MG... we had dinner with my sister at her new house... the kids were able to see all their first cousins... and we squeezed in a short visit with friends!

Yes... this is a real dog... Miss Sophie... she obviously enjoys being pampered!

The picture where we bribed them to sit still and smile....

The way they really act... Jaycie, Sydney, and Jamie smile... Jessica runs out of camera view... and Jacob is a clown!

Grant, Jessica, Jaycie, Sage, Jamie, & Jacob

The twins started a new preschool at the beginning of the month because I went back to work part-time. I will have to say... I feel like I have the best of both worlds and this is a wonderful schedule! They are adjusting well! Their class (the Super Stars) went on a field trip to the strawberry patch and sang a song for us at Pastries for Parents.