Luke's Construction Party

We all had a great time at Luke's Construction Party. He was SO excited! We were able to have the party at our church again so the kids were able to run & play in the gym and stay in out of the cold. We decorated in traditional construction style with orange, yellow, black & white. We were even able to find orange safety barrier to use- I had lots of fun coming up with items & ideas to decorate with. :) We started the party by letting each child decorate their own "hardhat" with stickers to wear during the party.


We had several activities set up for the kids in the gym. There were blocks to build with and a play mat to drive toy trucks on, but the favorite by far was the work station with "boards" (styrofoam that was painted brown *thank you Spinks*) and nails (golf tees *thank you Mr. Luker*) The kids used toy hammers to hammer into the boards. We also found out that the toy saws will cut... And make a HUGE mess!

They all had so much fun with this it was completely worth all the clean-up. After they played for a while we took a break for some food. We had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, spicy pimento cheese sandwiches, chips, dip, tea & juice boxes before we dove into the cake. Of course we opened presents after that-








Luke was very specific about wanting a chocolate cake with chocolate icing with construction vehicles on top. (And I thought I was just going to make cupcakes!) I used pretzel rods as logs & to put around the bottom edge of the cake. I baked sugar cookies & glazed them in orange to make his name & the orange construction cones. The "dirt" on top of the cake is crushed chocolate animal crackers & the mini cones on top are molded from orange starburst candy. I was happy with how it turned out since I am a novice! But most importantly, Luke LOVED it! :) Here's a pic of him checking it out-

Before everyone went home, we had one last surprise! Our friends Ryan & Natalie Pitts let us borrow their dump truck for the party so all the kids could climb in & have their picture taken. Luke was THRILLED!

After everyone who wanted to had a turn, we sent them home with goodie buckets filled with play dough, sidewalk chalk, & crayons. We had a wonderful day!

Isaac & Luke playing on the tractor.

A family snapshot at Isaac's birthday party

Josh & Susie at Isaac's birthday party.
I am so thankful my boys got to meet their Uncle Josh.

My sweet Dumplin' has gone on to doggy heaven...

Susie & Mark at the AL homecoming game.
We had a great day together!

Almost Christmas again...

So...I've proven to be terrible at blogging. The year has gone by so quickly and I've missed many opportunities to post about happenings in our lives.

It's almost Christmas again and my boys have grown so much since last year. They are absolutely amazing. Awesome. It seems that I love them more each day somehow. My husband is equally awesome. I'm so thankful to have him and for the unbelievable amount of support he offers.

2010 has been an incredibly hard year. My dog died. A good friend lost his life in an accident. Hardest of all for me, my brother died. I could go on and on about how terrible it has all been. And it HAS been terrible. But here is what I would rather take from it: I had the best dog ever for almost FIFTEEN years! I got to know Mark & see what a joy he was to be around! God gave me the best big brother for 32 YEARS of my life! Many people only get to love their siblings for a few years- These are all BLESSINGS. I will NOT choose to only mourn & feel sorry for myself, but to count it as a joy for the life I was able to share with them. God does not promise us that we will not go through hard times, but that He will walk through those times with us. And He has! Some days I just have to crawl into His lap & let him hold me and give me the peace & comfort He promises. And He does! So although this Christmas season will be hard, I am hopeful for the year to come. My prayer is that I am able to receive and enjoy all of God's blessings as they come to me. To fully enjoy my family & friends and love them well. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know God will be there tomorrow and I will trust Him with it.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Riding the Big Tractor

Luke was so excited to get to ride the "Big Tractor" with Granddaddy! He even prays for the tractor at night before bed and he knows that it sleeps in the barn with Sue (the dog).