'Tis the Season

Well, it is that time of year again. It always amazes me how much earlier the Christmas stuff comes out every year. I suppose in a few more years, we can just leave all of our Christmas decorations out because it will be the season again in January...nah, I don't think our HOA would approve!

We received an offer through our homeschool group for a gift bag from the local mall. It contained a free carousel ride, a $10 mall gift card, a $10 gift card to Picture People, a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich (who could pass that up?!) and a free 5 x 7 with Santa. Of course we were one of the crazy families there at 10 am to get a gift bag! It was great walking around and seeing several other homeschool families out at the mall. While we were there, we got our annual picture with Santa.

I pretty much let the kids dress themselves, they are beyond the age where I can convince them to dress cute for Santa pictures. At least they were color coordinated! Only in the South will you find kids in sandals in Santa pictures! I think it was in the 80s that day!

I am still behind on all of my preparations and will most likely not be joining the Black Friday crowds since I have no idea what I will buy for anyone, but I did complete the Santa picture a week and a half before Thanksgiving!

Our Little Ballerina

Our little ballerina had a mini-recital to show the parents what they have been learning since August. Princess TD absolutely loves ballet and wonders almost daily about how long it will be until she can dance pointe. I recorded it on my camera to share with family and immediately she asked me to post it on Facebook. I, of course, asked if I could post it on the blog instead. She agreed, so here it is.

It is not the best resolution. Next time I will try the higher resolution and see if that comes out better.

Blessed

Hmm...I find it very interesting that Google Reader has recommended my own blog as one I should follow. I don't know if that happens to everyone, but I thought maybe it was a not so subtle hint that I do indeed have a blog and that I should be updating it more often!

I also learned I have 12 followers! Wow! I had no idea that many people still read my ramblings outside of family. So, for the dozen of you still reading, here's an update.

This summer has been crazy to say the least. I can sum it up in one word...cancer...not in our little immediate family, but in our extended family. Our summer has been filled with doctors appointments, surgeries and hospital visits. Grammie was diagnosed within the last month, and her second surgery is scheduled for September 23. Please keep her in your prayers as we move through this difficult transition in her life.

This summer (and spring too) we have had to call on some of our good friends to help us out during these (and a couple of other) crises. It has been such an awesome blessing to see all of those who jumped in to help us and even those who offered and weren't able to help due to their circumstances at the time. So often we all go through life without really realizing how many lives we touch and how many people are there willing to help if they just know of the need. Our family has been blessed beyond words with wonderful people who are praying for us and with us, or are just there for us when we need it.

Thank you to all of our sweet friends! Your calls, e-mails, handwritten notes (Thanks WE. Your note made my day!), shared scriptures (even if I didn't get to read it...=)), and texts have made this so much easier.

We are blessed!!!

A Weekend Off

We have had quite a few things going on in our life recently that has made our minds a bit preoccupied with things other than family fun. We decided to take a weekend off last weekend and spend the day out in the boat. We all lathered up in our SPF 50 sunscreen and headed to the lake!

We had a blast!

We ran around the lake for a bit.

We went swimming near the island. Even Mr. TD got in the water and easily got out for the first time since his back injury 3 1/2 years ago. He thoroughly enjoyed being in the water again!

We had a picnic lunch near the dam.

After lunch, we let the kids go tubing! They had a blast! They spent a good 2 hours in the tube telling us to go faster and faster. We didn't always do it, because most of the lake shore is bulkhead, which after a few hours of boat traffic makes the lake pretty choppy.

I did my best to snap a few pictures...it's kind of hard to hold the camera still on digital zoom when you are riding in a boat at 20+ mph on a choppy lake. Many of the pictures were of the top of the kids head with a good view of the boat wake!

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We can't wait to go again! We'll see what the schedule allows in the next few weeks!