Full Week Post

I have been sick as a dog a bit under the weather this week and it has been horrible. Even I though was ill there was still a lot going on!

This past weekend the band had their last competition. The girls did great even through we missed Kaitlyn (she had the flu).

Aren't they pretty?

I asked Matt Williams to take a picture of Ms. Rhea and I.

These next few pictures are the result.

Not yet...

Almost....

There we go....

Sunday was Artie's 27th birthday! Unfortunately I was so sick that we did not get to do anything fun. I made it through breakfast and then I was in bed all day. But he did get the best surprise gift ever! I am so good...I even surprise myself sometimes! Just kidding.

On Wednesday I was feeling a little better. The Christmas Shop donated a tree for The Hands On Museum this year. Suzan and I went early that morning to decorate it. It turned out so pretty. We did a Winter Wonderland theme on a small 4 foot tree.

Then Wednesday night we had the annual Harvest Festival at church. By the end of the day I was wearing down since I had spent a few days in bed. So I geared up as much as I could...we all had a lot of fun.

Reading to the kids

Decorating cookies!

Oh Barry!

The traditional Austin- Heather picture

Well that was a rather long recap but lots had been going on! I hope everyone had a great week and a blessed weekend!

Oooops...

Note to self...Don't try to get fancy

weekend Recap Part 2

This might sound a little jumbley because I was half asleep when it all happened.



Early Saturday morning our dog Kasey starts barking like crazy. It is about 3am and I try to quiet her back to sleep. Artie wakes up enough to see that there is a light coming in from somewhere outside. He jumps out of bed and peeks out the window to see a car parked in the cul de sac with no lights on. He goes to the window in the living and tells me someone is breaking into my car...call 911! I throw him the phone and he calls and gives a description of the car the burglars were leaving in. The police get to the house and Artie gives a report of all the things stolen. About 10 minutes after the officer arrived, another officer radioed him to say they have a suspect pulled over. The officer leaves and within 10 minutes we get a call asking if we would come identify the car and our stolen things. The police had the car pulled over a mile away from our house. Artie got out and identified all of our belongings and a few we did not realize they had taken. It turns out they had stolen enough for it to be considered a Felony!



Can you believe it?



I can't...

Needless to say we did not get any sleep Friday! I even had to miss the bow tying class at The Christmas Shop.

Saturday afternoon Artie and I attended our first adoption class. It is actually a class to be licensed for foster care. This is a GREAT option for us because it will keep all of our information current in the state system. It is a little more work up front but will be worth it in the long run! Artie and I love our instructor...she is awesome! We are working with Camelot Care Center and I can not say enough good things about them. They are holding our hand through everything, making sure we do it right. The people there are going out of their way to make the classes specific for our situation. Holly is available at a moments notice to help answer any questions about the MOUNTAIN of paper work. I am so glad that we found them.

After our class Artie and I went to a DELICIOUS restaurant called Bonefire. If you live in the tri cities area YOU MUST GO. The had a bluegrass band and the best bbq I have ever eaten. And this girl knows her bbq...

All in all it was a good weekend...I think we could have done without the break in but we are no worse for the wear. We got back our stuff and could have lived without it if we had too.

Weekend Recap Part 1

A LOT happened this weekend....so I will break it down into 2 posts!

Friday night was senior night at Greeneville. Alison's grandfather passed away that morning and so she was unable to be there. Sad. It turned out to be rainy and cold that night and the girls did not get to wear their uniforms...Boo. They had a great show but I could tell they missed Alison

Here are the seniors in the band...they take things so seriously!

Rachael and I (we missed you Alison!)

Kaitlyn and Allison (so pretty)


The girls and I before halftime

Look who came!

Lauren, her sister Allison, and Kelsey (Kaitlyn's sister)

are all former GHS Majorettes

and they came to cheer us on!

So senior night was a success! This week is homecoming and I am equally excited about it!

Sunday School

Each week my Sunday school class provides me hours of laughter and great stories. Well this past Sunday was no different.

They were a little wound up this week and did not want to pay attention at all. I can definitely tell they are starting to learn how to write their names. It is all they want to do:write, write, write. So I give them crayons and paper. One little guy told me he wanted to write his name "in courage". Another little guy looks over and says "It's not in courage, it's in cursib!" Ahhh...that age is great. So here are the in courage/cursib names:

Hayride

Last night was the annual hayride at church. Being that we live out in the boonies it is very easy to find a member who has a farm. We had such a great time and a wonderful fellowship. The hayride took us to a clearing in the woods where we had a camp fire built. The fellas roasted hot dogs and the ladies set up all the goodies that everyone brought. Barry brought a cornhole set and we all took turns playing. Please note that I am terrible and was not picked to play on any teams. Sad.

This is my husband.

He however was picked to play on everyone's team.

Because he rocks at cornhole.

Austin and I

This is Hank. He is without a doubt the cutest little boy EVER. I tried to steal him but his mother really likes him. In this picture he is trying to whistle.

Artie and I

Barry scared the pee out of the trailer that the kids were riding on the way back out of the woods. It was dark and he was hiding behind a tree waiting for us to pass. My heart hurt I was so scared haha! This is me scared....

All in all we had a great time.

What a day!

What a day I had today! It started REALLY early ha! Artie had to get up and go to the game bright and early because kick off was at 12:30. I got up and got ready for the band competition. My friend Rebecca came in town to see The Christmas Shop and help with the competition. We had a blast hanging out today! I had so much fun at the band competition. I really do like to watch the bands and they were all so good. There were several bands that had majorettes so it was great to see them as well. I can not believe it, but I did not get one picture what so ever today. Boo.

I started thinking today about how life change so much from year to year. How you think your life will go one way but it actually goes in a direction that you didn't see? Weird huh?

Did you know I use to be a dog trainer at PetSmart? Haha...isn't that funny! It was a great job and I had a lot of fun at times . The thing I cherish the most about working at PetSmart is that I met my best friend Audra there. Awww....

Has anything like that ever happen to you? Have you ever looked back and ask; How in the WORLD did I get here? Try it sometime...F R E A K Y!

Me with Jenna

Leo the Pug

Laura and I

(I have no idea why I don't have a pic of me and Audra)

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I am gearing up for a fun hayride tomorrow night with church. Wahoo! I can not wait; I love fall. Have I said that before?

Finally!

Shew! I finally got my Halloween decorations up! Life has been completely hectic with storytelling and football season!

I truly love this time of year. Since it has been a bit on the cooler side the leaves have started to turn. Living in the boonies has it's advantages! I love pumpkins and straw bales and seeing mums on my neighbors porches. (Not my own yet because I have seriously been slacking!)

Artie and I have started all of the things necessary to adopt. We will be taking classes and completing our home study. The lady Artie spoke to today was amazingly helpful. We both feel better prepared and had MANY (if not all) of our questions answered. Hopefully this process will take about 60 days. We are very excited to get this process underway, it is the first step on our journey. I can not wait to see where this road leads. We are going to be very busy preparing for all of these things to take place!

Can anyone believe that it is 79 days until Christmas? Where in the world has this year gone? Has anyone started Christmas shopping? Me either...I told myself I was going to start early. HA! Even though I am excited about Christmas coming I am trying to savor this season while it lasts.
I found this verse the other day and it just holds so much meaning in this season of our lives.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see

Detox

Today I am doing a little Storytelling Festival detox. I had so much fun meeting all kinds of new people but I am pooped. Everyone was so gracious and kind and it is truly a great festival.

During Sunday school yesterday, I had the kids draw what they thought the garden of Eden would look like. This is what I got from one little guy...

Great right? You got your tree, bushes and grass. You got Adam and Eve and a GIANT lion drinking water. Excellent. I asked if they were finished and he said "oh wait! One more thing" and grabbed a marker and scribbled on the page.

I asked what that was and he looked up and said (I kid you not) "The Holy Spirit"

Genius