Merry Chirstmas~

Be blessed!

Congratulations!

Tonight is Michelle's graduation party~

We are so excited for her and so sad at the same time! We are not sure of her immediate plans, but she did get accepted to WT! She is not planning to begin her college career until the fall(much to Randall's dismay)! She is going to go back to CA after Christmas to spend some time out there. She has become such an important part of our family and we will miss her dearly! It definitely wont be the same without her!! We are so proud of you Michelle! You will always have a home here! We love you and are so thankful for the time God allowed us to have with you!!

Be Blessed!

According to Lainee!

~translation~
My family is the best family,
My dad is the best dad.
and last, my mom is the best mom.

The one in the red is Randall. You may think that is a bow, but that is how Lainee illustrates the boys in our family because of their spikey hair!! I love how she drew me right next to her in the exact same outfit! When I asked her why she wrote and last before she wrote about me she said, "I was going to write last but not least, but it was too long!" What a cutie! :0)

Be blessed!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Things I am thankful for today~
Waking up to my awesome husband having the ads on my kitchen table(and coffee made too) by about 6:30am!!
Snuggling on the couch before the kids woke up watching an episode of the office!
Seeing each one of my precious children one by one with their sleepy head hair walk in and say "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Randall getting the Christmas lights up before noon!
The kids cleaning up the dog doodoo in the backyard!
Looking at all the ads with Michelle and being so thankful that she has become such an important part of our family this year!
Our good friends who invited us to share their thanksgiving meal with them!
My gracious and loving God who listens and answers when I talk with Him!
An afternoon to lounge with the family with NO agenda!
BLACK FRIDAY starting in just a few short hours~wahoo!!



Be Blessed!

New Pics!

If you are looking for someone to shoot your family Christmas photos... Have I got the girl for you! We had so much fun with Angel! She was actually taking Michelle's Sr. pictures(which I will save for another post!) In the midst though, she graciously snapped a few shots of the kids! I love the way they turned out! Some of the pictures(the ones that aren't so great) I took with my measly camera, but most of them she took. She did a fabulous job! Thanks Angel!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Be blessed!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We had the opportunity to go visit the pumpkin patch this year and we had a blast! There were so many things to do, some of which didn't make it in pictures. Everyone had a different favorite part, but we all loved playing on the bikes together! It was quite a work out too. It was great family fun! Nathan was quite the navigator, he lead us through the maze. The big boys decided it would be fun to follow us through the maze in stealth like fashion!! I just love fall!!

They each choose a pumpkin and a few gourds to take home

Lainee and Grayson rode in style!

Nathan and Lainee in the corn pit.

It's raining corn!

Jake was completely buried!

Coming off the slide.

Riley pushing Nathan

The hayride!

Riley Jaiston and Jake

Top of the world! (or at least the hay!)

The boys were hiding in the corn "spying" on us!

Follow the leader~


Mommy's girl!

Be blessed!

Football Season ends!

What a fun season of football we have had! Riley and Jake played tackle football this year and had a blast! I have to admit,I think I had just as much fun watching as they did playing! The boys did so good and absolutely LOVED playing! While they are sad that the season has come to an end, I am secretly rejoicing! Rejoicing because it means that we have our nights back, we can have family dinners again without shoveling down our food to get someone to practice! Rejoicing because we have our Saturday mornings to sleep in again, we can lounge around the house in our pj's until we decide we want to get dressed! Rejoicing because we have Sunday afternoons back, we can come home from church and put our sweats on because we don't have to leave the house again! Yes I am secretly rejoicing! Randall is too, only his isn't such a secret! I love watching my boys play football or anything else that they enjoy, but I also love having them home every night to snuggle and spend time with. Basketball is quickly approaching and when it does I will be excited to see them play! But I will also be just as excited when that season ends too!!

Isn't our life like that. We enter into a season that feels exciting and new, only to be longing for something different a few months later. The Lord gives us seasons for different reasons. Some seasons are extremely hard, while others are exciting and fun. Riley's football team was not very strong in offense this year(that is putting it nicely) They only won 1 game. Infact I think there may have only been one touchdown the entire season. But it was a growing experience for him. He became a stronger player! He created new friendships and tighter bonds with some of his old friends. I wouldn't say that this season for him was his best, but God used it to do some things in Riley that needed done. Jake on the other hand had a fantastic season! His team won every game but 2. We were on the edge of our seat the entire game watching and waiting anticipating the next exciting play! I think our lives are like that. Some seasons are just plain heartwrenching and we're not sure we'll make it through, while others we never want to end! What season are you in right now? Whatever it is, know that God has ordained it and walks it out with you daily, if you let Him! He is the best coach that there is or ever has been! He knows the play book by heart and knows exactly how to train us to be the best we can be! Trust Him!! He has a perfect record and will never let us down! God has something to say about seasons in His word~

Ecclesiastes 3

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

What time is it for you? For us it is, for a time, the end of football season!

If you click on the picture, you can see Jake catching the kick off!

Showing off their ever present muscles!!

Riley was so proud of Jake~I love this picture (even though I wish Riley had a whole shirt on!)

Brad, Mimi, Papaw, Nathan Lainee(a little excited), Jake and Riley after Jake played.

Mimi and Papaw after Riley's game~he scored the only touchdown of the day!

He's number 31, he's even intense on the side lines.

In action!

Okay, this isn't football~ but I just love this picture of Lainee and her daddy!! Thought I would throw it in for fun! :)

Be Blessed!

School Days

I am a big fan of summer! Don't get me wrong, fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I just love the smell in the air and the cool breeze that begins to tone down the heat. It brings a smile to my heart when I see the leaves change and fall to the ground. The only thing that I do not love about fall is giving up spending all day with my sweet children.

They all love school. They look forward to new classes and friends, school clothes and supplies and everything that comes with a new year. The start of this year, was particularly tough as Michelle is a Sr. in High School, Riley(my first born) is in his first year of Jr High and my baby girl is in Kindergarten! Bitter sweet emotions flooded my heart as we prepared to send them that first day of school! While they are excited, I am overcome with having to say good bye to our days of sleeping in and lounging at the pool. Of snuggling up for a late night family movie and walks to the snow cone stand! Schedules and routine are what's in store!

Michelle has a huge load this year. She is taking a dual credit English class, 2 classes at ACAL, 5 classes in school, teaching preschool at church and working part time at Gymboree. She is handling it all beautifully though and I know she will do great! Riley thinks Jr High is pretty cool. Other than getting used to a little more homework and hard core teachers that aren't near as loving as in elementary school, he is enjoying it. Can I just add that sometimes those not so loving teachers give this mother the urge to run up to that school and give them the how to's of teaching those preciously fresh 6Th graders!! Jake is making new friends and just loves his science class, experiments and all! Nathan is enjoying 2ND grade and the challenges that it brings. His best friend is in his class this year, so he is loving that! Then there is Lainee! She is entertained with school, although this week reality set in that she is at school all day without her mommy! She has a fantastic teacher that just loves those kids and teaching, so we are thankful for that! The other day she was asked to put three things in a bag that would tell the class a little about who she was. Lainee taped a picture of her family to the outside of her bag. On the inside she proceeded to put her bible, a necklace that Michelle had made her and a princess. She said that she brought her bible because she loves God. She brought the necklace because she loves her sister and jewelry(my kind of girl!) And the princess, well because she loves princess'(and in my opinion, being one). I thought it was just precious the things that she picked to put in that bag. All in all, I know this will be a year full of growth and blessings!

Here are a few first day of school pictures~









Be Blessed!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Mom!! Oh, and Happy 4th!

Growing up, I always thought that the fireworks display was a celebration of my mom's birthday. At least that is what she always told us! Now that I am a lot older and maybe a little smarter, I realize that they weren't exactly for her.... But they should have been! What an incredible woman my mother is! The thing that I love most about her is that she loves the Lord with all her heart! She loves her family just about as much and would do anything for them! She is the most loyal person I know and has taught me more by the way she lives her life than by her words. What a blessing she is to me!! I love you mom! Happy Birthday!!

My beautiful mom!!

In honor of all the men and women who sacrafice for our freedom and simply because it's fun, we had a little celebration of our own at the Melban house last night! What a blast we had!! The highlight of the night, Jake gained a new pet. Mr. Cameron found a baby SNAKE in the grass and Jake promptly named him and announced he had a new family member!! Gotta love boys!

He named the snake "Speedy"

The boys, working hard on something....

Lainee and Gracelyn would dump out the whole bag of snappers and jump up and down on them until they were all popped, much more fun than throwing them down one at a time!! (Click on this picture and look at Jake's face~pure joy!)

Looks like they are up to trouble!

Happy Independence Day!!
Be blessed!