The Big Game Day!

Hi everyone! Today is our first official football game! Alex woke up a half an hour early he was so excited! The game will be at 11am today and I will be praying from 10-12! I am a little nervous since I am not used to seeing my babies thrown around on a field! Please pray that they will stay safe and have a ton of fun! I will post pictures tonight! PROMISE! Love you! Missy

Okay I know I am an idiot, but....

Okay, it would take me longer to google this, and I don't have time so I just thought I would ask all of you. What is Ikea? Just curious, cuz I hear it all the time and have no idea what an Ikea is. So, would someone enlighten me? Thanks!

Lemonade anyone?

First class lemonade sign!


The lemonade stand is a piece of board for the table and some cups and lemonade. We'll call it a "poor man's" lemonade stand! :o)

I know this is almost exactly like the picture above, I just had to add it so you could see how cute Annie's stand is. She is so prissy, it isn't even funny!

Hi everyone! My life is getting back to some form of normal! Can you believe it? I am finding myself talking to you all throughout the day and thinking of things I want to say to you. So..... I am going to write it instead of just thinking it. Annie had another great day at school, they said she was teaching the Spanish class and they were loving it. I was loving it too!

The boys have a new project themselves and it is all about making money! On Sunday I was obeying God as I was taking a nap. I am sure that is what He meant by Sunday being a day of rest, right? I mean that was His way of saying I could ignore my husband and children for a few hours a week and take a nap. Okay, so maybe I am stretching the translation, but, oh well?!?! :o) So, I woke up from my "rest" and Greg asked me if I wanted some lemonade. To which I said, "Uh...sure, why do I want lemonade?" He explained that while I was napping the boys had started a little business and they were selling lemonade. So off we went to the corner to purchase some lemonade. Since then they have joined forces with their new friend, Josh and sold it almost every afternoon. They use what money they make to buy more lemonade mix, more cups and then they are giving 15% to the church. All of that was their decision.

Greg is busy reading every book known to man and he is enjoying it, I think. He is also playing on a tennis league and OF COURSE his team is undefeated so far! :o) He is having fun playing tennis again and he is also helping coach the boy's football team. Which reminds me, they have their first game on Saturday at 11am. They are so excited! I will have lots of photos!!

I am on a mission to lose oh let's say 20 pounds by October. HA! I know it is a lofty goal but me and the YMCA are gonna make it happen! I think it is stupid but I am trying to do it for my 20th high school reunion. Of course I want them all to think I have looked 20 pounds lighter for a long time, but if any of them read this, they will all know I haven't! Anyway, that is what I am dedicating my extra time to.

So now you know what we are all up to. Love you all and if you want to update me, please let me know how you all are doing! Missy

My kindergartener

Annie and Mrs. Sorensen on their first day of Kindergarten together.




My last, first day of Kindergarten! BOO HOO! I took pictures of every angle of her that I could get! ;o)




Getting out of the car. Daddy's bike was in there because he had to go to school after I dropped her off!

On her way to class.

Her door!

She is the sweetest thing!

She jumped right in and started to work!

This is what Annie was doing when I came to pick her up. She was HAPPY!!

She had a great day! The boys had a great day too but I didn't take any pictures of them. Maybe tomorrow! Thanks for praying!! Love, Missy and family

Annie started Kindergarten!

My baby is growin' up! I can't believe she is in Kindergarten! She was just born yesterday!! I am sure of it. I will post a bunch of pictures tonight. I just wanted you to be praying for her on her first day. Jerod, Alex and I are starting today too. Wish us luck, oh, I don't believe in luck, so... pray! Love you! Missy

I know, I know, I know....

I know I haven't been on here for more than a week and I am really sorry. I am really trying to find time to post on here and to make it interesting, it just isn't happening! I miss all of you and my life is so crazy. Once we got back from camp we had a wonderful visit from some friends from our home church and that was a huge blessing! Then we welcomed my mother-in-law from Indiana for her first visit to Wake Forest. We had a great time with her and the kids were able to have some quality "Grandma" time. We loved it!

Greg has settled into a routine of going to class and reading, reading, reading. We haven't started home school yet, I am sure I am hearing many of you saying, "WHAT?" Well, we chose to use Annie's school's schedule and she doesn't start until the day after Labor Day. So, that is when we will start. Annie is so excited about starting Kindergarten! There are only 5 kids in the class and 3 of them are boys. It should be a very exciting year!! ;o) The boys and I are looking forward to home school this year. It should be nice having a lot of extra resources at our fingertips!

We continue to keep in touch with our friends in San Lorenzo. So far everything seems to be going well. Cesilia and her daughters (Don't know if you remember them?) haven't attended church since we left. This isn't surprising to us, but it is heart breaking. Please pray for them. I am definitely feeling less homesick and enjoying living in the US a little more. I love this time of year and the weather has been fantastic!!

I wish I could see each one of you and give you all hugs! I have been heavy hearted for a few people. Please pray for this precious woman named Lindsay. She lost her four month old baby last week. He just died in his sleep. She needs your prayers. You can click here http://thejonesfamily52009.blogspot.com/ to read her blog. It is sad and so heart breaking. I don't know her personally but I know she needs your prayers. Another lady in need of your prayers is Patrice. She has this precious little gift from God named Jonah. You just have to go to her website and meet him yourself. Anyway, these are some of the people I have met via Internet that need you! www.patriceandmattwilliams.blogspot.com
Then there is a little girl named Marnie. She is 4 and has been diagnosed with stage IV Anaplastic Wilm's Tumor, which is a rare form of childhood cancer. She and her parents are in serious need of prayer. I don't know her website address yet, but when I do, I will let you know. Please pray. So, I just felt compelled to ask all of you to pray for these prayer requests as these are some hurting people and you are some praying ones! Love to you all!! Missy

We're BACK!

That is Jerod on the left side of the log.

He was so proud!

Jerod during evening activities.

Alex and his counselor, Ross.

Can you say, "Crazy?"

Alex doing the "Jiho"

Annie doing her tumbling routine.

Annie teaching the "Jiho"

Jerod crying as he said good-bye to his friends, boo hoo!

Jerod's cabin.

Annie on her favorite horse, Little Red, how fitting?

Alex showing a little enthusiasm.

The view from Cheerio.

Me and my "Honey!"

Jerod celebrating his 13th birthday at Macadoos in Boone.

Jerod and his cousin, Marissa.

Mama Say and her nutty grandchildren!

Honey and MamaSay on her 65Th birthday.

Honey taking Mason and Alex on a 4 wheeler ride.

Now it is Annie and Jerod's turn.

Cousins by chance, friends by choice!

Our welcome home sign, how sweet!

Hi friends! I know it has been a while since I posted. I didn't have my computer and I didn't have Internet access where I was staying, so it was a little difficult to keep you updated. However, after I posted about Jerod things did start to change for him so I really appreciated all of your prayers! I must say we were all a little shocked and weren't ready for the language that 12 and 13 year old children are using today. So, we didn't prepare Jerod for the possibility of hearing bad language or dirty jokes once the lights were turned out at camp. This is in no way a reflection of the camp or the counselors, it is just the way SOME 12 and 13 year old children are when they aren't around adults and we just didn't know that. Anyway, Jerod just didn't know how to fit in with this group of kids and he felt bad about being around them. Once we worked through that, he was fine and had a really good time at camp and wants to go back next year if possible.

Alex on the other hand, had the time of his life and although he heard a few choice words he didn't mention it until Friday afternoon. He loved every aspect of camp and thought that his counselors hung the moon. He RAN everywhere and cheered about everything. I definitely think that some university has a future mascot on their hands, because this child has more enthusiasm/energy than I do and let me tell you that is A LOOOOOT!!! We can't say enough thank yous for the prayers that were said on our behalf!

It was brought to my attention on Wednesday that my children were getting an enormous amount of mail. Heehee! So I want to personally thank you all for sending mail to the boys! (and me too) They said they felt so special and they were so happy to be getting so much mail! So, MANY MANY thanks to you all!

After camp we drove to my parent's mountain house and spent the weekend with MamaSay and Honey (my parents) and my niece and nephew, Marissa and Mason. We celebrated Jerod's 13Th birthday and my mom's 65Th birthday. They share the same birthday and we had fun celebrating it together! We then headed back to Wake Forest where we are going to try to find some kind of routine. We were welcomed with this precious sign by one of our neighbors. What a nice thing to come home to! Greg's mom, "Grandma" will be arriving tomorrow and she will be spending a few days with us here. We can't wait to show her all around our big town! School will start soon, but for now we are enjoying family time. Love you all! Missy