Summer Goals

Taylin posted about how her summer goals are coming along, so I thought I would do the same!
Everything is going great this summer. I've had a little bit of pregnancy sickness to battle with along the way. I'm not going to call it Morning sickness because it's pretty much all day. It's off and on. Some days are great, others are not so wonderful. I shouldn't complain, some ladies get it so much worse. For those of you who don't know me very well, food is my passion! It's hard to be excited to sit down to eat a meal and then not be able to eat much of it. My Mom has been such a great encouragement to me. I love you, Mom! Anyway....about my goals...
They are going very well.
-We went to the creek! That was an easy one.
-Marc's blanket is almost done. If I could put in an hour on it tonight, it will be complete!
-I've been exercising everyday for 20-30 mins!
-My albums are almost completely updated. Today I'm going to buy one more album and fill in the dates and places. 1 hour max, and I'll be done with that goal!!
-I've started getting Josh's album updated.
-Done some work on all other goals, but not quite there yet.
-Unclouded day is coming along! We're almost ready to sing and play it in church!
So, that's how my goals are doing. It's been a fun, relaxing, yet productive summer so far. I'm already working on my Fall goal list! :)

Happy 12th Birthday Joshua!!

I can't believe my baby is 12! He's growing into a fine, protective, fun, very active, young man. He is the prankster in our family and loves to play jokes on all of us. He's good to his sisters (most of the time) and loves to wrestle with his Daddy. It's amazing how protective of me he's been since I've been pregnant. This morning we were carrying laundry to the laundromat and he carried things for me, because it was heavy. How sweet. He does this for me all the time.

For this years birthday he asked for an apple pie instead of a cake. Since I want to be a pie baker when I grow up :) I said sure!! He got up early to open his gifts, had apple pie for breakfast, then we headed to Mt. Airy. It's the town Andy Griffith grew up in and the town Mayberry is patterned after. That evening we had Subway and watched his new movie "Savage Sam". It's the sequel to Old Yeller. It was a great movie for those of you who haven't seen it. We had a great day with our 12 year old boy. We love you, Josh.. Happy Birthday! By the way, isn't he so handsome!

13 weeks!

We are now 13 weeks pregnant! On Tuesday we had an appt. with a midwife in South Carolina. Before she tried to find the baby's heartbeat she warned me and said this will take some time, the baby is still really small. She found the baby within 3 seconds! We were all so excited to hear that our little one is growing and doing well. The heartrate was 150 bpm. Last Sunday my family took a vote and said it's time for maternity clothes! My regular clothes (especially church clothes) were starting to pucker in funny places. In the past week and a half I've started to pop out a little. Isn't pregnancy fun!

You're Special Today!

Elisabeth was our first recipient of the "You're Special Today" plate. She earned it for completing and passing each musical assignment on her Banjo this week. We're trying to do instrument practice like lessons, so once a week I sit down with them, teach them new things and give them their assignments for the week. During their daily practice time it's up to them to practice what is assigned independently. Usually they have to work again on a piece, whether it be timing or the notes, etc. This week Beth passed all of her assignments! Way to go, Beth! She was in the bathroom when we set the plates out, so when she came out she said "Who gets to sit on the end tonight?" When we told her that she does, you should have seen her face! Thanks again, Mom for taking me to make the plate!

True Summer

This is how I found my kids this afternoon. Josh was reading Hardy Boys (He finished his 3rd in 3 days). Beth had just bought Nancy Drew #8 and was reading it. (She finished #7 in one day). Brenna is doing a Find a Word puzzle. I think they like our bedroom because it's the coolest. (NC has turned hot!) After the kids do their chores, Bible time, and practice instruments, they've been free to enjoy summer. I'm so proud of them! Last night for over an hour the three of them played Sheriff/Indian/....you know...pretend stuff. They were having so much fun, so I got out the video camera. After 5 secs it went dead. Oh well. I'm so glad they're enjoying a relaxing summer.....School is 6 weeks away!

Josh's New Mandolin

Josh has been saving money for a new Mandolin. His old one is exactly that...old! It's dated 1932, which is really neat, but it's basically not worth a whole lot. It hasn't been keeping tune very well for a while now. It's been great for a beginner and practicing, but Josh has wanted a new one. He found this one at a music shop in Hendersonville, NC. He didn't have enough money, but started praying about it. The next day we received a package with enough birthday money for him to buy his new Mandolin. He was so excited! He bought it on our way to our 2nd meeting in TN. (He didn't want to wait until we got back because he was afraid it would be gone.) We were serenaded by lovely Mandolin music for most of our 5 hour trip. I'm so proud of my son. He told us he was glad he bought it with all of his money and we didn't help him. It's so good to see God's blessing in our son's life.

The Inman Family

Last week we were able to spend a couple of days with our friends "The Inmans" We met them at a meeting we had in February in Georgia. All of us became friends quickly and we've been keeping in touch with them. They knew we had a meeting close to them, so they invited us to stay with them Saturday night. They are such a friendly family and all of us had a great time. They have a good bit of property and have a beautiful Apple Orchard, garden, and lots of animals. They let each of the kids ride the horses. Abigail was so sweet to lead each of the girls around.

When it came time for Josh's turn, they let him have the reins and even galloped around a bit. The next day he was walking like a cowboy! The kids played with the 3 day old puppies too!

They provided delicious home cooked meals! Ella is a wonderful cook. On Sunday after church the Inman's got our their instruments and picked and sang and gave each of our children a lesson. My kids are so motivated to practice and play more when they hear the Inman's. Their family has made several CD's that have become our favorites. It was such a blessing to be with this wonderful family and to glean some wisdom from them. They have a family that definitely has the Joy of the Lord.

Robbins, Tennessee

While on our way to our meeting in Tennessee we stopped in Robbins, TN. This is where my Grandpa was born. It was neat to drive around the tiny town and think "My Grandpa used to live here!" I wish we had more time to spend exploring and looking around. We went to the Baptist Memorial Cemetary. I didn't see any Willoughby tombs, but we saw 4 Pryors. That was my Great Grandmother's maiden name. My Dad said most of the Willoughby tombs would be at the other cemetery in Robbins, but we didn't see it. Tennesee is such a beautiful state, and to think that most of my family is from here was really special.

Gant Street Baptist Church, June 8, 2008

We had a wonderful meeting at Gant Street Baptist Church in Cayce, South Carolina. We were invited to come for their Missions Sunday. It was a joy to arrive and see some missionaries we've met along the deputation road, as well as meet new ones. The church was so friendly and excited to hear about our field. You should have heard their reaction when Patrick told them that Shawn Smith is the one that led him to the Lord. The people there really love him and his family. The church had lunch and dinner for us potluck style. It was so delicious! I love good home cooking! It was a blessing to sit with different folks from the church at each meal. One of the greatest blessings was meeting and hearing Dr. Don Sisk preach. We were able to spend some time with him and his wife. What a Godly couple! Dr. Sisk prayed with the kids that they would follow and love the Lord. What a great day we had! Praise the Lord!

Jekyll Island

One of the many great things about deputation is being able to make stops along the way. We decided before we began we would try and make this memorable and fun for the kids. The truth is, Patrick and I are having the time of our lives, too. Since we had a spare day before heading to South Carolina we spent a couple of hours at Jekyll Island in Georgia. It reminded us a little of Sanibel, but smaller. It's almost about the size of St. Barths. We had such a great time and have decided we HAVE to go back. There are so many things we didn't get to do like, renting the family size bikes, breakfast picnic to watch the sunrise, and the historical tour. They have a really neat historical aspect to the island with a little "train" to ride and historical town. It looked really neat.
We got to the beach around 8. It was the perfect time...nobody was there! The kids lined up to race to the water.
I loved seeing their footprints behind them.

Patrick wrote our names in the sand. I'm so glad that after 13 (almost 14) years we're still so in love.

Put Jekyll Island on your list of things to do...we loved it!

Goodbye Florida, Hello Georgia

On June 3rd we left Fort Myers and started heading out of state. After a meeting in Ruskin we drove from I-4 to I-95. The last time we took this drive was on our honeymoon! The kids do enjoy travelling and I'm so glad. They love being able to look out the window at new sights. They're enjoying travelling during the summer so they can do that! They play games a lot while we drive....and they seem to snack a lot too! Brenna has been doing a new thing for cameras lately. Notice she has weird faces a lot? I'm not sure what that's all about!

Josh's dream come true

For about 3 years now, Mom and Dad have beeen telling Josh that they would buy him an electric razor. He's been talking about it ever since they told him....no joke. He asked them if they would celebrate his birthday early since we'll be gone for his 12th birthday. (June 27th) So, after we ate at Randy and Tay's Mom and Dad celebrated Josh's birthday with him. Dad went and picked out a great razor for him. Josh was so thrilled. Dad even bought some pre-razor cream. He was so happy. Josh took a while for his first shave. He said he was going to leave his moustache, but then he changed his mind and shaved it off :) Dad brought out some of his aftershave for him to use. Josh screamed because it burned. It was so funny!
Josh is averaging shaving 3 times a day now. Mom says eventually that should calm down...we'll see! Thanks Mom and Dad for making his 12th so memorable. He sure does love you guys!

Dinner with the Klinck's

Taylin and Randy and Logan and Chloe invited us over for Pizza and Dutch Blitz. It was our last night in town, so time went very fast. There always seems to be too much to accomplish in those days before we leave. We had an excellent time. They bought Little Ceasers. Randy seems very passionate about their pizza! Josh fell in love with their crazy bread. Then we had our Dutch Blitz tournament. I hate to say it, but Randy won. How did tha happen? Taylin showed me a bunch of baby things she's planning on giving to me. Me and the girls got so excited looking at everything!! Thanks Randy and Tay, we sure had fun! Next time we see you Chloe could be walking, can you believe it?

My New Love

My cousin Christy posted that her son likes Hummus. Patrick and I had tried it twice, and we wanted tot try it again. She said to buy the brand "Sabra". It is excellent! We've bought it a couple of times. Our favorite is the one with roasted garlic. It's great for a veggie dip. But, my favorite is with toasted pitas. How do you eat it, Christy? Anyone else up for trying something new? You'll find it in the deli section at Walmart. The midwife said to think protein, protein, protein, so this is perfect!!