Pumpkin Patch 2007

It's been a while since we last posted an entry. What can I say, school starts and everything changes. Anyway, here is a video from our latest trip to the Great Pumpkin Patch. It's an annual family tradition and something we always look forward to doing in the fall.

Next on our agenda is our annual trip to Opryland to see the lights at the Opryland Hotel!

Love you!

Missin' Grammy, Papa, and Jen Jen

This one is for you...Grammy, Papa and Jen Jen. We are all so sad and miss you so much while you are away.

But we can hardly contain ourselves when we think about what you are doing in Ecuador.

Love you!

Quito, Part 3

Well, because our hotel charged $15 a day for WiFi and I had limited access to their internet capable computers, my blogs have been limited. I apologize for this and wish that I could have posted more of the Wonderful things that God did this week.

To capture in a few words the AMAZING things that God did this week would be impossible. It was such an incredible experience...being on mission where God was already at work...to be His hands and His feet...bringing the Good News to men and women, boys and girls...discipling them into a deeper understanding of God's love...fellowshiping with my Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo from Ecuador.

Dad is posting a Blog entree about one family we met this week on his Quito blog. (He also posted a picture of me sharing the Gospel with the "unclean.") So here I want to introduce you to another family. This is a picture of Jenny. She prayed to accept Christ on Tuesday and we returned to disciple her on Thursday. Half-way through our discipleship, we realized that she did not have faith that Christ could save her. After sharing with her the Good News that Christ could save her if only she would repent of her sins and put her faith solely in Him, she was THEN ready to accept His salvation. Without the return visit for discipleship, she would not have been saved. GLORIA a DIOS that God opened the door for discipleship and a true understanding of the Gospel. I now feel confident that I will meet Jenny again in Heaven someday. Please pray for her continued spiritual growth!

Quito, Part 2

I arrived safely in Quito Friday evening and survived an adventurous van ride to the posh Swissotel. The rest of the Alabama teamed arrived (without luggage) two hours later.
This morning was spent in meetings (4 hours). They were long, but very exciting and encouraging. God is already at work here in Ecuador and it is very exciting to be where He is moving...available...willing...WOW!
I am praying that the Lord would fill me with the Spirit, that HE would move through the Spirit despite my many short-comings (Acts 1:8).
I am also praying for the safety of my family. I love you, Angie, Hamp and Emma and can hardly wait to be home with you. It is only because of God I am able to stand our separation.
I love you!

Quito, Part 1

Today is our travel day. I am traveling via Delta, separate from the rest of the group due to the generous dontation of a friend's frequent flyer miles.
Angie and the kids headed to see the Hampton's after they dropped me off at the airport. I miss you guys already! I love you and can't wait to see you very soon. I pray God's blessings will be upon both myself and my family as we are apart doing the Lord's work. May he prepare good works for us all to do during our time apart and may we all feel His presence during our absence from one another.
I love you! I'll write again soon.

Alabama Adventure!

Angie, Juliana, Hamp, Emma and I went to Alabama Adventure yesterday afternoon to soak in the sun and get some swimming in. Everybody had a BLAST swimming and sliding all afernoon. From the lazy river to the toilet bowl and the "big water" dump to the "dark tunnels," we had a great time yesterday. Here are a few pictures.

Hampton always enjoys the slides. And this summer, as an official big boy, he enoyed the park even more, trying things he never did last year. He was able to walk around the kid area all by himself and try new rides that weren't available last year. He can even spin around in "Dorry" down the lazy river, float underneath BIG waterfalls and walk through rain tunnels. He and I went down a "dark tunnel" slide, too. He didn't want to do that again, though. Maybe next year!

Yee Haw!!!

We have been fortunate enough to have our niece, Juliana, over this week. It has been fun having her visiting with us. Earlier this week, Angie, Hamp, Emma and Juliana went over to the George's home to ride the ponies and horses. Here are some fun pictures from their trip.

Emma was a big hit with the pony. The horse inched closer and closer to Emma. Angie said she was enjoying it right until the Horse got right in Emma's face. At that point she lost it and they had to move the horse away.

Then again, who could blame the poor guy. Emma is very cute!Who could blame him for not being able to resist those cute cheeks!

Juliana got her turn on the horse, too. She looks like a real pro sitting upon her trusty horse.

She enjoyed guiding the horses around as much as riding them. Juliana was sweet enough to lead Hampton's horse a while so that he could ride.




Hampton rode like a real cowpoke. Nevermind the fact that his faithful stead was named Tinkerbell!

Yee Haw!

We're "Behind" You, Papa

Papa Sam is working on a missions project right now. He is helping fit Bolivian nationals with eye glasses donated by individuals in the States and using that opportunity to share the Good News.

Hamp and the rest of the family want Papa and all of "our people" to know that we are fully "behind" you! We love you and are praying for you daily.

Sew the seed!

Fun in the Sun

We spent Independence Day with Memaw & Paw, and Will, Tammy, Juliana & Hunter. What fun we had at Point Mallard, swimming in the pool, and at Chuck E. Cheese celebrating the birth of our great country and our favorite nephew and enjoying some time with family.

At Point Mallard Hamp enjoyed some inflatables and raced to pick up a ping pong ball dropped from a Decatur Police helicopter. How cool is that! He picked up the No. 4 ball and earned a gift bag for doing so. Hamp and Emma really enjoyed time in the pool with Memaw, Angie and me. Paw watched over us all very carefully with his Wasp and Hornet spray. Emma is getting very comfy in the water as you can tell.

Hunter turned 8 years old this week and we all celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday. All of us tried our hands at the fun games and worked hard to earn some cool prizes for Hamp, Hunter and Juliana. Later Thursday night, Hunter and his All-Star team won their divisional tournament. What a great birthday present. Way to go pal!!!

The McWane Center

The McWane Center is one of our favorite places to visit. There is so much for Hampton to do and learn; and since Emma can crawl now, there are even things she can do, too. Papa is going to be traveling to Bolivia with E3 soon, so we went with them this time. They had never been before.Grammy got to lie on a bed of nails. OUCHH!

Hampton had a go at lifting Papa using a pulley system. Way to go Superman!

Emma and Mama played in the "Just Mice Size" section. See the movie in the previous post.

Hamp and I shot tennis balls at the ceiling. Very educational!

Good times!!!

Look at Me!!!

Emma is growing up fast...crawling, pulling up, eating big girl food, babbling, even saying Mama and Dadda sometimes.

You better not blink or you might just miss out!

Here is a picture of our cutey. She had just finished her bath and was so proud that she could stand up all by herself (Someday she'll hate us for sharing this one!)

Here is a video of her crawling and discovering a toy in the mailbox. She is so curious and very eager to explore.

Look Who is Singing?

We had VBS commencement at our church this morning and guess who sang? HAMPTON

Such a momentous occassion, fortunately, was recorded for all time both on video and photographs. He was so proud of himself...not to mention how proud Mamma and Daddy were, too. You should have seen how he had such a serious face during the verses and then lit up a BIG smile when the lyrics said "smile."

Priceless!

Hamp is Three Years Old!

Yesterday was "June the thirtief" and Hamp's 3rd Birthday. All of "his peoples" were there and we had a wonderful time. Thanks so much to all of you who made the trip to come to his party. It means so much to all of us to have his family and friends there to celebrate his birth. I hope you got to see his face when the group sang "Happy Birthday." He has been talking about that moment for weeks...when everybody would sing "Happy Birfday" to him.

We love you all!

The Piñata - Part 2

Here is the finished product. Hamp wanted a green Mickey Mouse and there is no doubt this one is totally green!

Can't wait to see you all at his upcoming birthday party. I know that Angie is praying the rain holds off.

DSL

We just got DSL at home! For $10 a month!! This is AWESOME!!!

Now I can blog from home and include pictures without a hitch. Check back often for updated pictures and insights into our little world.

The Piñata - Part 1

Hampton is turning 3 years old at the end of the month. He is so excited. He will gladly tell you that his birthday is on "June the Thirtieth" and proudly hold out his first three fingers to share his age.

We asked him what type of party he would like and he quickly told us a Mickey Mouse party. Angie has worked feverishly to make the invitations, pick the party decor, order a cake, and everything else that is involved in making a birthday party special. (She happens to be the BEST Mamma a kid could have!)

For his party, we decided to build a Mickey piñata. What better way to celebrate a birthday than to beat the stuffing out a childhood icon!

We started tonight and we will keep you updated on the progress. Angie was the photographer at first, but later all three of us had our hands in the flour paste. He had a good time helping "make Mickey."

Family Vacation - Destin, FL Part 6

Our last day at the beach. The kids woke up again at 5:30. They are still so excited to be at the beach.

Since we got there around 7:30 we had the entire Gulf of Mexico to ourselves!

Emma is turning into quite the beach babe!


Hampton decided to try his hand at building a sand castle.

He was doing a great job of scooping the sand into the mold while Ang patted it down.

Then, they would both say "Five, four, three, two, one...BLAST OFF!" and pull the mold off.

After a nap (Angie and I took one today, too!), we hit the road and headed to THE TRACK for some miniature golf and a ride in an airplane.

We have had a great time on our family vacation.

I hope you have enjoyed the Blogs. We wanted to share with you some of the fun things we have done and let you be a part of the kids' experience. I know we will never forget all that has happened.

We'll see you all soon!

Family Vacation - Destin, FL Part 5

Naps are WONDERFUL!!!

Hamp and Emma woke up from their early naps in a great mood and ready for lots of fun in the sun. We spent nearly 4 hours playing in the pool and ocean. It was way fun!

Emma was looking as cute as ever!



Hamp was riding the waves with both Mama and Daddy! There was lots of seaweed...Mama wasn't too keen on that, either!





After the beach we headed back to the pool for some more swimming and an ice cream break. Hamp's favorite is CHOCOLATE!



We sure are having fun. Miss you all.

Family Vacation - Destin, FL Part 4

We are pooped!!! Hamp woke us at 5:30 again this morning and during a breakfast at Cracker Barrell Angie and I decided a morning nap was a must today. So, right now Hamp is snoozing and Angie is trying to convince Emma that a nap is a good idea for her, too. We'll head back to the beach and pool later and we are going to try our hand at grilling some steaks and corn on the cob over a charcoal grill for dinner.

Here is a video of Emma crawling. She is getting FAST!!! We miss you all and wish you were here with us to enjoy our first big family vacation.

Family Vacation - Destin, FL Part 3

Today we said goodbye to Grammy, Papa, and Jen Jen. We had a BLAST. Thanks for coming and sharing our vacation with us.

Later we headed to Big Kahuna so that Hampton could enjoy the "BIG SLIDES" and "BIG WATERFALLS!" It was great fun. Thanks to Grammy and Papa for the chance to go!

I am attaching a video of Hampton swimming earlier today. He is doing so well! Reach and Pull...Reach and Pull! We are proud of you, Buddy!!!

Family Vacation - Destin, FL Part 2

Here is a slide show of pictures so far on the trip. Papa let me use a very cool program to create the slide show. I hope you all enjoy the show!!!

 

Family Vacation - Destin, FL

We are on vacation!!!

Hampton and Emma are enjoying their first trip to the beach. Sand, salt water, and sun. Spending time with Mommy and Daddy, Grammy and Papa and Jen Jen. Wish you were here!!!