T-Ball Fun

K chose to play t-ball this summer. It is an instructional league. But, from time to time, they get to scrimmage other teams. K's team is called the Stewartstown Pirates. Today they played the Stewartstown Cardinals! When we got back in the van after the game, K said, "This was the funnest day of my life!" She is having fun and enjoying t-ball. Have we mentioned before that she is the ONLY girl on her team! Below is a video of K hitting the ball. Be patient. She does eventually get an AWESOME hit!

Nikki's Notes

We have been busy around here. I (Nikki) went to Southern CA to visit my sister-in-law. Heath stayed at home with the children and worked from home. I returned home on Friday, May 22nd, and then Saturday, we took the kids to the Balitmore Zoo and had a lot of fun! The girls attended their first sleepover on Sunday night and had a blast! T, Dad, and I hung out and had a great time! It was fun having one-on-one time with T! So, on Memorial Day, we stayed at home and just chilled out!

K is playing in an instructional t-ball league this summer (pictures coming soon)!

T and Dad will be going to Scout camp in June. The girls and I are planning some fun activities to do together while they are gone. They want to invite a couple of their friends over for a sleepover!

In July Heath will be the worship speaker at the Philadelphia World Changers project. He'll be home for 5 days, and then I'll leave for Peru for 10 days! So, July will be gone in a blink of an eye!

In August our church will host Vacation Bible School. We are also planning on going to see the St. Louis Cardinals play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park! We're excited about that! Seriously, all of our family vacations involve either baseball games or zoos! But, we enjoy it and have lots of fun!

So, how about you? What are your Summer plans?

AWANA Awards Night 2009

The children have enjoyed participating in AWANA this year. T and K did Cubbies at our church in West Helena, AR, and here in our new church, they get to participate in Sparks! This was L's first year to be able to participate in AWANA, and she loved going to Cubbies every Wednesday night!

AWANA is a great club for kids to learn Scripture and begin hiding God's Word in their hearts. 

I love how the NASB translates Psalm 119:11.  

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.  

May the children not just hide God's Word in their hearts, but TRULY treasure it!

Mother's Day 2009

Heath started taking the children to pick out gifts for me 4 years ago. It's always fun and hilarious to see what the children pick out. You can see the nice glasses K picked out for me. I got a set of 4! L gave me the lovely red, white, and blue necklaces you see around my neck. Tyler's gift was helping Dad cook a special Mother's Day dinner! Oh, and I almost forgot the HUGE bouquet of flowers the girls picked for me while we played outside yesterday afternoon! There's nothing like a bouquet of dead weeds...LOL! But, it was truly a labor of love. The girls worked hard so they would have a BIG bouquet to give me!

Truly, I do feel blessed, loved, and appreciated every day. But, I do enjoy a little special lovin' and attention on this day we call "Mother's Day!"

Mother's Day

This is my 5th Mother's Day without my Mom, and my 2nd without my Grandma Gay.

When I was thinking about what photo I wanted share, this one immediately came to my mind. I had to really dig to find this photo. I knew what box it was in (my college memorabilia box) so that helped! While digging through the box, I found A LOT of letters written to me by my Mom and Grandma! They were faithful pen pals during my college days! I shed quite a few tears going through these priceless memories. Sometimes I get tired of grieving the loss of my Mom and Grandma. But, if grieving = remembering, then I'll choose to keep on grieving!

This Mother's Day, I'm going to  take the advice of my sweet friend, Angie and share a fun story about my Mom with my children. I actually think this would make a WONDERFUL Mother's Day tradition!  I'm thankful for the memories, even when they cause me sadness. I only cry because I love them and miss them so much! I'm thankful for the hope, peace, joy, and excitement of I have of seeing these two precious ladies again in Heaven one day. 

If you are blessed to still have your Mother around this Mother's Day, please love on her and let her know how thankful you are for her! If you are facing this day with sadness because your Mother has passed away, I encourage you to share a special story about her with someone in your life! Remember her, and celebrate her life.

Happy Mother's Day 2009!

Old Friends

We got to take a road trip today and visit some old friends. Heath and Matt have known each other since high school. Nikki and Annie met in college. We are two families who have moved to PA from MO. It was nice to see some old friends today. The children had fun playing with Matt and Annie's pets (5 cats and 2 dogs). We hope to be able to hang out with our old friends again very soon!

T and K were privileged to be able to help walk the dogs today. They said that was their favorite part about our whole trip today. L got a blister from her new flip-flops, so she got to ride on Dad's shoulders.