Friends

We've been looking forward to this past Friday night for awhile now!  Our dear friends, Gray & Brandy Gainor and their 5 kids, are back in the States for a few months before returning back to India where they live.  We have missed them SO much!  They've been gone for 3 years so we were so ready to see them and meet their youngest baby.  We got to see them in India back in June of 2011 when Jeremy, Spencer, and I visited (you can see those posts here, here, here, here, and here).  It was such a blessing to see their life there!   

So, back to Friday, we had the Finleys and Gainors over for the evening to play and share a meal together.  It was a sweet time to just be together and watch our kids get acquainted again.  I'm reminded of the gift of good friends, those friendships where you may not see each other for months or years but you just pick up right where you left off.  It was as if we all hung out last weekend!  So good to be together!  Here are some pictures I took on Friday.   

The girls were playing dress up:) 

Cayce, Brandy, & I

 

 Real life;)

Friday was also this boy's 2nd birthday!  Happy Birthday Nathan!  We love you!  (This is a classic Nathan pose) 

Between our 3 families we have 14 kids and this was the best I could do....

These next 5 pictures crack me up!  We joke often about our kids marrying each other.  We would be down with arranging marriages for our kids!  I just happened to be walking by with my camera and captured these two on the bar stool.  Ummmm.......CUTE!

 

 

 

 We were glad it was a pretty day so we could send some kids outside to eat. 

 

 

 

 

 

So blessed by these friendships!  We love you Gainors & Finleys!

Happy Birthday Spencer!

On Friday, February 8 Spencer turned 2!  Hard to believe!  Those first 2 years go so fast!  He is such a sweet boy and we are so thankful to the Lord for his life!  I'm smitten to the core over this boy!  We had a pancake breakfast that morning and then headed to Monkey Joe's.

 Then we celebrated that evening with some cupcakes and ice cream and a few gifts.  

 

 

 

 

Because Spencer can't answer his own birthday questions (well, not all of them...) we decided to answer how we think he would answer.....

1.  What is your favorite color? blue (he really did answer this)
2.  What is your favorite toy? his racoon, or matchbox cars,trucks
3.  What is your favorite fruit?  he loves all fruit...bananas, blueberries, strawberries, cantelope, apples...
4.  What is your favorite TV show?  not sure...not real into the TV
5.  What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  PB&J, fruit, chips....
6.  What is your favorite outfit?  he doesn't have a choice:)
7.  What is your favorite game? peek-a-boo
8.  What is your favorite snack?  fruit, slice of cheese, yogurt
9.  What is your favorite animal?  our cat Tiger....he's very interested in animals lately
10.  What is your favorite song?  "moma loves spencer" or "holy, holy, holy"
11.  What is your favorite book?  not sure, he doesn't get much one one one book reading time;)
12.  Who is your best friend?  outside his family (he loves his siblings) I'd have to say Nathan Finley... affectionately called Nay-Nay
13.  What is your favorite cereal?  fruit loops
14.  What is your favorite thing to do outside? ride bikes (he loves the plasma car right now), swing, play with sticks
15.  What is your favorite drink?  he mostly gets milk & water....so juice is a real treat!
16.  What is your favorite holiday?  I'd have to think his birthday because it equals cake!
17.  What do you take to bed with you at night?  the items are on the increase....favorite is his raccoon (called coon, from GG & Raggie), blankie (which is a pack n play sheet), a puppy he's named precious (after Papa & Nana's dog), and now a miniature raccoon from Grandpa & Grammy....that's a lot to keep up with!
18.  What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  doughnuts, pancakes, cereal, fruit
19.  What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  he wasn't asked, but he had chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans, and biscuits.
20.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  who knows....but we want him to be a godly man who loves Jesus!

Great Visit

My parents, nephew Owen, and niece Ainsley came for a 4 night visit last Thursday.  We all had a great time!  The first night we joined the Glinkers for the Fudruckers and roller skating social.  I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures!  I was reminded that I married an 80's boy (the man can roller skate, y'all!).  The kids did great too....such determination to roller skate!  On Friday was Spencer's birthday (I'll blog that separately later) so we had a pancake breakfast then headed to Monkey Joe's and out to lunch.  We then celebrated at home that evening.  On Saturday we were ready to just be home and play and get projects done.  I'm so thankful for how helpful my parents are when they come to town.  My dad is a huge Mr. Fix It and so we put him to work!  It was also fun to have Owen & Ainsley here!  Ainsley hadn't been to our house for years so we loved having her!  Sunday we went to church and rested that afternoon and then back to church that evening.  Sweet visit!  So thankful for our time together!

 

 

 

 These boys spent HOURS playing outside!  They had a ball!

 

 Owen shot his first squirrel!

 

 

 

Mom helped me recover the dining room chairs!  I didn't think I'd get to this project for a long time so it was such a blessing to tackle this project.  This fabric is from our old curtains that I haven't been using.  So all this project cost me was buying the staple gun.  They turned out so much better than I expected!

 

 

 

 Thank you for fixing Lydia's skuut Grandpa!

Dad and Jeremy worked hard cutting down a tree in our backyard on Saturday.  I was getting a little nervous that it would fall on the swing set!  We had to cut it down because kids come real close to hitting their heads when they swing!

 

 This next picture is so my Dad.....

 Thank you for a wonderful visit Mom & Dad!  I love you!

Show & Tell

Today our Tuesday School (you can read Cayce's blog here which explains it) was at the Watson's house.  This is a highlight to gather with the Darci, Cayce, & their kids each week.  Part of Tuesday School today was having a show & tell.  So each kid brought something special from home to tell about.  Here are each of the kids with their items.     

Stu brought his tiger stuffed animal 

 Carson brought his 4-10 shotgun (along with his pocket knife and 2 shells)

 Reese brought her bear and a ring

 Will brought his stuffed animal and a plant

Thomas brought his flashlight

Clark brought a puzzle, golf balls, and a handgun

Lydia brought her doll

Titus brought his "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" book

Bryn brought her jewelry making box

Molly brought her friendship bracelet