Merry Christmas from our house to yours

We had a very fun time enjoying our family Christmas traditions! We go to the Duke Energy Christmas Train display and the Krohn's Conservatory and outdoor Nativity. This year we added Don Pablos in Newport:)

I hope your Christmas is filled with JOY as we celebrate the birthday of our King!!!

2007_12_19

2007_12_16

I think this is my blog???

Where have I been? Chasing my tail!!!! We have been so busy! I really need to do just a quick update of our lives.
Christmas time is so exciting! My kids just love it! I have everything except 3 gifts bought. The gifts are wrapped and under the tree.
Since my last post Jacob has started playing basketball. He absolutely loves it and is doing quite well! We have practices every Tuesday evening. His team is the Upward Musketeers. Upward is an awesome group! His cousin Sammy is on his team, that makes it extra fun! These pics are from his first practice.

2007_11_27

My mother-in-law, Gloria, celebrated her birthday): The family met a Brio's Italian Restaurant. Her hubby bought her a very pretty watch! We had a great meal and enjoyed being together.

2007_11_29

We put up our tree of course, I had trouble getting a good pic in the dark. I love real trees! The kids enjoyed decorating.

Anna had her 9th birthday! We celebrated at her house. Pics are in the Christmas tree album.

2007_11_30

We went the Lebanon Horse Christmas parade, it is so beautiful, unfortunately, none of my pictures turned out. It was after dark and all the carriages and horses are lit and decorated for Christmas. They have the parade in the morning too and you can see the horses better, but the night parade is very pretty. My sisters family and our family went together. It was very cold so our seating arrangement was helpful:)

2007_12_01

I hosted our annual GNO Christmas. We were so glad Deanna was home from Ireland, we had an exceptionally great time catching up. Without fail I end my time with my wonderful friends having a wonderful memory and a very full stomach:)! Deanna had my name for our gift exchange, she gave me a beautiful candle light from Europe! I need to take a picture of it with the candles burning so you can see it.

2007_12_03

The kids loved the snow! They played outside almost 3 hours without stopping! Daddy was with them, which made it fun!

2007_12_05

The children had there Christmas program Sunday, they did a great job! Jenna was an angel for the first part and turned into a really cool sheep! Jacob and Nate joined in on the cool surfin' sheep!

2007_12_16

Whew!!! What a quick update! Our family is now off to enjoy some wonderful family Christmas traditions. Hopefully a post will follow soon!

Merry Christmas to all of you! Don't forget to make some wonderful memories! Thank you Jesus for this season!

Caution! If you don't like to smile, go away:)

Before you read this you must know that, Yes, I am trying to raise my daughter to be a lady:) There are a couple things going against me, her two big brothers! Secondly, we loved the Statue of Liberty and it signifies the wonderful liberty of our great nation. With those disclaimers in mind.......
We were on our way into New York and trying to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty. Jenna, in the backseat of the van proclaims: "Did you know that the Statue of Liberty wears panties.....and she has a wedgee?" I could not believe it, much laughter burst from everyone:) What makes her mind work? I don't know, but I love her!!! Many Smiles:):):)

Home Safe and Sound!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
We made it home last night around 8:00pm. We had such a wonderful time. The kids really enjoyed themselves and we had a great time with Jerry and Gloria! This is only our second vacation with them but we travel very well together and enjoy each other's company very much! Thanks for the invite!
Let's just say we were PACKED as we headed out Friday night. We stopped in Somerset, PA, and spent the night. We headed for Wildwood, NJ, Sat. and made it safely. Wildwood is definitely not "Wild" in the winter, we started to refer to it as a ghost town. There were only a few businesses open. We did go to the beach but, froze and quickly left! They shut down for winter almost completely. We spent a relaxing day on Sunday.
Monday morning we head for New York City. We made it there FINALLY around 1:30 I think. We had a GPS that was very confused and left us feeling very confused but, after crossing the same bridge a couple times and going in circles we finally made it to our hotel "Belleclaire"
I can not put into words what the bustling New York City is. We absolutely loved the experience!!!! If you haven't gone you should go. From the traffic to the subway, the sights to the people, the lights to the sounds, we definitely got the feeling of what life is in the BIG City:) We could have spent several more days there to do all we wanted, however we did not leave unsatisfied! ( I took a lot of pictures I'll post them below, I just do not feel the pictures can do all that we saw justice but I was able to capture some good moments.)
Thanksgiving day took us to a town near Atlantic City, NJ. We ate at a lovely restaurant called Sophia. The meal was very yummy!
Friday took us to Philadelphia, PA. This was a very fun day too! I loved the history in this city. We took a carriage ride and learned a lot of historical facts, it was very chilly!
Now we are home and its time to get ready for Christmas! Busy, Busy, Busy!!!!!

2007_11_24

Check In

Two weeks have gone by and no blogging! We have actually had a couple weeks that have been low-key, which I needed!!!
However we are going to change our pace here shortly. We are going to New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia for a week and we leave Friday. Jerry and Gloria invited us to join them and we are so glad we can go! I hope to have many fun pictures to share.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Here are a couple pics I was looking at, might add some interest to this blog:)

2006_06_09

Candy, Candy, Candy!!!!

Tuesday night turned out to be trick or treat in our neighborhood? Don't understand that but, off we went and there is way to much sugar in our house!!! The boys finished the neighborhood but Jenna wore out.
We carved some pumkins yesterday and had a lot of fun!

2007_10_31

Fall Party!!

We had a Fall Party!!! The kids had a great time last Saturday evening! It all started with some really cute costumes, then games, then some painting pumpkins, then some food, then some
RAIN:(((

Thanks to everybody who brought food and treats! I love the kids having fun, like they say "Enjoy it now, they grow up too fast"

2007_10_27

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW

"Raising a son can be a real roller-coaster ride.......the ups, the downs, the fun, the excitement, the close calls, the thrills and chills, and just like a roller-coaster ride.....it goes by WAY too FAST!" Where did the time go? October 26, 1995.........2007. Matthew has grown up so fast, he is such a joy to us, we are very Proud of him! I hope we never forget all the phases of his life! A very cute, happy baby boy, to a wonderful 12 year old. We love you Matthew, Happy Birthday! He became a little richer:) over the weekend but, a little poorer today:( He used his fortune to buy his Lasi Mini Baja aka~remote control car

2007_10_28

Beauty & Fun!

What a beautiful day and perfect weather we had for our annual Kid's Church camp out! Big thanks to the Miller's for opening their home and property for our great enjoyment!
We got a little chilly but all in all it was a great night. We have great sleeping bags so just the nose got cold, I just snuggled down deeper:)
Now our tent was somehow missing its rain flap (not happy) so we had to do some riggin' of our own, needless to say, as you will see in the pictures it was not real pretty.LOL Someone tagged it Kondemd, I know this is the incorrect way to spell this, so don't fear:)
The kids look so forward to this event-they have so much fun!
A little nap was had by all this afternoon:)

Kid's church campout 2007

HAPPY FALL ~My most wonderful time of the year! I was born in October and have loved the season ever since!
Brian and I took the kids to buy some pumpkins today at a little farm close to home. It was so very fun and a beautiful day to pick our pumpkins! I took some pictures of course.:) They were very fun to take, hope I don't bore you, YAAAAAWN.......night night

2007_10_17

FUN, FUN, FUN!!!!

There is no way to describe the fun we had in Gatlinburg:) Let me begin with the day of departure first:
We left our kids at Granpa&Me maw Snelling's Thursday around 12:30pm, that was quite hard for Brian and I. We have only left Jenna one night in her life, so we were nervous! Jacob was not feeling well so it was a little hard on this mommy to leave:(

We arrived in Gatlinburg around 6pm. Our cabin was awesome, HUGE! We shared a bunk room with Bradley, Lisa, Paul and Sara. We stayed up late every night of course!! There were 24 of us and plenty of room.
We checked out some blogs while we were there:) Ebay was visited also:)

Friday we started out with devotions and a very yummy breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. Then.......an 11 MILE bike ride in Cades Cove, I must mention this was not a flat trail. It was a challenge at times but I did it! Brian's bike broke down around mile 2, we were not happy about that. He hitched a few rides back to the rental office.
We enjoyed eating together at No Way Jose's Fri. night, then walking around downtown Gatlinburg. Some of the guys and gals played Laser tag. To bed late again...

Saturday we had devotions then breakfast(at Bob Evan's not our first choice). The girls hit the outlet malls while the guys took a helicopter ride and raced the go carts.
8 of us went horseback riding around 4pm, this was definitely a highlight in my trip, the weather was beautiful and it was very peaceful, except for the little power struggle between Smokey(my horse) and Thelma (Stephanie's horse).
We then headed to Texas Roadhouse for supper and then to the Comedy Barn for some good laughs! I must add that the Comedy Barn is interested in good clean family comedy! Then we quickly headed
to Gatlinburg for some last minute shopping! Up late again......

Sunday came quite quickly and we all straggled out towards home and most of all my KIDS!! We missed them terribly!
Now those are just some highlights, a lot of laughter, games, hottub, some practical jokes and much, much, more fun added in gave us a very wonderful weekend with some of our closest friends! Thanks guys for all the fun, can't tell you what it means to have friends that are Christians and headed toward the same Goal! Lots of love to you:) Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Gatlinburg Trip 2007

Now to my wonderful in~laws, THANK YOU SO MUCH for keeping my kids, I never worried that they weren't taken care of! You guys are the best!! Aunt La La, thanks for all your help too! My kids had a wonderful fun packed weekend!
Thanks Jenn and kids for putting up with Doodle and watching the house. Doodle kisses are sent your way, whether you want them or not:)

By the way Jacob is still sick with an ear infection and asthma. We are making it though.
Have a great week!

I did it!!

Too much time messing with this, but I did get it! Thanks Tamra for the tip:0) Oh, by the way I'm talking about my blogskin:)

Best Yet!

Well I must say we celebrated our Anniversary in top-notch style. NOT! Jacob is sick, so- Brian and I had a yummy pizza from Hunter's Pizzeria down the road:) I did however get some beautiful roses and a very perfect card from my hubby! This Anniversary celebration will definitely not go down as the most grand, but we enjoyed it:)

2007_10_05

Yesterday I had some down time and I took a walk down memory lane in my pictures. I love doing that, I do miss my little ones, they are growing up way too FAST! But don't worry this is not creating a desire for a new one:) Hope you enjoy the pics!

2006_05_14

Happy Anniversary!!

October 5, 1996

2007_10_05

I'd do it all over again:) My how time flies! I must say the last 11 years have been a wonderful journey! My husband has surely made it all worthwhile! I can honestly say no one could find a better MAN! I love you sooo......much honey! In those last eleven years we have had two lovely children, moved 3 times, had 3 dogs, went through several cars:( Had many vacations and had absolutely no SPATS:) Ha Ha you know us better than that! Thank God for His help in our lives, I'm so thankful to be blessed with a good marriage. I can't wait to see what the next 11 years bring!

sorry about grainy pics, thats what you get you take pic of pics:)

Tagged!

I thought I might have time to play tag:) Aren't you all surprised I'm alive!

7 things about me:

1. love to shop!
2. love to decorate
3.working in the yard is my therapy!
4.I love to read, some call it a fantasy world:) this reading things is only done late at night when everyone is finally quiet!
5.I hate to travel! I'm fine when I reach my destination but, I hate the transportation part ~ car, boat, or airplane YUCK!
6. I love to sleep in~most of my friends know this
7.I love the ocean! I experience the most relaxation EVER when I'm at the ocean.
I think I'll tag.......Melodie Sankey, Stephanie P, Janie E, Martha Going, Leanna Pitcher, Sarah Fry, Rebekah B Have fun:)

Days Gone By

I think I have rushed the change of seasons a bit:) I cleaned out the flower beds and planted some pretty mums! These pretty mums are experiencing some pretty HOT temperatures! I am sooooooo...ready for Fall.

I'm not usually into all the "new" fads and toys but.....my kids have entered the Webkinz world. I actually think it is pretty cute and it is giving them some fun:) Jacob's new pup on the block is, "Gunner" the bulldog and Jenna loves her poodle cutely named, "PinkiePie"

2007_09_01

School is keeping us quite busy and the last week pasted in a blur.

We did get to spend some time with family this week due to Oscar Johnson entering his heavenly home. He was a dear friend of the Snelling's.

2007_09_05

Labor Day was very different than usual. Brian took a little bit of time to go fly one of his remote control airplanes. We flew it at the church.He loves this hobby but has no time to enjoy it, so this was fun! He tried to help me and the kids fly, but it was not too successful:) Later we went to the mall and had supper with family, it was a different way to spend the holiday but, we had fun!

2007_09_03

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the girl who made me an aunt 17 years ago! I don't know where all the years have gone. She has made me smile many times, I love you Emmy!

2007_09_02

SCHOOL

Time is one thing I wish you could stop, well, just every once in a while. Summer vacation has ended and school is here! As a result my blogging time has greatly suffered!


Jacob home schooled last year and it went very well! This year (3rd grade) we decided to try DVDs. We started on Monday. I must say this is definitely a change of pace! I think:) when he is in the groove of things it will actually be a good thing. It is a longer day, he is not the only "student" just to name two of the changes we are dealing with. Time will tell and we are going to give it our best! I will add that you can try it for 30 days and if you are not satisfied you can get a full refund. Don't get me wrong we can give it our best shot!! Jacob has said he likes it better. My how the struggles of education can boggle our mind. HELP!!!!.........................

2007_08_27

We had a weekend VBS at our church (last weekend). Jesus to the Rescue! I think it was a success! Check out the great FUN!

2007_08_26

I just want to share a little bit about the most wonderful thing in my life! Bear with me:)

Jesus my dearest friend would be that most wonderful "thing" in my life! I take a lot of time sharing other things and this has been on my mind so I want to share this too!

First of all I am so far from a theologian as you will read. I just have a relationship with Jesus and He teaches me like a child. I am learning very slowly since many years ago when this relationship started out. He is so patient with me. I don't know why He loves me so much, I don't know where I would be without Him! He has been especially close lately and I am so thankful. He knows ME! I don't have to tell Him where I am, He already knows. I don't have to share my heart, He already knows. I don't have to worry if He thinks I'm weak, He already knows that He is my strength. I don't have to wait for Him to listen, He is already there! I don't have to wonder if He loves me in spite of my faults, He already showed His love to me on Calvary! I don't have to worry about the future, He holds it. In fact He knew all along how much I would need Him and He gave me His word to lean on. These are just a very,very few of the blessings I receive in this relationship! I give Him my all and receive so much more in return! I have peace in a very unpeaceful world! I am only beginning to understand the great responsibility that is mine to share this wonderful "thing" with others. Why not share?

Have a wonderful week:)

Fun, Fun, Fun

Hang on! I think this might turn out to be a very long ride! I have a lot to share!
Yesterday we set off to have a great day! Brian took the day off and it really felt like vacation to us.
We decided to spend a few hours at Newport Aquarium. I love a good deal and the Aquarium is almost finishing up its deal for the summer; buy 1 adult ticket and get up to 2 kids in free!!! So, the kids were free:) The special starts at 4:30 pm and the Aquarium closes at 7pm. We had plenty of time.
We had so much fun, I love saltwater fish and sharks. Watching them is very relaxing to me. There is one part of the Shark Fest that wasn't very relaxing to Jenna. You step into a little hallway sort of, and you look like you are in a cage. There is a huge screen! The little movie starts and you are just viewing the video.....then....the sharks start crashing into the screen, mouths wide open, lots of big, sharp teeth and the floor beneath you starts to shake! Jenna started screaming bloody murder!!!! It was a bit to realistic for my 4 yr old. I might add it made me a little jumpy:) I quickly left the room and took about 5 minutes to calm her down. She did not look forward to the shark tunnel:( By the time we left she and the rest of us had all petted some small sharks. I think she had recovered however; she has mentioned that she never wants to see that shark movie again!

Before we went to the Aquarium we walked around Newport on the Levy. The purple people bridge was fun for the kids. They love to watch the boats and imagine seeing fish in the river.

We then went to Brian and Matthew's favorite restaurant-Don Pablo's on the river. We had some very yummy food and then headed home. It just so happens that The Cone is kind of on the way home8) The Cone is in West Chester and it has yummy ice cream. I thought it was a great way to end a great DAY!
click on pic to view album

Day at Newport

Last Thursday the kids and I went to see our friends, Betsy, Wyatt and Maggie. I started baby sitting Wyatt when he was a baby and then Maggie came along. I of course had Jacob when I started babysitting and then Jenna came along. We have gone through quite a lot with then. We really turned into family and we had so much fun spending the day with them8) The kids are great fun and there was never a dull moment!
click on pic to view album

2007_08_16Wyatt&Maggies House

Last Monday (Aug.13) I got to spend the evening with my friends! Deanna was in the states for a wedding. We went to Abuelo's for supper and spent a few hours catching up with each others lives while having Starbucks(yummy:). You might get tired of reading this but......I love my friends, they are such an awesome blessing in my life! We were spoiled to get to see De so soon:) Love and miss ya De!
click on pic to view album

2007_08_13

Last Sat. our church has a annual "Rolling Picnic" It is an part of our outreach program. We went to about 5 communities and had hot dogs, chips, fruit snacks, Popsicle's and water to share with the community. We take a couple trailers loaded with grills, picnic table and all the other supplies. There were about 60 of us I think, it was very organized by Kris W. and Rebecca M. We were able to make some new contacts and also reunite with other children who have not attended church for a while. We invited the children to come to our VBS this weekend.
It was a long day but so worth it! I hope this event was able to reach those that are looking for peace in their lives. I am so glad that we have the answer to those who are searching for something to satisfy. My prayer is that those children will come to VBS and learn that Jesus loves THEM! Not only did it minister to those we don't know, it was very much a blessing to reach out, Thank You Jesus for the blessing!
click on pic to view album

rollingpicnic

We start school on Monday, I have all the material, I hope we like the DVD's. It is the A Beka Curriculum DVD program. Last year I did the teaching and it went really well, I just decided we would try this out because next year I will have two students and I don't think I'm up for that challenge, we will see. We have 30 days to try it and if it doesn't work out we will switch back to mommy being teacher:) Matthew is also doing this same program and starts on Monday too.

I think I have rattled on sufficiently! I've had a break because today is Daddy Do List(Brian took another day off)

• Daddy lets go fishing
• Daddy lets go swimming
• Daddy lets go drive Jacob's R/C Mini T
• Daddy lets go to Bass Pro Shop..................

What an awesome Dad!!!! Love you honey:)

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Playing Catch UP

Hi Friends! How is your Summer? Ours is very HOT!!! We are doing our best to enjoy it. Just about 2 weeks before school starts, I find myself dreading it as much as I did when I was a kid!

Once again my blog is suffering neglect. I'll try to catch up.
We have had a lot going on with church functions and believe it or not the camera has not been busy, too hot to take pictures!
My big accomplishment this week~shelves in the basement! I'm so excited about them! My wonderful father~in~law offered to build them for me! I of course couldn't turn down the offer. Thanks Jerry, it was a big job but, we did it! We tackled the job on Thursday about noon and were finished by 6pm or so. Because Jerry has a bad shoulder I had to do some pretty heavy lifting, oh how I wish someone had taken pictures! I'm very happy with the shelves, the kids like them too! All the kids toys fit and I still have a shelf I can fill! (top shelf baskets are empty) I love organization:)

2007_08_11

Do your children like to go in places they just aren't supposed to go???

2007_08_09

I'm going to blame this on Papaw Snelling! I don't know maybe its a good idea:)

We are spending Sat. evening at Brian's parents house with his family and cousin Going's. We have a lot of fun with them so I'm looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend!

Where Has Everyone Been? Oh! I'm the one missing:0(

This is going to be a very jumbled blog! Life has been way too BUSY! I'll give you a little update on my last few weeks.
Brian has been working 75 hour weeks...we are all trying to adjust to this, pray for us its kinda hard! Thankfully its not supposed to be long term.
I have also been babysitting quite a bit! So more work on every ones part has turned out to be little crazy!
These are few highlights since my last post: These are not in order.

• Jenna ran away! She wanted to see her older cousin Emily. Emily was at the pool that is at the entrance of our subdivision. I told Jenna "no, Mommy is busy and I can not take you there now." About 10 minutes later.....Jenna was "missing" my sister got in the car to find her and I started looking. I just happened to look across the many vacant lots and my eyes fell on a little girl at the pool parking lot. This little girl fit Jenna's description perfectly! Needless to say there were some much needed disciplinary actions and lectures! She could only say "I had to see Emily!" By the way she road her bike on the road, I still have the feeling of fear!
• We got a swing set/club house! Daran my nephew Sam's dad built it for him several years back. Sammy had to move to a new apartment and couldn't take it with him:( My sister Jenn really wanted us to have it! Brian with the help of his Dad and Paul, Small Paul and Randy moved it here last week! I pressure washed it and stained it, UGGG:( Then we put some new play equipment on it. We love it Thanks Aunt Jenn and Sammy!
• Jacob finally saved enough $$$$ to buy a Mini T electric car! We were very proud of his patience! He saved from Bday and his chore allowance.
• Brian and Jacob went to the Dayton Air Show, that ended early due to a tragedy. They had a very good time while they were there!
• We had a very fun play day with Lindsey my niece and her mommy Leanna! Lindsey gave all of us some good laughs:)

pics of all of it in album

2007_07_25

Well I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying your summer, it is too quickly passing!