My Cup Runneth Over

I can remember hearing my sweet Grandma say "My Cup Runneth Over" quite often.  As a kid, I didn't understand those words.  But, as an adult, I completely understand her sentiment.  I look at my children, listen to their laughter, feel their arms around my waist as they give me tight hugs, the squeezes of their hands when we say our blessing or nightly prayers and the silly duck face lips they give me when they give sugar.  I know exactly what Grandma meant. Because, my cup does run over with love!

I have so much in my life to be thankful for!  

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  And, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a little Adam Sandler - Thanksgiving Song!

My 60 lb Ninja!!

**Alert!  Alert!**  Bragging session will start in....
3,
2,
1!

My son is now a First Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do!!!!

Let me first start out in saying that Alex is the older twin (1 VERY important minute if you ask him!).  But, he has always been the smaller twin.  He was diagnosed with severe Eczema at birth and has been on steroids cream over time his entire life.  This has slowed his growth down considerably. His pediatrician assures us that he will catch up with his twin, we are hopeful!

The baseball player and the mummy are twins, big difference in size huh?

As you can see, he is very small.  He doesn't get picked on about his size, but I know it bothers him. Not as much lately, but he used to ask often when he would grow.  His self esteem wasn't great, he wasn't an organized sports kid...in fact, I have pictures of him hanging on the goal during a soccer game, that was the highlights of his soccer career!  So, he started watching a karate show on Disney and quickly picked up some of their kicks and chopping moves.  I contacted our local Tae Kwon Do center and they were offering 30 days free.  I talked with him about it and he was over the moon thinking about it.  

He was a little excited about his uniform and his belt

And here we are, 2 1/2 years later with him earning his black belt!!!  I just couldn't be more proud of his accomplishment!

The change in him has amazed me!  His confidence soars as high as some of his kicks!  He has tried out and made the demo team twice. This group travels to local venues and preforms for large groups. He does this with no hesitation!

I hope he continues with his training and achieves many more levels of black belt.  I'll leave with more pictures from his graduation.

Alex, I love you and hope that you know just how proud I am of you!  Keep up the good work and continuing being an example to others!

God's Eye

Often times, the world around me is moving so fast.  Having 4 kids keeps me very busy and I'm constantly running to school events, working on school projects, endless sports practices and games, homework, housework and all while having a full time job.  I forget to just look around me and see God's attention to detail in all things.  Sometimes it hits me that God has created such amazing things around me and I'm too busy to notice or be thankful for them.  I was going through my pictures on my cellphone and I have "noticed" his attention to details over time and wanted to share some of those things.

The sweet hands as well as the millions of shells we saw at Edisto Beach this summer, simply amazing!

While out fishing one evening, this sunset over the water was breathtaking.  

Not a big fan of spiders, but this one caught my eye one afternoon in my Mom's yard after a short rain shower.

This was stuck to my car window and look at all the veins and ridges, again His attention to detail in the small things

 Beautiful orchid that sits in our office.

This resting butterfly (or is it a moth)...I couldn't pass up a picture of it. Again, the details were all planned out by Him!

Amazing sunset while going into a school event last night.  This is the picture that made me realize I hadn't been thankful for all the beauty around me!

I couldn't believe I was able to catch the lightning bolt!  I was pretty proud of myself...I only took about 100 pictures to get this one, but well worth it! LOOK AT THAT!!!

And, God's promise to us!  
12. And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature with you, for everlasting generations: 13. I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth . . . and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. (Genesis 9:12, 15, HBFV)

I need to always remember to look around me and see the beauty in all things!!

Until we meet again...

Go Deacs!

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Wake Forest University football game against Louisville. We had been given tickets to an earlier season game and surprisingly, the kids enjoyed it. I was worried that Emma wouldn't have fun, but she wants to go to college at WFU and that made it more exciting for her. The boys haven't watched too much football and were unsure of the rules of the game. So, it was funny to see them watch their Daddy's reaction to calls and just followed his lead! After that first game, they have been hooked. Even so far as watching football EVERY Sunday on TV...lucky us! 

Anyway, back to my original story (I'm easily distracted!!)... I entered a contest with the local newspaper and was chosen to be the fan of the game. I had a chance to win some hard cold cash with the opening drive of the 3rd quarter...I had to Google what that meant!! If the Deacs scored a touchdown, I could win $500; if they scored a field goal, I could win $250; and if they did neither, I would win $100. So, we were pretty excited to have won at least $100! That would surely help buy a Christmas present. We surprised the kids the day of the game. I knew I would have to go out onto the field for the check presentation. After breaking the news to the kids, I asked who wanted to go with me. Aaron decided he would really like to go. Alex said he would, but would let Aaron go since he was enjoying football. The closer we got to our seats and Aaron realized what he would have to do, he quickly backed out. NO ONE wanted to go with me!!! And, I'm sure a big chicken, I didn't want to go by myself!! Ethan finally said if no one else would go, he would go with me...Thank you Lord!! We didn't have to go down to the field until the end of the 3rd quarter, so we did get to enjoy quite a bit of the game.

I loved seeing all the WFU praying in the end zone before the game began!  

Ethan and I made our way down to the field...we wouldn't be "us" if we didn't take all the necessary selfies and us posing by the field.

When did my little boy get this big??

Wake Forest wasn't able to score a touchdown or a field goal, so we won $100!!

We had a great time and I am so thankful for winning the tickets and the money.  The kids were VERY upset that we didn't get to keep the big check...HA!

I think these smiles say just how much fun we had that evening!