The Boy's Room

Since we live in a 3 bedroom house, and have 3 kids, our two guys share a room. Hopefully one of these days we will have an extra bedroom, but for now, we are making do.

Until recently, Carson only slept in this room, but never really played in here much. Lately however, he has started hanging out in here more.

Here is how I found him the other day...

He has also discovered Lego's and Lincoln Logs!

Christian has always been great at building really cool Lego and Lincoln Log creations, so now Carson loves seeing what BB (Big Brother) can put together!

Although Christian hasn't played with this stuff very much on his own, in quite a long time, he is great about playing with Carson.

Below, Christian "helped" Carson build a really cool building.

They let me get a picture of them beside their project...

And then they both laughed as Carson kicked it into 100 pieces!

Boys!

Writing the Waves,

Christi

Hello Frog!

Only a mom could think that every. single. one. of these pictures HAD to be posted...but I AM the mom, and so...

Such joy and fascination...from a frog on the porch!

Writing the Waves,

Christi

Travelers Game

Last night, Corey decided to take the boys to a Travelers baseball game. Although Christian has been several times before, and we took Carson one time, as an infant (which doesn't really count), this was their first "guys" night at the ball field!

After Corey got Carson all fixed up with a Travs t-shirt and cap, they enjoyed some pregame snacks...

Right now, Carson enjoys nothing more than hanging out with Christian. He LOVES doing what his big brother is doing...and thankfully Christian is a GREAT big brother.

There were some inflatable things set up for the kids to play on, so of course, Carson had to check it all out!
The boys made their way up this ladder for the big slide...even Christian said that the ladder was hard to climb, but where there's a will, there's a way!

They didn't stay for the entire game, since baseball games run sooo long, but I think they all had a fun time, and Carson sure liked having a night out with his daddy and big brother...the first of many, I'm sure!

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Yum!

I haven't been taking much time to blog lately, so I'm going to have lots of catching up to do when I get back into the swing of things, but I figured that I could at least take time to cut and paste this wonderful recipe that I tried out last night. I found it on another blog, and just thought that it sounded good...it was! :)

Don't know what to make for dinner?

Gotcha covered!

Swiss Chicken

4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts
6 oz. Mozzarella or Swiss cheese slices (I did Mozzarella...but will also try it with Swiss!)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 cup white cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup herb-flavored crushed up Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place uncooked chicken in shallow buttered casserole dish. Layer cheese on top. Mix soup, wine, salt, pepper; pour over cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour.

It's a keeper!

Writing the Waves,

Christi

Brother's Day

One day last week, while Caylie headed to the pool with a friend, Christian, Carson and I decided that we would go to the Museum of Discovery.

We called it "Brother's Day".

One of the activities for the kids, was an area where they could put together their own little cars. They both enjoyed that. Of course, Carson didn't make a lot of progress on his car, but he liked trying!

Here they lit up the different light bulbs by "shooting" at them.

In this next picture, a blue ball was projected onto the screen, and it actually reacted to the kid's motions. They could push it up, or down, etc.. At times, it would start " raining" lots of little blue balls, like a shower, and Christian would hold out his hands to catch them. They would land in his hand, and then flow out toward the ground.

They both thought that this was pretty cool.

Christian was very impressed with this long rod that would swing around the table. Because of it's angle, it would swing right through the curved cut-out in the plexiglass.

There was an area that focused on health, so Christian and I both took a blood pressure test.

Here, Christian is making Carson laugh by shooting him with the air blower that a dentist uses.

This fun test measured Christian's reaction time. He did it many times, always trying to get just a little bit faster.

I impressed Christian with my flexibility on this test! My results actually placed me into a much younger age group than I am really in! :)

Love it when that happens!

After finishing up at the museum, we walked over to get some Mexican food at the River Market.

The River Market food court area has had a major upgrade, and is sooo cool looking now. It used to be kind of cramped and dark feeling, but now it is bright, open and airy! They have put in colorful umbrella tables and chairs, gigantic trees in big colorful pots and done a LOT to update it!

The food was yummy too!

As we headed back to the car, we were talking about what a fun day it had been!

I LOVED my day with these two great brothers! :)

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Papaw's Birthday Celebration

I am really getting behind on my blogging, so it is time to play catch up!

A couple of weeks ago, Corey's dad celebrated his birthday with a fish fry at the home of some church friends in their town. We went down to join the party.

The home was out in the country, and so the kids enjoyed climbing on the tractor!

Corey pointed out some goats to Carson, so he ran over to look, saying, "I want to do the goats!" You would have thought that he was heading to a carnival ride or something! :)

Corey said, "Yep, we've got a city boy!"

Here they are, "doing the goats." Ha!

More fun stuff to climb on...

The fish that we ate, were all caught by Papaw. Combine that yummy fish with those great hush puppies, and you've got some good eatin'!

Here are the cooks...Nana, and Corey's Aunt Phyllis. His Uncle Delton, sister Kinley, and Caylie are all enjoying themselves as well.

Christian and Carson enjoyed playing around in the yard with their cousins, Katie, Jordan and Jackson.

At the end of the evening, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to Papaw...which Carson LOVED!

Papaw then thanked everyone for celebrating his birthday with him.

After everything started winding up, it was time for us to head home.

We are glad that you had a happy birthday Papaw!

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Caylie's Buffalo River Float Trip

On Thursday, Caylie went with the youth group on a trip to float the Buffalo. They had a pretty day, and had a great time.

She took a disposable water proof camera to take some pictures, and while most of the pictures were okay, this one is sooo grainy...but it shows her with her friends before they headed out bright and early at 7am!
They arrived safely at the canoe rental place where they got all fixed up, and ready to roll...or float! This is her good friend Elizabeth, who she shared a canoe with for the day.

They tipped over more than once, but they didn't care...they were having so much fun!

Can you tell?

Their canoe got so filled with water that it was sinking, so they had to use the big plastic bags that some of their stuff was packed in to empty water out of the canoe!

Here is Caylie with her friend Megan... and with another friend, Taylor!

Caylie remembered to take sunscreen, but only put it on her upper body. When she got home, the tops of her legs were sooo burned. She was really hurting for a few days, but still said that it was worth it!

I'm glad!

Bet she won't forget her legs next time! :)

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude...

I think that in order to keep perspective on things that seem to frustrate, or discourage us in our everyday life, it is important to frequently remind ourselves just how very blessed we really are. I have so much to be thankful for, and these are just a few things that come to mind immediately.

I could never write about gratitude without acknowledging Christ, who is my source of hope, both in my daily life, and my eternal life. I truly don't know how people manage to keep scraping along through the ups and downs of life without a greater purpose.

I think that there are probably days when we all just want to throw up our hands and throw in the towel! If it were not for having a greater purpose, I think that it would sometimes be difficult to stay motivated...to persevere and strive to move beyond the ditch that we sometimes find ourselves in.

Of course, there are countless other things that I am grateful for...my wonderful husband and children, my extended family, health, my church, God's faithful provision. I could go on and on, but I will stop there.

Just a little reality check!

Thank you God for the many, many blessings you have poured into my life! I pray that I will never cease to praise you for your faithful provisions!

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Just Enjoying Summer Around Here

I have been ignoring my blog for the last week or so.

Since the kids are out of school, I have just been hanging out with them, and not really taking the time to write about what has been going on around here.

Sometime in the next week or so, I plan to play catch up, and post some pictures, but this morning will just be short and sweet.

The pool is waiting.

We have been spending quite a bit of time at the athletic club. Christian loves playing basketball with friends, and Caylie likes to take classes, jog on the treadmill, and ride the bikes. We have all had a great time swimming together.

Carson LOVES swimming...which is wonderful because I do too! After we swim for a couple of hours, he is always ready for a good nap when we get home, and sometimes I am as well!

Corey is in Atlanta on business for the week, so we are doing our own thing for a few days. He should be back on Friday evening after a long, but hopefully valuable week of business brokerage classes.

I think that he will be very happy to return home. He "took one for the team", as he put it, by staying at a less expensive hotel since he was not with the family. The pictures that he sent me yesterday show that he really IS taking one for the team...a little more so than he had bargained for I think!

So what's the game plan for today? Hmmm...let me think...oh, that's right, the pool!

Writing the Waves,
Christi

Elementary School Graduation

Friday was Christian's graduation from elementary school. They had really made an effort to make it a special occasion.

Christian was less than thrilled to wear the cap and gown, but I thought that he looked great, and insisted on having a picture of him, despite his protests. :)

There is a Methodist church right across the street from his school, so the ceremony was held in the church sanctuary.

One child from each of the four 5th grade classrooms was chosen to play a song on the piano, and also to make a short speech about their elementary memories.

The principal made some comments, and then a community business owner gave them a little pep talk.

Then came the part that we had all been waiting on...watching my sweet guy walk across the stage to claim his elementary diploma.

My big boy is growing up.

He was nice enough to turn and flash us a glimpse of his diploma after he returned to his seat.

Congratulations Christian on a job well done!

I can't wait to be your teacher next year!

Hello summer! :)

Writing the Waves,
Christi