Layton Life

Hannah is a BIG GIRL!!!

Just a quick post to brag about my little girl.  First things first - she is going tee-tee on the potty (sometimes)!!!  Such a big girl - she even likes to read while sitting on her potty seat!!

 

Hannah got a haircut today - she has bangs now!  The stylist refused to cut anything other than bangs - she said the curls were just too cute and she wasn't going to touch them!!

That's all I have time for right now - gotta get Peanut in the bath.  Until next time!!

My Birthday

Well, I'm officially old.  I hit the big 3-0 on Sunday...and not exactly the way I planned. 

Hannah started getting sick Thursday night, and we were up with her most of the weekend.  We managed to sneak off to dinner Friday night thanks to MeMa (thanks, Pat!) and we even ran by Wal-Mart, where Jeff bought me a lounge chair for the deck and a serving tray to go with all my new patio stuff. 

Saturday is a blur - Hannah was sick and we spent most of the time trying to keep her happy after being up with her ALL NIGHT on Friday night! 

We got up Sunday morning and Jeff mowed the yard while I packed for him (another trip to Atlanta) and kept an eye on Peanut.  Jeff managed to surprise me with a balloon, a lap desk for my laptop (which I have wanted for at least 6 months!), and a new book.  Jeff's flight left at noon, so we had to skip church to get him to the airport.  After I dropped him off I killed some time until my parents got home from church and then we went to lunch and to Sams, where I got Jeff part of his early birthday present (his birthday is 8/9).  Then it was back to Conway (my dad came too since Jeff's present was in his Suburban!).

On my way home, I called the house to check messages and my small group from church had called to wish me a happy birthday, which was really awesome!  I was really bummed about Jeff being gone on my birthday, so it was a nice surprise to know that others were thinking about me!

Now, I have to keep going, because my birthday didn't end on Sunday...

Monday was back to work.  I also had to try to get the house back under control - something about having a sick kid just makes your house get TRASHED.  Noah had ballgames starting at 6 (he won the first game, lost the second - so his season is over now), so I was rushing around trying to get ready to go get Hannah when Jeff called.  He said that he had a screen shot (for work) in the top right drawer of his desk and could I scan it in and email it to him.  I was getting a little stressed because I was already running late and didn't have time to figure out the scan thing on our printer (we haven't used it before!), but when I opened the desk drawer, there was a note in there for me along with another birthday gift!  He had bought me a shirt I liked last weekend at the Memphis Zoo and hidden it from me to surprise me with it while he was gone!  How sweet is that??!!

But wait, there is more...

Last night he called to ask me to see if he had left the Kroger card (gift card that we use for groceries - it supports the school the kids go to) on his nightstand.  He said that he thought he took it out of his wallet and put it on the nightstand so that I could use it while he was away, but that he couldn't remember exactly where it was - it might be in the drawer.  Well, when he told me this I was on my way home from the office, and I forgot about it before I got home (major traffic).  Anyway, when he called again after he ate dinner, I remembered that he had asked me to look for the Kroger card.  So I went into the bedroom while I was talking to him on the phone and when I opened the drawer of the nightstand, there waiting for me was another note from Jeff and a webcam for my laptop!!!!

Isn't my husband just amazing???

Anyway, he said that he is done now, so my 30th birthday is officially over now.  It wasn't how I had planned, but it was great!!

Until next time...

Layton Vacation Recap

Well, vacation time has come and gone here in Layton Land.  We had a wonderful trip to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg - even Hannah had a good time!  I should go ahead and tell you all now - I hardly took any pictures.  I only had my camera with me on Friday in Gatlinburg (we didn't want to take it in to the parks since we had to leave the stroller unattended during rides), so don't expect a ton of pictures!!  That being said, here is a recap of our vacation:

Sunday, 6/8 - Pick the kids up in LR at 2 PM and drive like crazy to Pigeon Forge.  We did stop in Jackson to go to Sam's (buy a Nintendo DS game and a floatie swimsuit for Hannah) and to eat at Cracker Barrel.  Other than occasional pit stops, we drove straight on thru to Pigeon Forge.  With the time change, we got to the hotel right at 1:00 AM Eastern Time.  Everyone was in bed by 2:30 - even little Hannah Banana, who stayed up as late as anyone playing around in the big hotel room.

Monday, 6/9 - We all slept in a little and got up and around just in time to catch breakfast down at the restaurant.  After that we all went swimming before getting cleaned up to go to the Dixie Stampede.  We decided that we had a little time before we needed to get to the show, so we took a drive to Gatlinburg to let the kids see what was in store for them on Friday.  We got hung up in traffic on the way back to Pigeon Forge - they were resurfacing the road - and Maddie got to chat with a girl from Kentucky on her DS (which we all thought was way too cool!). 

Anyway, we got to the Stampede in time to have our picture taken before the show and then settle in to our seats on the South side (who wants to be a darn Yankee??).  Hannah woke up right after we sat down and had a hard time adjusting to being in a different place than she was when she fell asleep, so she threw a little fit, but she settled down nicely after the horses appeared.  We are going to have to buy this little girl a pony or something, because she was absolutely fascinated by the horses in the show.  She danced to the music and pointed at the animals and just thoroughly enjoyed herself.  We had a really great time and plan to do Dixie Stampede again.

Tuesday, 6/10 - Dollywood here we come!  I was amazed that the kids slept as late as they did on our first day in the parks, but at 9:15 I went into their room to find Maddie and Noah fast asleep (Hannah slept in a crib in our room).  I hollered out "Oh - excuse me - I must have this room confused with another room of kids that want to go to DOLLYWOOD!"  They both shot out of bed and said "Which shirt do we wear today?" 

We had breakfast in the room (I had packed cereal and pop tarts so we could just eat in the room every day) and then loaded up for the park. We had a diaper bag and a backpack FULL of stuff, but thankfully we had a stroller!!  When we got to the park, I headed over to get my season pass (so that we got discounts in the parks) while Jeff and the kids headed on through the turnstiles (I had printed off their 3-day passes at home). 

Once we were all inside, we headed straight on over to the QBot counter to get our wonderful little Q-Bot.  This thing is great - you just tell it what ride you want to ride and it will tell you what time to be there.  When you get there you are put immediately on the ride!  We were doing parent swap so that someone could stay with Peanut and it worked out great - we never had to wait in line for any of the big rides, and we got front and center seats reserved for us for the two shows we went to see.  It was awesome!!

Anyway, the first thing we rode was the river rapids ride, and we all got SOAKED.  So after that it was off to find a roller coaster to dry us off.  The first coaster we rode was Mystery Mine.  It was AWESOME!!  It goes STRAIGHT UP, and I do mean straight up.  It felt like we were going to fall out of the tops of the seats!!  I rode with Noah, and he liked it, but said he didn't want to ride it again (he did later in the week).  Maddie rode with Jeff and it scared her really bad (the going straight up part). 

After that, we rode the Thunderhead, which is the wooden roller coaster at Dollywood.  The kids both loved it, and Jeff and I did too!  Then it was time for lunch and a show.  We got to the show in time to enjoy a few minutes of air conditioning before it began (have I mentioned that it was HOT??).  Hannah danced and wiggled to the music for a few minutes and then promptly fell asleep in my lap and slept for the entire show!

Speaking of the show, we went to the Great American Country show.  We all really enjoyed it - they did covers of all the current popular songs.  Then they bring out a music star (we saw Jan Howard, who I have never heard of!).  If we had gone one week earlier, we would have seen Jimmy Fortune!  The kids were very bummed that we missed him (so was I!), but we still enjoyed the show (and REALLY enjoyed the air conditioning!).

After the show, it was more rides and then some more rides.  We rode Blazing Fury, which is like Fire in the Hole in Branson.  We also stopped off and let the kids play in Dreamland Forrest - they got SOAKED!  Hannah cried when we took her out of the geysers.  Then we rode the Tennessee Tornado, and we LOVED it!!  Three loops and a couple of twists and you really feel like you're in a tornado!  By the time we finished the Tornado, it was close to closing time and Hannah had had just about enough of the park.  So we decided to hit River Battle on our way out.  We were surprised to learn that Hannah could actually ride this one with us.  After an entire day of being passed THROUGH rides and never getting to actually ride them, she was VERY excited when she got to stay on this one!  She wiggled and giggled and smiled so big I thought her face was gonna split in two!  We all got VERY wet, so the only thing to do was hit Mystery Mine on the way out!  The kids didn't want to ride it again yet, so they stayed with Hannah while Jeff and I rode.  This was the only time we got to ride a ride together the whole trip!

So we managed to close down the park Tuesday and had tons of fun.  We had to run to Wal-Mart that evening, and we ended up eating at Pizza Planet (which we won't do again!).  When we got to Pizza Planet, I realized that I didn't have my Dollywood season pass.  We figured I lost it at Wal-Mart, so after dinner we went back and I looked for it and asked about it, but it was nowhere to be found.  We planned on getting to the park early Wednesday to get it replaced (and pay the wonderfule $15 replacement fee!).  Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for another day in the parks - but this time it was Splash Country!!

Wednesday, 6/11 - Splash Country here we come!!  I called ahead to make sure I could have my pass replaced at Splash Country, and it turns out that they forgot to give it back to me in the gift shop on our way out on Tuesday, so it was waiting for me at Guest Services at Dollywood.  So we had to sit in the line to get to Dollywood, but we saved the $15!  After we picked up my pass, we swung on over to Splash Country and went straight to our Waterside Retreat.  Let me tell you, this is ABSOLUTELY the way to go!  We had a TV, a fan, shades, a table with six chairs, room to set up Hannah's little tent-bed thing, a sun deck, and ROOM SERVICE!!  That's right - you call and they will bring you food right to your retreat!  No lines and no waiting in the sun!  We enjoyed the retreat so much that we didn't even hardly ride any rides!  The lines were long and the little area we were in was so nice for the kids that we stayed around our retreat most of the day.  Then a storm came and they shut down early, but we still had a great time.

Thursday, 6/12 - And back to Dollywood we went.  And again, we got the Qbot.  We had only intended on getting it Tuesday, but it worked out so well that we decided to do it again!  We started out with Daredevil Falls this time (basically the log ride), and even though we couldn't Qbot this one, we still had no wait.  There is a bridge over the splash area that I stood on with Noah and Hannah (I stayed in the relatively dry area) while we waited on Jeff and Maddie, and Noah and Hannah got DRENCHED!  Hannah loved it.  We rode the big thrill rides quite a bit more on Thursday, but we also took in the Dreamland Drive-In show (which was even better than the Country show we saw!) and the Country Fair area (which had lots of rides for Hannah Banana!).  We all rode the Lemon Twist together, which is very similar to the Teacups at WDW.  We were really crammed in the cup, but we had a lot of fun riding together.  They had to close the rides for a while as a storm passed by the area, so we rode bumper cars and played fair games (I beat everyone, even Jeff, at the shooting gallery!) and Noah hit the arcade.  Before long it was only an hour before closing, but we managed to hit the Tornad and Mystery Mine and then Thunderhead twice (except Maddie, who rode it three times!) before we left.  The last ride on Thunderhead was actually after the park was closed!!  We also hit the Emporium on our way out of the park to let the kids get some last minute Dollywood souveniers.  We had a blast!

Friday, 6/13 - Gatlinburg, here we come!  The kids were very excited about Gatlinburg.  They knew there were three things for SURE that we were going to do - go to the Ripley's Aquarium, get an old-timey-picture taken, and go to Fannie Farkles!!  We got to Gatlinburg, parked close to the Aquarium, and then set out to walk the town.  We didn't get very far before the kids wanted to stop at the Mirror Maze, which was actually kinda fun!  Then we had lunch and went in search of the perfect air-brushed shirts for the kids.  Noah decided against getting one, but Maddie got a really cute Tinkerbell one!   Then it was time for FANNIE FARKLE'S FAMILY FUN PARLOR!!!  Noah went straight for the arcade games, but after a game or two of skeeball, I settled down at the Pop-a-ball machines (it is now tic-tac-toe rather than poker).  Hannah stayed with me and helped me push the pop button.  Maddie quickly noticed that I was getting up to 30 tickets a game, so she started playing too.  I sent Jeff off to get $20 in quarters (yeah, really!) and spent all but 50 cents of it!  Of course, Hannah was playing on my quarters too.  Before long, Noah came and joined in!  I don't know how many tickets Noah ended up with, but Maddie, Hannah, and I accumulated 15,700 points (each ticket was 5 points, so 3140 tickets).  We got Hannah two bears that say Fannie Farkle's, a bear for Maddie, various pens and pencils for Maddie, playing cards that say Fannie Farkle's, and a couple of mugs!  It was a blast!!

Then it was time to get some ICE CREAM!  Let me just say, I've never had ice cream this good.  And judging by the ice cream all over Noah's face, he hadn't either!  Hannah slept through this event, though.

We decided to postpone the old-timey pictures until Saturday since we were all tired and sweaty, so next we were off to the Aquarium.  It really was amazing.  There was a tunnel that you go through where the water is all around you and sharks are swimming overhead!  They also had a stingray show and a place where you can actually touch the stingrays!  I tried to take pictures, but it was hard since I was taking them through glass!!  And before we left the Aquarium, we all (minus Hannah) 'took off our feet' (love you, Mom!) and waded in the creek!!

After the Aquarium, we went to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.  Even Hannah enjoyed herself, and even wiggled to the music a little bit!!  By the time dinner was over, we were all exhausted.  But I still had a night of packing ahead of me.  It was hard to pack up - we had had so much fun that I didn't want to leave!  But pack I did - until the wee hours of the morning...

Saturday, 6/14 - we got up and got all our last minute packing done.  Then it was time to load the van and check out of our hotel.  We headed down the strip to get our picture done, which turned out GREAT!  We had the best one framed in an antique looking frame.  Then it was time to leave Pigeon Forge.  The kids were already talking about wanting to go back in two years!

We stopped and had lunch at Cracker Barrel in Sevierville on our way out, then drove all the way to Memphis.  We had dinner at Chili's and then went to the hotel and let the kids swim.  The pool was VERY noisy and a little wild, so we didn't stay long.

Sunday, 6/15 - Off to the Memphis Zoo!  We were very excited to see the pandas!  They have two - Yaya and Lele. So cute!  Hannah even got a stuffed panda bear!  But it was hot and we were very tired from our time in Pigeon Forge, so we only stayed a couple of hours.  Hannah seemed to enjoy seeing all the animals - this was her first trip to the zoo!

Then we were back in Arkansas.  We stopped at one last Cracker Barrel for lunch in West Memphis and then drove on back to LR where we dropped Maddie and Noah off with their mom.  Our vacation seemed much too short, but we really enjoyed all of it!!

I have to take just a minute to brag on my little girl.  She was absolutely amazing on this vacation.  She slept well, she laughed a lot, she played a lot, she danced a lot, and she was an absolute joy to be around (92% of the time!)!!  We were amazed that a little 18-month-old girl could be so much fun when it was so hot and she was cooped up in a stroller for much of the time, but she was great!!

Until next time...

Almost two months...

...have slipped by since my last post, and can I just tell you that we have been B-U-S-Y around here!!!  I can't believe how much we have had going on!  March was busy with school musicals, church activities, and the start of baseball and softball practice.  Our schedule is QUITE hectic!!

Quick updates on everyone, starting with our oldest:

Maddie - Softball practice has begun, and Maddie is on quite a competitive team this year.  Her team practices three days a week, and though Maddie has to miss some due to visitation with her mother, she is making most of them, which keeps the rest of the family hopping!  She has also attended a camp at The Fieldhouse, which is our local indoor ball facility (batting cages, lessons, camps, etc.).  Her softball season starts either later this month or first thing in May - we haven't received her schedule yet.  We'll keep you informed!  Tonight she starts up with choir at church for the next six Wednesdays and she will have a performance on May 18th during the evening service.  This will also be when they have their AWANA program, though I'm not sure what all that will include.  Speaking of church, Maddie was baptized last month on March 9th.  I'll post some pictures in an album (on the left side).  It was great - she looked so grown up.  Grandparents were all in attendance and we all went out to eat afterward.  She even got an awesome necklace from Grandma and Grandpa (a cross!).  Wonderful day!

Noah - Baseball practice has begun, and thankfully his practice schedule is a little less aggressive than Maddie's!!  He only has practice twice a week - once at the exact same time as one of Maddie's and one on Saturdays.  Not sure if he's going to get to go to all of his Saturday practices, but hopefully he'll make most of them.  He has also been to a 4-week camp at The Fieldhouse and got to work on his hitting and defense.  Both of his coaches are in our small group at church, and all of our boys were baptized on the same day.  Speaking of which, Noah was baptized this past Sunday (April 6th).  I'll post pictures of that in an album as well.  He was SO ready - knew all the answers to the questions that the children's minister asked him and just said that he knew it was time to ask Jesus to come in to his heart.  How cool is that??  Noah will also be starting choir tonight, so he'll be performing next month as well.

Hannah - Wow, where do I even start?  Last time I posted Hannah had just started walking and she was falling down every other step.  Well, now that little girl can BOOK IT.  She can pretty much run when she wants to, though she still isn't very good at noticing obstacles in her path and avoiding them!!  She is wanting to feed herself with forks and spoons, and you either have to let her and watch the mess that she makes or do it yourself and listen to her throw a fit.  My preference is to give her stuff she can pick up with her hands and not worry about it!!  She is growing up so fast!  Her hair has finally gotten so long that it is REALLY in her eyes, but in an effort to avoid cutting it I have started pulling it up on top of her head.  Jeff says that she looks like one of the Jetsons, but I think she is cute!  I'll put some Peanut pics in an album too!

Jeff is busy at work and trying to get the kids to all of their practices.  He has also been going to a men's bible study at church one morning a week.  He gets home just in time to shuttle all the kids to school.  He is VERY excited that baseball season has arrived and is all wrapped up in his fantasy baseball league.  If the rain ever stops, he is going to be quite busy in the yard this summer.  We are attempting to get our grass growing (instead of the weeds!) and do some landscaping this year.  We'll see how far we get with that project!!

I have been really busy too - both at work and at church.  Work is finally starting to quiet down to where I have time to breathe.  But church has been picking up the slack.  I've been helping with the drama team and have done one skit during all three services and will be participating in a dance this Sunday.  I'm also helping with the children's choir and have attended training to assist with VBS this summer.  I'm also helping plan and working some one day camps this summer (Totally Tuesdays!).  I'm also working on some baby gifts (blankets) for all of my pregnant friends (I know a TON of pregnant people right now!!!).

As you can see, life is crazy around the Layton house.  But we are having a blast getting involved at church.  It has been wonderful watching our kids learn to love the Lord, and we look forward to watching them grow closer to Him.

I hope everyone is having a great day, and I'll try to post more often!!

Until next time...

Time for some pictures!

Let me start out by saying SORRY to all of those that have had trouble viewing the video of Hannah walking.  It is a rather large file, and you have to give it some time to load before the play button is available.  I would edit it down, but I don't have any video editing software!  Anyway, if you've had problems - SORRY!

Now, on to new stuff. Hannah decided the other night to get in the tub with Maddie.  Only problem was, she forgot to ask Mommy & Daddy.  She crawled back to Maddie's room and went into the bathroom where Maddie was getting out of the tub.  The water apparently just looked like TOO MUCH FUN, so she leaned over to splash in it with her hand.  Maddie warned me that Hannah was going to fall into the tub, but I assured her that she wasn't tall enough to fall in.  WRONG.  In she went, face first, fully clothed (minus one sock she lost on her way to the bathroom)!!  It didn't upset her in the least - she came up out of the water laughing and clapping her hands.  Instead of grabbing a towel and a wet baby, I grabbed my camera!

For more pictures of this wet baby, check out the photo album.

Let's see - what else is going on...Oh!  Valentine's Day!  Well, I gave Jeff his present last week - just couldn't keep it a secret any longer.  I got him a limited edition picture of the Cardinals from when they won the World Series in 2006.   The thing in the upper right corner has game-used infield dirt in it.  I thought it was pretty cool - Jeff thought it was AWESOME!!  I got a dozen beautiful red roses and a heart tin full of kisses (Hershey's Kisses, that is).  Very sweet.  The kids got little stuffed animals and cards.  What Maddie and Noah don't know is that they also got new comforters and curtains for their bedrooms.  They just came in the mail today, and since they are going to be gone for the weekend, we are going to have their rooms all done before they get home on Sunday.  I'll post pictures once they are done.

Not much else to report this week, other than I was sick most of it!  I came down with what I think was the flu on Monday and I was completely useless Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thankfully I was better in time to do Maddie's V-Day party at school yesterday (since I'm her Room Mom!!).  Turned out that her teacher was home sick with the same thing!  The kids have managed to avoid coming down with it so far, so maybe their flu shots worked!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!  Until next time...

She's on her way!!

Hannah is walking!  And I don't mean taking 5 steps and never doing it again.  She is WALKING!  She must have walked for 30 minutes last night!  It was so cute.  I got a little video of it - ENJOY!

SORRY - VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO SIZE!!

Well, toot...

..I'm not doing much better keeping this blog updated than I did the last one, am I?  Things are just so hectic - I hardly have time to talk to my husband, much less update my blog!

Work has been crazy (as usual), and I'm consistently logging close to 60 hours a week.  Unfortunately, it looks like this week is going to be worse and that it is going to stay like this through probably June.  Burnout is quickly approaching.  I'm in training this week, which means that I go to training during the day and do my normal work at night, since there is no one else that can do what I am currently responsible for.  Oh, well...

Hannah has learned another word.  'No.'  She says 'no' and shakes her finger.  Wonderful.

We had some rough weather tonight.  The whole family sat in the living room watching the weather for about 2 hours.  Lots of bad thunderstorms and tornado warnings.  The lightning was unbelievable.  But we escaped damage, as far as I know.  We'll have to check out the roof tomorrow.

Maddie is going to be baptized on March 9th.  Hopefully all our family and friends can come and see.  Noah is following quickly behind.  He has started working on his "I'm a Christian Now" workbook.  We may let him go and talk to Ms. Jill next week and maybe he and Maddie will be baptized on the same day.  Won't that be a big day for the Layton family!

Speaking of church, check out the blog I set up for my Sunday School class: http://hudsonsmallgroup.blogspot.com.

I've got to get back to work.  Until next time...

Quick update...

Well, this week has been busy so far.  Maddie had cheerleading practice Monday night, but we can't watch her practice, so we just had to drop her off and pick her up.  Noah had his first night of baseball camp Monday night from 7 to 8, so Jeff took him and stayed so he could see what Noah was learning.  Noah had basketball practice last night, and the whole family got to go and watch (first time!).  Seems like we've been running all week!

Tonight we have the important meeting with the children's director at church.  Maddie is going to talk with her and have a video made that will be shown in church when she is baptized.  They will also decide when she is going to be baptized, so I'll post that date as soon as I know.  Please keep her in your prayers!

We are watching the weather - there is a chance of wintry mix tomorrow, but we probably won't see anything but rain.  We did have some strong winds yesterday, which blew all the trash cans in the neighborhood all over the place.  Thankfully, we don't seem to have any roof damage, though I am hearing reports that others in Faulkner county were not as lucky.

I AM DONE WITH TAXES!!  Wahoo!!  We've had H&R Block do them in the past, but it seemed like a lot of $$ to pay for them to walk through the same questions that their TaxCut software does.  So I did them online at TaxCut.com, only to find out that their AR state tax program has a bug.  So neither our Federal or State filings were accepted when we filed through them.  After HOURS of trying to get their tech support to tell me how to fix it, I told them to give me my $$ back and filed with TurboTax instead!!  Worked out just fine - our filings were accepted within 24 hours.  I guess the IRS isn't holding up filings with mortgage interest and child care credits after all!  I had read that they were not accepting them until Feb. 11th, but thought I would give it a shot.  Anyway, they are done.  HOORAY!!

As you can tell by my excitement, we don't owe anything this year.  In fact, I already have plans to spend the refund.  I made reservations yesterday in Pigeon Forge for our summer vacation.  We are taking the kids to Gatlinburg for a week in June.  Planning on going to Dollywood and Splash Country and maybe even an excursion to Ober Gatlinburg.  And, of course, we have to visit Fannie Farkle's Family Fun Parlor!  It was still there two years ago, though it wasn't as glamorous as it was when I was younger (or maybe it was the same and I just saw it differently!).  But it is a family favorite, so my kids have to have the Fannie Farkle experience.  We are all VERY excited about our vacation!!

Okay - off to eat lunch with my husband.  Until next time...

Exciting news!!

Okay, I have exciting news!!  We were at church this morning, and you know how at the end of the service the pastor always walks through the prayer that you pray to become a Christian?  My kids are normally coloring or writing notes back and forth - at least they are quiet, right?  Well, this morning after Bro. Mark walked through that prayer and we stood up to sing the invitation song, Maddie leaned over and said "Bethie, I just prayed that prayer that he prayed!" 

Now, my first instinct was to jump out in the aisle and walk that girl down front!  But, we decided to wait and let her talk with Miss Jill (children's director) this week and let her go down in two weeks when we have Maddie for church again.  We've been talking about it for a while, and I probably would have let her go up today if she hadn't had a HUGE hole in the knee of her pink tights!!!  If it had been a small hole, maybe - but NO - HUGE HOLE in the knee of her bright pink tights.  She looked like a hobo.

Anyway, we are very excited.  And I'm betting that both kids go down on the 10th.  Noah and Jeff are going to Beast Feast, which is a men's outreach our church does, on the 9th, and since Noah has been talking about asking Jesus into his heart, that might be the time and place that he does it for real.  Won't that be awesome - both kids going down front on the same day!  Maybe they'll get baptized on the same day, too.

So, family, get ready to come to Conway sometime soon.  If you can't make it for the Sunday when they walk down front, you at least have to come when they get baptized!!

On to other news, Hannah took the longest nap ever today.  She fell asleep in the car on the way home from church and she slept until almost 4:00!!  It was great - Jeff and I got to take a nap too!

This afternoon after Hannah woke up and before Awana started we went to the playground at school and played basketball.  It was so much fun - I hadn't played in FOREVER.  We tried to work with Noah a little bit, but we ended up playing HORSE and GOTCHA (remember that, Haley?).  We really had a good time, and I'm betting that we're gonna get a big concrete pad poured on the side of our house before too long and put up a goal!

Alright - I gotta get busy typing up the prayer requests for my small group.  Until next time...

Slow weekend...

Well, this weekend ended up being a little more relaxing than we thought it would.  Maddie was supposed to have a game on Friday night at 8 PM.  Her coaches called at 6:30 and told us that it was canceled due to the weather (which was fine, by the way - just really really cold).  Turns out that the games weren't canceled - just the cheerleading.  I think the coaches just didn't want to get out in the cold!  Whatever the reason, we got to stay in Friday night, which was nice.

Noah had a game today.  They don't keep score in the 1st & 2nd grade division, so we don't win or lose, but the games are fun to watch.  Noah scored once tonight, which was down from his three baskets last weekend, but better than the first game when he didn't score at all.  The highlight of the game in my and Jeff's opinion was at the beginning of the game when Noah dribbled down the court and then pulled up and PASSED THE BALL!!  This is quite an accomplishment for a boy that last week never looked up while he dribbled the ball.  We asked him last week how he knew where everyone was and he said that he watched for feet (no kidding).  But today he passed, so we were very proud.

We all sat down and watched Facing the Giants tonight.  If you have not watched that movie, sit down and watch it with your family.  It is an amazing Christian movie.  Ignore the acting and drink in the message.  Jeff and I caught the last 1/2 of it last night, and I stopped at Target today and bought it so that we could watch it with the kids.  Good family movie!!

I think I'm going to head to bed.  The Hogs just won (Wooooo PIG!!!), so that is a great way to end the day!!

Until next time...