Grateful ~

I'm so grateful for the many blessings in my life! So many prayers have been answered. And I'm continuously reminded of God's love everyday when I wake up.

November ~

2010.

We had to take a new family pic, for our church directory - so we took some of our own, before going to the photo session. This was "Nanny's pick" - her favorite.

Joshua and Dakoda are almost the same size! Soon, Dakoda will be telling the world, "this is MY little brother, Joshua!" :)

Life is good. I'm grateful.

Dennis turns 40!

(Pictured left to right: Todd & Michele, Cory, Missy & Ray, Jennifer & Tim, Wayne, Kris & Dennis, Angie & Gary, Dina & Chris . Ron & Jennifer, and Jenn's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Price met us later at Jillian's.)

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On September 15, we celebrated Dennis' 40th B-day! We celebrate "Birth months" in our family, so we've had a lot of really fun days to end his thirties this month. For our date day thursdays, we've seen: The last exorcist, Machete, and Devil at the theatre this month. Unfortunately, out of the three, we put only one movie (Devil) into our "loved it" category. We like scary movies, as well as action / adventure, and comedies.

We swam a lot this month, and played a lot of "water ball", which is our own made up our own version of baseball in the pool. Second base is hard to determine, but 1st and 3rd are clearly marked. Bella races back and forth as we play, as she loves the excitement. Thankfully, the pool is still 90 degrees, so we've had a great time.

We had a really nice time at dinner last night, at California Dreaming. Afterwards, we went to Jillian's to play pool and watch the USC game with our friends. We were glad that we reserved two pool tables though, because it was packed as there are a lot of die-hard Gamecock fans in our area.

THANKS SO MUCH, TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO MADE DENNIS FEEL SO SPECIAL ON HIS SPECIAL DAY! :)

First day of school ~

Joshua (age 10) ... and Dakoda (age 6) - First day of school: 2010 - 2011 / Joshua was happy that he is "still" taller than Dakoda. :)



5th and 1st grade, here we come! It's been a wonderful summer. The guys have all been SOOOO supportive of me being back in college. I'm not sure if I'll take summer courses again, as it did take up a lot of my time, but I'll decide for sure when that time comes. For now, we are so excited that the kids are starting another school year. They are ready to get back into the swing of things, and thrilled about their new school year. Both boys got wonderful teachers, and we expect they will do very well again this year. I just can't believe the summer break is over! Time sure does fly by when you are having fun. Good luck kiddies!

Pool Pics 2010 ~

Pictured: Halila, Angie Blight, Logan, Emmy, Luke & Dakoda

This is a pic from our friend Angie's B-day. Logan (3) is pictured w/ his momma, and Kaden is with his Grama in the raft. It was a really fun day!
The kiddies and I ... afternoon play time in the pool. I think this was right before I got hit right in the eye with Dakoda's squirt gun. LOL ... Just when I'm not looking - they always get me!

4th of July ~

Back to College ~

I just completed my FIRST week of college, and I can honestly say . . . I LOVE IT! It's so much better now in my life than when I was 19, working full time and WAY less "focused". I remember thinking, back then, that I already had a full time job and I didn't really "need" to learn at a higher level. High school was "good enough", right? LOL ... It would be so great to be able to go back in time and talk to our younger selves!

First 2 classes (Enrolled in 8 week semesters = Full time student):

Psychology 101

Survey of the Bible

So far I've had 2 quizzes, and 6 papers due . . . So far, so good! All A's!!! :)

The reading is extensive, and I'm learning to be a better "note taker" - as I found on my first Bible course quiz that note taking is VERY important!

I'm REALLY enjoying the Psychology class (That's my Major) - and find the interactive "assessments" to be quite interesting. I love the one called "My head is spinning" about Cooper & Shepard's experiment (1973) which graphed reaction time of backwards and normal - rotated up to 360 degrees. In this experiment, the letter "R" is flashed on the screen 24 times and you have to quickly press "B" for Backward, or "N" for Normal. Results are compared with "average" results - Needless to say (I figured as much), my results were not "normal". This particular test wasn't concluded to "mean anything" important to brain function, but it is fun! I love things like this, and have always been very interested in HOW our brains work. It's fascinating to me, so hopefully I will continue to do well in this course and in all the subsequent Psychology courses over the next several years.

Right now, my 5 year goal is to obtain a Bachelor Degree in Psychology - Minoring in Christian counseling . . . although, I MAY change my minor to Biblical Studies - which is a matter of 6 of my "electives" being decided for me instead of my being able to choose whichever ones I want. Either way, I'm planning on taking all of the Christian counseling AND Biblical studies courses offered.

After that - I plan to explore Masters Degree options and plan to look for an internship for a couple days a week here in Columbia. I'm hoping to inspire Joshua and Dakoda to want to read more. They've been seeing me read a LOT more lately . . . so I'm sure it will make a difference for them as well.

That's the update from the "Mommy Corner". :) Life is good!

Happy Father's Day!

Joshua, 10 and his wonderful Daddy

Myrtle Beach 2010

We love you Daddy! Thank you for being the most wonderful Dad in the world! You're the best!!! :)

The commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk to them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Myrtle Beach 2010 ~

We just returned home from our annual family trip to Myrtle Beach. We had a wonderful time! The weather was awfully hot, but thankfully the beach offered much relief! The heat index was 108 some days, but we managed to keep ourselves cool. We drank a LOT of Gatorade.

Uncle David joined us for the weekend. We went to the beach, and then out to dinner. He convinced Dennis to try King crab legs for the first time. He loved it! Joshua tried the crab cakes, and Dakoda got the shrimp. Uncle Deeeeeee and Adrienne split a plate of the huge crab legs, and passed on the yummy desserts that night.

We also took our annual trips to the Melting Pot, and Myrtle waves - a couple of our favorite places while on vacation. We went mini-golfing, and also took the kids to see "The Karate Kid". It was a great family vacation.

One thing was surely missing from our vacation though . . . BELLA! She went to stay with Miss Claire at the Puppy motel though. This is a home based business run by a woman who has three of her own Maltese pups! Bella didn't know what to make of it initially, but quickly seemed to bond with the pack by the time we left. When we returned to pick her up she was elated to see us. At first, she didn't seem to recognize us (she wasn't expecting us it seemed), but within a few sniffs she realized it was us and she bounced & squiggled for joy! It was so nice to have her back with us. :)

June 2010 ~

The boys have been having a blast having "night swims", and "rain swims" this season. Here is best buddy Chase, Dakoda and Joshua ... having a late night swim the other day. The water temp = 96 degrees.

Kindergarten Graduation ~

I'm a proud Momma! :) Plus ... look how TALL our boy is getting. He has been eating his veggies and fruits now that the Farmers Markets are selling all the "good stuff" again.
Dakoda and Joshua

June 2010
Dennis and his big guys. They have been playing a lot of catch in the front yard. Both boys are getting better at it, and really enjoy that time with their Daddy. I'll take some more pics soon. Dakoda wants to play football this year - I'm nervous about that, sort of ... but we will let him do it if he wants to.

Dakoda graduated Kindergarten this week. He looked so cute as he sang his class song: It's a wonderful world. :) They sang it, and did sign language too. His smile was as bright as the sun, and we could not be more proud of him! Good job sweet lil Dakoda!!!

Joshua finished 4th grade - with A/B average for the year. We are very proud of you too Joshua! Way to go!!

Both kids are ready to enjoy summer break. It will be so nice to have them home all day.

Nanny & Paps ... get ready for our summer vacation in July! We love the farm.

Happy Birthday Dakoda ~

Today is Dakoda's Birthday! He is 6 years old. We just can not believe how fast he is growing up. He is a very sweet, sensitive, smart little guy, and we are extremely proud of him. He is reading and writing, and has done well this year in Kindergarten.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We had a triple B-day party / pool party the other day (Happy Birthday Dina, Cristina & Dakoda) ... and today we took him out from school 1 hour early to go to Chuck E. Cheeses, and then to see Shrek 3. It was a wonderful day!

I can't believe it's been 3 years already ... It's such an honor to be his Mommy!!! :)

Happy Mother's Day ~

We've had a wonderful Mother's Day today ... and we wish the same for all the special Moms in our lives. We went to church this morning, then to lunch at Red Bowl (our favorite), then went to see Iron Man 2. The movie was great!

It was a perfect day! :)

Happy Easter ~

We had a great Easter. We went to church, then out to Carrabas ... it was a perfect family day. The kids woke up EARLY and searched the house for the baskets. They found them upstairs after they followed the trail of eggs. I think Bella may have given them some clues along the way! :)

Joshua's B-Day

Joshua ... our big 10 year old! :)
Joshua had a great time at the park with his friends.
Kailen (3), Tim, Luke (3), Ray, and Dakoda on the swings.
Bailey
Payton & Maggie

Ron and Kaleb

Our big guy turned 10 years old on March 31st. He didn't want a "kiddie party", but did want to go to lunch with friends and over to the park afterwards. Luckily, the weather cooperated for a little while so the kids could play.

Happy Birthday sweet boy ... we love you so much. Thanks to all of our friends who helped make it a very special day for Joshua! :)

10 Years ~

Today, Dennis and I celebrate our 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! 10 years ago today we dressed in black and headed down to the justice of the peace. It was perfect. It was just as we wanted it to be. We started dating in June 1999, and by February 18th 2000 we were married. We had so much fun together, and still do. We're blessed because we are best friends. The moment we met, we both knew . . . :)

Snowy SC ~

Here are Joshua and Dakoda in front of our friends, The Blights home ... we all had a fun time playing in the snow on Saturday morning.
Dakoda loved the snow!
Mr. Todd, was "the fox" in this game that Angie showed us. :)
... not sure, but I think Gary was trying to tag Joshua here ... ?

We were blessed with a gorgeous snow storm this weekend! It started with a call on Friday afternoon from school informing us the kiddies would be getting out 1 hour early. They were anxiously anticipating snow all morning long! The sky darkened around 3PM, and shortly thereafter the pretty snow began to fall.

We had a date night planned, so we packed up to take the kids to Gary & Angie's for a sleep over. (Thanks so much guys, they had a blast) By the time we left their place, it was really coming down!

We ate at Carabbas (an early start to our 10 year wedding anniversary celebration), and on our way home it was super snowy! The roads were getting covered and it was very hard to see out of the front windshield. Dennis drove cautiously, and we returned home safely in about twice the time it would normally take us.

We decided to forgo our planned movie, and came home instead.

A house to ourselves ... for a whole night! How quiet it was! Belly even whimpered, and scratched at the kitchen gate for us to come pick her up. LOL ... she usually sleeps with Joshua, so she didn't have any plan of sleeping alone. How dare we even THINK of such a thing. :)