Catching Up

We're always up for a new adventure! 

Strapping in. 

About to go exploring! 

Last weekend we spent some time relaxing on the lake. 

It was beautiful weather and the boys had a blast! 

Probably going to have to repeat this occasionally. 😊

Summer's ending

                  But not without a protest. 

                Not without exploring.. jumping..

                                   wrestling.. 

                            searching for shells..

        The beach is relaxing and a great place to recharge. 

                            to discover new things

            to build relationships

A place to let everything stop and focus on the little things for a while. 

      Until next year...I'll miss you

Summer beach days

There's nothing quite like a lazy day at the beach.

Relaxing in the sand; the gulls crying overhead. 

Did I say lazy?

I was just kidding....

With six rowdy boys haha  

It's more like full bore, petal to the metal

Give me some more. it's not gonna stop

Wrestling, tumbling, talking, jumping...

And it's awesome! 

There does come a time when things slow down. 

Things do have to be built before they can be destroyed. (:

Then a great sunset to top it off while listening to the surf. 

Such is the life...

Creation Museum

                    We had such a good time at the Creation Museum. 

                  The boys had a good time learning about how the ark 

                                  was made and fit together. 

                      There were models of the ark, inside and out, 

                              life size and small scale models.

                          They really enjoyed the dinosaurs too! 

             Ps. I love this bridge. I used to have a video   

             on my phone of the boys running across it. 

           Boaz would watch that video over and over.  :)

                             The petting zoo was a big hit. 

            They especially liked seeing the animals that were cross bred,

               such as a zebra and horse, to show that it's very possible 

                that not all of the animals we know took a ride on the ark. 

                    The cow and Zip were buddies! :o

                  It's always fun to feed the animals

                  Here they are, not too little anymore. 

                 http://creationmuseum.org/ 

Haven of Hope ~ Texas trip

I had a great trip to Texas
I went to the Haven of Hope Retreat
visited some great friends
and made some new ones.
I love driving though Texas
the land, the scenery!! ❤

I was there on Boaz 6th birthday.
We released butterflies
on his birthday!
All of us at the retreat!
It was nice to share
his birthday in that way
with all of the other Moms.

A little basketball

The boys had a great time playing basketball tonight. The jv played first and took a win.
Next was the peewee team. They play 5 on 5 of our little boys, and tonight they had a tie again, 2-2. It's a lot of fun to watch, more like tackle basketball. They're learning the basics though.
Then the varsity played, which was intense. Most of the time the teams were within a few points of each other, but Fury came out with the win! Josiah is getting great on the rebounds!

Need a good book to read? :)

 The best book I've read in a long time! 

http://www.amazon.com/Simplicity-bible-tells-ebook/dp/B00AK0M8T6/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

 Coming from a girl who loves to read, 

that says a lot!

If your tired of "Christian" books that all seem to regurgitate the same concepts of how to achieve holiness and righteousness then Simplicity is the book for you! 

Caleb Thompson sheds light on how having a personal relationship with Christ can be the answer

 to what's missing in your Christian life. 

The Bible is not a list of rules and regulations for Christians. 

We don't need an appearance of righteousness, 

we need an intimate relationship with Christ.
As I read Simplicity, hope dawns in my soul! 

I'm not bound by men's philosophies, 

I am freed by the word of God! 

Never more to be chained by the ideas of mortal man...

I choose to live in Christ! 

The more I read this book, the more I want to pick up my Bible and devour this love letter from my Saviour!

Go HERE to order your own copy of Simplicity! It's only $.99 right now.

Christmas

We had a nice Christmas
Calm and well... (:
Not TOO calm with six boys.
The boys even got a
little hunting time in too.
Oh yes, and a little indoor swimming!

Winter In the South

Christmas Is Coming

The Blackburn Tribe went
to pick out a Christmas tree!
It was a lil wet and rainy.
The kids were a little crazy! (:
But we had a good time
and picked out a tree
that everyone agreed on!
Merry Christmas!

November 1st ~

November 1st is always a bit hard. 

Maybe not the day itself, but the days surrounding it,

the thoughts surrounding it, 

the memories of that day. 

This November 1st we went to the beach.

We all took balloons

We wrote messages to Boaz on them. 

Whatever we wanted, 

it could be shared or private, 

grief is different for everyone.

The boys ran around and played while we all finished.

Then we all released our balloons

our messages to our Silas Boaz

the best little brother in the world

Paige's buggy

my little man

Daddy's boy

Stonewall's very best friend

the most favorite brother

maybe because we knew he'd be the last

but probably because he was special

from the very beginning.

I took that yellow balloon

and wrote till I ran out of room

then I let it go...

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

A busy weekend

We had a lot to do this weekend.
It all started with the games, Jv and varsity football and volleyball games on Friday. Then we went straight to Panama City where Paige made this awesome cake for Aaron (actually for his soon to be wife, Lydia! Very soon!).
Saturday we were outside all day. The children playing in the woods and eating (probably too much..but who's talking about that? I had two nice pieces of Paige's delicious cake!). A few of us played volleyball for a couple of hours, then the guys played football while I played with my camera!
Sunday found us at church where a really cute little boy decided to sit by me for morning services, and another one for evening services. And you know kids love taking pictures, especially of themselves! (:
Monday we were off to get Paige's license (YAY!) and then to vote before heading back towards home to another volleyball game. Where afterwards it has become a tradition for all of us to get a frappe before heading home.
All in all it was a fun weekend even if it was pretty busy! In between all of that the kids enjoyed visiting Grandma too (and the general spoiling that goes with such). (: