Funny Kids

Anna Kate calls these her "funny teef". Scott and I picked these up at Wal-Mart one day and put them in just to see what the kids would do. Anna Kate thought it was the funniest thing in the world so she keeps them in her room and wants to show anyone that comes for a visit. She also loves putting stickers on her forehead...

Here's my Power Ranger. He and Anna Kate were playing Power Rangers and, of course, Ben thought I needed to take a picture of him. He's such a tough guy.

I'm not real sure this Power Ranger is as tough as she thinks she is. What a face!!!! I believe she's more cute than she is tough.

And, here she is in her closet floor asleep. No, I did not lock her in her closet. She brought her little ballerina costume to me to put on and told me she needed to find shoes. I told her to go look in her closet. After a little while, I realized she was being very quiet. She had fallen asleep in her closet floor while looking for shoes. I guess the decision was more than she could handle.

Outrigger Island

Our VBS was Outrigger Island. Amy and Jerica went all out and it was fantastic. I'm not sure my brain could have even dreamt of the things they pulled off!Here stands Larry and Scott. Larry is our Pastor and Anna Kate can't quit talking about him. I believe she has Larry wrapped around her little finger. We've enjoyed getting to know he and his wife, Mary. Great people!
No introductions needed. Here are my two cuties standing in front of the "active" volcano in the sanctuary.

Ready to get going! I'm ready to rock mom! They had a mini concert every night for the kids.

Here's my friend Amy. Amy is co-director with Jerica in the children's ministries. She calls herself "the business" and Jerica is "the party". Actually, the nicknames are very fitting.

Amy and Jerica even had a pineapple express for the little ones. (Anna Kate called it Pumpkin Pies for a while). They loved it...my vote is to motorize it. It gets quite heavy when you have to pull it! You'll see a picture of all of it below. They even made a track around the gym.

Proof that Ben actually went to class!!!!!! I was very proud of him.
Ben is playing his ukulele. They must have made 200 of these things. Styrofoam plates and paint sticks! Who would have thought!!!!!!
Okay, here's Jerica, "the party". Actually, Scott and I were talking and it seems like all the kids absolutely love both of them! They are both doing a great job!
Anna Kate riding the Pineapple Express! She was having a ball!

Yes, that's a sun with it's tongue sticking out!
I don't know if you can tell, but that's the volcano in the sanctuary.

Here's the waterfall in the gym...they actually had running water coming down into a pool!
All those kids are called the Groove Crew. They do all the dancing and the motions to the songs up front.

All in all, it has been an experience. Ben and Anna Kate are enjoying themselves and, I must say, I've been enjoying myself too. It has been a great way to get to know some people a little better and meet some people I haven't met.

Success with VBS!

I have no pictures right now but I had to post! Ben went to his VBS class tonight. He was a little timid, but he went and enjoyed himself. This is a major success in our eyes. Many of you may not know, but last year at VBS he stood in time out three out of the five days because he wouldn't go to class and he cried pretty much the whole time. There were about 25 kids in his class tonight too...the largest class! He did fine and announced he was going to class tomorrow. I'll post pictures later this week of our active volcano in the sanctuary and the waterfall in the gym...Jerica and Amy are great at getting all this stuff together. They are our Children's Directors.

Scott's Dream

If you know my husband very well at all, you know that he hates to cut grass! Thankfully, the yard that we have now is much smaller and there's not quite as much upkeep. However, Scott stays so busy that even having a smaller yard doesn't help much. Here's the way we look at it. When he's not working, we want him to be spending time with me and the kids. I guess Scott has now found a way to do both! Actually, I think he's training them to mow the grass so he doesn't have to...(smile!). That's his dream come true...someone to mow for him! Next comes the laundry, the dishes and, my least favorite, the bathroom!

Posted by Ben

The silliest daddy I've ever had!
The prettiest mom I've ever had!
The best guitar teacher I've ever had!
Every superhero I have is cool and they save the world!
He tries to defeat every life of Spiderman! He will try to over and over and over and over and he will never stop until he gives up.

A Great Daddy

Ben and Anna Kate couldn't wait to give Scott his Father's Day gift. We made a celebration of it. We even had campout in the living room that night. We celebrated on Thursday night because we were going to be busy that weekend.

Ben wrote "I love you" and his name all by himself this year which makes the card very special. He had learned how to write all of those letters except for y. Anna Kate signed her name the usual way with just an A.

Of course, we are all the happiest when Daddy is at home. Ben and Anna Kate get very excited when we have family time together. I am so thankful that God gave us these two beautiful children. Ten years ago this year was when we started trying to have a family and it took us over three years to get pregnant with Ben. I'll never tire of thanking God for them and telling people what He did for us. Scott's a great dad and husband and we love him very much! Happy Father's Day honey!

A Duncan Day

Josh and Mary Ann were in from St. Louis for a week so we all met at John and Sandi's last Friday. These are the oldest of the seven grandkids...Max, Anna Kate, Ben, Leo and lastly, Luke.
Here are Ben and Max showing off their physiques! They are the oldest two of the bunch.
Here's little Finn, Josh and Mary Ann's youngest and the youngest of the seven kids. He's a cutie! Mary Ann spiked his hair but it's so blond, you can hardly tell.
Here's Elias, Aaron and Susan's youngest and I finally caught his cute smile. He's a cute little dancer too. Aaron was playing Ben's guitar and he was very quick to get in the middle of everything to boogie! He didn't get to be with us all day but we saw him in the evening. Aaron had a meeting at OU in Athens that he had to go to. He's getting all set to start school to get his doctorate. God is blessing and we are all very excited and happy for them!
Here are five little monkeys, I mean kids, jumping on the bed before we left that night. Mimi always lets them jump on the beds at her house and they love it. We had to leave shortly after this and Ben and Anna Kate were so sad. They love playing with their cousins and kept asking when they were going to see them again.

A Recent Visit

If any of you read my mom's blog, you know my dad had a band concert on June 7. Grace Peach, a girl from Minford, plays in the band. Since she was in the area, she came and stayed with us overnight last minute. We went to a local Mexican Restaraunt for dinner that evening and then just sat around the rest of the evening. She even went to church with us the following morning. Anna Kate and Ben love Grace Peach and we love her too. We are so glad she came to visit! As you can see, Anna Kate was worn out from the band concert.

Happy Anniversary!

All of you know these two people. My mom and dad. On June 7, they will be married for 40 years. There is nothing in the world that could replace these two in our lives. I have been so blessed to have them as parents. Their lives have always been an example for me and now my children.

Fond memories...I will never get the picture out of my head of my dad sitting at his desk studying his Bible. He's the one who taught me not to put God in a box and to question things and figure it out for myself. which I believe is what kept me for falling for the man-made rules and regulations so many people have tried to put in place in Christianity. So, thanks dad. I also remember sitting on his lap after gymnastics one evening. I was in 7th grade and when I got home, he was in the recliner and I sat on his lap for a long time that evening. I don't know why I remember that, but it's a memory that I cherish. I have many memories, but one more that I will share about dad is when we were at Marshall together. We ate lunch together often and on this particular day, as he got ready to go home, he gave me a kiss on the cheek in Smith Music Hall and said "I'll see you at home tonight baby". I said "Okay, I love you". There were a couple of college students standing in the hallway with jaws dropped...it was quite fun...dad and I still get a kick out of that one!

I have lots of fond memories of mom growing up too. One in particular is something that happened over and over. I was horrible when I was sick. I would cry and hold on to her foot as I hovered over the toilet and in between heaves I would say "Pray for me mommy!" Still a joke in the family today, as a matter of fact...Scott's even started using the phrase. Another fond memory is her telling me stories at night. She used to tell me Raggedy Ann's First Day of School and The Big Surprise. She even had different voices for all of the characters. One last memory I'll share is when Scott asked me to marry him, it was on Christmas Eve and we had grandparents staying with us. She and I slept together in the same room and we sat and looked at my ring before going to sleep and she was as excited as I was. (Of course, she was getting ready to gain a pretty awesome son-in-law).

Now, here I am, four doors from them and I feel so blessed! Some people shun the thought of living close to their parents or in-laws, but we feel differently. We consider it wonderful! I love that I can look out my door and wave to my mom as she stands on her front porch. That will be a memory that I hold forever too!

So, happy anniversary mom and dad! Thanks for all you do and who you are to our family. I love you and appreciate you more than I could possibly put into words!

Some more ballet...

This is actually rehearsal day and my dad took these. We couldn't take pictures at the ballet recital but we could at rehearsal. My poor dad sat for about 2 hours waiting on Anna Kate's group to come out. Bless him! These pictures are priceless, to me at least!
Look at her feet!!!! How cute are they? She is always so careful and is sure that her heels are "kissing".
Here she is flying like a firefly! She finally got it...when she first started practicing the dance she did it very fast and her little hands just flipped up and down. She finally became graceful with it though.

Obviously, I had a very tired little firefly on my hands by the time we left rehearsal. She was so excited though. Amy York, her ballet teacher, did such a great job with all the girls involved. Anna Kate can't wait to get started again next year!

My Little Firefly

Here we are at the theater. It was at the old Huntington High and it seemed very grand. It was a beautiful old building. I made Anna Kate wear black knit pants over her tights to keep them "safe".
She was so excited to get to her ballet. She's getting so independent and big...
I was there really early because I was a chaperone for Anna Kate's class so I was able to snap this picture of her on stage. She loves dancing and I think she's doing a very good job considering her age. The thing I like about Amy's dance class is that she is a Christian and she prays with the girls and the ballet this year was "Creation to Revelation".
Here she is waiting backstage in the dressing room. It was a VERY long day. We spent about three hours in the back with lots of little girls in tutus, tights, tiaras and wings. It was tiring and exhausting but seeing Anna Kate dance made every minute worth it!
Here she is waiting in the wings to go out and dance. Have you ever tried to keep six little ballerinas quiet in an echoing hallway? It's pretty much impossible!

I'll post some more pictures later. We weren't able to take snapshots during the performance but my dad came to dress rehearsal and got some shots of her dancing there. When I get those, I'll post some of those too.