Happy Birthday Norma

Birthday Wishes from the Family in Kentucky.


We recently got a new camera and are finding out what it can do. Here is a few examples.

Date Night!

We were so blessed with an offer from friends for dinner and child care. Our lives have been so crazy lately, we just needed to get out. We made it an evening of fun and a progressive dinner. Some of the wait staff thought this was a great idea (and got decent tips) others thought we were not worth their time and put their energy elsewhere. None-the-less we had a wonderful time.


Our adventure started with horsd'oeuvres at Red Lobster. We had the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp Hand-dipped in Red Lobster's signature batter, then tossed in coconut and fried golden brown. Served with piña colada sauce. You can't beat their Coconut Shrimp. It is so good and no one else has that wonderful sauce.

For dinner we went to Olive Garden. We had Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo*
Grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-alfredo sauce. We enjoyed the salad and bread sticks. For some reason I didn't like the beef with the alfredo. It must be that I always have chicken.

Dessert was at Giuseppe's. A local Italian Restaurant. We had Tiramisu and Spumoni. They were both delicious and a perfect way to end our evening.

The night was wonderful.

We returned home and heard the great stories of the adventures our children children had from the evening and then we took the dogs to the back yard. We looked up at the sky which was clear and beautiful. The stars were so bright. We were thankful for the God that made us and brought us together and our wonderful friends and family that support us through life. What an amazing gift!

Victory 5K

5K

I participated in my first 5K on November 7th, 2009 in Lexington Kentucky. It was called the Victory 5K. I finished in 98th place at 44 minutes and 27 seconds. Not bad for my first time out of the starting gate. I started my run with Jennifer and started running too quicky finishing the first mile. It turned out to be all uphill from there. We met Angie walking during our second mile and joined up with her. Evelyn was a willng participant in the 3rd and finale mile of the race. It was so wonderful to finish, to have a number at the end. I will be continuing my trek to one day completely run a 5K and then I may move onto longer distances. This is just the beginning...

My friends Angie and Jennifer

and the horn blows
I'm off
I can see the finish line
Woo Hoo!

Official Results

Videos By Shawn

Here are a couple videos used during worship services highlighting new or growing ministries at Nicholasville United Methodist Church. A year and half ago a new addition was finished that had been prayed about and worked toward for over a quarter century. Now, as Pastor Mike Snyder put it, "God has moved in," and it is amazing to see God working in and through this community of faith, and to see our people respond as the Hands and Feet of Jesus! Shawn was afforded the opportunity to assemble pictures of what has been going on into video form. Please pray for continued movement by the Holy Spirit in Nicholasville and Jessamine County.

Interesting historical note: The hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" was written by a fellow named Thomas Chisholm, born and raised in Kentucky. Thomas gave his life to Christ at the age of 27 while attending a campmeeting led by a man named Henry Clay Morrison. Mr. Morrison founded Asbury Theological Seminary which is where Shawn attends school.

Peek-a-boo

Here is a cute video of Joey playing peek-a-boo with her stroller. This stroller is not going to make it to #3!

University of Kentucky Arboretum

Evelyn, Joey and I took a walk around the UK Arboretum today. They were having a bird house display set up and you were to vote on the one you like most. Here are some pictures from our outing. Evie scootered throughout and had a wonderful time and Joey was in her stroller. I think Joey enjoyed the Koi in the pond the most, while Evelyn's favorite was seeing a princess themed bird house. It was a great free adventure for us. If you are in Kentucky and have a chance to go before September 14th, I would suggest you take a trip there.

Tim Hawkins-My favorite Bible verse

You ain't gonna see that cross-stitched on a pillow!

Opening gifts

Just want to share some cute video's of Joey opening presents. She actually got to do it herself, but we practically had to tie Evelyn up!

First Day of 1st Grade

Well, today we sent Evelyn off to the 1st grade. I can't say there weren't any tears shed...from mom and dad. She was so excited to get back to school.

We went to an open house on Monday where Evie met her teacher Mrs. Heather Smith. We got to see Evelyn's classroom and where she will be sitting. Evie pointed out to Mrs. Smith that our last name was spelled wrong and that it needed to be fixed. We brought in all of Evie's school supplies and put them in her cubby. After Evie found her desk and cubby she went running off to the reading corner. She sat herself down in the rocking chair and starting reading the books.

Evelyn was excited to show us the school's computer lab, gym, cafeteria and library. She was disapponted to find that the library was locked!

Well she is off to day one and I took the day off so I could be home for her first day of school. I'm excited to hear what happened today. Please enjoy these pictures of Evelyn.

Evie getting on the bus.
First day of school outfit. Purple dress and new brown cowgirl boots.

The sign outside of Evie's school.

Front of the school.

Evelyn and Mrs. Smith

Offishul Chickin Eatin Day: July 10

Our family went to Cow Appreciation Day at our local Chick-fil-A. This is a christian fast food place and we love to go there. On this day if we dressed like a cow we got a free meal. The website had a kit to print off. Of course we did it! Joey had a great time ripping off our spots and we all enjoyed our free meal. Food tastes so much better when someone else makes it or pays for it! ;-)

Joey's New Toy

Joey found a new toy and had a great time, until it was time to wash her down. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Josephine

We celebrated Josephine's 1st Birthday this past Sunday, July 19th. We had a backyard party in the beautiful weather. Before the party Joey was grabbing at her cake, but wouldn't you know it when it was time to have at it, she barely touched it. I wasn't going to let her get away with that. I stripped her down and gave her a second chance sitting on the table right next to it. She mostly played with it with her feet. Silly girl.

Happy Birthday Evelyn!

On Thursday, July 16th we celebrated Evelyn's 6th birthday. It was a lovely affair with a royal tea party complete with a royal feast to start the bash. The girls were seated at the head table on the front porch and loved every minute. Here are some pictures from the days events.

Construction

Our lives are constantly under construction as our family grows and changes here in Kentucky. Recently we have been doing some physical changes to our house. Here are some pictures of our bathroom. It is almost done and we are excited about it.