Baseball

I don't know what is going on with the layout, but you will get the idea. Carson is in his second season of coach pitch baseball. He has learned so much in the last 2 seasons. He even got his very first home run. It was even the winning run in the last inning, so it was very exciting. I think he is going to try fall ball at a different place next year. We have been playing at a church, so the two teams meet for prayer before the game. Waiting to bat
 
Up to bat
 
Jeff is one of the coaches and all time pitcher.
 
 Running to First. We are not the best fielders in our league, so he was safe Ready to run to 2nd Waiting to run on 2nd. You can see his swim meet info on his arm on this one.
And now 3rd base
 
 Carson loves to play 2nd base. And the girls like to play in the dirt while Carson plays baseball. He has his last game tomorrow. But, it has been a fun season for him.

Preschool Graduate

Today was the last day of preschool for Macie. I love our preschool, and I am so thankful we have 3 more years there. I imagine when we get here for Ellie I will be a basket case. I am sure it won't help that Carson will be getting ready for middle school. I was a little emotional today. Macie started at Cornerstone a couple weeks after she turned one. Mom was in the hospital after her accident, and I needed some time to be with her. So off to school she went. Here she is on her very first day! Macie loves school and all of her friends. She realized a couple weeks ago that they will not be at the same place next year. She cried for a long time about never seeing them again. Hopefully I will do a better job of letting her see them then I have with Carson's preschool friends. The last few weeks we have had lots of activities. There was a musical about being on a farm. This first picture isn't great, but it tells the story of the musical. The little girl in front of Macie blocked our view for almost the entire time. And the look on her face here is how she was the entire time. This one is blurry, but you can see how much she enjoyed it. Last Thursday, they had a little graduation. Getting her "diploma" from Ms. Carla. I love that Megan is in the background. Megan goes to church with us, so we don't have to say good bye to her! After the graduation, we had a picnic. SueSue, Randy, Grandpa, and Carolyn were there to celebrate with us. The kids got to play on the playground. The school got new equipment in April. Macie's favorite thing is the tire swing. She loves to swing with her friends (Lauren and Lizzie) So, preschool is over. In a couple months, I will be posting her first day or Kindergarten.

2+

Ellie turned 2 last month. She went to the doctor today for her check up. She is 23lbs 12 oz and 35 inches tall. She is talking like crazy. She will repeat almost everything you say. It does not always come out perfectly, but it is cute. A few weeks ago, Macie wanted me to curl her hair. Of course that meant Ellie had to have hers curled as well. I was shocked at how curly it came out. The 2nd picture is equally as unique because Ellie is actually drinking milk. This one is just cute!

Legoland

While we were in Orlando, we had a chance to go to Legoland with our cousins. We were very fortunate to get military tickets for Jeff's stepbrother Carey, so it made it much more affordable. It was a great park for our kids. Ellie could not do much of anything, but Carson and Macie were the perfect size. They both loved the roller coasters.

As you enter, this lego man greeted us.


With Cassie, Jake and lego R2D2


Some of the rides are left overs from Cypress Gardens. Legoland is on the old property. The merry go round is one of the leftovers.



I love it when pictures turn out great in spite on my little skill.


One of the kids favorite rides was the cars. They actually get to drive. They are not on a track. There are 2 different tracks. One is for smaller kids. (Macie and Jake)


And one is for bigger kids
Abby, Carson, Maren

Carson


One of the really neat parts of the park is the cities built out of legos. This is just a couple shots.

and a ship wreck


This last picture is not from legoland. I posted it on facebook a couple weeks ago, but I had to post it here. This is what happens when Macie and her buddy Addison are left alone!

Cousins

On Thanksgiving day all of the cousins on Jeff side were there for dinner. We tried to get a good picture with 7 kids. Here is what we got!


And one that turned out okay


Back Row Cassie (10), Maren (9) Carson (7)
Front Row Macie (4) Abby (7) Jake (5) Ellie (1)

And a cute one of Carson and Abby waiting on food!


The kids love being with their cousins. We don't see them often enough. We got a bonus day at Legoland with all of them!

Merry Christmas

January 16th

I never blogged about January 16th. It was a very special day for out family. First of all, it was Macie's 4th birthday. Here she is at church with Grandpa John that morning.



We also dedicated Ellie at church that morning. Because we attend a Baptist church, we dedicate our babies. We are making a commitment to raise our kids in church and teach them about Jesus so they can come to accept Him as Savior.



It was also they day that Carson was baptized. When Carson was in Kindergarten, he told us that he had asked Jesus into his heart. We have talked to him about his decision a lot. Carson did a class at church for kids who are new believers or who have questions about faith. We were convinced that he was ready. He understand what it means to put your faith in Jesus. He was ready to make the public profession of faith.



I am just going to post a bunch of pictures from the service. We had many people there to support us that day. In addition to our family, the Macdonalds and the Morrows came to church with us. It as also very special to have our long time church family. We really appreciated to families who had moved churches or out of town who came to support us that day.







Our family before the service.





These are from the dedication part of the service. Carson was ready to go upstairs for his baptism. We didn't dress him in a white gown!











I really love the last two of the kids praying. It was such a precious day.