off to Lyla-land!

We took our 5th big trip of the year to Woodlands Camp in Cleveland GA to meet our first Hornbeck niece, Lyla Patricia. What a fun place to visit! There was so much to do even though it rained most of the time we were there. Cole's favorite was the air hockey. My favorite was the ping pong and I did get to try my hand at the climbing wall but didnt do so hot. Cole loved his little cousin and was very sweet with her. I am thankful because he is not so sweet with his sister anymore. Something about Gioia being able to take his toys now doesn't sit well with him. I know this is going to be quite a shocker but we didn't get too many pictures, but we did get a few.















I wish we had more, but it gets tricky with 2 kids and only 2 hands! Doesn't leave a hand for the camera too often. Hopefully we will be able to visit again when the sun decides to shine so we can take advantage of all the fun outside things there is to do. We enjoyed meeting our little niece and seeing where Eric and Katy serve the Lord. Please pray with me that the Woodlands Camp Staff and campers will have a great summer and that the Lord would do many great and lasting things in their lives.

failure already...

So after my mid years resolution, I have already failed miserably! It has been since April 22 since I updated my blog. So much for blogging every week! It has been very hectic these last few weeks so I have lots to report! But of course, I have ZERO pictures to show for it! They are all on everyone else's cameras! I really need to get on the ball with the pics.
Anyway, for the update...

The weekend after we went to Micah's recital, my parents came for a visit. It is always great to see them, and let them love on the grandbabies for a while. The highlights (at least in Cole's mind) were the Tides game where he actually got to run the bases after the game, and the new tricycle Luma and Papa bought for him! He has gotten quite good at riding the trike, and thinks he is pretty cool when he goes cruising down the street. How can I not be getting pictures of this?!?!

The next weekend our sweet niece Lyla Patricia Hornbeck made a grand entrance into the world! We are so excited to go meet her and see Uncle Eric and Aunt Katy this coming weekend for Memorial Day. Sometimes I think we are absolutely crazy for taking another trip, but we just HAVE to, ya know??!! So Woodlands Camp, ready or not here we come!

The next week was Seminary Graduation. This is theoretically the year Caleb could have graduated. Needless to say, He did not graduate yet! We still have quite a while to go. Many of his friends did graduate though and it was great to see them accomplish their goals. A few of them are off to ministries God has called them too. Caleb has been friends with these people for almost 8 years! Even though we didn't see some of them all that much while they were here, its hard to believe they will be so far away now. But, it is such an exciting time to see how God is directing and providing for them.

Also that weekend was the Crisis Pregnancy Center's Walk for Life. It is always so great to be around many other believers coming together to stand up for those who have no voice. There was a record number of walkers this year. I pray the Lord will continue to use the CPC in Hampton Roads to help women choose life for their sweet unborn babies.

The next weekend Caleb and I had the privilege of being involved in our friends Greg and Michelle's wedding. It was beautiful time focused on the grace God has given to all of us and the special grace he has given to Greggers and Michelle for them to be united in marriage. It was a wonderful time of worship as well as a great celebration of love, both human and divine. I have to admit, I had a hard time holding back the tears because Caleb was in plain view while the ceremony was going on. I knew if I looked at him I would cry and I was right, but I just had to look! :) And a little bonus was I got to walk with him for the processional. That is the second time we got to be in a wedding together since we were married. I LOVE that.

This weekend was packed too! Yesterday we had 3, count them 3 parties to go to. Thankfully they were all out by the beach so we didnt have to run all over town. It was a great, but tiring day. We actually slept so long this afternoon we missed church tonight. oops! :) Good thing salvation is by grace alone! :)

AAAAAAAND, somewhere mingled in all of that Gioia learned to crawl! My life is officially over! She is everywhere, and it is adorable. Adorable though it may be, it has totally changed the way I do things- you cant take your eyes off that girl, she eats everything she sees!

Well, we are looking forward to another full week. Caleb has a lot of homework to do so the kids and I are going to be up in Philly for a few days and on Friday we go to Georgia. After this trip we are going to be HOME for a couple of weeks before heading to Indy for my cousin Kelly's wedding.

I PROMISE to have some pictures for my next post about our sweet Lyla.

another weekend, another trip.

Since the beginning of the year we have driven to the Florida Keys and back, Hope, Michigan and back twice and our latest adventure, Greenville SC and back. This last weekend was Caleb's brother Micah's graduate recital at Bob Jones University. He earned his Performance Arts Masters (I dont know the offical name) by completing an hour long solo performance. Many people perform a compilation of poetry or something similar, but sometimes people write their own. Micah chose to write his own. Here is a symopsis of what we saw in Micah's words...

"During the week of May 19-24, 2008 I took a trip with no preconceived destination. Only the departure and return were premeditated. The decisions of destination were made by others. There is no plot, but this is what happened. This is a compilation of what and who I found along the way. I recreate the experience now, through a collage-compiled script. There is a unifying motif of “found” items textually, visually, and aurally. I designed the set with the rusted metals, the free piano, and the paper to echo the “found” materials concept. The text and music also dance a “borrowed” step. I composed the live music you will hear solely from numbers observed on the journey. All media is authentic including the photos, videos, and the audio cues. The train sound you hear is what I heard. The singing you hear is what I heard. The sights you see are what I saw. All people are authentic, and they speak their own words as they spoke them to me. Even my clothing is what I wore on the first day of my trip."

It was awesome.

The bonus to going was Caleb's mom, dad, sisters and one brother in law were there. We all stayed at Micah's house, which actually went better than I thought it would. We also got to spend some time with Caleb's cousins Cory and Sara and their kids Wil, John and 3 week old Emma. Also I got to see my college friend Bonnie Blakeney who I havent gotten to see in at least a year. It was a nice surprise to meet in Greenville since neither she nor I live there!

And to top it all off, I didnt take a single picture. Awesome.

We had a great time and thank everyone who sacrificed so much to make the weekend great. Especially you, Sara!

he is not old enough to know how to do that

Cole has loved the computer since before Gioia was born. Being 9 months pregnant, I was desperate for some quiet time so I showed him sesamestreet.com. (can i get an amen from all you pregnant ladies out there?) There are several games, videos, etc. for kids to do. While I dont agree with everything Sesame Street wants to teach my kid, I do have to hand it to them... they really know what kids like! For a long time, I have had to navigate around for him and it got pretty annoying having to change the game every 5 minutes. Well, recently Cole has discovered how to use the mouse on the laptop. Thats right... he moves the mouse wherever he wants and gives a little click to play any game he wants! It is so nice! It truly is quite time for everyone now! The downside is that he can find everything else too. Like photo booth. I found several pictures on my computer that I did not take. Little smarty pants.









We had a great Resurrection Sunday. I was in the nursery, but heard the service was great! All the children sang a song for the service and the ladies in the nursery were nice enough to go watch Cole's debut! It was AWESOME!!! Everything you would want to see while children are singing and more! Then we spent the rest of the day with some of our great church family. We love our church.









kids looked great thanks to Luma!

mid- year resolution

Since I am doing horribly at my New Years Resolutions, I thought I would throw one more on the pile of things I would like to fail at in 2009...BLOGGING! I would like to blog at least once a week, if for no one else, for myself. I mentioned at our final Financial Peace University class this last Sunday about not forgetting the works the Lord has done in our lives. Its easy to remember the big ones... a wonderful husband, 2 beautiful, healthy kids, a warm (or cool) home, a great church, and of course a home in Heaven. But when I really stopped to think about it, I could only remember a few things the Lord has done for us these last 5 years even though there have been soooo many provisions and answeres to prayer. So... blogging is my answer. I don't want to forget. So as long as blogger doesnt go belly up, I will write to remember and in turn write to praise my Redeemer.

Since November was the last time I actually sat down to blog I will give a quick update...

Cole is going to be 3 this summer, which is super hard to believe. He loves playing outside and told me the other day he cant wait to go to the beach. Mama cant either, cole-man. His newest discovery is the gas can in the garage. Caleb caught him trying to fill up his power wheels 4 wheeler yesterday. Not only did he fill up his 4 wheeler, but also his boots and jeans. Awesome.

He still loves to sing, watch movies, play baseball, and play with his cars, but his favorite thing to do is body slam, I mean love on, his sister. Thankfully, she is pretty tough.

Gioia is our little sweetheart. She is almost 8 months old and is still stationary but is up on all 4s. It wont be long before she is all over the place, giving Cole a run for his money! She is a very happy baby most of the time, full of smiles. She also says mama, and not dada much to Caleb's chagrin. She gets more and more fun with each new day! Did I mention she is the most beautiful baby in the world??!! Here are some pics from our trip to the Keys with the Dillabaughs to prove it! :)

for dad

here you go dad...

for everyone else, this is our little pumpkin singing God Bless America. Our little man loves to sing. His favorite songs to sing are of course not ones about Jesus, but ones he hears at the baseball games. He has been saying lately, "Hey mom, go to Tides game, see elmo (the mascot who is actually named RipTide and is blue not red) sing God Bless America and the Flag Song (the national anthem) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game... that be fun, mom? so exciting, mom?" Needless to say, he doesn't understand it is not baseball season anymore. Poor guy is going to be waiting for a long time to see America's pastime again.



We love our little Patriot Lately, though, he has been singing songs about Jesus, including "Jesus, Thank you", "Jesus loves me", and my personal favorite "Amazing Grace". This morning we heard Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace on the radio. Cole was so excited he couldn't even sing, just smile. When it was over he said "Mom, that's Amazing Grace! we show Dad, Mom?"

Our little bundle of Gioia is growing and growing. She is such a pretty baby. I think she is going to end up with Caleb's eyes, lucky girl. She is smiling and "talking" like crazy now. She is just over 10 lbs. and is in the 90th percentile for her height. OUR KID is in the 90th percentile for height! Who would have guessed that?! I told her to enjoy it while it lasts.

here are a few pics, they are about a month old, but still so cute.

I cant believe...

1. ...fall is here, I just can't believe it. I keep hearing everyone singing the praises of Autumn, but I have to admit, I am sad! I like the hot weather, and the beach, and the popsicles, and the shorts, and being warm all the time and the sun, and no seminary classes, I could go on and on. I have been cold non-stop since Friday. Hurry, May, hurry!

2. ... its been 5 weeks since our little bundle of Gioia was born. I am adjusting pretty well to having 2 kids. Not being a rookie parent, I find it a lot easier to take care of Gioia. I hated the first month when Cole was born, but with Gioia it has been mostly good! I am still getting to know her little personality, but I know enough to know she is going to be nothing like her brother. She is already pretty spunky. I knew it was going to be this way before she even came into the world! When Cole would climb on me and push on my stomach and in turn push on her, she would kick back. We knew we were in for it, and we were right! :)

3. ... we are starting our 4th year of seminary. It seems like we have been here forever, but also like we just got here. I laugh at the fact that this theoretically should be Caleb's last year. Uh, yeah right. He is over half way done, and is thankfully taking his last Greek class this semester, but I can't really even see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think 4 years might just be impossible for those with kids. Props to those who have done it, if you exist.

4. ... my son won't shut up! I love how much Cole is talking now. He can tell me exactly what he wants, exactly what hurts, exactly what he thinks, and I love it most of the time. The only time it really bugs me is in the car when he literally does not stop making noise. He also loves to sing. His favorites lately are God Bless America and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (the seventh inning stretch songs for those who arent baseball fans). He can also kind of sing Jesus Loves Me (which comes out Jesus, thank you me), the alphabet, the wheels on the bus, and Elmo's World (which sometimes is Erin's world) We can tell what he is singing, but those who don't know him might not be able to name that tune.

5. ... I had to pay $10 for losing my parking ticket at the mall today. It is supposed to be $1 for 3 hours, but nooooooooooo... I had to go and lose my ticket. Ridiculous.

6. ... I don't have any pictures to post. There are a lot of pictures of my kids, but they are one everyone else's cameras. yeesh. Sorry. Hopefully I will be able to get my act together soon and take some of my own so next time we will have some to post.