Open House

Tonight we went to Open House at Noah's school. I cannot tell you how blessed we are to have Mrs. Dixon as Noah's teacher. She not only is a believer, but she attends our church. In fact we ate dinner beside them at the baptism this weekend. She is a sweet, patient yet firm woman who we know will guide him in the best possible way through 1st grade. This is a picture of Noah outside his classroom. One proud note: (we don't have a picture of it though) Noah's bear was chosen as the best one and was at the top of the "Beary" wall. Yeah, my son is the best artist. :) I am so proud of everything that Noah is. He is an incredible, loving, adventurous six year old, and such a blessing to us.

A red head, a brunette, and a brownish blonde...

Ella and ChloeBeth loving on each other this morning.

For a few weeks this summer it looked like my in-house childcare business would be coming to an end. I panicked for a minute, claimed Isaiah 41:10, and knew God would provide.

Well it turns out I will be able to continue to keep Meredith! We love that little girl. She is so funny and her personality is amazing. During the school year I normally keep ChloeBeth but her mom decided to take her with her to school this year. That ended up changing and I will be watching her again too, just not on as normal of a schedule! So this morning the red head & brownish blonde girl's are getting into trouble and I'm loving it. I'll still have my brunette too (Meredith) during the week, and one thing I can guarantee is that with this many kids around the house, there will never be a dull moment!

My First- Grader

To say Noah was excited about first grade is an understatement. Last night we went to check on him at 10:30 and he was still awake (we had put him to bed at 8). I had to wake him up this morning, but we enjoyed a sweet 20 minutes together while Ella was still asleep talking about the day ahead. He came home and wanted to go right back to school. I know he's going to do great this year!

Ella wanted to get in on the picture-taking.

The last full day of summer

Sweet Noah pushing his sister.

"Redneck waterslide" - Someone left a little tykes slide in the creek which the kids love to play with.

All of our friends eating lunch!

On Monday we headed up to Montreat Park (Noah used to call it the Terebithia Park). It is one of the most beautiful parks around here. A stream goes all the way through it, there are two major slide/playthings, swings, and picnic tables. Most of it is covered by the trees and since it's so high up in elevation, it's always cool.

Carowinds

9 days ago we spent the day at Carowinds. I know it's been exactly 9 days, because each day since then my children have had extensive conversations about how much fun they had, which roller coasters they will ride next year, how long until we get to go again, etc. Please double click on the picture of Matt and Ella (in the yellow roller coaster car - the first picture) so you can she just how hard core my daughter is. She had her hands up and was screaming the whole time on the ride! Noah got to ride the Hurler and Thunder Road several times and "it changed his life." It was great to be able to hang out with all the Siak/Cannon's!

Cousins... Jack skipped it because he thought the swings were lame.

A whole bunch of Siaks on a roller coaster...

Granny and Noah on the railroad mine roller coaster.

Matt and Barry on the Carolina cyclone.

Matt's "Thing"

A few years ago a book came out called "Wild At Heart." It was about the natural God-given desires of a man. One of the areas they talked about was having a "thing" to channel themselves into that can be their outlet...something they are good at and enjoy. This "thing" gives them a break from everyday life. Matt's "thing" is baseball. He's played this season with the Asheville DiamondBacks. He's done really well, and I know this will only be the start of baseball as a hobby for him. Matt's such a great husband and father, and now team player too.

Pure Laziness...

I have new pictures on the camera just waiting to be uploaded, but I have been lazy! I'll post them soon, I promise!

For now I'll give you a little update...

~ My sister and her husband (Buck and Rachel) found out they are having a little boy! He will be making his appearance sometime in January. Since they are notoriously secretive about the baby name, my siblings and I are working hard to come up with a great nickname.

~ My sister-in-law should be having her sweet little boy soon too, and we are so excited for them! (Rebecca and Joey Siak).

~ School starts for Noah next Wednesday. For Ella (preschool) the day after labor day weekend. ~ I am still keeping Meredith for now, but there is a chance she will be going to stay with her grandmother. We are eating up every moment we have with her these days.

~ Matt is loving playing baseball with the men's Asheville league. He's quite the stud in his uniform :)

~ On another note, the cubs have done so poorly this year, I haven't "lost" my husband to watching baseball this summer!

~ Noah should be losing another tooth today or tomorrow. I've already put in a call to the toothfairy to be ready.

~ Ella is obsessed with wearing Noah's hulk costume (complete with the stuffed muscles). She's got it down, even the roars. It's priceless and I should have a picture for you sometime.

The summer is winding down, and I personally am ready for fall. For cooler weather, the joy of the holidays around the corner, a routine to stick to... We've had so much fun. We've been to Charlotte for 2 long visits, a week in Georgia, Carowinds, lots of time at Granny's and hanging out with cousins, the baseball field, VBS, and more.

Hopefully I will get out of my lazy mood sometime soon. :)

Just a few...

Joey's New Toy

Due to the fact that "Baby Joey" (Benjamin?) will be arriving soon, Joey & Rebecca bought a super nice camera. Joey came over this weekend and took some candid shots of us yesterday, then came back today and took more before we headed out to a wedding. These are some of my favorites from yesterday, I can't wait to share the ones we took today with you sometime soon!

Mighty To Save

This week we have been at Kids Camp every night. I'm working in Chaddars Theater with the preschoolers and Ella is in my home group. Noah is in group #6 in the "Big House." Once again Grace has gone over the top with the sets, plans, games, and activities for the kids this week. I'm so glad we get to be a part of it! I've had a love/not-so-like relationship with where I'm volunteering this week. I know it's me being selfish and having a short fuse when it comes to patience. It's a lot harder than I expected (I don't know why I didn't expect it to be this way). But tonight I discovered it was all worth it.

At the end we have a time where everyone is in the same group and we sing a few worship songs and listen to a short sermon. I am stationed at the front wrestling/dancing/supervising the 3 year olds. While we were singing "Mighty to Save" I searched the crowd and found Noah. He was singing at the top of his lungs with his eyes closed. He was worshiping Jesus. I have never seen him like that. It made tears immediately come to my eyes. I am so thankful I was there to be able to witness this precious moment between Noah and Jesus. And I am so thankful that I was able to volunteer and be a part of this huge moment in so many children's lives. And I can't wait to go back tomorrow for more wrestling/refereeing/loving/laughing at the hardest job I've volunteered for. Because it's worth every second.

I'll have pictures from this week hopefully up tomorrow, and if all goes well a video of my new favorite song "Humpty Dumpty...Ain't that Funky".

Saturday with the Siaks

We got to enjoy an evening with Joey & Rebecca at our house this weekend. They will welcome their precious son in the next month (give or take a few days) and it was great to get to hang out with them before he arrives.

Charlotte

We went to Charlotte this week to hang out with HannahBeth, Mom & Dad, while Rachel and Buck were away for a few days. We had so much fun! We got to see Despicable Me (such a cute movie), swam in the pool, and spent quality time together. It's always great to see them!