Happy Birthday Catherine!

Today is our precious Catherine's 11th birthday. She is the eldest daughter of my sister Lisa. They live in AL and we will miss seeing Catherine today on her birthday. Last year on her 10th she celebrated at our house(see photos). Ethan, Allie, Catherine and Emily(Catherine's sister) had a fun time together. They love being with their cousins.

Pogo Anyone?

Last night we came home from Five Guys (and a little shopping) in Commerce and I was reminded of Ethan's latest "thing." He has been dragging out all the ancient toys lately. His latest one is the pogo stick that I believe was also a gift from Aunt Shannon. (Apparently she gives all the gifts with staying power!) He has gotten amazingly good at it and can stay on for at least 35 bounces at a time (that was from the time we actually counted them). He is such a fun and funny boy. We all love him so much.

Awana Girls Sleepover

I forgot to take my camera to the sleepover so I am posting some Awana photos of Allie from the Grand Prix race that they had last month. The group shot is of all the homeschoolers that raced and the next is Allie and her friend Naomi who is a wonderful TFC student that has been so sweet to Allie. The last one is Allie with her car - it was so cute and Allieish.

So, the sleepover was LOUD. We had it in the Family Life Center(the gym), so we had plenty of room to spread out, thankfully. There were 24 energetic third-sixth grade girls who all had very healthy lungs. Everyone brought a snack and drink so we had lots of chips and dip, cookies, cupcakes, etc... all the things that I make myself walk past without picking up at the grocery store. YUM!!! They played on the gym floor with the Awana scooters alot, and they played "Sleepover Town" in the classrooms with all the rooms being a different business. We had a pinata which they LOVED and we managed to get it broken open with no injuries. We had ice cream, and then popcorn and a movie and finally called it a day around 2:30am, but they were still whispering at 3:30! The funniest thing to me was that especially several of the younger girls got GREAT joy in asking me what time it was about a million times during the night. They would find out, and squeal with joy that they had never stayed up so late - it was very cute. It was a very short night of sleep - the parents arrived at 8:30am and they were met with some sleepy little faces - none of which were ready to go home:) So, it is over for another year - Allie was blissfully happy the whole time and loved every minute of it, so it was worth it. I love that girl.

Springtime and a New Scooter

Ethan got a scooter many years ago from his Aunt Shannon for his birthday one year and lately, that has been the main attraction when Ethan and Allie go outside to play. They had been taking turns with his without complaining and doing very well sharing one. So today, we went and got Allie her own scooter as a surprise. I love to reward them for good behavior when they aren't cooperating just to get something - for some reason, they had never asked to have more than one scooter. Anyhow, Allie got a Razor with pink wheels and handlebars and she loves it and Ethan loves having his own one back! Now races are the main activity - I am praying for no broken bones!!!

HE is Risen!

HE is risen indeed!!! Sunday, April 12 was Easter Day. It was a beautiful sunny day, so in the afternoon, the Henrys and the Mitchells went to the TFC campus to take some family photos. Toccoa Falls is one of our favorite places to take pictures, but seeing the rubble of Gate Cottage was very sad. We had to run from the bumblebees a few times because of all the pretty blooming flowers, but otherwise it was a successful day. We love spending time with Sean, Shannon and baby Silas who slept through most of the pictures - SO cute!!!

Braves Win!

On Saturday, April 11, Brian had tickets to see the Braves play at Turner Field in Atlanta. He invited our bro in law Sean to go with him, Ethan and Allie. They all had a great time, stayed for the whole game and came home with new hats and lots of fun stories. Meanwhile, I had a rare day of shopping with only my sister Shannon and sweet baby Silas. We met up with Mama, Daddy and Gram for dinner at Artuzzi's and made a pitstop at Krispy Kreme on the way home. The hot sign was on! We were all blessed with a fun day together.

The M Family in Memphis

Another photo from our weekend in Memphis: my brother in law Sean, Ethan holding baby cousin Silas, Allie and my sister Shannon. We are all in love with that sweet little boy!