Beech

No, not a typo. Uncle Nolan took Hunter skiing yesterday at Beech Mountain. Hunter loved it last year so we decided to do it again. The first 20 minutes or so were a bit traumatic as he couldnt get the hang of the "pizza" and had a hard time getting up the little hills. Nolan and I decided instead of him being forever scarred, we would worry about the little detail like technique (haha) later. Nolan would carry him up the little hills and let Hunter go down. He was actually able to stop ok on the baby hill.

We then let him take the pully thing up the small hill. Turns out, you gotta have a bit of upper body strength. He fell off about 3/4 of the way up the first time and he didnt let go (tripping the emergency stop) the second time... in his defense, no one told him to let go. Nolan was right behind him both times though. I was really proud of him though that he went back to do again after falling. I would have quit right there.

We ended on a high note though and he was already talking about what things he would be able to do when he was 6 for next year's trip.

Here are the pics.

Getting started

Thank goodness Uncle was there

keeping his hands on his hips for balance.

Practicing with just one ski on

Little hill and a hidden smile

Busted




Take 1 of the pully things.. dont know the proper name

Take 2- made it all the way and beyond... hahaha

The best part, the "big" hill down.

Finishing up- Nolan and Hunter stop for a shot

Walking back to the car in the boots

Just a gorgeous child! Getting ready to leave the mountain.

I don't normally take pictures of nature but this was just so pretty to me and Nolan. Our God is so big. Watching this ball of fire set was just beautiful!


Almost forgot to get a picture of me and my boy. This was at Cracker Barrel.


Just to show the comparison... Here we were on our ski trip last year. Both pics, he is standing on the back on Nolan's car. He really has grown!


My favorite- So sweet. I love my brother and his willingness to take time to teach Hunter how to ski. Thank you sooo much Nolan. You are awesome and we had a blast!

Oh and Daddy got to stay home with Ashton and Shepherd. They played outside for almost 4 hours and we wore them out! Next year, Ashton will be able to go (if he wants to, he is still undecided :-)

Happy Birthday Uncle Zach!

Getting a picture with all 3 children looking... Needless to say I didnt do so good. Dont have a clue what Hunter is doing


Ashton being a goof ball and overly dramatic

Zach, hope you had a great birthday! Wish we could see you guys. Miss you and love you!

Eucharisteo Part 2

#1 to #20 you can find here.

21- Finding meat for 75% (or more) off at the store

22- Wearing sequins at the age of 28

23- Big smiles while riding Power Wheels around yard

24- Playing soccer with the boys.

25- Hunter memorizing Bible verses for school

26- Cell phones to talk to best friends

27- Finding ladybugs in early February

28- Long, hot, uninterrupted showers

29- Shampoo that smells like spring

30- Creams for eczema flare-ups

31- Chad's job as a head football coach

32- Christ wearing the cross for me

33- Date night

34- My mom, the sanity saver

35- Seeing outside through only 1 pane of glass- getting stubborn storm windows off

36- Kissing a baby belly

37- Clean stove tops

38- Constantly being looked at with big blue eyes

39- Coffee when it is bone chilling cold

40- Red toenails in the dead of winter

41- Cloudless days with bright blue skies

42- Hunter in a sports coat

43- Power of rubbing alcohol to get paint out of Ralph Lauren clothes

44- Grocery store savings of 50% or more

45- Laughter behind closed doors

46- Little fingerprint smears on glass

47- Trio of trains on the widow sill

48- New running shoes

49- My friend, the ponytail

50- Ashton's classic little boy voice

51- Light at the end of a dark hallway

52- 30 minutes of quiet in the middle of the day

53- Contrast of Molly's black fur with her snow white fur

54- Hunter "reading" his stack of books every day

55- Buying and making Valentines

56- Fistfuls of spaghetti

57- APPLE conference pen and the memories that come with it

58- Surprise mid-day rain showers

59- Hunter ate spaghetti (noodles barely covered in sauce- hey, it is progress) and a 1/2 a
taco without gagging and without a fit.

60- Making 3 meals with 2 lbs of ground beef

61- Big, baggy sweatshirts

62- Kid's train track pieces around my entire living room

63- Windex on those smeared windows

64- Morning sun through windows with condensation

65- 3 days in a row of Carolina blue sky

66- Open mouth baby kisses

67- Wrestling in the floor with a pile of little boys

68- Gaps in baby teeth

69- Eating the boy's Valentine's Day candy

70- Chick-fil-A sweet tea

71- 1 strong willed child

72- Barefeet running down the hallway

Outside Play

... enjoying the pretty/ slightly chilly weather the past few days especially since they are calling for a bit of snow tonight.

Here are just some pictures of Ashton and Shepherd from yesterday. And then some pictures from a few days ago with all 3 of them.

I have no idea what Ashton is doing... Looks like "How low can you go."
Throwing dirt and debris in our neighbor's yard. :)
Ashton is one with the tunnel
Shepherd thought Ashton was hysterical in the tunnel
Messy mouth and all, he is just flat out adorable.
My walkin' man
Ashton and the Power Wheels... he drains the battery daily on this poor Power Wheels
Hunter cheesing it up
In manual, so it is a bit blurry... at least the magnolia is in focus.
I think Molly likes the Power Wheels the most as we leave the gate open and she can lounge in the front yard or the backyard. She is the best!

Until tomorrow

My 800 dress...

... Ok, so as I talked about here, I had a pretty bad day Wednesday as I was out looking for a semi formal dress to wear to a Gala for Saturday night. I was super excited when I found this dress for $30!!! However, my excitement drained when I had the accident that is going to cost me $240 for the ticket and $500 for the deductible... boo! So, my little black dress is really costing me close to $800.


Despite that, I really love it.

Here is my darling husband and me after we got home. It was fun to get all dressed up and interact with grown ups in a formal setting.


The boys (and Molly) were in great hands as mom and dad came over. The boys (supposedly) were perfect angels :) I was glad to get home though and sink myself into my sweat pants, sweatshirt, and fuzzy socks.

One Thousand Gifts... Eucharisteo

Before I start my list, I think I should provide a brief background of why I am doing this... Enter book, "One Thousand Gifts."

Eucharisteo is the basis of the book. In a nutshell. Eucharisteo is the Greek word for Thanksgiving or He gave thanks. It is the word used when Jesus broke bread and "gave thanks" or "eucharisteo."

But, it breaks down either further as Greek words do. Eucharisteo has the root word Charis which means grace and it is derived from Chara meaning joy.

From here I will quote Ann as my words would not do it justice.

Ann writes on page 32-33, "Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo- the table of thanksgiving, I sit there long... wondering... is it that simple?"

"I think this through. As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever, meaning- now; wherever, meaning- here. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be - unbelievably - possible!"

"Grace, thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo. A Greek word... that might make meaning of everything?"

P. 60-61
"Daniel is a man of power prayer, not because he bends the stiff knees and makes petitions to the High Throne three times daily. Rather, his prayers move kings and lion jaws because Daniel 'prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.' (Daniel 6:10)"

"Daniel is only a man of prayer because he is man of thanks, and the only way to be a woman of prayer is to be a woman of thanks. And not sporadic, general thanks, but three times a day eucharisteo. Was it the power of everyday thanksgiving prayer that shut the gaping mouths of the lions?"

I am only 1/2 way through my first round of reading the book. I will read again with a highlighter, pen, and Bible in hand next time. I wanted to skim through it first for an overview.

But, I know I want to start my Eucharisteo list now. I have been at it a week and realized that I need to have a couple list going in different locations because I will think of something and then forget it before I sit down and write it. And writing down makes the joy more intense... or more complete for me.

1-The deep breathing of the dog once the house is silent.

2- Mounds of coupons on the living room floor.

3- Hot chocolate made with milk and piled with marshmallows.

4- Fresh coat of paint on the windows outside.

5- Peek-a-boo with a 14 month old

6- Rain falling so hard it drowns out the sound of the TV

7- Naked toddler toddling down the hall as fast as he can go.

8- Uno Moo game over and over and over again with the boys

9- Homemade mac n cheese made with shells.

10- Running my fingers through platinum blond hair

11-Fresh pine needles on the flower beds

12- Wooly socks

13- Metallic finish on photographs.

14- Hunter's joy while doing his "homework"

15- Wedding Rings

16- Safe car seats

17- Handful of dark chocolate Raisenetts first thing in the morning

18- Cold feet on my husband's warm feet when I get into bed at night.

19- Chad not caring that I put my cold feet on his warm feet. :)

20- Powdered sugar smeared on the faces of the boys after devouring a doughnut.

My Terrible, Horrible, Awful, Very Bad Day

What a day.

Went to take boys to "school" this morning and the van door was not shut all the way = dead battery. Chad had to come home to jump me off.

Get boys to school late and Shep and I head into G-ville. I have to find a semi-formal dress for a Gala this weekend. I was semi- dreading the dress hunt because I am quite the cheapskate and I was having a hard time getting in the shopping mood.

Strike out at Macys and Belk. Head to Stein Mart and find something that will work. Best part- dress is only $30!

Leaving Stein Mart, I am on a main road and notice a yellow "blinking" stop light and think "hmmm that is not a good place for a light to be out." Turns out I was hallucinating. At some point, it turned red and I slammed into an elderly couple in their Toyota sedan... not just an Toyota sedan- a 2011 Toyota sedan. No airbags deploy and the damage is relatively minor. Police come and I get a big fat $240 ticket.

In situations like this I can only look back and be thankful. Shepherd was not hurt. He had a slight red mark on his neck from his carseat belt.
I was not injured at all. The elderly gentlemen was not injured and his wife hit her knee (that she has had replaced at some point) on the dash.. but nothing serious thank the Lord!

Appraiser comes tomorrow to give me an estimate on the van that again thankfully is still driveable. The other couple's sedan didnt make out quite as well and had to be towed (I hit his wheel).



All this happens as I have started really moving closer to God. Funny, in an ironic sense, how the devil does this. A few days ago I started the challenge from the book that I am reading, "One Thousand Gifts," and that is to make a list of 1000 things you are thankful for. I will collect through the week and then post them every Thursday starting tomorrow.

As I have had time to reflect on today... I realize how temporary life is. In the big scheme of things this was a little accident, yet it definitely brought me to my knees and gave me a whole new sense of Thanksgiving.

On a lighter note, I will definitely post pictures of what has turned out to be my $800 dress this weekend after the Gala.

And, just for my sake. Go ahead and slow way down for blinking yellow lights just in case you are imagining them blinking AND when at a stoplight, when it turns green- glance to make sure someone who is imagining a blinking yellow light is not coming through anyway.

Just to make you or me smile! Gotta love this face.