Spider Man Party!

While everyone was here for Thanksgiving we celebrated Peyton's 5th birthday. His only request was that it be a Spider Man party, and he wanted Creamy Taco with a Spider Man cake...so that's what he got! The cake, which he picked out himself, was "so cool" according to the birthday boy...not exactly what this Mama would have picked out, but he was VERY pleased and that's all that matters!




He loved his balloons and like any good boy will do, they became punching bags and whiplash tools for he and Lawson...we had to take them away from them at one point early in the evening.


The Spider Man face masks were quite the hit as well...


He received many nice gifts, everyone was so kind...he has enjoyed playing with all his new toys and reading his new books!







I think he had a wonderful birthday, thanks for helping to make it special for him!

Thanksgiving 2011

This Thanksgiving, Adam's family as well as my family joined us here in Birmingham. We sure had a good time being together; we enjoyed several game nights, a movie, crafting and golfing, visiting and eating very tastey food non-stop!

In preparation for everyone's arrival Adam raked the yard and the boys "helped", they really enjoyed jumping into leaf piles! What fun they had!




We enjoyed hanging out together, getting to visit and catch up!










We cooked a LOT of very good food! And Peyton liked watching Adam carve up the turkey...



Peyton took the napkin rings from the table and found a new place for them.


The runners of the group took an early morning run, of which I DID NOT partake!


The guys golfed and the girls crafted...



We enjoyed sitting around the dinner table and took time to share some of the different things we're grateful for...it was a neat time of sharing and fun to hear everyone's thoughts. We are truly blessed, God has given us so much and we are very grateful!

Go Carts, Dirt Bikes and Training Wheels!

Tonight we spent the afternoon and evening with friends from our Sunday School class. It was a lot of fun to get out in the country and just enjoy being together and hanging out. The boys were enthralled with the go cart, dirt bikes and golf cart that the Pences have. There was a pond to fish in, a bond fire to cook over and lots of friends to visit with! We enjoyed a tractor hayride, chili, hotdogs and the fixin's and who could pass up a smore!! The kids rode their bikes, Adam tossed the football with the guys and I got to visit with some ladies! For this girl who gets energized by being with people, it was a VERY fun evening!













What a blessing it is to have fellowship with other believers, I'm truly thankful for the group God has given us!

Ladies Craft Night!

I invited the girls from our Sunday School class to come over and have a ladies night out. Everyone brought either an appetizer or dessert and yes, it was all quite tastey! After our munchies and visiting, some made Christmas ornaments while others made Santa faces out of burlap to hang on our front doors for the holiday. We had a great time catching up and getting to know one another better while we crafted.

I had prepped a little bit since we were limited on time and with painting you have to have time for it to dry before you can do the detail work...







I got the design ideas from here and here from the wonderful world of pinterest!

Here's a couple of the finished products...



Everyone's door hanger turned out adorable! Seemed like every body had a good time, I think we'll try and plan another craft night in the near future! Nothing like a bunch of ladies eating, crafting, talking and laughing...thanks girls for coming and making it such a fun evening!

Happy Birthday Peyton!

Wow, its UNBELIEVABLE to me that Peyton has a birthday today and that he's turning 5! I know its cliche but my how the time has flown! Receiving the gift of him, has been one of the most priceless blessings of my life and I'm thankful to have been blessed with him! This little guy is a real joy! This morning we went to celebrate his birthday at Krispy Kreme, his request was for a donut with sprinkles!





His one wish for his birthday was a Spiderman...I have no idea where the obsession with that came from, since he's never seen the movie or any shows with Spiderman...but he was pretty much dead set on getting one. He loved it immediately...I think we scored for sure!


In this past year he's learned to ride a bike well, to write his name, recognize sounds of letters and what letter words start with. He also began sleeping on the top bunk, getting up and going potty first thing when he wakes up. He's memorized over 35 Bible verses thanks to musical CD's like Seeds of Worship and Steve Green's Hide 'Em In Your Heart...we listen to them all the time in the car. He loves to help me cook, measuring ingredients and stirring them up is real fun for him. Anything to do with digging or climbing is another favorite past time from the year, and I'm sure it will remain that way for years to come! Every night he begs Adam to wrestle around on the floor with him, its one of his most favorite things to do and Adam loves to do it!! This year was also a first for him with sports, he played soccer this fall and had a bit of a slow start but ended up LOVING it and since the season finished a few weeks ago, he still asks, "do I have a soccer game today?" His favorite tv shows have been Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins, and Curious George...the movies he asks to watch most often are Ratatouille and any of the Toy Story movies. The thing I'm most proud of him for is how he's come out of his shell over the past months as he's had to make new friends and get to know new people, even just in the past weeks he's talking to adults more on his own without being prompted by Adam or myself. Another amazing thing is to hear him actually pray for us (at dinner or bedtime) and to hear his requests to God and the things that he's thankful for...the cute ones I can think of right now are: "Thank you God for our stove, so Mommy can make us tastey meals" and "thank you God for my cozy bed!" He regularly prays those! But he's also good about asking God for things and its neat for Adam and I to hear what he's thinking, what a treat it is for us!

So on this November 16, 2011, we say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sweet lil' guy! We love you so much!