congrats to brittany & jason...

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to take some engagement shots for Brittany and Jason. They are getting married TOMORROW and I realized I hadn't posted any of their pictures. Pray for them on their big day!!









I thought I would be posting at least three times this week...I just can't believe the week is gone already! I still have two "events" to post and I can't get behind because Ringo's big reunion is next weekend! Okay, I'm going to stop now because my husband has commented that I'm getting a little long-winded! :o)

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world's fair park (slideshow)...

Last week was a very full week, but lots of fun...too much fun really! The highlight of the week was on Thursday when we went to the World's Fair Park downtown to play on the splash pads with a BUNCH of friends. I think I counted 25 kids plus the moms.

After we played in the water, we had a picnic lunch. Then we all traipsed back to the parking lot and changed into dry clothes in the van. Then we went back to World's Fair Park and took all the kids up in the Sunsphere, which has now opened to the public and is free of charge. The kids loved seeing all around Knoxville, and Braden kept saying he could see our street. Of course that is not possible considering there is a big ridge between downtown and our side of town.

After that we walked through the city to Market Square where Mayfield was giving away free sample cups of their four new ice cream flavors: Chocolate Cream Pie, Peanut Butterific, Coconut Cake, and Ye Olde Southern Caramel (or something like that). My kids and I all tried the Chocolate Cream Pie, and of course, it was yummy! Then we marched back to the Sunsphere, back through the water park, and into our vehicles. Whew, were we tired! I'm guessing it was probably a two-mile walk round-trip, at least. Oh, and we may end up on the news...there were cameramen from the local news at the splash pads and at the Mayfield event in Market Square.

Anyway, the kids all did such a great job. I think they really enjoyed getting to walk through the city and stop at the traffic lights...I'm sure most of them had never been there; mine hadn't. We were quite the caravan going through downtown Knoxville. Fun times...good memories. And of course, there are pictures! Didn't do too great on the group picture...it was so loud the kids never knew who was taking a picture, so no one is looking; I cut off one of the kids (sorry, Lauren); one little one was with his mom; and four of the kids were in the bathroom. Oh well, at least we tried. Enjoy the slideshow for a glimpse of our fun day...

Click here to view the show

I can't post without pictures, so here are some of my favorite images from the day...







Thanks for checking in...I've got another couple of posts coming soon. See you then!

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the home stretch...

We've had some exciting posts lately, so this one will seem really hum-drum. Let's see last week we did the library thing where the zoo-man had some snakes, turtles, and other such creatures (kind of a repeat of the week before when the park ranger was there, only this one was much better). You know, they really should have made that room in the library bigger, much bigger...I guess they didn't anticipate what crowds would be drawn in by disgusting creatures! :o) Anyway, I didn't take any pictures. We did go to Neighborhood Bible Club every day at Grandmom Hickman's house, and we had a great week. By Friday, we had 31 kids in attendance! Three of the families do not go to church anywhere, and one of the boys is asking lots of questions about being saved. Please pray for him...his name is Junior. I did take pictures each day...maybe I'll post some of those soon.

I don't know about you, but I'm really overwhelmed with how far gone this summer is. We're just on the home-stretch of heading back to school! I am having to seriously work on getting uniforms, new shoes, school supplies, all that exciting stuff. It really is exciting at our house this year because our little "Baby Bella" (as we called her the first year of her life) is going to kindergarten! Someone special in the family got Braden his first backpack from L.L. Bean when he went to K-5, so Bella of course remembers that and thinks she has to have one too. She's picked out two, but she's having a hard time deciding if she wants the flowered one or the one with the panda bear. We got our school supply list, so now we can start shopping for crayons, paper, rulers...what fun! It is kind of exciting, isn't it?

I just can't believe it's already the middle of July, that Ringo's 21-year (oops...they didn't get around to having it for the 20th) class reunion is just a few weeks away (!!!), that school starts in just one month, that this year is more than halfway over, that our little girl is going to school, that I'll be at home with only one kid (who is GOING to talk my ears off!), that Bella will be six in just a couple of months, that Ringo and I have been married for eleven years already, that Hobby Lobby has all their Christmas decorations out...okay I'll stop cause I could just go on and on! The older we get, the faster time flies!

Now that I've done all that rambling, here are some pictures taken at the park. I think I had promised a picture of Bella on her bike since she got her training wheels off at the beginning of summer, so I'm including a picture of each of the kids riding at the park...

The soon-to-be kindergartner...








Oh my goodness, did I just write four lengthy paragraphs??? Wow, well I hope you all have a great week!

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our anniversary slideshow...

Ringo and I are celebrating our eleventh anniversary on Friday! We've been working for a few weeks now on getting this slideshow together. Try not to laugh too hard when you see some of these pictures, but they are really funny. I am sure you will find yourself saying "Oh, my goodness" a few times during the next few minutes. Honestly, I must be crazy letting people see some of this stuff.

Anyway, we've been digging through old pictures taken over the course of the past eleven years, starting with the day we were engaged in Central Park in NYC. I also photographed some of the mementos from our wedding and some love notes written while we were engaged. The Lord has been good to us these years and we thank him for His blessings. Hope you enjoy the show!

Click here to view the show

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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happy birthday grandma alice...

Yesterday was my grandmother's birthday...she turned 87! Born in 1920...think about all the things she's been through. She's a sweet lady, she loves the Lord, and I think she looks pretty good, don't you? She spends her time reading and volunteering with the Foster Grandparents at the school in her town. She's pretty spry for her age. Here's a picture she sent me from last year...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDMA!

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berry pickin'...

Last week a friend was telling me about all the blackberries along the "trail" through Sterchi Hills. Our kids love to go for a walk on the trail, so we decided that it would be a fun thing to do on the 4th of July. The kids were so excited!!! Ringo and I enjoyed it too...it was a fun and memorable time as a family.

We went home and made a homemade dessert with the blackberries. I'm not much of a baker, but after some tips from my mom and Ringo making a trip to the store for flour and sugar (can you believe I haven't bought either for over two years???), we ended up with a yummy sweet treat that we made completely from scratch!!! Here are some pictures from our excursion...



And here is a picture of the final product, which was sweet and warm and
gooey...YUM!


It was so much fun, I think we'll have to make it a family tradition for the 4th of July! Hope you all have a wonderful week...

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4th of July church picnic...

On Saturday, we had our annual church picnic celebrating the Fourth of July. Of course the kids had a great time, the weather was Fourth of July-ish (hot), and we crammed a lot of fun into one day! Braden also had a baseball game that night...I promise I will post pictures from his games...one of these days. The season will be over in a few weeks, so I'll probably just post them at the end.

Anyway, here are some pictures taken at the picnic...

Braden joining the water balloon war with Pastor Sexton...


Bella with her little friend Ashley...


Evan having fun in the sand...


Bella on the waterslide...she was so excited, but then she
backed out when she climbed to the top and saw how far
down it is. I had to give her a loving push. ;0)
Then she loved it of course!


To celebrate Independence Day and Ringo's day off work, we did some fun family stuff...I will post pictures of that soon. It was cute to hear Braden today trying to explain to Bella why we celebrate on July 4th. He had almost all the details right. :)

To all my family out there, I missed you today. This is one of those mandatory "get-together" holidays...it always makes me a little homesick to be 500 miles away on those days. I hope you all had a great time celebrating...we love and miss you!!!

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