Savannah's Life-Changing Prayer

I LOVE having lunch with this sweet girl

Last night as we were playing cards waiting for Dave to get home, a great spiritual dialogue began.  Preston was asking questions about being baptized and accepting Christ which prompted some good conversations with Savannah too. She completed the First Step class at our church a long time ago, but has never expressed to us an interest in being baptized.  We have had lots of talks about how we are all sinners and how asking Jesus into your heart forgives us of our sins, but tonight as she verbally sorted through some details, she says "I think I'm ready to be baptized!"  Hallelujah!  So after basketball practice tonight, when Preston was snugly in bed, Dave and I prayed with her and we are confident she is a Christian! :)  I cant' express how joyful my heart is.  So many people have prayed for her, but according to Savannah she accepted Jesus a long time ago and just didn't tell us.  She is certainly a child that has to reason through the details and we are thankful the Lord has worked in her heart and helped her take the next step!

Super Bowl Excitement

This week has been full of Panther excitement.  From school celebrations to YouTube videos and lots of talk, today has been a day we've all looked forward to for weeks.  We planned to watch the game in the *quiet* of our living room and were all excited to sport our new Panther shirts!  I promised the kids a fun dinner so they helped come up with some healthier options and then both assisted in setting up our buffet.

Savannah with our Super Bowl dinner spread

Although the home team isn't doing such a great job at the moment, we're praying they pull out a big win tonight!  I mean really, Savannah and I want to wear our shirts again tomorrow! :)  Keep Pounding Panthers!!!!

Snaggle Tooth

Preston got off the school bus this afternoon with one less tooth!!  Is he not adorable?!?  The best part is the note he crafted all on his own . . . "Dear Fairy, may I please keep my tooth?  May I please have 10 dollars?"

Hey, at least he used good manners. :)  When I saw it I started laughing so hard and he said "well maybe the tooth fairy will laugh so hard she'll drop the whole bag of money."  #wishfulthinking

One-On-One With Savannah

This weekend Preston got a last minute invite to the circus with a buddy from his class.  Dave and I took the opportunity to spend some one on one time with our sweet Savannah.  We dropped Preston off at 2 and then headed straight to see the newly released Kung Fu Panda 3.  Savannah had been wanting to go to the theater with reclining seats so she was super excited.

Once we got home we still had some time before Preston was due back so we enjoyed some girl time and left daddy at home to work while we went on a long walk.  Of course we stopped at the park for some playground time before heading home.  It's not often that I get to talk to her about school without lots of interruption so this time was treasured.

Before long our Peanut was home (super exhausted) but excited to show us his circus hat and tell us all about the circus.  It was certainly a fun way to spend a Sunday for us all!

Where Did January Go??

Super fun was had by all on our wonderfully steep driveway

I'm not sure where the month has gone, but between basketball games, practice, and non-stop craziness the it's already over!  We did have one ice storm that came through Thursday which managed to keep kids out of school Friday through Tuesday.  Thankfully there was enough snow/ice for the kids to play in Friday morning, but by Saturday the roads were mostly clear so I ventured out to run some errands.

We've spent a lot of time playing Dutch, our new game of choice

This kid is always willing to be my little assistant, even with clipping coupons!

We also managed to close on the sale of Aunt Kathy's house this month, which is a huge praise!  So now we head into February ready to wrap up the basketball season and celebrate Valentine's Day!

All He Wants is a Missing Tooth!

And he got it! :)  This kid always amazes me with his childlike faith.  He came home from school and said his front tooth was wiggly . . and that he had been praying it would come out. He chose an apple for snack (since Savannah said that would help his tooth to come out) and sure enough by almost dinner it was nasty and just hanging by a thread.  My kiddos know I do NOT do teeth so I begged him to just hold on and wait for daddy.  But he kept messing with it . . . and it was bleeding . . and well, honestly he couldn't possibly eat dinner with a front tooth all sideways so I gave in and put on my mama pants and pulled it!  Ahhh!  It helped a bit that I was afraid blood was going to end up on our white sofas and knew it needed to come out.  It was still gross and not something I want to do again, but he was SO proud.  He wrote a note to the toothfairy and requested a .50 coin and a dollar coin, which is just what this sweet kid got!   As an added bonus when I was in his class volunteering today I got to see him put a lost tooth sticker on the smart board calendar.  :)

It's a Happy New Year Weekend!

Dave and I had the kids in bed their normal time on New Year's Eve and we settled in to watch War Room around 8pm.  Shortly after the movie we hit the sack and reminisced about the years past when we stayed up to ring in the new year.  I have to say that in our early years of dating we have quite a few fun memories. :)  But this year we both agreed that sleep was more important and the new year would be waiting for us on Friday.  I was just thrilled to find out that Dave was going to be home New Year's Day!

NUTELLA!!!

We spent New Year's day mostly at home.  The kids loved playing multiple games with Dave.  Then, Savannah and I escaped for a bit around lunch to run some errands and get her some new shoes (now in women's sizes) and then we were home for lunch.  Savannah was SO excited to finally eat Nutella again.  I am so proud of her for making a resolution and sticking to it for an entire year.

We talked about resolutions a bit.  Savannah decided to be healthier by not eating PopTarts for breakfast anymore.  Not sure what she'll replace it with will be much healthier, but at least we agree PopTarts are bad.  Preston, doing pretty much everything that Savannah does,  decided not to eat PopTarts and Nutella as well.  However, after an hour of just thinking about it he decided he didn't need a resolution and ate both. :)  For me, after a year of being much healthier myself, my goal this year is to feed the family healthier.  Starting first with the kids' lunches.  It will be a slow gradual change, but I'm determined to help us all eat healthier this year.  I've also decided to add in a 7th weekly workout, nothing major but just another 30 minute minimum exercise set.  Dave, yeah, he refuses to make any kind of resolution!

Saturday morning we were all up and ready to head to Greenville, SC for the Clemson game.  It was a fun trip and a great game.  We stopped at the outlets on the way home and I used my Christmas money for a much needed new purse.  Sunday was business as usual.  

We have had a wonderful year in 2015 and look forward to what the Lord has planned for our family in 2016.  Here's to a year full of love, laughter, good health, and fond memories.  Happy New Year!!!