Slick and Donna's visit

Slick and Donna Douglass are fellow triathletes and friends of ours. They are great people! They both have military backgrounds including experience flying F-16's. Donna even flew/fought in Iraqi Freedom and was the first female to fly the stealth bomber.

Donna was the one who took Jason up in their single engine prop plane for his 30th birthday.

She and Slick came and stayed at our house last weekend and spoke at our Church Sunday morning. They are getting ready to go to Africa and use their flying background on the mission field. They are going to be working for AIM (Africa Inland Missions).

You can read more about them on Donna's blog:

http://donnadouglass.wordpress.com/blogs/

Please pray for them as they start this next chapter of their lives with their little girl, Zoe.

Ian goes to the ELC

We moved Ian to Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church's Early Learning Center (ELC) on January 5th. We would have moved him straight there from First Baptist in October but didn't because the ELC only offers half day programs.

However, in December, we began to wrack our brains as to how we could work it out so that Ian could go there. My niece, Emma, went there, and my other niece Morgan goes there now. I have always really liked what they were learning. Plus, the ELC offers a Christ-centered curriculum, which we wanted for Ian. So, we decided to see if Holly Gunter (our youth pastor's wife who stays home and home schools her kids) if she would be willing to keep Ian in the afternoon. She agreed...so we then asked Erin to find if the ELC had a spot. They did...they had 1 spot left in the 2's. So, we took it!

So, Jason takes him every morning, my sister picks him and Morgan up and drops him off at Holly's...and then either Jason or I pick him up from the Gunters in the afternoon.

I am so thankful for Holly and my sister and for what they are doing to help us! Ian LOVES his new "big boy school" as he calls it and is excited about going everyday. He then looks forward to playing with Abby, Hannah, James, John, and Matthew in the afternoons. I am so happy that he's happy!

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year!!!

I am excited about 2010 and can't wait to see what all it has in store for our family!

We have several projects slated for 2010.

PROJECT #1: Convert Ian's bedroom to a BIG BOY room. Our goal is to have this complete by the end of January. I have several ideas floating around in my brain...but finding the time to do it is going to be challenging. Ian is still sleeping in his crib and still has a paci at night. It doesn't bother us that he still has a paci at night because hey, he's only 2. However, we both agree that we would like to get rid of the paci soon and we have been talking up his BIG BOY room and how he won't need his paci when he starts sleeping in his big boy bed. Wish us luck!

PROJECT #2: Convert waste-of-space "seating area" in our bedroom into a closet. We have one very tiny walk-in closet in our bathroom. However, you barely have room to turn around and it is kind of cramped with all of mine and Jason's clothes.

PROJECT #3: Jason wants to build a small building in the back yard to house the lawn mower, weed eater, and other tools. We desperately need to get some of those things out of the garage, clean out the garage, and get it organized. We still have boxes out there from when we moved LAST February. Sad, I know. They are mostly filled with Ian's baby clothes that we are holding on to in hopes of another child someday...but I am sure there are things out there that need to GO. Looking forward to PURGING!!

I am sure that more projects will come to light as we make our way through 2010...but these 3 are enough to get us started!! ;)

To start the New Year, we ate our collards and black eye peas today. We are hoping that it provides us with the money to do all of the projects listed above!! :)

God has blessed our family. I am so thankful for how He provides for us. In addition to these projects, I plan to spend more time in the Word this year. I pray Jason and I are the parents He would have us to be...to raise Ian in the way He would have us raise him. I pray that Ian sees Christ in us.

Here's to a New Year...2010!

New Years Eve

Jason went with the Youth on their Winter Retreat Wednesday, December 30th through January 1st. He went with them to lead the music. I had a very bad sinus infection so Ian and I didn't do too much. We went to Outback with my parents, sister and her family. Then, we all came back to our house to light a few sparklers. After the sparklers, we made pallets on the floor of my den, turned on the fire, popped some popcorn, and put in a movie, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." Emma, Morgan, and my mom spent the night. After the movie, we watched the ball drop and then we all went to sleep. It ended up being a really fun night!