Memorial Day

Dan, the kids and I all met the Shoppach's at the lake today to take a ride on their boat.  We all had such a great time relaxing and taking in some tubing, wake boarding and skiing.  Thanks Shoop's!

This is me on the tube with the kids...you can barely see my head!

After a fun day in the sun, the kids were sleepy so we headed home and Dan and kids napped while I showered and got us all ready to go to a cookout at the Monahan's. 

Kevin had the brilliant idea of making this huge slip-n-slide on the side of his hill.  The kids absolutely had a blast!

Ariel just pushed Ainsley down the hill.

And there she goes!

Hope you all had a fantastic day!  I know we did!

Washing the Car

A few weeks ago, the kids and I washed the car together.  We washed, scrubbed, sprayed each other and had a blast getting all the dirt off of the car.  Who knew that a bucket of water and some suds could keep these kids entertained for nearly an hour!?

Sweet and Silly Faces of the Cole Kids

Click on the pics to view them larger!

 

We were just messing around in the backyard a few days ago and I got these pictures of my sweet kids.  Oh how I adore these faces!

My Mother's Day

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be a mom!  WOW!  I am blessed!  When I look at these two beautiful faces I see nothing but God's glory being given to me.  These kids are God given and I was chosen to be their mother...what a privilege! 

Caleb brought home a sweet mother's day sack from school on Friday.  It had a small flower inside planted in a pot that read "Mom, your love is planted in my heart".  He was SO proud to give it to me.  His eyes just lit up!

He also made these two pages for me. 

This is what Ariel had for me...such a sweetheart with her bed head!

And this is from my wonderful husband.  He got on his hands and knees and scrubbed my kitchen floor for me, he washed windows and cleaned out my microwave.  He is so good to me!

We had my mom over for dinner last night.  We had BBQ Pork sandwiches, Cheese Grits, boiled eggs, purple hull peas and then chocolate silk cheese cake for dessert!  What a great day!

What it takes to make the goal...

The Coach goofing around with his daughter before the game..."Hey coach...quit goofing around and teach those boys to kick!"

A handsome boy gettin' ready for the game.

Now the team-mates are goofing around...See what that coach taught those boys! :)

Now here is a boy who is FINALLY getting ready to make some goals!

COME ON ORANGE...push that ball!!

Gotta hold that tounge JUST right!

Serious boy...

Of course you have to have something to keep the younger ones on the sidelines occupied!

High fives to the other team...Good game kids!

Last game of the season...what a great team!

Can't end the game without Cheetos and Capri Sun...hey at least the cheese won't show up on his jersey!

The most handsome player on the orange team!

The kids and coach Dan with their medals.

He was so proud of his medal!

GREAT job Caleb...way to make the goal!

Working in the Garden

Our family has officially planted our second annual garden this year.  We are so excited to see what the ground will give us!

Sibling Wrestling Match

The other night, Caleb was wrestling with Ariel on the floor and Dan happened to remember that he had a picture of him and his sister, Amy wrestling as well.  So I found the picture and decided to place them side by side...they are VERY similar!  Amy was about 7 or 8 and Dan was about 4.  Caleb is almost 6 and Ariel is 3.  These are the pictures we will cherish forever!

Bargains and an Earthquake

As I was trying on clothes this morning I came across a problem that I haven't had to face in a VERY long time.  All my clothes are TOO BIG!!!  Not only are they too big but the style of them just doesn't cut it for me when I am not trying to cover up bulges anymore!  Then, I came across another problem...I didn't have a ton of money to spend on getting new clothes.  I decided to go to Goodwill today to see what I could find and man o man I found some good deals!

I started in the little girls section and had NO LUCK there.  Then I went to the boys section and found a hooded Razorbacks sweatshirt, a navy blue and yellow jacket from Land's End and a perfect pair of jeans from JC Penny in a size 6 slim...PERFECT (his size 5's are getting a little too short in the length!)

So here are the bargains that I got for myself...

Two pairs of capri's:  the black pair are SUPER cute from Ann Taylor and the others are from NY&Co.  The olive pair has some oil stains on them but I know just the thing to get them out.  FYI...use lighter fluid to get oil stains out...spray a stream of lighter fluid on the stain and then wash immediately and the stain will disappear.

Then I got all these cute tops and another pair of shorts.  The shirts are from NY&Co., Polo, Old Navy, Gap JC Penny (or Khol's) and Walmart.  The shorts are from Target. 

And I was also able to get Ariel two pairs of dress up shoes and a little purse that had sunglasses and a cell phone in it!

So, I guess you are probably wanting to know how much the grand total was, huh?  Well, it was $46.00...can you believe it??  I was shocked!

On another note.  We had a 2.5 earthquake here in NWA.  I didn't feel anything since I was on the road heading to Goodwill but Dan was home and he said that he felt it.  He said that it felt like someone slamming a door downstairs.  Pretty crazy!

Prayers Needed

We have some close friends that have just recently found out that the baby that they are carrying has a severe heart defect.  The doctors don't expect him to make it to term.  I wanted everyone that I know to know about Kyle and Christie and to lift their little boy Tristan up and pray for a miracle.  This family has been through so much.  Pray for peace and understanding and allow them to see God's hand in this situation.  You can read all about their journey with Tristan and also the endurance that they have faced with already having one child with a heart defect here.  Please follow their blog and pray for this little boy.