This just in…. June 20, 2007

Nana came through with some pictures, I can’t post them all (from my cell phone) but here are a few to let you know that Josh did in fact turn 11, I didn’t neglect him, he had a birthday party!

<——cool cookie cake! thanks Nana

He got some loot and some cool gifts, more are on the way from us – we hope (please U.S. Post Office do your job!!!)

Thank you to all that sent gifts and cards for Josh, he is so excited about his upcoming shopping spree (even though I had to give some marching orders!!).

Josh, Abbie and Josh’s friend Wade at the party ——>

<—–Josh and his loot!!!!

More pictures to come!

June 19, 2007

So, 2 years ago we started a new tradition for summer break with the kids it’s really kind of a cool thing (for us anyway!!!) – We ship our kids off TO MILITARY SCHOOL!!! ha ha no actually to my parents house for most of summer vacation – why you ask??

Well, for starters, it’s lets the kids have some quality time with their grandparents, and other family members “up North”. It also helps us our enormously with the cost of child care during the summer! Saving $2,000 on summer care is a HUGE blessing… and of course there is the obvious benefit – HONEYMOON alone time for us!!!! Now, call me what you will, these few weeks that Tony and I have together are always a blessing! Not to mention that the kids are loving getting spoiled rotten in Ohio, get to see their Grandma Joy in Pennsylvania and other various relatives that are on that end of the country! So it’s a blessing all around!

Kids enjoy it SO much that, for example, last night Josh had a birthday party up there and I called to see how it went..he talked to me for just a few brief minutes and then…the giggles started and the talkingwhileyou’reonthephonetoanotherperson started..and *POOF* I, mom, was forgotten to a world of ice cream for dinner and friends spending 3 nights in a row and the cool new pool at Nana and Papa’s house… so much for missing me!!

It’s fine though, I get to work a few more minutes, get to be lazy on Saturdays with my Darling hubby…less laundry, less cooking…all in all I suppose it’s fine…yes…for now, ask me again in about 4 weeks, when I begin to miss them terribly and even the Noah (the Cockatiel) isn’t a good replacement for two of the sweetest kids in the world….

Tony makes everyone laugh because he just shouts AMEN whenever anyone asks if he’s okay with them being gone so long…I think he likes me! Maybe just a little!! He’s a definite keeper!

Hopefully we’ll have pictures soon, got to get on that Nana lady about that….

12 Years and counting….. June 18, 2007

Happy anniversary…………………….

Walk with me, the path of life, to explore every bend of the road

Enjoy with me the beauty of life, along its wonderful way

Find comfort with me, in each other’s arms, when grief crosses our path

Find strength with me, in each other’s strength, when despair lies in wait

Laugh with me, a single true laugh, to enlighten another’s distress

Cry with me, a single true tear, to understand true happiness

Cherish with me, the wonders of life, as they need to be preserved

Rejoice with me, in the mysteries, of what is yet to be

Find peace with me, in each other’s souls, when the world has gone insane

Find love with me, in each other’s hearts, until this life has been fulfilled

And when the path comes to an end we can say

We’ve known the beauty of true love, our love came from above

My sweet husband, I love you more than you know, for so many reasons. Thank you for spending these last 12+ years with me, and I can’t wait to see what God has for us in the next 12…

Love,

Corey

Happy Birthday Joshua!!!!!!!!!! June 12, 2007

It’s hard to believe that you are 11!!! It seems just yesterday you were curled up in my arms, all chubby and rosie cheeked…

I remember your first word, your first step and especially that contagious little grin of yours. I remember the many times you fell, and picking you up, but you were such a strong little fella, that the tears were short lived and you were ready to conquer the world again – stitches and all. I remember your first day of school in Peru and how proud you were of riding to school in your very own taxi…and your first day here in the states…nervous and scared and happy all at once….. Your first time on a roller coaster at Cedar Point, and how you came off it saying “that was awesome….but I think I’m going to throw up…..” with a huge grin on your face!!!! I remember when you accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour and your joy at that moment and how you’ve grown in Christ since then and your love for the Lord.

Now, looking at you, growing up into a fine young man, we are so proud of who you are becoming, and so glad that God gave you to us. We often thank God for you, for allowing us to be your parents, and for making you such a blessing to be around. Our prayer is that you seek God in all you do, remain faithful to him in good times and bad, and grow up to glorify Him.

Happy Birthday Champ. Have a great day! We love you so much….

On Top of Ole Smokey..well Lookout…. June 7, 2007

We traveled “above the clouds” Tuesday to the Civil War battle grounds of Point Park on top of Lookout Mountain. It is an amazing little park rich in history with breathtaking views of Chattanooga, the mountains, and the river.. here is a brief overview:

Lookout Mountain rises over the Tennessee Valley like a monolith, its steep sides protruding to the sky. The mountain, more than 1200 feet above the valley floor beneath it is surrounded on three sides by a near vertical rock wall that has afforded protection to the occupants of the top for hundreds of years.
The mountain is known for a unique weather phenomenon. Sometimes, after a clear dawn, a layer of fog descends toward the valley below, stopping about halfway down the peak. This inverted fog has been written about since the first whites visited the area sometime before 1735. It was on a fateful day, November 24, 1863, that this weather anomaly set in, creating the most poetic name for any battle in the American Civil War, The Battle Above the Clouds.
Moving 12,000 men west of Chattanooga, “Fighting Joe” Hooker turns south, crosses Lookout Mountain Creek and encounters some 1200 Rebels entrenched in the side of Lookout Mountain, under the command of Carter Stevenson. Ordered to “fall back fighting” the Rebels withdraw towards the northern face of Lookout Mountain under the cover of artillery positioned at the peak of the mountain. The only heavy fighting takes place at Cravens House, a rocky respid from the sheer north slope of the mountain. Three brigades of Rebels successfully form a line against three Federal divisions and actually launch a counterattack.
General Braxton Bragg orders Stevenson to withdraw and join him on Missionary Ridge for the battle to come in the morning. Hooker takes the mountain with 629 causalities and only 81 deaths.
Ulysses S. Grant would later write “The Battle of Lookout Mountain is one of the romances of the war. There was no such battle and no action even worthy to be called a battle on Lookout Mountain. It is all poetry.”

I never cease to be amazed at the rich history that surrounds us, I am so glad that our children have an interest in it. I am most amazed at the beauty of it all, we live in a great country and serve an even greater God.