Hillcrest Apple Orchard

On Friday we all went to an apple orchard in Ellijay, GA. The kids really had a great time, especially Owen! They all got to milk a pretend cow and then shuck some corn. There was a wagon ride and a petting zoo also. Lettie and Ella were not crazy about the petting zoo. As you can see in the pictures, Ella was on top of her dad's back the entire time they were in the petting pasture. Lettie stood up away from all the animals near the gate. Owen could have stayed there all day. There was a calf that he loved. He also got to hold a baby chick that was born that morning. After the petting zoo, we went to the pig races. They all loved that. Then there was a big slide that went down the side of a hill. By the end of our tour, we were all pretty hungry. We made our way back to the market and got lots of goodies: apples, apple cider donuts(my favorite), peanut brittle, apple butter, and some apple cider.

Owen's Soccer Game

Owen played his first soccer game for the Jr Academy Roswell Santos. He did great! I am not crazy about soccer in general but I love to watch Owen play. He scored 4 goals. I am so proud of him. Jason is his coach. Like father like son--they both love soccer so much.

Ella Turns 4 & Owen's Baptism

Today was Ella's 4th birthday. We have been celebrating all weekend. Granny and PawPaw came Friday and Gran, Pappa, and Goosa-Granny came on Saturday. We have had a wonderful time! On Friday night we took Granny & PawPaw to Menchies. Saturday we went to Monkey Joe's. That has been Ella's wish all year long. Saturday was a crazy day to be there. It was very busy but the kids had a great time. After that we took the kids to Gran and Pappa's hotel and let them swim in the pool. By the time Saturday was over, they were EXHAUSTED!

Sunday was just as busy. Ella opened a present from Granny and PawPaw when she woke up, her own CD player with earphones! She loved it. PawPaw made homemade french toast and we put a candle in it and sang. Next, we were off to church. Mrs. Jan, Ella's Sunday School teacher, had made a cookie cake to celebrate Ella's and her friend Faith's birthday!

At church this morning, Owen was baptized. Our church showed a video of him giving his testimony. You can view the video at this website- www.//vimeo.com/14472906 (You may have to copy and paste. I having trouble doing a direct link). It was precious. I was so proud of him. He did a great job. Grace and Shanna Hand came from Jonesboro. It was also the 1 year anniversary of the Newside of Northside service. Kelly's Kakes did a beautiful job on a huge cake and sugar cookies with our logo on them. It was a great morning!

After church we had PawPaw's chicken salad for lunch and then birthday cake and baptism cake. Granny did a great job on both of them (thanks Granny!) Ella opened her birthday presents(Barbie in the Mermaid Tale stuff, money, a DS and a game, crafts, boots, a watch, etc.) and we had a great celebration.

Gearing up for a Big Weekend!

We are about to have a very busy weekend-an exciting one too! Jason's Mom and Dad are coming in tomorrow from Virginia and my parents and grandmother are coming in on Saturday. We have some special events taking place on Sunday: Owen is being baptized and Ella is turning 4! and the New Side of Northside service is celebrating 1 year. Big Day Huh!! Shanna and Grace Hand are coming up from Jonesborro and the Wards are coming up from Peachtree City. I am so glad that so many special friends are able to celebrate with us.
Sometime over the weekend we are planning to squeeze in soccer, Monkey Joe's (Ella's Birthday wish) and swimming (at the indoor pool in Gran & Pappa's hotel). Don't know if it will ALL happen but we are going to do our best!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post.....I am not sure why life has gotten so crazy all of a sudden. We have ALOT going on right now--we are loving every moment of it! God is blessing Northside and we are hanging on for dear life. Isn't He good! Be careful what you pray for! (many of you thought I would have learned that lesson when I prayed for an exciting birth story with my pregnancy with Ella!)
Speaking of Ella... In just 10 days my baby turns 4! Where does the time go? She wakes up every morning and asks me "Mom, is it my birthday yet?" The other popular question is "Is it getting close to Christmas?" There is never a dull moment with her. She is enjoying her dance class and has made a few friends. After her dance class we leave for about 2 hours while Lettie and Owen go to their other 2 classes. I thought that she would love having some alone time with her mom but she asks constantly "Can we go back and get Bubby and Sissy now?" Not sure how I feel about that. I realize that she really doesn't know life without them.

Everything is now in full swing. Fulton County schools started back today. Last night groups from our church met at several of the local elementary schools (other churches from the community were assigned the jr. and high schools) and did prayer walking. Ella was my partner so praying was quite challenging-she had a million questions to ask. They ranged from "Are you praying mom?" to "Can we go back now?" to "Is this penguin real?". We did have a great time together.
We are back to school too. The kids are back in Timothy Ministry on Tuesdays and Owen starts soccer practice tomorrow night. He is playing Jr. Academy here in Roswell. He will have practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights and then have games on Saturdays. We have officially moved from soccer "just for fun" to "serious business." Just one more evidence of the fact that he is growing up. He is so excited... He loves soccer so much.

This week has been very busy. Lettie said that she was ready to get started back to school. Yes, you heard me correctly. She was ready but Owen and I definately were not. So we compromised. We are easing back into it. We have started a few subjects but not all of them. On Tuesday the kids started back to Timothy Ministry at FBC Woodstock. Owen and Lettie were so excited to be taking more than one class. That meant that they went from one class to the next on their own. No help from Mom or anyone else. Guess it made them feel grown up. It made me kind of sad because I realized that they were growing up. Anyway, they loved it. Ella is also taking a ballet class there so she feels big because she is going to "school" too this year.
Our friend Mark Gore came down on Wednesday afternoon. He was meeting family in Atlanta and so he stopped through to say hello and drop some things off that we had forgotten in Danville. We showed him around our church and just had a good time catching up. Today I had some friends over for lunch. The kids were glad to have some friends to jump with them on their new trampoline.
Excited to go to the outlet mall this weekend with some friends from church then off to Jackson Ward's birthday party in Peachtree City. One other fun fact is that the Turners are moving to Georgia this weekend. We are so excited to have them here.
Things at Northside are going great! God is blessing tremendously. We are having so much fun! We are in awe of what God is choosing to do here. Owen is going to be baptized next month, actually it will be on September 12, Ella's 4th Birthday! He made a testimony video last night that will be shown the day he is baptized. Jason said he did a great job. I cannot wait to see it. Hopefully, I will post it here on our blog too.