HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

Psalms 100:4-Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise: Give Thanks to him and praise his name!

2 Corinthians 9:15 - Thanks be to God for his indescribable gifts!

Just wanted to tell all our Family and Friends near and far HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We are so Thankful for each and everyone of you! Of course Thanks and Praise goes out to our Lord Jesus Christ for one another and our precious children. Mark and I were just talking the other day(and always) about how overwhelmed we are with God's provision in our life. Of course too personal and too much to go into, but everything from the journey of bringing us together,on to the 2 adoptions of our children to the building of this house,all of this in 4 short years.(has seemed longer!)
He is amazing, and we are so undeserving and we are Thankful for it all. Here are a few things the children said they were Thankful for:

Me and Mark:
God, each other, family, friends,our children's birth parents(without them we would not have them!) ,our house, car, food, work,our Russian experience and friends over seas, the gift and privilege of adoption, chocolate(oh, that's was me!) and so many, many more!!!

Andrew:
Mommy and Daddy, Morgan, Brennan(his favorite cousin Ha!)(all his family) all his cousins Ashton, Sheridan, Christian, Mee Mee, Paw Paw, Grand, Papa Mitch, Eric, Zachary, Abbe and Transformers!

Morgan: Mommy, Daddy, "Aden"(Andrew), bobbies(barbies) and candy!(oops)

Thank You God for choosing Mark and I for each other, our precious babies, our family, friends, all of our many, many, many blessings , the long journey we have been on and the "getting there" even though it hasn't always been fun, it has been a faith testing, learning, character building, life changing experience. Thank you God most importantly for your forgiveness, grace, mercy, and Son Jesus!! Thank You!!!
We are so blessed beyond our comprehension!
Pics to come, I am behind on my blogging again!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Update on the "Tinkerbell House"

Morgan now has a new name for our house, so here are the latest pics of "The Tinkerbell House". We are getting closer, but decided that it is looking more like the first of the year. Now it is just the last finishing touches and with the Holidays coming up, we are going to finish up and wait until about January 09. We couldn't think of a better way to ring in the new year!Mark finished the banisters on the front porch.
landscaping next week or so
Back of the house, grass, mulch, playground

Future spot for garland, lights and Christmas tree for 2009. I will be hitting the clearance sales this year! Thought it would be this Christmas, but it is all good!!!!Love my red paint and chandelier in the dining room. Excuse the dust!
Mark finished the (corbles)? also under the granite counter tops, didn't even know what a Corble was and I am sure I am not spelling it right. New Kitchen light over cook top.
Bar/kitchen/den area
Shelf aka Art Niche (Lee). Look familiar? Thought we would add some shelves to your design.
Excuse the mess and fan with no blades. I actually spent saturday cleaning and dusting while Mark painted the garage.
Mark and Andrew's "Man Cave" .(they call it) Finally done. All the other rooms have carpet too.
(den)Foyer,columns, front door
(Den, coming from front foyer)
Well it is coming along slowly but nicely. We are on God's schedule anyway, although he seems to move slow, he is always right on time. It is amazing to see him at work and how EVERYTHING has worked out and fallen into place! When I get impatient or frustrated I hear the still small voice with the bible verse from he book of Luke: "Where much is gained, much is required". That is so true, but Praise God for it all and the journey here!!

Trip to Anna Ruby Falls

This past saturday my parents took me and the kids to Anna Ruby Falls for the day. The Fall leaves this year around the house have been the most beautiful I have ever seen,but they were also something to see in the North Ga. Mountains as well. Thank You God for your your beautiful scenery!














Thank You Mee-Mee and Paw-Paw for a fun day! We couldn't of picked a better weekend.

Andrew holding on for dear life, almost there buddy, same for you paw-paw
Those better not be bocca or veggie burgers Rick..aka victor, dad, paw-paw
Mom(mee-mee) and Morgan at the picnic table. Love that camera!




This is the biggest apple tree I have ever seen! We have picked about 6 dozen or more apples off of it in the past month. It is in our friends front yard, and now I have put in a request to Mark and our landscapers that I want an apple tree! Thanks Joel and Betsy, and I am waiting on your freshly, homemade apple pie Betsy!!!!

You know you're a redneck.............

You know you're a redneck when your form of entertainment you share with your kids and each other is a 35 foot scissor lift.Mark's lift he uses for work

We can almost see Andrew's "cubbie church" down the road. We were also able to "leaf look" while we were up there. Nice view. I would like to go star gazing next time he has it.
Abbe, Andrew and I believe that speck down below is my tahoe.
Abbe enjoying the ride up. Yes Melissa I had one hand on her at all times. And you trust me with your child!? She is a good sport, and loves heights!!!
I tried to talk Andrew in to riding the roller coaster at 6 flags with me, but he said he likes the lift better. I am surprised the kid even got on.
Mark, Me, Abbe, Andrew and yes Morgan too. Mark had a death grip on her next to him as he operated the lift, into some trees I might add. Sorry there wasn't any room for you Melissa, but thanks for taking the pic!
Well it doesn't take much. Thank You dear! Had fun! Can we take this to the new house? We can use it as a deer stand or go star gazing!?

Trick or Treating

After the fall festival at church, we took the kids to a neighborhood across the street from our house to trick or treat. It has been a Halloween tradition since we have had the kids after going to fall festivals. It is extra special because it is all of Mark's cousins. We hang out for a while, raid their candy bowls, and hit a few houses in the neighborhood. The kids had a blast! Morgan really enjoyed it being her first time she was able to trick or treat along side her brother. She caught on real quick. We may have to keep uo the tradition next year and come back . We are going to miss this part of the world. I am already getting emotional!! Imagine that!"TRICK OR TREAT!!"
"TRICK OR TREAT" Morgan thought you went into each house for a visit! Too Funny!!!
Even Iron Man gets tired!

She slept real good that night!!!! Even after all the candy, we wore her little pom, poms out!!!!
What a fun night!

Church Fall Festival

We all went to Andrew's "cubbie church"(he calls it) fall festival. It is a church near our house that had a fall festival on Halloween night. Andrew went there for preschool last year and goes to cubbies there now. We will miss it and all of our friends when we move. This was our last Fall Fling here.Our friend Abbe with Andrew and Morgan, AKA, Dorothy, Elmo Cheerleader and Iron Man.
Iron man and little cheerleader ready to go have some fun at the fall festival
Andrew and Morgan getting their picture made with Noah
I keep her caged up sometimes. She loves "the jumpy things"(moon walks) she can stay in them for hours! They would both stay in there for hours if I let them.
"Iron Man"!
She loved the preschool section of the festival. They had a blast. Might have to get her a tunnel, she loved it.
Didn't know Andrew was so good at darts. Got one on the first try!
He was also pretty good at shooting hoops. Way to go Iron Man!
Not bad throwing a football either. He is a well rounded athlete. Hope he does that well in t-ball next year!

Fishing for treasure. Goldfish crackers, her favorite!
Morgan is pretty good at the bean bad toss, she played it quite a few times. She had a blast too!She was able to do more this year and really enjoyed herself!
Mark showing Andrew the ropes. He hopes him and Andrew will hit the green very soon. He seems interested.
Well we finished off the festival with a hayride just before doing some trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood. We had a good time and enjoyed seeing some old friends. We may just come back next fall festival. We will miss our friends and this community when we move but will forever be in our hearts and we will always come back to visit our cousins and friends!