Our 7th Anniversary!

This past Sunday, Steven and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. Just like last year, we took a trip to the NC mountains, without the kids, for a little getaway. Thanks to Tammy and Kyle, we had a beautiful place to stay, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous while we were there. We left our kids with my parents (they had a great time while we were gone), and headed up to Todd on Thursday night. On Friday we slept in late, spent some quality time talking through what we've learned over the past year, and then ventured into the town of West Jefferson for lunch and shopping. We enjoyed eating at some of our favorite restaurants - Shokudo and Smoky Mtn Barbeque for lunch and dinner. On Friday night, we went to see Footloose (the new one) at the only theatre in West Jefferson. It was definitely a different movie-going experience than we're used to with the AMC theatres in Charlotte! There were only two movies available and only two showings on Friday night - 7 and 9 PM. The seats were $5 each (what a great deal!!), and the locals were super friendly. We had lots of fun.

On Saturday, we ventured out to Burnt Hill Stables (where we took the kids on Labor Day weekend) to ride some horses. This was Steven's first horse ride! We went on the "easy" trail for an hour, and the views were fabulous. Here we are, on our horses:


I rode on Mouse, and he was lots of fun! He galloped when I kicked him and was quite obedient when I pulled on the reigns. Steven's horse, Lacy, on the other hand, wasn't quite as obedient. She didn't move any faster at all even when Steven gave her strong nudges in her sides. He still enjoyed the ride, though! Here I am, with that sweet horse, Mouse:


Saturday afternoon, we were both tired out, so we took naps and ordered pizza for take out. We ended up finding the movie "Secretariat" on TV. It was quite a fitting movie for our day since we'd just spent some time with horses ourselves!


On Sunday, we decided to hike Mount Jefferson. We had taken our kids there in May and then my parents and our kids in August, but Steven and I had never hiked it just the two of us. It was a refreshing hike and we enjoyed breathtaking views at the top of the mountain. Here we are on top, at Luther Rock:



After hiking and getting a bite to eat, we decided to take one last horseback ride. We thought it would be nice to try the "more difficult" trail this time. It turned out to be an awesome sunny day with temps in the 80's, so it was perfect for riding. Steven asked to be put on any horse except Lacy! I rode on Rocky, who kicks if other horses get too close (because the guides had determined that I was the most experienced rider of our group! haha!), and Steven rode on Dollie, who is a rodeo horse. Dollie proved to be much more responsive to Steven's instructions than Lacy had been! We absolutely loved the "more difficult" trail! We were able to go through fields of Christmas trees, a creek, and a deep forest. It was wonderful, and we enjoyed every minute of it! Here is a picture we took while on the ride through the Christmas trees:


Here is Steven, galloping on Dollie:


After that ride, we came back to the cabin, rested, packed and headed for home. We stopped in Boone to have our anniversary dinner at The Peddler Steakhouse. We both enjoyed filet mignon as we celebrated seven years together (well, seven years married, and almost thirteen years together!!)


Here's to seven times seven plus more years together, baby! What a great weekend celebrating God's powerful work in our lives!

Tell me if you laugh!

Here are some recent conversations you might have overheard if you were a fly on the wall in our home...

Steven: Elise did you hit Isaac?
Elise: Yes, I hit Isaac. 
Steven: Why did you hit Isaac?
Elise: Atause I said so!
Steven: Elise, do not hit your brother again.
Elise: Yes man (her pronunciation of "yes ma'am")
Steven: Yes sir
Elise: Yes man
Steven: No, say yes sir
Elise: Yes saah

On Steven's birthday, Isaac asked if it was his (Isaac's) birthday. I said, "No, today is Daddy's birthday; your  birthday is in November buddy."  Then Isaac asked, "Does it start with "No" because it's not today?"

Me (Betsy): Is that a booger on your chin?
Isaac: Yes, it is the one I took out while we were at Mr Rick's.
Me: So, you took it out and put it on your chin?
Isaac: No, I threw it down but it flew up on my chin.

Check out these cutie pies!

Sweet!

A little more birthday fun!

The Saturday before Steven's birthday, I decided to surprise him with a birthday celebration, just the two of us. I got a babysitter and we left the house in the mid-afternoon. I took him to a spa, where we had a side-by-side couples massage. Then we went out for a three hour dinner at the Melting Pot. After that, we finished our night out with a guy movie (Moneyball). It was a great day to honor my awesome man. (And he really liked it!!)

At the spa:

At the Melting Pot (notice the chocolate drizzled into the words "Happy Birthday!"):


*The first time we went to the Melting Pot was 12+ years ago on our "six month dating anniversary." We laughed and reminisced at how much has happened since then!

A GREAT day celebrating a Really Really Super Duper GREAT guy!

Steven's birthday! (the third and final birthday post for a while...)

Steven's birthday was last week, and we had a family dinner on his birthday night to celebrate. My parents, Kati, Michelle, BJ and Carly were able to join us, and we had a great time! We took lots of pictures that night, and here are some of them to summarize the night...

Isaac helped me make the Dirt Pie that Steven had requested for his cake:


Everybody around the table, enjoying our pizza:


BJ and Isaac:


Carly and Elise:


Carly, BJ and Isaac, playing in the tent we'd set up in our living room:


Birthday Boy, blowing out his candles on the Dirt Pie:


Kati and my Dad:


Steven, trying out his gift from my Dad - a step-on piano: (yay! a new instrument for Steven to master!)


The kids quickly took over:


Siblings! Steven and his big sister Michelle:


She does this when she eats too much birthday cake: (just kidding... she does this whenever she gets a hold of this net)


Isaac loves football, so he had to show off his helmet for BJ:


Sisters!! Kati, Michelle, and me:


We had a great time celebrating Steven's life together. We are all blessed to know such a wonderful guy. Happy Birthday Baby!!!

Three decades!

Six days after Elise's 2nd birthday, I (Betsy) celebrated my 30th. It was a wonderful day and evening as I reflected on the past ten years and welcomed this new decade.

During the day, my parents watched Elise and Isaac so that I could get a little pampering. That night, Steven sent the kids off with his friend Donnie so that we could go out. What I didn't know was that he'd planned a surprise party with friends and family at a local restaurant. Donnie had brought the kids there to help set up, and when we arrived, the back room was decked out with Pink, Black, and "Another Year of Fabulous" decor. I had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and feeling the love.

Here I am, with my cake. :)


Elise and me: (I was able to steal a picture with her, but not with Isaac)


I was thrilled that my family could be there, including my Granny and Pawpaw. Here they are, with me:


Isaac and Elise had a blast surprising me. So much so that Isaac is still talking about it! I am so thankful for such a sweet husband who was so thoughtful to plan a special night for me. I love you babe!!!

Elise's 2nd Birthday!

On September 30th, our little lady turned two years old!

She has grown SO much over the past few months, especially in the area of communication. She talks in mostly complete sentences now; for example, "I need my pappy." or "I wanna go Ba Nanna's house." We often hear her telling Isaac, "Because I said so Isaac!" Her personality seems to indicate that she is very strong-willed, a natural born leader and a social butterfly. She hasn't had any trouble getting comfortable with preschool. In fact, she rarely tells me goodbye once we get there. Instead, as soon as she crosses the threshold into her classroom, she enters with an enthusiastic, "Hey!!!" and heads in to hug her friend Amelia and greet her teachers.

She is also a little singer and dancer. She loves to sing and memorizes new songs quickly. Her latest songs to pick up are: We Bow Down (by Twila Paris; we sing this in our Bible time at night), God Our Father (prayer at preschool lunchtime), and Rock a Bye Baby (also learned at preschool). She certainly loves the spotlight and being the center of attention (Isaac is the opposite of this!) For example, at a recent family dinner, she stood up in her chair and announced, "I poopy!" with a grin on her face. Our extended family was so tickled that they laughed out loud, and Elise loved getting the attention. She proceeded to say "I poopy!" and laugh at herself again, thinking she'd get more laughs from her audience. We tried to stifle them, but she was so cute and the little comedian in her just pulled us in.

We had a family party to celebrate Elise's birthday, and her are some pictures we took:

The cake:


The fam:


Carly and Elise:


Getting excited about the cake:


Loving the cake:


Mommy, Daddy, and Birthday Girl:


Opening presents: (some of her gifts included a baby doll (from Gramps and Nana), complete with diaper bag and bottles; a dollhouse (from Mommy and Daddy) with furniture; a cute zebra-striped outfit (from Michelle, BJ, and Carly), and some money (from Gi-gi and Pawpaw))


Changing baby's diaper for the first time:


Exploring the dollhouse:


After the cake and presents, the iPad games took center stage... BJ, Isaac and Steven, playing one together:


Gramps had all the kids entertained:


After all the birthday fun, Elise was so exhausted that she fell asleep in Steven's arms during her breathing treatment:


Happy Second Birthday precious Elise Jeannette!

Family Bible and Worship Time

(Steven's First Post!)

Given the ages of Isaac and Elise, Betsy and I have been discussing the importance of having a regular time of Bible reading, discussion, and worship through song - all in order to teach the kids biblical truths and help them connect with the Lord even now. After looking at a variety of Children's Bibles, we finally found the one fit for a 3-year old.

Isaac has been very engaged during each Bible story reading we've done. He asks question after question after question. It is so neat to see his little "wheels" turning as he seeks to understand the text and what is occurring in the illustrations.

Here are a handful of questions Isaac asked tonight:

Is that broken? (Isaac's pronunciation is broh-keen). This was in reference to an illustration that showed Abel's staff being broken as Cain killed Abel.
Those (nail prints) aren't good, are they? (Isaac's response to seeing the holes in Jesus' hands)
Is Jesus gonna stay in the clouds? (Isaac asked this after seeing an illustration of Jesus' ascension)
Is God gonna take those (nail prints) away? (It really hit me when Isaac asked this. He seemed genuinely concerned for Jesus. I told him that the nail scars do not hurt anymore, but they will remain forever as a remembrance of how Jesus saved us!)
Is Jesus going up to help God feel better? (in the first story we read about God being sad over Cain killing his brother Abel.)

It's so amazing to see our children grow and learn!

New things around the house...

A new way to display the artwork that the kids bring home from preschool, as well as the things they make here:


This is in our stairwell, and our bright yellow walls are a perfect background for the multicolored projects they bring home. Isaac helped me put this up, and both kids ooh'd and ahh'd over it! They love seeing their work hanging up. And I love having it as part of our decor, but in an organized way. (Rather than taped up all over the cabinets and walls like I did last year. That was fine, but I'm liking this a whole lot more!)

Next, a wall calendar... looks like a month calendar, but I used a friends' idea and made it for a week, broken out by each person in our family. We aren't quite busy enough for this to be completely necessary, but I'm thinking that within the next year or so, as the kids get a little older, we will grow into this system. I figured I'd better get used to keeping a calendar for the family (rather than just my personal planner) so that we're armed when the time comes that we really need it. And it looks pretty cool in our hallway...


Isaac's new bunk bed! This was my dad's when he was a little boy. Then it was Kati's... now it is Isaac's, and he loves it! He doesn't sleep on the top, but it's there if we need it, it looks cool, and the kids love to climb up there to play. Thanks to my Mom for the orange sheets!!


And a bonus... these two sweet things!



It's pretty cool to watch our home change as our family grows. :)

Elise's homework...

Well, mine actually. Elise's preschool teacher asked the parents to create placemats for the kids that can be laminated and used at lunchtime. Here is the one I made for Elise:



I happened to have some old pictures from Memorial Day 2010 that had most of our family in them, so I thought those would be perfect. The project was completed with Care Bear stamps, a banana sticker, a "Goodness" character quality sticker, and a cookie sticker (compliments of the preschool teachers.) Nothing like bananas and Care Bears to tie it all together. :)

Isaac and the chopper

I came downstairs one morning last week to find Isaac chopping up all of our garlic. He was so proud of himself, saying he was getting the garlic ready for me to use for cooking...



Maybe he is a budding Iron Chef?!

Preschool starts!

After Labor Day, the kids started preschool. Isaac is in the three-year-old class, three days a week, and Elise is in the one-year-old class, three days a week.

Here is Elise, on her very first day:


Here are both of them, looking forward to a day of fun:



They both did well, and the drop-off was relatively smooth. It took Elise about two preschool days before she stopped fussing when I left. Isaac was a little clingy, but he watched me leave and waved, which seemed to help with the transition. They both love their classes and seem to be having a grand time.

Here's to a great school year!