HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPENCER!!!

We had so much fun at the Brannan's house tonight with the McClendons and Tom and Barb (Spencer's mom) celebrating Spencer's birthday! It's such a blessing to be such good friends with our business partners......

Go MobiMark!

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YOU'VE GOT TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!

Spencer's Mom told us that if you all call each other's cell phones at the same time and have pop corn kernels in the center, the radioactive waves heat up the kernels and make them pop!

Yeah.....we didn't believe it either.........but, I guess it is a "YouTube" fad!

FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!

My Grandma's (Ma) house is officially FOR SALE as of yesterday! What a bitter sweet time for us all! This wonderful house (302 E Benson Street) has SO many wonderful memories packed into every crevice of it! These wonderful memories are definitely in my heart as well. There are too many to write here......but I found this picture of my Ma and Papa on their 50th wedding anniversary standing in their kitchen! What a wonderful evening that was - I was in high school, and I sang "Deep Purple" to them (their song) standing in their living room!

Ma is so happy living at "Maple Knoll"....she has made many friends quickly, is very involved and really is enjoying herself! Praise God for that!

THANKFUL THURSDAYS.....

Today I am thankful for Beth Moore! She is a phenomenal Christian speaker, author, and ministry leader. She is known for "presenting the Scripture in living color". She brings joy and excitement in Christ to life through words. Her deep love for the Savior is so obvious. Her style of speaking is so electric. She loves the Lord, loves to laugh, and loves to be with His people.
Every Wednesday at Cornerstone Church, I have been attending a study by her called "A Heart Like His" - it is a study on the life of David. I have learned so much, and have really grown in my faith. Beth has such a gift of communication. She "tells it like it is", and is a true Southern woman. Of course you know I LOVE to listen to her accent, and her little stories from the south!

She is passionate about women knowing and loving the Word of God.

Sweet Moments.....

Max and Luke wanted to put Sam to bed tonight......

I peeked in on Luke reading his book to him!

Then the boys sang him his favorite song! Sam LOVED this, look at his sweet face...

Granna and Grandpa's Ghostly Gathering!

We had a GREAT time at Granna and Grandpa's Halloween Party tonight! Granna really out did herself with awesome decorations, delicious Mexican food, and FUN games for ALL of us. We are so glad they are back and that we can all be together again! YEAH!

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Granna thought of the BEST GAMES! Here we are doing the cotton ball relay race....

And here is Grandpa demonstrating the Marshmallow in the mouth with NO HANDS game!

And last but not least.....Bobbing for Apples!!!!

Luke's Halloween Party!

Luke's class got to wear their PAJAMAS today to school! This afternoon, Sam and I were invited to his class Halloween Party! It was FUN! The class had 4 different "centers" where they made fun Halloween crafts, treats, and even played sight word Bingo! We then visited Max's class and saw them celebrating at their Harvest Party!

We're getting excited for TONIGHT!!!

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TRICK OR TREAT!

What a fun night we had! We started our night at the Rasmussen's for yummy chili, pictures, and a few houses for trick or treating with our cousins, Papa and Grandma! Then off to the Bragelman's for more trick or treating with our cousins, Granna and Grandpa! We ended our time with a carnival at the Vineyards church. The boys loved being with all their cousins, getting dressed up, and of course getting lots and lots of FABULOUS candy. What a FUN night!

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FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!

Today for Flashback Friday I am taking a walk down Halloween memory lane......

2001 - Max as a Pumpkin

2002 - Max as a Clown

2003 - Max as a Lion

2004 - Max as Mickey Mouse and Luke in Pumpkin Pajamas!

2005 - SPIDERMEN!

2006 - POWER RANGERS!2006 - Sam was 12 days old.....

2007 - Ninja Max, Clown Luke and Scarecrow Sam!

Stay tuned for this years pics!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

THANKFUL THURSDAYS....

Today I am thankful for my gym, Mountainside Fitness. This wonderful gym I go to 4 times a week gives me the strength and energy I need to be a healthy wife and mommy to my boys! They have an AWESOME childcare that the boys love to go to.....they have WONDERFUL classes and equipment that I love to do....the locker rooms are super nice with a nice steam room I love to use....and better yet, I have my friend, Lynn there to work out with.....what could be better! The regular classes I take there are Cardio Kickboxing on Tuesdays, and a Muscle Class on Fridays. I feel so refreshed and ready to take on the day after a great workout at my awesome gym!

Thank you Mountainside Fitness for making what could seem like a CHORE a very enjoyable experience for me!

Carving our pumpkin

We had fun carving our pumpkin tonight with cousin Julia! Their favorite part was digging out all the GUNK inside!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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SAM'S BIRTHDAY PARTY!

What a precious party we had today at the park! Sam had SO MUCH FUN at his "Barney Birthday Party" with his family and friends. We played fun games (Barney Cake Walk, Candy Hunt, Tag, and Basketball), but honestly....the thing Sam wanted to do the most was dance and sing next to the boom box we had at the party playing Barney music! It was priceless! We were going to have the Barney music just playing in the background, and then it became the focal point of the party. So we finally just made a circle and had them all dance with Sam leading the group! He was the LIFE OF THE PARTY for sure. Rich and I were talking about him last night and we think they need to put a picture of Sam next to the definition of "joy" in the dictionary. He is pure JOY - our sweet sweet Sam

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!

He was so cute while we were singing to him! He got a little timid when it was time to blow out the candle!

This was him dancing and singing to his Barney music!

Halloween Party!!!!

What a fun night we had at Mary and Jim's annual Halloween Costume Party! We brought Rick and Laurie (Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons) with us and had a BALL! Rich and I went as a golfer and caddy.

Mary is AKA Martha Stewart - she had unbelievable decorations, food and drinks....SO CREATIVE - she really has a gift! We had a BLAST!

Before we headed to our party, we dropped off Max at HIS fun Halloween Costume Party at his friend, Lexi's house!

He had a BLAST with his friends from school.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!

Because Max was so understanding and sweet about me going on Luke's field trip to the farm yesterday, and not his field trip (both field trips were on the same day) - I decided to show pictures from HIS visit to the farm when he was in Kindergarten! It was October 25, 2005 and we went to Mother Nature's Farm.....the children did a petting zoo, chose a pumpkin and painted it, went on a hay ride, and ran through a hay maze! Max had such a great Kindergarten class, we are SO blessed to be at Bright Beginnings School - we just LOVE it! This is when it all started...with Max's precious little P.M. Kindergarten class!

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THANKFUL THURSDAYS....

Today on this Thankful Thursday.......

I am thankful for my mom and dad - Allen and Sandy Hank!

I am so thrilled that they live here now. It's so wonderful to share in this new season of life with them - Retirement and Grandparents!

There are so many things I love about them - but the one that sticks out is how supportive they are. There is not one performance, recital, game, etc. that they will not try to be at! Ever since I can remember they were at any event I was a part of. Even watching me as a cheerleader on the sidelines! And now they are here to share in all of the wonderful events all our kids are a part of.

So....thank you Mom and Dad! They have birthdays coming up in the next few days! October 25 is Dad and October 28 is Mom....Happy Birthday!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

We love you, Granna and Grandpa

Field Trip to Schnepf Farm!

Max and Luke both had field trip today! Max's class went to Casa Grande to a Corn Festival where they learned all the wonderful things about corn (different types, the parts of corn, good eating habits, they tried "Johnny Cake"and were able to pick their own corn, and run through a fun corn maze! Luke's class went to Schnepf Farm where they rode fun rides (with a super fun roller coaster that I enjoyed as well!), had a petting zoo, rode a train, enjoyed gorgeous weather, and at the end were able to pick their own pumpkin! I really wanted to be at both field trips - but because I couldn't be at 2 places at once......I went on Luke's field trip - Max agreed that I should go on his because it was his first one and as Max put it, "I remember how much fun I had on my farm field trip in Kindergarten, Mom, and I think you should go with him." Luke and I had a FABULOUS time!

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50th Day of School!

Today is the 50th day of school! So all the Kindergarten classes dressed like the 50's! They had a "sock hop", root beer floats, a bubble gum blowing contest, and all of their centers revolved around the 50's!

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An added bonus to today was that Luke completed some of his "I Can" Objectives for school. The students got a list of objectives that they have to complete before November - they include: your phone number, writing your first and last name, your street address, your mom and dad's first and last name, writing all upper and lower case letters, recognizing at least 20 sight words, writing your first and last name, tying your shoes, etc. For each objective you complete, you give a canned good for a food drive. Luke was able to do 5 today - and did them in front of the class! I had the joy of seeing him do it! Here he is telling everyone his address - I taught him a song to remember it - so he sang it to everyone!!

MUSICFEST REHEARSAL!

Tonight was our first rehearsal for Arizona Musicfest 2009! You can check out all the wonderful things that are happening with Arizona Musicfest at http://www.azmusicfest.org/ - the concert I'm in is under "Festival" click on "Concerts" and it is "Celebrating Heroes, Celebrating Peace" - it will be a wonderful night! I encourage you to come! We are performing Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams on February 26 - our former director and good friend, Robert Moody is the Musicfest director - he now is the Music Director of Winstom-Salem's Symphony in North Carolina - so we miss him dearly! It was so wonderful to be with him and other friends last night! We went out to dinner after rehearsal last night and had some more fun!

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A VISIT WITH MRS. BRAGELMAN!

Sam and I visited Lynn at school today! She is the long term substitute for a first grade class at Gilbert Elementary (the same school Daniel, Julia, Kyle and David go!). This was their first day back after being off for a week for fall break, so we decided to surprise her with a nice big diet coke (her favorite!). We also got to see Julia's class and Kyle's class walking to lunch! We then were entertained by her class.....they sang "Happy Birthday" to Sam, and then sang some of their favorite songs that Lynn had taught them!

There's Julia!

Here's Mrs. Bragleman's first graders singing "1st grade smile"

Suns Game with Grandpa!!!

Max got to go to a Phoenix Suns basketball game with Grandpa, cousin Daniel, and Bill Johnson (who is visiting from MN) tonight! It was an AWESOME game....2 overtimes and we WON! How awesome that Grandpa lives here so we can make fun memories like this!

THANK YOU, GRANDPA! WHAT A FUN NIGHT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAM!

Today is Samuel's 2nd birthday! We had such a FUN FILLED DAY! We first greeted him in the morning with the HAPPY BIRTHDAY song, then we headed to KRISPY KREME for Sam's FREE DOZEN donuts! Then we went to the park for some playing and shooting baskets! Then to Souper Salad with Grandpa (Granna is in Ohio) for lunch, then straight to Grandpa's for swimming! Right when we arrived home, Papa and Grandma were there at our house to greet the birthday boy with a special present! Bowling pins and bowling ball! It was a very fun day for a very happy 2 year old!

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We all greeted Sam with the Happy Birthday song this morning - check out his sweet, shy, and totally confused face!

Check out PARTY BOY as we were driving home from FUN swimming with Grandpa!