Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

I can't believe she's 4! More birthday pictures soon.

Trick or Treating Fun

Lots of fun was had last night gathering tons of candy! Olivia has been counting down the days for a month. She was so serious going door to door and had a blast!!! We got about an hour in before it started raining. I'm glad we started early!

Olivia has been asking about the order of holidays for a while and she knows that her birthday comes next. So, this morning when she woke up she yelled down the stairs "Is it my birthday?!"

The picture doesn't do her justice! She was stopped by people over and over again commenting on how cute she looked. The tutu is from Cutie Patutuz.

Looking thrilled to have his picture taken!

Joe was supposed to be Bumblebee but lost his costume! Thankfully, we still had Peter the Great from last year.

Jackson's favorite part is coming back home to give out the candy!

Puppet Theater

This one of Olivia's Christmas gifts (shhh....don't tell her!) and I can hardly wait to give it to her!! I love that it is portable so we can take it anywhere we go! I think Jackson and Joe will enjoy it as much as Olivia! I can't wait to see some of the show they come up with.

Click HERE to go to Sew Shay and order yours!! You will be supporting an adoption fund while you shop!

Boutique Bottoms

I love these pants SO much...and so does Olivia! I just listed them in some new fabric at Livi Lu Originals.

Here's a Peek

At my newest listing at Livi Lu Originals.

Olivia is really enjoying being my model now. She ham's it up! This morning she was dancing so much I had a hard time getting a picture!

Shopping With A Cause

The Harlow's are traveling to China in NINE days!! They are holding an auction to help raise the funds for travel. Go HERE to do some fun shopping and help a great family!

Cleaning Gets Old!

I just saw this on another blog and it's hilarious! I think most of us moms can relate, especially those with little ones, boys, girls who change outfits 28 times a day and teenagers! Wait....that's pretty much all of us!

Boys

This is my favorite wall in the whole house. I put this up a couple of years ago between Ben and the boys' room. It took about 2 hours but it was so worth it!

In case you can't read it, it says:

Why God Made Little Boys
God made a world out of his dreams, of magic mountains, oceans and streams,
Praries and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought, "I need someone to stand on top of the mountains,
to conquer the seas, explore the plains and climb the trees,
Someone to start out small and grow, Sturdy and strong like a tree and so...
He created boys...full of spirit and fun,
To explore and conquer, to romp and run,
With dirty faces, banged up chins, with corageous hearts, and boyish grins."
When he had completed the task He's begun
He surely said, "That's a job well done."

Playing Catch Up

I'm SO far behind in posting things we've done in the past few months. A week after we got home from the beach, Joe's baseball team played in the USSSA World Series in Charleston. While there, we did some sightseeing. We had a great time and the team won 1st in their division.
First we visited Drayton Hall. Jackson did a project on William Henry Drayton in school.

This is Drayton Hall. I love how you can see it in the reflecting pond.

It was the end of July and there was no air conditioning in the house. I can't imagine living in that kind of heat!

The highlight of the tour was when Blake convinced the boys that he was going to wrestle this alligator! It was on the bank of the pond and he actually got pretty close to it before it jumped in the water. I think Blake was getting more nervous with each step he took! :)

We also toured the USS Yorktown. The boys absolutely loved it!

Blake and Jackson rode the flight simulator. Joe gets way to motion sick to try it. After seeing it, I think he made a wise decision.

Olivia was quite worried about her Daddy and brother!




Jackson and Joe LOVED this because they thought it was from the movie Transformers!
Going down into the submarine




Secure in his manhood, he offered to carry my heavy purse for a while.
Like father like son! I had to add this picture!

We had fun walking on the pier at Folly Beach. It's the 2nd longest fishing pier on the East Coast.

We always try to get a picture when we find a restaurant or store with the boys' name on it.

No, my name is not Rita, but Jackson thought this would be a cool picture!


I think I could use one of these!

Sad News

Josh's body was found about an hour after they found his backpack. You can read about it HERE. This family will need more of your prayers.

Urgent: Update on Josh Gulvas

Copied from Linny's blog:

This is Emma. Mom sent a message for me to post: Please pray now. We are with his family and have been all day. They just found Josh's backpack.
The helicopter is transporting trained rescuers in. There is also a 30 mile wide thunder storm band and a second storm behind it. Please pray it disperses and the rescuers can get in. Josh's family is so thankful that you, sweet bloggy friends, are praying.

Urgent Prayer Request

I am copying this request from Linny's blog. As the mother of a teenager, my heart just aches for this family...and for Josh.

We need you to pray now!!! Rand is an electrical engineer that Russ (our director) discipled years ago as a college student. He is now an electrical engineer and came out last week to help with all the electrical systems at the Great Commission Training Center. Yesterday, he and his son Josh, who is 18 or 19, went for a hike in the mountains above the Ranch. They were at a tree line and were supposed to meet last night but Josh never made it. There is a huge search going on right now for Josh. The Colorado Mounted Rangers and other search teams are out along with Russ. These guys have been using their vacation to come and work on the Training Center and they need your prayers. They are in the Weminuche wilderness which could make rescue efforts complicated. Pray right now for Josh's safety, for the teams to find him, for God's peace to be surpassing for Rand and for God to be glorified in this situation.

La Mult Ani Joe!

Last Saturday our baby boy turned 9! He had his usual swimming party which he just loves. He ended up with a boatload of money and gift cards so he bought a Play*station and some games. He's now in Hog Heaven!!


Joe received a very special gift this year. A card and money from his foster parents in Romania. At first, Joe was SO excited. Then when he realized how much Mama Gina and Ta Ta gave him he got really quiet. Then I looked over and tears were streaming down his face. He was so sad because they sent him so much of their money and he was afraid that they wouldn't have enough for themselves. My heart ached for him and also swelled with pride for my tender hearted little boy. I explained to him how much they loved him and that they truly wanted to give him the money. I also assured him that they had enough for themselves, but I don't think he was truly convinced. What a sweetie.

Could This Be a Message For You?

Sweet, Sweet Elizabeth. You simply MUST read her tender words. They are the reason we have adopted our children.

It's Hard To Believe

That Summer has finally come to an end. Today is the first day of school already! The boys were both really excited. Joe actually wanted to go yesterday! They both got the teacher that we had hoped for. Joe got Jackson's teacher from last year, who we just love. They were both a little tired when they got up but they were dressed and ready to go within minutes. Let's see how long that lasts! It's interesting too to see how they dress now that they are older and can choose what they like. Just like their personalities, their choices are as different as night and day.

I woke Olivia up when it was time to leave and she sleepily said "What now Mom?" Too funny!! She barely noticed that the boys got out of the car at school thanks to Nick Jr and her headphones. However, she wasn't happy about having to eat breakfast all by herself. She will miss them today. Me too!

World Series

EDITED TO ADD: The rankings just came out and we are still #1 in our state but we are now #6 in the Nation! That's out of 200 teams!! Go Bombers!!

Our team did GREAT! We were first place in our division. Joe played really well and the last game he was on fire! He got the game ball too! More pictures to follow but I wanted to get this post up today because a very special person from R*omania will be looking at it!

A Hero's Welcome

I saw this on Daleea's blog and copied what she had there. PLEASE take the time to watch it...you won't regret it, I promise.

This is how each of our men and women who have served and who have died should be welcomed home.

Killed in action the week before, the body of Staff Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009.
The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia. A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.
Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military. Be it known that there are many places in this land where people still
recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgia remains one of those grateful places. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only
watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored. Please share widely.
Video of Staff Sgt. Beale's return home http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

Acey Lewis

Somewehre In The Sun

I've finally gotten the slide show done of our vacation "somewhere in the sun." If you make it to the end of it...bless you! We had a BLAST and didn't want to come home. It was 10 glorious days. It was kind of weird because Ben wasn't there. He had to work so he stayed home. We really missed him there, but we sure got a lot more use out of the golf cart this time! LOL

Look for lots of pictures soon of Joe's travel ball team. We are going to THE WORLD SERIES people! His team is playing next week in Charleston SC for the USSSA World Series title. Right now they are ranked number 1 in our state! It's going to be really exciting and we are so proud of him! I'm kinda proud of his coach too! :)

Can You Guess Where We Are?

We've been here at the beach for a week and I am just now opening my computer for the first time! The kids are having a blast and Olivia LOVES the beach. This is her first time here. Not much time for anything other than a few pictures. I'll post more once we get home.

Texas Caviar

We had dinner with Jackson's teacher last week and she served this appetizer. I had never heard of it before but I found TONS of recipes online for it. Connie's recipe is simpler than most I found, thankfully. Man oh man was it delicious! The sour cream in the bottom of the scoop kicked it up a notch too!

TEXAS CAVIAR

1 cup olive oil
1cup sugar
½ cup cider vinegar

* Boil these 3 ingredients & cool

1 cup celery-chopped
1 small onion-chopped
2/3 jar jalapeno slices-drain
1 medium jar pimientos-drain
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can black beans
1 can shoe peg corn

*Rinse & drain all canned veggies. Mix all ingredients together. Pour cooled dressing over all and mix well again. Cover & let set overnight in refrigerator. DRAIN and eat…serve with Tostitos Scoops and sour cream!

Y'all Enjoy!