The McDavid Chronicles

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!!!!

2011-11-24T17:26:00.002-05:00

What we have been up to

2011-06-05T18:36:00.011-04:00

May is usually one of those crazy, busy months where you do not have time to even think. This year was no exception. Here are just a few highlights from the month.

Preston won the Principal's Award for 1st grade:

Courtney made quite a sweep of 6th grade with a 4.0 GPA, Distinguished in Band, Highest GPA in Social Studies, 2nd place in an Art Competition, High AR (Reading) points, and a Citizenship award. They are also both busy with piano lessons.

This is her Bohemian Art Project,
She was also busy running track:
She also plays softball, while her brother plays baseball...
Oh, and there was this trip to NKU to a Battle of the Books event. We got to hear Silas House talk about his book (Eli the Good),

This was the tiny group I helped escort...
In addition to all this fun, there were two Field Days, a Derby Breakfast for 3 first grade classes and this little thing I am involved in that some call a FULL TIME JOB.

Fun times..... Let's bring on some summer~~~~!!!!

UK game

2011-02-02T16:19:00.006-05:00

I don't know how we have lived here this many years and the kids are just now attending a UK basketball game. Thank goodness for snow days and good friends!!!!

Courtney's Baptism

2011-02-02T15:45:00.013-05:00

Our sweet girl accepted Christ into her life during VBS July 30, 2009. We were in between churches at the time so she was just bapitized Jan 16th of this year. What a special day for our "baby" girl.
She was probably more nervous than I had ever seen her in her life,

Brother Sanford accidently called her "Traci" which broke the ice and made her smile...

It was an amazing day and we were so thankful that Gramma came from TN to help us celebrate this wonderful occasion.

I just hope Gramma does not hold it against me that I did not get a picture in her church attire!! Oops :-).

Great Stirrup Cay

2011-01-17T11:44:00.022-05:00

Thursday we woke up anchored off of Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay. This was the view from our room--the little tender boats transport guests to and from the island all day. I have to admit, the idea of being anchored out in the ocean for a day caused a little anxiety to creep up on me. Yes, I have issues with claustrophia and feelings of entrapment, why do you ask?? Since the high was going to be up in the 70's, we obliged and boarded the little tender to the island. Preston seemed a little apprehensive about the whole thing. I think we forgot to tell him that sand and water was going to be involved:

The weather was the best we have seen since last summer, but the water was a bit chilly for swimming.

Nice for lounging and digging though (that little boy is almost 7, but still digs like he did when he was 2...I think I see a construction worker in our future).

Courtney and I went exploring while they lounged and dug holes. I love this picture, it looks like poster behind her,

She then decided to join in the digging until they finally dug up water...

Enough of that, let's guilt Mommy into getting in with us...

We were on that raft for over an hour while snorkeling a bit and then climbing back on to unthaw. It was lots of fun, the water just could have been about 40 degrees warmer :-)

While we all took turns with the shower before dinner, they found a new way to play cards:

Then we did a magic show and a towel making demonstration and maybe a little more arcade and some ping pong,

This day was totally relaxing and fun, and we ended it with another wonderful dinner. I love the whole Freestyle cruising idea in that you eat whenever you feel like it and are never stuck at a big table with strangers.

After dinner we saw the Farewell Variety Show which was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. It came on tv the next morning while we were packing and we all laughed hysterically all over again. After the show, we listened to a band and watched some families sing karaoke. Lots of fun!

Oh and then a little shuffleboard before bed...

We came back to the room to see this monkey hanging in our room. I thought it was cute, but Preston declared it creepy and wanted it disassembled before he go into bed.

The next morning we woke up in Miami (I love about cruising...waking up in a new city every morning). We had a leisurely breakfast, packed our bags and headed back to the airport for our flight home. It was truly a fun-filled, memorable trip that the kids are still talking about.

Nassau, Bahamas

2011-01-17T11:01:00.023-05:00

Thursday morning we woke up in Nassau where the high was a whopping 74 degrees. We had breakfast in the Palace Dining Room and then walked around the ship planning our day.Courtney got ambitious and decided to wear shorts.

We decided to first take a horse drawn carriage ride around the city to get the lay out. This was one of my most fun memories. Scott sat in the front with the driver,

and I squeezed in the back with these 2:

We saw loads of old historic buildings, but I was taken by the hospitals. Princess Margaret Hospital is the free hospital in town. Actually it is not completely free, one of the tour guides said it cost her $6 to have her child there (I would have loved to have seen the inside--I think).

Doctor's hospital is the one where the weathly go, which costs what a typical U.S. hospital might. It also happens to be the one where Anna Nicole Smith's baby was born and also where her son died 3 days later:

We decided to have lunch at the over-priced, over-rated Hard Rock Cafe for old times sake,

Then some good island ice cream,

We then made the hike up to Queen Victoria's staircase. The staircase was carved by slaves and consists of 65 steps--one for each year of the queen's reign:

The top of the staircases is Bennets Hill which overlooks Nassau. Up there is Fort Fincastle where we stopped for a tour,

The view is amazing from the top. We could even see the new resort, Atlantis:

Scott and Preston went back to the ship to the arcade room while Courtney and I stayed back and shopped a bit and then got her hair braided,

I love, love, love the torquoise waters of the Carribean:

We had yet another amazing dinner, and then saw a fantastic Broadway show. A very nice day.

Freeport, Bahamas

2011-01-17T09:44:00.021-05:00

We woke up in Freeport and the weather was a tad warmer than Miami (the high was 64). There was a little market set up in the Lucayan Harbour; a band playing music and a taxi station with dozens of taxi's to take you into town. A nice couple sitting by a big water fountain offered to take a family photo for us....

Scott got his island's confused and decided that we should walk into town. As I was looking around to ask about this, he and Preston had already taken off,

So we walked,

and walked (did I mention I had a broken toe??!),

Preston picked up a butterfly;

we continued to walk; talk; laugh and take pictures.

We finally gave it up after about 6 miles and stopped at a gas station and called a cab. The cabbie told us the town was 11 miles from the Harbour!! We were more than half way at least...and he only charged us $5 MORE than if we had taken the cab from the Harbour. Nice guy.

But alas, we made it to the big Straw Market where we shopped and had a nice Greek lunch.

And then we went across the street to the beach, the big Marriot and the casino,

Beautiful place,

We took a taxi back to the ship and had another amazing dinner,

and dessert,

We then we went to see a Comedy show which was not only hilarious, but kid-friendly (I hate it when they make comedy shows R rated),

They were suprised to get a towel made bunny when we arrived back to the room,

We then played some cards until we all got sleepy.

P.S. Whoever says you never spend time in your room on a ship has not met my family :-).

Trip to the Bahamas--Day 1

2011-01-17T08:36:00.027-05:00

For Christmas this year, we gave the kids a trip to the Bahamas. They have been begging to go on a cruise--and with all that's happened this year--we thought the best time to get away would be the week we usually spend with one of their grandfathers. We chose the Norwegian Sky because is was the only ship that met our date requirements and did not have a sea day. Having had a bad past cruising experience, I did NOT want to be "trapped" at sea for a full day. Also, Scott has boycotted Mexico until the crime has decreased. So here we are all excited about a balmy vacation in the middle of the coldest winter I can remember... We got up on Dec 27 at the unheardof hour of 0330 to make a non-stop 7am flight out of Louisville to Miami. I regretted that decision before the sun even came up, but was glad later when I found out that a major snowstorm had hit the north east and 5 major airports were closed, plus Atlanta had a 6 hour delay. I think that all of the other flight options would have had us missing that ship completely. Courtney and Preston were great on the flight and I wished I could have sat with them since Scott fell completely asleep within 2 seconds of takeoff.

We got to Miami and made it easily from the airport to the cruise ports via taxi. We left Frankfort at 18 degrees and arrived Miami to a balmy 53...NOT sunbathing weather. The cab driver cracked us up though all bundled in his winter coat complete with hat and gloves. We got to the ship a little early and could not board so we hundled up in the waiting area (better early than late though!)

Finally we get to board!! We were all starving by this point....

They took a sweet family photo as we boarded,

We had a fanastic lunch and then wondered around the ship until our room was ready. Miami is gorgeous, the ship was great, but dang it was more chilly than I was hoping for.

We were able to enter our rooms at 2pm and I had a minor panic attack when I saw the size of our tiny cabin. Seriously, the sitting room in my bedroom is larger than where we were going to spend the better part of a week!!

Ok, then the kids put their beds down and I had a MAJOR panic attack! I texted these pictures to my buddies at work who were cracking up. That calmed me down a bit though :-).

The sunsets the entire week were utterly amazing,

At 5pm, as we were leaving Miami, the cruise director announced that because of the major storms that had hit the east coast, we were to expect worse that usual seas and, that if we did have sea sickness medication to take it ASAP.

JOY.

Thankfully, I put my patch on at lunchtime just to be safe; Scott is a pro at cruising and Preston cannot be shaken. Sadly though, Courtney was not spared. The seas were awful; no one could walk a straight line and she became horribly ill. The rest of us had a great dinner, but after giving her some medication she fell fast asleep.

Unfortunately, she fell fast asleep in MY bed. Which meant that Scott and I slept in their's. Here's how we all woke up the next morning...

Needless to say, I did not sleep much at all. The water was so rough it felt like the shaking turbulance you get on an airplane. And the one time I got down in the middle of the night, I slipped on the stairs and BROKE MY TOE. It immediately swelled up twice it's size and turned completely purple and made it impossible to put on anthing other than flip flops the rest of the week. Ok, day 1 was not so great, but it did get much better....

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T08:53:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

2010-11-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

Lake Taylorsville

2010-08-29T08:43:00.016-04:00

A fun summer day on the lake....

Back to School....

2010-08-11T08:14:00.004-04:00

I can't believe I have a daughter in middle school. She is growing up way too fast! She was so excited, but extrememly nervous. I was trying to get her to eat breakfast, but she was afraid she might throw up. Bless her heart. She looked pretty though ;-)

Preston was only a tad nervous; he was very happy that he got the teacher we requested and most of his friends made her class too,

We all walked him in and got him all settled and then Scott headed to work.

We have another hour before middle school starts so it was just Courtney and me. It was hard!! I ended up texting some friends and finding out she had classmates waiting for her inside. She let me have one more picture and then I slung the camera back in the car before she could cry.

We then walked slowly to the door and just when I wondered if she would even go inside, she looks over at me and says, "I'm fine Mom, you can leave now." And she was. She always is. I went home and worried about them all day, only to find out they both had the best day ever!

I think it's going to be ok.

Summer 2010 Recap

2010-08-05T08:35:00.016-04:00

A.K.A. The Summer We Spent in the Water

This has to have been the hottest summer ever. I could barely stand to be outdoors at all after returning from a nice vacation in the coolness of Southern California. Therefore, when we did venture out, there had to be water! Our usual stop is our neighbors backyard where they have a sweet, cool swimming pool and are so gracious to let us use it.

We also took our annual trip to Indiana to the Atlantis waterpark. We spent the entire day there, but for some reason, I only have this one picture to prove it. Perhaps it was because of the endless hours of playing TAG in a WAVE POOL with 3 people half my size. I'm still sore from that trip.

Then there was the drive to Ohio to the waterpark at King's Island. I know, this does not sound like a relaxing search for cool water....and again, we spent an entire day there, but still do not have one picture of the girls.

Also, some parks in KY of course...this one is in Nicholasville,

Preston's very first time off a big slide!!! He's totally hooked now,

Oh, see, there's Courtney...I do have proof she joined us!!

And our latest trip was to TN for tubing. Now this was pretty relaxing and cool, and we had an amazing time with my family cruising the Little River,

The kids also had some camps; we have seen every movie out, and gone to some great museums and malls...anything to beat the heat! I can't believe school starts on Monday. This summer has gone way too fast!! I will be back in the fall with hiking and biking pictures because there is NO WAY we are doing any of that in this heat.

Stay cool, ya'll

Preston's First Home Run!!

2010-07-26T07:32:00.011-04:00

At 6 years old, Preston is quite the little baseball player. He hit his first home run last weekend and we are oh so proud of the little guy!

He went on to hit various doubles and triples too. Way to go Buddy!!

In Memory Of....

2010-06-22T11:16:00.019-04:00

~Charles Clayton McDavid~

1934-2010Scott's Dad passed away last night after a tough battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed, but there is great comfort in knowing that his suffering has ended and he has gone to be with his Creator. He was an amazing father and grandfather and my family has lost someone near and dear to our hearts.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There will be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

5th Grade Graduation!!!!

2010-06-11T16:48:00.009-04:00

My firstborn has completed elementary school. It is hard to believe how fast the time has gone! I really thought I would be sad about it, but she is prepared and ready for the next step. We actually had middle school orientation a couple of weeks ago and she was very excited about the opportunities that await her. It's still hard to watch them grow up though!!

Even when they are slouching...

Before the graduation, they had an awards ceremony. Courtney was presented awards for Social Studies and Language Arts for the Academic Team, All E Honor Roll and a Talent Award.

Finally, her completion certificate,

Some pictures with friends before ending the school day...I hope she keeps the wonderful friends she has made in elementary school. We have been beyond blessed that her peer group is one of such high caliber. They are precious, precious girls!!!

Kindergarten Graduation!!!

2010-06-09T11:51:00.011-04:00

The kids came in singing "You've got a friend in me." It was so cute. I was so blessed to be able to volunteer in Preston's classroom a couple of days a week this year doing Literacy groups so I feel such an attachment to each one of these special friends. I am seriously going to miss that this summer.

They look so somber here...his teacher was reading the sweetest letter to the class and it was really hard not to cry!

I am also going to miss his amazing teacher, who was also Courtney's kindergarten teacher. I know I have said it before, but she is TOP NOTCH. She does a K/1st grade split, but I really feel Preston is ready to move up (especially with him reading on a 3rd grade level!). Mrs. Combs will always hold a special place in our heart though.

The reasons I have not returned emails since April...

2010-06-06T16:58:00.023-04:00

To all our friends and family who think that we do not love them anymore, let me just tell you, we have been BUSY!!! May is the craziest month of the year around here, and this year was no exception. To blog all of our events would take me til July so I will just present our biggest events in pictures (which is all I really do anyway).

We had not one, but two, piano recitals this year because of their age difference. Here is Preston with his beloved piano teacher, Luke. Preston played The Jeopardy Song by Merv Griffin and did a great job. If I get around to it, I will post the video of his performance.

Courtney played Habanera from Carmen and also did an outstanding job,

She also performed in a chorus concert during half time at a Harlem Wizards game the school hosted,

My mom came to stay with us while Scott went to the Phillipines for 10 days in early May. This was us after church on Mother's Day.

Courtney is also playing softball while Preston is playing baseball (yes, that's 2 practices and 3 games per week for all of you who have been spared the ball season).

Courtney was also in a Pirate Musical the last week of school (she was Brown Beard).

Preston's class took a fun Field Trip to the Salato Wildlife Center,

Then his kindergarten class hosted an Author's Tea. Preston's book report was on the Swordfish and what a cool fish it is because it kills other fish with it's sharp sword. Good stuff.

Oh, then there was the Battle of the Books Team that Courtney was so honored to be part of. I was most proud of this accomplishment. She is as smart as she is talented.

Lastly, there were 2 separate Field Days. Courtney's was in the late morning when it was 85 degrees of miserable and Preston's...

...bless his heart, it was in the afternoon during a wicked thunderstorm. They tried to be troopers and let it carry on, but dodging bolts of lightening lost it's luster after about a half hour.

They were a drenched group of kindergarteners who had to go back to the classroom each wearing 40 lbs of water. It was heartbreaking.

He was so sick of the water that he came home and did, guess what??

Preston's 6th Birthday

2010-04-24T20:13:00.017-04:00

Preston got to spend his actual birthday at the beach this year. Scott took him to the Military Museum in Clearwater that morning while Mom and I went out to get birthday cake and wrap some presents.
He was pretty surprised and excited when they got back,

Mom got him his very first Nerf gun, a huge hit.

We had another little party for him when we stopped in Knoxville to see my family and my brother got him a different version of the Nerf warfare, which was also a huge hit.

Finally, when we returned to school, he got to celebrate with his friends (birthdays are a big deal here!). His teacher pulled him up front and gave him "6 hugs" for turning 6. She is a dream teacher if I have not mentioned that before.

Cupcakes for the class of course,

I can't say for sure, but I think he liked his gifts.

Random Spring Break Photos

2010-04-24T20:02:00.022-04:00

Our condo was so close to the pool that we could see the kids in it from the living room. It was perfect for 2 kids who wanted to get in and out of the pool ALL. DAY. LONG.

When they weren't in the pool, they were playing on the beach or swimming in the ocean.

Clearwater Beach is loaded with really neat sea shells. We even found a few of the large pink conch ones.

Our base for the afternoon, that's my husband under the umbrella,

He likes to do light reading on his vacations; this week he read Multiphysics Modelling with Finite Element Methods. Fun.

Now Mom, on the other hand, knows some good reading. She borrowed a book Cheri loaned me called Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Beware, if you try to read it, you will not be able to put it down.

The view of the children in the pool from my spot on the porch as I surfed the internet. Talk about convenient!

Amazing sunsets:

The ONLY downside to the entire trip: THE TRAFFIC! It was as if everyone went south when we did and they all turned around and went back north when it was time to come home. Bummer.

It took us 3 days to get home, partly because when we weren't sitting in traffic, we were making stops. We stopped by the DaVinci Exhibit in Tampa and the Princess Diana Exhibit in Atlanta. We stopped overnight in Chattanooga and then met my family in Knoxville for lunch. After all that, even the children were happy to be home! It was a great trip, but really, there is no place like home.

Universal Studios Orlando FL

2010-04-24T19:55:00.011-04:00

On our next day of vacation, we loaded up and headed to Orlando to spend the day at Universal Studios. What can you say about Universal?? I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Dr. Seuss land was our favorite, we spent most of the day riding those rides...

Taking an ice cream break,

Harry Potter,

It was a fun, hot, action packed day and we were completely ready to get back to our condo and have some quality beach time!!

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

2010-04-24T19:45:00.010-04:00

Clearwater has a unique aquarium in that it focuses on the rescue, rehab and release of sick or injured marine animals. The day we visited, they had just performed surgery on an injured sea turtle. Courtney is totally fascinated with Marine Biology so this was the perfect outing for her. Oh, and we just happened to learn that her best friend was vacationing 2 miles from us so we picked her up on the way,
We stopped by the middle deck to see a dolphin show,

Then went below to pet the stingrays, see some fish tanks, and the operating room,

Finally, we went to the top level to see Winter, the dolphin that wears a prosthetic fin. They do some amazing work there. One of the nice workers got a group shot for us:

Easter 2010

2010-04-24T10:31:00.015-04:00

We were so blessed this year to be able to spend our Resurrection Day in Clearwater Beach, FL. We arrived the Saturday before, just in time to carry on our Easter Egg coloring tradition the night before. Here's Gramma trying a new technique involving neck tie dying (sorry no pic of the egg, but it did turn out pretty cool),

Pictures before church,

We found this amazing Christian Church, I could not believe how incredible the music and service were. God was all over that place,

Then Mom made us a fabulous Ham dinner that we had on the patio of our ocean front condo. Triple blessings indeed!!

Governor's Cup 2010

2010-02-28T15:53:00.010-05:00

I am absolutely busting with pride over the Governor's Cup Competition this year!!! Courtney won, not one, but TWO metals this year. One for Arts/Humanities and one for Writing. I am so proud of her hard work!!! Not only that, her school came in FIRST PLACE in our district!!!! FIRST PLACE!!!! Did I mention we are a public school that competed against two private schools and one independent??! These kids are sharp; they have worked hard and their teachers are amazing!!

Courtney was also part of the Quick Recall Team (her memory amazes me),

Mommy and daughter,

Getting an award,

Getting a second award,

The Bridgeport gang...almost overwhelmed by winning 1st place.

The after awards celebration at Rio Grande,

Courntey with her wonderful teacher/coach who helped make it all possible,

Way to go guys!!!!! I am so proud of you all and looking forward to Superintendent Cup next week!!!

Snow Days!!!

2010-02-28T15:38:00.007-05:00

I think we are up to 10 snow days this year. More than any year since we've lived here. It looks like the kids will be going to school til June 9th (as of now, there could be more). Oh well, at least they've had a good time....

February Student of the Month

2010-02-28T15:09:00.009-05:00

Courtney was the 5th grade student of the month for her class!! Her school put on a great assembly to celebrate student of the month and even had the Franklin Co High School Dance Team come and do the performance they did for the Orange Bowl this year. They were really good as they had the choreographer for High School Musical do their routine. It was a great show. Here is a picture of the end of the show,

My little girl with her certificate,

The dance team around all the Students of the Month,

Me and my angel girl,

She just gives me so many reasons to be such a proud Mommy!!!

Winter Sports--Courtney

2010-02-28T14:54:00.005-05:00

Volleyball!!!
We try to have each child involved in one sport each season to keep them active and away from trouble (idle hands and all :-)). This season Courtney chose volleyball and I am so glad she did. She was really good at it and it was so fun to watch.

Lovin' my new camera...the old one never would've caught this pic....

Courtney and Taylor. We are forever grateful that Taylor's Mom stepped up and coached the team. She did an awesome job too!

Watching the game from my bleacher seat,

Courtney and Mikenna,

We are beyond belessed that our little girl has such great friends!!!

Winter Sports--Preston

2010-02-28T14:19:00.012-05:00

Basketball!!!

Preston chose basketball as his winter sport and it was the funniest thing ever to watch 5 year olds play basketball. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life.
Here is some sort of dribble,

A throw that ended up no where near the goal,

This is him running as fast as humanly possible to get to other end of the court....

Just to be the first to stand there with his arms up....which is how he stood for the majority of the entire game (bouncing up and down usually),

Now, this did not end well. I won't get into the details, but will suffice it to say that there were many tears shed...

Mostly mine.

Scripture Memory Team Celebration, Houston, TX

2010-01-27T09:18:00.025-05:00

As a celebration for memorizing scripture on the 1st and 15th for all of 2009, a group of about 500 of us got together at Beth Moore's home church in Houston, TX to celebrate that amazing task. And what a celebration it was!
I was at first just excited to be leaving cold, grey KY, to head to Houston where it was sunny and in the 70's...
After landing and getting the rental car, we had a fabulous Mexican dinner at Pappasito's. I meant to take a picture of that awesome meal, but had inhaled most of it before I remembered. After that, we went straight to Houston's First Baptist Church for the big event. We were pretty early, but the place was already crowded with other excited, sweet women.

Here are Lisa and me with Beth's daughters, Amanda and Melissa. What a joy to meet these wonderful ladies,

Some random pictures of the sisters,

Another big highlight of the evening was meeting Melanie of the Big Mama Blog!! I read her blog every single morning and was a little star struck to meet her, so I must've seemed like a total dork. She was super gracious though and really personable (and I LOVE her jacket!).

Finally, the event begins. Beth gave out some great prizes and did some powerful teaching on Psalms 119.

Here is Lisa getting a hug from Beth for being one of the women who traveled the furthest for the event. Sorry, for the bad picture, I was totally unprepared and a tiny bit GREEN with envy :-).

Travis Cottrell bringing on the Praise and Worship. Amazing!

It ended way too soon and we all had to say good-bye.

We had the rest of the afternoon to enjoy the incredible Houston weather so we took full advantage and went to the Arboretum for a nice walk.

I can't even imagine how neat this place will be when all is in bloom.

We also spent a few hours at the enormous Galleria Mall where we walked for what seemed like miles. We ended up having our lunch AND dinner at this Greek place called Yia Yia Mary's Pappas Greek Kitchen. It was the best Greek food ever! I will go back to Houston again, if only to get to eat here..

Sunday morning it was sad to have to leave. On the way back to the airport, I stopped to take a couple of pictures of baby palm trees,

And enjoy this magnificent sunrise. I am a sucker for sunrises and this was one of the most amazing ones ever. God smiled on us this weekend, that is for sure. A blessed trip indeed.

In Memory of...

2010-01-25T17:34:00.003-05:00

My Dad passed away last week. I guess with a cancer diagnosis, you are supposed to be ready; always prepared for the worst. I thought I was actually, but now I'm thinking maybe I was wrong. I am grateful for the preparation, for being able to say and do things I might not have taken the time for. I'm grateful for the wonderful people that came by to pray with him. I'm grateful that he was able to tell us his heart and make his wishes known. Life is short, that is for sure. I have been reminded overwhelmingly this week that it's not what you have, but what you leave behind. It also makes me want to focus more on what I leave behind, like kind words or caring thoughts. Thanks Dad for that. I will miss you, but know you are in a better place where there is no sadness or suffering. I love you.

Christmas Break Highlights

2010-01-03T13:02:00.016-05:00

According to Courtney, and I have to agree, this was our best Christmas break ever. Except for the stomach bug that hit Preston and me really hard the last few days, we made some beautiful memories.
The first weekend we took a quick trip to Knoxville to see my Dad because we knew we would not get another chance this season. We got there kind of late so after visiting him in the hospital, we headed over the hill to the Old City and had dinner at one of my favorite places while I was in college--Patrick Sullivan's. I loved how they had the streets all lit up (way better in person). Courtney might have been happier here had she brought her coat, it was a bit chilly, That night we stayed in what the kids called, "the nicest hotel we ever stayed in." I don't know that that's true, but it was nice and very festive.

The next day we visited Dad again and then went out on the town,

And then, although we are neither hunters nor fisherman, we had a total blast at Bass Pro Shop. I had no idea all the fun that could be had in a sportsman's warehouse.

I love the seriousness here,

Afterwards we headed into Gatlinburg and went to the Aquarium,

I'm not big on Aquariums usually, but this one rocks. It is educational, interactive and beautiful. Courtney took a whole pad of notes. We spent most of the day there and had a great lunch with fish swimming in a tank behind us.

Later on in the week we experienced another first by seeing Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park. Besides the awesome lights, they have the horse park museum, some model train/doll house exhibits, shops, food (the best funnel cake EVER), plus a petting zoo and a holiday train. Wow.

One of the light displays (there were tons),

Christmas Eve we went to an amazing candlelight service at church. It really was the perfect mix of story, scripture, music and prayer. Preston even included it in one of the things he was thankful for that night. The next morning, there was such peace here. Although we were sad that the rest of our family could not be with us, we were very grateful for each other and our blessings. I was bowled over by the kids wanting to make sure we finished our advent devotional and read Luke before opening presents.

Of course, one of the best parts of Christmas is getting to enjoy family. We were over the top excited that Papaw and cousin Hannah came to stay with us the second week!! I was pretty sick for this part, but Courtney and Preston thoroughly enjoyed Hannah and we did get to see a good movie together before she had to go back.

Some other fun things:

Building Legos,

Playing Guitar Hero,

And competing on Dance, Dance Revolution,

Yes, that's them in their p.j.'s, in the middle of the day. Which reminds me, it's time to put on regular clothes and get ready to return to work and school. It was fun while it lasted and I'm excited about 2010. We have lots of good things planned :-).

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas....

2009-12-24T20:07:00.004-05:00

We had our first snow of the year and it was absolutely gorgeous. The roads were clear and it wasn't too cold, just beautiful to look at and play in. There's not much chance it will snow on Christmas, since it's been in the 40's here, but we can hope!!!

Christmas Tour of Homes

2009-12-18T17:17:00.025-05:00

I'd like to say I'm On Tour With The Nester, but since I don't know how to link to her blog, I will just give a tour of my own little home on my own little blog for my 2 friends to see.

We have had such fun decorating and enjoying the season that when I saw Melanie (Big Mama) and Sophie (Boo Mama) blog their decorating, I thought I'd jump on board. Nothing fancy here, just lots of Christmas spirit.

Here is the front porch that Scott was kind enough to decorate before he left the country (with only mild, gentle prodding from his baby girl every single second the weekend before he left),

First a picture of the tree, of course,

The blue tree in Preston's room (I may not have chosen to go in this order, but once the pictures are uploaded, you play the hand you're dealt),

The purple tree in Courtney's room,

Our plant ledge...it is usually much more elaborate with a larger tree and almost a village around it, but did I mention I have not had a husband home to do all the manly decorating--or any decorating that required a ladder for that matter??

The staircase,

One of my favorite ornaments, a fleur-de-lis I picked up last year at the Breaking Free taping in New Orleans. LOVE IT!

A nativity set, another favorite,

This picture does not even do these poinsettias justice. They are the most gorgeous gold color, shined up with glitter. I had never seen these before and instantly fell in love.

Our family room (if you look very closely, you can almost see NOEL written in stocking hangers among the lights),

Dining room,

Dining room looking into the living room where the tree lives,

There is not much decorated in the kitchen, just this wreath,

And some cookies. Accented with Windex. Because where ever there are homemade cookies, there has to be Windex, right?

And lastly a picture of my bedroom. Not that my bedroom is the least bit Christmasy, but Lisa had asked to see a picture when I finally finished painting it, so here it is:

We also plan to paint the trey ceiling when it warms up enough to open the windows again.

OH, here is a decoration in the bedroom...a little nativity set that Courtney got me from the Santa workshop at school one year. I almost forgot about it because I keep it out year round. It makes me smile, as it should because He is the reason for the season!! Thanks for stopping by ya'll.

Guess Who's Home!!!!

2009-12-18T17:00:00.004-05:00

Christmas Traditions

2009-12-13T08:50:00.016-05:00

Our family is big on traditions. The children are the perfect ages to enjoy and appreciate Christmas this year, which makes the traditions of the season all that more fun. We start the season the Saturday after Thanksgiving playing Christmas music (Casting Crowns is our fav again this year), putting out the nativity and decorating the tree. We got started a little early this year because of Scott's dreaded trip to China, but all is well; the season just seems a little longer.

Courtney and Preston take turns putting the angel on the top of the tree. There is no need to keep up with who did it last, because they have it down! This year was Preston's turn so he got a little help from his Daddy getting it up there.

**I'm not sure why my camera hates me, but it will be difficult NOT to note the quality of my shot in motion here (hint, hint Santa;)).

We also make and decorate cookies every year and do an ornament kit. The kids like the ornaments you cook in the oven the best. My Aunt Debra first did these with my brother and me at an early age so they have sweet memories too.

This year we started a new tradition...the Advent Calendar. They love it! Each night (or right after school if they can't wait), they open the box for the day, read a short devotional and bible verse and get a small piece of candy. I had no idea how much they would enjoy this.

Another fun tradition, that Scott and I started the year we got married, is getting a new ornament from somewhere we've traveled or a big event of the year. It's always a great remembrance to pull the old ones out and reminisce of year's past.

And of course, there is the hot cocoa and driving around to see Christmas lights! I love this. The lights in Frankfort are pretty good, but when Scott gets home we are going to load up and head to the Horse Park for the big ones. Can't wait!!

I so appreciate the families who spend their time and energy lighting up the outsides of their homes. It makes my heart smile. I pray all my blog friends are having a joyous season. Merry Christmas all!!

Random Thanksgiving Pics

2009-12-09T19:59:00.018-05:00

I read some of the sweetest blogs on Thanksgiving Day and even thought how nice it would have been to be organized enough to come up with a thankful list or a cute photo for the day, but leave it to me instead to post random pictures 2 weeks after the fact. I was going to just skip it, but didn't want to have the big hole in the blog 5 years from now and also didn't want to forget what a great weekend we had. It's not very often we travel to TN, much less for Thanksgiving.

My brother and I met up at Mom's and she made the MOST AMAZING meal. It was so good, I am sure I gained 8 lbs in 2 days!!

After a whole lot of eating, Scott relaxed with a Rubic's Cube for a bit,

And the rest of the family got into a heated game of Rummy,

Preston was such a precious age this year. He actually lead the prayer for us and it was so heartfelt. He was very grateful for everything imaginable (to include "national holidays").

Here's Trent and Candace,

Courtney very serious about her cards,

The sweeter side,

We snuck off a few times to the quiet of the bedroom for some football watching,

And finally just fell over from the exhaustion of all the eating and game playing and tv watching. A fine holiday indeed. Hope ya'll had a good one as well. I'll try to be better next year about blogging about it sooner. I'll also try not to eat too much...

CKMEA

2009-12-08T05:51:00.005-05:00

Every year a small group of students from about 40 elementary schools in Central KY are chosen to sing at the Central Ky Music Educators Association performance in Richmond, KY. Our little girl auditioned and was chosen along with 6 other girls from her school so we got to spend the day in Richmond for rehearsals and then watch an amazing performance that night. No kidding, I would have loved it even if my daughter were not singing. The conductors really outdid themselves with the songs and routines!

Here is Courtney outside Brock Auditorium at EKU. She loved the campus and and mentioned maybe going to college there. (But, I'm not sure she knows I will only pay for UT :)).

The girls goofing off before the big show,

There were 2 groups this size. It was quite an event and a packed house. Courtney was beyond nervous, but they did an amazing job. I wonder somedays where she aquired her talents...certainly not from her non-singing parents!

What we've been up to this fall

2009-11-07T09:14:00.019-05:00

Fall is my absolute most favorite time of the year and fortunately, this year, the KY weather has cooperated so that it has actually feels like it did when I was growing up in TN (usually it goes from blazing hot to freezing cold here, but they say all the rain we got this summer allowed us a spectacular fall, PTL). There has not been much time for blogging as we have been out and about enjoying the season, but I usually have my camera along, so I will share some photos from some of our autumn festivities.

Here is Preston completing his first race. Granted he did not come in [anywhere near] first, but he did a great job: Courtney had a banner Cross Country season, but the jury is still out on whether or not she will run in middle school (oh my gosh, is that just next year??). My fingers are crossed that she does. She is so good at it.

Here we are at our annual pumpkin carving station:

One of the many products of that:

Courtney making caramel apples and Preston eager to get his hands on one,

Our yearly trip to the Pumpkin Patch (actually we made 2 this year). Note the amazing fall folliage in the background:

Preston getting ready to get--yet another--pumpkin:

The Pumpkin house at Happy Jacks,

A Hobo Party at church--lots of fun!

My Hobos having dinner with friends:

Courtney's school party:

Trunk or Treating,

Preston handing out Halloween candy. He decided that it was way more fun to hand it out than walk around in the dark and go to strangers houses just for candy.

A sweet moment between a little girl and her Daddy. We may seem way too busy to the naked eye, but these littles ones are always our top priority. Now if I could just figure out a way to keep them from growing up so stinkin fast!

Happy 10th Birthday!!!

2009-10-05T11:05:00.014-04:00

This post is a tad late, but I could not let my baby girl's 10th birthday go by without notice. Granted, she is the one keeping us all busy with softball, cross country and after school activities, but still. Here's a pause to celebrate the one that is my little girl.The celebration kind of went on all week because of all of the other "stuff" going on, but it started on the actual day with her sweet friend Shay coming over and bringing this AWESOME chocolate chip cookie cake that she and her Daddy worked so hard on...
We stuck candles in it and everything. It was a quick, sweet celebration as we all had to rush off to softball practice. But here is a picture of that gorgeous hunk of cookie:

The next few days were a whirlwind and at some point she got a new bicycle because she had totally outgrown hers. The bigger party was on Friday when our school system (bless their hearts) gave us the day off from school for teacher training. We took 2 of her friends and went to the great city of Cincinnati and enjoyed the heck out of this wonderful waterpark that was pretty much empty because, hello, everyone else was in school!

This picture does not even do the waterpark justice because there are so many things to do to the right and left of my lens. Suffice it to say, it was great for all ages, even Preston (whose own little friend did not get to come at the last minute--the girls were great to him though so all was well),

We got a room with a loft so the girls had the whole loft to themselves and we got an evening without excess giggles. It worked out perfectly.

The next day there was more swimming, sliding and wave riding until late in the day (think super tired parents and over the top happy little girls).

Oh my gosh, I still cannot believe this little baby I had 10 years ago all wrapped in pink is on her way to becoming a young lady. I am so proud of her. She is considerate beyond words; super smart; so talented; great at sports and can rock a piano. There are just not enough words to let you know how much you are loved sweetheart. Happy Birthday!!!

Where has the time gone??

2009-09-04T15:26:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since school started! We jumped on the proverbial treadmill and I just came off to catch up the blog. The kids are loving school and since they are both occupied all day, I have gone back to work full time. What a shock to the system! I have not worked full time since the day Courtney was born (10 years coming up next month). It just made sense, but boy do we have schedule juggling to do. Here's a glimpse of our Sept schedule that hangs on the fridge so we all know where to go and what to do each day: Courtney runs Cross Country 3 days a week. She has gotten so fast. Her time is shorter each Meet she has run this year,

She also enjoys Softball 3 days a week. This is a really fun, laid-back sport and we all get to visit with friends on the bleachers.

Once a week we have piano lessons. This is Courtney's 7th year playing piano and she is doing great. This is Preston's first year and sometimes he seems to enjoy it.

Other times he seems a little bored and disinterested,

And then there are days when it's just flat out torture for him to even be present. These are also the days that are flat out torture for his Mommy to be present too :).

Hope ya'll are having a great fall. If nothing more exciting happens, I plan to be back the end of the month with pictures of Courtney's birthday celebration.

In the mean time, Go Vols!!!

Back to School....and back to normal

2009-08-12T16:21:00.012-04:00

We are officially back in school again! It was a wonderful, relaxing summer with lots of trips and adventures, but the time has come to get serious again. I did not have enough wits about me during the early hour to get decent pictures of them together before we left, but got a few of Preston in his classroom. He has THE MOST AMAZING kindergarten teacher on the planet this year. Courtney had her 5 years ago and I can honestly give her the highest of recommendations, He is actually in a K/1st grade split which made me a little nervous. Here is Courtney helping him write out his "about me" questionairre:

Saying our good-byes... not a tear this time, thankfully,

After the big event of dropping off the kids for the first day, I got serious myself about getting this place back into shape. First order of business was to do something I have not really done in over 2 months (yes, my freezer is empty because of it!),

Then I came home and tackled the laundry monster that had taken over my bed,

Finally, I did a de-cluttering of Preston's room,

I got everyting back to it's place, had dinner cooking and by the time I checked the clock, it was time to go pick them up. I am thrilled to report that they both had the "best day ever" and are looking forward to tomorrow.

One last picture of Preston doing homework for the very first time:

I feel so blessed to have such amazing kids who also happen to have wonderful teachers. I am especially blessed to have both kids in one school...an event that will not happen ever again due to their age difference. I am also sooo soo thankful for the Mom's who called me today making sure I made it. You guys are the best!

Atlantis!!!

2009-08-11T08:24:00.007-04:00

Every year since we moved here, we drive up to Clarksville, Indiana with our neighbors and spend the day at the Waterpark Atlantis. It was like the best kept secret around here, but it seems to get more and more crowded every year. We have always had a blast though (despite an almost yearly near drowning by one child or another in that darn wave pool). I said it was fun, but I would never call this trip relaxing....unless they are sitting on a tube at your feet that is, They have the big wave pool, some big slides for the older kids and a whole little water park for the 5 and under crowd. Preston spent the entire day going back and forth between the little park and the wave pool. I loved it when he wanted to stay at the little one, the whole part was barely 2 feet deep and full of various child-sized slides,

And of course all that exercise requires a scoop of ice cream at the end of the day,

This was our last big event before starting school. I'm just glad we could squeeze it in with all the activities around here. There were tons more pictures that Courtney took with her disposable waterproof camera while riding the waves, but alas that camera has gone missing. If I find it, I will add those pictures to the top. I'd kind of like to see them myself!

Summer Week 8

2009-08-07T15:57:00.010-04:00

This is our last full week of summer break as we go back to school next week. Lucky for us, our neighbors (who just got an awesome new pool) went back to school this week and offered to let us use their pool.

And use it we did.

Preston decided this is the perfect chair for him: More pool pics,

Back in his chair:

Courtney saving him from himself as he almost drowns making sure he gets ALL the rings:

Racing:

It's been a fun, low-stress week. As I was walking home today, I snapped a picture of the garden on the side of our house. No, it's not worthy of Southern Living magazine, but it's home and it's us and we are all happy and healthy and that's all that really matters. Hoping and praying the same for all who happen to stop by here....

The End of T-Ball Season

2009-08-02T09:39:00.013-04:00

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and our summer t-ball season is no exception. Preston's last game was Saturday and it was so obvious how his game had improved. Especially his batting. He hit his pitches on the first throws and hit them hard at that. One even hit a poor little short-stop right in the chest. I didn't get a picture of that as I was clutching my own chest at the time. But here is our little batter: And then him giving his Papaw a high five after he ran the bases,

Unfortunately his enthusiasm ends after he bats and runs because clearly being in the field is quite boring to him. He fidgets,

swings his arms,

does a little dance,

and finally just closes his eyes and blocks it all out.

His Redneck Cheering Section:

Getting his trophy at the awards ceremony at Salato following the game and some pizza:

One last picture of the Tiger Team and the awesome coaches who gave so much time and energy to the season:

Oh, and to end the evening, guess who happened to have a birthday! Scott's enthusiasm over turning 48 kind of matches Preston's to being in the outfield. Oh well, at least there was cake.

Great Smokey Mountain Trip

2009-07-21T17:27:00.007-04:00

We took a four day weekend and made our quarterly trip to Tennessee to visit my family. We had such a good time that I forgot to take pictures half the time and the rest of the time---well, my camera got dropped in the Little River in Townsend so there were no more pictures to be taken anyway. Ugh, I should have at least gotten a picture of the rock I was trying to procure for the garden that cost my little camera's life. It was such a sweet rock and looks adorable in my garden beside the coral I procured from our trip to Hawaii several years ago. Oh well, maybe another post...
This is Courtney in the Little River where the wicked slippery rocks reside:
Preston and Courtney with their cousin Hunter. They get so excited everytime we go down in hopes of seeing him (not sure why he was holding Courtney hostage with purple water gun, but I am sure there was a good reason):

Hunter and his Mommy Michelle (my first cousin) tubing down the river:

Mom and Courtney locking tubes (I'm not sure if that is my finger or my knee in the corner of the photo, but I was using disposable camera for this trip so cut me some slack):

Us all preparing to get into the water. I just realized I did the pictures backwards, but I'm ok with that today as I have 8 million other things to do and hated leaving ya'll with that post of Courtney needing to come home from church camp :).

My brother, mother and my children. He is so much fun and we would have loved to have him tubing with us, but he has this ABNORMAL fear of snakes---which we saw none of, by the way Trent.

Courtney Update

2009-07-14T22:27:00.006-04:00

For all of you kind enough to call, comment, email...Scott is indeed on his way to Western KY to get our little girl. I don't know who was crying more (her or me), but before the decision was even made to make the long trip to get her, Scott already had his shoes on and was loading the directions into his GPS. Just praying now for their safe return.....

Summer Week Five

2009-07-14T11:32:00.005-04:00

I was going to title this post: "The Saddest Day Ever" but I am trying not to be overly dramatic and clearly, there have been sadder days. But still. Courtney left for Church Camp yesterday and will be gone til Thursday evening. I was missing her like crazy the second she left, but was OK....until she called last night crying that her stomach hurt (her modus operandi for "come and get me" or "I'm really, really nervous"). I was trying so hard to be light and cheerful, but really wanted more than anything to just go get her! Unfortunately she is 5 hours away and they have now lost cell phone coverage. Nice. I'm just praying she is over her nervousness and is having a great time today and will be able to call tonight with more a more positive outlook. Please pray with me!!! Friends since Preschool:

Loading up into one of the four vans,

This is when I was trying not to cry,

By this picture, it was too late.

Sunset Pictures

2009-07-07T09:09:00.008-04:00

Of course you know they HAD to get wet:

Our last day of vacation

2009-07-07T08:26:00.014-04:00

It is so sad when vacations come to an end. We always say "one more day would have been perfect." We keep adding days, but there never comes a time when we are completely ready to return to reality. Funny, we lived just a few miles from the beach for years and probably did not spend as much time there as we did this week. Having kids makes it so much more fun. Here is where we had our breakfast every morning (Continental breakfast rocks!):

Here is Courtney teaching her brother to open a milk carton--a skill he will very much need this fall when he starts kindergarten. Did I say this fall? Ugh, I mean like 5 weeks from now!!

Morning walks on the beach are the best,

Looking for seashells,

Back at it for another day:

A last dip in the pool:

OH, and here is a picture of what the MOST AWESOME husband in the world looks like. He went to the laundry mat (while I took the kids souvenir shopping) and he washed, dried, folded all of our clothes and then put them back into the suitcase so that I wouldn't have to deal with tons of dirty clothes when I got home. A blessed vacation indeed.

Pensacola Beach Day 5

2009-07-07T08:13:00.008-04:00

Another fun day hanging out and riding the waves at the beach. This is our hotel behind Courtney; we were on the 6th floor and had a great view:

The last several hours we spent at the pool and pretty much all of those pictures look like this one with only a few variations of different poses and jumps off the side:

We had dinner at a place called Crabs, We Got'em. I loved the little playground they had right near our table. Oh, and the food was good too!

Kayaking!!!

2009-07-07T07:52:00.012-04:00

This was such a fun day on our vacation. We went kayaking at Blackwater River State Forest in Florida. The kids did great jobs! The weather was perfect and the water was so calm and serene. Here we are waiting for the van to take us to the drop off point: Courtney and me:

The entire trip was just beautiful:

So serious:

Preston and Scott:

Courtney now pictured with her Daddy because she liked to mix it up a bit:

Ok, we didn't actually eat here because we had river hair and the wait was really long, but we wanted to and I love this picture. I will spare you the picture of where we did eat (Outback!) because I believe I have posted one (or seven) of those before.

Mobile Science Center Explorium

2009-07-06T15:53:00.013-04:00

I just commented on the Kaylor Kastle blog how much we love Children's Museums. We try to visit one in every city we stay in (9 so far, with Indianapolis being our favorite). The Children's Museum in Mobile was very good too and pretty high tech.
Ok, these moves were not high tech, but really fun:

I will not even tell you which body part noise Preston was totally cracking himself up with:

Making a dinosaur movie:

After all the excitement we had dinner at Wintzell's which was recommended by a friend here who grew up there:

Two really worn out parents who'd had the most fun day!:

Mobile, Alabama

2009-07-06T14:44:00.023-04:00

After 2 days of R&R on Pensacola Beach, we were up for a road trip. We traveled the gulf coast to the great city of Mobile and spent the day. First we toured The Battleship Memorial Park which is home to the USS Alabama, the USS Drum and the Aircraft Pavilion. We both love Navy ships so we took a TON of pictures. I will try and only post a few (which is sooo hard!!). Some pictures are pretty dark so enlarging them will add detail.
This is The Battleship USS Alabama as we approached the museum park:

Waiting for lunch outside the ship before our tour:

The kids love touring ships; we take tours every time we get to stay near a base:

This is the ship's "Operating Room" which creeps me out (knowing all I know about operating rooms and all that can go wrong). Of course, I don't imagine they did much elective surgery here:

Here is the ICU--which I guess should not freak me out since it was the 1940's and all:

The Crew's Mess Area (Courtney is pretending to throw food on Preston):

Crew's Berthing (could you even imagine this being your bed for months on end??!):

The chapel for small services (I loved this, it was so peaceful). The ship normally had a crew of 2,500, so most services were held on deck:

Scott and kids:

Heading to the Submarine USS Drum.

Random pictures of Courtney getting the feel of submarine life (which is WAY too claustraphobic for her mother):

Finally the Aircraft Pavilion:

Old aircraft from the USS Independence (Scott's 2nd ship):

Awl, do we have us a future Naval Officer???

More pictures to follow of the rest of the day. I believe this post is about full!

Pensacola Beach Day 2--Monday

2009-07-05T19:52:00.008-04:00

Just more random beach pictures because, other than going to the NEX for shopping and haircuts and coming back to take naps, this is really all we did the first 2 days. Total relaxation and loved it!

This night we had dinner at Hemingways and watched an awesome tropical storm while we ate. This was the only rain we saw on our trip because it was usually 90+ degrees.

Ahh, there is nothing sweeter than a worn out child sound asleep...

Beach Vacation Day 1

2009-07-05T12:38:00.014-04:00

Pensacola Beach 2009 We absolutely love our yearly trips to the beach. They are a solid week of family time without any of the extraneousness of work, school or household chores. This year we chose Pensacola Beach because of the white sand, the warm water; fewer crowds and the amazing views. Of course, they do have more than average of these pesky friends to be on watch for: We only saw a couple of them, but I was on constant lookout. Here is me with my makeshift jellyfish catcher:

And here are some more pictures of our first day at the beach. After the LONG drive, the kids were so excited to get to the ocean that they didn't even change into their swimsuits before running to the water,

After cleaning up, we had THE BEST dinner of our whole trip at a place called Peg Leg Pete's. The food was incredible and the kids meals were served in souviner sand buckets, too cute.

The views from our room:

Absolutely gorgeous. I could totally live here...

Father's Day

2009-06-25T10:41:00.009-04:00

We had so much fun on Father's Day! After a wonderful church service (it was so good that Scott and I talked about it on and off the rest of the day), we went to Scott's all time favorite store--The Woodcraft Shop--so that Scott could shop and the kids could do a project for their Dad. It was Pen Making Day so the kids each got to make a wooden pen. Courtney worked very hard making a pen for her Daddy,

While Preston worked very hard to make a pen for....himself,

Forming the wood,

Sanding it,

Ta Dah! Scott's brand new pen made by his daughter,

Preston's brand new pen made for himself,

We finished off the day with dinner at Outback (where else?). My kids are truly blessed to have such an amazing father who just happens to also be an amazing husband!

Summer Sports--Courtney

2009-06-18T11:37:00.007-04:00

Courtney completed every level of swim lessons at the YMCA so we took her to KSU for lessons this year and they asked her to be on the Swim Team. She is so excited!! I hope she continues to enjoy it because it is certainly easier on the joints (especially her ankles) than cross country. Preston gets to take his swim lessons at the same time which is super convenient. Here is his first time ever off a diving board. He didn't even hesitate--I love the look on the guy's face behind him (I'm still trying to figure out my new camera and how to lighten everything up).

I got the impression he had a pretty good time :-)

Summer Sports--Preston

2009-06-18T09:16:00.009-04:00

This is Preston's first organized sport team. We signed him up for Tee Ball at the YMCA and he loves it (we tried it when we was 3, but all he wanted to do was play in the dirt so last year we didn't even try). Here are the Tigers: Batting:

Look at those precious little gloves all lined up...

Home plate!!

They don't keep score at this level, but it is so much fun to watch. The kids don't care about the score anyway as long as everyone gets juice boxes at the end.

Our "Camp" Fire

2009-06-12T17:54:00.008-04:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not much on camping. I don't care for sleeping outdoors nor can I stand to go without a hot shower. Now a campfire? They are the best! Wish I had thought to have them cook their own hot dogs (great idea Lisa!!!). We had dinner indoors and then Scott built a fire with sticks, leaves and matches.

Courtney said these were the best S'mores ever...I had to agree.

I'm thinking now this is more "camp smoke" than camp fire,

But mostly I just loved seeing them be sweet to each other for a solid 30 minutes. That doesn't happen near enough ;-)

Paddle Boats

2009-06-09T12:00:00.012-04:00

We spent Saturday afternoon at Natural Bridge State Park on the water. The weather was so perfect for us. It was very cool in the morning for hiking and very hot in the afternoon for sunning.
This is the view of the pool and lake from the lodge. The strip in the center is called "Hoedown Island" where they have an open air dance patio with music and dancing in the evenings. There were lots of geese in the lake and around the picnic tables.

Preston, on his first ever paddle boat ride, wearing his sister's super cool new shades. The little guy did get to paddle some, but sadly his legs were just not long enough to do the whole lake.

Little girl however was the master pedaler. Scott and I took turns which was quite a balancing act to arrange. I really wanted to do the Hydrobikes, but they did not have any out this weekend.

Ah, a little reprieve from the heat, getting ready to go under the bridge:

Next we cooled off in the pool. The lodge where we had dinner in the evenings is above the rocks behind Courtney.

Here's Preston totally cracking himself up,

Finally, back at the cabin taking a break before fishing. They are watching Preston's all time favorite movie that he has seen at least 4,632 times. I don't need to watch it anymore because I have it completely memorized. If you recognize the below scene, you probably have seen it too many times as well.

Natural Bridge

2009-06-08T17:27:00.016-04:00

We spent the weekend at Natural Bridge in Slade, KY and had the absolute best time. Our friends were all shocked to learn that, although we have been in KY for about 7 years, neither of us had ever been here so we loaded up Friday after work and headed to this gorgeous park.
Here is Courtney and me getting ready to hike up to the bridge (I am so excited Scott has his own camera now so we have multiple views to chose from)....
The hikes there are most awesome because so many trails lead to the bridge so you can pick your hike based on the level and distance you want. This particular hike lead us to underneath the bridge so here is the view looking up at it,

Here we are climbing up the side of the bridge (which was kind of clastraphobic for me).

The view from the top of the bridge. We could have taken a trail over to that rock, I think it's called Lover's Leap. We decided to make our descent onto a lower trail instead.

Oh good, Preston found a pile of dirt to play in at the top. Joy.

A picture of our family taken by a hiker who kept backing up to get the picture and my heart was leaping because I was sure he was going to fall off the other side of the bridge! Note another good grip Scott has on the little man--we just don't tolerate heights very well.

Going down the other side onto Balanced Rock Trail. I love a hike where you get a different trail going down, it makes it fun both ways.

Balancing Rock. Very cool.

We thought this was wild, it was like a tree growing off a rock:

Under the rocks; almost back to the cabin,

Here is our sweet cabin for the weekend:

And relaxing our muscles in the hot tub behind the cabin after hiking all day. A very good day. More pictures of the weekend to follow.

Scavenger Hunt!!

2009-06-02T18:50:00.009-04:00

I don't know exactly why, but I absolutely LOVE a good scavenger hunt. Seriously, it is my favorite game. So it was my lucky day when Courtney's friend came over with her State Scavenger Hunt list she was given as a school assignment. Fortunately, we live in the capitol city so a lot of the things on her list were right here. I quickly volunteered to help her get started and off we went.

Here is "snapshot in front of the governor's mansion":

Here they are "in front of the state's capitol building":
Mikenna had to obtain a "vial of water from a lake or river in your state along with a photograph of you collecting the sample" (Ok, this is really a "creek", but don't tell on us!):

The children getting sidetracked at the creek when there was obviously more hunting to be done:
A snapshot of her "standing in front of a monument in your state":
Some other things we just happened to have around the house:

A cd by a famous singer from your state (well, Billy Ray Cyrus, who else?)
A picture of art work by a famous artist from your state
A brochure from a state park (where we just happen to be going this weekend)
Sheet music for your state song (hello, Courtney's piano recital from last year)
A DVD of a movie made in your state ("Elizabethtown" filmed in Versailles)
Decal from a sports team that plays in your state. Ok, I did not have this and she would not accept UT's decal so she'll have to find that on her own.

We had a blast though and I'm trying to think up one for the girls to do on their own this summer in the neighborhood. Maybe types of trees, flowers, rocks etc. Any ideas??

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-30T18:49:00.007-04:00

Our little man has graduated from Preschool.The class of 2009: Dayson, Ethan, Sierra, Roman, Preston, Mikayla, Bella and Portia.

Preston was awarded The Future Engineer award, no doubt for his building prowess. During the ceremony they did a little interview with each child. Here are some highlights, Preston's favorite Center: Blocks. Why: Because he can build things. His favorite food: Lettuce (what?!).

With his best friend, Ethan:

Our little family,

After the ceremony there was a fabulous cookout and lots of playtime at the park. Next step: Kindergarten!!

Spring Chorus Concert

2009-05-30T17:28:00.005-04:00

As the school year comes to an end we are being bombarded with end of year events. Last night was Courtney's 4th grade Chorus Concert. It took an Americana theme this year with lots of patriotic and KY Folk music. Courtney did a great job and has such a sweet voice. We are so proud of her.

Meeting Nancy Rue

2009-05-27T10:34:00.006-04:00

Courtney and I were so blessed over the weekend to get to attend a Mother/Daughter event at church with our friends, Melissa and her daughter Mikenna. We were also blessed to get to meet the very interesting and energetic author Nancy Rue. For those of you who are not familiar with Nancy Rue, she has written over 100 books for tweens (kind of like American Girl books for Christians) and also does the features for Faithgirlz Bibles. She was so much fun and personable that the girls adored her. The Moms enjoyed her wit and great advice. Oh, and there was dessert. What more could you ask?!

Oh, going with wet hair is NOT the new style. We just had to drag the girls out of Mikenna's new pool to go to the event. After a movie and more food, they were right back in it (more pictures to follow).

Spring Pictures and some Time Travel

2009-05-11T16:20:00.007-04:00

Spring pictures came today. As I went to put them in a frame along side those from years past, it hit me hard how fast time is passing. Courtney no longer has those chubby little baby cheeks or those platinum ringlets and Preston has lost his chicken fuzz hairdo and no longer keeps us up all night (Ok, I do NOT miss that). They are growing into fine young people too. Courtney helps clean the house and Preston helps plant flowers (and trees, he's quite the digger!)
Here's 2009:
2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Courtney's Volunteer Job

2009-05-11T11:00:00.003-04:00

Courtney has been begging for a dog since she learned to speak and, since we can not get a dog (for a number of reasons), she asked to volunteer to walk dogs at the Humane Society. I was skeptical at first, but it turned out to be a lot of fun for her and for the dogs. The one she has here is a Jack Russell Terrier named Pepper--a cute (but wild) little puppy.

Mother's Day Tea

2009-05-09T12:35:00.005-04:00

I just love Mother's Day Tea at the Preschool. It's my absolute favorite event there and I am so sad this will be my last one. Preston presented me with lots of handmade gifts, but this placemat was by far the best: Sniff, sniff, my little boy is growing up too fast. And he really does like tea!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there. Cherish every second.

Cinco De Mayo McDavid Style

2009-05-08T16:33:00.004-04:00

Once a year the McDavid's will eat Mexican food, that's about all our fragile stomachs can stand. After our taco this year, Preston went after his homemade pinata. He started out with a foam bat and quickly changed to the metal one when he realized this pinata needed some beating. It was hilarious in person; it took way longer than I imagined to break.

P.S. Scott, if you are reading this and happen to notice all your ivy ground cover is missing, don't notify authorities. It has been safely tucked into three 39 gallon bags and will be sitting by the curb on Tuesday morning. Miss you!!

Scott's Spring Trip to Taiwan

2009-05-08T16:04:00.006-04:00

After 24 hours of travel time, Scott has made it safely to Taiwan. Little did he know they have a bit of a phobia about Americans bringing them the Swine Flu. Here they are being checked after they landed. Here is his little group the first few days of meetings (he is in the right corner).

He said they had to wear these masks ALL DAY LONG the first few days and could only take them off to eat lunch in a little room together. That was lifted yesterday and now they only have temperature checks prior to entering the compound. Hopefully he will get to do some hiking this weekend and will send me good pictures of outdoor Taiwan.

Our Compassion Child

2009-05-03T16:35:00.005-04:00

After following the latest Compassion Blogger Trip to Calcutta, India this week our family decided to sponsor a precious child from Nagpur. I won't share too much here so that I don't compromise her privacy, but her first name is Sakshi and she is 9 years old. Courtney is very excited to write to her and we are very honored to get to support this little girl in any way God leads us to. We can't wait to get to know you Sakshi!

Preston's First Sleepover

2009-04-29T08:48:00.007-04:00

Granted, he is only 5 years old, but since his big sister has so many sleepovers, he has been BEGGING to sleepover at his friend's house (who thank goodness lives just next door). We finally relented and he was over the top excited! Here he is with his toothbrush all ready to go... Running next door to Matson's house...

So excited for them to answer the door...

Such sweet little boys.

Sadly, he only made it until 10:30 and Scott had to go get him. Thank goodness he didn't have to go far!

Courtney's Spring Piano Recital

2009-04-28T21:00:00.004-04:00

Spring Break in The Great Smoky Mountains

2009-04-09T10:21:00.014-04:00

I absolutely love Spring Break. Spring is my favorite time of year and a break, what's not to love?! No work, no school, no t.v, just family time enjoying each other. We stayed at an amazing cabin-like hotel with an indoor water park that the kids could just not get enough of. We also saw a spectacular musical in Pigeon Forge at the Miracle Theater with my most funny and amazing Aunt Debra and Uncle Kenny. Sorry no pictures of them because I did not even look right in the picture, but here is one of the cool Angels that flew around the stage (no joke, they really flew, it was cool and the kids were in awe the whole 2 hours!).

The lazy river at the indoor waterpark....

I think these are my children getting water dumped on their heads. I could be wrong though, they may be random strangers,

We even found Mini-golf with a Firetruck theme of all things. Ya'll know how the Little Man is about a Firetruck and about mini-golf. I thought we might not ever leave here,

Oh, I almost forgot the hiking! The best part of all!!

This particular hike was a little steep for my taste with little ones in tow,

See the death grip Scott has on Preston. It did not help our nerves either that signs were posted throughout that children have been known to plunge to their death from the top of the falls. Geez.

Pure beauty though, all around. I can still hear the falls and smell the fresh air. Ah, Sweet Gatlinburg, we can't wait to go back.

Some bonus pictures, guess who we ran into??

We were totally shocked to find out that Scott's brother and sister-in-law had also taken their daugther down to a different nearby water park. The kids were so excited to have dinner with their cousin Hannah on her 11th birthday at the Hard Rock Cafe. What an added bonus to an wonderful week!

Five Years Ago Today...

2009-04-08T18:11:00.014-04:00

Scott's parents came to our home to be with our little girl while we went to the hospital to have our son. He was born at 7:48 am and weighed 8lbs, 2 oz. We had no idea how he was about to rock our world.

My, how the time has flown. He is such a big boy now and has huge opinions about everything and more questions than I have the energy (or knowledge sometimes) to answer. His favorite things are Legos, his scooter, all trucks, playing with Ethan and eating chocolate (his words). Happy Birthday Little Man!!

Monster Jam

2009-04-06T17:59:00.005-04:00

Since our sweet-truck-loving-little-boy is turning 5 this week, we thought we would take him to the Monster Truck Show at Rupp Arena. What a LOUD, happy time that was! I was disappointed, however, to learn they can't put dirt down at Rupp. We totally should have gotten a discount!! Too bad I could not get video to give the effect of all the noise. It was off the charts.

How do you eat hospital cafeteria tuna casserole?

2009-03-25T16:43:00.001-04:00

By covering your nose so you don't have to smell it ofcourse!

St. Patrick's Day 2009

2009-03-18T08:37:00.005-04:00

We are at it again! We ran a little race in Downtown Frankfort on St. Patrick's Day and had the total opposite experience as the one in Lexington. This race was more hilly and we had incredible weather, 70 and sunny, just the way I like it! Courtney set the pace for us which was interesting because (even though she runs Cross Country) she is more of a sprinter. So we were running like we were on fire and then walking for most of the race. Mostly running because I don't let the little girl get too far in front of me. Now I'm not sure where everyone else is here at the finish. Could it be that we were just so far ahead of everyone?? I'm sure that was it.

Courtney in front of the old Capitol Building. This is where they have the band after the big races we will do in the summer (once we are in better shape!).

Shamrock Shuffle 2009

2009-03-15T14:15:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning I got up early and headed to Lexington for the annual St. Patrick's Day run in Downtown Lexington. Last year Scott and the kids joined me, but this year, since it was COLD AND RAINING, the only person I could drag out with me was my dear friend Mary. She is such a trooper. No, we didn't win any awards, but we were happy, a little sore and very, very wet.
Mary on the run

Nope, that's not sweat, it's all rain...very cold rain.

The Easter Passion

2009-03-14T20:48:00.003-04:00

We went to the Easter Passion at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville last night. What a phenomenal production!! The cast was so gifted and Courtney was in awe of all the animals walking through the church (a camel, horse, donkey, goat and doves...too cool). It was a first rate show all the way to the end when Jesus was literally lifted (by cables) to "heaven". I like the way Kyle Idleman puts it...once you have experienced Easter, you will never be the same. Amen to that. How blessed are we.

Taking a little walk

2009-03-11T19:32:00.005-04:00

In celebration of our newfound good weather, Preston and I decided to take a little walk to get Courtney from school (he packed a bag of trucks, because, well, I guess you just never know when you are going to need a bag of trucks). The school is practically in our back yard, maybe a mile.

He got tired however and had to take a rest with his trucks. It was at this point he was berating me for not bringing water.

Ah, we did finally make it. Thankfully, we got back to the house with only a couple more breaks. We've got to get this crew (me included) back into shape!

Spring Countdown

2009-03-11T09:03:00.003-04:00

We are so excited that Spring is coming! No flowers yet, but at least we can go outside (albeit with a jacket). The kids are loving it and I don't even mind the sand-box sand in the kitchen right now.

Road Trip!!!

2009-02-24T17:52:00.014-05:00

Okay, so spring is NOT coming any time soon. We were all getting cabin fever and decided to take a little road trip to Fort Knox. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the Patton Museum and I got my much needed Commissary/PX fix. It was so good to get out for the day. Winters here are tough on the spirit.

The hilarious part is that my son plays the "Tank Game" on the Wii so he has an abnormal fear of being "shot" by a tank. So here is Courtney and me in front on the tank...

This is Preston refusing to get out of the car in fear of the tank!!!

We ended the evening with lovely dinner at Outback.

Road trips are SO good for the spirit.

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-19T16:23:00.002-05:00

My God is Faithful

A husband who irons

Kids not fighting

Bible Study on Thursday mornings

Shopping in Louisville

Dinner in the oven

Spring is coming

Time Travel Tuesday

2009-02-17T10:50:00.010-05:00

A good friend gave me the idea of doing a weekly memory day on our blogs and posting older pictures. I never pass up a chance to share pictures of my babies (now 9 and 4). Here are a few from 2004. I hope to eventually be able to post video from my very own vintage, video vault, but for now it will have to be a couple of pictures. Thanks for the idea Lisa!

Valentine's Day 2009

2009-02-14T18:26:00.009-05:00

The day started out early with my friend Mary and I doing an American Heart Association Walk. Feb is AHA month and Central Baptist Hospital hosted a great walk in Lexington to commemorate it. Scott took the kids to Lowe's for a project and then to the KY Historical Society to see the Lincoln Exhibit for President's Day while Mary and I walked (and shopped!).

Okay, we were first (and second) place until this guy took us from behind. No joke, he had the legs of Road Runner. We ended up being 3rd and 4th out of about 300. Don't get too excited, it was a walk--not a run.

OH! The best part of the walk (I almost forgot to mention!), I won the grand prize of a $250 gift certificate to Fayette Mall!! How cool is that?!

We ended the evening with dinner at Carino's celebrating Valentine's with the kiddos and our 13 years together. What a wild, blessed ride we've been on.

The McDavid's are Blogging

2009-02-13T09:04:00.001-05:00

We are the parents of two great kiddos. A precious 9 year old girl and a precocious 4 year old boy, both of which keep us very busy. After much sweet encouragement from many friends, we are taking the plunge and starting a blog. Tomorrow is our 12th wedding anniversary. Let's all see where 2009 takes us.