lisa

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T11:23:00.004-05:00

Here we have our jack-o-lanterns,

and.....

Bat Girl,

Tinkerbell,

and Princess Ana. Also our neighbor Madison, who is also a princess, and our former neighbor Gabby with Ana.

Gabriella sat at the table with the jack-o-lanterns and Mom handing out the candy while the rest of them went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

U2 has a rap session

2009-10-28T20:15:00.000-04:00

Happy 9th Birthday Ana

2009-10-26T08:00:00.005-04:00

It's hard to believe, but Ana turned 9 on October 17. We had the usual fall birthday party, which features warm cider and birthday cake, party poppers and playing outside and inside with friends. Here you can see Madison, Amie, Lizzy, Emily, Ana and Lauren.

Also, here is Lizzy's sister Rachel, and below Ana is with Gabriella and Jason Christian, our dear friends home from Guatemala! Welcome home!

And below that is Lindsey and Mary Kathryn who took time to come celebrate too!

U2

2009-10-05T19:53:00.005-04:00

We went to see U2 in Charlottesville last Thursday night, at UVA.

U2. Is. The. Best. Band. Ever.

To get a glimpse of what we saw, click this link

http://www.u2.com/tour/date/id/4445#

and get a report on the Charlottesville show.

They are simply the coolest band. Ever.

About 60,000 of us danced, sang, and celebrated. We watched a stage show that you have to see to believe. We sang Amazing Grace with Bono. We listened to Desmond Tutu (on video). They played all of the songs I hoped to hear, songs from way back when. (OK, back to the 80s

anyway.)

I first remember hearing U2 when I was in about 8th grade. i think the first songs I remember are With or Without You and I Will Follow. They were "alternative" back then, different from everything else on the radio, and I liked them, but didn't follow them.

When they came out with Where The Streets Have No Name, I perked up. I love that song. I still do.

It wasn't until I saw a couple of live concert videos that I realized I had to get to know this band better, and that wasn't until I was in my 20s. So I got the CDs as they came out, All That you Can't Leave Behind, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and No Line on the Horizon. I have loved and listened to them and made it a goal to get to a concert.

It took a lot of planning, time, money and babysitting by the grandparents, but we got there, it was worth it, and I will do it again when they come back if it's within driving distance!

Also, Karl's mom Kay gave me a book called The Gospel According to U2, which I'm reading right now. What an awesome book! I don't even know where to begin, except to say that U2 points their fans to Jesus. Listen to them. See what you think!

Ocean City, New Jersey

2009-09-30T06:36:00.008-04:00

I spent the weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey with three incredible women, my sweet roomates from Wheaton. I am blessed to call these girls my friends, and blessed that they put up with me at Wheaton and still love me!

Cathy lives in New Jersey, and we stayed in a condo belonging to her friends... we talked and walked the boardwalk, ate, shared, gambled.... (we went to Atlantic City which is down the beach :)

Here's a picture of Cathy with her sweet family!

here you can see us in Atlantic City where we got a fun taste of the night life there, and I'm holding my winning ticket worth $13! (I stopped after that and bought ice cream with my winnings)

What a great weekend.

Kris and Rich

2009-09-24T17:24:00.008-04:00

At last here are some pictures from my sister Kristin and Rich's wedding in Oregon! These pictures were taken by Andy, my sweet cousin Lynn's husband, and show (obviously) Kristin and Rich in the first picture, and also my sweet aunt Donna and sweet daughter Ana, who helped with the service. Aunt Donna married them and Ana held the rings. Next is lovely Lynn with Phineas. Then there's a few duplicated pictures, I don't know why, but I'm afraid I'll wreck this blog entry if I try to delete them. And some thumbnail pictures too... My mom also took many pictures especially of Ana exploring Portland, and I'll post those next.

Church Picnic

2009-09-20T20:12:00.004-04:00

We just got back from a church picnic. We have a great "backyard" behind the church.

LADDER BALL COMPETITION!!! Karl and Mike advanced pretty far in the tournament before Pastor Scott and Fred beat them. Good game, boys.

Now does this guy need grandchildren or what? This is Scott F. with the new Clubb baby!

VA TECH BEATS NEBRASKA!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-19T19:01:00.000-04:00

and Daddy was there to see it happen, just minutes ago!!!!!

Face Painting with friends

2009-09-18T16:03:00.000-04:00

Here we have my girls plus Lizzy, who we babysit after school, and our newest neighbors TJ, Tao and Mikayla from the next street over. They painted their faces. They made the paint themselves from colored chalk and water. I hope it doesn't do something horrible to their skin. (?)

We hosted Mi Chan from Japan

2009-09-13T13:38:00.003-04:00

Our friend Cathy has a brother who is a missionary with Navigators in Japan, and he brought a group of 8 or so Japanese students to the United States. We hosted Mi Chan for one night. She was wonderful, and so sweet with the girls, who didn't leave her alone very much, they loved her. We went to the mall, to the star on top of Mill Mountain, had dinner, and brought her to church this morning. Here are some pictures of us with Mi Chan, and some of the other Japanese students.

A Homeschool Picture

2009-09-12T16:54:00.000-04:00

Grandma Debbie visited us and captured this photo of homeschooling... thought i'd share. ;)

Bear Sighting! (2!)

2009-09-11T19:28:00.005-04:00

I just saw TWO BLACK BEARS on the gravel drive that goes up Tinker Ridge behind our house! (no, this isn't it) They were in the drive as I rounded a bend and then charged up the drive and into the woods! SO COOL!

Smith Mountain Lake

2009-09-08T14:49:00.002-04:00

We spent Labor Day weekend at the home of our dear friends the Harrisons. They are wonderful people who make it feel like we're doing THEM a favor by staying in their dock house and having a wonderful time! Here you can see Mrs. Harrison floating around with Amie, and giving Sea-doo rides to the girls. You can see Mr. and Mrs. Harrison in the 11th picture down. In this one, the girls are wearing tie-dyed t-shirts that Mrs. Harrison made with them.

You can also see the girls fishing with Karl; each girl caught a BIG FISH! (OK, it was a carp that Karl lured to the dock...but it was still big).

Like our private beach? You can see it on the left!

We went to the LB game

2009-09-04T22:10:00.002-04:00

Just got back from the Lord Botetourt High School football game which is quite an event around here. Here are our lovely neighbors, Brandon, Melissa and Madison and Emily. We had a good time!

Homeschooling

2009-09-03T11:56:00.003-04:00

Here's a peek at our homeschool morning today. Lauren started off using the computer, while Ana helped her. Lauren spends time on the website Starfall, which is one of the best "educational" websites. She learns letters, phonics, words, etc. It's a good site.

Science Time!

In the next picture, Ana is busy ing a magnifying glass to examine Lauren's tastebuds! Turns out she really does have quite a lot of tastebuds.

2009-09-01T12:17:00.002-04:00

We got outside this weekend, here we are at Greenfield the local elementary school that Ana went to before homeschooling.

I went YARD-SALE shopping on Saturday morning and came back with a couple treasures! One was a small bike with training wheels on it for Lauren, who you can see here riding it,

and a fabulous huge stuffed pony for Amie, who you can see riding it regally. Right now my mottto is, never buy anything new that you can get from your neighbors at yard sales!

Also here you can see our lovely neighbors Madison and Emily, who we spent time visiting.

Finally, here is Lauren with an important symbol in our lives- the HOKIE BIRD. Yes, Virginia Tech Football season is upon is, and will somewhat shape our lives for the next several weeks. (in a good way!)

2009-08-28T16:41:00.004-04:00

I really am going to be a better blogger now that our school year is in swing, and most importantly, I figured out how to connect my camera to the lovely laptop!

Here are Ana, Amie and Lauren at breakfast. They look a little tired.

Next is wonderful Grandma Debbie with her sweet grandchildren. Grandma Debbie and Ana went on a big trip to Oregon to Kristin's wedding! Grandma flew in to Roanoke with Ana, then flew out the next day back to Nashville. I hope to get some pictures soon of the big event!

Here are my children playing dress-up. We have an abundant source of clothes, scarves, boas, wigs, and high-heeled shoes in our dress up boxes. Ana is pictured with our sweet neighbor Josey, trying out a Little Orphan Annie look. Lauren and Amie are pretending to be beggars. Amie is pretending she sells flowers in the street. How sweet.

Look for pictures from Kristin's wedding, and hopefully some shots from our mornings of homeschooling, which have begun and are now in the basement, which we love! (and I have my dining room back . :)

2009-08-03T11:09:00.003-04:00

I'm sorry I have not kept up with my blog! I'll try to get back into the swing. The first picture is of Amie being given the royal spa treatment by Ana, who learned that some people put cucumbers on their eyes to make them feel good. The next pictures are of Cedric's farm, who is our organic farmer friend in Floyd County, which I visited a couple weeks ago when Corinne was there. You can see the new chicken house, and another picture is taken looking through the window of the new house they're building. Also, a picture includes their parents as we're about to sit down to lunch.

Look what Karl caught

2009-06-27T20:51:00.000-04:00

This is a red drum that weighs 7 pounds, pulled out of Pamlico Sound today, by Karl in his kayak!

Wednesday at Ocracoke

2009-06-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more pictures fromthe past two days- this morning there was a rainstorm and then, a rainbow. This is from the porch of our house. Also, Lexi and Ana are sitting in Uncle David's boat

Our First Day at the Beach

2009-06-22T15:47:00.008-04:00

How about this gorgeous day? The first picture shows the path from our house to the sound. Everyone played in the sound this morning, including the mother duck and her babies...we had lunch (see Amie eating a peach) and then went to the BEACH beach!

We're here!

2009-06-22T10:52:00.003-04:00

Here we are on Ocracoke Island! Here are pictures from the beginning of our trip,the Hatteras Ferry, and our sunny morning at Pamlico Sound.

Ocracoke, N.C.

2009-06-19T16:33:00.001-04:00

Look where we're going this weekend!

Pamlico Sound...

Ocracoke Island!

I'll be blogging from the beach, stay tuned...

We have a chicken

2009-06-14T20:17:00.008-04:00

About 5 days ago, Amie called, "There's a chicken in our yard!" And there was. This chicken has moved into our yard and has claimed the area around Sam's dog house. Sam ran at her once, but now he doesn't care. You can see the chicken in the tree, and to the left of the trash bins. Sam and the chicken peacefully co-exist. We scattered sunflower seeds to her today.

We also have a cat that spends a lot of time with us, her name is Mittens and you can see her in one of the pictures below.
Today after church we went to Carvin's Cove, which is a resevoir just over the ridge behind our house. We hiked, picnicked (see the Bojangles box) and watched the fish. It was lovely.

and the girls got BUNK BEDS this weekend! (Amie and lauren). Thanks Grandma Kay who graciously provided them and helped Karl put them together! I would post a picture but the girls are currently sleeping in them!

We have one week until we leave for OCRACOKE! i plan to take my trusty laptop and document the experience for you all!

By way, you're listening to Brooks Williams...

and after him, William Brooks...

who I discovered while searching for music by Brooks williams...

I like both of them.

Being Creative

2009-06-12T17:57:00.002-04:00

I'm experimenting with different looks...have patience as I work out my new style! :)