Our week so far

Yesterday we had our VBS Family Fling. You can tell in the pictures above that Grace Anne and Drew had a great time and enjoyed their snow cones!

We had a wonderful week at VBS, we averaged around 350 kids! It was such a blessing to watch all the kids throughout the week learn that God is real, Jesus is God's son, Jesus is the only way, The Bible is God's word and My actions show what I believe! I can't wait until next year, I love VBS!

This week we are enjoying sleeping in!!! Today we went to the Library. Grace Anne has been asking to go for a while now, she loves to check out books. I now remember why it has been a while since we have gone.:-) Drew does not know what a whisper is, and he does not understand that the books are on the self for a reason!!! Anyway, we did check out some books and movies. I think our next trip will be just me and Grace Anne!!!

After the Library we headed to the dreaded Wal-Mart. For those of you that know me well, know that I don't usually do the Wal-Mart thing with my kids. Well, today I again remembered why I go alone!!!! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and they are good kids, but today was a challenge. Drew was in a grumpy mood today, so that did not help any, and beside the fact that they we were all starving! I thought I would be smart and get my groceries before we had lunch. That was not a good idea. Drew tried to open several boxes and was successful on a few. We finally made it out of Wal-Mart and I stopped by Chick-fil-A to grab lunch. They were so hungry I gave them their food to eat on the way home. Both kids finished their lunch by the time we pulled in the driveway. I must remind you we live less than 10 minutes from Chick-fil-A! Trying to unload the groceries was another story in itself. However we made it through the day. Even days like today makes me love being a mommy even more. I know it is crazy and stressful at times, but it is my life and I love it!!! Thank you God for allowing me to be a full time mommy!!!

We are planning on going to the movies tomorrow, I am hoping we will have a calm day!:-)

Outrigger Island!!!!! It's VBS week!!!

This week we have had a blast at VBS. Grace Anne's friend Lily came with her this week. They have been in the same class at school for the past 2 years. I have posted some picture below of them. Daniel and I have enjoyed teaching and have been touched by all the children, it is such a joy watch them learn and get excited about God's word.

I must add that Drew has enjoyed VBS as well, he has been in the nursery because he is not quite old enough for VBS yet. They take the kids out for wagon rides and let them see what all the big kids are up to. He loves to go and watch the kids in music, he dances and sings right alone with them. He has been excited to go each morning!


Crazy Hat Day


They are the best of friends, Grace Anne will miss
not going to school with Lily next year. We will
have to schedule play dates:-)

Dress Hawaiian Day

Lily and Grace Anne got to go on stage during Worship Rally,
they were sooo excited!!!

Here is a video of them on stage:-)

Our Family Vacation

We had a great time on our annual Bratton Vacation. We always go to the beach, but this year we changed things up and went to the mountains. I vote for the mountains again next year! It was so nice, the weather was great, and it was very relaxing. We stayed in a 4 bedroom cabin that had anything you could possibly would want or need. We all enjoyed the pool table, ping pong table and foosball table. It was a lot of fun!

I am so glad that we get to spend a week each summer with my family. We don't get to see them as much as we would like, but we do cherish the times we spend with them. Grace Anne and Drew had a ball with their cousins!!!! They love Austin and Emma so much! My kids also enjoyed getting spoiled by PopPop and Nana and Uncle Lee and Aunt Sandy. Anything Grace Anne or Drew wanted, one of the 4 made sure they got it!:-) We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

I have posted pictures from our trip, hope you enjoy looking at them!

PLAYING GAMES AT THE CABIN




POPPOP AND NANA GAVE EACH GRANDCHILD MONEY TO SPEND AT THE NASCAR SPEEDWAY, THEY ALL HAD A BLAST!






HANGING OUT WITH FAMILY AT THE CABIN





FAMILY PICTURE TIME:-)

MY BROTHER AND HIS SWEET FAMILY

POPPOP AND NANA AND THEIR GRANDKIDS

DANIEL AND THE KIDS WAITING TO EAT AT THE APPLE BARN

AND DREW ALL SHOPPED OUT!!!

SINCE WE WERE IN GATLINBURG, WE HAD TO GO AND VISIT THE CHAPEL THAT LEE AND SANDY GOT MARRIED AT!!!! HERE IS A PICTURE OF THEM 13 YEARS AND 2 KIDS LATER!!!! GOOD TIMES:-)

IT'S POOL TIME!!!!



Well, that is all of the pictures. We made a lot of great memories, we are looking forward to next year!!! Thanks Mom and Dad for a great trip!!!!!! We miss you all already!!!!:-)

Father's Day/Pictures from the Lake Trip

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DANIEL!!!! I am convinced that Grace Anne and Drew have the best daddy in the world!:-) They adored him, and so do I! God has blessed us in so many ways. I am very blessed to have a Godly husband that is the leader of our home. Thank you Daniel for all you do for us, you are the heart of our family. I love you!!!!


The kids and I went to the lake for a few days last week. Some friends of ours have a family lake house, and we always enjoying going and hanging out with them. Grace Anne and Drew love playing with "Big" Drew and Bryce. They all get along great and have lots of fun together. The kids favorite part of the trip was the boat rides. Thanks Brandy and boys for a fun trip!!!!
Ice Cream Time

Grace Anne and Drew enjoying the boat ride


playing in the sand/mud :-)

We are packed and ready for our vacation with my family. We can't wait, Grace Anne had a hard time going to sleep tonight because she was SOOOO excited!!!! Check back next week for pictures!!!!!

Cardboard Testimonies

I have put a link on the bottom of this post, please check it out. I cry every time I watch it. This 8 minute video rocked my world! It is very powerful.

Thank you God for you mercy and grace. You are a powerful and mighty God, thank you for saving me. I pray that you use me Lord to glorify you. Forgive me for all the many times I have failed you. I pray that your light will shine through me, help me to show your gracious love to the lost. I love you Lord. Amen

Cardboard Testimonies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ&eurl

What a day!!!! God is good!!!!

Wow, is all I can say right now. God has again poured his blessings on me today. I have had a job opportunity fall in my hands and I know it was all a God thing. It is so neat how God opens a door when you are not even expecting it. I have been offered a wonderful job that I can do from my home. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to seek God's will and that I will keep focus on what He wants for me, not what "I" want. I am very excited and nervous about this great opportunity. I go Tuesday for training, so I will update you with more details on the job later next week.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Daniel is off on Friday and we are planning on being LAZY!!! This is the first time in a while that we have not had anything to do. We are going to enjoy every minute of it.:-)

It's SUMMERTIME!!!

We are so excited that school is out!!!! This week we have stayed home and enjoyed having nothing to do. Above are pictures of the kids playing yesterday, notice that Drew is playing house with his Power Ranger, not a doll.:-) The kids love summer because we have no schedule, it gets thrown out the door during the summer.:-)

For the month June we have several fun things planned. Next week the kids and I are going to the lake for a couple of days with some friends. So that means Daniel will enjoy a little peace and quite while we are gone. We are also taking our annual Bratton Family Vacation this month to the mountains! We are very excited and can't wait to spend a whole week with my family. Then when we get back VBS starts. Grace Anne loves Vacation Bible School and so do We.:-) I will be teaching 1st grade and Daniel will be teaching the mission class again.

So, I guess you can tell we have a full month ahead of us. I will try to continue posting as much as I can. It looks like I will not be around the computer much this month!:-) I hope you have a happy June, we would love to hear from you about what your summer plans are!!!