Andy Stanley Rocks

Last Sunday we were able to attend a worship service where Andy Stanley was preaching. It was so awesome. Kevin and I have done several of his small group studies & I really wanted to see him preach in person. I felt like I was at a concert! The church that he started, North Point Community Church, is amazing. The boys enjoyed the children's church too. I was able to take a picture of them next to their favorite super hero. The next time we go we'll have to get there early so that we can get a better seat. The sanctuary was packed!

Stone Mountain

The family

The boys with Pa Pa & Nanny
Myles & Connor

Riding the boat

Connor riding the boat

During our Atlanta trip we camped out at Stone Mountain. It was really nice & the boys had so much fun. There was a lake near our site, which made the view beautiful. The boys were able to feed ducks too. We didn't make it to the laser show because we were at the Braves game 2 nights & wanted to get in bed early Saturday night so we could attend church Sunday morning. Here are some snapshots of Stone Mountain.

Happy Belated Birthday Kevin

Kevin celebrated his 37th birthday on Monday, and guess where he celebrated? The Braves game! And to top off his birthday, the Braves FINALLY won! We made a sign to try and get on the screen, but we didn't make it. The fans around us said that we were probably in a blind sight area. We'll try it again at the next game.

Finally home

Well we FINALLY made it home from Atlanta. It was a VERY long drive today considering everything that happened. Note to self & others driving in downtown Atlanta in a minivan pulling a pop up camper- there is NO WHERE to park & there are LOADS of one way streets! Long story short, Kevin thought it would be best if I drove so that he could look for CNN (the one & only place I wanted to go on this trip.) We couldn't find it so we asked a lady who was walking & she was like "Oh turn left on Peachtree St. & right on Marietta). Sounds easy, right? Kevin starts saying how the Peachtree road race is a race he's always wanted to run and about that time I see Peachtree & swing a left. All of the sudden cars are coming straight at us so I just stop. It was not the Peachtree St that we were looking for! That was quite obvious. A guy walks up and says "All you have to do is go right around the corner & you can turn right". Okay so we start going and as soon as I see the street to turn right on I turn and nail the curb with the pop up tire. Just terrible. As soon as it happened I knew that the tire was busted, but I didn't think the rim would be bent. Kevin is ready to kill me at this point! Thankfully we have a spare & Kevin changed the tire in the middle of downtown Atlanta during lunch hour. I knew that we weren't in Mobile because not one single person offered to help him! Here are some pictures that I managed to take while Kevin wasn't looking.

Interesting mail

Today my mom called me crying, & I asked her what was wrong. It took her a minute to gather herself & she told me that she had received a letter that had a picture of my dad in it. You see my dad's hobby was collecting autograph baseballs & baseball cards. He would also take his picture with professional players and make the picture into a 5 x7. Then he would mail the picture to the player so that it could be signed. Well today we received an autographed picture and baseball card from Dale Murphy, who is my FAVORITE player of all time. Can you believe it? It's absolutely amazing. God's timing is so perfect. We received autographs that my daddy mailed for about a year after his death. I'm not sure when my daddy sent the picture to Dale Murphy, but I figure it had to be at least 3.5 years ago. And for my mom to receive it 2 days before we go see the Braves makes it even more amazing. As my mom was crying I told her that it's my daddy's way of saying how happy he is that the boys are going to see the Braves!

The next Jeff Francoeur?

Kevin and I were watching a documentary last week about Jeff Francoeur, the upcoming star of the Atlanta Braves. His parents told a story that reminded us so much of Myles. The story was about how he, Jeff, cried when he T-ball lost the championship game. Well, we went through the same thing with Myles. He was just devastated when his team lost. He knew, and he takes the game so serious. He has been practicing throwing and hitting every day (well not today since we had some much needed rain) even though he is not in season. Talk about dedication for a 6 year old! I thought that I would upload some pictures of Myles after the game so that you could see the disappointment. He did overcome the disappointment & was as happy as he could be before too long.

Walking after the game

Caitlin, Myles & Ted

Myles singing

This is Myles singing a Chris Tomlin song "Your Grace Is Enough". I caught him singing it last Sunday. Chris Tomlin is an awesome artist. We had the privilege of seeing him in concert when he was touring with Steven Curtis Chapman & Casting Crowns.

Happy Father's Day

Myles & Connor wanted to send a big "Happy Father's Day" out to Kevin. Both boys made him cards & we framed some of our last Braves' outing pictures. His gift will be attending the Braves' games next weekend! Here are the boys this morning.

Splish Splash-I'm having a blast!

Tonight while we were washing cars we let Connor put on his rain boots for some fun. He waited patiently for some puddles to form, and it was worth the wait for him. Myles is spending the night with Ted this evening so Connor is enjoying some alone time with Mommy & Daddy. Right now he & daddy are watching the Braves, who are making a 9th inning comeback!

Check out my rain boots!

Should I jump in?

Oh yeah
I'm having fun

Banana tree

Watering my banana tree

Worm- big distraction for me. I love bugs!

Back to watering!

Washing my car!

This evening we were washing our friend's car and Connor wanted to wash his car too! He was so cute. He washed it very well and REALLY enjoyed spraying the water house!

Working hard!

Check out my wheels!

Happy Anniversary

Today would be my parents 41st anniversary. They were married for 38 years when my dad passed away. My dad was 23 & my mom 17 when they married. My dad and my mom's brother were best friends and my paternal grandmother made my mom's school uniforms when she was elementary school. How sweet. My dad was my mom's only boyfriend in her entire life, and that just amazes me. Today was kind of hard for us all, but thankfully we made it through the day. God has given me the strength that I need to face days like this!

Myles' Bible Verse

Connor's Bible Verse

End of VBS

This morning I took the boys to their VBS program & both did very well. Connor really sang good & Myles said his Bible verse really LOUD! They both have been saying their memory verse all day long. Here are some pictures from this morning.

Update on mission trip

Robin called this afternoon & said that they had made it to Maine. She said that their flight went well too. She said it was kind of cold there & that it was raining a little. The building of the church has started & several walls had been framed by 10:30 a.m. What an awesome experience!

Prayer request

This morning (at 4:00 a.m.) I took our friends Scott & Robin Payne to the Pensacola Airport as they are heading on an 8 day mission trip to Maine. They are going with the Mobile Baptist Builders to help build a church in a rural area. Please pray that God would use them as He sees fit. Also, they have 2 young girls (Emily 6 & Kerri Ann 3) that they are away from for the first time (for more than a couple of days) so please pray for that too. Thanks:)

Having fun dancing!

Connor was a dancing man last night. He was hilarious (like always). He was really into the Cha Cha last night. He is definitely our creative/artsy child!

Connor & Baybear

Sand Gnats team party & Baybears game

Getting ready to run onto the field

Priceless- Myles with the starting pitcher
On the mound

Meeting the pitcher

2007 Sand Gnats

Last night the Sand Gnats had their end of the season party at the Baybears game. The kids had a really good time. They were able to go out onto the field and stand next to the Baybear players during the singing of the national anthem. Myles got to go to the pitchers mound, and it was so sweet. It was such a bittersweet moment for me. I was so excited for Myles but so sad that my dad was not there to be a part of it. It would have made his day because he was the biggest Baybear fan of all. These are the memories that make me miss my dad so much.

Myles receiving his trophy

Myles received another trophy this evening. He was really sweet when he went to go and shake Coach Chris' hand. He was such an awesome coach!

Water Slide

The boys had a blast last night sliding down the water slide. It was a hot evening so I bet the water felt great. One time Connor got "cold" feet at the top & the worker had to climb to the top to get him. A few minutes later he was sliding again!

Myles

Connor

VBS

The kids had another fun and exciting time at Vacation Bible School. Carleigh came home with a stuffed animal, which she loves. They all came home with yoyos even though they don't really know how to yo yo! From what they were saying in the van, I think that they made a picture frame in arts & crafts!

Arriving at VBS

Cowboy Connor

Cowgirl Carleigh

Cowboy Myles

Myles' reaction when it was announced that the boys had brought in most money for the offering!

VBS has started!

Tonight was the first night of Vacation Bible School at the church where Connor goes to preschool. We've let the boys go for the past two years, and they were roaring to go again this year. This is the first year that it's being held in the evenings so it's a little different. We're also taking our niece Carleigh. The boys said they had a really good time. Myles said that they drew his name out of the hat for a door prize & he was SO excited! We really didn't get to talk to the boys too much in detail because we were at our Community Group meeting tonight and Myles stayed the night with my mom so we only talked with him on the phone. The theme is cowboy related so knowing the Stoots' boys, they really loved it! Here are a few pictures from tonight.

We've been rolled!

We woke up this morning to find that our mailbox had been toilet papered:) Myles picked up the phone and called Ted to see if his had been rolled, and he said no. We knew who had done it. So after church we took a bike ride to Coach Chris' house to see if we were right. He and Caitlin were laughing when they answered the door! We might have to give them a little payback this evening when Ted stays over or we might just have to go to the assistant coach's house & play a prank on him! We love being Sand Gnats!