12th day of blogging...

On the twelfth day of blogging my website sent to me, twelve family vacations, eleven/eleven birthdays, ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

In mid-October we went to see my Uncle Al and Aunt Beth. They live in a house on Bull Shoals lake in Arkansas. We had such a nice time enjoying the beautiful view, going out on Al's boat, fishing, putting on plays, seeing the wildlife, etc...

The girls put on one of their special plays for our hosts. It starred a cast made up entirely of princesses and one dog (Prince Radar). Radar was great with the children. He didn't retaliate when jumped on, ridden on, yanked on, or petted for 4 hours straight. Al told us he slept for an entire day after the children left.

Uncle Alfred and William.

One of the girls (I think) helped Aunt Beth with her hair so she could be pretty too.

We found a box turtle and brought it to the deck. The boys were fascinated.

11th day of blogging...

On the eleventh day of blogging my website sent to me, eleven/eleven birthdays, ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

What do I mean by eleven/eleven birthday? Erilynn was born on the 11th of November (11/11), which also happens to be Veteran's day (she's a daddy's girl).

Here is seldom seen footage of Erilynn transforming into a tasmanian devil. The box of presents from the Berrys never had a chance.

This is her and Alena admiring her new "caboodle" (It's like a tackle box for girls) filled with all manner of girly stuff.

And here she is next to the resident mannequin (that would be me) looking very pleased with herself.

Christian giving our new snoring pig friend some much needed love.

10th day of blogging

On the tenth day of blogging my website sent to me ten inches of hair, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Hannah, our oldest (8 years old), decided to donate her hair to Locks of Love. They are a non-profit that accepts donated hair to use to make hair prosthetics for children that have suffered hair loss for any reason. The minimum required to make a hairpiece is 10 inches.

Before.

After.

9th day of blogging...

On the ninth day of blogging my website sent to me, nine girls a' dancing, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

We enrolled our girls in a gymnastics program run by ETC gymnastics, which stands for Everything Through Christ. FYI: Philippians 4:13 is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Alena doing a nice handstand.

Alena (in pink) and Hannah (in blue) doing some bar work.

Alena doing a one-legged back bend.

Eighth day of blogging...

On the eighth day of blogging my website sent to me, eight children singing, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Alena (center in white) performing with our church's children's choir.

Since I'm Alena's daddy, I get to brag on her ever so often. Alena's Sunday school teacher told us that her class was playing a game in which the children were to call out who goes next. When it was Alena's turn, she called on Sarah Rose, one of the special needs children (that I assume was being left out by the other children). Her teacher said it really touched her heart.

We are so proud of her. Since the day she was saved, she has often shown a Christ-like love that many adult Christians could learn from.

7th day of blogging...

On the seventh day of blogging my website sent to me, seven family members, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

A former pastor of ours (David Seabrooke) used to talk about the masks that we wear. Not actual physical masks, but how we change our behavior to appear different than we really are for the sake of others (putting up a "front", to use the vernacular of the day). The following illustration may help:

Mask On

Mask Off

6th day of blogging...

On the sixth day of blogging my website sent to me, six friends from church, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

We are always impressed by the stuff that we find at Costco. Aside from the good prices, they usually have pretty good quality items. However, it was still a pretty big shock when we rounded a corner and ran into our old friends Jerry and Andrea Rooker. Costco really does have everything! We went to a small group with them when we attended Olathe Bible Church in Kansas (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away). They are great Christian friends and have 4 wonderful children. They invited us over to their house and everyone had fun.

Alena enjoying their swingset.

The boys saw this dog in a neighbor's yard and took off running after it, ignoring our cries to halt.

Their children were sweet and patient and played with ours so well even though ours are mostly much younger.

5th day of blogging...

On the fifth day of blogging my website sent to me, five sticky fingers, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

William enjoying a smore (I think).

Christian wearing a smore.

4th day of blogging...

On the fourth day of blogging my website sent to me, four funny faces, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see.

Now lets all sit still and take a nice family picture!

3rd day of blogging...

On the third day of blogging my website sent to me, three little girls, two ankle biters and some random photos to see:

The children got some hand-me-downs and they were very excited and eager to lay claim to the "good" stuff.

One of the girl's school projects was to make a paper-mache globe.

And here is the finished product.

2nd day of blogging...

On the second day of blogging my website sent to me, two ankle biters and some random photos to see:

These photos were from the boy's birthday, Sept 11. I find it somewhat ironic that our twins were born on the anniversary of the twin tower's destruction. Not that the two events were related, but it reminds me that what men intend for evil, God can use for good.

Alena enjoyed pushing the boys on their new toy.

The expression on William's face is priceless. Wish I could have caught it better.

It's not really a party in Tennessee until you put on your red cowboy hat, grab a football and run around with no pants on. (Unfortunately, one football didn't make it. The boys thought it was chocolate and took a chunk out of it).

1st day of blogging...

In order to catch up on my blogging, I'm going to do a series called "The 12 days of blogging". You know, like the "Twelve days of Christmas", only sweeter and cheaper. We'll see how long I can go before I slip up.

On the first day of blogging, my website sent to me, some random photos to see: