October Fun

We have been taking an "acting class" at the South Carolina Children's Theatre and this week we got to wear our Halloween Costumes to "act out" our costume.  The teacher, Miss Tracy, interviewed each child to see what they had to say about their character/costume.  Bonner decided to be Little Mermaid and Ian was Woody, of course.  Here are some cute pictures of them during their class time.

Grandbuddy's work had their annual Halloween fun so the children got all dressed up in costumes to go see Grandbuddy's office.  To celebrate with Grandbuddy, Bonner decided to be Minnie Mouse and Ian picked Jake from Disney Jr's show, Jake & the Neverland Pirates.

We also went to our first high school football game at Southside Christian.  The pastor of Gigi & Grandbuddy's church has a son that plays for SCS so we all decided to go and pull for him.  Ian was really into it and enjoyed watching the players so close.

Mission Trip - Eleuthera, Bahamas

The mission trip was terrific.  We got to meet some really need people, help a struggling community, and enjoy a church service like no other!  Here are some pictures from the adventure!

We held a camp one day at the place where we were staying.  So many of the island children came to the camp and we played games, did crafts, and fed them lunch.  The island is truly Caribbean - beautiful waters, rocky banks in many places, people run on "island" time and lots of desolation.  There is a huge Haitian population on the island that has migrated in and they are struggling to acclimate.  We went into their shanty community one day and played soccer with them.  The kids loved it and the adults were very gracious.

All and all, it was a great trip with some great people!  However, I am reminded that while God calls us to "preach the gospel" to everyone we meet, there are plenty of people right in my own backyard that are longing to hear the true word.  I'm on the lookout for my next mission trip - whether it be locally or abroad!

We Made It

Interesting trip yesterday on the DC3 that flew missions in World War II.  I have never been in the cockpit of a plane so that was super cool.  We worked on a roof yesterday after we got here!  From now on, just click on this link to follow our progress!

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/cetrainingcamp

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll tell you all about it later in the week!

Blessings,
Jennifer

My First Mission Trip

Well, in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, the church newsletter popped up on my phone and I was reading through it.  I noticed that there were a few spots left in the October trip to Eleuthera in the Bahamas.  I was feeling adventurous so I decided to submit my application - wasn't sure if my words mattered but I was very deliberate in completing the questions... anyway, I guess there wasn't much of a review panel because the next morning, I got an email "So glad you joined the team!"

So tomorrow morning (Friday) about 10 a.m., I will leave Greenville and drive 10 hours to Fort Pierce, FL and stay in the Holiday Inn Express.  On Saturday morning, we will get up and go to the Port St. Lucie airport and board a WW2 airplane that has been refurbished .... evidently, we can sit in the cockpit during the flight!  We'll see if I'm that bold!

And then we will be in Eleuthera until Wednesday.  The trip is actually set up so that we will be in a classroom that our church has built down there in the mornings and then out and about among the people in the afternoon.  The goal is to teach us each how to lead a "missional" life ... meeting people where they are and sharing your story of how Christ has changed you, carried you, and loved you!  I cannot wait!

Here's the wikipedia page on Eleuthera if you want to read anything about it! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleuthera
We can't have phones or computers while we are down there so I will probably only be able to update the blog once I get back.

Please pray for safe travels and that I would listen to God and seek His guidance during our discussions and when we are among the people!

Getting Fall Started

Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to go to Athens so far this season, but I'm definitely getting in the mood for fall!  The beginning of the week, we had an awful lot of much-needed rain.  Ian & Bonner absolutely LOVE the rain and I let them play in it every chance they get!  Here they are enjoying "the elements" after most of the rain had dried up!

The temperatures this past week were absolutely fabulous and we started to take advantage of the nice weather so we headed to Sky Top Apple Orchard in Zirconia, NC.  We went with some friends - a set of 2.5 year old triplets and their older brother who Ian & Bonner are in school with - it was a gorgeous day and we had a great time!

As most of you know, I am definitely not a yard girl ... but since I was afraid the children would get swallowed up by the bushes along my driveway, I finally took manners into my own hands and learned to operate some manual hedge clippers.  Everyone who has stopped by has appreciated my efforts as well - at least the car's paint job appreciates it!

And since Ian and Bonner couldn't operate the hedge clippers much to their dismay, I tasked them with helping me "clean up!"  This was their idea of cleaning up ... making a "garden" in their water table to keep their hidden toys "safe!"  Hey, it worked as it is still piled up out there serving its purpose!  Ha!

And just because I think this little girl is so precious, here's one more shot of her beautiful smile!  Have a wonderful week!  We start back swim lessons on Tuesday and both kiddos are so excited to get back into the water!  I'll keep you posted on their progress!

Oh, the things they do say!

The children are doing great at school!  Separating them has turned out to be a terrific decision!  In addition, we started a class at the SC Children's Theatre last week and will pick up with swimming lessons this week!  They are growing up so fast!  In the meantime, I'll leave you with some funny things I have heard recently!  They are just so matter-of-fact and confident in everything they say - whether it is in the right context or not.  And their imaginations and logic just continue to amaze me!

Bonner-Lingo

• Bonner: Mommy, this chip is shaped like a piece of pizza. 
• Me: It is, Bonner.  Do you like pizza?
• Bonner: No m'am.  But Abby likes pizza.
• Me: Oh, really, Abby likes pizza.  When did she try it?
• Bonner: Shashzi gave her some and she said it was delicious.  But Shashzi doesn't like it so I don't like it!

• The kids were piling up leaves in their little stand-up water table.  
• Bonner:  This is our garden for our little animals, mommy.
• Me: Your garden is beautiful
• Bonner: It's going to look even more beautiful with dirt.  I love dirt!

• We went to the apple orchard with friends.  As we were getting out of the car, I had this conversation.
• Me: Bonner, are you bringing Abby to the apple orchard?
• Bonner: No, m'am, she's already been before.
• Me: Oh, really!  When did she go?
• Bonner: My shashzi took her a long time ago!
• A bug flew in front of her playing outside one day and about the same time she sneezed.  She said, "That bug made me sneeze.  I mus be allergic to bugs!"
• When picking her up from school one day, she got in the car and answered the question "How was your day, Bonner?" with "I'm so excited!  It was a great day at school and we learned that Adam and Eve made a bad choice."
•  "Mommy, do you know what disciples are?  They are God's helpers!"
• After having a rough start one morning, Bonner lost the privilege to watch TV.  Later in the day, after improving the attitude, she asked me, "Now that I am calm & beautiful, can I earn back my TV?"
• We were listening to songs in the car and Bonner said, "Do you know why I love this song?  Because Shashzi has it on her phone!"
• "Shashzi listens to that on her iPad!"
• After a day at the beach, the children got into the bathtub.  I said, "We were in alot of different types of water today.  Can you name some of them?"
• Bonner: Saltwater then chlorine water then clean water
• Me: That's terrific!
• She thought about it for another second and then said, "And clean off water" (in reference to the outdoor shower)
• Ian: And we were near potty water (when he went to the bathroom)
• After making a huge mess one day, I said, "You two have a lot of cleaning up to do!"  Bonner quickly replied, "But not today!"
• Ian put on my sunglasses one day and Bonner said, "You are a pretty dude!"

Ianisms

• "That's Bonner calling me, mommy.  I'll be right back."
• Me: Ian, what do you want for breakfast?
• Ian: I want the same thing as you.
• Me: Okay, I'm going to have a granola bar.
• Ian: I want to have a GORILLA bar, too!
• This was an exchange between Ian and Bonner:
• Bonner: I like it to be hot so I can wear short sleeves.  I don't like to wear long sleeves.
• Ian to Bonner: But your dress is so pretty!
• Ian to me: I thought that would cheer her up!

•  We turned on the Olympics one day and synchronized swimming was on.  Ian very nonchalantly said, "I have done that before at my castle!"  The lady sitting next to us just laughed!
• "I have something more funner than Jake to play with!"
• And to prove that the child actually dreams about Toy Story, he woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  He woke me up and as we were walking to the bathroom, he said, "Mommy, do you know that we do not have the hang glider that Woody uses in Toy Story.  We need to buy that!"
• I wanted to go to the library one day so I mentioned that to the children.
• Ian: Oh, I want to go to the library, too! Remember that is where we bought that Olivia we lost.
• Me: Ian, that wasn't the library, that was Barnes & Noble.
• Ian: Oh, yeh, I want to go to Barnes & Noble.

One last Summer Trip

The week of Labor Day, the children and I were blessed to have the beach condo so we enjoyed one last trip to the beach while the weather was still beautiful out!  The kids had a blast and we all took lots of pictures to prove it ...

 "Hey, mom!  Check out your sunglasses!"

 Oh my goodness,e she is just so precious to me!

 Just another day on the beach for some very lucky children!

 This was the first time they actually wanted to climb up in the ginormous chair to have their picture taken!

And the following pictures pretty much sum up a day at the beach:

1) Bonner digging and digging - stopping to model - and digging some more

2) Ian not sitting still for 2 seconds - in the water, back to digging, back to the water, back and forth all day long!

One night we were so tired but didn't have anything to eat in the condo so we went to my favorite, Poe's ...

 in our pajamas!  Oh, yes, I am mother of the year!

 And that night, I found them wrapped up with each other in the bed!

So sweet!!

Ian continues to love to take pictures - he took my phone several times throughout the trip and captured his own pictures!  So funny!

It appears that he even figured out how to take a picture of himself :-)

I got in the pool and showed Bonner how to do a flip in the water just two times before she tried it herself.  She nailed it the first attempt!  Here's a video of her new "trick"!

And, I just think this video is hysterical!  She just jumps right in and swims to the stairs!  Ian comes running - thinks about it - then says "cotton ball" (instead of "cannon ball"), jumps too close to the edge and, of course, does it all with his Wonder Pet friends in tow!

Look what Gigi got for her birthday!  Super cute and so much fun!

And the "renovations" around here are coming right along!  I got rid of the slat blinds and put up these that can go "top-down" or "bottom up" which is great for a street-level window!  Beautiful sunlight without losing privacy!

And my bathroom is coming along!  I love the big stripe and the pink mirrors!  So bright to get me going in the mornings!  Hoping to get the lights and the new window treatments up shortly!