I know I am a couple of weeks behind on my blogging, so I am playing "catch-up" when I get the chance! These spare moments are few and far between though!

The boys had so much fun decorating for my birthday! Thanks guys & Mama Ann for making my day special!

4th of July Fun- Ben taught the boys how to shoot bottle rockets through the pipe at the end of the road so it would make a really cool sound! Thanks Dad-not exactly the safest thing to do in the eyes of a mom!

The ride home seemed to put Charleston Marie to sleep.

Charli is welcomed home by a sign made by her big brothers!

Leaving the hospital with our newest blessing! What are we going to do with this little girl and all this pink?

MORE HOSPITAL PHOTOS:

Charleston looked so cute when they brought her to my room, the day she was born, after they cleaned her up and checked her out! They had to watch her for 4 hours before I could see her again-this seemed like forever!

Okay, I love bows in girls hair! (I wore one in mine until,well, just a few years ago when I cut all my hair off.) But, I am not too sure about sticking it in with "goo" as the boys called it! Charleston Marie does have enough hair that I am able to put them in with the little clip now that we are home!

Look real close, it seems like Charli already has a "hold" on her Pop!

DAY 2 AT HOSPITAL

SL loves his sister! He is thrilled that she has on "real clothes" today and not just a shirt and blanket. He is even more excited that her outfit is pink!

Make note that this is the first time ever for Ben to own or wear a pink shirt! Charli has already started on her Daddy!

Big Bro and Little Sis are so happy together!

June Fun with just the boys before Charleston Marie arrived!

She is going to be well entertained!

Imaginations are great! Stephen Louis makes an Iron Man mask and pretends to be him! We have not seen the movie, but he has seen the cartoons and he loves to act them out!
Ben and SL do a little relaxing in the pool! I was pregnant at the time and he told me I was too big and would make all of the water come out of the pool!

These photos were taken after church on Sunday, June 29th. Havey joined the church that day. He walked all the way down to the front of the church from the balcony, by himself, to talk to our pastor, Brother Chip. He said he told him he had already said the Sinner's Prayer and that he wanted to let him know so he could be Baptized now. He has been talking about this for about a year (before we ever moved from the church in Columbus), but he asked Jesus to live in his heart one night after a day at Bible School. He had been trying to work up the courage to walk to the front of the church to make it public. We are so proud of him and rejoice that he knows Jesus is his Savior! God is so good!

The family was very excited to see Charleston Marie for the first time...

Charleston Marie was born this morning at 10:55! She was 8 lbs 13 ozs and she was 20 inches long.

We had Vacation Bible School at FBC Starkville two weeks ago and it was so much fun! I helped teach the kids that just finished First Grade. They were a very sweet, energetic group of kids. It made me miss teaching school (not enough that I am ready to go back full time!)! I was really thinking and so was Dr. Locke that teaching VBS and climbing the 3 flights of steps several times in the morning might send me into Labor, but needless to say, it DID NOT! Oh well, it looks like Little Leah (as the boys call her, after Princess Leah) is taking her sweet time and is only planning on appearing when she is good and ready! Great, it looks like we are going to have another very determined child with a mind of their own! At least, I know what to expect, considering both boys are that way. Well, I guess I should just say our whole family is that way!!

I found these photos in the internal memory on my camera-forgot I ever took them! They were taken at Dairy Queen in Birmingham. This is Ben's all time favorite place to eat (as far as fast food goes). He plans our trip to his parents so that we "hit" Birmingham just in time for lunch or supper at the DQ!

Looks like Ben is not the only one who likes to eat there!

Ben and Aunt Traci, kids at heart! Now do you see why our kids behave the way they do!!

The boys love to play with Moon Sand. Out-of-This-World fun, along with Out-of-This-World mess! Oh well, that is why we have a broom and dustpan, right?

Hello Everyone!
NO BABY YET!!! The actual due date is July 5th. Who knows when Charleston Marie will decide to make her appearance. The boys are so excited. They ask everyday is she going to be born today and they keep going into her room to look and play with her toys. It is so sweet how much they love her already!! Ben will post some pictures once she arrives!

The boys help Ben celebrate his 36th Birthday. We went to eat pizza at Old Venice (Yum!) and then to see Kung Fu Panda (Ben's request!) on his birthday!SL did great at his swimming lessons. He really enjoyed taking and it has helped him a lot!We met Madison, Collin, and Mrs. Melissa (our Columbus buddies) at Lee Park in Columbus for a little fun and then went back to thier house to play for a while. It was great to get-together with friends and the kids just pick back up playing just as if we still lived there!
Ben shows the boys a HUGE rat snake! Yuck! After he showed it to them, he just threw it back into the yard. He said it helps to keep mice away, which in turn keeps the rattlesnakes away! Even so, it is still a snake and it is yucky! We have warned the boys numerous times that they are not allowed to pick up snakes like daddy!
Fun in the sun on Memorial Day!


Havey make a clubhouse on his bottom bunk. They played in it for hours. Great entertainment!
Havey did great playing Coach Pitch. We were so proud of him! He seemed to really enjoy playing, which is the most important thing!!

FUN DAYS IN MAY

End-of-the-Year, Ice-Cream Sundae Parties are great!

Mrs. K. even let Little Brothers attend!
Havey had a wonderful first year in First Grade at Starkville Academy. His teacher, Mrs. Karatassos was fantastic!

Field Day was so much fun at Starkville Academy!

Havey competed in the Soccer Dribble and the Tricycle Relay!

The First and Second Grades went skating for some end-of-the-year fun! Havey had a blast!
I am so blessed! It is absolutely incredible being a mommy! I have the sweetest boys (almost all of the time)!

The boys surprised me with all kinds of goodies: flowers, candy, balloons, coffee mug and a Willow Tree. I have been really wanting one to plant in our backyard. It was so cute to see the boys working so hard to help Ben get it in the ground! Stephen Louis' end-of the-year party was a Luau. It was darling and they all had a great time playing games, especially Limbo!

The kids give Mrs. Ryan a silver elephant tray. Their group is known as the elephants. Mrs. Ryan has been such a sweet teacher. He has had a great year at the Methodist Day School. I cannot believe he will start Kindergarten in the fall!

SUSHI ANYONE?

Well, I mean, Sweet Sushi!

We made Sweet Sushi at our house the other day as a dessert treat! It was fun to make and yummy too! I went to read to Havey's First Grade class today and instead of taking a ready-made snack, I took the (pre-cut) ingredients to make this neat treat (pound cake, frosting, coconut, gummy tape, gummy fish, and twizzlers). It was easy for the kids to make and I think they all enjoyed themselves. You can find the recipe on the Family Fun web-site, which is a great resource for parents and teachers. They have all kinds of awsome ideas, crafts, and snacks! I love this magazine and website! You really must try these, they are so cute!