Fantastic Fridays

The past two Fridays have been a lot of fun!!! We had a special visit from our friends Kevin and Wendy (which I posted about earlier). It was a blessing to have time with them since they have been overseas for almost three years. How encouraging it was to hear their stories and what they've been doing since they have been gone. Earlier that day I took some girls from church to Emerald Pointe water park in Greensboro. Brittney, Chelsie, Jessica and I had a fun day at the water park. Our day ended early because of a storm, but we got tickets to come back on another day for free because they closed the park! Needless to say, that Friday was a great day. I had a blast with the girls and was blessed with the visit from Kevin and Wendy. Last Friday we took our youth to a Durham Bulls game...another fun treat!

Brittney, Me, Chelsie and Jessica at Emerald Pointe

Our Lunch Picnic

Tailgating...waiting to see if the park would open back up!

Jon and Ava at the Bulls game

Tammy gave Emet lemonade...he loved it!

Thanks to Candice (who didn't like her cotton candy) for giving Ava a sugary treat!

Aaron, Hollywood Style!

Ava, Hollywood Style!!!

Emet was soooo tired!

Ava and Candice

Fitzmorris Friends

Leigh Ann and her boys, Davis and Walker came up for a quick visit this weekend. We enjoyed taking the kids to the pool yesterday. It was HOT and the pool felt great. Little Walker slept in his stroller the entire time we were there. Davis, Emet and Ava enjoyed the water along with the mommies! We took the kids up to the church basketball game last night and ended up on the playground. They had a blast on the playground! This morning was church and Davis loved going in Ava's class. Sadly, after a somewhat chaotic lunch, our sweet friends had to go back home to Shelby. As always we enjoyed our time together...even though we wish we could have visited longer!

Davis, Emet and Ava

Emet...ready to ride home in his diaper!

Oh So Short!!!

I took Emet to get his second haircut on Thursday morning. Prior to going, in my mind I had envisioned just a trim, leaving the length and "shaggy, surfer boy look!" In the process I told her to go ahead and cut above his ears. I quickly realized that when we do that, we also cut shorter everywhere else. So, he now has a short "little boy" haircut. It is adorable and Jill did a great job, but I do miss my little surfer boy!

Boomerang Express

We had Vacation Bible School this week at church. Our theme was The Boomerang Express! What a great week! Jon was the VBS photographer, I taught the 5-6 graders, Ava loved her class and Emet was in the nursery. The motto of the week was Follow, Worship, Live Through Him! The kids learned a lot about what it means to follow Christ and live a life of worship through him! Here are a few pictures from our week!

Our family on the first night of VBS!

Ava sang in the mic (before VBS)!

Ava loved VBS!!!

Emet was loved on in the nursery!

Addi and Ava...best buddies!!!

Sharon with Meredith and Emet...she loves the little babies!

Tammy, Me and Laura

We were the 5-6 grade teachers! Love these sweet ladies!


Our Class

Cordi (on the right) is Laura's oldest girl and she made a profession of faith this week. Jon was able to talk with her and she truly understands the gospel. It will be great to watch this precious girl learn what it means to walk with and grow in the Lord!

The kids did a program last night...so much fun!

(Ava is in the middle!)

Kevin and Wendy

We had a GREAT treat last Friday! Our dear friends, Wendy and Kevin came by to see us!Wendy and Kevin have been overseas for the past (almost) 3 years. They were our neighbors in seminary housing and some of our closest friends. It was so good to catch up and hear how their time overseas has been. They will be in the states until early January and we are looking forward to catching up with them more next month when they are back in North Carolina!

Wendy and Kevin

Wendy and Me

Wendy, Me and Ava

Date With My Daughter

Today Ava and I had a "date!" We went to Brier Creek for the free summer movie and saw Madagascar 2 Escape to Africa. What a cute movie! I'd watch it again! Ava enjoyed being in the theatre and snacking on popcorn and fruit snacks. After the movie we ran to Dick's Sporting Goods and went to McDonald's for lunch. She loves a Happy Meal...chicken nuggets, apple dippers and today apple juice (instead of chocolate milk which is her usual choice). It was great to get some individual time with my little girl. I feel like neither of my kids get enough one on one time, so today was a real treat for me! A special thanks to Sharon who kept Emet so Ava and I could have our special date. Sharon keeps Emet in the nursery at church and adores him. They enjoyed playing at the house. She even managed to get Emet to fall asleep on her shoulder and snuggle with her. I have to admit, I was a little jealous because he won't do that with me anymore!

Our Weekend Away

Aside from our trip to the ER (read the previous post) on Saturday, our weekend away was great! We had a blast in Shelby with the Fitzmorris family! We spent the day Thursday hanging out at the house, made a Wal Mart run and had dinner at a cute little place called Kerry's. We also enjoyed ice cream from Kerry's...yum! Friday we ventured out to Chic-Fil-A for Cow Appreciation Day. We dressed like cows and got free food! Our time together is always great, but never long enough!

It was also good to get back to Hickory to spend some time with Mom and Dad. We mostly hung around the house. Dad, Ava and I went to church on Sunday and Mom stayed home with Emet so he could rest after his quite stressful Saturday! Kellie and Eli came by Sunday evening and as always, it was great to see them too. Our visit was short and I wish it could have been longer...but I am thankful for the time I did get to spend with them. Before we headed out Monday Stephanie and Catie came by for a visit. I haven't caught up with these ladies in a long time, so it was a treat to have some time with them.

Jon and the youth were camping in the mountains all weekend. We met them on the road going home when they stopped for a late lunch. They had a blast! Check out our Student Ministry Site to see what their weekend was like!

Emet's Blisters

This is what his leg looked like when he had the reaction to the medicine. They were red all over and hot to touch...swollen too!

Our Little Cows

EAT MOR CHIKIN

Davis and Ava on the playground!

Emet, Ava, Davis and Walker

Ava and Leigh Ann making cupcakes!

Ava and Eli

Dad went and got us milkshakes on Sunday night. Dad loves to dip Lance crackers in his shakes. He got Ava started on this tradition!

Me, Ava, Stephanie, Catie and Emet

Mom and Emet

Mom and Ava

Poor Emet!

We left Thursday for a trip to Shelby to visit Leigh Ann, Brandon, Davis and Walker and were then planning to head to Hickory on Saturday morning to visit Mom and Dad. We did in fact have a good visit in Shelby and are now in Hickory with Mom and Dad...but had a bump in the road along the way! I'll share more about Shelby and Hickory with pictures when I get home...but for now...

Emet got bit by a lot of mosquitoes Thursday morning while I was watering flowers. He had just gotten over some blisters which were caused by bites (we think), but in order to get over the blisters had to be on medication. Seeing the bites on his legs as I was putting him in the car, I decided to go back in to get the topical medicine he'd been on with his other blisters. Good thing because on Friday morning Emet had about 15 or 16 huge blisters covering his legs and arms. I spent some time talking on the phone with our nurses in Wake Forest and they relayed info to our WONDERFUL doctor. They know Emet well at our pediatrician's office and his skin condition. Our pediatrician approved the antibiotic that Emet was on the previous time for his blisters and they called it into the Shelby Wal Mart pharmacy for us. I gave Emet one dose on Friday night of the medicine before putting him to bed. His legs looked horrible. His right leg was covered from his knee down with blisters and was red all around each blister. I was thankful for the medicine and sure that it would help. I was shocked to see a much worse little boy on Saturday morning. He now had red whelps, maybe described as hives, all over his legs (from his diaper area down). His arms also had whelps and his face was red. I quickly got on the phone with our nurses back home. They advised us to take him to be seen. So, Emet and I head out to an Urgent Care office in Shelby. We waited for almost 1 1/2 hours before being seen by a Physicians' Assistant. He wasn't comfortable with what he saw on Emet and didn't want to diagnose or treat him. So exactly what this Mommy didn't want to happen, happened. We ended up in the Emergency Room at the hospital in Shelby. I've heard of (and had) horrible experiences with Emergency Rooms, so I was expecting the worse. Much to my surprise, they ER in Shelby was quick! Leigh Ann met me there and stayed with us until Mom and Dad got there. Ava was at Leigh Ann's house playing with Davis. The doctor we saw was great. Emet either had a severe reaction to the bug bites, or the antibiotic. We are guessing it was the medicine because he had the bites for 2 days before getting hives and had only had 1 dose of the meds before breaking out. So, needless to say he is no longer on the antibiotic, but is being treated with Benadryl and a steroid. He is doing much better and his legs, arms and face have improved for sure. We are thankful for the care that he received and I am thankful for the support from friends and family during what was a very stressful day!

North Myrtle Beach Vacation

Last week we were in North Myrtle Beach for our family vacation! We had a great time together and enjoyed getting away for a week. Barefoot Landing, Ripley's Aquarium, Broadway at the Beach, Cherry Grove Pier, Painter's Ice Cream, Putt-Putt Golf and Cypress Bay (real golf) were a few highlights! Of course we enjoyed the beach and the pool! Emet loved the sand and the ocean. Ava on the other hand preferred the comfort of the calm pool. It was a wonderful week and reminded me to treasure each and every moment that I have with my husband and my kids!

Jon and Ava on the bridge at Barefoot Landing. They fed the fish!

Family Picture on the bridge at Barefoot Landing

Ava jumped on the tramp0line...she even did a flip!!!

Had a blast!!!

Ripley's Aquarium

Horseshoe Crab petting pool!

Ava and Jon at Broadway at the Beach

Playing on the beach

Mom stayed at Charlie's place down in Myrtle Beach for the week. She came up Tuesday night to keep the kids so Jon and I could go on a date!

Date Night

We went shagging at Ocean Drive!

Golf Day

I golfed the for the first time while we were at the beach. I am a horrible golfer, but had a lot of fun hanging out on the golf course with Jon!

We went out on the beach Wednesday night to take some pictures...here are some of the pictures from our photo shoot!

Cherry Grove Pier

More pictures on the beach...this is a shot of Emet driving the lemonade cart!

Emet LOVED the beach!!!

We took Ava to play putt-putt for the first time!