Sarah Katherine

Happy Birthday Sarah! You are such a precious little girl to your daddy and me. I praise God for creating you on this day 6 years ago. I know He has such big plans for you! I can only imagine what He will have you do with the huge amount of wisdom He has given you. One of my most recent favorite memories is when I came into your room one night to tuck you in and I found you reading your Bible ( you do this a lot all on your own). You said, "Mom, this is sooo good!" You then proceeded to read all of Psalm 1 to me. As I turned off the lights and laid down with your sister you said, "Mom, I feel like the Word is in my throat." You have a deep well within you my girl!

Here is the letter I sent with you to school on your special day! I hope you know how crazy we all are about you!

Happy Birthday Sarah!!

I am so thankful to God for creating you! He made you so perfectly for our family. I love how He made your heart desire and love His Word. I love how he gave you big, beautiful brown eyes and brown hair. I love you nose and your fun laugh. I love that your mind is full of so much wisdom for a little girl. I love that you are brave and sweet all at the same time. I love to hear your voice when you are singing praises to Jesus…nice and loud! J I love that God made you a graceful dancer and a fast runner. I love that you are such a great sister to your brothers and sisters. I love you…just for being you!

First Day of School 2009

We started school last Tuesday at Coram Deo Academy. This is our 2nd year to attend this school and while the academics are rigorous, the spirit and heart of the school is so wonderful! It was so fun to see whole families in the hallways snapping pictures and baby brothers hugging big brothers goodbye for the day.

This year is Sarah's first year to attend school. She started 1st grade and so far absolutely loves it although she says it is really easy. Sarah is my 5 year old who reads like a woman! So even though sounding out "no" and "on" are not really fun for her she loves being there. Joseph is in 4th grade this year and Hannah is in 6th. So far both have seemed to adjust well and are having fun seeing friends from last year.

I can't believe how fast time goes. It seems like just yesterday I was homeschooling my little 4 and 2 year old. It makes me feel all happy and sad at the same time! Watching them grow into awesome young women and men is amazing and yet I still want them to be little enough that I can rock them and snuggle their cute chubbiness. Oh, Lord I pray that you would help me to remember special moments with each one of them. Etch them in my memory forever.....

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Last night as Hannah prepared for her first day of school, John was helping her with a History vocabulary assignment. They were discussing all the different disciplines relating to History including Archaeology and Anthropology with 20 other similar words. Most of these words she was not very familiar with but she lit up when we got to Anthropology because she knew that word.

Hannah: "Well I KNOW that is a clothing store. That must have something to do with studying people's clothing?"

To which Daddy responded, "You really are Nicole's daughter."

That's my girl! :)

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Me: "John, did you eat chocolate?"

Joseph and John's Birthday

I am so blessed to have two amazing sons! Even though they are 6 years apart, they get along so well and really do love each other a ton. I believe it is because Joseph prayed so long for a little brother. Three years to be exact! Then two days after his own birthday in 2006, John was born. He is so kind and takes such good care of his little brother. He even lets him scratch the back of his arm at night to go to sleep! J

This year, Joseph turned 9 on June 7^th and John Alexander turned 3 on June 9^th. It is fun having them this close because we celebrate them together. Joseph got to share the morning with Grandpa Jesse whose birthday is on the 5^th. We then had a party and opened a ton of presents. The next day John took Joseph and his two buds to Jump Zone and they all had so much fun. We are praising God for sending some good friends that have great families! Then on the 9^th, we had a birthday breakfast for John and a small family party that evening with presents and gifts. He was totally excited opening each gift! Please don’t judge me on his cake…there is only so much I could do with a gluten/dairy free cake! It looked pitiful!

Joseph, I see such a depth and maturity in you. You long to hear God’s voice and ask all the time what His plan is for you. You are wise with your money (you have over $400 in your bank) and very frugal. I am sure you will be a great businessman! Your heart is so tender and you never want to hurt someone or disappoint. You still love animals and like playing with them and learning all sorts of interesting facts about them. I am so glad you love me and still hug me!! I love to watch you dance (wow…you are really good!) and have fun with your family. You are one cool kid!

John Alexander, you are definitely a happy little boy! You love to hug and also scratch the back of anyone’s arm that will let you…it’s how you go to sleep. I love when you walk up to me and say, “You’re pwetty Momma” or “I love you Mom. You are a special Mom.” It just melts my ever-living heart to hear you say that!! You are a rough and tumble kid and like to wrestle and jump off anything. You also love to sing. Your favorites right now is “You are My Sunshine” and “Come Rain or Shine” by Danny Gokey and “Jesus Take the Wheel.” You like to play animals with your siblings and your color really well.

I love you my two mighty warriors of God! He has huge plans for your life! You boys are called to great things and I look forward to Him unfolding His plan for you!

Recital 2009- Rise Up

This year’s dance recital was really fun.  We had John’s parents and my mom come in for the big event (we missed you Dad!)…or shall I say unbelievably LONG event. Grandpa Jesse and the two grandmothers were such good sports!  That was a whole lot of little girls, bows and tutu’s to take in.  Thank goodness Hannah was in 4 dances and Sarah and Rebekah were in 2. All 3 girls danced so beautifully and had a ton of fun.  Rebekah did really good this year (no accidental solo part!) and after months of fussing about going to class she said, “ I want to do recital again!”  Sarah was graceful and again the one the other’s watched when they forgot a step.  Hannah was amazing as usual!  We especially loved this year’s ballet dance to "I Will Be Free."  At the end, she was lifted up by her teachers and held the ending position in the air.  She looked like a little angel up there!! J  Here are some pictures from that night:

Hannah's Birthday

We had a wonderful time on vacation but my blog extravaganza never happened as you can tell!  There was no wireless and it was $16 a day to hook up to the internet.  So now it is time for catch up...again!

We celebrated Hannah’s 11^th birthday on May 20.  Hannah is such an amazing young lady and the older she gets the more I see such godly character beginning to show.  She is a very caring sister to her siblings and she showed extreme maturity when we asked her to lay down dance for the coming year.  God, how I wish my heart was as trusting and obedient as hers.  Although, she was sad she trusted us and God.  What an amazing young lady she is!  

This year she did a great job balancing diligence in her school work as well as in her dance company.  Hannah practiced 3 times a week for 7 hours and carried a considerable work load at Coram Deo.  She finished the year with a medal for Magna Cum Laude(“A” cumulative average) and her dance company got a few top awards at two different competitions.  

We celebrated our sweet Hannah this year by having a small family party and a day at Six Flags! It was a blast!

Hannah, God has amazing plans for your life!  You are such a joy to be around and I thank God for your heart towards God and us.  You are one special young lady!  I love you dearly!

Vacation Time!

The Gravey Train loaded up in the Suburban

Our family is in San Antonio on our family vacation. Woo Hoo!!! It has been such a nice break from school, dance, and the norm! We have spent the first few days here with my sweet grandparents. There is just nothing like waking up at their house...I love the smell of their home and the sound of my sassy little grandma shuffling in her little house shoes! She is 79 and my Grandpa is 82 and they are in terrific health. I am so blessed! They are the most fun and active grandparents ever. I have really treasured my time with them. The crew has pretty much swam the whole time. They are all rosey pink even with a TON of sun-SCREAM as Rebekah (4) calls it!!

Tomorrow,we head to my hubby's spiritual dad's (Tom and Nona Mosely)house! We are really excited to get to spend some time with them and go see the Natural Bridge Caverns and some wild safari thing. It is always a refreshing time to hang out with these two...especially when we all get to go furniture shopping!! :) After that, we will head to the La Cantera Westin where my MacBook will have wireless and I get to play catch up on the blog!! Unfortunately, my mobile uploads on Facebook are the only pics I can get my hands on at this time! But, we have had Hannah's birthday, Joseph and John's birthday and the pictures of our time here. It's going to be a blog extravaganza and I cant wait!

One extremely important bit of information, Sarah (5) lost her first tooth!!! She has four loose right now and this one popped out in Target! She was so excited!

Mother's Day

I was completely blessed this Mother's Day with pampering at a spa, gifts, beautiful home made cards, and delicious breakfasts.  My husband and kids went above and beyond and actually turned Mother's Day into a Mother's Weekend!!  I loved the gifts and time at the spa but my favorite moment of the weekend happened at church.  Pastor Robert had all the Moms stand up so he could pray over us.  As I bowed my head, I look down to see my husband's strong, faithful hand rest on me and then 5 pairs of little hands that followed. This was the gift of all gifts. I pray it will be etched in my memory forever.  It was the most precious "picture" of God's love for me and the grace He has poured out upon my life.  I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness. I am the least deserving of all He has blessed me with. Yet even when I was unfaithful to Him, He was faithful and had a plan for my life.  A plan so precious and full. So unbelievably rich and fulfilling.  When I think of the mercy that He has shown me, I am truly overwhelmed.  I am a sinner saved by His amazing grace.  Thank you Lord for a wonderful family and for an unforgettable Mother's Day.

1 Cor 2:9  However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

My gift table: a plastic squirrel, a frog, a frame, a silver bracelet with an anchor charm, a candle  some nail files and ribbon, a gift certificate and a beautiful soap dish and memo thingy!

Opening my adorable cards

Bubble extravaganza...who knew this would entertain 5 kids ages 11 to 2 for hours...literally!