Welcome to 4 Oaks Academy!

  Welcome to our school, 4 Oaks Academy!  This is our first year to home school and we are SO excited!      Over the summer, we found 4 school desks for $15, and Dale built us the above frame for …

First Day of School Photos

Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell,
Brand new shoes, walking blues, climb the fence,
Books & pens…I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

  Love that song!  I will tell you more later, about WHY it is stuck in my head at the moment.  Pretty exciting stuff!

  So, school is back in full swing at our house.  For the first time in 6 years, our family is attending somewhere other than Central Christian.  Our family goes back 30 plus years at that school, but the Lord called us to a different school this year.  I will share more about that tomorrow, but for now, here are our first day of school photos!

I can’t believe summer is over!!!!
~T

 

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Wrapping Up Summer

  Summer 2014 has been a wild one!  We laughed, we cried, we lived, we learned, we got sun burnt, we ate yummy garden food and survived it all, kitchen-less.   School started August 25th for us, so for the …

A ”P” Party for P-Man

   We decided for Paxton’s 4th birthday, we would have a “P” Party, after the funny thing that happened last month.  Like I said, not really a full fledged party, but a themed celebration none the less.

You may have read his statement on facebook:

Paxton: “Mom, you call me P-Man because I pee a lot.”
Me: {snort} Um, no buddy, I call you P Man because your name starts with the LETTER P!
Paxton: “OH.”

Boy, glad we cleared that up!

   We were at my moms most of the day, due to us having no kitchen.

  Here are the photos from Sunday:

Presents

Police Gear, remote control car and sheriff set from mommy and daddy.

  The car and bopper hands came from the other kids.

  They wrapped up some of their own favorite toys from the playroom closet for him to have. 

Nana made us a yummy Chicken Salad for lunch with Potato Sticks.

Mmm! I have blogged this one before!  It’s a family fav. Click pic for recipe!

  That afternoon sweet Nana fixed us a P snack:
Punch, really fruity water…amazing!  Party picks, pretzels, pineapple and pepper slices.

We skyped Papa Clay and Grammy Drea, then headed to supper. Paxton picked PIZZA, how fitting! 

We were thankful Grandpa and Grandma Cottingham, and Great Grandma could join us too.  

Back to Nana’s house for Pie

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. 

A special surprise for Paxton via his Uncle Dan and Aunt Gena….

A Convertible ride around the block in their 1964 Chevy Impala!

Eeek! SOOO fun! 🙂

They have had this car forever.  I road to my first fireworks in this car, as a little baby.

After Paxton was done with his solo ride, we all piled in.

It was the Perfect ending to a perfect P Party day!

 

Oh, and just this VERY moment, I remembered I bought a Pinata on the clearance rack for $3 last month, planning to fill it with stuff from our candy basket and mini toys for his celebration….rats!

 

~T

Mini Break

  Hey friends, May 15th I shut down my Photography Calendar for the YEAR, because I was full to capacity with appointments! What a blessing!     About that same time, I launched a new business with my friend, Kalene …

Easy Beef Lettuce Wraps

  It’s SUMMERTIME, and that means light and easy suppers around here typically.  We spend as much time as possible outside in the evenings, so I don’t want to have to come in and labor over the hot stove too …

Survivor Island

  Good morning, sorry this post is late going live, I just finally sat down to write it this morning!  We spent the entire day at school yesterday, even though I thought for sure I was going to need to …

Painting Party

  This weekend, the girls in Destiny’s 5th grade class got to have a Painting Party!  We have the most DARLING Studio downtown now.  You can have a birthday party there, a wine & paint party for Mom’s, or just come and rub shoulders with other artists and work on a project or two.

  This particular gathering was for a rather sad purpose, one of the 9 girls in their grade is moving away.  We wanted Cassie to have a special last memory with her friends, so this was the perfect scenario, especially since she was going to leave with not only her owl painting, but a painted canvas full of notes from her friends.

  Cassie is the one in the coral shirt.

  From the get go everyone was giggling and having fun….even the Moms over on the couch area. 

  To start, the girls were to choose 5 colors, plus white for their owl picture. It was cool to see all the different color combos come out, per each girls personality.  Miss Lacey, the instructor, talked them through the Owl Painting, step-by-step.   She said the girls did WONDERFULLY, as this is an extra hard painting for their age group.  They spent 2 hours on these paintings before we got to the final touches.  Ivy is showing below, that clearly standing on your chair gives you that oomph you need to finish up.

   And apparently Destiny decided whipping her hair through her paint plate would be an add artistic flare to her hair do? It’s still not out after 2 washings, thankyouverymuch.  At least its kinda pretty?!

Here is the signed canvas:
Such a perfect gift for Cassie to hang in her new room in her new home!

  The final product and tired, but happy girls!

  If you are looking for a unique place for a Mom’s Night Out, Sunday School Class party for a couples His & Hers paintings, or a special kiddos Birthday Party, this Studio is the place for you! 

  If you are local, and would like more information from me, feel free to drop me a note on facebook and I can give you some specifics.

  Hugs, T

Easter Weekend

  I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Weekend celebrating our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ!

  We try very hard to keep Easter about Jesus, and his death, burial and resurrection.  For that reason, the Easter Bunny does not come visit our house.  Our Easter baskets are called Resurrection baskets, and the goodies inside, in celebration of our Risen Lord.

We talk Good Friday about how long Jesus suffered on the cross, and how lost everyone must have felt on Saturday, their Jesus, their hope, was gone!  We have the kids watch that video I shared on Friday every year, to help them understand how painful it was for Jesus, what a gift it was to them, that he stayed on that cross so they could have life.  This year, the video really affected Paxton, he just had to bury his head in my shoulder and cry after.  “Jesus die, Mommy. Jesus DIE.”

  However, I woke up this morning {Sunday} to him jumping on our bed shouting,  “JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!” at 6:38 am.
Proof 3 year olds can totally “get” the real reason we celebrate Easter. 

Here are some photos from our Easter Weekend:

Waiting outside for their big surprise….

A tree house Zip Line!  We prayed angels of protection in Jesus name, showed them how it was done and laid some ground rules.  I may or may not have gotten 3 blisters from trying it out the night before.

You know, quality control. Gotta test it out for the safety of the kids!

  Needless to say, it was a HUGE hit!  They are out there right now as I write you, going again and again with Daddy.

Resurrection Baskets:

This one is so super serious, but I adore it.  I was checking my settings and they were just waiting nicely.

  Easter service at church was INCREDIBLE!  The baptisms and testimonies always make me bawl.  God is so good, praise the Lord for new life in Christ!

  We decided to just stay home for Easter lunch this year.  We always adore being with our extended families, but sometimes its nice to stay home and make our own holiday meals, and traditions.

 I used my wedding china for the first time in 12 years! It’s been out of storage for a year, waiting for a special time to use it.  🙂  It comes from Grandma, and is cream with a delicate gold border, so pretty!!!!

  Well, that is all from here.  Happy Monday, folks!

  My kiddos are home from school today, so I am hoping to get some fun, family time in.  But first, I am working a big out of town photo job. Pray for me! I have never photographed homes before, let alone fancy ones!!!!!!
EEEEEK!
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me……… 

Hugs, T