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Be JOYFUL always, PRAY without ceasing, give THANKS in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thess 5:16-18

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Trip to the Smokies

This past Wednesday we packed our bags and headed to the Smoky Mountains with the Murrays. We got to stay in a beautiful cabin right out side of Gatlinburg and had a really fun time.
Here are all 11 of us right outside the entrance of the National Park.




Michael has really wanted to see a black bear in the Smokies. Well this year he got his wish! We not only saw one bear but five! This is the first cub that we saw on our way up to Cades Cove the first day.





On our last afternoon there we went to this beautiful stream on a trail up the mountains. It was a cool, crisp fall day and the perfect ending to our trip! We are thinking Thanksgiving next year would be the perfect time to go back... anyone want to join us?

More pics from the weekend...









Saturday, September 20, 2008

Hurricane Ike Visits Louisville!

Last Sunday Hurricane Ike decided to visit Louisville! Madeline and I were walking home from church and I noticed it was extremely windy. By the time we got home, the wind had picked up a good deal more. As I was fixing lunch, I noticed I kept hearing branches hit the roof and the grill cover was off again after I had just put it back on. "No big deal," I thought, "it's just a little wind." Michael called saying they had been really busy going on calls with trees falling down. By 1:30, the wind was even harder and the power went off, came on after a couple of minutes, and then went off again not to come back on for 4 more days! Come to find out, winds up to 80 mph swept through the city knocking down huge trees and telephone poles leaving almost half a million people without power. There were several big trees to fall around us blocking rodes and bringing down lots of wires. Our house was unaffected besides a few big limbs that were flung from a neighboors tree and planted in our yard. We are really thankful that Michael was safe as he was working that day and saw a good number of trees fall. We are also thankful that we had a gas water heater, stove, and grill. It was fun and romantic for a couple of nights to live by candelight, but that wore off and we were glad to get power back mid week. There are still many without power though.



Other news this week.... Madeline turned 4 months old. Time is flying by. She is still a little jabber mouth and is laughing a lot more. She loves watching her Baby Einstein videos and talking to her toys! She also has started loving to stand up these past couple of weeks and is really close to rolling over. She is so fascinated by most anything and grabs anything within sight! She loves being around people and her smile lights up the room!


Here are lots of pics from the past couple of weeks for a glimpse into our life and to see how Madeline is growing!








Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Another trip to Mississippi

For the past 10 days we have been traveling all over Mississippi. We had a great time and got to see lots of family! We started out by stopping in Memphis and seeing Aunt Jack. She is my great aunt that would make her Madeline's great great aunt. The next day we headed down to Vardaman Mississippi where my grandparents live for Mamp's 75th birthday party. Maddie got to meet lots of new family members there, including her great great great Aunts Martha and Maggie. We spent a few days in Columbus resting and relaxing and then on Thursday headed to Hattiesburg. We went to see Andy, Melanie, and Jude. Although I think it made us miss them more, it was so fun to spend the day with them (and we have to get Madeline and Jude around each other so that our plans for an arranged marriage succeed!). Our last stop was Jackson, MS to see Uncle Pete and Aunt Susan and for Mary Allison's wedding. We had such a fun time there for a couple of days, and then headed back to Louisville yesterday. Here are some pics of the highlights of our trip.


Madeline and Aunt Jack


5 Generations (Maddie's great great great Aunts Maggie and Martha)


Jude and Madeline (don't they make a cute couple)!

Madeline and Susan

Family picture from the wedding

Uncle Pete and Maddie