Giving Thanks...

I love being with my family...and gathering together at Thanksgiving is one of my favorite things to do. This year was even more special because we were able to gather not only with my parents, but with the Head family as well. Aric's parents are precious people, and they opened up their home to all of us for Thanksgiving lunch. The boys love being at the farm, and so do we! We had fun outside, eating a BUNCH, and enjoying a hayride pulled by Papa Head on the tractor.

PawPaw loved hanging out with his littlest girl

Dandad changed out his flag while we were there...good lesson for the kids about how to handle and respect our country's flag. Love!!

Just hangin' out...

Sorrells Family group

Head Family group

Good ol' Thanksgiving Day game of football...well, kinda anyway!

Hayride around the farm makes the day even more complete!

The Catastrophy turned to The Blessing....

One night we went to bed like normal....except I woke up around 4 in the morning to a strange sound coming from the kitchen. I thought someone had left the sink water running...or that the hamster was spinning in his wheel...or, I don't know - it just sounded strange. I got up to investigate and was caught WAY off guard when I looked in the kitchen and saw paint literally bubbling up and falling off the walls above the cabinet. As I walked into the kitchen to get a better look, my feet were quickly covered in water. The door into the laundry room in the kitchen was soaked, the paint was warped on the door frame, and everything was soaked. Oh.My.Word.

I traced the problem up the stairs to the game room bathroom where the toilet had overflowed. The small bathroom was soaked, and the water had run down either from the toilet base or the sink....who knows. Water was in the walls of the stair case, in the game room closet walls and baseboards. I pulled out the wet dry vac and went to work....at 4 in the morning :). Donny woke up at some point and helped out, then began the process of calling insurance, etc.

The next few weeks included lots and lots of heavy duty fans, dehumidifiers, adjusters, and contractors. The blessings that came out of the catastrophe were amazing. Long story short, we walked away profiting by over $2000. The REALLY amazing blessing was the amount that we "profited" was almost dollar for dollar what we had pledged to the church for the Greater Things Campaign and Harvest Sunday! I'm constantly amazed at the ways the Lord goes to such great detail to work things for His kingdom....and I'm so thankful He allowed me to see the way He did it in our little family. He is GOOD.










All done! Complete with cleaned carpets (all the area in the upstairs...even though the only carpet slightly affected was the closet carpet), the stairs, and all the tile floors downstairs....even though the only floor affected was the kitchen. NICE.

Flag Football Boy...

Tyler man was our flag football player this season, and he loved playing for Coaches Doug and Tim. Their team was the Shockers and had several of the same players from the last season. Tyler really loves to play flag football, and does a great job especially at defense! He plays center and runs after the other teams guys to pull their flags QUICK! We are so proud of how hard he works, how enthusiastic he is about his team, and the good sportsmanship he demonstrates. He is a great team player!

How to be a Pirate in 7 Easy Songs...

Oh, how I love seeing my kids perform! I love watching them in sports activities, but I have to say my favorite performances I see them in are musical ones. It's the music lover in me....I'm learning to love sports because my husband and my children love sports. Music...well, music is a huge part of who I am! I love it. I think my Tyler might have my same love - or maybe just a smidge of my love for it, but Colby really does NOT. It's not that he doesn't like music - he just doesn't like being on stage, watching performances on stage, singing, making music...etc. But when the whole 3rd grade class puts on a musical with their music teacher, you really don't have an option in the matter, so perform he did! And man, was he a cute little pirate!!

Colby with his sweet teacher, Ms. Barnett

Our ever faithful Aunt Moni came with her kiddos to support the performer

Fall Ball.....

I love watching my boys play sports. I REALLY love watching them play baseball (I understand it better than football or soccer!) Colby is my little baseball stud, and he was excited to getting back to playing after being out for a year or so. He is now in the Kid Pitch league (Minor league), which changes things quite a bit! He was back on a team with our favorite coaches, Paul and Mark. An added bonus was that he got to play on the same team as cousin Timothy! The boys loved being on the same team, and we loved getting to see our family a lot for practices and games.
Coach Paul gave a Baby Ruth candy bar to stars of the game....Colby was the recipient one time, but for the last game, everyone got one!



Coach Paul is such a sweet man - we loved having Colby on his team....



Being in kid pitch was a little tricky for Colbs at first....he was pretty timid batting and got hit several times by wild pitches. By the end of the season he was doing better...got his confidence back and was getting some good hits. I love how my little man is so passionate about sports and is committed to whatever he sets his mind to. That kid must have practiced pitching and batting and catching pop flys in our yard 100 times a day...he makes me smile!

Fun Run...

Our elementary school had it's annual fund raiser in November - the Bette Perot Fun Run! I REALLY love that our school chooses to have just one fund raiser, and it's not something that involves me begging my friends to buy junk from my kids, then taking the junk to my friends when it comes in, etc.... Instead, we just ask grandparents and aunts to give them money! And they get the satisfaction of seeing how many times they can run around a little track with their friends...win-win.

I took the morning off work to be there this year - couldn't miss Brady's first run, and it's just always a lot of fun. This year was COLD!! A bitter wind blew really cold temps in the night before, so I felt like running with the kids just to keep warm!

Sebastian, Caysen, not sure who the next guy is, and Brady man!

Ms. Rhodes Rockets!

Mrs. Pence always starts the runners off with one lap around the track before they take off...

Look at all those laps I ran, Mom!

Ms. Barnett's Persevering Putters take the course...

Colby and his classmates trying to stay warm!!

Colby with his buddy, Christopher

Colby, Seth, Aaron, Joey, and Max

Andrew W.