Pastor appreciation . . .

October is pastor appreciation month. I wanted to express my appreciation for our new pastor and wife, Wesley and Joy McDonald. I appreciate their spirit of love and caring for the church. It has not been an easy year for the McDonald family. In March, Rev. Smokey McDonald, was killed in a tragic accident. Then in August, Wesley and Joy lost a baby boy named Nathaniel John (at 34 wks). Through it all I have watched them keep a positive attitude, a sweet spirit, and their faith in God.

I am excited about the new things that have been happening around our church. There has been a renewed interest in the youth group and also in our missionary society. Recent 'Rally Days' have been an encouragement for everyone to invite and bring others to church.

Wes & Joy - thanks for all you do for our church! We deeply appreciate you!

Events of the past month . . .

I haven't posted in awhile and since I don't have anything to blab about I thought I'd share a bunch of pictures.

We finally got a swing set purchased and assembled for our kids. Thanks to Papa John, Uncle Tristan and Daddy for putting it together. Kaylee & Matthew love it!!

The circus came to town!!! It was definitely a small town circus, but the kids were fascinated. We saw horses, ponies, camels, tigers, lions, and the elephants.

Ready for church!!

My three babies!

"Busy Britches" getting into trouble in mommy kitchen pantry. Boys sure do like to climb!!

Baby Erin - two months old already. She's got a lot to think about.

So, I've been tagged . . .

I'm it! I've been tagged. It is now 1:15 am. I am awake to feed Erin and can't think of anything better to do at this time of morning than blog. This tag thing is pretty crazy. Normally, I don't respond to emails or other chains like this, but this time . . . I guess I will.

1. A Bible verse that means a lot to me is . . . Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass (Psalms 37:4 & 5). In the disappointing times of life, this verse has been a great encouragement to me.

2. My greatest desire in life is to raise my children to love and serve God with all their hearts.

3. My biggest encouragement as a parent is the quote - " You don't have to be perfect to be a successful parent, you just have to be genuine."

4. My favorite food - TACOS; favorite color - PURPLE; favorite season - SPRING.

5. I am the world's worst at spelling. The only time I ever remember cheating in school was on a spelling test (not something I'm proud of). :-)

6. Presently looking for a way to work from home. Any suggestions, anybody??

7. Someday I would like to pursue further education and a career in the area of bookkeeping/ accounting. I love working with numbers!

More pictures . . .

September 14 - one month old

Nana & Papaw Gordon's Visit

We were thrilled to have Nana & Papaw Gordon come to visit. Their main reason for coming was to meet their new granddaughter, but we made sure they stayed busy while here.

Papaw worked hard installing extra shelving in Dawn's kitchen pantry and also painting and wallpapering Kaylee & Erin's bedroom. Thank you, Papaw for your expert advise and excellent work. (We made sure that he also had time to read a book or two :-) )

Kaylee & Erin's new bedroom.

Nana's project while here was to spoil the grandkids :-) She spent lots of time tending to Erin which was a big help to a "very tired mommy". Kaylee and Matthew got their share of attention, too. The list of other things that Nana did is too long to mention here.

THANK YOU, Nana for all your help. You were wonderful!!!!

Please come again soon!!!!

Baby Erin Michelle has arrived . . .

Baby Erin Michelle Stinebrickner arrived on August 16, 2007 at 4:34pm.
Weight 8lbs 11oz. Length 21 in.

Lots of hair - color brown/red????

Mommy and baby are both doing fine (and even Daddy is doing great after the trama of another child birth :-).

Interesting fact of the day - Aug 16, 2007
**Tropical Storm Erin slammed Texas with lots of rain and flooding.
**Hotest day on record in Tennessee for the month of August - 106 degrees recorded in Columbia, TN (town where Erin was born).

Aunt Paula introducing big brother Matthew to Baby Erin

Kaylee and Matthew - "What do you think?"

Grandma Stinebrickner - awe!!!!!!

Tired Daddy!!!

Going home from hospital.

I had to add this picture. This is Matthew going home from the hospital (Feb 2006). Is there any question who Erin looks like?

Addition to our family . . .

No, no! This is not about our baby girl (I only wish it was!!)

Yesterday, Todd's most recent purchase of 8 calves arrived. This is a new interest/hobby of Todd and Tristan. We plan on raising them and selling them later this year. They are already proving to be a hand full. This morning, Todd and Tristan leaving at 6am for work, counted 7 calves missing from the pasture. Thankfully, they were all found at an neighboring Amish farm. After 2 hours of searching, fixing the fence, and making sure all was in order - the work crew finally left around 8am.

Some of our calves.

Kaylee and Matthew watching the new cows