good stuff

Goodbye, Red Sled!

2009-10-22T23:36:00.000-04:00

In March, we said goodbye to one of the most generous gifts we’ve ever been given…our big Red Van (a.k.a. the Red Sled). Some very dear friends and families that Jon served as a youth pastor refurbished and gifted this vehicle to us. What a blessing! When the air conditioner completely went out last summer, though, we knew it was only a matter of time…No air plus a toddler (plus a few other problems) means time for a ‘new’ vehicle. We were sad to see it go, and we hope that the lady who bought it from us will enjoy it as much as we did! To those of you who helped give us this gift…we can never thank you enough!

Disney World with Grandma and Grandpa! (2/2)

2009-10-21T17:00:00.002-04:00

Here's the second part of the post on our January Disneyworld Trip...

Caroline really loved watching the Playhouse Disney show.

Here we caught Mickey's Share a Dream Come True Parade in the Magic Kingdom.

Ready for Epcot!

Now that’s just cute.

Goofy turned out to be a favorite on this trip! Maybe it’s the resemblance to Daddy...:)

No, this is not in the wrong blog entry. This angry bird, who we nicknamed Willis, tried to steal Jonathan’s beloved Fish and Chips. He gets them in Great Britain every time we are in Epcot. Jon, I mean...not the bird.

What a lovely surprise! We happened upon Belle strolling through a garden in her home country of France. Bonjour, Belle!

We capped off the week with a character dinner at Chef Mickey’s. What a treat it turned out to be! The one on one with the characters was fun, and the food was delicious! We’re talking full out gourmet All-American...but done buffet style. And of course all the yummy Disney dessert you could want.

A little shopping after dinner :)

After a long, fun week, Caroline and Grandpa finally crash out in the lobby of the Contemporary...while we take in the Magic Kingdom fireworks through the huge glass window. What a great trip!

-Beth

Disney World with Grandma and Grandpa! (1/2)

2009-10-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

In January, we headed for Orlando! We thought we would escape the bitter TN winter, and some days we did, but we were hit with temps in the 40’s on a couple of days. Oh well, we still had a blast laughing and avoiding the unexpected crowds together!

We stayed off of Disney property for the first time in about 20 years. Although we missed some of the 'magic', it turned out to be a great experience! We had plenty of room to spread out, etc. And the place had a great Disney theme for Caroline!

Caroline listened to every word Princess Aurora had to say!

Of course, she smiled for Belle...her favorite princess at the time!

Caroline’s one request was to ride the ‘pirate ride’. We really have no idea why or how she got this in her head. It was a tad scary, but she made it through! She would sing “Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate like-a me!” (the words are ‘a pirate’s life for me’).

Riding the teacups is totally great!

She completely crashed during the fireworks :)

What toddler doesn’t love meeting Pooh and friends??!! Caroline was so excited she ran to each to give them a hug. Here is a picture mid-jump...showing Tigger she can bounce like him.

Caroline spots her favorite mouse in Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade!

check out the rest at the next post...

-Beth

Dyeing Eggs

2009-10-19T23:35:00.000-04:00

Caroline’s first experience with dyeing Easter eggs was at her class in Lenoir City. Here she is concentrating very hard on her color choices. Special thank you’s go out to Miss Sharon and Miss Maricel for their incredible patience!

Beth’s First Haiti Trip

2009-10-18T15:52:00.002-04:00

Ok, people, so I did it! I took the plunge and went to Haiti with Jon in March. This was kind of big for me for a couple of reasons – not the smallest of which was leaving Caroline for several nights for the first time, plus a substantial fear of flying that has developed since I had Caroline. Thank you to all of you who had been praying for us…we had a really great trip…I definitely enjoyed seeing firsthand the people that Jonathan is working to help every day.
We met with so many ministries, I am left wanting to describe them all to you. Instead I will just sum up my overall impression of the country and the people we met there. There are a lot of problems facing Haiti. And I mean, a lot. The issues the country faces are deep rooted in a socio-political climate that does not have an easy fix. BUT…there are people that hold out hope for the future of Haiti. These people are affecting change within their own country. They are working to restore lives and build for tomorrow!!! We are so fortunate to get to spend time with these ‘movers and shakers’. Here are a few highlights…
We were able to have dinner with some staff from Compassion, along with three young adults who have come through the child sponsorship program. One young man who grew up in one of Port au Prince’s most dangerous slums is now studying business at a local university. The young lady in the group is almost done with her schooling to become a nurse. The last young man is an OBGyn in his residency year – these doctors are so in need that this young man already has experience performing twelve to fourteen c-sections a night! They were such a testament to the work of this organization. Here we are with this amazing group of young people.

Here we are with the wonderful staff and community advisors for the WorldVision Acodet project. This group serves hundreds of children in a rural area. They happily showed us some of the amazing things that are happening at their project…such as the integration of a few computers for the children, and a self-sustaining farm that is run by community members who also benefit from the crops and livestock being cultivated there.

By far the coolest thing that we got to do on this trip was visit the child that we sponsor at the Acodet project. Estevenson is the coolest kid! He is fourteen, and a little shy. We got to talk for about thirty minutes. He wanted to know a lot about us…we kept asking him about his interests, etc., but he would turn it around on us and ask us to describe ourselves! He wants to be an engineer when he grows up, and travel all around the world. All in all, it was a moving experience to be welcomed by Estevenson’s family and community. They even chopped down two fresh coconuts for us to drink from. His mother told me, “I pray for you every day.” How humbling is that?

Jonathan and Estevenson…now good friends!

Jon showed Estevenson pictures of Caroline on his iphone.

Drinking the coconut juice with our translator, Paul (who was awesome btw)

We also visited the Belloc community where our friend is trying to get a school and feeding program started. I wanted to be sure and include this photo of us with some of the children at Belloc, since some of you will be helping fund this project soon. These kids are precious! If you are interested in getting them in school and we haven’t talked to you about it yet…let us know by all means! We will hook you up…

As is customary in Haiti : ) , we did get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Between Jonathan and our fantastic driver, we were back on the road before dusk!

And last, and definitely least, is me preparing for what I deemed, ‘the flight of doom’. Our pilot was fantastic and joked with me the whole way; plus I had a wonderful Haitian lady riding beside me (a World Vision disaster relief coordinator)….she talked me through the whole thing.…but I was sooooo happy to get my feet back on the ground! An even crazier thought is that Jonathan flew the plane for about 10 minutes! The World Vision folks kindly kept that information from me until we were landed : )

Well, with all the excitement of the trip, we were exhausted and certainly glad to get home to Caroline, but we wouldn’t trade the experience…it was definitely eye-opening. Of course Jon had seen Haiti many times before, but to see it together…and to meet Estevenson…those are two blessings we never dreamed would happen so soon!

-Beth

The Beach with Friends

2009-10-17T15:39:00.001-04:00

In March, we were blessed to take an impromptu trip with the Robinson and Floyd families to Watercolor, FL. The trip could not have been more fun! The weather was perfect, and although the water was freezing (seriously, like, think creek in the Smokies cold), it was so amazingly clear…we just couldn’t resist jumping right in! Caroline had a blast playing with her friends Brianna, Alexandra, Kate, and Anna. She loved building sandcastles and jumping in the waves. It was a blast!
Alexandra shows Caroline how to make a drip castle (with a little help from Daddy and Mr. ‘Yance’)

“B-nana, Axexonda, will you take me to da oshen?”

That water was sooo cold!!

I mean, seriously, look at that crystal clear water!

Thank you so much Robinson family, for inviting us! It was a fantastic trip!

-Beth

Playdate with Maelyn

2009-10-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

One of Caroline’s favorite friends spent the day with us at MiMi and Papoo’s house (yes, Caroline has changed Pappaw to Papoo…we still use the two interchangeably). The girls had fun getting ‘polish’ on their nails and playing in the fireplace… J

Painting WiWi’s nails

Maelyn and her Mommy…so sweet!

That’s right, they are in the (never been used) fireplace…

-Beth

Caroline’s Granddaughter

2009-10-15T22:25:00.001-04:00

No, that’s not a misprint. Earlier this year, Caroline decided to call Mommy’s old Kirsten doll her granddaughter. She takes her granddaughter on outings and makes sure she has plenty of food and rest. She is so funny!!
Showing her granddaughter how to ride the horsie

Now Granddaughter is taking a rest

-Beth

Life is "Butter" Dream!

2009-10-14T22:18:00.001-04:00

We* are catching up on some blogging. This one comes from late February of this year.

Caroline singing one of her favs.

*by we I mean that I, Jonathan, am way behind. Beth had chosen many of this upcoming pics and movies and even written the post, but was waiting on me to post them. Let me now take the time to publicly say to my wonderful wife and to all of you readers out there--I am sorry!!!

-jonathan

Another Daddy Date

2009-10-14T00:06:00.003-04:00

In February, Caroline and Jonathan had a great time together checking out the new putt-putt place at East Towne mall. The best part for Caroline – everything was glow in the dark, and she got to wear a ‘globe necklace’!

They then ventured into other parts of the mall where she found Belle’s gown! She just had to be photographed beside it!

-Beth

"Snow on dat car!!!"

2009-06-27T22:41:00.001-04:00

Back in February, Knoxville saw about four inches of snow (at our house at least)…that’s the best snow we’ve had in years! So here is some footage from Caroline’s first real snow experience. Enjoy!

Our family, in snow

Genealogy…

2009-06-26T22:16:00.001-04:00

In the past, my mom has done a lot of research into the Higgins family geneology (mom’s maiden name). We are fortunate to have other relatives who have done a great deal of research as well, and that side of the family can now be traced for fourteen generations, including a couple of links to famous Americans, such as John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, who came over on the Mayflower, and were likely the 3rd couple to be married in Plymouth colony!
Recently, Catherine had a school project on family history, and that gave us all the opportunity to look into some of these stories once again. A more recent family story is that of my great Uncle Clarence, who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was on deck aboard the U.S.S. St. Louis (later known as ‘Lucky Lu’ – very interesting story about this ship…you history buffs might want to google it or check out this article) when the attack began – he rushed to alert the officer on deck, and was instructed by that officer to wake the ship’s captain. After accomplishing this task, he ran to the ship’s ammunition boxes and started breaking locks with an ax. He later received a commendation for these acts! Wow, how cool is that?!

There are many, many more stories of bravery from relatives who have served bravely in our Armed Forces. In fact, my mom has several cousins who serve in high ranking military positions. We would like to say thank you to each of you for serving our country!!

-Beth

Fun at Nana’s

2009-06-24T23:59:00.002-04:00

This picture if from a fun night at Nana and Bob-Bob’s house back in January. Nice accessories ladies!! Thank you, Aunt Brigette, for the new ponies!

Haiti in January

2009-03-10T22:53:00.000-04:00

Sometime in the future, I hope to explain a little further about my work and my involvement in Haiti. But for now here are pics and a video showing how beautiful this country is...

I wasn't able to upload the full version because of size, but this is a good picture of Port au Prince. Double-click on it to see it a little larger.

This cute little girl had on a beautiful princess dress that I was sure Caroline would like to see.

These are some of the kids at Belloc. I hope to post more about my hopes and dreams for Belloc in the future. But for now here are some adorable children that live in this community.

Here is a small glimpse inside the church at Belloc.

He looks a lot cooler than I do in my sunglasses...

Here is Caroline's snowman that she wanted me to take to Haiti.

-jonathan

Fun with Daddy!

2009-03-09T14:24:00.004-04:00

Caroline sure does love her Daddy! In the mornings, she always calls for me and the first thing she asks when I walk in her room is, "Where's Daddy?" I always respond, "He's at work today. But he'll be right back!" Then we have a morning hug and go on with our day! I think that's so funny! Anyway, so this is a post about some recent adventures with Caroline and her Daddy.

First, a Daddy date to Sprout Studio...

Making a cake with Daddy at home...

Daddy and Caroline's 'dates' often end up at Walmart to get a few things we need around the house! Here Caroline works on her strength training...

Also, Daddy dates sometimes include special treats that Mommy wouldn't always approve of! :) Here Caroline samples some Cinnabon at the mall.

Dressing Up!

2009-03-08T14:15:00.002-04:00

Caroline is a gal who sure likes to dress up! Here are a couple of recent dress up choices.

An elephant...

P-Joe's hat and her two international necklaces...

-Beth

Anniversary Trip

2009-03-07T13:51:00.004-05:00

Our anniversary is December 29th...we've been married 7 years now! This year, we decided to visit Biltmore Estate for our special day. It was so fun! Inside the house, the decorations were unbelievable! There was also entertainment throughout, like a wonderful Christmas choir, ballet dancers, and even actors performing beloved Christmas tales. The huge fireplaces (think floo network capabilities HP fans) were lit and the atmosphere was really grand. One of the main attractions was the forty foot evergreen in the enormous dining hall. It was covered in colorful bulbs and huge gift-wrapped boxes. This is exactly the way that George Vanderbilt had decorated for the first Christmas in Biltmore House...in 1895!! Can you imagine seeing those electric bulbs and the lavish gifts displayed in 1895!? It's eye-popping even still! We had a fantastic time.

-Beth

Christmas 2008

2009-03-06T23:53:00.002-05:00

Wow! What a Christmas season we had! With seven separate family Christmas celebrations and one very overwhelmed two year old, we certainly had out hands full!! Caroline simply did not deal well with the chaos that invaded her little world during the week or so surrounding Christmas. Many new faces and new experiences led to a toddler on the brink of meltdown! In fact, on Christmas morning, Jonathan and I basically put all the presents away and instead just played and played with Caroline. It really made for one of the best Christmas memories ever! Our little family moment amidst all the craziness.

So...aside from working hard to keep Caroline from spontaneously combusting, we really had a great time with friends and family! Thank you to everyone who hosted us over the holiday season. We certainly ate some delicious meals and got to see so many loved ones. That is truly a blessing. One thing that we especially enjoyed this year was getting to spend some extended time with Uncle Tim and Aunt Ashley. It was really great just to hang out and laugh together. Tim will soon graduate from seminary, and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for them in the coming years! We love you guys and we are praying for you!

I apologize for the lack of Christmas pictures. That's sort of a function of the above stated difficulties. Please enjoy the few pics that we did manage to snap!

Caroline playing under our Christmas tree at home

Wendy joined Caroline at school for her special party...a snack with Santa Claus! See the red suit in the background? The 'big guy' even shared a cookie with Caroline.

What a beauty! This is after Redeemer's service of Lessons and Carols. Mommy sang in the choir.

Daddy traveled to Washington D.C. just before Christmas. He made sure to send his girls a picture of the Christmas tree on the White House lawn!

Super fun times with the Mize clan! We braved the frigid temperatures to walk through Christmas at the Cove...basically a big light display at a park here in town.

Christmas morning. Take note of Miss Grumpy Face on the right!

Caroline started a tradition of playing 'Bonk' with Uncle Mike

Caroline takes Aunt Ashley and Mommy for a ride in Nana's new truck.

-Beth

And also, Michael’s show...

2009-03-05T21:57:00.001-05:00

That same weekend, Michael rocked the house at his piano recital! It was his first one, and he seriously did an awesome job, with a very lively (and seemingly complicated for a 6-year-old) version of “Up on the Housetop”. Way to go, buddy!

-Beth

“You tell me of Catha’s show?”

2009-03-04T22:54:00.001-05:00

These are the words I heard many many times in mid to late December. Caroline wanted to hear over and over again the plot of “A Christmas Carol”...Catherine was in a local performance of the musical version on December 6th 2008. Great job Catherine! Bravo!

An after note: One of Caroline's favorite things to do over Christmas was to retell the story herself. Although we tried many times, we never were able to catch her rendering of 'Ebeneez Scooge' on film. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles never fear though...there is a four minute video of us nudging her through the whole story...just not as good as the "in person" version!!

-Beth

All Ready for Christmas!

2009-03-03T22:52:00.000-05:00

Showing off her newest Christmas threads.

-jonathan

Christmas in Kentucky!

2009-03-02T22:56:00.000-05:00

We had a great trip to KY the weekend after Thanksgiving! With a delicious holiday spread and the annual gift swap (I can’t believe Caroline didn’t steal that silly monkey, Uncle Tom!), we had some really good family time. Nannie even made an oh-so-cuddly snowman blanket for Caroline, along with a quilted bookbag with a treasure inside...a Jan Brett story, The Three Snow Bears! What a treat! And of course, Caroline loved visiting Cinco the donkey again and meeting the new baby horse (see video below), Wishart’s Legal Trick (Wishart, for short...this guy could be a prize winning racehorse someday!). Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this on the blog, but if you are ever headed North on 75 thru KY, take time to stop at the KY artisan’s center in Berea. Both Nannie and Grandad have featured pieces there. They are both acclaimed artists...in many areas...but particularly wood carving and lathe work for Grandaddy and quilting for Nannie. Check it out!

Also check out this small article on mace that Grandad made for his alma mater Maryville College.

Thank you for my snowman, cousin Rachel! He’s so cute, he’s making my room a little merrier right now! With love, Caroline

Visiting the animals...

-jonathan

Favorite Christmas Song

2009-03-01T15:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a quick video of Caroline singing her favorite Christmas song back in November.

-jonathan

Jonathan's Trip to Haiti

2009-02-26T00:21:00.006-05:00

Most of you know, but just in case, Jonathan works with a philanthropic organization (Equitas Group) and is trying to stop child slavery in Haiti. Here are some pictures from Jonathan's trip to Haiti in November 2008.

It's never hard to find some cute kids posing for a picture. They love digital cameras, so that you can instantly show them what they look like. (Many of them have never seen themselves before!)

This building is used to store salt that has been harvested from the ocean. This micro-business is one of the many example's of HOPE International's microfinance loans. You can find out more about HOPE International by clicking here.

Also, if you have about 8 minutes check out this new (very well done) video explaining more about HOPE in Haiti. Jonathan is friends with several of the people in the video.

Special Note: Pay close attention and you will see the exact salt storage building in the picture above.

These kids were showing off their toy truck that they made out of old plastic bottles.

Jonathan met two new friends. They spent some time trying to teach each other their native language.

Beautiful picture that shows the vegetation and architecture.

Here is a quick video show some of the city of Cap Haitien.

This was a precious little girl at a hospital/clinic in Trou Du Nord.

Go Vols!!!! Always good to see that color orange! This little girl was scared by Jonathan's rendition of Rocky Top. Here Jonathan is trying to explain that she is wearing a uniform from the school he attended.

Similar to UT Orange, you can't escape the reach of the Disney Empire. These kids were at an orphanage that was actually featured on Extreme Home Makeover just a few days before Jonathan was there.

Getting ready to come home! Snow White made the trip too...Caroline suggested this as Daddy was packing. She took pictures of herself and sent them to Caroline each day. Great idea, Snow White!

-Beth

Photo Shoot

2009-02-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, we decided to have our friend Tracie Ancelet take some photos of Caroline, and also of the whole family. She is really growing her professional photography business, and for good reason...she did an amazing job! You can check out a few of these photos (I wish I could show you all of them) on her website. Click here to see them.

-Beth

Fantasy of Trees

2009-02-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

Just like many Knoxvillians, Beth’s family has a tradition to head to the Fantasy of Trees every year. It is basically a huge wonderland of Christmas trees decorated by local groups, businesses, and professional designers...plus a virtually endless supply of stuff to do for the kiddos, like really great crafts, rides, putt-putt, visiting Santa, cookies, etc! Plus, local groups provide entertainment throughout. Jonathan and I really love the gingerbread houses/cabins/castles/Neyland stadiums though...some of these things are unbelievably detailed!! And the great thing is, the entire event benefits Children’s Hospital here in Knoxville. A place nearer and dearer to our hearts than we ever dreamed it might be.

Cousins! They both chose the penguin separately! I hope they are always such great friends.

Michael showing off one of his creations.

Concentrating on the perfect amount of icing.

-Beth

Halloween Fun

2009-02-05T01:17:00.003-05:00

So we are back from our blogging hiatus and we’re flashing back to Halloween. That’s about where we left off...

Caroline had a great time picking out a pumpkin...the farm stand had all different kinds! Beth couldn’t resist buying a ‘fairytale’ pumpkin, along with the regular kind (think, the squatty pumpkin that the fairy godmother turns into Cinderella’s carriage).

Then, we were ready for the big night! Catherine and Michael (Dorothy and Boba Fett) came to our house for the evening. We ate a delicious dinner of chili soup, then headed out into the neighborhood. There were tons of kids running around...it was really perfect! We had a great time just hanging out and trick-or-treating. Then back to the house to watch the DTV Halloween special (sort of an 80’s Disney version of MTV...Disney cartoon clips played to great Halloween tunes...like, Thriller, Bad Moon Rising, etc.)

Caroline was mesmerized by the whole experience! I think she couldn’t believe that it was really happening...it was all magic to her! She still asks to play trick-or-treat around the house every now and then.

Check out Boba Fett’s jetpack, and Dorothy’s red sparkly spray-painted crocs! Ok, so maybe everyone didn’t recognize Michael’s costume...but 99% of the Dads in their 30s and 40s were like, ‘Hey, Boba Fett! Awesome!”.

-Beth

1st UT Football Game!!!

2008-10-31T22:04:00.002-04:00

I used to enjoy going to UT football games growing up. We didn't go that often, so when we did it was a special event. I have always thought that Caroline would enjoy going to a game, but I have not thought that spending a load of cash on the chance that Caroline would sit still (not to mention have fun and pay attention) for 3+ hours was a very safe bet. However, the Vols are not doing so hot this year (driving demand and price of tickets down) and "I too, like to live dangerously." I let Beth have a much needed night to herself and Grandpa (my dad) and I devised a plan to take her to her first game - UT vs Miss. St.

Let me just say, I couldn't have asked for it to go any smoother - it was perfect. We thought it was going to be cold, but it turned out not to be so bone-chilling (in fact we didn't use hardly any of the complete extra bag of warm clothes we toted with us!) Caroline could not believe how many people there were. I snapped this picture when we first walked in and you can see the shock she was going through.

Grandpa had a friend that hooked us up with 2 tickets that were really great and we were able to get a 3rd ticket from a scalper on the way in that was in the same section as us. The stadium was by no means crowded and so we had plenty of room. Here is a screenshot from my iPhone showing the ariel view of where we sat.

One of Caroline's favorite parts was seeing the band play at half time (don't know where she would get that from!) Here she is clapping along.

She also loved meeting Smokey, even though I think it was actually Smokey Jr. I didn't get a picture of this but she kept saying all night, "I shake Smokey's hand. That Smokey...He's silly, Daddy!"

Here is Caroline and Grandpa at watching the game intently.

She did such a good job at the game and was so well behaved. Everyone around us kept complementing her about how well she did. Caroline even got involved in the game by cheering-on the defense and making some noise on 3rd downs - "Go. Tennesseeeeee!!!"

On the way back home we stopped by Walmart to pick up some essentials and she wanted to push the cart.

And what can I say, sometimes when we are at Walmart without Mommy, we do stuff that we probably shouldn't.

All in all, it was one of my favorite Daddy datenights so far!

-jonathan

Hide n Seek

2008-10-30T10:55:00.002-04:00

While we were on our brief fall getaway that Beth blogged about yesterday, we visited our favorite store in Tanger, the Disney Outlet store. While we were there Caroline decide to play a little game of "hide n seek" She ran off and actually found a really good spot. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

-jonathan

A Fun Fall Trip!

2008-10-29T22:32:00.001-04:00

Last week, we had two grand adventures! First, we went to Dad’s cabin overnight with Nana and BobBob. It was a blast! We started the day with lunch at Moe’s and Nana and BobBob seeing Jon’s new office for the first time. The weather was gorgeous, so from there we meandered up through Townsend, stopping at the Dancing Bear Lodge (formerly the Maple Leaf Lodge). It’s a beautiful place...where Jonathan and I thought about having our wedding... The pics below are from the lodge. We spent some lazy time at the cabin, then we headed towards the other end of Wears Valley Road for some shopping and dinner in Pigeon Forge. It was a great time! Nana and BobBob even got a Snow White scepter for Caroline at the Disney outlet to go with her Halloween costume!

She called this deer a ‘lama’. Guess we need to work on some local wildlife terminology!

What a beautiful fall day!

The next day, we woke up and packed our things. Nana had to get back home to work on her items for the upcoming Foothills Craft Guild Show/Sale. If you didn’t know, Debbie is a magnificent quilter (amongst other artistic talents). Take a second if you like to look at her work on the Foothills Craft Guild website. Click here and it will take you to information about the upcoming craft fair. It’s a great place to find unique, locally made Christmas gifts! Note the little rocking horse picture on the lefthand side. If you’ve been to our house, you’ll remember that as one of Debbie’s creations, a beautiful “Dick and Jane” quilt that hangs in our front bedroom/playroom. Then, to see Debbie’s profile, click on Member’s Search (on the left), and put in Cooper. She’ll pop up! There’s a little bio and pictures of some of her work. This Guild is a very prestigious honor, and we are so proud of Nana. Maybe one day Caroline will learn from her Nana how to create such beautiful pieces!

Ok, so back to the adventures. We then met Mimi and Pappaw at Exit 407, and we headed for Biltmore House! Again, the day was perfect, and the leaves near Asheville were really stunning. Caroline really had fun at the new farm area they’ve added to Biltmore...she got to see baby animals, hear some bluegrass/gospel music, and dress up as a little pioneer girl and play turn of the century games! It was some serious fun. Of course, we also toured the beautiful house and grounds. Caroline thought it was a castle...so we used that to our advantage and told her she had to behave like a princess while inside. For the most part, it worked!

I mean, c’mon. It doesn’t get much cuter, does it?! :)

Caroline in front of the ‘castle’

The view from the Vanderbilts’ back porch

-Beth

Apple Festival 2008

2008-10-28T22:20:00.003-04:00

My family is from a small town in Upper East Tennessee, called Erwin. It is a beautiful place nestled in a little valley amongst the Appalachian mountains. Every year, thousands of people converge upon Erwin for the Unicoi County Apple Festival. Many of these folks come to collect the famous Clinchfield Pottery, which can be very valuable. I had family members who worked at the pottery, and I treasure my small collection as a family heirloom. Anyway, there is the usual 'festival' stuff to do...plenty of crafters, music, food, activities for kids, and of course, apples! In fact, that was Caroline's main goal..."Get an apple...Eat it." And so she did, skin and all. I had one bite, and it had to be one of the sweetest apples I've ever tasted! Here she is taking in some clogging. The look on her face is hilarious!

If you look closely in this one, you can still see the remnants of apple and funnel cake on her face! What a sweetie.

As a really nice end to the day, we had a family reunion of sorts at my Mammaw Wilson's church. It was really great to see everyone and catch up a bit on life. I loved hearing the stories of my Great-Grandmother Masters, and the legacy that she has handed down. This picture is my dad (on the left) and his sister and brother, Lana and Terry.

Love to my whole Wilson family! We look forward to seeing you all again at Thanksgiving!

-Beth

It's a Minnie Mouse Party!

2008-10-27T22:52:00.001-04:00

For Caroline's birthday party, we had a fun cookout at Nicholas Ball Park! The kids played on the playground and we all chowed down on hot dogs, baked beans, and watermelon. The theme was Minnie Mouse, and as you'll see from the photos, it was fantastic! Special thanks go to Nana who helped with soooo many details (including the cutest polka dot tablecloths), and to Pappaw who created a masterpeice...you'll see... Anyway, thanks to all who got to come! We had a great time.

Daddy worked long and hard on the cake. It turned out to be so cool!!

Of course, her best buds Mike-Mike and Catha (Michael and Catherine) were right by her side as she blew out the candles.

Great friends, and great times!

The adorable Mize clan! Check out Riley's busted chin! He is one brave dude.

Alex says, 'Where's my presents?'

Aunt Pam has been at 100% of Caroline's birthday parties. Since she's lives in Venezuela, that's a statistical anomaly!

Cutie patootie Maelyn!

The birthday girl concentrating hard on her masterpeice!

Grandpa was the master griller for the evening.

Have you tried the cake yet, BobBob?

Our good friends and neighbors, the McKaigs, in front of Pappaw's big project! Pappaw, it was a hit!!

charity:water

Caroline's family and friends raised enough money to give 25 people in Ethiopia clean water for 20 years! Check it out, at charity: water.

-Beth

"Popple"

2008-10-26T22:46:00.002-04:00

Caroline made up a new game with Mimi. This is footage of me sneaking up on them playing this new game. It's called "Popple" because it's played by throwing Daddy's old Popple toy (ok you 80's kids, remember those stuffed animals that rolled up inside themselves to make a ball?) back and forth from her crib, while jumping wildly and laughing hysterically. Since then, Pappaw and Mrs. Amy have also been chosen to play "Popple". It's hilarious!

-Beth

Winnie the Pooh, Live!

2008-10-25T22:36:00.000-04:00

For Caroline's Birthday, Mimi and Pappaw gave Caroline tickets to see Winnie the Pooh, Live! It was a blast! We did have one snag though...Daddy put Caroline in the car as we were leaving...and when Mommy went to get her out of the car at the Civic Auditorium, she had no shoes on!!! I was so upset at first, but it turned out that it didn't matter...learning to bounce like Tigger on Mommy's lap doesn't require shoes. What a hoot! When all was said and done, Caroline was thrilled to see some of her favorite characters in 'real life'. She sang and danced right along with them all as they planned a surprise birthday party for Pooh!

Exhibit A: The bare feet

Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood...

After Pooh's big surprise...Happy Birthday Pooh, and Caroline!

-Beth

Happy Birthday Caroline!!!

2008-10-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

Caroline's birthday was September 23rd! She is now two years old! She is really turning into a 'big girl' before our very eyes...talking so much and understanding so many things. (Example: One night this week, after staying with Mimi and Pappaw for a little while, she told me that Pappaw made her some peas. 'I ate peas' she proceded to say. When I said, 'Oh that's great Caroline...You ate some peas!', she looked at me with a very knowing look. She squinted up her face at me and said, 'Not real peas, Mommy...just pretend peas.' Jonathan and I looked at each other in disbelief! It took so much understanding to tell me that...the difference between pretend and real, and the knowledge that I was thinking she had really eaten peas, and the willingness to correct me on that! So funny! And, sure enough, as I was cleaning up later that night, I found the pretend peas plated up there in her little kitchen. What a smart girl!)

Ok, so back to birthday stuff. On her actual birthday, Jonathan and Caroline and I spent the whole day together. Jon took a vacation day and we headed to the Knoxville Zoo. It had been a few months since we visited, so to Caroline, everything was practically brand new. We especially enjoyed seeing the baby orangutan, George. He was learning to crawl, just like a human baby! The mother kept picking him up and sitting him down in a crawling position. Then she would give him a nudge, and he would try to go forward a little bit, then he would fall down. It was pretty interesting stuff.

After heading home for a nap, we decided to eat dinner at one of Caroline's favorite spots...Mr. Gatti's pizza!! It was a special treat! We really had fun just hanging out together and relaxing all day.

Happy Birthday little bird! We love you!

Gimmee some more pizza!

A Princess is Awakened!

2008-10-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

When Caroline put on this Snow White gown for the first time, a Princess was awakened in her heart. We all had to hold back our giggles as she glided about the room, moving regally and answering to the name 'Snow White'. We had never seen her pretend quite like this! Magic was in her eyes...

beth

HSM 3!!!!!

2008-10-23T13:22:00.001-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Sprout Studio

2008-10-22T22:00:00.001-04:00

For Caroline's Birthday, Grandma and Grandpa got us some passes to Sprout Studio here in Knoxville. It's kind of like a big interactive/learning/fun place for little ones. We had a blast on our first visit! Grandma, Mommy, and Caroline spent several hours exploring all the things to do. We can't wait to go back and take Daddy!

Splashing in the water zone

Who's that cutie peeking out of there?

-Beth

The Fair

2008-10-21T22:20:00.002-04:00

So, ok, I grew up going to the fair. I know, I know...what with the mixed smell of farm animals, vomit, and corn dogs, it's not an appealing place for many of you! Anyway, you have to understand that when you're 7, you care little about all that stuff. What you do care about is bragging rights about going on the 'kamikaze' (basically a large ride in which you are trapped in a cage spinning upside down over and over again) or the fun of hitting 'alarm' speed with music blasting on the 'himalaya'. (Wendy, what were we thinking???!!!) I guess Wendy and I have gotten older, and my inner-ear/dizziness problems have gotten the better of me, because those rides are no longer a big draw. Shocker, I know! Hmmm...in fact, now that i think about it, perhaps those rides are the cause of my inner ear/dizziness problems!!

But here's my point, and a sweet story. Jonathan is amongst those of you who would normally not like to touch the fair with a 10 foot pole. But he did something sweet...he called in to Love 89 and won tickets so that we could take Caroline to see the farm animals. She absolutely loved it! We saw goats, cows (and a baby cow born that very day), turkeys, rabbits, and tons of other animals. She will tell you her favorite things...and I quote..."Saw big punkin' Fair. Saw bees makin' honey Fair."

Here's a little video of Caroline watching the baby chicks sliding down this big metal slide. I'm pretty sure this is in some sort of animal cruelty realm (not sure how the chicks ever eat the food which dangles out over the edge of the slide, enticing them to come up), but it's been at the fair since I can remember, and it was neat to see her reaction to those silly chicks!

-Beth

Dollywood with the Engles!

2008-10-20T22:01:00.001-04:00

Many of you know that my Aunt Pam and her husband, Ed, are missionaries in Venezuela. They have three kids...Rachel is in her sophomore year at ETSU, while Benjamin and Rebecca (aka, the twins) are in their freshman year at ETSU!! We're really excited that they will be spending at least the next few years in Tennessee! And, bonus, this is Ed and Pam's furlough year, which means they will not be going back to Venezuela until next summer. So we'll be trying to squeeze in as much time with the Engle clan as possible in the coming months! A few weeks ago, we hung out at Dollywood with them. Here are a few pictures...

Mom's two sisters, Wendy and Pam, enjoying a shady spot

All the cousins on my Mom's side (the Higgins family)...we have quite an age range!

Thanks Catherine for riding the busy bees with Caroline! She loves you and Mike-Mike so much!

-Beth

Welcome Home OE!

2008-10-19T22:00:00.002-04:00

Although she has now been home for nearly two months, we want to officially give a blog-welcome to Caroline's new friend, Olivia Eyerusalem!! Our sweet sweet friends Nathan and Karey traveled in August to Ethiopia to receive the fourth child in their family, but the first little girl! In Karey's words, 'this house needed some pink'! :) We are so excited for them, and we are praying for them every step of the way. This is a fantastic family, and we look forward to watching the boys and their new sister grow together!

The girls' first playdate.

Yum! Amy B. and I threw a shower/party at a local park for our friends before they left. What an exciting time!

The boys waiting to meet their new sister at the Knoxville airport

Check out the smiles on this proud mom and dad's faces! And check out those shades on Rusie!

We love you Nathan, Karey, Logan, Connor, Riley, and Rusie!!

-Beth

Michaels Phelts

2008-09-22T10:02:00.000-04:00

Caroline loved the olympics! She loved cheering on her favorite swimmer - "Michaels Phelts". Her is a quick video compilation of her talking about him...

-jonathan

Q

2008-09-21T22:39:00.002-04:00

Here is Caroline after a bath last week. She loves to play with the foam letters and numbers, but she totally caught me by surprise with her knowledge of the letter "q"!

-jonathan

The 'Kees

2008-09-18T22:53:00.001-04:00

Let me tell you about some friends of mine. Beth and I have known the Bryants since before we were married (in fact we were both in the same engaged couples small group together.) Jeff and Amy are amazing friends. They, as much as anyone I know, live out Christ's mission and purposes for their lives. Let me explain...Jeff is a football coach (and defensive coordianator) for the South Doyle Cherokees (hence the title of the post!) Both Jeff and Amy pour their lives into this in a way that is truly inspiring. They have players over to their house every week for meals, tutoring, and for just hanging out. In this way, they have opened up their lives to a group of kids that would otherwise have very little support. They care for these students beyond what you could imagine. This is the very thing that Christ has called us to be (and do!) It is not a sunday school program or outreach project. It is organic and natural and comes out of an overflow of their love for Christ. To me it is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us by not only calling us into community, but also sending us out to be salt and light to the world. They are an encouragement to me and I am thankful that God has placed them in my family's life.

Beth and I got to attend South Doyle's first game of the season against Carter. It was a great game full of screaming and cheering that left me without a voice for a day. (High school football is intense!) It was a battle to the end, but the 'Kees pulled out the victory with a strong defensive stand! Here is a picture taken just after victory when the students rushed to the field to celebrate!

21 South Doyle
14 Carter

"Play! Ki-chen! Nowwww!"

2008-09-17T22:25:00.001-04:00

For the past couple of weeks, these are the first three words I hear every morning out of Caroline's mouth! I found a kitchen on craigslist that came with a little grocery cart, and Jonathan picked it up that very day. It was an instant hit! I have trouble getting Cannie (that's what she used to call herself) to come eat her breakfast, because she wants to play and play! I'd say it's one of the best $20 we've ever spent!

(Note to Nana, Mimi, and Grandma...and any others concerned...she was trying on fall clothes on this day to make sure they fit. No, I don't dress her in long sleeves in 90 degree weather! :) )

-Beth

Fun at Home

2008-09-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

So this was actually a day Caroline was sick at home, but we still managed to have some fun! This picture was just too cute not to share!

-Beth

Sunset

2008-09-16T22:30:00.000-04:00

Jonathan seems to notice the sunsets more than any other person I know. He'll call to me, 'Hey Beth, come look at this sunset...isn't that absolutely beautiful!?!" And he's right. What a simple, yet beautiful reminder of our Creator. The beauty of His Creation calls out His name! Thanks Jon, for appreciating things that I might otherwise take for granted.

-Beth

ProVision office or Wildlife Refuge? You decide.

2008-09-16T22:20:00.001-04:00

So for those of you that haven't visited the new offices at my work, I wanted to take a second and share one of my favorite features of the new place. First off, I have a window office. This is a huge plus to be able to look out and see the pretty scenery all day. I love me some natural sunlight! In addition, we also have some new friends at the office. There are 2 or 3 bunnies, a small flock of Canadian geese, a variety of birds, and my personal favorite Mr. Groundhog! Here is a picture of him posing for a quick photo op!

While I can't prove this, I am fairly confident that these animals must be part of a wildlife service that has been contracted to provide those of us in Lakeside a little entertainment!

-jonathan

Farmer's Market

2008-09-16T00:46:00.005-04:00

So, if you live in K-town, and you haven't checked out the revival of the farmers markets, you have got to go! It's such a cool experience, and a great way to support local farmers and artists, etc. You can ask the farmer's themselves about what their farms produce, how best to use/store their foods, etc. There is everything from fruits and veggies to baked goods to all kinds of cuts of meat! There are lots of organic options too, and some simple favorites like farm-fresh eggs and beautiful flowers for your garden. These are pics of Caroline enjoying the fantastic playground and splash pad at the New Harvest Park. The Farmer's Market is there every Thursday afternoon/evening. The Market Square one has it's own flavor (on Wednesdays and Saturdays), with artists and jewelry-makers adding to the fun. We highly recommend both!

-Beth

International Competition!

2008-09-16T00:33:00.004-04:00

This is Jonathan's friend and co-worker, Baolerhu. He is working on an interesting Business as Mission project for ProVision. During August, he and Jonathan decided to create what they dubbed 'The ProVision Olympics", with Jonathan representing the USA and Baolerhu representing the two countries in which he grew up, Mongolia and China. They went head to head in games to demonstrate their athletic prowess such as putt-putt and bocce ball! No seriously, they got some 'real' sports in there too (soccer, tennis, basketball, etc.). I'm proud to say that after a long-fought battle, USA won the gold, with a 5-4 score in games won overall! All in all, it was a friendly competition that got the whole office cheering!

-Beth

View from Mimi and Pappaw's House

2008-09-13T17:26:00.004-04:00

This is the gorgeous view of Watts Bar Lake from Mom and Dad’s new house. They have already spent some very peaceful evenings watching boats go by!

Goodbye to Mammaw's House

2008-09-13T17:14:00.003-04:00

Recently we spent a lot of time cleaning out many years of memories at Mammaw’s house. It will be a year this Monday since Mammaw Higgins passed away. This house has been the family’s home since before I was born. It was especially ‘home’ for me, since we moved a bunch when I was in grade school...but Mammaw’s house was always solid. Growing up, we spent tons of time there, eating Chef Boyardee Pizzas and Mammaw’s delicious pot roast. Pappaw would sing, we would play in the front yard while Mammaw and Mom rocked on the porch, and I would constantly pester a teenage Wendy for attention. Moving all the stuff was a sad time, but also a time full of laughter as we searched through boxes and boxes (and boxes!) of family history. It is a huge blessing that the house sold very quickly...and, get this, the lady who bought it had been looking for a home on that exact street for some time (to be near her daughter and grandchildren). She had driven by Mammaw’s house several times and said that ‘if that house ever comes on the market, I want it’. Well, she got it! It was only ‘on the market’ for one weekend! When we went by on closing day to pick up a couple of last boxes, her children had put a sign on the door reading, ‘Welcome Home Mamaw’! That makes me cry right now. I couldn’t help but stop and thank the Lord for the peace of mind he had given us that this house would see much love in the years to come.

Some of the sweet things...

2008-09-02T10:32:00.002-04:00

So Caroline is at a very sweet age right now. She is about to turn two, and while we are sometimes experiencing a taste of the ‘terrible twos’, she is also learning more about the world around her and becoming much more aware of other people’s feelings. She loves to give hugs and kisses. If she knows someone is sick, she says their name and says “...sick. Medicine. Doctor. Hug him. Pray him. Call him.” Jonathan said, that’s more thoughtful than many adults!! She likes to pray for all her relatives (and friends) and more recently, for the kids in Haiti every night. She says, ‘Kids...Haiti...sad. Food. Water. Happy.’ Then, we always sing songs at night...right now she is requesting “God’s favorite” (Jesus loves the little children) and “Hail Name” (All Hail the Power of Jesus’ name). Ha! She’s so funny! She also is beginning to tell us that she loves us without any prompting. She’ll just come over and give me a hug and say ‘Luwee Mommy’. That means ‘I love you Mommy’. It’s the best thing in the world!

Here is a recent picture of her when she was a little sick herself.

beth

Keep it up!

2008-08-31T02:27:00.002-04:00

On this day I caught Caroline snug and cozy with her 'Big Pink Gampit (Blanket)' and some of her favorite books. She really enjoys curling up with a good read. Keep it up, girl!

It's Baseball Time in TN! What???

2008-08-31T01:57:00.002-04:00

Ok, so, wrong sport to post during the weekend of the first UT football game of the year... Well, anyway, just check out this great picture of Caroline looking on at her second Smokies game. If you haven't been, these games really are a great family event. Good times.

Disneyworld (3/3)

2008-08-17T15:42:00.004-04:00

Disney Studios

Go Wildcats! It’s a High School Musical block party! Caroline is wearing her “I Majored In Vacation” shirt, just like in the movie! One of the performers yelled to Caroline in his microphone...'I like your shirt!'

Back to EPCOT for a special fancy dinner at “Les Chefs de France”. Do you see why I love Disney? Shorts and a t-shirt and upscale dining can go together!!

Just plain cute! Spaceship Earth in the background.

What a nice looking couple on the Mexico ride!

Last day...back at Magic Kingdom

Caroline in Minnie’s house: “Nana, look! I didn’t know Minnie was a quilter too!”

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Some relief from this Florida heat...a splash in Pooh Bear’s fountains!

Beautiful shot from the bridge on Tom Sawyer’s Island.

Back at the hotel...

Disney All-Star Resorts are great. Inexpensive, but kids love them!!! We stayed in the Toy Story building.

Yes, that’s a 3 story Buzz! “Tall Buzz”, as Caroline calls him.

Daddy and Caroline enjoyed a swim on our last night at Disney. What a fantastic week it was! We are so blessed to be able to share these great times together.

I apologize for the many posts all at once! It’s just so hard to get it all in...and these pictures and descriptions only begin to scratch the surface of our trip! Well, we hope you enjoyed a glimpse at our WDW vacation ‘08!

hope you enjoy,
beth

Disneyworld (2/3)

2008-08-17T15:20:00.005-04:00

EPCOT
Just FYI, that stands for “Experimental Prototype Community (or city) of Tomorrow”. It was Walt’s vision to have a place where technology was cutting edge, and the world came together to experience each other’s cultures! EPCOT is my personal favorite.

Meeting Daisy was the best. There was nobody around, so Caroline got to hug, laugh, and dance with Daisy as much as she wanted. It was definitely a Disney Dream Come True moment!

Next we met, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip n’ Dale, and Goofy...all in one stop!! Caroline was not scared at all...she ran up and hugged every one!!

We got awesome seats at the Mexico pavilion restaurant to watch “Illuminations: Reflections of Earth”

Late Night Planning! Since Caroline was in the room with Mommy and Daddy, we had to do our planning for the next day by flashlight. Notice Beth is unwrapping a chocolate to stay awake!

Animal Kingdom

Meeting ‘Pooby’ and friends near the entrance to DinoLand.

The ‘Hontas’ show was Caroline’s favorite at Animal Kingdom. She was especially impressed when Pocahontas carried out a live snake!

Back at Magic Kindom...yeeeaaah!

Caroline takes on the Evil Emperor Zurg in Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin!

one more disney post to come!

beth

Disneyworld (1/3)

2008-08-17T15:00:00.003-04:00

Alrighty! It’s time for the long anticipated Disneyworld posts! At the end of May, we were so fortunate to tag along as ‘chaperones’ on an eight day Disneyworld trip through Roane County High School (where Pappaw teaches building trades). Thank you Misty and Jason for inviting us! We had such a good time…I can’t even describe it! But I will try anyway…

One of the really fun highlights for us was a special dessert reception at Fantasmic (the nighttime show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios), reserved specifically for groups. While thousands of others waited in a grueling line, we made our way behind the scenes to a special ‘deck’ above all the regular seating. There, we were served all the cookies, brownies, ice cream, punch, etc. that you could eat! We then were able to watch the show from this private viewing area, while continuing to stuff ourselves!! It was so great!

We also visited the Disney Water Parks for the first time. We don’t have any pics from those days, but we had an absolute blast! We will definitely be visiting again…particularly Typhoon Lagoon. There Jon, Dad (Pappaw), and I swam with sharks (no, I’m not kidding), and rode the world’s first uphill water coaster…Crush n’ Gusher! That thing was awesome! Caroline loved the huge kiddie area, and there was plenty of shade for her and Mimi in the calm waters! Then, of course, Jon wanted to ride the huge wave that comes every 90 seconds in one of the biggest wave pools in the world. When it comes, you hear this huge thud and then a rush of water, closely followed by loud screaming from everyone in the enormous pool! It was a sight to see. Jon said he had never seen a wave that big, even in San Diego…they even teach surfing lessons there in the mornings before the park opens.

We also had some of the best service ever in WDW. Cast members (that’s what they call all their employees, even the guys who take out the trash) were everywhere asking us if we needed help, and creating special experiences. Mom and Dad had their 36th anniversary while on this trip...they had buttons that said so. We had cast members from near and far yelling ‘Happy Anniversary’ every few seconds! Ok, ok, enough of my Disney fanatic ramblings!!!

So here are Pappaw and Caroline waiting for our flight at the Knoxville Airport. People actually came up and gave a donation at this bear (for Friends of the Smokies) because Caroline was so cute standing next to it. I’m not even kidding you!

The Magic Kingdom

Her first Disneyworld ride...What else, but “The Happiest Cruise that Ever Sailed” - It’s A Small World

Meeting the Princesses was so cool. Caroline’s instant favorite was “Shoopie”, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty. She let her draw a picture of King Stephan’s castle with her special quill.

The classic shot. Anyone see the Hidden Mickey?

Hint:Check out how Mickey’s ears from the statue look like they are on Caroline!

2 more wdw posts coming...

beth

Cool Uncle Dustin

2008-07-24T08:14:00.002-04:00

Caroline has another favorite buddy in our friend Dustin. Jonathan and Dustin have been friends since the 6th grade or something like that! Caroline, Dustin, and Daddy have a standing date to go bowling on certain Wednesday nights. Here they are together at our house reading a book...wait a minute, looks more like Caroline is attempting her famous tickling of Dustin’s beard!

-Beth

Splash Country

2008-07-24T00:55:00.000-04:00

Every year, Wendy, Mike, and the kids get passes to Splash Country, and every year they are gracious enough to use their ‘get a friend in free’ passes on us! We had such a fun time this year...despite the freezing cold water!

Caroline loves to splash in the spraying fountains.

Apparently, Pappaw does too!

Catherine and Caroline try to get warm by sharing a hug.

Ok, is there a theme here? I think Pappaw did the lion’s share of the hard work...running around after the kids in the icy cold water!

Beth talked a life guard into giving us this shelter for free! It was a life-saver! Mimi and Caroline take a break from the action.

At the end of the day, this slide had no line! Here are Wendy (aka ‘WiWi’) and Caroline taking advantage of that fact. Fun!!

Thanks Wendy and family for taking us to Splash Country! It was really a fantastic day.

-Beth

Special Night at Nana's

2008-07-23T15:45:00.005-04:00

We were excited that Uncle Tim and Aunt Ashley were able to visit for several weeks this summer! Since they live just outside of Boston, of course we don’t get to see them very often. On this night in June, we had a cookout at Nana’s...a really great time!

Nana and Caroline brush each other’s hair.

Now she wants to brush everyone’s hair!

Being shy with Aunt Ashley.

Can you tell they’re brothers?

Caroline was pretty good at blowing bubbles!

Nana passes on her green thumb to Caroline.

Caroline loves her Aunt and Uncle! She yelled for them, ‘Tiiiuum, Aaaa-Eeee’!

Thanks for having us Nana! A good evening spent with family.

-Beth

Potty Time!

2008-07-23T14:33:00.002-04:00

On June 13, 2008, Caroline went potty for the first time! She came to me and said, ‘poop’...so I asked, ‘do you want to go to the potty?’...and she said ‘yeah’. So we went. Faaaantastic!

-Beth

Hnoongofer

2008-07-23T14:28:00.003-04:00

Beth told Caroline that our last name was Scoonover. She asked if Caroline could say it. She said ‘hnoongofer’. We like it.

(This pic is a couple months old, but I really like it. She dressed herself this day. Her favorite hat and her necklace-that my friend Curtis brought back from Uganda.)

-jonathan

Oak Ridge Children's Museum

2008-07-23T14:14:00.003-04:00

In June, Caroline, Mommy, Mimi, Wendy, and Michael visited the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum. There are some neat things to see and do there!

Caroline’s favorite thing by far was the ‘doll house’.

Here she is commanding the ‘spaceship’.

She and Michael also enjoyed the train room, the rainforest, and the water room. Good stuff!

-Beth

Day at the Farm

2008-07-23T02:02:00.001-04:00

Okay, okay! So we are summer blogging slackers! We've just been having too much fun this summer to take time out to blog! So now we would love to catch you up on all our summer adventures.

First up, a day at the Rucker farm. Jonathan's Aunt Pam and Uncle Jim own a huge piece of land near Berea, Kentucky. Both Pam and Jim are pastors of local churches, but they also manage this fantastic farm! Caroline got to meet goats, chickens, and a donkey named Cinco. She especially loved gathering the chickens' eggs...she wouldn't let go of the basket! What a great day!

Nana surprised Caroline with her own 'MP3 player' for the ride up.

Beth had a blast riding Uncle Ronnie's Harley...my first motorcycle ride!

Check out this video of Caroline meeting Cinco the donkey. Listen closely...

Caroline and Riley the dog had an instant bond. It was so cute! Riley stayed right with her the whole time...

Jonathan rowing out into 'Lake Rucker'

The Ruckers also board horses (this is KY, folks!). Here's a great group shot of some of the family after walking down to admire this beautiful animal. He's a prize winning race horse!

After an exciting day and with a belly full of Aunt Pam's famous cake, Caroline finally zonked out. Check out Jonathan and cousin John trading Mac 'tips'...ha!

Thank you, Ruckers, for hosting us! It was so great to see everyone. We had a fantastic day and can't wait to see you again soon.

-Beth

Sorry, just a little longer...

2008-07-02T15:57:00.003-04:00

I realize that it has been a long time since I have posted at either this or my other site. But I just wanted to let you know of my intentions. We have a bunch of good pics and videos from several events and vacations over the past 2 months. I will be blogging back-dated events hopefully starting this week. Expect the following post within the next 2 weeks:

day at the farm
Disneyworld (at least 2 posts)
Night at Nana's
Oak Ridge Children's Museum
Splash Country
Hilton Head Island
and probably a good 4th of July post as well!

check back soon,

-jonathan

More pics from the Rose Gardens

2008-05-11T22:20:00.005-04:00

Caroline holding some "mulch".

Theresa captivated by the flowers.

Who is that peeking around the corner?

Caroline playing in the corner of the garden.

A nice walk with daddy.

Daddy gives Caroline a stick.

Daddy's attempts at flower photography (click to see the full size):

Saturday Fun

2008-05-11T13:35:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we went to the cousin Michael's baseball game and then to the rose gardens with Mimi (for Mother's Day)
Here is Michael smashing a pitch from the coach.

Ready to steal third.

Cheering on Mike-Mike!

Then we went to the rose gardens at the open house on Keller Bend.

More rose garden pics coming later.

-jonathan

Trip to Dollywood (a ton of pictures and videos)

2008-05-10T10:37:00.007-04:00

Here are some pictures from a trip we took to Dollywood last Sunday. Here is a shot of Caroline after eating lunch in the car on the way up.

Caroline and Mommy waiting in line for the Piggy Parade.

On the piggy parade ride.

Mimi, Pappaw, and Mommy.

Caroline on the Busy Bees.

Caroline on the Lucky Ducks.

In line for the Elephant Ride. It is a big girl ride.

Here is some video of the Elephant Ride. Check it out when we start going up and down.

Sliding on the big girl slide.

Posing on the playground.

Daddy soaking some kids on the new River Battle Ride.

Caroline, Michael, and Catherine.

Crashing after a long day.

Waking back up for dinner with Pappaw at Red Lobster.

P-Joe

2008-04-25T15:10:00.001-04:00

Hello friends and family. We wanted to let you know that Beth’s Pappaw Wilson (also know as P-Joe by his great-grandchildren) passed away yesterday morning. Pappaw was a strong Christian man, and he loved his family. He lived a full life, including almost 61 happy years married to Mammaw! He was a very patriotic man, having served his country in WWII. But more than anything, he loved the Lord, and that fact was evident till his very last days in this world. Pappaw was having trouble remembering things during these last few months, but he could always quote the Scriptures by heart, and he always had a Bible story to tell anyone he met!

Please remember Beth’s family in prayer this weekend as we mourn this loss, but also celebrate that a good and faithful servant has gone home.

We love you P-Joe, and we know we’ll see you again someday!

Surgery is Over

2008-04-19T23:33:00.000-04:00

Well, we made it! Surgery is over. Thank the Lord that he took care of Caroline (and Jon and I) all day.

We were worried about the beginning of the day, because Caroline could have no food or liquid until after surgery. Thankfully, she slept late, but it was still over a four hour wait until she could have the ‘happy juice’ (first level of anesthesia…we got some video of her being quite silly!). She was absolutely wonderful during this time! I guess the whole new experience of the hospital was enough to keep her mind off of her hunger. Jon and I just kept thinking of the parents all around the world that have to wait many more hours or even days to provide food for their little ones. It breaks our hearts.

Some of the highlights…Caroline and Daddy saw a bird building a nest in the courtyard while waiting and we all watched part of Happy Feet in Spanish. Then it was Caroline’s turn to go up…

It was, as promised, quite fast. The doctor explained to us that both ducts were completely clogged at the bottom. After surgery Caroline was almost shockingly swollen, and she was in a pretty bad fog because of the anesthesia. She cried a bunch, but finally Jon and I both sang to her, and then she fell asleep while I held her. When she woke up after about 45 min (when a nurse’s assistant tried to take her blood pressure), she was again in the fog. But this time, thirst prevailed and she drank an entire juice cup with fervor. She was a little happier then, and she was even able to feed herself some jello (yum!) and a couple of crackers. Before we knew it, the nurse said it was time for us to go. This felt a little weird to us, since after Caroline’s first two surgeries, we stayed several nights, and although she had infections, she was able to ‘recover’ from those first effects of surgery. So, we made our way home with a swollen, pitiful baby. She seemed thankful to be home, though, and played relatively well for the rest of the evening. Then, she slept for almost 13 hours!

Today has been a restful one for all three of us. I guess we didn’t realize how much that one day would take out of us! Caroline is almost her old self again, and her swelling has gone down almost completely.

Thank you so much for your prayers! Please continue to remember her recovery (there’s a very small chance that the ducts would re-clog). Love to you all!

-Beth

Surgery Day

2008-04-15T23:10:00.001-04:00

Just a reminder, please keep Caroline in your prayers on Friday (the 18th) as she has surgery to correct her clogged tear ducts. Again, this is a very minor procedure, but anytime there is anesthesia it’s a bit scary. We won’t know the time of the surgery until the evening before, so please remember her all day on Friday. Thank you! We’ll let you know how it goes...

-Beth

Caroline goes to the doctor

2008-04-15T23:02:00.004-04:00

Caroline had her 18 month checkup this past Friday. She is a healthy girl and so smart! She’s just over 27 lbs, and she is 34.5 in. tall.

Cute story: Before going to the doc, we always read Corduroy Goes to the Doctor...we talk about what will happen during her appointment. One of the things she likes best from the book is when Corduroy says “aaah” so that the doctor can check his throat and mouth. She practices saying “aaah” too.

Well, as you can imagine, she was quite fussy while Dr. Shults actually examined her eyes and ears, and listened to her heart. She would not even say bye-bye to Dr. Shults, but instead gave her a solemn (slightly defiant) look as she walked out of the room. But as soon as the door closed, Caroline perked up and piped up, “Bye....Shults.......Aaaaaaaah”. She knew what she was doing all along! That little booger :) Thanks Corduroy.

-Beth

Pretending to Potty

2008-04-11T22:59:00.001-04:00

Here is video we captured of Caroline back on March 29th:

hope you guys enjoy,

-jonathan

A good place for an accident (well kinda)

2008-04-11T21:17:00.003-04:00

Here is a recounting of my experience on the way to the allergy doctor this past week:

...on my way in to the doc (it’s at Parkwest hospital), I was in a hurry, and when I pulled open the huge metal door in the parking garage, I slammed it into and over my toes. Ok, so I immediately doubled over in pain and was breathless, and saying oh my gosh oh my gosh over and over. There was nobody in sight, but I knew I had to get some help. I looked down at my foot (I was wearing flip-flops) and immediately started feeling so sick. This was really weird, cause I don’t get sick at the sight of blood, etc. I think it was the pain. Anyway, I made it in the door, and I thought, maybe I can get up to the doc’s office on the elevator and get help there. Well, I tried to look at the board that tells the floor number to go to, and blackness started to take over until all I could see was a small circle...so I quickly got down on the floor and sprawled out. This was so embarrassing! It was terrible at the time, but I am laughing as I write this. Nobody was there, and I looked at my toe again, and saw that it was huge and purple and a huge gash was oozing blood. By then, I was breaking out in a major sweat. So I’m thinking, at least I’m at a hospital...I’ll need stitches and I just knew it was broken. Well, finally along comes this delivery man, and he’s like, are you ok, can you call somebody, etc...well, I was about to black out still, so I couldn’t make the phone call to Jon. Then finally a bunch of people came out of the elevator...I was so embarrassed, but I couldn’t help it! One of the guys was a tech or whatever, wheeling somebody out in wheelchair. He was like, do you want me to call 911? And I’m thinking, we’re in a hospital! But I said, no please don’t call 911...so he came back after dropping his patient off and somehow got me into the wheelchair. I was still reeling and felt like I was going to hurl. Somehow during all of this, I managed to call Jon, and he headed over there. The tech guy got me up to the doc’s office, and they sat me in this big recliner (you sit in one anyway to get your allergies tested), and they started to treat my foot. Seriously embarrassing. Here I came in a big ol’ wheelchair all pale and pitiful and having to explain what just happened. But of course, the people were really nice and they got the wound cleaned up and they said they didn’t think it needed stitches. They got me an ice pack and elevated my foot and all of this. It was so ridiculous. So there I sat, getting my allergies tested with a big fat foot all covered in ice and bandages. I could hear them all out in the hall talking about it, like, did you see that toe, it looks bad, etc. It really is funny. As to whether or not it’s broken, we’re still not sure. But I’m able to walk, so I would think that means no. It looks a lot better today. It was mainly just the immediate reaction that was so bad...!!!!

Anyway, thought you might enjoy my humorous injury story. Maybe it will lighten up your day.

-beth

here we go

2008-04-03T13:06:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone! Beth here. I suppose eventually I had to succumb to blogging…Jonathan has been on my case about it for several months. So, as a compromise, we’ll share the family blog! Anyway, it will be a great opportunity to both catch up with you, our family and friends, and help you to catch up with us!

Right now things are pretty normal around here. Caroline is growing at a phenomenal rate, physically, intellectually, and emotionally! She has so many words, and she is starting to put sentences together. A couple of nights ago, she surprised us with this one: “Pappaw read it”. Of course, he had to do as she asked! Her first two-word combination was ‘bear roar’ back in late January. Also, she is so tall! She is definitely as tall as most 2-year-olds. More than half my height!!

In March, the month was full of celebrations. Easter and Caroline’s 18-month ‘birthday’ fell on the same day. We had fun hunting for eggs at a fantastic party hosted by my friend Karey. There were just a few kids, so Caroline was able to find plenty of eggs on her own. She really got into it! Cousins Catherine and Michael were there, and of course, friends Logan, Connor, and Riley. Fun times!

Oh, and Caroline is having eye surgery on April 18th to correct her clogged tear ducts. By all accounts, this is a very simple procedure. We will be in and out in just a few hours, and the surgery itself is supposedly only 5 minutes or so! Please do keep her in your prayers on that day. We’ll let you know how it goes…

Thanks for checking on us…we’ll post again soon!

-beth

The Family Site

2007-08-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, after much thinking about it today and yesterday, i think i finally have a plan.

This blog that you are currently reading is going to become the family blog. I will keep pictures, videos, and family info posted here. I have yet to figure out the frequency of my posting, but it could be as frequent as weekly and hopefully no less frequent than monthly. Anyways if you're reading this and it is the newest post and it has been more than a month, feel free to email me and let me know you expect more from me.

And if you are interested in my other rantings and and i do happen to be disciplined enough to actually record them feel free to check out my other site.

-jonathan

Still Haven't Found...

2007-08-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

Okay, so as promised i still haven't figured out what this blog is going to be about. However, i did do some basic updating today. I go back and forth between several options:

do nothing at all
This is obviously the default position and the easiest to do. I don't like this option however, because i do think it is important that i start writing on a daily basis to improve my skills (eg bow-hunting).

theological blog
this would not be a place for others to come and learn, but rather a place to get practice at summarizing things that i am learning. Again, i wouldn't expect anyone to read this other that maybe some close friends. I have been frustrated with some of the blogs of this nature in the recent past. It seems that some have used this realm to tear down rather than build up. Click Here for more on the ridiculousness of that. I don't want to say too much more on that for fear of becoming what i criticize.

family update blog
this would make sense and probably be fairly easy. I could just set a reminder on my computer to go off every week and then grab the camera and load up the most recent movie and write out any current goings on.

Combination
if it is possible this sounds like best option. a little bit of this, a little bit of that, just a good ol' smörgåsbord of fun! The potential problems here: Do my family really want to hear my rant about theology? or vice versa?

anyways, so much to still decide, but at least i posted something today.

-js

the first one (but not really)

2007-07-13T09:48:00.000-04:00

i've started a blog. This is not the first attempt and i am not going to get upset if i don't use this one either. But, you gotta start somewhere (again!) I am not sure what this blog may end up as, but here are some possibilities about it:

a place to express current thoughts
a place to keep family/friends informed
a place to collect and keep information i find useful
a place to practice the habit of writing

who knows! I guess time will tell and we may look back at this post one day and laugh, but more likely i will be the only one to look back on it and think "wow, there was another one of those times i started something, had good intentions, and never followed through!"

-js