8 Adults, 12 Children

All in a house, a rented house, for 3 nights and 4 days...What a blast!  I know that's not what one would neccesarily think, but it was so much fun.  We were invited to Big Canoe in the north Georgia mountains for a weekend 'o fun with the Hendersons, Jenkins and Dickinsons.  There were no major catastrophes or arguing, just lots of Wii, eating, gaming, chating, singing, dancing...and I'm pretty sure the deposit will be returned.  Each night was Bible story time and worship time led by Mike D.  It was so precious to see all the kids singing and dancing together.  Saturday we hiked up to Amicalola Falls, a gazillion steps up, and then a nice trail hike down.  All the kids did great, no complaining.  Whitney managed to get a pretty big splinter in the palm of her hand on the way up, so there was a bit of a meltdown during that time period.  Ben had one of his first big daddy moments getting it out which included me holding her and her legs down, Chad's knife, and Chad holding her wrist and fingers while Ben dug out all three pieces.  He and she was a trooper!  Thanks to everyone for a great weekend and our first visit to Big Canoe!

Making smores for the first time

 

Eating Smores for the first time

Bible Story Time

Worship time before bed

Not sure what happened here, but apparently it was funny

At the bottom of the falls

Half way up

Lindsey's is so happy she is being held!

The splintered hand, post splinter, and still not happy about it

At the top of the falls

All of the kiddos, minus Lindsey, half way down

Daddy and Lindsey at the bottom

 

Back To Ohio

So even though we had to go back to Ohio for a sad situation, there was good that came out of it.  We got to meet our little nephew Andrew and Whitney and Ava got to play together...a lot!  Those girls just kept going and going, and even when Ava tired out, Whitney kept going and going.  It was fun to watch them play together and 2nd cousins Aubrey and Hillary got to join in on the fun as well.  Because of all the snow there, Whitney was able to go sledding for the first time.  She loved it and of course was the last kid to come inside.  That girl could go all day long!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, we've been back in Atlanta for a week now and it has been CRAZY!  Mostly fun stuff, but some stressful stuff mixed in there as well.  We got back last Thursday night and walked into a clean house with fresh goodies.  Our friends had come over and cleaned the whole house, washed our sheets and stocked up the fridge a few days prior.  Such sweet people. We kept thinking it should've been more dusty or something, but then when we went upstairs and noticed that Whitney's bed and our bed were made, I knew something was up because we never make beds.  What a huge blessing it was to walk into a clean house after being gone for so long.

We've spent a lot of our time getting things unpacked and trying to get settled in.  I think we've got the most of it done for now.  We've already spent some great time with friends, doing dinners, Super Bowl parties, church...lots of fun stuff.  And in the middle of it all we got Whitney Grace potty trained!  We used this book called "Toilet Training in Less than a Day".  Ben's mom used it to potty train all three of them, and Than and Jennifer used it on Ava.  I must say, it worked like a charm.  We've only had a few accidents since last Saturday, and have been out and about to restaurants, church, friends houses, she even started back to school this week.  She's done absolutely great.  And she's even telling us when she has to go.  It's pretty amazing.  Just another wonderful blessing...

On a sad note, Ben's grandpa Painter, his mom's dad, passed away Tuesday night at 87 years old.  His health had been failing over the last several years and even more so in the last six months or so.  Although we are saddened by the loss, it is comforting to know that he is now at peace in heaven.  We will be leaving tomorrow to go back to Ohio for the memorial service.  Than, Jennifer, Ava and Andrew will be there as well, so it will make for good medicine to see all the little ones together!

Grandpa Walter's 99th Birthday

Ben's grandpa celebrated his 99th birthday while we were visiting.  What an accomplishment!

Christmas in January

We finally got to celebrate Christmas with our family in Ohio.  Whitney isn't going to understand when we only have one Christmas.  This year we had five!  And now we definitely need to clean out some toys when we get back home tomorrow.  Our families have totally blessed us again!  Not just with gifts, but with a great visit.