Getting so close...

Benaiah watching a Netflix cartoon movie on the computer while the cleaners clean the house...

This is a baby Carolina Wren and its parents built a next in the pocket of a swing we have in the front yard. This nest is what clinched our deciding to leave the swing with the house. Yesterday I was sitting on the swing talking on the cell phone and the parent bird wanted to get to the nest so I got up.
Benaiah wants to take the tree with us...I don't blame him since there are going to be a lot fewer trees in Oklahoma...

Beverly Hill Billy shot...Max is actually about to take all of that shelving that we couldn't fit in the big or little trailer (because we have too much stuff!) to the curb...it was taken within the next hour:).

Bye bye household goods...see you in OK (Lord willing!)

A very "exciting" video of most of our household goods going away...It's a good reminder that nothing on this earth remains when Jesus comes back so build up treasures in Heaven!

Last day loading the ABF trailer....

I finished up some more packing and Max and the youth group guys put the rest of the jigsaw puzzle together inside the trailer. We still have plenty of stuff to fit into a 6x10 Uhaul trailer and the van and the pick-up truck. Three more days and we drive away!

More Moving 2009

Day 2 of loading...We are pretty sure we will fill up the whole truck. We will also have a 6x10 Uhaul trailer and a flatbed trailer for the 4-wheelers.

Day 1 of loading...the refrigerator...

Taking a break from packing on Father's Day with some friends...No, I didn't drink the bottle of wine!

Ben and Michael from the church youth group helping load...

Zephyr gets tired just watching us work. She fell asleep on the moving blankets.

Day 1 of loading....

Benaiah really likes chocolate cake...

...and is so sweet that he would share the plate with his dad on Father's Day. I love the music playing in the background going so well with this episode.

Moving 2009

Benaiah will have a bumpy ride in the moving truck...now where's that packing paper?

The trailer has arrived! Now down to loading business....

If he really loved his wife....never mind we won't go there...

Oh, Max....you know I know you love me!


Our box room that used to be our dining room...sniff, sniff. I'm so looking forward to getting to OK!

More South Carolina photos I meant to post but was too busy....

Swinging with Justin and Elliot....and Parker the dog

Gloria and Benaiah playing on the "beach" of the lake at the Sealys'

Anticipation...staring at the bobber

JB: I wonder if they will find me here or if I'll be able to stay and have more lake fun...

Last group picture with 3 generations while we are this close to the great-grandparents Nana and Oompa:(. We are so glad we got to see them again though! Oklahoma would be more like a 20-hour drive rather than a 5.5 hour drive...

Photos before and at the grad ball

In the front yard at home...

At the top of a building in Montgomery where the ball was with the city in the background.

Relaxing and having fun in South Carolina

This is the relaxing part, but we also had a lot of fun in the lake today. I donned my prego bathing suit and used a noodle with Benaiah in a life jacket and "swam" with him around the Sealy lake. JB and Gloria swam also using noodles and Max got some good exercise not using any floatation device...what a hunk!

We had the canoe out there and the kids got tipped a couple of times but their Dad was always there to rescue them...who do you think dumped them in in the first place?! Benaiah was only happy when I was in the canoe with him and he could stand between my legs as I sat on the seat paddling. Gloria, Benaiah, and I paddled around the lake for a while while Max and JB chased us.
We didn't take any pictures because the camera surely would've gone for a swim...not good for preserving the life of the camera.

While we were out there a storm moved in really quickly. My back was facing the approaching clouds as we were in the canoe and Max was swimming not paying attention to the sky. So when dark black clouds were overhead and lightning was flashing in the distance, I didn't notice until we got to shore and then Oompa (kids' great-grandfather) and I tried to warn Max but he couldn't hear us. I don't think he noticed until the wind really started to pick up, then he swam quickly to the dock and yelled at JB to get out right away. We made it inside with the wind whipping and just before the downpour. The rained cooled it off nicely here though.

Our little woodland creatures saying goodbye to AL...

JB and Gloria say goodbye to AL because after SC they are going to CO...very well-traveled 4 and 6-year old.

Sibling Love

Our last 4-wheeling trip with all the kids in AL...

Searching for Dewberries and Blackberries...

We went out on this very hot evening after dinner to have a last 4-wheeling trip all together and to do some black berry picking. We have long pants on for a couple of reasons - because the engine of the 4-wheeler gets hot in between the legs and can burn the skin on longer trips and because there are a lot of prickers on blackberry bushes and on the weeds around the bushes. The Kudzu in the South takes over everything. Kudzu is not prickly, but it makes it challenging to find the blackberries sometimes as it grows quickly and covers everything in the summer.

Celebration Breakfast Outing

Benaiah was so hungry before the food arrived he ate the jelly out of the little container. We gave them to him to pass the time stacking, but he figured out how to open it. Maybe Benaiah should be the one in SAASS...

The almost SAASS grad and his first born son at the Wagon Wheel Cafe.

We survived the year and now to survive the move...

Mommy and her princess...that makes me a queen, right?

Max took us out to breakfast on Tuesday morning to celebrate his finishing of SAASS and as a thank you to his family for "putting up with" the academically rigorous year. He had his comprehensive examination on Monday and did very well. Now all he has left is graduation to be considered a SAASS graduate!

Working on Stock Car for AWANA Derby

Max and JB worked on this car together that started out as a block of wood. JB did a lot of the sanding with a Dremel. I think he was the youngest to have a box car in the race. Most of the fun came in using the power tools I think and painting it camo. It didn't win the race, but we explained to him that this is his first year and he will get better and better at making them go faster..

The Luna Moths are the only moth I think are pretty. They are big and are a lime green, but I think they look more like a butterfly. They sometimes flit around our windows at night trying to get in at the light. In this video, Benaiah is pretending to hunt the Luna Moth and is very excited by it's presence.

Benaiah hunting "bees"

To Benaiah, if it flies, it's a bee no matter what. If it is a large insect or a reptile or amphibian of any sort, it's a "fwoggy". If it is a large animal in a pasture, it's automatically a cow.

Benaiah seems as though he may be Max's hunting buddy when he gets older. Hopefully he won't shoot any cows though! On this particular evening, he was hunting moths that he spotted flying or landing on the windows, whether inside or outside the house.

In the span of 15 minutes...

This morning between the time of 8:30am and 8:45am, JB cut his finger with his pocket knife, Benaiah pooped on the front porch, leaving a little bit on the carpet in the front hall after running inside to let me know "diaper", and Gloria got bit by a green insect that looked like a cricket but with little jaws on the front of him. This insect also left a brown sort of spit on her finger. ...All while scrambled eggs were getting overcooked on the stove. When it rains it pours...