Spoiled

So while Joe and I were at GAKAC all day last Saturday, our boys were being thoroughly SPOILED!!!!  

Joi and Robbie are great friends of ours that always watch the boys for us.  They often watch them for us on Fridays so that Joe and I can go on dates.  Sometimes they call and ASK if they can come watch the boys while we go out!! Does it get any better than that!!  

We are so blessed to have these amazing friends that love our boys and take good care of them.  The only problem is that they spoil the boys a little when they have them. :)   They have been watching the boys pretty much since they were born, but haven't ever really felt comfortable taking them out. (It is a tough task to take the two of them out so I don't blame them!)  Now that the boys are a little older they are starting to venture out with them a little.  They had them from 7-5 this last Saturday so they had a lot of time to fill.  They first took them to McDonalds for breakfast then headed to Christmas in July on the Marietta Square.  All throughout the day, they sent me pics to let me know what they were up to.

Then I get the next pic!!

They had made it home from the square and decided to go play in the pool.  An even better idea than just playing in the pool is to put the slide in the pool!!!  They were having a blast!  After a long day of playing it was lunch time.  Does it get any better than having a "picnic" lunch in the living room while watching Mickey Mouse??!!  I can assure you the boys didn't think so.  I heard about this all night!! :)

All that to say...the boys get a little spoiled when they stay with Joi and Rob, but we wouldn't have it any other way!  They LOVE  Joi and Rob and get so excited when we tell them they are coming over.  (so much so that if we tell them before their nap that Joi and Rob are coming over, they get so excited they can't sleep...we learned to tell them after their nap!)  The best part is that I don't worry one bit when I leave them with Joi and Rob.  They are the best!!  Thank you God for wonderful friends that love our boys as if they were their own!!

Give A Kid A Chance

The last few days have been very busy for us!!  I have been working with a charity called Give A Kid A Chance for about 6 months and this past Saturday was the big event.  GAKAC is an amazing program that 2 women started in Cherokee County about 4 years ago.  It is a program design to provide Cherokee County children in need with everything they could possible need to start school.  They are provided medical check-ups, hearing and vision checks, haircuts, backpacks with school supplies, clothes, sock and undies and a meal.  Each year the program has grown and last year they had to add a second venue which was His Hands, the church we go to.  So last year I heard about the event and decided to volunteer.  It was an incredibly rewarding experience.  It was awesome to be able to help people, especially children, and see their true joy for everything they were given.  I had such a great time last year that I knew I needed to do it again this year, but I wanted to be even more involved.  Joe wasn't able to volunteer last year, but I left the event telling him how amazing it was and that I was going to be more involved the next year.  I emailed the volunteer coordinator and told them I was interested in being on the organizational team for GAKAC 2009.  

Fast forward 6 months later and they put me in charge of contacting churches in Cherokee County and asking if they would help us make this years event happen.  GAKAC is a non profit organization so we rely solely on churches and businesses to make it happen.  It was a big job, but with all of the volunteers working together, we made it happen!!!  This past Saturday was the big event that we had been preparing so long for and it went great!!  I headed up the backpack area so that is where we (Joe and my mom) stayed ALL DAY!!  The organization served almost 2500 children and their familes and about 1350 children at His Hands.  We had backpacks EVERYWHERE!!  

Just like last year it was another amazing experience!  The children and families were so thankful for their backpacks and supplies.  One mom grabbed a volunteers hand and had tears in her eyes as she said "thank you, thank you so much."

These were just a few of the people on our team.  We met so many great people that really had a heart for these families.  It was so great to see this little girl serving other kids that were in need.  What a great thing to learn at an early age, loving and serving those in need! 

Joe and I have such a passion for helping others in need and we hope to do it more and more.  One thing we hope we can teach our boys is that God has called us to LOVE and help others and we hope they take on that call from God as they grow up.

It was a great experience, but we were exhausted at the end of the day!! We slept good that night!

Zoo

About a month ago, a good friend and I decided to get season passes to the zoo for us and our boys.  We had not gone yet because we were afraid to brave the heat, but since the weather has been weird and cooler this week, we thought we would give it a try today.  We had a great time!!  Joe and I took the boys about a year ago, but they still weren't quite old enough to get into it.  This time, they loved it!!  I think their favorite animals to see were the elephants and monkeys. 

We didn't know that the boys would be exposed to such things when taking them to the zoo...

They turtles even had sound effects to go with it!!  It was hilarious listening to all of the parents walking by and answering their kids questions about what the turtles were doing!!  

Of course we couldn't go to the zoo without riding the train and the carousel.  Thank goodness they enjoyed the $6 train ride that lasted all of about 3 minutes!! :)

  

We had a great time and I can't wait to go again!  Here are a few more pics from our day! 

I'll Try It!!

Alright Amy, I am going to try it just so I can be taken off of your list!! :)  I have been wanting to blog for a long time, but I was scared I wouldn't have enough time to keep up with it.  Then I decided you never know until you try.  So...I am going to try this blogging thing!  I don't know how long it will last, how often I will post, or if anyone will even care to read it but here goes!