It's Hoedown Time!

For those of you who have fallen off the planet or live on another continent, yesterday was the Hoedown at our church. This HUGE event is held on the church campus with a petting zoo, blow up slides that look like the sinking Titanic, massive tents filled with fun county fair type gamesand cotton candy (oh, the cotton candy!). With over 10,000 people coming from all over Rutherford County and surrounding counties you can imagine how amazing this event must be! And, with only a few scrapes and scratches, it proved to be a very safe environment! This year Heather and I got smart and strategic about things (it's only taken us a few years to get this way!). She and Bethany took the little ones (by that I mean Campbell, Reagan and Ella) and I took the big ones (Carson, Rylee and our neighbor friend, Mallory). We had an absolutely wonderful time and the kids were EXCELLENT! (no, really!) There was not a single complaint about the lines, no tears shed, no fits thrown--- God truly had His hand on the day! We stayed from the time it opened until they closed it down! In 16 years I've never done that (by choice at least!).
So, to all of those who volunteered their time (or their spouse's time) to work a game or bouncy thing, baked a cake for the cake walk, got covered in cotton candy sugar, drove a 4- wheeler around setting up lights, bagged up hundreds of bags of trash, blew up thousands of balloons, drove a tractor, performed in a worship band, danced a routine, directed traffic, shared the love of Jesus by bringing a friend (churched or unchurched), shoveled horse or long horn steer poop, decorated tents with mums and pumpkins, and if your name is Dora T. of whom this would not have happened unless her amazing leadership and organizational skills would have been in play and all of those whom I have not mentioned--- may God bless you! You're doing Kingdom work!

"I'm A McCainiac"

I have 3 words for you people--- vote, vote, vote! I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but I was able to go early vote on Monday and boy does it feel good to have a voice in this election! More importantly, Carson was able to go with me and experience this important liberty as well! I thought it would be a great learning opportunity for him to be able to go with me and see what all this talk and hype is about! He was so proud! Carson's wonderful Kindergarten teacher has been a great influence in this process as well. In Social Studies they have been studying "Leaders"- leaders of the school, leaders of the town, leaders of the state, and leaders of the country. So, one day Carson comes home and says, "Mom, if John McCain becomes president he will do good things for our country and if Barack Obama becomes president her will do bad things for our country." Now, I know I sound like a proud mom when I say this, but I believe he may be prophetic! (Oh, yeah, and it wasn't his teacher that told him that either- he came up with it on his own!)

Seriously, though, I strongly encourage and advise all of you to take the opportunity to cast your vote!

Enjoying the Good Ol' Outdoors!

We are finishing up our first week of Carson's Fall Break from school and to celebrate we went camping at Fall Creek Falls State Park (for those of you who have never been there I think it's one of the prettiest places in TN-- it's worth the 1.5 hours to get there!). When we got there we found the "perfect" camping spot. Well, unbeknownst to us, it was a reserved spot so we only got to stay there 1 night. We were quite disappointed and had come to the conclusion that we would just go home a day early (this place was packed- but not in a bad way- it was still very quiet). As we were checking out the park ranger told us of another spot, we checked it out, and set up camp (literally) there! It, too, was a great spot! We were set up at a "family camp area" right behind a huge field where there were playgrounds and close to bath houses (my personal favorite).

The boys had a wonderful time! We (yes, even Campbell) hiked down to the bottom of the falls-whew! We cooked hot dogs/chili dogs by the fire, the boys rode their bikes, we played 100 games of CandyLand, and, when the boys finally went to bed each night, played Rummy!

We met some really nice people-even a family from our church! It has also given me the "itch" that one day (sooner than later, I hope) we will need to invest in some type of camper. We were one of the few in a tent!! And boy do these people know how to camp- satellites, tablecloths with centerpieces, microwaves, stoves, you name it! Oh well, for now I'll stick to a big cooler, coleman stove and my boys not knowing the difference!

It was the perfect vacation from the hustle and bustle of our busy world!!

"How Many Pumpkins Did the Posch's Pick?"

So, last week I got to go on my first field trip as a "mom"! I went to Gentry's Farm Pumpkin Patch in Franklin with Carson's class. We had a WONDERFUL time! I was able to get to know some of the parents a little better, watch Carson with all of his friends and experience the fun of a field trip without being responsible for 20 kids on my own!! We ALL had a really great time! Carson is blessed with the most wonderful teacher and we couldn't be happier!

We also recently had our first parent conference at school. Boy, it's a lot different being on the other side of the table. I was actually a little nervous! Well, those fears were quickly calmed by his excellent report card and glowing reviews from Mrs. Hoekstra (his teacher). It seems Carson is quite the comedian (he stood up and told a "poop" joke to the whole class!), but is also a very compassionate little fella! He even seems to be a "hottie" with a couple of the little girls! It makes a mother proud!! HA!

On a serious note, it does humble me to know that all of the prayer and hard work we as parents put into our children reflects when it really matters most! He is a good boy and we are blessed!

"Car for Sale"

Okay, let me just say that I absolutely LOVE my van! With that being said, I'm selling it! What? Well, here's the deal! My father-in-law is selling his Toyota Sequoia for about the same price we can sell our van. It would be an even trade! (Totally cool in the eyes of Dave Ramsey- and my husband) Anyway, if you know of anyone looking for a van I've got it on Craigslist. The site is:

http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/861512438.html

Thanks for your help!