Notice anything different????????

When you look at this first picture of Nathan do you notice anything different about him????????

Let me help you out......................................

We are LOVING the new hearing aide!!!!!! I don't think Nathan ( or Rod and I) have stopped smiling since we got this precious new item on Monday. Nate's doctor decided that it was definitely time to amplify. To give you a little history on how we got here let me back up.................. Nathan received his first tube in his "good" ear at the early age of 6 months, since then we have averaged about 1 tube replacement a year. So if you do the math ;) he has had 7 tubes since he was born. The last one he had put in late last spring....well when it finally dislodged (or Nate's ear rejected it) just a few months later it left about a 30% perforation (hole) in his ear drum. NOT GOOD AT ALL!!!! This caused a major decrease in his hearing. The hole has finally healed completely but he is still suffering from a mild/moderate conductive hearing loss in his only hearing ear. BOOOOOO!

Nathan got the aide on Monday and let me just tell you, this momma cried some happy tears that day. The look on his face was priceless when we turned it on. To quote him..."mom, you are so clear and loud.......wait, I'm so loud"! That's when the tears started to fall. Rod had his teary moment in the car with him on the way to baseball....Rod called and said, "I can't believe I just had a complete conversation with Nathan and never had to repeat myself or turn my head around so he could read my lips" WOW!!!! How blessed are we?!?!?!? And to top it all off, Nathan is just as proud of this hearing aide as the rest of us. He shows everyone that stops to talk to him....too funny!

Just a Ridin'

FINALLY!!!!!!!! It's been a definite struggle trying to get Nathan to want to learn to ride his bike. I mean seriously, your almost 8 and you don't want to learn to ride so eventually you can take off with your friends in the neighborhood!!!!???!!! That just shows you how cautious my oldest child is and has always been.
A couple weeks ago after much chit chat and negotiating he caved and spent the morning with his dad learning this 2 wheeled contraption. Notice in the pics we are all decked out in every piece of protective gear we had........elbow pads, knee pads and of course the helmet.

Good job Nathan ( and good job daddy)!!!

I am also proud to report that we have also graduated to helmet ONLY!!!!

A Wet Beach Weekend

We went to Orange Beach a couple weekends ago for our first family beach trip of the summer. I can't believe it took us this long to make it down to the Gulf but oh well, at least we made it. The only downer about the whole thing was it was the first time in a month that it rained down there......and when I say rain, I mean RAINED!!!!! I truly thought we were in the middle of a tropical storm. We made the most of it.............went to the beach every chance there was a break in the rain, spent lots of money at the arcade, and ate till our tummies couldn't stand it anymore.

Can you tell by this picture how rough the waves/water was?!?!?!?

We even took our fave sitter, Sarah and her friend Linda, down to the beach as a "thank you" trip for all she/they do for us. She is like a big sister to my boys and they love her to pieces. Sorry Sarah and Linda, I couldn't produce more sunshine for ya ;)

We also met up with our friends the Holmes'. Our boys love getting together and hanging out. If you look in the background you will see Ryan too. He was too busy to get a pic taken. ;)

We even got to visit with Granny Rie (Rod's mom) while we were there.

Never have seen this before in an arcade but this place had a "game" (as Wilson called it) where you watched it make your fresh cotton candy. There was no getting out of spending that $3. LOL

Bye for now..............but look for more beach posts coming up. We aren't done with the sand and surf just yet. One more trip (but sshhh, don't tell our teachers....it's after school starts back) as a family is on the books. Can't wait!!!!!

Holiday weekend at the lake!

This holiday weekend we were blessed enough to be invited by 2 different families to join in their festivities at Lake Martin. We had SO much fun and made some great memories. On Saturday, we headed up to the Cabbage's cabin to spend some time with our sweet friends Jennifer and Ryan and their 3 boys. This visit was extra special because Ryan just took a job at UNC-Charlotte as the Head Golf Coach and this amazing family will soon be leaving Auburn. We will miss them greatly but look forward to more impromptu visits at the lake when they come home to visit. (WARNING: LOTS of pics below)

Day 1 started like this:
And ended like this.....................


Day 2 begins....................... This time we were at the Dubberley cabin. Of course, once again lots of fun and friends.


And this is how it ended...........................

The 4th with Family!

The 4th of July has come and gone and I hope all of you had a great holiday as did we. We spent our 4th with mostly family (and friends whom are like family) swimming, cooking ribs, playing in bounce houses and on water slides. And of course ended it with Auburn's firework show. Happy Birthday America! Until next year.....enjoy some red, white and blue.

Nate and Ali

Rod, Brad and Dave. Each sporting an American color.....did you guys plan that?!?!? ;)

I tried to explain to W that the tiaras were for girls but he didn't mind sporting one anyway.

Sweet Bradley....aka Beebs!

Little man..... excuse me,I mean BIG man Haynes.

Nothing like an impromptu show of our VBS songs. It was hilarious.