Family Getaway

A couple of weeks ago, we snuck away as a family and had a "retreat" from the "busy-ness" of life...it was wonderful! We went to a friend's cabin in Murphy, NC. It has become a special place for us as a family. My kids love it! We did a whole lot of nothing besides laughing, playing games, hiking, snuggling and watching movies. Here are a few highlights...

Eating on the deck after a long muddy hike... climbing rocks along the river...

driving over to the snow in Maggie Valley one day...

Tubing down the mountain in Maggie Valley...

Jerry crashing into the barriers after tubing a little too fast down the mtn. at Maggie Valley...

Asher chillin' on the rocks. We spent hours just skipping rocks. Good times. Good times...

At the end of the trip, Jerry said, "so what did you think about our Dingmore Family trip?" Kenzie replied, "Dingmores rock!"

They do. I love my family!

Time Out

Asher was in "time out" in his room yesterday. I heard some guitar music coming from his room, when I came to check on him, this is what I saw:

Does he know his Momma is a sucker for a cowboy? Or is he just that cute?

Letters to God

I found this beside my daughter's night stand.

Dear God,
Thank you so much for letting me try out for the travel team. Can you please let me get on the team? I know I am'nt very good, but can You help me with that?
Love,
Kenzie

p.s. I love you!!

Love her heart! She did make the team, and she has her confidence back. She totally feels like the Lord has given her this opportunity. I'm so proud for her, love to see her doing what she loves! I plan to keep this so that she can see that when she trusted God, He came through for her. I think it's good to set up modern day "altars of remembrance" of God's faithfulness in our lives. It helps us to remember His faithfulness in the little things, and reminds us how He can absolutely be trusted in the big things too!

Colton's Shiner

"I came home from school one day with a shiner on my eye...fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why..." so begins one of my favorite George Strait songs, "Love Without End, Amen". Well, that's not exactly what happened.

Last week, when Colton was playing out in the barn with a friend, I was in the kitchen looking out the window when I saw them come around the corner...it literally looked like someone had shoved a golfball up under his cheekbone. He looked deformed! It scared me to death! Apparently the handle of the wheelbarrow had caught his cheekbone/eye as he fell off a ladder in the barn. This is five hours later...

A closer look (swelling way down, but still pretty swolen)
This is morning, Day 2...he was mortified! Stayed home from school for that one...

Three days later...much better! Glad to report that he is on the mend...only permanent damage...mom's gray hairs (but even that can be remedied by a good hairdresser!) lol

New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve, we were sitting around a bonfire with some friends making s'mores, and Jerry suggested that we go around the circle and each of us share what was the best thing that happened to them in 2008. I love stuff like this (and Jerry usually doesn't), so I listened intently to each person. Kenzie said that getting a puppy was the best thing, then Colton shared that his was scoring his first touchdown, then it came to Asher. He very confidently said, "What I liked best about 2008 was Cohton's babatism (Colton's baptism)." Well, there you have it. My year ended beautifully. My heart was full.

On a lighter note, what they were looking forward to in 2009 was Kenzie -playing in her first travel ball tournament, Colton - playing football at Covenant, and Asher - finally getting to play t-ball. We will have a busy, sports-filled year, but we ended 2008 and begin 2009 with an incredible sense of the goodness of God and His amazing gift of His Son, our family and friends. Happy New Year everyone!