Father's Day...My Dad 2009

After celebrating with Jeffery on Saturday and Sunday morning, we went to Kathy's house to celebrate with Dad on Sunday after church. Kathy and I made BBQ for lunch...BBQ pork, baked beans, cole slaw, bread...Austin brought his pound cake and Connor made brownies...yum-yum! After lunch, the kids decided to provide some entertainment...well, the girls decided that and the boys...hams that they are...joined right in! It was so hilarious and fun...we laughed and laughed! It was wonderful for me to have this time with my Dad...he is truly one of a kind and I'm tremendously thankful for him and all that he means to me. He has been a wonderful Dad my whole life...always there to support me...he helped with all my girls scout activities from parades, to crafts to selling cookies. He has been to every ballet recital and school activity. He has been there anytime I ever wanted to just talk...thank you God for giving me an incredible Dad! I love him with all my heart!

Father's Day 2009

God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and an amazing Daddy to our children. The kids looked forward to Father's Day and doing something special for Dad! They had planned to take him golfing, but his work schedule has been so crazy and he ended up having to delay his flight home, so they opted to postpone the golf outing for a couple of weeks. We did have a wonderful day together on Saturday...swimming and just enjoying the beautiful day together. The kids all chipped in to make all Jeffery's favorites for dinner...home-made chicken-and-dumplings, fresh fruit and Austin and Anna made a lemon pound cake...all from scratch...yum! Jeffery enjoyed every bite! We are truly blessed with a wonderful family...I feel awed and humbled at God's blessing and provision for us. I'm thankful our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can comprehend...

Honoring Alex

Our nephew, Alex, graduated in May and is ready to embark on a wonderful new adventure in his life. Alex is such a fine young man, grounded in his faith and love of God, shows tremendous love and respect to his family and works hard at all that he does. He is open to God's will for his life and is confident in the plans that God has in store for him. We are very proud of him and of his accomplishments. He was accepted at USC and VMI and was granted an ROTC Scholarship...what an accomplishment! We had a fun weekend together...just fun family time for everyone and a special celebration of Alex and this milestone in his life. We continually pray for all of our nephews and neices and pray for God's direction and provision in their lives. We are blessed with wonderful family!

Tennis

Connor and Austin joined USTA tennis teams this summer and have been doing a great job learning the sport. They take lessons a few times a week and have fun hanging out with their friends and playing tennis. They are really doing a great job and have learned alot in such a short time. It's a great family sport and we are trying to find more time for all of us to play!

Just Kids

I can't seem to find the time to stay current on this blog, so I'm putting together a photo montage of some of the fun summer activities. The kids love the "lazy days of summer" and just going with the flow...sleeping late (after staying up late), playing video games, soccer and lots of other made up games involving balls or airsoft guns. Austin likes doing crazy things like balloon art...from hair to animals! The girls made a fairy house when the cousins came to play...it was too cute. Brandon and Austin have started guitar lessons...Gan bought them an electric guitar - they couldn't be more excited - ...and we had Jeffery's old guitar restrung as well. They are practicing and I think they are going to love it! I hope so because I've always wanted to play something, but have no musical talent, so I'm glad to see them branching out! Brandon is into his clothes and looking cool...so, he decided to help Austin look "cool" too...he was quite proud of his new look. Austin and Connor emptied the spare change bank and rolled coins this week...they had $150 in change...woo-hoo! All that loose change adds up! Connor used the extra pennies to leave a message for me on my bathroom floor...it made my day! Anna was invited to her first slumber birthday party...she was so excited about going...and a little nervous about staying all night...but, she did it!! She had a great time and is now ready for us to have one at our house...it's all about all things girlie! These are just a few hightlights of the summer...more to come later!

I blog about some of the special moments and experiences, but today I thought I would blog about a special someone...my wonderful husband, Jeffery. I don't think I take enough time to tell him how truly wonderful he is!! I love him more than I can say and am tremendously thankful that God planned us for each other. He continually shows me that he loves me by the little and the big things that he does. He treats me like a queen and he is a wonderful role model of both a husband a father to our kids...especially the boys. I love that he picks up on things that are really making me crazy and just fixes them...like upgrading the memory in my laptop because I constantly complained about it being slow...he just took the time to find what was needed and ordered it without saying a word...just because he knew it was a little thing that was driving me nuts. He brings me flowers for no reason, but always recognizes anniversaries and birthdays and special occasions. He got me beautiful flowers for our anniversary even though he wasn't here on the actual day...then when the roses in the arrangement wilted, he replaced them with new ones. He always buys the perfect cards...just because. He encourages me in all the things that I do from room mom, working, to dieting...he always supports me and helps me..no matter what crazy situation I've gotten myself into.. and it means so much to know he is always the shoulder for me to lean on. He takes me to restaurants that have healthy choices, because he knows it's important to me, he orders a dessert that is my favorite instead of his so I can have a bite or two because he knows I don't want to order a whole dessert. He buys me a new dress because he knows I don't like to splurge on things for myself often. He makes sure we always have my favorite coffee in the house...especially before he leaves on a business trip. He lets me plan weekend get-aways even when there are a million things to do at home because he values our family time and he knows I need a break from the "laundry, and day-to-day house stuff etc." that I would be doing if I were home. He forgoes a day on the golf course because he wants us to have time together...time is so precious and there is never enough of it. He is the first person I see in the morning and the last person I talk to at night...even when he is traveling, he always makes time for a phone call and a few text messages just to say he loves me. From the day we met, we haven't missed a single day of talking to each other. He can make me laugh in a flash and can cheer me up quicker than anything. He is the voice of reason when I am ranting and he helps me see both sides when I really only want to see one. He is my soul-mate, the one I cherish and I never want to be without. He has traveled so much this past year and I've missed him tremendously...not for the things he does, but I just miss him being home! I'm glad he got to see some of the incredible parts of the world and I'm glad I got to share London and Paris with him...what a wonderful trip it was! I'm glad I got to see Rome and other parts of the world through his eyes. I'm thankful for the Godly man he is...I'm thankful for the wonderful husband and awesome Daddy that he is...but most of all, I'm thankful that God brought us together...my life would not be complete without him...thank you God for Jeffery...I love, adore and cherish him...

Welcome Baby Gage - May 19, 2009

May 19, 2009 we welcomed the newest member of the family...GAGE EMERSON CYPHERS! He is a precious, healthy baby boy and just a sweet bundle of love! Thank you God for his safe arrival and good health! Everyone was so excited to have a new baby! He could not be any sweeter and is just beautiful! Anna is thrilled as she has been wanting a baby...baby cousin is as good as it gets! I told her "Anna, you ARE the baby in our family!" She didn't seem all that pleased, but believe me, she does take her position seriously! LOL Gage is doing well and growing quickly already...I'm hopelessly behind on my posts, so he is already nearing the 1 month mark! Last week we celebrated Mom's birthday with a girls day outing (plus Gage) to lunch and to get nails done...it was a fun day and Gage was enjoying his first big outing and sleeping in his luxury carseat/stroller. I enjoyed feeding and holding him...what a wonderous gift from God!