T-Ball...snacks not required

Last fall we tried Hunter in soccer...he would always stop in the very beginning of practice or game and tell us how hungry he was for snack. He was there for, you got it,....the snack-not to mention he would have one on the way to the soccer field, but alas, he was "sooo hungry".
This spring we started up T-Ball.

Don't be fooled by these action shots....this was the beginning of our 2nd practice. The first was, well....let's just say not as good as the second. We pumped him up the entire day for practice #2 and he hopped out of the car saying "I am going to do my best!"...and he did, somewhat :) Here is what the end of the practice looked like...

sitting  or just looking at his glove on the ground. This was killing the ball player in me.  The bonus is that we have made it through all the practices and 2 games and NO MENTION of snacks! I love that the games fall just before dinner time :)

running to third...mouth wide open...

we made contact...must have been the mouth...

Ready for the ball...

Hope was there to support...or practice her gymnastics :)

I love watching Hunter play T-ball and the fact he likes to go last so that he can get a home run and run all the bases :)

spring..

March....almost April...
I. Just. Can't. Belive. It.
Really....where has 2012 gone? With Craig at the station every two days and at class the others, time seems to fly by! The kids and I have spent lots of time together, but we soak in every minute we get with daddy!
Hope is still loving gymnastics and school. Hunter starts T-ball tomorrow (we are SO excited!) and can't wait to start kindergarten. We spend as much time as we can jumping on the trampoline we got for Christmas from Santa. Craig worked VERY hard on his days off and "buried" the trampoline in the ground. He dug out this HUGE hole, put the trampoline in it and now it is so safe! The kids love, love, love it and I will admit, I have really enjoyed it myself :) If I am not jumping, I like sitting on the deck and watching them jump, dance, and just giggle.
Next week is Spring Break...5 more days...we can do it! I am surprising the kids with a trip to Myrtle Beach. I think I am more excited than they are~well, mainly because they have no idea. I am going to tell them on Monday morning...when we head out the door. I can't wait! I have never done anything like this and can't wait to relax on the beach and soak up some sun! Too bad Craig has two shifts that week and class. I will be sure to take lots of pics :)

Merry Christmas!

Hello to all! If you are reading this, you have not given up on me and I thank you for that! :)

Things have been going great for us....just doing life the best we can.

Thanksgiving was a blast-we grabbed Uncle Todd and took the journey to Atlanta to celebrate all we are thankful for with Grandaddy and friends. Yummo is the best way to describe the food (if I do say so myself)!

And now it is Christmas time! I love this season. Not just for the lights, songs, kindness of others, gathering of family, but for the spirit. The feeling I get in my heart. The emotions that come with this time of year. The joy in Hope and Hunter's eyes, the innocence. So thankful for the birth of Christ. Last night, at church, a new idea and concept was presented to me. Just think-it took God 6 days to make this amazing place in which we live. That's cool and all, but what is REALLY cool is this-if he can make something this great in 6 days....how incredible is my place in Heaven going to be that he has been working on just for me for over 2 thousand years?! I never thought of it that way and I sure can't wait to see what He has in store for me!

It is that time to be thinking about the new year and 2012. Weight loss? sure. Be productive around the house? sounds great! Wiser with money? absolutely. But what I really want? Contentment. Contentment with everything in my life and life itself. That is what I am aiming for in 2012.

We didnt get cards out this year :( Hoping to maybe get 2012 New Year cards out, but we will see about that :)

With that being said...From our family to yours- Merry Christmas and Happy 2012 to you all!

so Thankful...

We have so much to be thankful for....

our family and friends who know the true sense of the word love.

i am so proud of Hope and the person she is growing up to be! she mentioned in the spring she wanted to donate her hair to locks of love. she had that opportunity this week and had 10" cut off her hair to donate.

i am thankful for how Hunter can make us life on a daily basis. that kid is great and such a passion for life.

Hope and Hunter get along so well. We are truly blessed with our children!

Thankful that Craig got a full time position with Clemson University Fire Dept. I am proud of him and I hope he is happy in this career for a long time.

cant wait to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with friends and family!

not sure what happened...

here are some more summer pics..

Our trip to Panama City Beach...so relaxing!

We spent much of the summer swimming at Grandaddy's...the kids loved the cool water slide!

Proud supporters of CUFD!

And when we weren't at a pool, we were at the beach...umm...lake....Y-Beach :)

summer has come and gone...but not the heat

There is a lot going on in the Walters' house these days! Where do we begin? Oh! CLEMSON FOOTBALL in 1 week. Yepper! Tigers, football, seeing family...it is all about to start rollin! I have started back to work already and Hunter has started his "school". Hope doesn't start until Sept. 6th...so she still has a little summer left. Summer has come and gone for me...where did it go?

Highlights of the summer:

lots of swimming in the lake and at pools

Trip to Cades Cove with friends

Baby Jackson being born

Our cousin Brooke's wedding

Hope went to camp (OUR camp) as a camper for the first time

Family trip to the beach with Grandaddy

Craig hired onto the CUFD part time

House issues...oh, that is not a highlight, but let's just say you cannot use our front door and have not been able to since June. We have actually worn a path in the grass in the back yard. I am SO ready to get the foyer fixed! It really does seem it is never ending with an old house! I love the character and what the house represents, but I tell ya-there have been times I wanted to sell and run far far away from it! It seems that every year we have one project done to the house by football season when family arrives. These were very unexpected projects and they are not even done! Ahhh! And I am STILL waiting for carpet in the playroom-just sayin'.

With everything that is going on...as I sit here writing and everyone else in the house snoozing away-both kids, both dogs and Craig....I do love my family and it takes times like this to make my mind slow down and appreciate what I do have. Yes, one day I hope we have the house just how we like it (years to come, I know) and that we do not have to literally live pay check to pay check, but until that day comes, we have each other and that is what family is all about!

Here are some random pics from summer:

she not a little girl anymore

...well, she is, but she is growing so quickly. If you know Craig and I at all, you know how important Camp is to the two of us. Met there, got married there, and take our family there so they see the significance of that special place. Yesterday (and that yesterday really just means 9 hours ago) we dropped Hope off at camp for a week. It was something we had been hoping for-a no show in which there was spot to be filled at Camp Sertoma-but when it came, oh my goodness...

One thing that typically happens is the butterflies you feel while driving into camp. I have felt them as a first time counselor (in 1996), as a specialist, as a supervisor and even as a (fill in) asst. camp director. But today (I mean yesterday, it is 2:30 in the morning) I felt them as a mom. Wow! What a difference. When we got the phone call, we had Hope's bag packed and was at camp within 30 minutes. She was so excited-she literally was bouncing off the seats. I have randomly thought about her through out the night-thanks to the distraction of church.

We went to bed, with Hunter snuggled in between us (preparing for a week of a lot of attention) and after 2 hours I am wide awake, thinking about Hope. Is she sleeping ok? Is she meeting friends? I know she will love her counselors and they will love her-that is just how she is-but will she befriend a little girl in her cabin? I hope she is sleeping ok-she is going to need it for all the fun she is going to have this week! I am not worried about the days, it is times like this-when everyone is asleep. I hope she is snuggled in with her fluffy and having sweet dreams and not wide awake-like her momma-missing and even though I know she is in safe hands in a safe place, I worry about her. But, I will have to lift up any concerns and just anticipate all the stories she is going to come home with...in 6 days...

uggg

i just typed out a huge post and lost it all. AHHH! ok, so...I will have to repost it later. time to hit the gym (which was explained in the "lost" post)...
have a great day!

summer times

It is summer and life is crazy at the Walters'! We have spent time in Atlanta with Grandaddy, at camp, hanging with friends, helping our Dess with her new baby-Jackson, and just going. It seems like we have been crazy busy, but then I look back and it doesn't look like we have done anything. Humph-the summer days seem to just go by so quickly. July already! It sounds crazy, but I am glad that the kids go back to school Sept 6th and I don't start back until the end of August. It is almost like summer is just beginning for us. I really want to go to the beach. I mean, really, really bad. But darn it if money isn't always a factor. Hopefully we will get to NC to visit family and hit a waterpark, and back down to Grandaddy's whose neighborhood as a pool and a really cool waterslide! I always have a list of things I want to get accomplished over the summer. We are slowly making progress on it. The major thing is our foyer. I hope we get something done with it. It needs it, especially since the leak (of forever, it just finally came through the ceiling) and destruction of it. It is currently taped off and we have to use the back door-at all times. That takes some getting used to. Anyway, that is what is going on with us. I will be back-before the summer is over :)

spring....or summer? 90 degrees...

I have started this post a number of times, but then life gets going and the next thing I know nothing has been posted in months! So much has been going on since the last post.
Spring....yep...it has hit which means so many things are happening (including the excitement of school's out for summer).

• we all (and I mean all 4 of us) worked really hard on the yard-mulching, mowing, making "islands", etc. I love the look of the front yard. We still need some color, but that will come. The back yard? I really, really, really want a pool! But...that won't happen with the dogs around, so....We have been able to spend a lot of time on the deck and that has been nice. We are currently getting estimates to get the garage fixed and I can't wait for that!


• Hunter turned 4! We had an awesome birthday party at the fire station-complete with class, climbing in the firetruck and playing in the fire hose. The results...success!


• Hope wrapped her testing (district wide) and blew it out of the water! She fell in the 99% in reading and 98% in math! I am SO very proud of her! I can't believe that she is about to be in 2nd grade. I am not sure why it is hitting me so hard, but this transition is really affecting me.


• Craig has been working really hard in his EMT classes, with his national exams in June. He has also been doing lawns this spring (yeah!) and continues to be involved in the fire dept. The Chief mentioned getting him on part time-huge blessing! That would mean that he could get paid for all that he has been "volunteering" for! And get his foot in the door for a more permanent position.


• Work is great for me...busy, but good! I love my job and who I work with. I am not gonna lie, I am ready for summer :)


• we have started to "circle up" with a new church. North Point, out of the Atl-we are launching in Clemson, calling ourselves Mountain Lakes. We are starting with small groups-which we LOVE-and we are meeting families with small kids and in a place in life like we are. Good place for us.


• We are debating on participating in the USMC Mud Run in October. This means we need to start training. Ugg....running. But then again, I know once we start we will love it and the mud run sounds like so much fun! We will see if we follow through with this!

ok...thanks for reading!