Safety Poster Contest

Every year the mines gives the children, whose immediate family is employed there, the opportunity to participate in a poster safety contest. The children grades K-8 are allowed to participate and the winners receive savings bonds. Levi was old enough to enter a poster this year. He had a great time at the party that was given for all the participants today and also really enjoyed preparing his poster. Honestly, I was very shocked he took interest in this. If it doesn't have something to do with a ball, he usually doesn't get too excited. He did a great job and I was so proud of him! Josh even came over and had lunch and spent a little time with us. His group was K-2 which was the biggest group. Houston had a great time too visiting with some his buddies and enjoying the pizza. I thought Levi's masterpiece was precious. GOOD JOB PICASSO LEVI!

MOVIE DAY w/ KK

Today was KK's off day and of course she wanted the boys around! We headed out to T-Town with plans of KK taking the boys to the movies while I did a little shopping for vacation and Father's Day. Well, by 11:00 AM just about every member of my family had arrived in T-Town. I swung by and grabbed MawMaw BJ, MeMaw, and then my DAD even decided to join us! That's right just say "GRANDKIDS" and even PePaw enjoys a little trip to town. Low and behold, Luke calls as I'm about to walk out the door and He, MK, Ben and Beth are headed to T-Town to visit 2 ladies from their church who both had babies today. We had a little lunch, wasted a little time and had a BIG time together! Thanks KK for spoiling my boys rotten! I had told Levi this AM that due to his "listening problem" there would be no trip to the toy store for him today but of course his response included something about KK letting them do just about anything they wanted. There were no toys purchased on this trip, though! We did have a great time and LOVED every minute of it! We are so blessed!

LITTLE FISH

The boys have started swimming at Nana's and they are swimming like little fish. The first day Levi took off to the diving board(no floaties) and jumps off full speed ahead into the freezing water. Mind you, no swimming since last summer but swam all the way to the shallow. Has not happened again! "Not having floaties on made it take my breath, Momma" No son, the water has been uncovered for only 3 days, no sun made it take your breath. He is still jumping, but always makes a bypass to the storage box for a pair of floaties, he honestly thinks that's what did it. Houston could not even touch the bottom last year and is now walking all over the shallow and swimming, loves to jump off the diving board, the side, the ladder, the floats, etc. He is our little dare devil! Of course, "With floaties off the diving board so I don't lose my breath." I cannot believe how they have grown and matured since last summer. They are so much fun and I would be so lost w/out them!

SEASON CHAMPS!!

Go Red Sox! I cannot believe it. Our little guys and gals pulled it out! We won the regular season, proper title....5-6 Yr Old 2008 Season Champs! Then we started a double elimination tournament which ended tonight with another title.....5-6 Yr Old 2008 Season Tournament Champs. Sounds a little boastful. but I'm SO proud of our little team. I'm sure you remember, past post of, 13 players only 4 have ever played before, well I have to be honest I kind of doubted how everything would turn out. But low and behold a few great coaches(LOL HONEY), some wonderful supportive parents and 12 dedicated little ones(we lost 1 during tournament), I mean what else could you get. CHAMPS anyway, even if their record had not shown it. However, we did end up 10-3 for the whole season. Did I mention how proud I am of everyone?!! All-Star practice begins Monday so we have a few days until we start all over. Levi absolutely LOVES it! Never hear"I don't want to play, OR When is this over?" come out of those little Josh Cannon Lips! Houston has done great, hanging right in there every game and found lots of new little friends! Thanks to all of our family who have made numerous trips to Fayette(@$4/gal) to see the Red Sox battle it out. The team we beat tonight in the Championship game was 1 of the 2 teams that beat us during reg season, so did I say how proud I am of everyone?! I never thought I would get so into "Dug-Out Mom" but I LOVED it! Thanks to Coach Wesley, Coach Josh, Coach Ron, Coach Cheli and Coach Poppy(at times) for a job WELL DONE!! I loved the attitudes they all kept and had total positive reinforcement at all times, (unlike a lot of the other teams we played!) You know what they say.... ALWAYS be the bigger person and it will ALWAYS pay off in the end!

FUN Day With KK

Well, KK was off Friday and invited us all down to spend the day with her. When we arrived, she had planned a picnic and play date. The boys loved every minute of it! Ben is growing up so fast and he thought he was as big as the boys. Beth was so precious and is also growing like a weed. MeMaw and MawMaw also came along for the day. We then went to the mall and wasted time and money! The boys are all into "Prince Caspian" lately and had to have swords and shields. Hey, if we can come out of K-B for under $10, I'm not complaining. A cookie, a slushy, a toy, a few things out of the quarter machines and their $ was soon gone! While there I also had their feet measured for new shoes. Mind you, this whole time no one has complained with their shoes being too small or too tight, but I knew every once in a while I would hear a big "grunt" when they put on their tennis shoes. After all, we have been sporting flip flops pretty much everyday so I was in no real hurry for tennis shoes. Upon measurement, they not only needed bigger shoes, but they needed bigger shoes by 1 1/2-2 sizes! I know, I should be spanked, grounded and all that kind of stuff, but let me remind you, no complaining from either little Cannon! Of course, they did not have the sizes needed so we still continue to sport flip flops! We then went back to KK's house where the Prince Caspian want to be's broke into full battle. I was so afraid her fairly new home would end up with at least a chunk or two out of the sheet rock or something broken but somehow everything remained intact. It was great to spend the day w/ my family. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

"THE CREW" (LESS KK)

Who could resist this sweet face?!
Who could resist this precious face?!
Who could resist this handsome face?!

Who could resist this "cool" face?!(I'm corrected every time the word "cute" slips out of my mouth."I'm not cute , I'm COOL!")

KK and Levi

O.K., yes that would be Houston "LICKING" the rails. I know and I have heard the phrase so many times. Yes, GOD did make dirt and dirt won't hurt. But I have also tried to remind the boys, That then there's germs and germs can cause worms! A little grotesque but to the point...that's the only way they can grasp things right now.HA!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

I know, I know, first time Mom experiencing all these firsts, like his first last day of school, but thought I would share these with you. It's so hard to let them grow up! But that means, they are healthy and GOD is blessing them, so I'm not complaining.

Getting his certificate and a hug!

Part of "The Class of 2020"

His last piece of artwork in Kindergarten
If your wondering about the cover....it's camoflauge!

BETH'S BABY DEDICATION

Baby Beth was dedicated on Sunday night. It is so hard to think she is already 3 months old! We were able to be in service with them and had a great time. Luke preached a wonderful sermon on Dedication. How often we need to stop and re-evaluate who and what we are dedicating our lives to. Yes, we're very busy and very preoccupied with "stuff" but I hope I never lose sight of who and what I'm really living for. I can't believe how much Luke improves every time I hear him. He really loves the Lord and is doing a wonderful job as Youth Pastor. MK you're doing a wonderful job, too! I know you have a lot of responsibility as a "preacher's wife", but you really handle it great! They have recently moved in their new house and are doing great as a family of four! WE LOVE YOU, Luke, MK, Ben and Beth!

AWARDS DAY

Levi had Awards Day on 5/22/08. I can't believe my little man is through with Kindergarten and is now on his way to FIRST GRADE! This year has truly flown and I couldn't be prouder of how well he has done! Mrs. Clements has been the most precious blessing in our lives over the last 9 months. She has a special calling on her life and is so close to GOD that his love just radiates through her! I told her I hated that Levi had to leave her but also hated I had to leave her. She definitely makes me want to be a better person and share the love of GOD with everyone. THANKS Mrs. Clements! May GOD Bless you and touch you during this trying time! You are so precious and I know if anyone can rise above these circumstances, it is YOU! WE LOVE YOU!!

FIRST FIELD TRIP

Levi took his first field trip to the big city of Fayette. He rode the school bus for the first time and thought it was the coolest thing. I thought to myself, if you only had to ride the bus from Flatwoods and down every dirt road between there and Berry, it would not be so cool, especially in the months of AUG-SEPT!HA He did enjoy the bus ride and the rest of the day. They started out at the Berry Post Office, then on to the Fayette Library, Fayette Police/Fire Dept., Fayette Park and back to the Fayette Police/Fire Dept. We had to come back to the Police Dept. because on arrival the first time, there were some wonderful handcuffed prisoners present! Yes, a great topic of discussion w/Kindergartners....and no fireman were present(LUNCH!) The children really did enjoy their day and were POOPED after the busy, hot day.

First Bus Ride

Best of Friends!

Houston thought he was as big as Levi, Isaac and Nic. His mouth is wide open, he ALWAYS has something to say.

He then learns to raise his hand and you can tell by the look on Levi's face that he's about had enough. Their so funny!

He found these earphones over by the beanbags. He was singing his own little song. Absolutely nothing was playing on the earphones.

Talking to the librarian about their pets.

He actually paused for a second to snap this.

Houston and Anna Grace taking a water break.

He was getting really tired by this point. Relaxing on the back of the fire truck.

In the fire truck passenger seat...... Brave firefighters letting all these little paws in their trucks!

"I'm gonna be a fire fighter Mommy!"...Shortly there after he screamed bloody murder when the horns and sirens sounded. Thank goodness he has a while to decide on a career.

They got to squirt the cars as they went by. They loved that!

At the end of the day, this smile says it all. "That was awesome, Mom!"

VBS 2008

Earlier this month, we had our VBS at church. Our theme for this year was, "BOOT CAMP". We really had a great time and a great turn-out. The LORD really blessed and everything went pretty smooth, except for starving children on Friday night, LOL! We had planned for pizzas to arrive around 7:00PM and we would dismiss by 8:30; pizzas arrived around 8:00PM and a few pizzas short of our original order but somehow the pizza was enough, we then just had starving staff! You know, sometimes you have to sacrifice for the little ones, as if it hurt ANY of us!! I guess all in all that was the only mix-up of the weekend. We had 144 on Fri. night and 134 on Saturday and we had LOTS OF FUN!! I hope we made a difference in just one child's life. Everyone worked sooo hard and I'm so thankful to be part of a wonderful church like ours!

We did a little nursery for our Mom's who helped work! Smallest class, BIGGEST handfull!

This was Levi and Houston's class. Yes, that is Houston crawling around like a wild animal!

Bonnie, Ashley and Raven took on the 7-8 year olds.

Mrs. Rhonda and Mrs. Gina handled the 9-11 year olds! WOW! There were lots of them!!

Wanda Kaye and Jimmy had the 12 yr.old and up class. We were really surprised and excited to see this many show up. We thought they might think they were too big, but they had a ball!

Sgt. Willgo and The Craft Platoon Sgt.
Some of our decorations. David Grzala, you are the MAN!