We go out walkin'

The kids and I have started going walking in the mornings. For those of you who have never been to my house, there is a HUGE hill you have to climb up to get to the main road. I have loving deemed this hill Mt. Vesuvius.
There is no way I could push Isaac and Maylee up that hill in a double stroller...I would be pushing almost 100 extra pounds! I know I'm buff, but not that buff!

So we get all bundled up...


and I make Isaac walk...

after he climbed this hill he was only half way done...


He was such a trooper and climbed this hill! (I think he liked being out walking on his own!)
Then, we turned to walk around behind the Food Lion close to our house and this is what we saw...


So we've discovered a new walking route...no train tracks involved, but also not much to see. We enjoy our walks...the kids get out and mom gets some exercise! I had been doing really well until I came down with this cold...but Monday I'm back at it!
PS. if you're trying to get to our house, call first for directions around the detour!

I heart old family pictures!

My dad sends me forwards on a regular basis, most of them I just delete without even looking at them, but for some reason I decided I would open these emails.

And I am so glad I did! I opened up family treasures! Old family pictures that someone had scanned onto the computer and sent my dad, and he felt the need to share them with me. And I am so glad he did. I guess I will open all of his emails from now on!

This is Eliza Roxy Bond Pew. She is my dad's maternal grandmother. She's also the woman we are naming our next little girl after.

This is her and her father, Joseph William Bond.

Eliza is the one on the far right.

This is my Grandma O. She is my dad's mom. She looks a lot like her mom, huh?

My Grandma O is the second from the right. That's her brother next to her and her dad, Ellis Harvey Pew is on the far left.

There is something about old family pictures that I love. I love to see the faces that go with the names I have heard all of my life. I love to hear stories about my family members who have passed beyond the veil. Maybe it's all a part of "turning the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers."

My Grandmother Wright (my mom's mom) sent me a photocopied document in the mail all about her Grandmother, Martha Marilla Tryon Fuller. She is the grandmother we named Maylee after. Her nickname was Maley. I loved that name and it fit so well with Rose as a middle name that it stuck. Maylee Rose is named after two of my Great Grandmothers. (Maylee also happens to share my middle name) Now I feel as though I am more connected to her now that I know who she was and what she enjoyed doing.

After I got the pictures of my family, I started looking back in old emails for pictures of Kevin's family and came across a few gems, too. We can all see where Kevin gets his good looks!

This is a picture of the Hiatt family. My mother-in-law is the toddler. Her dad is Talmage (looks a lot like Kevin, just with hair!), Aunt Tama is on the far right, Aunt Sharon is the younger girl, Uncle Craig is on the far left, the taller boy is Uncle Kenny and Grandma Hiatt has her hands on Sharon's shoulders.

On the couch are Ethel Mene Puckett Hiatt and David Lafayette Hiatt. Kevin's grandpa is the second from the right. I know how Kevin will look as he gets older...and I'm okay with what I see!

This is Kevin's Great Grandpa David Hiatt 1973

This is my mother-in-law's Grandma Hiatt on the far right, and her mom's parents Grandma and Grandpa Williams on the far left.

I love old family pictures...and I can't wait to tell my kids the stories that go along with their family names. If only I could get my hands on a picture of Isaac Henry Bowman.

Trunk-or-treat

For the last several months I have known what Isaac and Maylee would be for Halloween...did I get started then, NO...

I waited...

and waited...

and waited...

Until yesterday when I finally decided to get out the fabric and make their costumes. After hours of cutting, sewing, more cutting, sewing even more, and the best part, not ripping one seam, their costumes were almost done...

I finished them today...with a few hours to spare...

And if I may say so myself...they turned out pretty darn cute! (darn good for no pattern, right?)

I knew Mickey would be pretty easy and after I saw a Minnie costume for $30 in the store, I opted for homemade...

But let's be honest, putting the dots on her dress was labor intensive, to say the least!

The Trunk-or-Treat was tonight and the kids were so excited for it. Our ward does a Fall Festival/Chili Cook-off each year. This year did not disappoint. I can't believe how many people were there!

Isaac loved his costume, and when I say loved, I mean LOVED! He walked up to everyone who even glanced his way and said, "I'm Mickey Mouse!" at the top of his lungs!

Maylee loved hers, too. She would hold her arms high in the air and say, "Mi-yee" If you didn't know what she was saying, it could be easily confused with the way she says her name!

This picture is classic Isaac...especially when he's in Mickey Mouse mode...it looks like he's saying "Mickey Mouse Club Hoooooooooooooooouse!"

This is my favorite picture of the night. It shows how much Isaac loves his daddy. If you notice, he has his arm around Kevin's neck. Too sweet!

I'm hoping to get a couple better pictures of the two of them together this Halloween! To see last year's Fall Festival click here.

The Job Front

(This is a long post...but if you're not in the mood for some "light" reading...scroll to the bottom to see if he got the job...)

Let's go back about a month ago.

Thursday September 17th: He randomly applies to a company named WIS Intl.

Thursday afternoon: phone call from Recruiter for WIS Intl. telling Kevin they are really interested in him and his potential. He told Kevin it would be several days before he heard anything else, but that they don't have any Inventory Managers in Winston-Salem, so it might be sooner than we think.

Friday September 18th: Phone call from WIS Recruiter. Setting up a face-to-face interview in Charlotte!

Wednesday September 23rd: We travel down to Charlotte for interview with WIS Intl. Kevin felt really good about this company and how his interview went. At this point, I tell him I have felt good about this company the entire time!
At this interview, they tell him that if they like him, they will call him by the end of the week.

Thursday September 24th: Scheduled his meeting with the Director of Operations for the following Wednesday.

Wednesday September 30th: Kevin meets with Director of Operations in Charlotte. He is told that if they are interested, they will give him a call in a few days.

An hour after he walked in the door after his interview, Kevin gets a phone call from WIS Recruiter and is asked for his DL # and SS # for a background check. They set up a time for Kevin to see what he will be doing as an Inventory Manager. He is also told that if they like him after this, he will have to take a drug test.

That night, Kevin meets with Area Manager at a Game Stop in Randalman to see what he will be doing as an Inventory Manager. When he's there, the AM says to Kevin, "You must have really impressed those guys, I have your drug test paperwork to give you."

Thursday October 1st: Kevin takes drug test

Monday October 5th: Drug test is back. Waiting on background check

Friday October 9th: HR Recruiter calls Kevin, tells him they will have an offer for him by the end of Friday or Monday at the latest.

Monday October 12: NO CALL

Tuesday October 13: Kevin calls HR Recruiter to see what's going on...and he's surprised that offer had not been communicated, yet.

Tuesday October 13: Kevin is called back by HR Recruiter to set up time to sign paper work for NEW JOB!!

Thursday October 15th: Kevin signs paperwork.

THAT'S RIGHT...HE GOT THE JOB!! My husband is no longer unemployed!

He was supposed to start work today, but they called and needed his information to be in the system first. So he's up to Winston to take care of paperwork.

We're very excited about how things have happened so quickly! There have been many prayers and tears shed on our behalf. At one point in this process, it felt like my prayers were just hitting the ceiling and bouncing back at me. But I testify that the windows to Heaven are open and that Heavenly Father does pour out his blessings upon those who are willing to ask for his blessing.
In the Bible Dictionary, it says this about prayer:
"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them."
Heavenly Father was willing to bless Kevin with a job...we just needed to ask for it. And we did, along with countless others. I am sure I don't even know the number of people who prayed that Kevin would find a good job. But he's found it and we're so excited.
I now have a wonderful opportunity to teach my kids that Heavenly Father answers our prayers, for months Isaac has been praying "to help daddy find a new job", now he's got one and we can teach them that our prayers are answered! What a cool thing to teach to our 3 year old and 2 year old. That they can pray to Heavenly Father and he'll answer their prayers!

Now for questions I'm sure you all have:
1. Will we be moving to Charlotte? No, the interview was there, but where Kevin is working is in Winston-Salem, about 30 minutes from here. But really he's working all over our area and the office is in Winston.
2. I can't think of any more...so maybe I've already answered them? But if you do have more questions, just leave them in the comments!

Thanks again, for all of the prayers and thoughts for our family. We're truly being blessed right now!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday with our friends. We had a great time.
The kids had a blast...when we first arrived, it was story time...


Isaac and our friend, Clara, really enjoyed the book. Maylee was having more fun staring at all of the other kids.

Then it was time for the hay ride...pulled by a BIG tractor!


Here are my cute kids waiting for the hay ride through the woods! There were ghosts and spiders and snakes put in the trees, but the most disconcerting thing there were the teenagers hanging from the trees! There was even a little 7 year old girl lying on the ground with her arms crossed like she was dead...it was very creepy even for us moms! Good thing we decided to laugh about it. I really think it helped the kids not be scared! It just seemed like too much for kids under 4!

After the hay ride...it was time to sing songs...


I think this is one of the actions to the song about a scarecrow...once again Maylee is too busy looking elsewhere!
But she got down to business when it was time to color!!


After they had finished their masterpieces, it was time to pick out their pumpkins!!

There were plenty to pick from...


Here are the cute kids with their pumpkins...doesn't Isaac look so proud?

I had a friend snap a picture of me with my cute kids!! I think I had just as much fun as they did, I think! I can't wait to do it again!


If you don't remember what my kids looked like last October, or just want to refresh your memory, click here.

The Autumn Leaves Festival

If you have never been to the Autumn Leaves Festival in Mt. Airy, NC, it is worthy of a trip! We have been every year, except when last year when my brother Sam got married, and we have a BLAST every time we go!
For those of you who don't know, Mt. Airy is the home of Mayberry, from the Andy Griffith Show. Downtown Mt. Airy is home to Snappy Lunch and Floyd's Barber Shop. Snappy Lunch even serves the family Pork Chop Sandwich and when we were up there this last Saturday, the restaurant had a line out the door!

Mt. Airy closes down Main Street for 3 days...the streets are lined with people selling everything from Bloomin' Onions to Christmas decor! It's the most eclectic mix of crafts and food you have ever seen!

We got there and instantly found someone we just had to take a picture with!

that's right, a Barney Fife look-a-like! Isaac even got a high-5!

The Autumn Leaves Festival is also the place to taste your first ever Cotton Candy!!


Don't forget to read some of the signage...it will crack you up!!


Make sure you have a stranger take your picture--


And when we're in Mt. Airy, we have to stop by Grandma Hiatt's house (she's Kevin's Grandma) to let the kids use and abuse her backyard!!


Oh, how I wish I had a fence around my backyard!!


If anyone is up for going next year, let me know! We'll be there and would love for any and all to experience the Autumn Leaves Festival!!

PS. they have a candy store up there that will make your eyes bug out of your head!! (Just ask Isaac!)