Happy Birthday Kinsleigh

Today was our sweet little girls 2nd Birthday! Here's a look back at how she has changed these past 2 years...


Her actual "Birth" day





1 Year Old




2 Years Old


Kinsleigh, thank you for blessing our lives in more ways than you could ever imagine. You are deeply loved to the moon and back! Happy Birthday Kins a roo! We love you!

Beaver Lake

One of my favorite traditions I had growing up was going to Beaver Lake, AR during the fall. The leaves are all beautifully changing, the air is crisp, and it's perfect campfire weather. As I've gotten older, married, etc. I've had to miss out on a few years but this Fall Break we got to bring the tradition back and the WHOLE family was included. Cousins Parker and Peyton even came all the way from South Carolina. While we were there we...


Celebrated Parker and Kinsleigh's Birthday's


Kins went kayaking for the first time


And we decorated pumpkins!


The whole trip was a blessing and I am so thankful for the time spent with family. Unfortunately it's back to reality now. Bummer!

New Life Ranch

This past weekend, the Kirk youth went on their annual fall retreat to New Life Ranch. First of all, this is just an awesome place in general where you can relax and soak up the fresh outdoor life! But better than any of that is all those who participated/volunteered for the weekend. I just want to say thank you to ALL the leaders that help out with the youth at The Kirk for being so willing to serve and dedicating your time when you don't have to. And thanks to all the youth for being mature, incredible examples of what a person who is in Christ should look like! You guys put the norm of this world to shame! Love you all!!!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a blast at Kinsleigh's first visit to the Pumpkin Patch! We went to Livesay Orchards way out in good ole Porter, OK. This was actually the first time we'd ever even heard of this town! But there were lots of young child friendly games, a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch, and apple and peach picking if desired! Kinsleigh spent the majority of the time in the corn bucket! Sensory is so her thing...

Sponge Brain

So I'm pretty sure Kinsleigh's brain is pure sponge. She soaks up everything around her to the point I cannot believe!!! Many times she comes home singing whole entire songs word for word that I've never taught her but she heard on a CD ONCE that day at school. But here is the craziest part of it all. This is a picture of Kinsleigh's little magnet board...


Every letter you see there, Kinsleigh can identify EACH time without fail. That's 17 out of 26! And she's not even 2! Holy cow! So I had to take a picture of it just to prove it. I decided to put this to test because she was consistently going around telling us what certain letters were that she saw around our house. So I sat down, held up every one of her magnets one by one and she told me what these were. I can't give credit to myself for any of this, but rather "Super Why" from PBS. We've always been very strict about TV watching but she does get to see "Super Why" a couple times a week for about 15 min. while Daddy hops in the shower. Guess she's really learning something in that time! WOW! But the most fun thing we've heard that her brain has absorbed lately is "Baby" by Justin Beiber...I don't know that I can say I'm proud of that one though!

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Alright so it's taken me awhile to get this blog up but thought it was important as this seems to be an all too often asked question these days. And I loved the way our Pastor, Wayne, brought it all to light. The common question everyone is asking is "If God is so great and good, then where is he in a world filled with so much agony?"

Basically, WE suffer on this Earth for these reasons...

1) Because of the wicked, stupid, choices WE make each day (and this is due to our free choice that God has given us).
2) Because of the brokeness of the world.

In Romans 8:28 it says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Notice the ALL THINGS. This means that even we who are Christians are not cleared from the hurt of the world. ALL THINGS can still happen to us too. We also have to remember that God does discipline us for our sin. "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Hebrews 12:6

My favorite quote of his whole sermon was..."Jesus Christ did not suffer so you won't but so that when you do, you will become more like Him." And I want to close by leaving a reference to one of my favorite verses for you to go look up on your own and I encourage you to do so! 2Corinthians 4: 16-18


On a lighter note (because we all know how goofy I have to be) I must have you know that as I was searching for photos for this blog, this is one of the photos that popped up. Oh my...!

Who would have guessed?

I acquired a new skill today! I actually learned how to use a sewing machine and make something. This was a huge accomplishment for me as I do not enjoy doing extremely time consuming projects. My mom had to do all the measuring and cutting for me because I still do not get all that part but much of the other I did on my own! woo hoo! I think this may be an inspiration to try new crafty things. Thanks to my wondeful Mommy who drove up for the day just to help me out. Fun times...but now my back hurts. Check out one of the finished projects...