OUR SAFARI WEEKEND

God just keeps amazing me!! I have had this trip planned for a week, and with Hurricane Ike, I was very concerned about whether we would be able to pull this off. The Lord came through like He always does and we had a most wonderful weekend!

I picked up the kids, and their friends from school and we headed to the town of Delhi! Bailee's little friend could not make our trip, but she would soon join us after! And you can imagine the excitement the kids had for this trip! I still cannot believe that I loaded 5 kids in my car, and headed for the small town of Delhi!
I had called several times during the day.. making sure the weather was good and that we would get to experience the High Delta Safari in all it's glory!

I was a little worried, for at 2:30, it was raining! But she told me to go ahead and come! The ride there was great! The kids were so well behaved, and considering how excited they were, I thought they were great or the 45 minute drive!

The boys looked at their baseball cards, trying to decide which ones to trade, and they also blue toothed many ringers to each others phone! My Bailee Grace sat up front with me keeping me company!

When we finally arrived, We were so ready to go on our Safari!
For us to experience all it had to offer was a tad too expensive, 79 dollars to be exact, being that I had 5 kids with me, I decided to do the petting zoo. They also had a cool playground for the kids to play on too!
When we all walked in the door... It was like we walked into a jungle! The gift shop had soo much stuff in it! Stuff animals, candles (I was in heaven!!), home decor and many more things!
We got 2 cupfuls of food to feed the animals. The food consisted of cabbage, lettuce and carrots. The kids were so excited about getting to feed the little creatures! They had goats, rabbits, pot bellied pigs!

The Safari place had chickens, turtles, and turkeys.
The kids were kinda scared at the turkey, so I had to walk with them when we got around the turkeys.
Luke would say,"Mrs. Danielle, come get me!"
It was cool though to see the turkey spread his feathers. I think that they are just as pretty as peacocks! They really had a lot of fun feeding the animals. They loved watching the animals interacting with the other animals.

Of course, the goats were fighting with the other goats.
Some of the kids even held some of the animals.
They mainly held the goats
And when they did, the goat eat leaves off some of the little trees.

But the animals like the cabbage food better!
Especially the rabbits, they LOVED the carrots.
Caiden fell in love with one particular rabbit.
He was trying so hard to pick him up, but the rabbit was much too fast!
Bailee of course was trying to be a mother to them! She did keep her distance around some of the animals, the chickens to be exact!

Hunter fell in love with this goat. He held him almost the entire time there!
It was so fun to see them enjoying this experience!
Bailee was being conservative, she was making sure that every animal got food!! She is so precious!

Caiden and Bo were trying to get that little rabbit to come out

Caiden wanted soo bad to pick up this little rabbit!


They even had a python snake... It was behind glass..of course!

Caiden....still trying

My Bailee was go glad that she got to hold the goat!

The animals:

They had so much fun on the playground!

We then headed to Burger King to grab a bite to eat

They were so hungry!
And yes...I brought with me Hand Sanitzer, BUT they washed thier hands AGAIN!
The boys eating popcorn

Since Luke and Hunter were going to see wrestling Saturday night, they decided to do some wrestling of thier own!

I allow it, BUT if they get too rowdy and someone gets hurt... I make them stop


Playstation time

And of course that played football

And they traded baseball cards


Bailee's friend, Brainna came to our house after we got back from the Safari!

Bailee was so excited about her coming.. She is in Bailee's class from school
Brianna was so glad that Bailee asked her to spend-the-night

They did art projects.. They painted some very pretty pictures

They sang and danced..She fit right along in there with Bailee, Bailee's passion is singing!
They eat popcorn and had plenty of girl talk!

They played dress-up and painted each other's nails

I think they have seen the movie Legally Blonde one too many times! They each a a stuff puppy in thier handbags!




Saturday Morning we all piled in the car, I was scared the weather was about to get bad and I know that when weather is bad, I want my children home with me, so i decided it ws best to go head and bring everyone home

Of course, Bailee being the Queen Bee, she got to sit in the front seat!

This weekend was a blast! I am more than willing to always take Caiden and Bailee and thier freinds to fun things like this! It was a great weekend! Matter of fact, I am taking Caiden and Bailee back next weekend to do the whole safari !

CAIDEN'S 1ST PIANO LESSON

Caiden had his 1st piano lesson today and it went great!!! I love his teacher Alicia Reitzell!
She has extensive training and experience in music. She attended the LSU School of Music and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano.She was also chosen as the accompanist for the Monroe Symphony for its Debut Season.
She also has a identical twin sister! She was very well pleased with Caiden's ability to pick up music! He went through 16 pages of music in 30 minutes! She also commented on how quick he picked up!
The fact that he is using various musical instruments in school will only enhance his ability to play the piano!


Caiden is so excited about this newly found interest, and he is fully dedicated in making himself the best he can be!! I am so proud of him!! I love to watch him so interested in this activity! He is going to be great! We have private lessons once a week.

Caiden's first time on the Piano

GETTING THOSE AR POINTS!

I am so proud of Bailee Grace! She is really taken an interest in reading this year. She has had some struggles in the past with AR(Accelerated Reading) and I had to really encourage her to read, BUT not this year. She is reading her books daily and I am so proud of her!!! They are graded each 6 weeks on various books. They read these required listing of books and are tested on them daily. I feel so good about this year, and Bailee's AR progress!! Way to go Bailee!! Mommy is so proud of you!

LETS NOT FORGET GREAT-GRANDPARENTS!

We cannot leave out our great-grandparents! Even though the late Edward Carroll Ellerman is not with us on this earth, we we always remember him and that he got the chance to see Caiden and Bailee.

And we are so blessed to have my grandparents still here to see Caiden and Bailee grow!

We love you all!

HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY

Caiden and Bailee just wanted to say "Happy Grandparents Day" We hope everyone had a great day and they really are so glad to have Pap paw Larry, Mimi , Kay Kay and Pappy as grandparents! They love to come and visit and they are so blessed to have each one of you all! They love to be with you all!

WHAT WE WILL MISS...

Jerry got the call... we knew it was coming and we were prepared for it. We are just so grateful
that he got deployed to Baton Rouge.
This means that he is not far, and we can go and see him on weekends.
We are just so thankful to God for the time that we had with him.
Just his presence, made us so happy.
Though, we weathered storms here, and didn't get to do much was not a issue.

These are the things that we will miss.
When we go and visit Jerry in different places, we usually have a great weekend planned.
But, when he is home, we stay home and soak up every bit of time we have with him.
These are the things that we miss when he is gone. The family time that we get when he is home is priceless. These are the things that we will miss most. Just having him here, makes us feel so complete and content. Jerry, we love you and we are always thinking about you. Thanks for all you do for our family. You are already missed and we will be praying for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Caiden and Bailee just wanted to tell Mimi Happy Birthday!They put so much into making her birthday cardsCaiden had is own way of showing how Mimi loves him and about how much she loved him He wanted his card from him too show her how special she really is him. Bailee Grace wanted to show you her special hard work that she did too special Hope you had a great Birthday! I know that the kids did. They didn't want to leave you on your special day

JUST PRAY

As I sit here tonight, I have realized now more than ever how blessed I am. I cannot sleep, for I feel so much hurt for those who have been affected by Hurricane Gustav. I have sat and watched the news, I have seen the devastation, the loss, the destructive paths, the loss of homes, business, and the pure existence of life. I have seen the heroic efforts of doctors, nurses, and parents. The ones who put there needs aside, and have put so much effort in making sure others were taken care off. The sick, disabled, and those who have no where to turn or to go. There are so many without, and there are those who are simply living moment to moment, minute by minute. How could I ever think that I am doing without. I have electricity, I have shelter, I have food and necessities, and most of all, I have my family.I even feel guilty for having all these blessings. I think that this tragedy had made me realize that no matter what happens, there is always hope. Hope is what keeps us alive, for me anyway. There is always tomorrow, a new day, A clean slate, a new beginning. I have racked my brain tonight trying to figure out what I could do to make these people's lives better, for they have been through so much , and lost everything. Should I go to these shelters, prepare a warm meal, give them clothes, or simply just talk to them. I want to do my part. But, it hit me, JUST PRAY. There is such much power in prayer. We may not get the answer we want, but the Lord is listening. How He chooses, and when
He chooses to respond is up to HIM, and HIM only. God's way are not our ways, and are above our thinking. But, we can rest assure, He hears, and He will respond in His time. God bless those in this tragedy, and bless those who are willing to put their lives on the line in order to safe another. There is always a rainbow waiting for us on the other side. God Bless everyone.

WE ARE PREPARED

I believe that it is ALWAYS better to be prepared for emergencies, no matter the situations that life can throw at you. With Hurricane Gustav approaching new territory, it has made realize the severity and danger that we can be in. Even though we are not scheduled to get hit here, we will feel some effects of it. Our schools have been closed to due to people evacuating New Orleans and they need places set up for shelter for those who have no where to go. My heart hurts for those who will be left without a home, food and any where to go, or no idea how to go from here. I can even imagine the devastation and tragedy that has happened and that will continue to happen. This hurricane is bigger than Katrina, and will do more damage than any of us can fathom. We have been taking all the precautions that we know to do. As of right now, it is expected to hit landfall Monday. Gustav has 115 mph wind speed. It is 263 miles from New Orleans. One of Jerry's best friends and co-workers lives in Houma, which is directly right where it is expected to hit. We have talked to him several times this weekend, via phone and e-mail. He was completely boarded everything, and is waiting out the storm, We have tried to reason with him several times, telling him that we have room for him and to please evacuate, but he is going to wait it out. Now, all we can do is wait... and the unexpected is frighting, but I am just so glad that Jerry is here with us. It's not that I can't handle situations like this, I have many times before, It's just a feeling of safety and security that only comes from having my whole family with me. I just feel like we can conquer anything that comes, together. We have been in preparation for this just about the whole weekend. We have filled both cars with a full tank of gas. We have towels, blankets, and pillows ready in case of bad winds and tornado warnings.Today, after church, we went to the grocery store, stocked up on bottle water, canned goods, and any non-perishable items. We have batteries for radios, portable fans, candles. I have also made sure we have all sorts of medicines, aspirin, Caiden's asthma medicine, and A first aid kit on hand. I have been cooking this whole weekend. So, we have everything in easy access range and not have to worry about what to eat. I have cooked everything from casserole dishes to desserts, being banana pudding and lemon pies, Jerry's favorite. We have paper plates , plastic cups, and plastic forks and spoons. I just feel more ready for anything this way, for the unexpected is frightening, the the anticipation of this hurricane is the worst feeling. I am just so thankful that God has allowed Jerry to be home right now. I think the worst part of this all is not only the devastation that is about to come, but about where Jerry will be called to. We are praying not only for the safety and protection of people, but also for Jerry. He very well could be in the middle of all this. Anticipation, waiting, for that call that he will deployed. And where he goes is crucial to us, and if we will be able to travel on the weekends to see him. So, we are here as of right now, as a family, enjoying and appreciating every moment we have together. The circumstances maybe bleak, but no matter what happens, we are here going through it as a family. God please watch over us all, and we know that are prayers are being heard. We will be protected by the Lord no matter what happens.

THERE BACK!

Caiden and Bailee's build-a-bears are now out of their boxes!
They have been in those boxes just sitting there
With Mimi taking Bailee to build-a-bear, they have fell in love again with playing with them!
Bailee has enjoyed putting the new outfit on that Mimi bought her. And Caiden had forgotten how cool they really are. They have been playing with them all day!