They are remembering

As we pulled out the ornaments tonight to decorate the tree, I heard my boys say over and over, "Oh, I remember making this one! I know who gave me this ornament! Wow, I made that one a long time ago!". I was busy snapping pictures but hearing them reminisce made me tear up a little bit. They are growing up - yet they have some sweet memories of their short childhood thus far. Parenting is hard but it's so rewarding and such a gift from God!

Anna Ruby Falls

Hiking.....I love it. Climbing Anna Ruby Falls isn't exactly wilderness hiking but it's definitely a beautiful piece of Earth. The kids were super excited to climb to the "top" and see the huge waterfall that awaited. More importantly, we were able to climb this trail with our extended family.....making memories!

I especially enjoyed experiencing nature with these fellas and gal.

What beauty!

There were signs of caution everywhere along the path.

The kids really enjoyed listening to the water and observing the surrounding moss, trees, rocks, and leaves. We will be visiting this spot again in the future, especially since we discovered that our local library allows free state park passes with our membership (this is the case for any Georgia library system)! Now, I'm off to make a list of all the state parks we should visit!

Sneak Peek - Melton family

I know it's just a pic of their legs but they are saving the portrait shots for their Christmas card!

Oh, Atlanta

I've got a song stuck in my head. It's about a love of mine.



Yeah, I love living this close to Atlanta. Mitch and I always celebrate our anniversary there.

Coach Mitch

Soccer season is over but we sure did enjoy every practice and game. We had a great team and the parents were such fun to sit and chat with while watching from the sidelines. See you in the spring for baseball!

They wait and wait and wait....

My heart wants them.
I want to rescue them.
What can I do?
I can pray for them.
I can pray for the workers.

I wish I could adopt one, two, three.....that would make a difference in their life.

God, grant your mercy to these little ones.

Architect craftsman?

Every Sunday as we get ready to go to church, I can always find Luke in the front room building something. Often times, it's a choo-choo line of his matchbox cars or a tower made from markers. This past Sunday morning, I walked into the room and found him building some sort of barge ship from his blocks. Just after snapping these pictures, he demolished his structure and began building another. I think he might have a future in Vegas demolition.

Currently in the fridge & on kitchen counter

Strep Throat, double ear infection,
throat virus, upset tummies.....

They really brighten my day

Recently, the Lord has brought a good number of college students to our church. They are an easy going crew, laid back, full of fun, and have lots of love for the Gospel. They have clicked easily with our family and I find myself yearning for more and more time with each of them.

After church today, we invited them to our home for lunch. We sat around the living room laughing, eating hamburgers, munching on sweets, joking around, playing with our kids, and being silly. The silliest of them all, by far, is Phillip. Before eating today, he entertained us all with a very animated reading of The Monster at the End of This Book. I wish I had captured the reading on video....you would have laughed your boo-tee off. He actually read it a bit like this.

Phillip reads to Katie, Robin, Lauren, and Daniel. TJ was sitting on the couch too far right - he was laughing, too!

As a family, we had to be back up at the church for an afternoon function so we just left the students in our house and told them to lock up when they left. That's some true love for community, huh? When we returned home about five hours later, this is what greeted us in our kitchen.


We love you all, too! Mitch and I are so thankful the Lord has brought you to WPC and we pray that we can be a church family to you as you spend your time here as a student for the Lord. We enjoy going to your recitals and seeing your work. Thanks for loving us and including us in your busy lives.

Now I just need to figure out who's the artist of the group.....

Leaves 2010!

Every year, they pounce on the leaves. One pile is all they need...and when they are finished, they pile the leaves on me. Tonight, I'm still pulling leaves from hidden places.

Now where would I buy one of these animals?

Like almost all little girls, she loves horses.

This one was hitched up in the bank!

Yeah, not doing so hot

I wanted to post something everyday this month, but I've already failed. That's ok. You can just watch this video and focus on cats being silly.......and, yes - that is extremely random (especially since I'm not a fan of cats).

Little actors

They love the stage.....especially when the audience only consists of their parents.

sand & snow

If you've got five minutes, you should watch this cute video on long distance communication. Funny!

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

She smiles

The smile was on her face all day. From the moment I told her she was going to her first gymnastics class, she beamed from ear to ear. Now she's asking everyday if it's "gymnastics day"!

Ours

Singing praises while playing

Luke & Abigail get to spend every afternoon hanging out with their friend, Amelia. When together, they do a lot of singing. I often have to ask them to lower their (beautiful) voices!

Creepy abandoned Six Flags New Orleans

Challies posted this today. I thought it was creepy, too! Take a look.



Maybe Brian T. did the music.....sounds like his style, yeah Sarah Z.?

I'm an ESFJ

The last time I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator Test was back in 1998 when I entered graduate school. I can't remember how I scored so I decided I wanted to take it again.

Thanks to a link provided by Coralie,
I now know that I'm an...

E S F J

...which stands for Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, Judging.

Read for yourself.

Other ESFJ's include Bill Clinton, Cindy Crawford, and Martha Stewart.

Hmmmm....interesting.

Thank you, Lord, for my J-O-B

My little girl busted her top lip when she took a fall on the school playground today. I am so glad that I was there with her and able to hold her as well as take care of her boo boo. Our school principal is a good friend of mine and it was a sweet moment to sit in her office while holding Abigail in my arms. I like my job.

Mitch has a wonderful job that is flexible and allows him to stay home with sick children. Being a pastor, sometimes the quiet of home gives him more peace than the busy-ness of his office. He often gets more done at home! Since he's able to stay home with sick babies, I don't have to use "sick days" or unpaid absences. The past two days, Andrew has been home with his daddy, healing on antibiotics from strep throat. Then, he took Abigail home from school today after she busted her lip. He's a good daddy...and fantastic husband.

I get to spend all my mornings with Luke. He's in my class so I am able to watch him learn, play, and grow. It truly is a blessing. I think he enjoys school more for it, too. There's nothing like watching my little man grasp concepts, play with his friends, count out loud, and communicate ideas. I like my job.

I told a friend recently that I had a hard time back in August as I transitioned from being at home with my children over the past six years to getting back into the work force (even though it's only part-time...it's still exhausting). I think I even went through a period of grief. Me going back to work makes a lot of sense for our family right now, though. At this time in my life, all three children are in school, two of the three get out of school at the same time I do (that makes sense since I'm teaching at their school), I trust the school board, Session, principal, and teachers to help come alongside me and assist in educating my children, and we need the money to help pay the bills.

Yes, I like my job. I am so very thankful for it.

...but....I'll always love being a mother more.

It's easier to post pictures than to write a post

I always post late at night to my blog. I have the duties of laundry, dishes, and packed lunches looming. Pictures are far easier to post.

Frozen cookie dough was delivered to our school last week. Along with it came a block of dry ice. We Googled "dry ice activities" to see what we could do with it in my preschool classroom. All we had to do was carefully (without touching) place it in a large stainless steel bowl with cold water to witness it boil and smoke. The kids loved it!

Our church supports missionaries, Johnny & Becky Long, who are with World Harvest Mission in England. They are home for a few months and stopped by to visit (and preach!) this past weekend. A group of us from church took them out so they could eat some BBQ at a famous hog joint in town.

Abigail goes to the library once or twice a week. There, she colors a page first before picking out her books and music.

We just finished studying the life of Noah in my preschool class. As an ending to our lesson, the students made an ark from paper. Do you see the green dots in the windows of the ark? Yeah, you don't want to miss seeing Noah's family puking their guts out as the ark tossed about. Luke will also tell you that they were sick of smelling all the filth from the animals!

Andrew will often sit down and spend quite a bit of time drawing. I usually sit and watch as not to disturb him. He's currently sick with strep throat. You can pray for him if you think about it.

I found a brand new Save-A-Lot grocery store in town last week. I'm thrilled! I still don't know how I missed that grand opening, though.

How many people can fit in a queen size bed?

Four...and room for one more!

I got tagged

Coralie tagged me...I love that girl & I miss her. The summer of 2011 can't get here soon enough.

1. What is your name? Ralana Jawan Sons McGinnis (although I don't go by or ever use my first name)

2. Are you named after anyone? Whom? Yes. My parents put their names together and got JAWAN. They were smart, huh? And, yes....I'm a child of the 70s.

3. Were you a planned pregnancy? I've never asked but I think I was.

4. Did you have a good childhood? Yes.

5. What is your fondest childhood memory? Driving to Mississippi one to two times a year. I loved that drive & I memorized it as a kid. The reward was spending time with family in the car and seeing my grandparents greet us on the front porch or carport with arms open wide.

6. Have you ever ridden on an airplane? Yes, five times.

7. Do you have any special talents? I can make my nostrils dance. Sometimes I sing, paint, and photograph people.

8. What is your favorite holiday? Easter.....love celebrating the resurrection.

9. If you found out you had 24 hours to live, what would you do? Same as Coralie...I'd hold my precious children and wonderful husband and tell them how much I love them.

10. Are you in love? Absolutely

11. Are they in love with you? Yes...he treasures me and tells me so. I'm blessed.

12. What kind of car would you get if you could have it totally free of charge? I wouldn't care.....I wouldn't be picky....it's free!

13. Who is your favorite singer/band? Act of Congress

14. What is your favorite movie? Sense & Sensibility

15. What is your favorite TV show? Lost

16. What is your dream in life? To record an album

17. How many pillows do you use? One

18. What do you wash first in the shower? My hair

19. What brand of shampoo do you use? whatever I had a coupon for. Currently, I'm washing with Pantene ProV

20. What kind of perfume/cologne do you wear? Does lotion count?

21. Do you have names picked out for your future children (if you are having any(more))? I have a short list but don't know if they will ever be used.

22. Who is your hero? I love hearing stories of women who give their life to others because of their love for Christ.

23. What is your biggest regret in life? my sin....that's as specific as I'll get for now on this post!

24. What is the longest amount of time you have been at the same job? I worked at Chick-Fil-A all four years of college. It was so much fun!

25. Look to your left…name three things within your reach: my winter cap that I got for my birthday today from my little girl, drumsticks, and the DVR remote.

26. Do you use a desktop or laptop computer? desk top

27. When is the last time you had your teeth cleaned? professionally?....a few months ago. I did brush them today, though.

28. What is your favorite outdoor activity? throwing the ball outside with my boys and helping my little girl learn to ride her bike and climb our tree.

29. What is your favorite color? red

30. What is your favorite clothing brand? I would rather receive a bag full of hand-me-downs than go shopping for something new.

31. What is your favorite kind of soup? Taco soup or chili (is that a soup?)

32. Name five people you can say ANYTHING to: my sister, Coralie, Jennifer, Chrissy M, Maja, Crissy S, and Libby. Wait, that's seven.

33. What did you want to be when you grew up? A veterinarian

34. Are you what you wanted to be? Nope...I just doctor human boo-boos

35. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth? Yes and no.

36. Are you a good speller? What dew ewe meen? Eye theenk eye cpell oK. Yes, I am a good speller but don't think I could beat those homeschoolin' winners on ESPN.

37. Where would you go on your “dream” vacation? Ireland

38. Do you know anyone that has or has died from HIV? No.

39. If you could only watch one TV channel for the rest of your life, what channel would you choose? I don't really care for much on TV but I like a few shows on BRAVO like Top Chef and Project Runway.

40. Who would you like to see participate on Dancing with the Stars? I don't watch DWTS but I think it would be a hoot to see Jimmy Fallon or Conan O'Brien get his groove on.

41. What was your best subject in school? English Lit., Civics

42. How old were you when you had your first kiss? fourth grade (what's that...age ten? Yeah, I'm cringing at that thought.)

43. Name one of the DUMBEST things you did as a child: I'll have to ask my brother. I'm sure he kept a list.

44. Where is your favorite place to be kissed? in the kitchen while washing dishes. RANDOM!

45. What is your favorite smell? clean sheets

46. Have you been drunk in the last month? No & never have been.

47. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage? Sangria

48. What is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage? Diet Coke.

49. What is your favorite video game of all time? Mrs. Pac-Man, the fast version.

50. What was the scariest time/event/moment of your life? When I was in a wreck in college and totaled my car.

51. What is the wallpaper on your cell phone? My two sons in their suits dressed for a friend's wedding a few weeks ago.

52. What is the main ringtone on your cell phone? I rotate between all the free ring tones that come with my phone. Sometimes my oldest son changes it on me and when it rings I look around and wonder, "Why doesn't that person answer their phone?!?!?!".

53. You win $100,000 in the lottery…what is the first thing you buy? pay off all our debt.

54. You find a wallet on the ground at the grocery store – there is no ID of any kind – it contains $500 in cash – what do you do with it? Return it to store management.

55. You are on vacation in Brazil. 2 men offer you $25,000 to smuggle a pound of heroin across the border – do you do it? No, I'm not stupid.

56. What TV show do you watch that you would rather not advertise to everyone (guilty pleasure)? Snapped

57. Do you cry easily? no, but music moves me.

58. What is your favorite restaurant? anything Mexican

59. If a movie was being made about your life, who would you want to play the part of YOU? Rachel McAdams

60. Are you superstitious? Nope.

I'm a slacker - but this boy isn't!

Ok, I was out of town Friday night and almost all day today......no blog posts. Oh well. I'll leave you with this cute little diddly. It really is amazing!

I LOVE FALL!

Motorcross racer

Crew Chief with an angry (silly) attitude

Dorothy & Toto

Having fun at our school/church Fall Festival.

Happy November!

A post or picture a day?

My friend, Coralie, shared on her blog that this is National Blog Posting Month....meaning, we bloggers should post something everyday. That used to be easy for me but, since going back to work, it's become a task - although I enjoy sharing insight into our life on this here source.

Like Coralie said, I'm also going to try to log on every day and upload a picture or type some thoughts. Here's today's attempt.

Me and my lover boy

See, that was easy!