Les Miserables with the Bodine girls!!

Okay, so Hannah and Rachel beat me to this post... but I have a unique "view" of this evening...

So, my brother John and three of his girls came down to have a night on the town with Hannah and me. We took a limo down to The Rivers restaurant at the Watergate Hotel, and then walked across the street to see Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center. It was awesome, more than words can say. The girls were all so gorgeous, dressed in their best. We all thoroughly enjoyed the show, and many a tear was shed by my sentimental brother John...

Pictured here from left to right is Melissa, John, Jenny and Rachel.

Here is Hannah with her "soul sister" Jenny - the two cousins who are the same age!

The limo was a surprise to the girls from my oh-so-generous brother John.

I cannot tell you how much it meant for me to see Hannah having such a wonderful time with other girls... she fits right in and looks like she could be their sister! And truthfully, they are the closest things to sisters she will ever have...

I just love this shot that Rachel got of Hannah, the light hitting her hair, she looks so beautiful. You never would have known that she was sick the whole night and was really pushing through. (let's not forget, Hannah, how the girls cared for you by serving you your cough drops all night! haha) Seriously, I have never been so impressed in my life by such a group of young ladies. They are all so mature, so kind, sweet and loving towards each other. John and I were so proud as we looked across the table and saw these beautiful young ladies who were so outwardly focused, completely unaware of the stir they were causing in the restaurant, and so much fun to be around. It was absolutely a joy to be with them for an evening - and a privilige. I can't wait to do it again. Love you girls!!

Catching up on Matt

So, we hardly ever see Matt anymore. He is living in Baltimore in an apartment as he finishes up his last year of college, and he also works, so he rarely makes it home. Needless to say, I really miss him...

He is working on his degree in exercise science and also got a couple different certifications as a personal trainer and some kind of nutrition "counseling" (I don't know what the word is). Anyway, he is super busy with school and work, so he doesn't make it home much.

This is a picture of the gym he is currently working in as a personal trainer. He works out there as well, and last time I saw him he was absolutely huge!!

He is also writing a weekly column for a local publication, I don't know which one it is, but I am so proud of him! He is doing amazing things and really passionately pursuing his career with excellence! I can't wait to see what he does in his future. I feel God has big things for him!

So proud of my Matt!!

Hannah's Picture Published!!

Here she is, my beautiful, artistic daughter.

She got one of her pictures published in Nature Friend Magazine! (It is the leaf with water droplets on the bottom left...)

So proud of you Hannah! Keep up the amazing photography!!

Jacob's 16th Birthday

Today we celebrate Jacob turning 16. I cannot tell you how proud I am of him - I look at what a kind, gentle, diligent and handsome young man he is, and I am just so thankful that he is part of our family. He has a special love from all of us - Ryan looks up to him as a big brother and wants to be like him, Hannah looks up to him and has a special bond of friendship with him, Indy seems to favor him, and Danny and I are just so proud we could burst. He is a servant who helps me with a joyful heart, he volunteers to help Danny when he sees a need, and we all appreciate his sense of humor! What an asset he is to this family...

He has recently grown a lot - and he got his hair cut short - he just looks so much older! Not to mention he is driving now... that is always such a milestone and makes them seem older.

I got to make his favorite pumpkin cake for him.

You know your little boy is becoming a man when he asks for weights... sigh...

Happy Birthday Jacob! We all love you so much!!

Final Trip of the Summer

We took an end up of the summer trip up to Deep Creek to have a bit of family time and relaxation before school starts up again.

We literally spent hours playing board games! One game of risk lasted from 3:30 in the afternoon until 1:30 in the morning! And we barely took any breaks! Of course, nobody ever beat Jacob - he is the reigning champion!

We did only a day or two of tubing and boating...

Captain Danny!

The back of Hannah's beautiful head. Notice her hair cut...

Risk champ Jacob getting ready to roll. The rest of the family always scatters whenever a camera comes out...

We took Indy to spend the week with Uncle Ed and Aunt Sue. It was fun for him I'm sure, but we missed our little guy while we were away. We were happy to get him back!!

Ladies Luncheon

This summer we hosted our annual Pastor's College Ladies Welcome Luncheon. I have to say that it would not have been a success without Hannah. I literally turned over to her doing all the decorations, favors and the main desserts. She did a beautiful job!!! She spent hours making the favors and decorating all the butterfly cookies by herself. They were absolutely a hit!

So beautiful and brought in a touch of nature...

Thank you Hannah! So proud of you!

Youth Retreat 2011

Jacob and Danny went to the youth retreat this year at the end of August for 4 nights/5 days. They had a blast! This picture of Jacob says it all!! (yes, they had a paint battle!!) I am sooooo glad that I wasn't there and participating...

There were group games every afternoon, and messages and worship each morning and evening. I think they both got a lot out of it, and said the worst part of it all was the food!

Even Danny got in on the action. I cannot believe what he did... Jacob caught it on video with his phone...