Cades Cove with Basswood

Last Sunday we were invited to enjoy a worship service at Cades Cove with the Bradleys. It was such a special feeling to enjoy worshiping in a church that is over 140 years old. The Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove was erected 140 years ago. Amazingly, when you look at the ceiling of the church you can see the handprints of the people who built the church. Their prints have stood the test of time.

Ronnie Bachelor's sermon shared some of the history of the people of Cades Cove, and how God's TRUTH transcends time...geography...generation. His TRUTH is unchanging. It is incredible to think that 140 years ago people were worshiping our same God in this same place... For our children, and our children's children; I pray they will be worshiping our same God as well.

The congregation at Basswood Baptist made our family feel welcome and we were blessed to be with them. The fellowship, the music, and the message all blessed our family! Thank you for including us!

PS - If you would ike to read about this special day from a 10 year old's perspective, check out Mason's BLOG!

Rematch Challenge Issued to Amy

Amy - This BLOG's for YOU!

What 'cha gonna do?

'Cause I'm ready for you!


I wanna rematch in the ring -


Doin' the same thing!


Jousting our sticks


And, givin' some kicks!


Swingin' side-to-side


Bustin' on your hide!


So, are ya ready?


Are ya willin'?


Wanna rematch in the ring?


We'd be laughing and chillin'!

Just thought you needed to see this picture to remember our jousting competition at CBC! Those were the days! By the way, my competitor here was Mason...here is how the match ended -

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Of course, Weston captured it all with the camera! You would never know it was me except for the "flower jeans" give it away! Ha-ha!

Spiderman (Braden) is FOUR!

We have something to celebrate! Braden is four years old!


Braden and fourteen of his favorite Spider-friends helped him celebrate his birthday in a Special Spider Way!

We started the party with some Spider-fun! All of the Spider-friends had to go on a Scavenger Hunt for Spider-food...what spiders really eat! The boys hid lots of plastic bugs and critters for the Spider-friends to find on the driveway! The kids had fun hunting for the bugs and the gigantic spiders!

After the Scavenger Hunt for Spider-food, the Spider-friends had to hunt through the leaf pile for a HUGE ANT! All of the boys took turns hunting for it! The leaf pile was a huge hit with the kids!

Before the big day, Mason, Franklin and Weston built a Spider Web Obstacle for all of the Spider-friends to walk through. Franklin was the BIG BAD SPIDER who would catch the kids if their feet hit the string! The boys had so much fun planning this game!

It was time for Pin the Spider on the Web... The Spider-friends had to stick their spider into the BIG WEB! I think I confused Jacob with the name b/c when his Mom came to get him, he told her we played "Pin the Spider on the Donkey!" Too funny!

So much Spider-fun, but it was time for Spider-food! I made Spiderweb Cupcakes (I was kind-of proud of my creativity! Creativity on a budget!) However, somehow we missed getting a picture of Braden blowing out his candles! He did have a special cupcake with FOUR candles on it! He loved the attention!

After Spider-food, it was time for Spiderman to open his gifts! He received many fun toys and lots of Spiderman gear. I think Spiderman will be his favorite Superhero for quite some time!

The highlight of the day was the Spiderman Silly String War! All of the Dad's were the "Bad Guys!" All of the boys were the Spiderman Super Heros armed with their Silly String Web Slingers! It was so funny to see Ted running from all the kids, Bruce trying to save himself by hiding in a tree, and an onslaught of boys catching Reid! Hilarious! Truthfully, I think the Dads enjoyed it as much as the Spider-friends!

When the Spiderman Silly String War was almost over, Kaitlyn lured Rhonda out of the house. The children were all convinced she was a "bad guy" because she was an adult. They got her good! (Sorry friend - it really was your daughter's doing! I am completely innocent!)

Finally, it was time for the Spider-friends to take a swing at the Spiderman Pinata. All of the younger ones took a turn with the bat! However, as we moved up in age, it didn't take long for the candy to tumble to the ground! The pictures of Mason and Franklin hitting the pinata show them pummeling the pinata once it was empty!

After busting the pinata comes the best part; eating the candy! Jacob is holding his mouth open because he is tasting "Spiderman Pop Rocks" for the first time! Yum-yum!





My sweet Braden! I can't believe you are now four-years old! It is hard to believe you entered the world just four short years ago! I am so privileged to be your Mom. You bring such joy and happiness into my world! I am thankful for you, my precious Spiderman son!