Wyatt and Madisyn's Baptism

I can't hardly begin to express how wonderful it felt last night watching Wyatt and Madisyn finally have the opportunity to give themselves to Christ and be baptized. They have both been talking about this for a year or two now and seemed now was the perfect time. It was something that they wanted to do together and they wanted to make sure everyone could be there if at all possible. So, last night was a very special night for all our families as we shared this special moment with Wyatt and Madisyn.

A hug from Uncle Matt


A very special hug from mamaw Wade






Marcus and Millie Britton and Madisyn

Papaw Wade shares a closing prayer

Terri Christenberry serves them their first communion

Wyatt and Madisyn enjoying this moment!!

Madisyn and Uncle Adam

Wyatt was a "little" excited!! HaHa

Family Vacation to Gatlinburg

Well, I have to say that a family vacation in Gatlinburg is the way to go!! Everybody has there own bedroom/bathroom or should I say SPACE!! Don't take that sentence the wrong way! It was definately fun and would love to do it again and again, but it is nice to have a little private time if you want it. We were gone for 5 days. We did the normal things you do in Gatlinburg....go-carts, miniature golf, shopping, hiking, relaxing, walking around downtown, the national park....Lots of memories were made and will be remembered!!

Wyatt and Madisyn sharing a "loving" moment!

The mill at Cades Cove in the National Park

Mark and Mom in the Marketplace Village

Collin James testing out his hiking shoes! He was great!

The backside of our cabin which had a beautiful view of the mountains!

Collin James loved the headphones when he was watching a DVD! He was really into that movie with the doggy!

The "older" grandchildren- Madisyn, Wyatt, Eli, and Zach

Wyatt testing out his rock climbing skills which were pretty good until he looked down.....he isn't too fond of heights unless its a roller coaster or something! HaHa

Sitting at the table getting ready to head out for a day of hiking adventures!

Madisyn, Uncle Adam, Wyatt, Natalie, Grandma, Melinda

Michigan Race '09

Well, went on another race adventure to Michigan! We had absolutely beautiful weather! Thank goodness after we got rained out on our last race trip! We got there Saturday and spent a couple of hours in Cabela's, ate some steak, and then played miniature golf, and raced go-karts! Those boys were hilarious racing the go-karts! Of course you aren't suppose to bump each other.......well I wish I would have had my camera! They spun each other out quite a few times! They wanted to go see Lake Erie so we drove over there for a few minutes before we headed back to the hotel. In the pic below, Joshua Hawkins, Doug Swartzentruber, Jordan Hawkins, Brian Swartzentruber, Phil Hawkins, and Jason Hawkins.

Big brother Joshua and his little brother Jordan! Ahhh! They will probably kill me but I thought mom Hawkins would like this pic!!

The boys just or I guess I should say "men" just hanging out before the race! We actually had a lot of extra room so we could all stretch out! The race crowd was actually kind of sad....


Jason Hawkins, cousin to Jordan and Joshua, was all too excited for me to take his picture! HaHa- It was his first race so I had to get one of him! He loved it....needless to say he wants to go back!!

Just a pic of the pack....of course yes Jimmie is in the center of my pic!!

Madisyn's Jeep ride and trip to Bo-Mac's in Shoals

Wyatt spent the night with his friend Eric Lark one night last weekend so Doug and I told Madisyn she could choose what we would do for the evening......She wanted to take the jeep and go out to eat. We thought that sounded good! It was a beautiful evening so we drove the back way to Shoals and ate at Bo-Mac's. We sat at the picnic tables and she picked music from the juke box. She thought she was pretty cool. It's fun sometimes when you can do one-on-one with your kids! The first picture is of the clouds when we got home! The sun was moving by the time I got my camera out to take the picture and just about missed the sun on the clouds! It was beautiful!

Sissy Sue eating her corndog! I think she nibbled on it for 30 minutes! She was too interested in the music on the juke box and watching the people around us!


Madisyn took this picture so thought I better post it or she will get mad at me! HaHa

Sis and I

Sis in the back of the jeep with her sunglasses on! We call her "Little Miss Hollywood"!

Lowe's (Charlotte, NC)

Well, we made our trip to Charlotte, NC this past weekend! We left Saturday morning about 6 am and got to our hotel room around 3pm. We went to eat at Texas Roadhouse which is a tradition and our tradition of playing miniature golf was, of course, rained out!! We just drove around a little checking out the town and headed back to the room to watch the Nationwide race. We got up and left the hotel Sunday at about 6am and headed to the track so we could get our normal spot along the highway to set up our "camp"! We had an awesome breakfast thanks to Steve for cooking our bacon and eggs! We spent the morning watching the traffic, walking around, etc. Had a good lunch of grilled turkey breasts and pork steak from the Odon Locker, potatoe salad from Lakeview! Needless to say, the guys do a good job with the food! I don't have to do much of anything since I am the only female with the group which is kind of nice for a change!!

We only got to see the cars for a short bit before the rain started and they put the covers on them. Didn't even see 1 lap!! Did have a good pre-race show though for our troups!!


Storm clouds moving in!! We sat for a while with our rain poncho's on while it absolutely pounded on us and then decided to go under shelter for a while....didn't ever really clear off after that!

I have to tell you the story behind this picture....This is Joshua Hawkins, aka Bubba, holding part of a golf club which they use for a stirring stick for the camp fire! We are parked right beside a golf course on the other side of the trees....they found this golf club like 4 years ago and they put it in a tree every year hoping it will be there the next year! Guess what? It always is! This is the first thing they look for when we park the truck before we set up camp! They are nuts!!

Doug, Steve, and Gary (all brothers)

Me and Doug before the rain began!!

Zach's Graduation

I know it has been forever once again, but I am trying to keep up with facebook and this blog thing! HaHa- Friday night was my "little" nephew Zach's graduation from North Daviess! I can't believe he is old enough to graduate! (Plus taller than me, which doesn't take much!) He is such a good young man with a huge heart!



Proud parents- my brother and Lori!!

Zach and his little cousin Collin James!

Zach giving me the thumbs up sign as he is getting ready to enter the gym for his graduation!

Overdue for an update!!

Natalie and Adam took Wyatt to my nephew's baseball game last night at ND. They brought him home after the game and sooooo we had to get some new pics of little Collin James!! He is growing sooo fast! He is so alert and starting to smile and cooo a lot! He really knows who his mommy and daddy are!

Madisyn and I spent the evening at her dance rehearsal which went really well! The girls all looked so cute and their dances were adorable!! Can't wait for the recital Friday night!! Madisyn had to pose a few times for the camera! HaHa- I can't believe how fast she is growing up!!

Pacer vs. Miami Heat Game

Well, my son is a big Miami Heat fan so when we found out they were playing the Pacers at Conseco we almost had to get tickets!! It was kind of a last minute deal but next week is Spring Break and I have to work so I thought this could be part of something special for his Spring Break! We had a really good time. We got there about an 1hr. early so we got to go down on the actual court which makes the guys playing look soooo much bigger! He loves Dewayne Wade #3 on the Miami Heat. He was a little upset that they werent selling Miami Heat merchandise at the game but I had to gently remind him that we were at the Pacers home place! HaHa- Dr. Sutton and his wife Julie were there also and had seats on the 2nd row down on the court so Julie was kind enough to let Wyatt sit down there with Doc for a couple periods. He did enjoy that! Thanks Julie!!


If you look close enough, Madisyn is in the background! She has never been very fond of people dressed up in mascot outfits! This one is Boomer (I think) and he walked up to Wyatt and took his pizza out of his hands! Wyatt thought he was pretty cool!


Well, and of course Wyatt wanted his picture taken with a couple of the Pace mates (cheerleaders)! Madisyn enjoyed their routines!

Picture isn't really good but this is when we first walked in and were waiting to get in the gates!

All in all we had a good time! Our seats were good and we got in and out of Indy easily! Thank you Lord! I thought the kids would sleep all the way home but they never quit talking! When we got to Bloomington they even wanted to stop and eat at Steak'n Shake! They finally fell asleep about Odon but got all hyped up again when we got home....go figure! We won't talk about how well they got up this morning! HaHa

My new nephew has arrived!!!

Well, I am officially an aunt to a beautifully handsome young man!! Collin James entered this world Sunday around 12:26pm. Natalie woke me up with a phone call around 4:45 am stating her water broke and to get ready! I beat her down there, HaHa, and got her registered and had her wheelchair waiting! (It's nice to know people sometimes!) She progressed so nice and quick for a first time delivery! She got her epidural and then she was in heaven! It was absolutely the most amazing and miraculous thing I have ever witnessed! You can definately not deny the fact that there is a God when you go through the whole new life experience!!! He cried good right when he was born but then he decided he had worked hard enough! He was sooooo lazy! He loved getting his hair washed and brushed! Didn't cry when he got his labs or shots! He is so tough! HaHa- I know, I could go on and on! What can I say?! He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz. and was only 18 3/4 inches long! He is a petite little guy for sure!

I could kiss his little neck and cheeks all day long!!!


Extremely proud little cousins! I think he will be well taken care of!!


A picture of his nice head of hair!!




Just a handsome little fellow don't you think??