Big Difference

What a difference 17 days make!

It didn't take long for the leaves to come off our big tree! I actually didn't get it as soon as they were off! Fall seems to have been such a short season this year! Winter is coming, Fast!

Cards

Our home has become a card display! Many of you know that Ron turned 40 on Tuesday. In my attempt to celebrate this milestone in Ron's life I contacted lots of people (hehe) and asked them to send him a card to celebrate his 40th Birthday!

Before I tell you about ALL the cards he received, let me just say that it is tradition in our home to display our birthday cards on top of our entertainment center. The kids love seeing their cards displayed for about a week before I take them down! That being said, we have NEVER had so many cards that they would not fit on the entertainment center.

In fact, I'm not sure we had more than about 10, until now... (there are over 25 here)
We started displaying them on the entertainment center, but then had to move to the wall
the spare room door and wherever else we could find room!

Ron was pretty embarrassed for me to hang them all, but it's tradition. He kept saying, "what if someone comes to the door". Well, chances are good that if they walk in and see the cards, they probably sent one of them!

Are you ready for this...Ron has received to date (and they are still trickling in)

115 Cards!!

Did you catch that? 115 cards came in for my handsome hubby to wish him a Happy 40th. I don't think we get that many at Christmas time! And I know of a couple more who were sending them too. Then there were also 6 email well wishes on that day! Wow, that is amazing. You guys did not disappoint!

Let me tell you a little about these 115 cards:

The majority of cards came on Monday, the day before his birthday when he received 27 cards in one day! He got pretty close to that on his Birthday with 22 coming and 6 emails! 2 of the cards on his birthday were hand delivered, one from his UM Mentor and friend who drove about an hour to deliver it in person! Thanks Wayne!

The cards were from 14 different states

(Ohio -over 27 towns-, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Maine, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Montana and Virgina)

2 Continents

(North America and South America)

Cards came from family members, parishioners, former churches we have attended, colleagues, former colleagues, neighbors, institutions and friends!

There were 5 Homemade, although 1 more was given a special added picture of Ron to help personalize it! (Hilarious Peg, really it was)

The youngest who sent a card was a 4 year old sweetheart in our Ney Church who handmade a card for "Pastor Ron".

One was in Spanish! Thank you, Wolheters, so much for taking the time to find and mail a card from Bolivia!

Some were hilarious!

28 had reference to being either 40 or OLD!

and many more wrote that in:)

Which the boys enjoyed, more than Daddy!

2 had sound,

one was a firetruck coming to put out the candles and the other sang Happy Birthday

Some contained extras:

Money, Gas Card, Pictures, bookmarks

One in particular had a very thoughtful extra.

2 Gideon Bibles were purchased in Ron's Honor, thank you Mel and Sally!

Some were very sweet and kind too, with many personal messages!

Many of the things written were so kind and humbling!

Even coming from those who have never met Ron, but know him through me or this blog! Thank you!

Ron did find out early about the cards. I had sent out postcards to those of you without email and thought I had it timed correctly, so that anything being returned in the mail would come back while he was in Wilmore. Well, the Monday that he got back, he received a postcard and before he got home for me to snatch it from him, he had read it...but really what could he do then! Cards were already coming in!

Thankfully he opened them as they came in because if not he would have spent his whole Birthday opening and reading 115 Cards!

Thank you so much for Blessing my Hubby in this way!

Over an over again he kept saying, "this is just so humbling"! Truly it is!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Beautiful Fall Day!

I mentioned how Tuesday was such a beautiful day here! We spent a few hours in the late afternoon outside!

Everybody had a job!

Most everybody stuck to their job!

But after the job was done...it was time for play!

It was a fun family time with both work and play!

Birthday Fun

Yesterday we did a few fun things to celebrate Ron's BIG day and make it a special time! There are tons of cards around the house, but I'll wait another day or two to post on that (they are still coming in)!

When Ron came up from his office on Tuesday morning for breakfast, we all were wearing Birthday Hats that Eli had picked out. We got 6 hats for $0.96 so you can't beat that! Cheap fun! The guys all had fun with theirs!

Here Ron is pointing out that this is his 40th! His Apple Dumplings only had one candle on them, because we didn't want to burn the house down!

Believe it or not, he still has enough hot air to blow out the candle!

(What will we do when the kids are gone and there is no one to entertain?)

It was a gorgeous day, so we spent some time outside raking up leaves! It was a fun activity that even Maddie has asked if we can do it again today. Thankfully we got the leaves pretty much taken care of, but it was a gorgeous day to be outside together!

Daddy found some time between studying to snuggle his favorite little girl and read to her and Eli!

I think he had a fun Birthday, despite it being #40. We even reminisced on all that has happened in his 30's. Wow, it's a lot! Hopefully the next 10 will slow down a little!

Happy Birthday!

Forty years ago today, Ronald Lee Adkins, II was born!

While I could dwell on the time, I'd rather focus on the guy!!!

I am so blessed!

I'm praising the Lord today for my hubby!

What a blessing he is to me and to our family!

He is a Wonderful Husband!

a Fantastic Father

And most importantly, A Man of God!

I am Blessed beyond measure to call him my Husband, my Friend, my Helpmate, my Spiritual Leader and so much more!

Happy Birthday Ron and many many more!

I love you so much!

Date Night

Our Farmer Church Blessed Ron and I with 2 tickets to hear Tim Hawkins in Ft. Wayne. Last night was the night. For those of you who don't know, Tim Hawkins is a "Christian Comedian". We had never heard of him before, so we really had no idea what to expect!

Let me just say that we don't do "Date Night" very often around here. It just doesn't happen that we get out of the house without a kid or diaper bag or curfew or anything - so I personally was pretty excited! We were also using this as our Birthday Date! Mine was last week and Ron's is coming up next week, so it was perfect timing!

I had asked Ron's parents almost a month ago if they would be interested in coming and keeping the kids while we went to the concert, they were and came! So we had a DATE!

We actually had a triple date. Two other couples from our church(our age with young kids) went with us to Ft. Wayne! It was a fun evening. We enjoyed the adult conversation (even it it was mainly about our kids), a clean van (with no car seats), and a night full of laughs.

Tim Hawkins was great. I laughed so much. He is very funny! Then we also went out to dinner afterwards - with no kids! Again it was fun.

It was a late evening, but we had a good time!

And for those few of you who say I NEVER post pictures of myself - here you go!

The boys wanted to take one! (Eli's)

(Nathaniel's)
Grandma took one too! So we could document our Date!
(as a matter of fact, that may be the only time I do get a picture of myself on here - hummm, interesting)

We had a fun evening and the fact that Ronnie was puking when we got home, didn't seem to dampen it too much - made for a long night on the couch with him, but still a fun Date Night! :)

Thanks Farmer UMC and Grandpa and Grandma!

The Robe

Now that the weather is turning colder, Maddie has been enjoying her cozy robe!

She loves to wear her robe every morning when she wakes up!

Coppedge Girls

If you read my sister's blog you have seen these pictures, but they are just too cute! Below, Sophie is on the left and Chloe on the right!

Aren't they just perfect!?!!

Then this picture below, I love. All 4 sisters.

When Jo and I were younger we used to "argue" about which one of us would have twins first. When Ronnie was 6 months old and I was pregnant with Nathaniel, I thought I was close enough to knowing how it would feel!

So now, my little sister has "won". She got the twins and they are adorable!

Pastor Appreciation

The month of October is Pastor Appreciation Month! A couple of weeks ago, the boys brought home an invitation from school that was to be signed and delivered to their Pastor (and spouse) inviting them to a special Luncheon in their Honor!

In spite of our unique situation, the boys signed their invitation then hand delivered it to Daddy in his office. They were so excited to see if he would be excited about coming!

Today was the day for the Luncheon and the boys were still very excited. Most of the kids in their school had Pastor's coming, but they were pretty special to have their Daddy too!

It was such a sweet time. The Luncheon was delicious with nicely decorated tables where each Pastor sat with those students and staff who attended their church. Then there was a brief presentation from some of the students.

The 1st and 2nd graders made a banner for each Pastor that read the following:
P - Pray for Us

A - Always Loves Us

S - Share Things About God

T - Talk About God

O - Obey God

R - Read the Bible to US

Nathaniel is pretty proud that his is hanging in Daddy's office!

Then the 3rd and 4th grade made up their own acronym. Ronnie had the S. He wrote. "My Pastor is silly. He says funny jokes. He tells very funny story's to teach us about God. My Pastor is my Dad." He giggled his way through reading the whole thing.

The time ended with the school principal, a very dear friend of ours, praying for all of the Pastor's and their ministries. It was a very special time that Ron and I both enjoyed being a part of! Ministry is not always easy, but there are times like today when it is so much fun!

1st Picture

I know you can't see the babies very well, but at least you can see that they arrived and are safe in Momma's arms! Hopefully more pictures to follow! I was able to view the Hospital Pictures and they are cuties! Hopefully I'll post more later!

Names

Sophia Anne and Chloe Catherine!

Sophia was 6.2 lbs and 19 1/4 inches and came first at 8:17pm and Chloe was 6.1 and 19 1/2 inches and arrived at 8:37pm.

Both are doing well! They are nursing well. Momma is doing well!

They're Here

The Coppedge Twins have arrived. I don't have a lot of details. Baby A arrived at 8:17pm last night and was 6.2 lbs. Baby B came at 8:35 and was 6.1. Both are smaller than the ultrasound 2 weeks ago indicated, but still good size for twins!

I don't know names, or details and have no picture yet, but will pass along info as soon as this auntie finds out!

Fall Fellowship

On Sunday afternoon, we had a Fall Fellowship in the parking lot of our Ney Church! It was a fun afternoon of Food, Fun and Fellowship!

The kids were ready to play some games!

like a Popcorn Relay

Even the little ones got to join in!

The most fun was eating the popcorn after the game!

Both teams enjoyed their buckets of popcorn.

and even a few who missed out on the relay, isn't he a cutie?

The kids also enjoyed the unplanned rides around Ney with Mr. Tom!

Then we got to roast marshmallows from smores. Ronnie is like his Daddy and doesn't care for marshmallows or smores, but he enjoyed roasting them for his little sister to enjoy.

Maddie had her 1st smore - and loved it!

lots of people enjoyed the gooey goodness

these 2 are warming themselves by the fire - honestly, sometime I think they are brothers!

more fellowship

The kids went inside for a few more games, like passing the apples (without using your hands)

As you can tell, this was not Ronnie's favorite game - especially playing it with girls! hehehe

Instead of Hot Potato, they played Hot Apple

Then they had to guess the fruit/vegetable by touch only.

It was a fun time!

It's fun to get together with our Church Family!