Chick-fil-A 5k

I finally signed up to run a 5k {and then managed to pursuade Chad and Manda to run along with me}. It was a great experience and I would like to try participating in an 8k this fall. That means...I better get running again!

Two Funnies.

I had just taken Emma's french braids out and brushed her hair. After looking in the mirror, she bolted back into the living room where I was and exclaimed, "I LOOK JUST LIKE AUNTY EMILYYY!!!!!"

Ethan happens to be one of those children that if you notice silence, that means mischief. He was eating a snack that I gave him at the table and I got busy doing something else. I'm not sure how long he sat there before I realized that he was so quiet. Upon checking on him, I noticed he had helped himself to the bowl of apples. ALL OF THEM. Each apple looked like it had been attacked by a mouse, none of them were fully eaten. This face says it all!

"Look what I got away with, Mom!"

The Pool is Open!

OH, we are LOVING having a pool!

Congratulations Amanda & Chad!

Michael and I had the privilege of watching two of our teens graduate last night. In a couple months, Chad plans to attend Boyce College in Louiseville, KY to study Music Ministry. He has been one of my piano students for the past few years and an intern at our church, leading choir practice, part of the Easter Cantata and providing special music for the services. Chad, we are gonna miss you and seeing you come to church in your slippers!

Amanda graduated with honors and a list of accomplishments that would take up an entire blog page. God has special plans for this girl, and we are thrilled to watch what He does. She will be attending Virginia Tech this fall to study engineering. Our kids LOVE her (and she loves them), and so do we. We will miss you Pocahontas!!

Congratulations Amanda & Chad!

Bub's Birthday

It has almost been two months since I've posted on my blog! We've been super busy. And as much as I'd love to catch up with many blog-worthy events that have occurred since April, I don't know that I will have time to do it! But it is "birthday season" in the Whitcomb house!!!

This was the first year that Elliot really anticipated his birthday arriving. When he talked about his birthday, he reffered to it as his "woo-woo cake day" and liked to say that he was gonna "be a big guy. I'm gonna be fee." It was adorable to watch him light up every time we talked about it.

I asked him what he wanted to eat for his birthday and he said "PIZZAAA!!!" and "woo-woo birthday cake" with BLUE ice cream. So that's what we had.

Here is the big guy in front of his presents on his birthday morning(in his Thomas big boy pants). Daddy gave him three thomas PEZ dispensers for his morning present. Eating PEZ for breakfast was a great start! {I recently read that eating a donut for breakfast is better than skipping breakfast, so why not PEZ?!}

all ready for his party to begin and buddy Nate to arrive!

We love you Elliot Haddon!!

a very special letter all the way from California from Aunty Lai, Uncle Brian, Rose Marie, Autumn, Havilah and Isaac...signed by the girls and a one dollar bill inside!

Since we've let the kids tell us what kind of cake they want, we've made it a tradition not to show it to them until we start singing. Elliot's expression when he saw it was so cute. He was pleased with his "woo-woo cake". I used one of the pieces from his track set- one part of a bridge. He has many, many train track pieces. Wouldndchaknow, that he came to me on Wednesday morning asking me to help him find his other bridge piece?!

yep, we did trick candles. The kids love blowing out the candles so much, we got them to save ourselves from the effort of relighting over and over!

Elliot sat in his new chair while Emma brought presents to him one by one. He soaked it all in, beaming with contentment and joy!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our "big guy"!!!

We are praying for you to be the very best boy that God wants you to be!

A Reason to Hope

Because our Savior lives!

Death could not hold him

The grave could not keep him

From rising again!

Whitcomb Family, Easter 2011

shelter through the storm

Last night we had a tornado rip through our town, only a mile or so from our house. Several of our friends watched this monster touch down and hop from field to field, strewing debris everywhere. Our friends, Brad and Dawn, had the tornado actually touch down in their front yard, snapping mature trees in half, but their house is still standing. God protected us and many others, although cleanup is going to take a lot of work!

A few miles from our home, the tornado is forming directly above our friend's home & alpaca farm (I think that this picture was probably taken a few minutes before touching down):

(it is only appropriate that I get to post such weather-worthy events on the occasion of my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday to the dad who used to draw weather maps and storm systems while we colored together!)