The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Back to school time that is!

This year was a year of big changes...

Kayleigh started her junior year and is taking 1/2 day at the Career Center in Photography classes. She's super excited about it... we are too.... other than the expense that comes with it! LOL!

Chase is in a new middle school this year. We toured it the night of open houses... my that child is gonna get some good walkin' in! He's spread all over campus!

Devin is a SENIOR this year! Really??? I swear he was JUST born yesterday! His senior year certainly won't be a cake walk though... with 6 AP classes that are for college credit!

And Paige started the 2nd grade at a new elementary school. She walked into open house very shy and hid behind my leg. But it didn't take long for her to show her true colors!

Fun Times!

Happy Birthday, Chase!

Chase turns 12 years old today, at 12:25pm to be precise! What a day that was for all of us. Grandma and Grandpa Casto made the drive to Bloomington for your birth - we were so glad they were there!

Chase was determined to be born that day regardless of the planned c-section! I woke up that morning and went into labor before we even left for the hospital. Created quite the stir when we got to the hospital considering I HAD to have a c-section! Little did we know that was just the beginning of the day's chaos.

After all 9 pounds 6 ounces of Chase was delivered via c-section things got pretty ugly for a while. I remember being in the recovery room and Mike being with me. Then all the nurses scurrying around, Mike being pushed out of the room, and then rushing me back into surgery. At one point, after losing several pints of blood, the nurse went out to tell Mike and my parents I was bleeding bad and they weren't able to stop it - the outcome was looking very grim. Fortunately, by the power of God, they were wrong.

I don't remember anything after recovery until the next day when I was told what happened. Mike looked at me with tears in his eyes saying I scared them all and I was never to do that again. He was terrified of losing me and being a single father of 3.

I spent the next week in the hospital and have enjoyed every minute of watching Chase grow up! He's struggled with more medical problems than any child should have to endure, yet is always smiling from ear-to-ear!

Chase - you bring so much joy to our lives! We're so very proud of how far you've come and we know that you will continue to reach for the stars!

We love you Buddy!

Mom and Dad

Tennessee!!!

We took a short 4 day vacation to Tennessee with the Lyons side of the family this year. We sure crammed a lot in... but here's some highlights that we thought were fun!

First... we got a little behind and didn't leave North Carolina until late Saturday morning. We knew that meant we'd hit traffic... but we didn't realize we'd hit a PARKING LOT! I guess the sign that says "Check Fuel Level" should have been a clue!! The rock slide on I-40 West that happened last year still had things quite a mess. Once we got to the actual rock slide, it was quite fascinating to look at... a HUGE chunk of the mountain just wiped away!

Finally, after a spending almost 2 hours to travel about 10 miles... we were on our way again!

We finally made it to our cabin! Saturday evening we spent just hanging out, visiting, and letting the big kids and little kids all play. The cabin had pinball, a pool table, and a few arcade games that kept everyone quite entertained!

Sunday we hiked a bit at the Ogle Farm with all the kids, then spent some time at the pool. Later in the evening we headed downtown Gatlinburg to play some Hillbilly Golf!


Monday, we hiked up to Laurel Falls and spent some time up at the top... it was gorgeous, and the falls made it very cool! Afterwards we picnicked at Chimney Top and let the kids swim and play in the rapids. I think it's fair to say that Grandma Lyons was a nervous wreck... but all was well!

Monday evening we headed to the "Best Italian" restaurant in downtown Gatlinburg. It POURED down rain! While we were waiting outside under cover, our entertainment was my 2 nephews doing the Macarena dance! Hilarious and cute as ever!!

Tuesday morning, before the rest of the family left, we all headed down to the Log Cabin Pancake House... Lyons family tradition every year, I'm told. It certainly didn't let us down! Yummo!! The kids spent a bit of time on the rockers out front while the adults all said their goodbyes...

The rest of Tuesday was just us. We enjoyed exploring the mountains on our own. Took a nice drive up to Cade's Cove, then picnicked at another rapids area where the kids could play a bit, and got some good group pics of them... much to Kayleigh's dismay (she HATES pictures!)!!



All in all... it was a fabulous trip to the Smokey Mountains where we made LOTS of fun memories to share for years to come!

Happy Belated Birthday, Kayleigh!

Well... maybe not belated, but belated to the blog! Before we left for Tennessee, Kayleigh celebrated her Sweet 16th Birthday a little early, with many friends! The original plan had to be altered a bit because of rain, but they had a blast! We started with Michael grilling hotdogs, hamburgers, and more for a group of about 20+ kids and some of the youth leaders from church. After that, they chatted about the house for a while before watching "Up" on a DVD projector that lit up the far wall light a theater screen! They loved it!

While in Gatlinburg, Grandma Lyons made sure Kayleigh's birthday didn't go unnoticed! We had cake and ice cream with the family one evening!

It's so hard to believe that our baby girl is SIXTEEN! We are so proud of the young woman she is becoming and look forward to seeing what God has in plan for her!

Happy Birthday, Grandma McMahon!

July 14 would have been Grandma McMahon's 82nd birthday. We miss her very much and I would love to hear her voice again! I think of her often... especially as my kids grow up! She loved all her grandkids SO much! When I would call her, or she would call me... it was always them she asked about first! I tell my kids stories of our trips to Wheeling, eating Kielbasa and Colby Jack cheese late at night, getting up early and having hot tea with oatmeal for breakfast, and going shopping for our special time at Hills! What I wouldn't give for one more day with her!

But, I know that she's with my Mom though, and look forward to the day I see them both again!