A Day With the Gray's

Jump on over to our adoption blog to see what's happening:) http://www.ajourneytomyboy.blogspot.com/

 Colin and Bethany were so excited to finally meet their newest cousin Lillianna  Isn't she cute!  Cannon, Colin, and Eli always have blast when they're together!  Dylan is crazy about his little cousin Joel. He wants to pick him up...  or sit on him, pin him down, and give him a big ole' kiss! and there is always time for a little Auburn football!

A little over a year ago I clearly heard the Lord saying "you spend too much time watching tv and not enough time with me." I didn't want to hear that (although I knew it was true.) I chose to ignore it for awhile but soon surrendered.... I called my satellite provider and (gasp) I cancelled my service (without even telling my hubby)! Its been over a year no satellite no rabbit ears just static on the tv screen (if you were to turn it on) Yes, we still watch a few shows on the Internet and movies from Red Box now and then but it is no longer the back ground noise in our house it is quiet Without the tv being a constant in our lives we have a lot more time to grow in Christ. a lot more time  for Chad and I to work on our relationship as husband and wife. a lot more time to spend with our children a lot more time to just enjoy our family I am not sure it if will stay off forever but for now, it is clearly the best thing for us! .

Dylan finished his first year of preschool. It took 1/2 the year to adjust. I left him everyday screaming and crying but sure enough by the end of the year he was walking in like a big boy ready to start his day.   Colin graduated from Kindergarten and Bethany, my sweet Bethany  graduated from 6th grade. Good bye elementary school and hello  middle school... oh how scary!  So sad to see her grow up so fast  but overjoyed to know  that she picks wonderful Christian friends  to share her childhood with.   Oh how I pray for these girls as they enter middle school together.  Praying they continue to make good life choices, stay true to themselves, and always be a source of encouragement to each other to live a Godly life.  After graduation the girls got to hang out with each other at the local DQ.  So sad I had to go back to work and miss out on the fun:( Congratulations to my precious children!! I am so proud of each of you! 

Part 2 of catching up! I managed to sneak away from work long enough to spend some time with my little man Colin on field day. Turns out the boy is a master hula hooper:) His class did the cutest little P.E. dance routine that ended with them all on the ground!  They also had an end of the year luau.  Colin with his on again off again best friend (kids are like that:))   Colin has been very much a ladies man this year...  all the girls have had their turn as his "girl friend"  this year...sigh:/  Little did they all know his heart was with a certain  kindergarten teacher... that he often replied to as "hot" (oh my...)   And.. to end this post Dylan is the most goofiest kid ever!!  He never wants to look at me when I take his picture. Most of his pictures are actually blurred  from him running away. The boy just can't be still. However.... on this particular day... He not only looked at me... he posed. Silly kid!

So I finally found just a moment to download the last 300 pictures off my camera onto the computer yea me:) Part 1  Easter Morn Dylan's favorite pass time... fixing the lawn mower Celebrating Earth Day at the Botanical Gardens  Colin celebrating Earth Day at the Botanical Gardens Dylan discovered deo... he can't reach those arm pits so his belly will do just fine:)  The boy loves to swing.. the higher the better! My sister and I at National Scrapbook Day I gotta tee tee!! That's what he says when he wants to sit on the potty... no, he is not potty trained... just likes to climb on the potty. The boy keeps us laughing! stay tuned... part 2 is on the way!

Hi friends! Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!! I am a blessed mother of many and I have the most wonderful Christian Mom:) We had a girls day out on Saturday and my sister and I took our girls and our mom out for lunch and some shopping! FUN! Speaking of fun... I have been introduced to some new tunes from an up and coming Christian artist out of Florida. You are going to  LOVE it! Check it out: Robert Pierre Once you go to the link above you simply click the Robert Pierre EP image to open the online player. You will see the 4 songs available: (simply click on the song you'd like to listen too) Our family favorite was "Identity!" It puts out a great message for the youth of today. Robert sings about teens facing the typical teen pressures and how being strong in Christ is the most important thing in life. Identifying with Christ will help to overcome those pressures. Instead of joining in with the world, these teens are able to witness to thei

In the midst of destruction... hunkered down in our safe place my daughter asked Jesus into her heart! It is something she has been praying about for awhile now. Here is some more of our community... just miles from our home.  This use to be two story office buildings.  A two story home over 150 years old.  The First United Methodist Church and our operations building at the bank I work at. Normally it would have been filled with co-workers but we were sent home two hours earlier.  This was our church home before the Lord lead us to Brook Hills. It is also where my son Dylan goes to preschool. It was normally filled with little ones getting ready to go home.  First Baptist  The Methodist Church- this is where Colin went to Mom's Day Out. Old Downtown... full of history. Don't wait for disaster to ask your self... where would you go if you died tonight?

 "Tears. Lots of Tears" is the headlines today. This is an aerial view of my community. Just one of many communities hit.  This is the scene as you walk down the streets of Cullman.  Many businesses gone including our operations building at the bank I work at.  The Busy Bee Cafe.  Christ Lutheran Church  East Side Baptist Church and Cullman Christian Academy We have trick or treated at this house with our kids for years. The house was picked up and rotated 90 degrees. What you see is the side of the house, where the front of the house should be.   It took me a moment to realize the business in the middle was missing. ** Had to go back in here and edit this one... he,he! My mil was looking at this and she said.. "This isn't tornado damage. They gutted that awhile back!" We all got a good laugh out of it! Can someone please tell the people in my picutre?:) More pictures to come. Please keep the residents of Alabama and surrounding states in your prayers. Pray



For those of you who participated in the 100 Good Wishes Quilt  for Anna Li here is the finished product! We gave it to her for her 15th birthday. The picture doesn't do it justice... it turned out really nice. Thank you so much for being part  of such a special gift. NOW, I am super excited about my new project brewing... I was making  (with the help of my oh so talented and dear friend "Flo Mama") another  100 Good Wishes Quilt to auction off  at the 2012 Born in my Heart Auction benefiting critically ill children in China.  But..... Now..... I am making TWO:) They are going to be just  GORGEOUS!!! I can't wait to share the plans with you!! If you would like to be apart of this  please send me an email and I will send you more info. I am in need of Asian Fabric!!  grayfamilyof6@yahoo.com

Ella Ruth Gray February 2, 2011 5:37 am On February 2nd, 2011 I went for my 4 month prenatal check-up.  I was looking forward to hearing my child's heartbeat. I was out of the 1st trimester and felt like  I was out of the danger zone... There was no heartbeat.. the sonogram confirmed it.. We had lost our baby a few days shy of 16 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital, labor was induced and I gave birth to my little girl at 5:37am.  She was tiny... only 2 oz and 6 inches long.   Tiny little feet... Tiny little hands... We held her in a little pink blanket  handmade by Threads of Love. Ella Ruth is her name. (Ruth after my grandmother) Only the Lord knows why... why my baby girl had to die. I pray that through our loss His name will be glorified! In memory of  Ella Ruth Gray we would like each of you  to consider making a donation to  Love Without Boundaries We would like donations to go to "Mighty" Marisol in memory of  Ella Ruth Gray You can learn more about