Fun in the Fall Leaves and some new furniture

This past weekend was not quite as busy as the last few have been. John and Andi babysat for us for the first time at night on Friday. They even put the kids to bed while Mike and I went out in the "big metropolis" of Kingston for dessert. We did not want to go far away for the first time, but everything went great! Kudos to John and Andi for being such a great big brother and sister!!! Landon and Addi adore them.
Then on Saturday Mike and John took Andi to audition for East Tennessee Junior Band Clinic. It is an honor to make it into this band, and when you do you go to a two day training clinic and then have a big performance. Andi did make it!! Yeah!! So she will be playing her flute at Lee University in Cleveland, TN on Dec. 8th!! We are very proud of her!
We had a relaxing Sunday afternoon and played outside for a long time. Our yard has many big hardwoods which results in a LOT of leaves. The kids had fun jumping in them and being silly. Addi was a little hesitant at first but soon saw how much fun it could be. She is somewhat of a girly girl, as you will notice all her necklaces, so she did not like getting her hands dirty. She loves jewlery and wears those necklaces nearly everyday. I think Santa needs to bring her some prettier ones for Christmas. Funny though, she also loves monster trucks! I wonder where she got that from? :)
I also posted some pictures of a few new pieces of furniture we recently purchased. My family had asked me to put up pictures so they could see, since they won't be at my house for a while. Our couch and chair won't be here for another few weeks, but slowly our house is entering the 21st century :) I also took a picture of my newest picture additions. I love pictures of my kids and family all around me and was able to get these pictures this fall. I love them and feel they capture the personality of each one of my precious children! Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!


Here is the new shelf we bought to hold all of our DVDs. Mike insisted we put them in alphabetical order. And he thinks I am picky :)


This is the cabinet we bought to put in our breakfast area. I am so happy to finally have a place to put my non-everday dishes!


Here is the inside of the cabinet. I was a little nervous when the moving guys were moving it in because of all the glass and our kitchen is on the second floor. They did great, however, and Landon loved their BIG truck!


Here is our family room. You can see the shelf and our new ottoman.


Here are my newest pictures of the kids! Mike bought me the lighting to help show them off.


Addi deciding that she likes the leaves after Andi buried her.


In this picture I thought Addi looked like she was doing the hula dance in the leaves.


Mike giving Addi a little bike ride in probably a "not-so-safe" way. She loved it though!


Andi catching some zzzzs in the leaves. Hey, does that rhyme?


I thought this profile picture of Addi and Andi was so pretty!


John watching a movie with the kids. We thought it was so cute to see them all sitting together. This was on Friday night before we left for our date.


All three leaf players!


Andi looking pretty!


Landon realizing that he has to close his eyes if he is going to dive into the leaves. Live and learn!


They got pretty wild playing and it was so fun to "watch"! I must admit, I was not too tempted to dive in myself. Ohhhh, I am getting so old :)

Happy Veteran's Day, Running for Dad and more....

The last two weeks have been very good at the Griner's house.
Last weekend we went to Sam and Dave's house to help them and G-mama with some yard work. G- Mama decided she wanted to move some very big rocks, so it gave us all a little workout. Especially the son in laws who were great sports and very helpful getting it all done pretty quickly. They had even gone mountain biking that morning, so they really had a good workout. Landon LOVED helping pick up all the rocks and loved seeing the "magic tree" that had a face! We named the tree Fred and Landon liked it but did not want to go too close.
After yardwork, we then went and saw Exit 352 perform at a youth gathering near the river house. It was John's first time using his new guitar and he had an awesome time. They sounded really good and as ususal, we were very proud!
This week I took John and 5 of his friends to a Christian rock concert in Knoxville. It was Switchfoot and Reliant K and it was really fun. It was so fun to watch John and his friends, and the bands were really good. They sounded so good live and were really entertaining too. It was a very late night!!!
On Saturday Mike and the little kids and I went furniture shopping all day (the older kids were on their church fall retreat all weekend). We were successfull and found some new furniture for our family room. I am really excited! It had to be special ordered so we won't have it for about 6 weeks, but I will post pics when it comes.
On Saturday night Mom and Randi Kelly stopped by for dinner on their way to the river house. We had such a nice visit, even though it was kind of quick. They came into town to run the Buddy's Race for Cancer Research 5K on Sunday afternoon. It was so much fun!!! Everyone did very well and increased their time from our last run. All those running were G-mama, Randi, Sam, Dave, Andi and Me. Mike brought John, and the little ones to be there at the finishe line! It was the first time that Andi ran the whole race. I was so proud of her and we crossed the finish line together. It was great to do a cancer race. It is the first one I have done since Dad's death and it felt really special. We all had in memory of Dad on the back of our shirts. It was great! The race was huge and the human spirit was alive there so encouraging! I look forward to doing another one!!
This morning Kingston had a Veteran's Day ceremony at the downtown courthouse. John played in the band and Andi sang the National Anthem. The band sounded great, as usual, and Andi did a wonderful job! She sang the anthem with such confidence and respect for all the veterans that were in attendance. It can be a difficult song to sing, so she was a little nervous. I got so many compliments on her and have a feeling she will be asked to do it again. We were so proud of them both. I have such cool kids!!!

Dad's memory sign that I wore on my back during the race! I was proud to be running for him and all others affected by cancer.


John playing his new guitar for the first time at Exit 352's concert! What a stud!!


Everyone working hard at G-Mama's river house! Even Landon got in on the fun and he loved it!!! The yard ended up looking really nice making all the hard work worth it!



The "magic tree" that we named Fred! Landon was not too sure about it at first but then kept walking up to it and telling me to come and look at it. So funny!


The Roane County highschool band playing at the Veteran's Day Ceremony at the courthouse in Kingston. They sounded fabulous!


Andi before she sang the National Anthem for everyone. We were so proud and she did beautifully!


Landon and Addi giving eachother a little hug while waiting for the Veteran's Day festivities to begin! I thought the following 3 pictures turned out so cute of them. It is rare I can get the little ones to be still long enough for even one picture!


Get ready for a little kiss!


Wow! They are both looking at the camera at the same time. Maybe next time they will both be smiling! Silly Landon!

Pumpkin Carving and Trick or Treating!

Addi's little pumpkin. I thought it was so cute, it should be the opening picture!

We have had a good week so far. Sunday night we carved our pumpkins and they turned out pretty cute. I have to say the cutest one was Addi's tiny little one with a very surprised face! John's girlfriend Mara came over to join us for the carving. Landon and Addi were a little disgusted with the pumpkin guts, but otherwise really liked it. They love holding their pumpkins and John and Andi are pumpkin carving pros.
Last night we went trick or treating and got lots of candy. Landon did great! He walked right up to houses, said trick or treat and then thank you. You would have thought he has been doing this forever. Addi was very afraid at first, but then when she realized they were giving her candy she got a little more friendly. She would only go up to the door though if Mike or I carried her. It was definately a good 45 minute bicep workout! Landon and Addi looked so cute in their costumes and Andi helped a lot by helping us with the stroller and walking most of the time with Landon. John was hanging out with some friends during the trick or treating so that is why he is not in any of the pictures. He was sure to help himself to the candy when he got home however! It was a successful and safe Halloween! Now, on to Thanksgiving! Don't you just love this time of year?!?

Mike working hard to get that little pumpkin open. It was really a tough pumpkin for one so little.


Landon not sure about those pumpkin guts!


Addi showing off her little pumpkin before it went under the knife.



Landon showing off his rather lopsided pumpkin!


Addi giving me a great smile while playing in her costume!


Trying to get a good picture of them together is impossible, but this one was so funny because Landon kept getting so frustrated by his hat!


Landon showing off his pumpkin post carving!


The older pros carving their pumpkins.


Me cleaning out the guts because the little ones wouldn't touch it!


Landon on Halloween night ready to get some candy!


Addi before we left to go trick or treating!


Addi was looking out the window in my room while playing in her costume and I thought she looked so pretty! Really like a little fairy!


Addi standing on her tip toes. She loves to walk on her tip toes. My little ballerina!


Landon showing off his crooked smile!


Me with the kids pre trick or treating!


Mike with the kids.


All the kids before we left to get candy!


Addi when we got home. Her face shows all her candy eating and then she felt like she needed two drinks!!


Andi being silly with glow sticks!


Addi standing and waiting to go trick or treating. I thought this picture was cute because it really shows how small Addi is. So cute!