Sarah's shower!!

One of my friends from school, Sarah, is having her first baby in July and she chose not to find out the sex...she is SO brave!  Last weekend I went to her shower and it was so nice to spend time with my coworkers outside of the school setting!! :)   Doesn't she look so cute....

I plan on taking newborn pics of baby Metcalf so stay tuned! 

They had a cute idea of every guest decorating a onesie for baby M...I, of course, did NOT participate due to my extreme LACK of artistic ability!  I, instead, chose to pretend that I did this one...even though everyone knew it was the art teachers!!! 

Everyone got a little teary when she open this sweet gift...Baby M has def. been "worth the wait" and we can't wait to meet you!  (I'm going with boy!!)

Wordless Wednesday: Charley is NOT afraid of the SKINNY

No commitment issues here...

Kite festival!

Last weekend the soccer wives got together in Salem to go the kite festival!   Luckily for me, Kelly let us bum lunch off her and she fixed us a great picnic to enjoy!   One thing was for sure they had plenty of wind for the kites...I was afraid we would blow away!  Riley was camping with her grandparents but here is the rest of the gang enjoying their picnic!!

Sam "made" this kite...bless his heart he tried so hard to fly it...and Charley tried her best to chase it!  Next year we will have to bring our own kite from home...which will require me actually purchasing a kite for our home! 

I know you are shooked that Charley doesn't have a bow but the wind was too much of a match for her signature look! 

Before I could even get back to fix her buckle from putting Sam in Charley was OUT!!!  Great idea Kelly!! Thanks for letting us bum lunch!

less cancer, more birthdays

Last weekend was our town's Relay for Life and since my mom is a 21 year survivor of Breast Cancer and in charge of the survivor tent we met her to help out!  My mom volunteers on the walks commitee and she also volunteers as a Reach to Recovery spokeswoman..my mom...she's a rockstar!!! 

This is Mr. Bill (a family friend) who is currently fighting the fight, on the survivor lap with his wife.  We are praying for you Bill!!! We go every year to walk the survivor lap with mom.  We are just a little bit proud of her.  And like every year I get a little teary eyed as we walk the lap with mom as everyone is cheering us on.  This year as mom was holding Charley I couldn't help but think of mom, being diagnosed with cancer with a 1st, 3rd, and 9th grade daughter at home.  Did she think 21 years later she would be walking the survivor lap holding her 4th grandchild? 

Look who else we ran in to...Jean and Bobby!!!  Sam was walking around the track yelling, "Jean, Bobby, where are you???"  I was cracking up, and at last we found them!!!  He got to walk a whole lap with them by himself!!!  Please excuse sissy...it was way past bedtime!! 

Sam was really excited that this year's theme was "less cancer, more birthdays"!  He got an extra special birthday cupcake from Gee-Jo! 

Rescue Mission

Have I already told you about how I think my husband is THE.BEST.COACH. in the whole entire world.  It is not just soccer going on over here people. :):)  Chris takes high school boys and makes them actually care about something...do you know how hard that is to do??  After college I struggled with "finding my place" in ministry.  Most of our friends were involved in a full-time ministry of some sort, and while I was super pumped for what God was doing in their life and through their ministry, I did experience a little bit of a "what's my role" crisis as I started my career.  

Then it hit me...PH is our ministry..our mission field...our youth group... it is our way to serve.  And while Chris doesn't whip out his bible and preach he is spreading the word. I am proud to serve beside Chris and I personally think he is doing an AMAZING job helping these teenage boys become men!  Men who learn to love passionately (even if it soccer), work together, stand up to what is wrong, help those in need, care about things other than themselves, make good decisions, have fun (the right way) RESPECT...respect their parents, respect authority, respect women...respect themselves!!  I'm all teary-eyed just thinking about the men who have come through the program and the amount of growth I had the privilege to witness first hand!  

Back to my original point! Over spring break Chris took his team on their annual trip to the Rescue Mission to serve.  They have served food before but this time the person in charge wanted their help moving their old clinic to their amazing new clinic!  They took down cabinets and moved TONS of things!   Because it was spring break the whole team was not able to make it but did you check out one cute 3 year old who was able to help out?? 

Sam was given the job of moving all the videos to the blue bin and I am happy to report he filled the whole bin ALL.BY.HIMSELF!!!   

"Kick for a Cure" Patriot Statium, Thursday~7:00

Due to some technical difficulties over here at the Dowdy House I have been on a semi-bloggy break!  I would like to say that I have been frolicking in the wind with my extra time but the truth is that I am dead in the mist of the CRAZIEST/BUSIEST couple of weeks I may have ever been involved in ever.  I'm hopefully coming up on mile 24 of the marathon but never fear I have a TON to catch up on...and no I promise this time I'm completely done with Easter!  I wanted to let you know that on THURSDAY NIGHT Chris and his PHHS soccer team are hosting the first ever "Kick for a Cure"!  Wear your pink and come support this fundraiser for breast cancer research!  Helping a good a cause + watching the best team in the area (as quoted by several sports writers not just an over-zealous coach's wife) = a wonderful spring night!

Hopefully after the next 2.2 miles hubby will reward my marathon efforts will a new router...until then I'm off to feast on carbs!

(and head on over to the Jones' blog to see the cutest PH cheerleader EVER...just scroll down to the bottom)

AND look who is ranked nationally on ESPN rise!!!  Go Patriots! 

We take our final parties...very seriously...

especially when Duke is involved!!!  Thanks to our hookup at our local Kroger we got the official Coke Zero basketball game...and it lived in our living room until the best college basketball team in the nation took home the championship!!!  Have I ever told you how I married into a strong Duke tradition...well I did!!!  This got to stay in our living room until Duke got knocked out...and they went all the way...I was a happy girl after the championship game!!  It now resides in our basement and if you come in our house Sam will make you go to the basement to play a game!!!   I did feel pretty cool as people came into our Championship game party and this was the first thing they saw...like I said...we are serious!  Please ignore the three year old in his undies!!!...it folds out again, just the perfect size for a 3 three old with the help of his stool! 

Wordless Wednesday: Where did Charley's Easter Dress Go??

Easter Post #78....seriously, this IS the last one :):)

Our cousin got married Easter weekend so Mom, Papa Kenny, and Amy flew down to Texas and the rest of us celebrated Easter in true Dowdy style (as in...Chris fixed us a delicious dinner and I planned the egg hunt!!!)  The Saturday before Easter  we celebrated with Chris's family (with a real Easter dinner :) ) and egg hunt but of course I forgot my camera...here are some shots from the Zebosky/Dowdy Easter dinner and egg hunt!!!

Playgroup edition: numero uno

Over spring break we meet up at pump-it-up...I still have the "slide burns" to prove it :)  The kids LOVED it and I'm not sure they stopped jumping the whole time we were there!   Can you find Anna and Amy??

At first Sam was aftraid to go down the big slide by himself...poor Amy had to take one for the team!!!

No problem with the big slide now!!!!   Look at that face!!!

We are loving our sunroom now that it is warmer!!!  We have turned it into a toyroom but Sam officially refers to it as the "train-room"... I sure hope that Charley isn't trying to pick cute Evie's nose...oh my!

Action shot:  Eli, Evie, Charley, Sam, Riley, and Braylen.

The big kids escaped for awhile and I found them in Sam's room looking at the letter books!!!  Be still my beating heart...that makes their teaching mommas VERY happy!!!!

Precious Evie!!!!   Look at those blue eyes!!!

Eli and Charley are in the "I'm not staying still long enough for a picture phase" but I plan on snapping some of them next time...because girls...we most certainly need to do this again...first thing summer!!!!!

We play with the trainset....

All day....

and all night...

I think Chris has just as much fun...they wanted to use ALL the pieces...they finally figured it out....at 9:47, WAY past Sam's bedtime!!!!  Mr. Easter Bunny...you hit a HOMERUN!!!  

Easter Pictures: All Dressed Up!!