My little man

Today is Canaans 9th birthday. I can't believe he is already 9. We celebrated with a party (Saturday) at the Fredericksburg Fieldhouse. All the kids had a blast playing dodgeball and just running and playing. Since today was his actual birthday he got to pick where we would go for dinner. He picked UNO and made his own pizza.

Happy Birthday Canaan, we are so proud of you!

My Birthday

Yesterday was my 21 birthday (actually it was my 32) and we all went to Outback for dinner. YUM! We had a great time. Its hard to believe that I am 32 now.Thankfully I dont feel any older :) I have the greatest family in the world They treated me like a queen and got me some of my favorite perfume, Rapture by Victorias Secret. I am so blessed!

Surgery

I went to get my MRI results this morning. I have a torn miniscus in my knee that needs to be repaired surgically. Thankfully, it can be done with 2 puncture holes and not an open incision. It will be a out patient surgery on January 14th. As weird as it sounds, I am relieved. Before today they would say, well it might be this or that and we had nothing definitive. Now, they know exactly what it is and how to fix it. Be in prayer for me to have a quick and easy recovery.

MRI

Today was my MRI to check for a possible torn menincus in my knee. I was a little nervous because I am claustrophobic. Thankfully I went into the MRI machine feet first. That helped me to not feel "trapped" in in the tube. I was able to listen to music and even dozed off during the final few minutes. I go to the doctor on Wednesday for them to interpert the picture. If it is torn, I'll need surgery to repair it. Its a simple outpatient surgery and there is no incision, just 2 puncture holes. I guess we'll wait and see.

Weekend

Have you ever wished the weekend would last forever? I do, every weekend :) It's so nice to not have to worry about work, school and everything else that goes with the weekdays. I like to wake up, have a nice cup of coffee then just hang out with my family. Its especially nice in the winter because in the summer, Chad works every other weekend. Summer and Spring are my busiest weekend times. We have to worry about getting to softball/ baseballs games, practice and other events. So, I'll enjoy the next few months of lazy weekends until sports start back up again.

Adelia Marie

On Tuesday November 25, our close friends Jared and Shelly welcomed a second daughter into the world. Adelia Marie was born at 4:23 PM and weighed 7lbs 11 ozs. I spent the day with them at the hospital on Wednesday and she is SO cute. They have stayed at the hospital until today because her biliruben levels have been elevated. Tonight will be her first night at home with her Mom, Dad and big sister Avery.

Thanksgiving

Well its over for another year. We had a wonderful time at my in-laws. We spent the day eating, playing Wi and eating more. Thankfully, the Wi gets you moving and your not just sitting on the couch with your pants open because they are too tight. I ended up getting a stomach bug Thanksgiving night and, ummmm, lets just say the food was much better on the way down then back up- EWWWWW!! I dont think I'll eat turkey for a LONG time.

Decorating our tree..

We put our tree up this week. Traditionally, my family puts our tree the week prior to Thanksgiving.

Halloween 2008

Heres my zombie skateboarder and my Diva....

Sunday Napping

I caught the puppy and Chad sleeping this morning after breakfast. The only difference in the 2 of them is that Copper woke up when the camera flashed :O) Just like when our kids were babies, we would nap with them on Sundays :) Now we're lucky if we dont have to tie them down to get some quiet time at home. Would'nt trade it for the world!!

Holidays

So its only a few weeks until Thanksgiving. My parents are on their way here until after the first of the year. We are sure to start putting up the Christmas decorations, baking and wrapping gifts. I love this time of year because you can spend time with family, eat yummy stuff and just be together and celebrate. The holidays have always been a special time of year for me. My Mom and Dad used to go all out on the decorations and presents. My parents always made Christmas memorable and wonderful. I just hope my kids feel the same!

Smartest kids on earth

You know how most parents think their kids are the smartest, cutest, etc? I have proof now on the smart part. Katrina got an invitation in the mail yesterday inviting us to come to a event that honors kids in Spotsy for perfect SOL scores. Katrina scored a 600 (perfect) on her 5th grade SOL's. I know Canaan will be just as smart when he takes his. Now, if I can prove they are the cutest, funniest, nicest, friendliest, compationate, sweetest, etc........Better run, I have my work cut out for me :)

President Elect

Okay, so the US voted and Obama will be our next president. I wont lie, we voted for McCain. Now we have to come together and stand behind him. Whether or not we agree, we have no choice but to stand behind him now becuase the people of our country voted. Lets put the election behind us and move forward.

Also, forget racsim and remember that God loves us all. He's color blind, He knows no boundaries on race. Can't we be the same?

And the answer is.....

The endoscopy report is in, Copper swallowed a....

11 Awesome Years

Wow- has it been 11 years of marriage already? It seems like we just walked down the aisle yesterday. I am more in love with Chad now than ever before. He has been an wonderful husband, life partner and not to mention, an awesome father. There is no one I would rather spend this life with than him. He's been my inspiration to grow spiritually, to love unconditonally and to be the best wife and mother I can be. If I can give any advice on marriage it would be to hold your spouse high with respect and love him unconditionally during whatever life throws your way. Most importantly I would say, make God and the cross the centerpiece of your lives.

Beautiful Weekend

This weekend was so gorgeous! I would have preferred it be a bit cooler but it was nice :O) My favorite season by far is fall. The smell of fireplaces burning, apple picking, hay rides, hot apple cider, pumpkin pie and pumpkin patches. Did I mention pumpkin pie? With LOTS of whipped cream. One word- YUM! I also cherish the idea of family. Soon families will be filling our homes enjoying Thanksgiving and each others company. Most of us don't get to see our families much and I relish the idea of seeing them and catching up on things. After all, not many things in life are certain but you can always count on your God and your family. Be thankful for both!

What is this?

And the answer is......

In loving memory of Samantha

This past week was especially hard and trying. Last Tuesday we noticed a huge tumor on our 16 year old cat Samantha. The tumor had grown to the size of a softball in just a few days. Saturday the vet confirmed what we already knew in our hearts, it was terminal and she was probably in pain. We helped her into heaven the best way we could and had her put to sleep. She died in Chads arms while the kids and I waited outside. I couldnt stay in the room with her. I am so grateful that Chad was strong enough for both of us and she didnt die alone. I have such an awesome, strong Husband. The kids took it as good as we could have expected and they have been there for me. It was hard to say goodbye to such a wonderful, loving animal that I have known and loved for most of my life. Goodbye really isnt the word for it but see you later, I know she will be waiting for me at the gates when its my turn :) We love you big Momma...

Grover and Leathersich Life Group is off the Hook!

Hey guys! This is usually Teresa's cup of tea but I figured that I would give this a whirl. I must say that the Leathersich and Grover Lifegroup is truly amazing. Josh and Sara are very compassionate towards people's feelings which makes for fantastic leadership. Teresa and I are very lucky to be paired up with such great people. The couples in our group are awesome. The kind of people that you can open up to. I love um!

For all you Yankee fans I am sorry! For all you Boston fans, this may be a repeat year. Tampa Bay is going to be tuff!

Cutest Beagle on Earth!

Isnt he cute?

8 inch locker??

Who ever heard of such a thing? I have spent the day going from store to store to store to find shelving to fit a 8 inch wide locker. Do you have any idea how hard that is? The majority of lockers are 10-12 inches. I finally found a neat organizer at stacksandstacks.com that will fit. I had to order it overnight but I hope its worth it!

Teaching Compassion...

I got reminded today how important it is to teach your children compassion. The kids and I were coming home from a birthday party today and saw a homeless man with a sign that said "Just Plain Hungry". Once the kids read the sign, they immediately said "can we get that man some food?". My heart was warmed! We went to Taco Bell and get him a meal and soda. We drove back around the corner and gave the food to this man. As soon as he saw me with a bag of food, he stood up and mustered the most grateful smile and said "Oh my gosh, thank you so much!". I told him that God loved him and I gave him an invite card to come to our church. Remember that what you teach your children today will live with them forever and they will teach their kids the same and so on and so forth. Remind you kids today how important compassion is.

T minus one week and 5 days

Yup, it's almost time for the kids to be going back to school. WOW!! Summer is flying by, it feels like it just started. We love summertime and I can't believe it's almost over. Soon enough, the leaves will be changing and the smell of burning firewood will fill the evening air. My favorite season is definetly Fall and I look forward to it coming but I still will miss flipflops and swimming in the lake. Another thing I can't beleive is that I am the Mom of a middle schooler-AGH!! Am I really capible of being that old? I can I guess, as long as I am the cool Mom.

What Copper Does...

Yep, he's still a baby. He plays 20 minutes and sleeps 60. What a life huh? Someone to hold you, feed you, pet you and play with you. Not so bad. He enjoys these dog days of puppyhood :O)

Coppers first doctors appointment

Today Copper got his first check up. He is growing well and the vet said he's between 6-8 weeks old. He got his first shots. OUCH!! He also had an ear infection and had to be put on medication to heal that up. He's sleeping on our bed right now, culled up in a baby blankie :0)

Happy Birthday Sis!

Sunday is my older sister Tinas birthday. She and her family live in Bluemont so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. She reads my blog so I wanted to make sure she got my well wishes.

It's a boy!!

Here is our newest child. His name is Copper because of the movie The Fox and the Hound. He is a mixed beagle breed. The puppy we looked at last night was picked up by his owner this morning so went to the SPCA in Fredericksburg to see if they had any puppies and they did'nt have any. On our way home we went back to the Spotsy shelter and there was a lady and her mom surrendering a puppy that they had found. It was our lucky day because they hadnt given him to the shelter yet and so we got him for free :o) How neat is that? He hopes you'll come see him soon!

Animal Shelter

Today we went to the Spotsy animal shelter. The kids have been asking for a dog but I wasnt totally hooked on the idea. We have been looking at the shelter the the last couple months and today we saw the cutest puppy that is up for adoption. We didnt take hime home tonight because I wanted to make sure that Chad was okay with it. After talking with him, we agreed that I would go back in the morning and get him if hes still there. He is a male hound mixed breed.The unique think about him is that he has these georgous blue eyes. He was very affectionate and playful. I think he will be a great addition to the Grovers. Hopefully by this time tomorrow we will be proud parents of a 4 legged child :)

Summer Lovin

No, not a Grease post! I was just thinking (after just getting out of bed at 9:45), how much I LOVE sleeping in in the summer :O) I was also thinking how nice it was to have older kids who sleep in too. No midnight feedings, no 5 am wakeup calls and no crying (well, most of the time. I do have a preeteen girl ya know). Babies are wonderful dont get me wrong, I just love the fact that those days of my life are over and we can move on to Baseball, Softball and other older kid things. Every now and then I get the baby itch, but as soon as I think about the lack of sleep, I'm over it. I better enjoy this sleeping in now, come August 25th it will all be over.

What we did today

Whew, I sure am tired! I went a bought a carpet steam cleaner and did all my carpets today. I sure wish I could afford a housekeeper so I wouldnt have clean:) I also had to take Canaan to the Dr for a earache and sore throat. They werent infected, it was just allergies. I always thought that Canaan would outgrow the allergies and asthma but he hasnt. Hopefully in the next day or two he'll be feeling better.

Armed Forces

Friday night we took a trip to DC to watch the Marine parade in front of the Commandants home. The Commandants home is the longest continuiously occupied buiding in DC. It was built in 1806 and you would think it was designed and painted yesterday. The barracks there house Marine officers and the beloved mascott "Chestee the 12th" He is a Engish Bulldog and retired the night we were there. "Chestee the 13th" was inducted in as their new mascott. They even had a retirement party for Chestee the 13th Friday morning. That dog is treated better that most humans :) We also got see the Silent Drill Platoon. Its about 30 Marines that perform with ther bayonets (10 pounds each). They were amazing! They all did the same exact thing. They do a routine and execute it in perfect time with with each other. If you ever have a chance to go see this parade, do it. The tickets go fast so plan ahead.

Long time no blog!

WOW!! I hadn't realized that I haven't posted since January! We have been enjoying our summer. This past weekend we went camping with Jared and Shelly. I've got one thing to say....S'MORES! We had fun but the kids got bored toward the end of our stay. Chad and I were totally relaxed and rejuvenated. He worked 61 overtime hours in the past 2 weeks so he was more than ready to get out of town and rest up. We enjoyed ourselves, nothing but us, the woods and a lot of doing nothing'. Is it time to go again??

Another Amazing Sunday

Lifepoint is reaching people farthest from God, dont believe me?? This past Sunday, we had 435 people combined in attendance for both our sevices! A 50 person jump each Sunday since the beginning of January. WOW!! Its been an amazing ride since finding this church over a year ago. Its hard to believe that when we moved here in 2006 we had the hardest time finding a church that we felt "at home" in. The Sunday we walked into Lifepoint (Lighthouse then) we knew that we were home. The worship is real, the people are real and the message is intensly to the point and Christ is embedded in every word. God has placed us in this church to work his Will. We are to carry His word to those who may not hear it otherwise. You know the saying "You may be the only Bible someone reads"? You have to live everyday like its your last day to spread His message and the last chance to help someone see the light of Jesus.

In the words of Daughtry "I'm going home, to the place where I belong, to where your love has always been enough for me"
Such basic words with such a real, deep meaning.

Handsome little face..

This is what Canaans face looks like 1 week post injury. Healing up
quite nicely isnt it?

Snow

Well, we finally got our first taste of winter. I love the snow but we reallly didnt get that much. It will be pretty until tomorrow when it is supposed to be 50 degrees. These pics are for my parents who are in Missouri and LOVE the snow,

wish you were here!

What the fuss is about...

What is all the fuss about? If you are asking that question, you obviously havent been to Lifepoint. We are creating an enviroment where people from all walks of life and faith can come together and worship without barriers or expectations. Gods love is evident from the second you walk in the door. Our purpose is true and whole, reach those who are farthest from Jesus in a relevant and life changing way. If you havent attended, you should. We would be so honored that you chose to spend one hour of your week with us. Believe me, you wont regret it!

http://www.visitlifepoint.org

Stiches Out!

Today Canaan's stitches were removed (No Lazar, its not better to save a co-pay and do it yourself!!) No big deal at all! He sat down, she removed them and WA LA- all done. I can't believe how great it is healing. Just a few days ago I was almost passing out at how deep it was, today it looks as if it was a small cut to begin with. Our God has created an amazing healing body. I'll post a pic in a few days

What to do this weekend....

We have a few different things planned this weekend. This evening we went over to Ruth and Joe's house and played card games. I lost again...seems to be the going thing. Tomorrow we are going to meet the In-Laws for lunch at Olive Garden (YUM!) and then coming home to just hang out and do NOTHING!! I love thoses days when you have nothing on the agenda and you can just hang out. Chad and I have made it a priority to take at least a few hours and spend it together each weekend. I am thinking tomorrow we may spend those few hours together just hanging out on the couch. NFL has a few things going on so we lay around and catch a game. Sundays plan is to go to church and then go the Shellys and Jareds for more football. I sure will be happy come February and Daytona, NASCAR is the second best way to spend your Sunday. Church is the first :)

Good Friday!

Finally Friday!!

Hope everyone had a good week. We had an interesting and tiring week. We have'nt gotten much sleep in the past few days (I've had to get up and give Canaan pain medication throughout the night). He's been such a trooper though it all. Katrina started Drama this week and LOVES
it. She will probably audition fr a few parts in a couple plays coming up this Spring. She's the artisitic type, she loves to sing, dance, act and draw. HMMMM.... do I smell an art scholarship?

Guest Blogger- Chad Grover

Hello Blog World! I believe that 2008 will bring many blessings to the Spotsy Grovers. I also believe that Dallas Cowboys will win the Super Bowl, Dale Jr. will win his first Nextel Cup, Boston Red Sox will be champs again, and Yankees will be watching from last place.

Ever since Teresa and I and the kids moved to Spotsy and found Lifepoint Church our lives have truley changed. They have changed in such a way that life is AWESOME! GOD is GREAT!

Pray for many blessings in 2008 and God Bless everyone!

Ephesians 4:6

OUCH!!

Well, last night we spent the entire evening in the ER with Canaan. Yep, Evel Kineval tried to do a stunt wheelie on his scooter and hit himself in the eye with the handlebars. After a ride in the ambulance, 6 stiches and one cute Physicians Assistant (she was flirting with him but he wasnt in the mood) he is feeling much better today. Just when you think you have been through it all, life throws you another curveball!!

My boy is growing up

On December 29th, Canaan turned 8. WOW!! Where has the time gone? Chad and I have come to the recent realization that in less than 10 years we will have 2 children in college. While financially we are planning for these days, emotionally I have come to find we aren't ready to let them go- EVER!! I can't even fathom the day when they will get married. Now, you may be wondering why I am thinking about the future. Me too. I feel like just yesterday I was feeding Katrina sweet potatos in her high chair or hearing Canaans first cry. I look back at the baby pictures and see a sweet little blond baby girl trying to pick up a rattle with her hand or at that chubby little curly, red headed baby boy sleeping snuggled up to his Daddy. I realize that EVERY day is precious and is to be savored. Tomorrow comes too fast and steals their childhood away. Love them, hug them and spent your time with them letting them know how precious they really are to you. Isn't that what you want them (and yourself) to remember?

Happy birthday my little angel boy!

Hello blogging world...

We are finally stepping into the blogging world. I needed a place to blog and upload pictures and Canaans first grade teacher recommended Blogspot.

Wow, we got iPods and a blog!! Welcome to technology.