Michigan or bust!

So you'll all be amazed and I hope not disappointed or bored to learn that the Clintons had a GREAT summer vacation. No one got sick, or hurt. No vehicles were injured. The boys behaved well (there were a few trying moments--I'm not saying we had a miracle vacation). And, our home and dogs were happily waiting on us when we returned. Where did we go to have such fun---Holland, Michigan! :) We met a wonderful family from Michigan when we adopted Thomas---their daughter was in Ayudame adoption home for a brief time with Thomas. She's one of his "oldest" friends--she thinks we talk like "cowboys!" Love it!! They were gracious enough to not only host us in their beautiful home, but they treated us to every cool activity you can think of! Canoeing, dune climbing, hiking, fishing, biking, skiing, and SWIMMING! Below is the link to our vacation video. Tucker has watched it (and forced his poor Aunt Julie to watch it) about 25 times already. He is SO proud to be a superstar. haha! (You may have to copy and paste the link--not working for some reason!) http://video214.com/play/mC2cbkC5YoQKt00cu5cTyg/s/dark

Tucker Wilson Clinton had his THIRD birthday bash today. What a blessed little boy to be surrounded by so many people who love him!! Tuck's best friends--Thomas and cousins Mac and Eli--had a blast playing with all the new water guns (um, thanks y'all) Tucker received. Let's see...a few things to record about Tucker as he turns three. Party theme: Cars Requested cheesecake for his birthday cake. Favorite saying: "oh man!" Favorite show: Shaun the Sheep Likes to tease everyone. Wants you to laugh! Sleeps with his Papoo and still sucks his thumb. He's our baby and we wish it would stay that way, but we're proud of the little boy he's becoming.

Snow in the south...and a total SURPRISE snow at that. Love it when the weatherman gets it WRONG! :) This is Tucker's first snow since he was a baby. He didn't like it at first b/c it was snowing so hard it was getting into his eyes. However once my uncle brought out the four wheeler, Tuckie was THRILLED....until he had to wait his turn (thus, the pitiful sob feast)!

Shout for joy! The Clintons are now camper-free and back in our house. THANK YOU for all the kind words and prayers sent our way during this trial in life. The house is much-improved and we are so blessed to have it fixed again. Tucker and Thomas are sharing a John Deere room, complete with bunk beds. Lots of excitement coming from that room! Matt built us a master bathroom during the holidays...something I thought would NEVER happen. At the end of the day, the fire was made a blessing by a gracious God. Grateful! Below are some fun photos of my boys with my dad. Thomas likes to help Granddaddy when he gives the school tours every fall. The baby pictures are Granddaddy on the left and Tucker on the right. It's so cool b/c Tucker can also look just like his Pappy Clinton too. DNA is amazing!

Merry Christmas from the Clinton Crew! Lots to be grateful for this year... As many of you know by now, our house caught on fire Oct. 23rd (Tom's 6th b'day). We were so blessed to not only safely escape, but to have a house still-standing and fixable! Since the fire we have been living in a camper in the front yard. Yee-haw! I feel like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation. haha! Yep, we've even red-necked it up with lights and all. :) We hope to move back into our house by the end of January. Other than A LOT of sickness (stomach viruses, colds, bronchitis, etc.), we're hanging in there. Thanks for all the much-needed prayers.

Our sweet Thomas turns 6 on Tuesday. To say he's excited is an understatement. Just to record a few things about him....He's in kindergarten and doesn't like P.E. days b/c he can't wear his boots. (He actually loves P.E. activities). His best friends in school are Kenneth and Harley...and "Kayci is real nice too." Why? Because Kenneth and Harley wear boots and Kayci admires boots. His favorite food is still mac-n-cheese and he still won't eat hotdogs and pizza. He watches Roy Rogers movies and dresses up to act out the scenes---cowboy hat, gloves, scarf, six shooter, and yes BOOTS. He loves toy guns and camouflage and often stalks bad guys...aka Tuckie. The John Deere combine is still his favorite machine yet he wants to be Luke Duke when he grows up. He's generous and kind but boy can he ARGUE! He is self-assured yet a little shy. We're very proud of him and can't wait to see "who" he is this time next year!

We just returned from our summer vacation at Edisto Island...yes, it's September. haha! Better late than never though. After a bit of a rocky start to the adventure---our first rental house had FLEAS and we had to relocate twice---we had a great time. The weather was perfect and the boys enjoyed fishing in Pappy's boat, visiting with their cousins, and swimming in the ocean. A few photos from the trip....