My Mema passed away last night. She was a Beautiful person and we will miss her greatly. Please pray for our family. God Bless. Allison

Kensley turned 5 this past week. I cannot believe that the years have gone by so quickly! We had a big week. We carried cupcakes for her classmates at pre-school on her actual birthday and then we went out to eat Mexican food on Friday night. We had a jumping party on Saturday and she had a wonderful time! She was so happy that so many of her friends came to her party. She got lots of really great gifts and I think she had a great Birthday. I think everyone should feel special on their day!

We have been busy with school, dance and gymnastics. It seems like we are always on the go! This week it is Senior Night at our last home football game and Kenneth and I will present Alex with flowers at the game. This is a long standing tradition for all Seniors that are involved in extra curricular activities. Alex has already stated that I will be crying and I probably will!

My Mema was put into the hospital today. She is not doing well at all. I have been very sadden by her illness for sometime now, but seeing her like this is heartbreaking. She has been such a wonderful, caring and hardworking person since I can remember. I hope that they can help her feel better and keep her with us a little longer. My Granny is also not feeling well, but she is still alert and talkative somewhat. She is also very special and I hope that she continues to do as well as she has over the past few months that she has been back at home. I try to go and see both of them each weekend. I take the girls and they love to go see both Granny and Mema! Annie and Kensley especially love to go "upstairs" at Grannys!

Sophie (Alex's new puppy) is growing and in to EVERYTHING!! Bama ( my Yorkie) has finally adjusted to her and they play like crazy with each other. Bama has finally stopped pouting at me and is now back to his old self!

Meredith is already planning her birthday party for December. It will be here before we know it.

Tammy's birthday and my Mother and Step-Dad will all celebrate on the 28th! Its Tammy's birthday and their anniversary. I hope that they all have a great day! I hope everyone has a blessed day! Allison

Alex's birthday was this past Friday. I can't believe that she turned18!! It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. Time really flys by! I think she had a good birthday. It was a very busy week. We gave her a puppy for her birthday. Alex named her Sophie. She is precious! She is a Malt-A-Poo. Alex has been wanting a puppy for a while now and we decided to give this to her for her birthday! My Yorkie, Bama, is VERY jealous! I thought he would just love her, and I'm sure he will, but right now he doesn't know what exactly is going on! The picture of Alex and her friends was taken at her "Spa Day". This was a surprise for her birthday and I could not have done it without Salem's help!! All the girls got pedicures and partied at the Spa! We also went out to celebrate her big day with GDiddy, Sue Sue, Tammy, Frank, of all of our gang! We had a great time. I made her cake and we put 18 candles on it! I also made her a cookie cake on her actual birthday. I carried that to school and surprised her with it. I am so very blessed to have all of my girls. Alex especially. She was the "first"!! I will always remember EVERYTHING about her birth, my pregnancy, her first years, etc... I have a tradition that each night before their birthdays I tell them there "birth" story. Of course Alex knows it by heart after all of these years, but Kensley, Annie and Meredith still get a big kick out of me telling each story. After I told Alex's the other night Annie wanted me to tell hers. I told her that she would get to hear her story in May! The girls are all busy with their activities. Everyone tells me that I am "doing" to much, but for each of the the girls to be involved in just one activity it keeps you busy. I don't really mind as long as they are happy. I went to visit both my Grandmothers today. They are both doing okay, but it saddens me to see them both declining in the way that they are. I still want to see them the way that I remember them when I was growing up! Just another reminder that time does go by quickly! Please keep them in your prayers! Kensley's birthday is next and I am now beginning to think about her big day! I have posted some more pictures below. God Bless! Allison

Hello All,

I have not updated in a few weeks. We have been so busy getting back in the groove of school!! The girls are finally adjusting to our morning routines and hopefully I will be able to post weekly again! We celebrated my Dads birthday a couple of weeks ago. He turned 65. We cooked out at his house with Sue Sue, and Krisha's family. The food was great!! Annie and Kensley are doing good at their new school, although Kensley still cries sometimes. Kensley has been sick this week. I carried her to the ER on Tuesday night - thought she had the flu, but thank goodness it wasn't. She did have bronchitis! She is much better now but is still on medicine. Friday night I was the "Honorary Coach" for our football team. I attended practice on Thursday and then did all the pre-game activities with the players. It was a real experience! I was actually on the field during the game and everything!! The players vote on a teacher that they would like to have as their "Honorary Coach" and they selected me! It was a true honor for them to ask me! We also won our game so that made it extra special!! Alex's dance team danced at the ballgame also for the first time. They did great from what I could see from the in zone. Meredith started fast pitch softball on Saturday. This will last through the month of September! Annie and Kensley have also started dance. We are very busy!! My step dad also celebrated his birthday this past week. He turned 70! The picture is one that the girls had made for my 40th Birthday. They know how much I love my pictures!! I visited both my grandmothers today and they are both doing better! Keep praying for them each day! I also want to give a Shout Out to Tammy and Frank and wish them a Happy Anniversary! I think it was their 13th year of marriage that they celebrated this past Friday! God Bless!!! Allison

The Big 4-0 Party!

Well, my birthday was last Friday and I turned 40! I had told my family that I didn't want any surprise party that I just wanted to celebrate quietly. They however, had different plans for me! Friday night we grilled out and celebrated here at home. It was just us and Sean. Saturday night, Kenneth told me we had reservations for dinner and that Tammy was keeping the girls. I had a few hints during the week that something was up, but they did surprise me on Saturday! We partied at Tammy's house and it was very touching to see everyone that came to celebrate with me! Alex, Tammy, Meredith, Salem (Alex's BFF), Sean, Justin (Salem's boyfriend) and Kenneth did a great job! The picture of the cake here is one of the cakes that the girls made me and we ate on Friday night. Well, I actually baked the cakes and made the frosting - they decorated them! We started this tradition several years ago, I bake they decorate. I cooked two cake mixes, and made 6 lbs of frosting!!!Alex informed me on Friday morning that she still might need more frosting! I don't have a picture of the other cake that Alex and Salem decorated. Maybe I will get a picture and put on here soon. It was VERY cute! They had made it look like a beach with a beach hut and it was really cute. I think everyone was impressed with the cake! I got presents and had a wonderful time! I greatly appreciate all that was put into the night. On another note I started back to school today. Kensley and Annie began their new preschool. Kensley cried but Annie just waved and said "bye Mom!" They had a good day. The kids go to school on Thursday. Summer really went by fast! `I hope that everyone has a blessed day! Keep Mema and Granny in your thoughts and prayers. God Bless, Allison

Our family just got home from our vacation at Grayton Beach, Fl. We had a great time! The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed seven fun filled days in the sun! My Dad and Sue Sue joined us for all the fun. Sue Sue cooked us lots of delicious meals and GDiddy played with us on the beach! One night we went down to the beach and took photos. We had a "fun" time trying to photograph everyone before the sun went down! With so many people it can be difficult. I was very pleased with all of our pictures. We got a lot of good ones! I've posted a few and I have also posted some of the girls at the bottom of this page. We went over to Panama City to Shipwreck Island one day and had fun playing at the water park (GDiddy and Sue Sue didn't go). Another day after going to the beach we went to the outlets and shopped until we dropped!! We also went out and ate a delicious meal at Goatfeathers. We really had a great time. I think it was the best family vacation I can remember. For the most part there was no fussing and fighting among the children! Sean went with us also and I think he had a good time as well. I can not believe that we only have ONE week until school starts back again! I am dreading going back. I love my job but after being at home swimming everyday, sleeping late, going to the beach a couple of times, etc... it is going to be hard to get back in the groove! Kensley and Annie will be attending a new daycare this year. I REALLY hate leaving Ms. Peggy (their babysitter since they were both born). She has been so very kind to all of us, but I really feel like Kensley needs to be in a setting with her peers to be prepared for kindergarten next year and the daycare is just across from my school. Alex is a Senior this year! It makes me tear up just thinking that she will be gone after this year to college! Time really flies by!! It seems like only yesterday was her first day of kindergarten! I hope that it will be a great year for her ( of course it should, Seniors get out at 12:15 each day)! She has a new dance instructor. Dance has been such a HUGE part of our lives since she was in the sixth grade at New Hope! We will miss Bonnie (her instructor that retired) but we are looking forward to the young new instructor from Montana!! Meredith is excited about starting fifth grade. She got a great teacher that I know will teach her lots of new material! I hit the big "40" this Friday! It should be interesting what my family does. I have told them that I DO NOT want an Over the Hill party!! I am still 39 and holding!!! LOL My Granny Prater had surgery and is having a hard time recovering and my Mema Gilliam continues to battle her illness. Please continue to pray for both of them!! I hope everyone has a blessed day!! God Bless Allison

Hi! Today we are leaving for vacation. We are going to the beach and the kids are really excited! I can not believe that we only have TWO more weeks until school starts!! Summer has once again flown by to fast! Hopefully, I will have some great pictures from the beach when we get back, I always take pictures of the girls on vacation. My Grandmother Prater had surgery this morning. Everything went well, but please keep her in your prayers, as well as my other Grandmother Gilliam and her fight with cancer. God Bless! Allison

Here are a couple of new pictures. We just got back from the beach last Thursday. We had nine people altogether at the beach. Kensley and Annie went to Rae Rae's and it was just a "girls" trip! We had a really good time. The picture on the left is of Montana, Alex and Salem. Meredith didn't want to take pictures! Hope Alayana, Tammy and Tara also joined us at the beach. Friday night our friends Hope and Randy brought us some corn. We had extra help shucking it! Kensley and Annie did a great job and enjoyed it also! I also made plum jelly over the weekend. A friend of Kenneth's gave him a huge bag of plums and so I tried canning jelly! It was a lot of hard work, but the jelly turned out good! I was proud of myself!! We are just enjoying the summertime. It is going by fast! Alex will be performing at the Princess Theater this weekend with her band "Loveless Tryst." This is their first performance! She and a couple of good friends Ben P and Ben C are in the band! I hope they do a great job. They have been practicing hard! They have a website, but I don't know the address. You can actually listen to some of their songs online. Maybe I'll get the website and post it next time! Post again soon!! God Bless!! Allison

Here are a few pictures form the week. Annie and Kensley started swim lessons last week and are finishing them up this week. Kensley is at the top and Annie is right below. They have really done great! Kensley can swim by herself for about 4 feet and Annie loves to kick her feet and blow bubbles! The other picture of the girls and Sean was taken at our church's International Food Festival on Pentecost Sunday. Families are invited to join teams that they identify with and cook foods from that region. We of course were part of the Southern American team. There were several countries and regions represented. We had a good time and the food was great! Meredith's ball team is still undefeated!! They had a really tuff game (and I mean that in more ways than I can describe) tonight! There are only a couple of weeks left of ball. We hope they can continue their winning streak! Meredith and Kensley have been attending VBS this week,. The first day Kensley LOVED it, but she cried most of the morning today. I don't know if she will go back?? We have a busy schedule for the next couple of weeks. Meredith will be going to cooking camp next week and then the next week we are going on a "girls" only trip to the beach!! We will keep you updated on our fun filled summer!!

Here is a picture of my Grandmother, Mary prater, at her birthday party back in April with all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren that were there.

Summer is FINALLY here!! We are officially out of school. We are so excited about being home for the next couple of months. Alex just finished Dance camp and is done until August. Meredith starts basketball camp on Tuesday and then will do cooking camp at MUW in a couple of weeks! Kensley and Annie begin swimming lessons on Tuesday and those will last two weeks! So, am I REALLY off for Summer vacation??? You tell me!! I love taking them to the different activities. Of course softball and t-ball are still going on. We have many things to look forward to over the summer and it will fly by. I can't believe that Alex will be a senior in high school this August. Time really flies by. It seems like just yesterday she was a little girl! I hope this will be a great summer for us. After she graduates I know things will be different and she won't always be around like now!! I finally figured out how to correctly update my blog!! Of course I did have a little help from my friend Samantha! I will keep you posted on how our summer is going. God Bless everyone!! Allison