I wanted to take a minute to wish all of my blogging friends a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and prosperous NEW YEAR! We had one heck of a 2009 with a lot of ups and downs. Our family is healthy and happy and that means a great deal! Gregg took a job working at Brock Cabinets which he is getting used to and trying to sell the heck out of some cabinets. He continues to do a wonderful job as Bishop of the Dunn ward and also serving the Lord.

Caroline has progressed well with her foot surgery and also has magnified her talent on the piano. She has a new teacher whom she really enjoys. She is back in school and made the principals list. She is in eighth grade.

Melanie has a new look with her beautiful haircut. She has entered the Young Women's program and is getting used to it with her sister and mom there. She is in art club at school and enjoys drawing. Mel is in the 6th grade.She will going on a field trip with her class to Washington D.C. in March to learn about the Veterans.

Hannah is in 3rd grade this year and loves her school. She is in the Voices singing group and has preformed at several community events. She has such a love of reading any books she can get her hands on.

Kimberly will be in the Sunbeam class in two Sundays. My how time flies. She is very busy and loves to help mommy cook in the kitchen. She keeps us all laughing and helps keep me young.

As for me, I stay quite busy keeping up with four growing girls. I love my calling in Young Women as first counselor. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior and am so grateful for everything my family has been blessed with this year.
I pray that YOU will have a great 2010.

December Birthdays

The Ginn family has two birthdays for the month of December. Me and my lovely daughter Hannah. I was the big 40 on the 9th and Hannah will be 9 on December 18th. Someone once asked me if I hated having a birthday so close to Christmas. I told them I just get more presents in one month. I do feel older this year. I guess it is a big deal to turn 40.

Thankfulness

I thought that it would be appropriate to list some things that I am thankful for for the year of 2009. Our family has had great adversity this year but it has only made us stronger and that I am thankful for. I am grateful for healthy beautiful children who are growing up right before my eyes. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband who honors his priesthood and is a great father and loving husband.I am grateful for the gospel . Above all I am blessed to know of my Savior Jesus Christ and his love for me. He is the center of my world and without him my life would be empty and obsolete. I am thankful everyday for all of the wonderful blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon me and my family.

November Birthdays

November is a very special month in the Ginn household. Gregg and Melanie have a birthday almost a week apart. Gregg's is th 12th and Melanie's is the 17th. This year Gregg was 41 and Mel was 12.




Melanie got a sweet hair cute for her birthday from her Nana. She got to go to the salon this time and get pampered.Her she is sporting profile 1 and profile 2. She is also very excited about going to Young Women. She will really add to our wonderful Young Women's program.

Happy Birthday Mel Mel.

Happy Birthday to my best friend. We all love you so very much!!!!

Veterans are Remembered

In honor of our Veterans the youth in our stake had a wonderful service project to put flags at every grave in this Veterans cemetery. There were about 3,000 plots. There was a great turn out for the service project.

This is an LDS Veteran. Notice the Moroni symbol.

This was Melanie's first service project with the youth. She is really growing up to be a beautiful young woman.

Caroline loves service projects. She was very excited to be here for this special project.

Our cousins are in the same stake and the girls are excited to see them at functions

like this one.



I am very grateful to all of the men and women who serve and protect our country. I am especially grateful for our Veterans and those who have died defending our freedom. God bless our country.

Halloween Excitement

Who are these people you ask? Well They decided to dress up like the bishop and his wife. Matt is wearing a bald wig and stuffed his shirt to resemble Gregg's plumpness. Nondi curled her hair and is wearing a long skirt and scarf to try and resemble me. We were stunned when they told us who they were. We laughed and laughed. All of this took place at the trunk or treat chili cookoff that our ward did on Friday night. It was a ton of fun.

What a perfect bee costume for little Kimberly. She fits the role!!

Here are the trick or treaters for this year. We have little Red Riding Hood, Scary Skeleton Grim Reaper mix, Gypsy, and Bumble Bee. I think they love it more than Christmas.

October Moments

I remember showing the cotton last year, but I wanted to post it again because I just love how beautiful it looks. It is about ready to be picked here. October is the month for cotton picking. I just love having a cotton field in my front yard.

Last weekend we went camping at Jordan Lake. It was quite an adventure and lots of fun. You will notice that little Kimberly is not with us for she was entrusted to her grandparents. I did not want to have Kimberly in the woods, cold at night. It was quite cold for mid October and that is the only way I will camp.

Notice the tinfoil at the base of the fire. That is our delicious hobo dinners with real steak and everything. They were very good.

The camp fire was the real hit of the whole trip. It was very large but most importantly it was our main source of heat. That night it got down to 38 degrees.

Kimberly and I decided to make gingerbread families before December this year. I love gingerbread and the smell is delightful. She did such a good job decorating them by herself. She also loved biting the heads off of the cookies.

That is just a few of the Ginn adventures for October. I will be posting our Halloween costumes and fun by next weekend I hope.

LAST DAYS OF SUMMER

Well summer is just about gone. Fall is right in our doorstep. I wanted to post some picture of our trip to the Holden Beach since we finally got a chance to go. We waited all summer for a trip to the beach and the last weekend of August we got our wish. My aunt and uncle have a beach house they let us use. I just love spending quality time with my family. We don't have alot of quality time together as a family because my husband stays gone quite a bit with his job and calling. We had a much needed break and it was a special weekend just to enjoy each other. I love making memories with my eternal family.

The girls enjoyed scaring away the seagulls.

Caroline and I are feeding those starving seagulls. MINE,MINE, MINE, MINE, remember from "Finding Nemo."

The beach will always be my favorite place to go. I have always enjoyed my times spent there. What a beautiful place!!

Strange Feelings

This morning I took Caroline, Melanie, and Hannah to school for the first time in two years. I had homeschooled all three one year and then just Caroline last year. I thought that it would be quite simple, but I was wrong. It is way too quiet around here. I miss them all and wish they were here. As a mother I need that constant noise of four sweet children around me. Yes, I know what am I thinking! Well by 3:30 the noise will return and all will be right in the world. I will quickly get used to the peace and quiet eventually but not all the way. Kimberly keeps me very busy with her inquisitive mind. I sure do love my children!

My Favorite Tree

This is a picture of my most favorite tree in the world. When I was a small child I would climb it as high as I could possibly go. It is special to me because it is at my grandma's house. Each time I would visit grandma my brothers and I would go out back to climb this tree. Grandma has been gone for 12 years, but this old tree is still there. My girls seem to like it also. What a great memory things like this old tree can hold.

No More Facebook!

Well ,I decided this morning to deactivate my account on Facebook. I have been struggling whether or not to go through with it. I have come to the conclusion that even though it is great to connect and talk with all of your friends and family that it can be quite addicting. I found myself logging on to Facebook many times a day and spending too much idle time reading and responding. My husband came home from a priesthood meeting several weeks ago and told me that President Catlett had warned against the use of Facebook and other things of this nature. I started to pay closer attention to myself and the amount of time I was on Facebook. It was very alarming. I had sudden urges to go and check my Facebook account all of the time (this is called an addiciton NOT GOOD). I feel that I need to spend more time doing useful things like reading my scriptures, the Ensign, focusing on my calling, and most of all spending quality time with my kids. I also came to the conclusion that my blog is a great way to connect with others. I usually post something twice a month not twice a day. I know that President Catlett is a man of God and I should follow his council. I will be a better person for it. I felt that I needed to post my concerns with Facebook to any of you out there that might be experiencing the same things.

Fireplace by Gregg

I wanted to post this to show the creativeness that my husband has. He wanted a place for DVDs so he built cubbies on both sides. The TV and other components will set on top of the mantle. Soon we want to put marble around the insert. No entertainment center to take up space in the room is great. The house is still a work in progress. Hopefully SOON!

OH HAPPY DAY!!

Well , I wanted to post good news for those of you who knew of my husband's job situation! He finally found a full time job. He will continue to do some things on the side to supplement his income. It looks like we will be able to get into our house. A ll I have to say is prayer is an amazing and wonderful thing. It has been about 6 months of praying, fasting, and having great faith. I am indeed grateful to my Father in Heaven as well as my Savior for all of the wonderful blessings that we have received during this period of time. Thanks to all who continued to pray for our family because your prayers have been answered. I appreciate all of the words of wisdom as well.

Birthday Fun!!

We enjoyed a surprise birthday party for my mom this weekend. All of my siblings were there except for my brother Roy who is in Kuwait. We had it at wonderful place called Hibachi Grill. I even made my mom a gluten free birthday cake. My mom cannot eat anything with gluten for those of you who do not know her. It was a lovely evening and I know she was surprised! I love my mom very much and am grateful to her for all that she has taught my throughout my life. She is a wonderful example to my family!

Believe it or not I am the oldest sibling in my family.

This is my mom and Aunt Elaine. They are fraternal twins so you guessed it was her birthday too.

My Best Friend

This is my best friend. A person who knows me better than I know myself. Gregg is a very giving, loving,patient, and trusting person. He always knows how to make you smile. He is the positive one in our relationship and also my rock. It has been a wonderful 15 years of marriage and I hope we will have a terrific 15 more. I love him more now than ever because we share that special eternal bond that cannot be broken. I am excited to be able to be with him throughout all eternity.

Gregg is the best father in the world. His kids think he walks on water.

Gregg never forgets how to have fun.

He loves all of his girls, also.

Gregg will always be a hard worker and good provider for his family. He always amazes me how he can fix just about anything.


Happy Anniversary My Only True Love!!! You are my best friend and I love you forever!!

Caroline Is "13"

Caroline and her friend Chelsy enjoy some pizza at her party.

It is hard to believe that I have a teenager under my care. Caroline finally is a teenager. Where did that sweet little tiny baby go? She is growing up and is on her way to womanhood. Caroline has been through a tough time this year with her surgery. She is a real trooper and I am very proud of her. Happy Birthday Caroline! Your family loves you very much!!

West Virginia Trip

We were so blessed to have some dear friends invite us to visit with them for a few days. Thank you Bennet Family we really enjoyed our time away from our busy life. Here are a few cute pictures of the magnificant mountains and wonderful friends. I have always loved the mountains. They truly are a masterpiece of our Father in Heaven.