The First Six Months of 2012 in Pictures

What you are about to see are pictures from our first six months this year.  I cannot possibly retell all that happened....but a picture is worth a 1,000 words, right?  Well, here are about 40,000 words or so.  Is this cheating?  Oh well.....ENJOY!  (I'll try to comment on a few of these.)

On the road to Nanny and Grandpa's!  We love to travel as you can tell!  And, yes, they are usually in a good mood for most of our trips.  We are truly blessed!

There are several pictures in this lot that are from dates with Mommy or Daddy.  Each of the kids has a star chart.  They are each rewarded stars for good behavior.  Once the chart fills up they get to go on special dates, have friends over, or have fun adventures.  This is a favorite!  Daddy date to Krispie Kreme!

We do not have a dog, but we dogsit for some friends of ours who frequently travel.  This is Auggie!  She loves us and we love her!  She is a Blue Heeler and loves anything that squeaks!

I should probably explain this one...this is the morning of Abigail's 6th birthday.  While she was sleeping we taped up her door with streamers.  She had to run through them to get out.  Everyone loved it!

This adorable troop is the homeschool group the kids are a part of.  HOOTS is what they call themselves (perhaps another post will provide all the fun things you can do with that name)

Mommy date!

Date with Daddy!

Our first attempt at gardening.  We planted sugar snap peas, zuccini, pumpkins, and bell peppers.  The peas produced a lot!  The kids loved picking them and eating them right off the vine.  We were able to harvest some gigantic zuccini and Ashley made the best zuccini bread.  Worms ate the stalks of each plant, so we had to pull them out.  Worms also ate our pumpkins.  We got a few small ones out first, though.  The peppers are just now about 12 inches off the ground.  No fruit yet.

Caleb can open doors.  He can climb stools, too.  This was classic!  

These last few pictures were from Farm Days at NC State school for Agriculture.  We got to sit in some awesome farm equipment, and eat free ice cream from NC State's very own creamery.  We also milked a fake cow.  It was made of wood.  I told the kids that was where veggie burgers and soy milk came from.

Micah on a Mommy date!

Nate's 5th Birthday!  We went to Monkey Joes.

One of the best toys ever!  THE STOMP ROCKET!  (10 bucks at Walmart! OH yea!)

This was our Easter celebration.  Each night of the easter week we read from the Bible and lit a candle.  The flower pot to the right was our Grace Garden.  We had a cross, and a tomb.  On easter morning the tomb was empty!  We hope to keep this up each year, as it was a big hit with the kids.  

No we do not advocate child labor.  Really...

This was my soccer team from the Spring season.  Team Argentina.  We are doing our famous "BREAKDOWN" in this picture.

Easter Sunday!

The above picture is one Ashley wanted to capture.  I am definitely in my element here.  I have discovered my love for cooking.  I think I'm making a gourmet taco salad here.  Love it!

Extra special delivery!!

This picture above is one of Abigail's lego creation - a ballet scene.

Yes...Micah has a violin in his hands.  We are all attempting violin lessons. It's very difficult, but fun!

If you've ever wondered what a 20 year old can of coke looks like...well here you go.  I've had this can since 1993 when UNC beat Michigan in the Final Four.  It has suffered quite a few beatings over the years as we have moved.  I couldn't just throw the thing away.  So I poured it in a glass and captured it here.  Then I threw it away.  For the record...it still had its fizz.  Looked kind of gross, but I was impressed that it wasn't flat!

The following pictures are from our trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN.  This was  awesome!

These are all real birds.  Very real! Some of them were moody.  What an amazing experience.  The birds liked my shirt.

This one was my favorite.  It was very calm around me, and wouldn't let anyone take him away except Ashley below.  He eventually came back to me though.  If he didn't cost a few thousand dollars, I probably would have brought him home.

The following pictures are from our trip to the Wonderworks Museum in Pigeon Forge.

The above picture is a 360 degree bicycle.  It builds momentum the faster you pedal.  Eventually you do a complete flip.  It was extreme!  Notice I'm flying solo...

Definitely the prettiest astronaut in the universe!

We couldn't believe how brave Nate was to join Mommy on this high ropes course!  I eventually went on the course and couldn't believe the things he did!  This was one of Ashley's favorite adventures!

In the above picture, this game is a "mind game."  There is a little metal ball on the table under glass.  It is controlled by your brain waves.  The more you relax, the more it moves away from you.  The object is to out-relax your opponent.  I actually beat Ashley in this one, but she was very tough.  Some games can last over 15 minutes.  

The following pictures are from our family day excursion in Gatlinburg.  We went bowling - had the whole place to ourselves! - and then on a cookout where we roasted hot dogs and played about 10 mins of frisbie golf.

The above picture is our last night at the cabin.  This puzzle took days and days.  This was a last-ditch effort to finish the thing before we left.  And wouldn't you know there was one piece missing after all that effort.  It was fun, still though.  It was definitely the puzzle we will never forget!

The below pictures are from HOOTS Kindergarten Graduation.  Nate and Abigail finished Kindergarten at the same time!

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures.  This one is the longest post ever, I know.  But I hope to keep blogging as things go, so you can follow along for all of our adventures in our journey together.

Back in Action

Thanksgiving 2011 was so long ago.  I apologize to everyone for the huge span of time between these posts.  I've actually tried to write this post several times, but felt bad for not being able to recall everything that has happened since the last post.  So, here is the post that finally breaks the web silence!

We are still nestled in our Wake Forest home.  I still work for Walmart while Ashley is doing a great job being an excellent wife, and mother to the children.  She still works from time to time for WakeMed, but we are glad that she doesn't have to work as much as she has in the past.

We are enjoying our time together as a family.  When the weather isn't so scorching hot, we like to do things like take walks.  Last month we went for a walk on wheels.  Ashley and I both had roller blades, Abigail and  Nate were on bikes, Micah was on a scooter, and we took turns pushing Caleb in the stroller.  It was great!

We've had some fun adventures this summer!  We got away for a very nice vacation to Pigeon Forge with Ashley's family back in June.  It was a great retreat to Gatlinburg Falls Resort.  A memorable time for sure as we had a lot of fun excursions, and enjoyed time staying in as well!  We got to hold exotic parrots and other birds.  We also experienced Wonderworks Museum and had a great time!

At the end of June we took a trip to Georgia to spend time with Nana and Papa.  It was a great visit.  We found ourselves really liking Hiram, GA, and want to visit a lot more.

What's ahead for us?  Well, my youngest brother Ben is finally getting married this fall.  He will be the last of the Erdman boys to get hitched.  The family will not only be growing via marriage, but my brother Andrew and his wife Sarah are expecting their first baby.  I'm looking forward to being an Uncle.  I'm also really looking forward to Andrew going through the same joys of fatherhood I have experienced.

I'm going to try to keep this blog updated a lot more regularly.  I don't do the facebook thing, so I'll try to do better with this.  Feel free to drop us a note some time and let us know how you are doing!

What I'm Thankful For!

Ok, so it's been a little while since I have blogged.  There has been so much that has happened!  I will try to get better at keeping this up-to-date.  

Just wanted to take a moment this morning and share with you all what I am thankful for.

• Thanksgiving! (It gives us an excuse to get with family!)
• My beautiful wife, who is beautiful in the true sense of the word.  She makes everyday beautiful in her own special way because she is such a special woman.  Gifted and beautiful.  She still makes my heart beat faster.
• My kids.  Each one makes me smile!  Where would I be without my incredible family!
• Parents
• Brothers
• Grandparents
• Cousins, uncles, and aunts
• Friends - those who are close, and those who are new!
• Strangers who offer their campers for us to use so we can sleep at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's and have a new adventure!
• The maker of heaven and earth who gets infinite pleasure out of his children delighting in his world!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Overwhelmed

The dust covers me and makes me feel as though I am suffocating under the weight.
The pain is almost too much to bear...alas, it is too much for me.
I breathe my last as the darkness sets in.  The last dim light fades.
Gasping again for one last hope I realize that it must all end.
Life on earth is over now.  The darkness has overwhelmed me.

Then bursting forth, I shoot through the crust of the earth's mantle.
The warmth and the light nourish the days and weeks and months and years of rain and storm.
I feel myself growing higher and higher in the light.
A sense of newness surrounds me.  This is unfamiliar to me.
My life under the earth was so dark and bleak.
This new sensation is fresh and wonderful.  Too wonderful for words.

In one final push, I am thrust into what seems like the final stage of this uprising.
I dazzle the earth with radiant colors.  Colors unmatched by anything man-made.
Life has ended, but life has also begun.
Life where there is no more pain.  Life in the midst of death.
The earth and dust and darkness that overwhelmed me lost.  Something bigger won.
And here I stand in full bloom.  In the glory of light like I have never seen.
I sense that I will never leave this light.
I felt the end coming when I was in the darkness,
But now that I am in the light I have no sense of any sort of end.
It is as though this is what I was supposed to be all along.
And somehow who I was in the darkness under the earth was only temporary.
It is too amazing for words.
So amazing that I am completely overwhelmed.

inspired by 1 Corinthians 15

Our Day Off

We have declared as a family that we shall have at least one day every week where we do nothing but rest and enjoy our family!

And today we did just that!  It began with trip to Blue Jay Point County Park.  We hiked on the Falls Lake Trail and spent some time skipping rocks and collecting nature items.  We had a great time.  The weather was absolutely beautiful.  It couldn't have been over 85 degrees out there.  There was no humidity either.  Noting but blue skies and fresh air!

In case you were wondering, yes, that is Caleb.  My baby carrier was also used as a baby holder when we took breaks.  He looks like he is in pain in this picture, but I promise there was no baby harmed in this trip.  In fact, he was carried along and spoiled a good bit.  He even slept for most of the hike.

Men have marveled for centuries at the wonders of God's creation.  This hike was no exception.  I saw five things that caused me to take pause and thank God for his splendor.  And one of them even stopped to let me  take the above picture!

What can you say?  I have got the best family in the world!

We had to have a picnic lunch with our hike to make it authentic.  So we let Sonic take care of the food.  We used their tables for our picnic.  It was much better than packing a lunch and trying to feed these little animals. These big cups you see everyone holding are Sonic's Route 44 sized drinks.  We split two of them.  They were enormous.

What a day indeed!

Tennessee Vacation (5)

The Ferris Wheel was Nate and Micah's first "big boy" ride. They had been on other rides, but this one was very high!  They both loved it.  In fact, I think they were more calm than the adults were!  

Abigail and Nate were both given some money by their grandparents to use as they pleased.  That was a real treat for both of them!  We let them pick out whatever they wanted, take it to the check out, and pay all by themselves.  We somehow convinced Abigail to use her money on a souvenir rather than cotton candy.  And the first souvenir she had was a shot glass to go with her tea set.  So we showed her a small coffee cup that might be better for her tea set.  Her dolls might appreciate that a little more than the shot glass...maybe.

Nathaniel had his mind set on the same gift the whole time we were there...a new Thomas the Tank Engine.  He has a wooden Thomas train set at home and Thomas has been lost for some time now.  So Nate bought a new one and just about hasn't let it out of his sight since!  Micah's purchase isn't shown because his toy is in hiding.  He bought a new gun that makes a lot of loud noise and lights up.  So we are not quite sure where that toy is...and it might just stay like that!

The below attraction was a unique on for sure.  It was one Ashley was so excited about.  It was a huge challenge course.  It was about three stories of nothing but challenges and obstacles.  Ashley had a blast on it!

Well....all's well that ends well they say.  We sure hated to see it come to an end.  We'll be back tho' for sure.  Here's Ashley's folks wishin' us a mountain farewell.  

"Ya'll come back now! Y'hear!"

Tennessee Vacation (4)

Here are some classic Dollywood photos.  We had a blast at the antique cars.  Grammy and Pappy really fit the part.  (You notice who's driving, right?)

This water ride below was Abigail's first "big girl" ride.  It got a little intense at times, but she did such a good job.  Ashley was the first to get soaked.  It look like she was going to be the only wet one for the whole ride. But that simply wasn't the case.  I got absolutely soaked at the end.