He caught it one weekend and it was still hanging on the next!  This is one "sickness" he was hoping to catch this year.  Last year Nate religiously went out weekly in hopes of shooting a monster buck... but he never saw one! This in itself had him bummed, but the fact that little bro Zachy shot an 8 point just made matters worse!  LOL!  Well this year he didn't have to wait too long before he shot his first buck with a muzzle loader... a 9 point with an 11 inch spread!  Whew, we were all excited that the pressure was off.... Nate had killed a buck this year!

One week later, he was in the stand again with daddy, and once again an even larger buck walked out!  Needless to say, Nate put "some brown on the ground"!  This time it was a 7 point with a 15 1/2 inch spread!  Nate's the man! 

He is trying to win the money that has been accumulating in the "buck bucket" which is the "purse money" for this years largest kill!   Zac's not worried, there is still plenty of hunting time left in the season for him to shoot the "biggest buck"!  Only time will tell.... Nate, Zac, Ben or maybe Daddy!

Halloween 2012 seemed to kind of sneak up on me this year!  Not Ben Ben, he has known for awhile what he wanted to be!  The two big boys were pretty easy this year too!  It breaks my heart to realize that Nate is kind of outgrowing the dressing-up thing (but NOT the candy)!  I kind of bribed him with a new LeBron James jersey!!



We went to the carnival at Zachy's school for some fun and sweets and then we spent Halloween night at AWANA at church and had fun "trunk or treating"!   The last photo is from the fall festival at our church that happened the weekend after halloween!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2012!   

Stephanie and David "tied the knot", "got hitched", "said I do".... they got married! The bride looked like a princess and the ceremony was incredible!


It was a wonderful weekend filled with lots of fun, food, good memories, and this cutie pa-too-tie!


Jen and I were treated like royalty with a mani/pedi, make-up, hair the whole works!!!  I loved spending this time with my bestie.... my sis!  Also, it was also so much fun getting to spend a little time with Steph and Sara Beth!



My 4 handsome men drove up to attend the big affair and looked like handsome little angels!

This is kind of our of order, but when writing about Zachy's baptism, I could not help but think about two blessings in my life... my precious Memaw and Papa!  In August we celebrated my Memaw's 90th birthday.


Memaw and Papa are such a beautiful example of what a marriage should be.  I know Memaw will tell you that it wasn't always easy and that she hadn't intended to be a preachers wife.... but she "stepped up to the plate" and never looked back.  She is hilarious and has always had a wonderful sense of humor.  She made the best pot-roast, fried chicken, and apple pies that I have ever eaten!  Then there is my Papa who was working in construction when they got married, never intending to be a preacher, until "the good Lord called him" and answer he did!  He baptized me, was a part of my wedding, and at age 96 he still pastor's a small baptist church.  I love them both and am so thankful for the influence they have had on my life.

 Love these two very much!!

On October 7, 2013, Zac was baptized at First Baptist Church Glenwood by our pastor, Brother Philip Miller.  We were so excited that Jenny and Molly, Mar Mar and Jim, and Nana and Papa Doc (along with many of our church friends) were able to celebrate this day with us.  As a parent there is no greater joy than know your child is now eternally in God's hands.  Zachy was so excited to be "Bab-a-tized" as he calls it.  When he walked to the front of the church a couple of weeks prior to this week, he was very excited and not scared at all to publicly profess his faith.  Mater of fact, I think his favorite part was standing at the back door of the church shaking everyone's hand and hugging necks... future politician or preacher?


Zachy, you are an amazing little guy and your daddy and I look forward to watching you grow in your faith and seeing all of the amazing things God will do through you and with you.  We love you and will be praying for you daily!  Hugs and kisses.... my child.... my brother in Christ.

I cannot believe my baby is five!!!!  Seriously, it seems like only yesterday that he was just born!!


We celebrated Ben's birthday with his bubba's and daddy on his actual birthday! He also had cupcakes at school with his classmates on his birthday!



It was a week later before we celebrated his birthday with a "birthday bash" at the Christian school with all of his buddies!  The theme was boats...... surprise surprise!!  He had a wonderful time "partying" with his friends.  We were so glad Nana & Papa Doc and Grandma and Grandpa got to be there to help us celebrate!
 



 You are still my cuddle bug and you will still wrap your arms around my neck and let me carry you from your bed in the mornings.  You will still give me kisses (lots of them) when I drop you off at school or at church.  You are very social and love talking with your buddies Gabe and Judd in school!   You have such a tender heart and are learning lots about God and Jesus at school and I love to hear you sing the songs when you think that I am not listening!  You love your brothers and you try to do everything they do.... the good and the not so good... and you are usually able to do it just as well as they do!  LOL!  You and Zachy have done wonderful sharing a room the past couple of months and you two look like peas in a pod, especially when you are playing together.  You still LOVE boats above all else and love to chase after your bubba's!  You are one of my 3 greatest joys and you are growing up way too fast.  In my heart you will always be my little Ben Ben even though on the growth charts you are in the 90%... I think you will be the biggest of the three!  Your mommy and daddy love you and are so proud of you!

The year-long anticipated event.... the Pike County Fair and Rodeo!!!  Yes from the time it ends each year, they begin looking forward to the next year's event.  This is a very small fair & rodeo, but it is the only one that my kiddos have been to at this point and they think it is FAN-TAB-ULOUS!  For me as a mother, the fair is absolutely terrifying ... as I am sure many of the rides are now serving second and third generations... and some of these people that put the rides together inspire nothing but a lack of confidence in their ability!  That said, my kids LOVE THE FAIR.... rides, cows, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens and all!







My favorite part is the RODEO!  If I weren't scared of horses... I think I'd have made a great cowgirl!  LOL!  Nate is officially retired from the muttion bust'in circuit do to his old age!  However, Ben and Zac are still eligible.  This was Ben's first year to sign-up and boy was he excited... until he walked in to the chutte and had to stare down that sheep!  Out he walked, with big tears coming down his face, straight in to my arms.  Oh well, I was glad to have my baby safe in my arms and I held him while we watched Zachy walk, I mean strutt, in to the shute!  Zachy had a great ride, his best yet, however it was not good enought to qualify for the following heat the next night, hence the Oosterhous family is once again minus the prize... the BIG BELT BUCKLE!  Ha Ha!



This was practice time on daddy before he actually had to see the sheep in the pen and decide "NO WAY"!





 We had a blast and were so glad that Nana and Papa Doc and Grandma and Grandpa O. could join us for the rodeo and fair.  Till next year......


 

I tend to think of our life in categories:  our church life, our school life, our sports life, and of course our REDNECK life!   So it is no secret that my Nate is a huge fan of all things outdoors, he and his daddy love to watch any show s about hunting, Man, Man vs. Wild, Duck Dynasty and Swamp People... just to name a select few shows!


Well, Tim's high school buddy Will Tompkins was granted a permit to go GATOR HUNTING!!!  So Will invited Tim and and their other good buddy William and Will's friend Chris to go catch a big Gator down near Cypress.  Sweet Kacee invited both Mary and I to come down and bring THE BOYS.... between us three girlies there were 8 boys 9 and under!!!!  WOW..... a team of some kind I'm sure!








The big Gator hunt took place the first night around midnight while the girls and I hung out and visited (while trying to get 8 little monkeys who were keyed up to bed - not an easy feat and required a lot of patience, LOL)!!!!  About 3ish maybe the big boys came in and they had killed their Gator... all 10 feet 7inches of him!  They were all pretty stoked and the video of the event falls somewhere between hilarious and horrifying!


We had a blast at Cypress, there is no better place, for 8 little boys to just be messy, diry, BB-gun-toting, truck-loving, camo-wearing boys!  Love the McMillan and Tompkins family to pieces and always enjoy our time together!!  This is the crew.... it was the end of the weekend and they were wound up and exhausted all at the same time!  Thanks to Mr. Will and Mrs. Kacee for the cute T-shirts!!  Love, love, love these boys!  Imagine this crew 10 years from now..... heaven help us!  LOL!