Dancing for Him

You changed my mourning into dancing;

You took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my soul might sing praise to You without ceasing; O Lord, my God,

forever will I give You thanks.

~ Psalm 30:12-13 ~

Jax Goes to School!

Anna Beth has 'sharing day' once a month at preschool. She was begging to take Jax to 'share' this month so we okayed it with Mrs. Boswell. We took him in this morning for his special visit. Anna Beth brought Jax's toy lion for him to demonstrate how he plays with it. He put on a good show with his lion . . .

He had a great time and everyone enjoyed petting him and playing with him. He even untied a few of the kids' shoes and tried to chew on them.

Easter 2009: He is Alive!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

~ 1 Peter 1:3 ~

We spent Easter here at home again this year . . . this time because of our new puppy, Jax. We have only had him for a few weeks and were concerned about messing up his 'crate training' if we boarded him or transported him with us. So, we stayed here in town and enjoyed a wonderful service at Hebron. The kids especially enjoyed putting their flowers on the flower cross; we then had a family photo taken in front of it:

After church, I cooked the requested 'ham' like Mamaw's and 'baked mac n' cheese' like Nana's . . . I'm not sure it was all quite the same, but the family loved it. Of course, we missed our family back in Warner Robins, but all in all it was a relaxing day with our little family.

The Blessings of Friendship

We were thrilled to have the Spain Family visiting from Lake Placid, NY, this past week. Kim and Derek quickly became some of our closest friends when we moved here almost 13 years ago. We are so excited for their ministry in Lake Placid, but miss them SO MUCH. It is always a joy to spend part of our Spring Break with them. Our children love each other as well, here are a few snapshots from the week:

Emma Grace and Anna Beth, playing the piano and then pretending to be dogs in the puppy's crate:

Grant and Ethan, on a ride at Six Flags:

Andy and Graham, on a ride at Six Flags:

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

~ Proverbs 18:24 ~

The Sound of Music Fills Our Home!

We are SO excited to finally have a piano in our home! Graham has been taking piano lessons for two and a half years now; he has been practicing on a borrowed weighted keyboard. He is doing so well and has advanced to the point that he really needed a full keyboard or a piano. We've been watching craigslist for months now and finally found the right one. It has been incredible to have the sound of music throughout our home . . . . We are so proud of you, Graham!

I've said it before, but we can't wait to see how God will use Graham's little fingers for His glory!

Easter Egg-citement!

Anna Beth participated in the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Child's World (her preschool) last week. It was a lot of fun as she raced around with the other kids picking up eggs. After she was done, we realized she had picked up five or six eggs that were filled with sparkly 'goo' . . . such fun for a little girl like mine who enjoys the 'boy' stuff!

Here we are enjoying a picnic lunch after the egg hunt!

And here is Anna Beth posing with her best buddy, Jaden Moody.

Parablelooza!

Graham has been involved in choir this year as well and had his final perfomance "Parablelooza" on March 29th. It was an incredible performance--entertaining AND spiritually challenging as well. It was tough to get pictures, but here are a few:

Jax, Our Little Gift from God!

We are excited to announce a new member of the family: Jackson, a 12-week-old yellow Labrador, aka "Jax". He is a precious addition with a great temperment . . . he loves to play rough, but is very sweet and laid-back as well. His talents include chewing on the kids' flip-flops and shoe laces and pottying in his crate (AHHHH!). All in all, though, he is fitting in perfectly with our family!

Ever since our sweet Bailey died in February, there has been a void in our family. The boys, particularly, have really struggled. Last week, we decided it was time; I started looking online and came across our little sweetie. He was 12-weeks-old and the last of the litter. I emailed the owner and found out that he was still available and forwarded the information on to Kip at work. It just so happened that Kip was at a meeting in the area where the puppy was located, so he stopped by to see him.

Kip loved him and signed the papers and tried to pay for him. The owner stopped him, saying that she and her husband had been praying about the puppy and felt God was telling her to give us the puppy, that he was meant for us. Kip insisted on paying her, but she wouldn't let him; she felt God telling her this puppy had been saved for our family. Just a bit more information . . . she says he was the pick of the litter and they had been shocked that no one had chosen him early on. She has had him advertised for weeks now, and no one has called about him . . . until our email came. Then, immediately afterwards, she had 15 calls and emails about him.

It is as if God was holding this little one just for us . . . our precious pet was hand-picked for our family by God Himself. How amazing is that, and what an incredible story this was to share with our children! How comforting to know that God is involved in every aspect of our lives, no matter how large or small it may be, and to actually see his hands at work. God is SO GOOD!

Anna Beth's 'Praise Pals' performance

Anna Beth has loved being a part of the children's choir this year. She had her final performance on Sunday, March 22nd. It was precious to see and hear her sing of her love for God! She is anxiously awaiting her choir class to start again after summer!

DiscipleNow 2009

We had the opportunity to host a group of GREAT boys for DiscipleNow this year. We had nine 9th Grade boys and three awesome leaders in our home from Friday to Sunday. What a great experience for our children to see these teens bonding and experiencing God throughout the weekend! This was especially important to us since Ethan will be able to attend DiscipleNow next year. Everyone seemed to have a great time . . . tons of food, of course . . . manhunt games at night . . . fishing and rowing on the lake, one boy IN the lake . . . go-cart riding . . . time spent in God's Word. What a blessing to be a part of God's work. We can't wait to host again next year!

Date Night with Daddy

Anna Beth was so excited about her date night with daddy. Notice the flower in her hair and the sparkly lipgloss! They were going to dinner and then for a special 'surprise'. Anna Beth requested a meal from 'Berber King', but daddy took it up a notch by taking her to Chick-fil-A! Afterwards, they headed to Build-a-Bear at the mall where she stuffed a cute lamb and dressed it in an outfit and shoes (we had four coupons to use and paid almost nothing!). She came home glowing . . . what a special treat for daddy AND daughter!

Boys' Night!

Ethan and Graham didn't want a big birthday party this year, they simply asked for a few friends to sleep over. We decided to do it all on one night and each of the boys was allowed to invite four friends. That was tough, as they wanted to invite everyone, but they narrowed it down. The boys enjoyed a basketball game, then pizza, cookie cake, video games, gifts, and finally a movie on the projection screen in the basement. The big boys slept in the basement and the younger boys slept on the main floor. We aren't too sure what time they finally went to sleep, but it was LATE! After pancakes, eggs and bacon the next morning, the boys were off to their homes . . . and we were off to bed!

Afternoon Tea for Two

The weather here in Georgia has been so wacky this year . . . one day it is snowing, the next it is 70 degrees! On one of those warm and sunny days, Anna Beth and I decided it was time for an afternoon tea party. We pulled out all the leftovers (notice the cut-up hotdogs, lol!) and some fruit, made it look a little fancy and headed to the back porch. We turned on our 'tea party music' and enjoyed a fun afternoon . . . just mommy and daughter. The music was just too good, my fun-loving daughter had to get up and dance! I love these precious moments with my little girl; she is such a joy to be around, so full of life!

I love you, Anna Beth!

Happy Birthday, Ethan & Graham!

The boys celebrated their birthdays with family here at our home on March 8th. It was SO GREAT having everyone up, we had not seen most of them since Christmas. We missed Ray, Amy and the girls, they weren't able to make it. We cooked-out and enjoyed lunch together. It was a beautiful day so the kids (and adults) were able to play outside and ride the go-carts. We are SO THANKFUL for our family; we love and miss you guys so much! Here are some highlights from the afternoon:

Her VERY FIRST Soccer Game!

"Mom, I can't believe it! It's my VERY FIRST soccer game!" She was buckled in her booster seat, headed for her first game, and could hardly contain herself! For years, Anna Beth has watched the boys play baseball, soccer, basketball, football . . . and she has always insisted "I can't wait to have my own team; I need a team and a uniform, Mom". Well, the girl has a team, and she *LOVES* it!

Here are a few pictures of her in action during her first game. She scored three goals that first game and has consistently scored every game. The boys call her a 'ball hog'; lol, I never imagined that would by MY girl's nickname. Her best game was in rain and 42 degree weather when she scored seven of her team's eight goals. Afterwards, she insisted that soccer is "more funner in the rain".

And here she is AFTER the first game--napping on the back porch! She was full of adrenaline, but physically exhausted! We are praying that she continues to give this (and everything she does) her ALL . . .

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men!