Twins Sing and Play Guitar: Never Once

Here is a video of the twins practicing their song before the talent show in April.  Their teacher, and one of my precious friends, had asked them earlier in the school year to try to learn this song, because it had become "their song" in their family as they walked the journey of adoption.  The Joiners have 2 grown daughters, but through a series of events...the hand of God...they adopted 3 children (siblings) from Guyana last August.  Their daughters had gotten to know these children over the years through our church's mission trips to the same orphanage every summer.  What's even more special?  These 3 have become some of the twins very best friends!  (actually, if you look at a few of my previous posts you will see them in the pics!) SO...this song started as a request from Mrs. Joiner to my boys.  Its truth has become more and more real to our own family this year, as well, and the Lord blesses my heart again every time I hear these words.  Let the sweet sound of their young voices minister to your heart today, too...wherever you may be and whatever you may be walking today.  Never once have we ever walked alone.

Oh...P.S.-If you scroll to the bottom of my blog you can pause the blog music in order to hear the video!

Talent Show and Wax Museum

 

The twins and Caleb auditioned and were chosen to participate in Landmark's talent show in April.  Joshua and David played guitar and sang "Never Once" and Caleb did a solo singing "I Will Rise."  (Hope to post video soon if I can get it to work!)

                                                  
                                                  Hanging with friends at the talent show

Landmark does a Wax Museum every year, and all of the second graders participate by choosing anyone they want to be from history or modern day. They research their person, prepare a short speech that they have to memorize, and all dress up on the same day with props.  All around the gym students are set up and parents and other students at school come through the "Wax Museum".  When someone comes by and touches them they automatically repeat their speech, just like when you push a button on a wax figure at a museum, and then go right back to frozen position.  SUCH a fun day!  There were SO many cute characters this year.  Joshua and David chose to be the Orville and Wilbur Wright and did theirs as a team!  Aren't they the cutest little Wright Brothers you ever saw?!

                       

Catching Up on Life: March/April

So, I've gone back and forth in my mind at least a dozen times on how to go about catching up on the blog.  The couple of months before we moved was really challenging so the blog got put on the back burner, and once we did move to Tennessee, we were in a rental where we didn't have internet service at all for all of June and July (not to mention no cell service at all...had to balance our cell phones in one...yes, only one, exact spot in our window just to send or receive texts!)  On one hand, it seemed to make sense to just start from where we are right now in life, but it just seems like if I do that I'm just leaving a big hole in the middle of my blog!!  This might not bother a single other soul other than myself, but it was going to eat at me if I didn't at least attempt to fill in SOME of the gaps!  I've decided to do some basic overall glimpses (with pictures, ofcourse!) of Dallas life over the past few months to sord of play catch up a little bit.  It certainly won't cover it all, but it'll have to do!

SO...here we go!  (Click on each collage to enlarge)




Here are some shots from Easter just in the backyard.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my beautiful family!!!



April was Caleb's 13th birthday, and that's one of the "special birthday" years we have in our family,
so Kenny and Caleb went on a trip for a few days to have some Father/Son time and when Caleb got
back home the other kids and I had a surprise party ready (just the family). Caleb got his guitar from some of his
grandparents, and was SO excited! I love it, because the twins (who have taken guitar for over a year at the time) started
teaching their big brother right way...and got him off to a great start, I might add! Can't believe our Caleb is
growing up so fast!
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A few just "this and that"...also a trip in to Franklin for the weekend when we were looking at housing, etc. The one of David digging out in the yard was one day when he was trying to get some work done before Daddy got home to surprise him.  Just snapped it out the window...sweet heart!  Also, the sleeping pic of the twins...well, that one is only for a Mama's heart, I guess!  They sleep together every now and then, and that night I walked in and it struck me...they were "postitioned" the same way they were in my belly 9 years ago!  Just one of those sentimental moments for me, I guess!








 Next post will pick up where this leaves off in playing catch up!!  Be back soon!





 





I'm Back!!

I have a friend who recently called herself a "blog slacker" in one of her posts...I don't know exactly what to call it, but I'd say I've become WAY more than a slacker in recent months!  (4 months to be exact.)  I'm a details kind of person, so this 4 month break I've taken is messing me up.  I don't have a clue where to start or stop at this point.  There's no way I can leave out everything from the past few months...especially the past few months we've just  had, but there's, obviously, no way to include it all either.  BUT...I gotta' start somewhere, so here I am!  Glad to be back to the blogging world.  I'm sure there will come a day when I share more details about our story and all that happened in the couple of months before and during our move to Tennessee, but today is not that day. It's just not time for that yet.  What I CAN say, more confidently than ever is that OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!!  Always. We are nothing without Him, and He IS our Rock!

Well, in summary, since my last post, we've had a couple of Dallas birthdays, end of school events at Landmark, my husband's ordination into the ministry, going away dinner for our family at Landmark, a BIG move to Tennessee, leaving the only home any of our kids even remember, a family lake vacation, beginnings of a first time football program at Grace, a second move into another rental, and the start of a new school at Grace for my kids and husband!  See?!  You get my problem, right?!  I look forward to playing catch up (once again) and trying to share some pictures and stories from some of these events in the Dallas family story in the coming weeks.  Thanks for tuning in! (:

Snapshot of Dallas Life Lately (Part 2)

I don't even know if I'm allowed to have this many pictures in one post, but I guess I'm about to find out!  Here's Part 2 of some of our recent pictures for February/March.  There are a few more of recent events that deserve their own post, so I've saved those for a little later.  Never a dull moment around here...that's for certain!

Always a little Dallas favorite...playing and drawing in shaving cream!

Schooltime!!

Love these boys...(:

Perfectly David

Loves her bubbas

Guitar boys

Sweetness...playing outside

smiley-face (:

Z found him a nut can to get a "collection" from outside...

I absolutely love this...the two got "collections" completely on their own (Elly used a basket for hers,
Zech used an old mixed nut can)...then, as you can see poured out in front of them, there's a slight
difference in the two collections. Very boy and very girl!!

Little Man!!

Elly and her sweet friend, Aminah!

Elly with Davi and Amy helping make dinner one night

Joshua and David with their buddy Brian (obviously before the haircuts! No one said
these were in the right order!!)

E and Z with Gracie...can't believe all these little ones are getting so big!!

David and Joshua with Deede Gable, our longtime friend, and their
awesome guitar teacher!!

Jake and his best friend, Joshua at the wrestling banquet at Landmark

Jake and Caleb headed to the wrestling banquet...My "babies!!!"

Snapshot of Dallas Life Lately (Part 1)

Here is part one of some pictures from February/March around here:

Twins got to go to their first NBA game with their friend, Brogan, and his dad.
Needless to say, they had a great time!!

Kenny asked Elly to go get dressed to run an errand with him
one day, and this is how she came out...ready to go!  Very "Elly".
Needless to say, she got lots of compliments while she was out with Daddy (:

Grandmama and Grandaddy got to come visit for Grandparents Day
at school.  Love this pic (:

Twins on the roof...ladder had been up and you know they had to find a reason
to get up there and help out! 

Caleb had Titanic Day at Landmark a few weeks ago.  Here he is all dressed
up (before the tie)...handsome fella!! How are my little boys growing up so fast?!

Caleb and me dancing at Titanic Day...love that boy!

Jake was the "mystery reader" for the twins' class at school one day.  They were
SO excited when they found out it was him!  He did a great job!

Gotta' love a little guy in his shorts and cowboy boots...Z's favorite thing to wear. 

Always fun to play in the mud (:

Z and Daddy at the park!

Joshua and David got to go with Poppa to help with some of the
orchard planting at church one Sunday afternoon.  (All of the produce eventually
produced will be given to families in need through the church's Real Life Center)

Yes, my 14 year old is about to catch up with his 6 foot 4 daddy in height!
Already has the same shoe size! (13!)  Blows my mind!!

The whole crew at the park one evening.  This makes me smile (: (: (:

Landmark Elementary "Flash Mob" Celebrates the Resurrection!!

                              Happy Easter, everyone!! 

Just wanted to share a video of the Landmark elementary "flash mob" on the football field in celebration of the resurrection! (Joshua and David are in the group!) The first time they did it we all watched the students and their teachers, and then the second time any parents, siblings, older students, etc were invited to come out and join in, which was so much fun, too!   It was an incredible tribute to our Lord this Easter season!  Take a few minutes to check it out...it will bless you! I can only imagine how the Lord smiled as he watched His children celebrating Him!!  Just click on the link below to see the video! (and btw, I suggest turning it up good and loud and enjoy!  Only wish you could see on the video the sweet faces of all of those children and their teachers up close!  Priceless! So...I've also included a photo slideshow made by Landmark that day that gives you some of the "close up" perspective, too (second link below). It's worth watching the second time to see those little faces worshipping out Lord! 


http://youtu.be/hju8vmtS0dg    (Video)

Landmark Rise Up Slideshow  Photos