Absolute Randomness...End of the Schoolyear

This post just contains some random pictures from various events the last month or so before we moved....a little bit of everything!
(click on the collage to enlarge and see better!)

Middle School and Highschool choral concert , Jake inducted into the Jr. Beta Club, Fun with friends, and a sweet picture drawn by Joshie...Joshua drew it a year or more ago for Kenny (has things on it Kenny always says), and it got quite weathered over the past year as his outside office door was opened and closed over and over...ofcourse, I had to keep it and snap a picture of it before I took it down. 

Elly had her first visit to the eye doctor for a problem with her eye (better now) and obviously had a good time!

Jake...always my helper and a great big brother...at the park near our house in Georgia

Caleb had his end of the year band concert.  6th graders all had to choose and begin learning an instrument this past year at Landmark, and Caleb really took off and did an awesome job playing trumpet.

Jake  man

Dave

A very common sight at our house (when he has time)...Jake writing on the computer.  Working on a book pretty diligently over the past year or so, and it's beginning to really come together...my "little" C.S. Lewis



Elly flying her new kite in the backyard

Last day of school at Landmark. Becky Joiner...can't say enough about this awesome lady!

Hard saying goodbyes on the last day of school...Joshua with Mrs. Martin. 

Joshua, Brian, and David (I got more pictures with friends, but I wasn't sure if all of their parents wanted their pics posted on my blog, so I didn't post! 

Landmark Going Away Dinner

Landmark had a very special night honoring Kenny and his time there with a dinner and lots of precious friends, families, and former players from over the past 11 years.  Again, lots of emotion and lots of love. A few different young men spoke from the early years, middle years, and recent years, and it was a sweet time having so many of our Landmark family in one place all at one time. I actually have a good friend that took lots of pictures that night, but, truthfully, that disc of pics is buried in one of our unpacked boxes in storage still! So, here are a few I took and from our friends, the Barnetts, who had posted some on facebook and tagged for me.  Not meaning to leave out so many others that were there!  I may post more down the line sometime, but for now here's a glimpse of the night. Thank you to those who made this special night come together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenny's Ordination

In mid-April Kenny was ordained into the ministry.  LOTS of emotions this day and tons of pictures, but here are just a few for now. I wouldn't know where to begin even trying to put into words what that day was like, but a very significant day for our family. God is good.

 

 

 

Just a glimpse of some of the many sweet friends and family who were there that day, including some of the football guys and families who are so dear to us. 

 

One of the first people we met and got to know when we moved to Georgia 11 years ago, Fred Gilkeson, who became one of our dearest friends (along with his sweet family).  Fred, who is the pastor at New River, is also the wrestling coach at Landmark and was one of the founders of the school 20 plus years ago.  As iron sharpens iron...he is one of those men who has been that in the life of my husband and many others (including my own young men).  We love you, Fred!!

 

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! (: