Christmas Time

The Christmas Season is finally here and so busy.  In addition to getting ready for Christmas, we are getting ready to move.  We found a great house not far from our apartment.  We are moving in right after Christmas and can’t wait.  Emma is starting Upward Cheerleading as you saw in the pictures.  Her games start after Christmas.  She is so excited and having lots of fun with it.  Nicholas is talking more and more everyday.  We are going to Rome for Christmas and looking forward to our time there.  We hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas.  Love to all!

Fall Fun

Fall is in the air…and with so many activities. 

Emma is still playing soccer with last week’s game being her best.  She almost scored with the ball hitting the goal and traveling along the goal line.  Another player did kick it out, but to Emma, she scored.  It has been a long season with one more game to go.  We are pretty sure Emma is not going to be a life long soccer player since she usually asked the coach every game after half time when it is going to be over.  Most of the time she is too busy looking at the cheerleaders on the the flag football field.  We thought we would give it a try.  She has enjoyed for the most part but is looking forward to cheering for Basketball very soon… 

We took Emma to her first concert last week…Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith.  She loved it.  It was only about 5 miles from our house.  She is now the one of the youngest SCC fans I know.  For those of you who do not know, Kevin sang “Not Home Yet” by SCC about 10 years ago.  My aunt heard him sing at their church and knew I was a huge SCC fan.  The light bulb went off for her that he needed to meet me…and the rest is history.  So needless to say, we will always be huge SCC fans.  It is nice to share that with Emma. MWS was awesome too!

Nicholas is talking up a storm.  He loves to say “There’s Choo Choo Train” and “Poe Poe” for ambulances or firetrucks.  He also likes to tell you to sit by him… but sit doesn’t always come out right, especially if he has a pacey in his mouth. It sounds like another word… if you catch my drift….Kids are so funny!  He is enjoying his preschool saying “play” as soon as we drive up into the parking lot of the church.

We are having a great fall with lots of activities.  Our church had a huge festival a couple of weeks ago. The kids had a great time. We all came home with sun on our faces.  Kevin and I are on the Greeter Committee Team. Right now the present facility at our church has a very basic one due to its small size,  but with the new building coming we need lots more greeters.  We are excited to help in this ministry.

Hope this finds you all well and enjoying the fall weather!  Enjoy the photos from the recent weeks.

Fun Weekend

We had a fun filled weekend as you can see.  MawMaw and Granddaddy came for a visit.  They got to see Emma’s first Upward soccer game and watched Nicholas while Mommy and Daddy took Emma to see “Annie”.  Emma loved Annie.  Her exact words were “I am going to do that when I get a little older.”  So don’t be surprised if you see her on stage in a few years maybe here in Spartanburg with the Little Theatre. 

We found a church here in Spartanburg recently.  We are already involved in the choir and Julie is helping with children’s choir.  It is so much like West Rome.  It is called Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church.  They meet in there original church that only holds 300 people but they have 3 services which are all about packed.  After Christmas, we should be moving into a new sanctuary/education building on the same property.  We are excited to be apart on the movement of God’s people in Spartanburg.  We thank God for providing such a loving church who is wanting to reach West Spartanburg for Christ. 

Emma started Kindergarten recently.  On the second day of school, her teacher, Mrs. Graham, had her baby a few weeks early.  She should be back soon.  Emma is reading and working on simple math.  She loves playing games on the computer.  She also is enjoying learning Bible Verses with the Awana Program at our church.

Nicholas is talking more and saying short sentences.  He loves Batman and Football.  He is all about Touchdown and the Seminole Chant.

Kevin is doing well at Upward.  He is loving it.  He recently did the devotion that they have each Wednesday.  He did a great job.  They even made a DVD of it for us. 

Julie is working 2 days a week with Home Health.  The other days, she and Nick hang out, clean, nap, grocery shop, etc. until “Sissy” gets home.  

We are enjoying the Upstate.  We are making a home here step by step.  Please pray for our house to sell back in Georgia.

Beach Time!

We just got back from the Myrtle Beach.  We had a great time as you can see from the photos.  Emma ready turned a new chapter by riding all the waterslides she could ride by herself.  She may become a little daredevil after all.  Nicholas enjoyed most of them as well riding with mom or dad.  We ate well, played hard, and the kids slept really good in our small but clean hotel room.  Enjoy the photos!   And HAPPY ANIVERSARY to my parents, Eddie and Teresa, married 36 years today!   I love you!

Summer time!

Hello friends and family…

Hope you all are doing well.  We are having a good time this summer.  We have been to many places.  MawMaw and Granddaddy made a visit a few weekends ago.  We took them to Granddaddy and daddy’s favorite place…Krispe Kreme.  For those of you who don’t know, Kevin absolutely loves a hot Krispe Kreme donut. We now live 8 miles from one….so he is heaven.  So is Granddaddy when he visits.  Downtown Greenville (which is 30 minutes away) is amazing.  They have an interactive wataer fountain.  You can also enjoy wading in the Reedy River.  The Mellow Mushroom has become a favorite place to eat.  Emma was watching them toss the dough and one of the guys came over and gave her some dough to toss.  She made a heart, he baked it, and gave it back and boy was it Yummy.  She really likes that pizza place….so does the rest of the family. 

We didn’t have our camera the night Upward put on Family Fun Night.  We were so sad about that…we had a great time with inflatables, rock climbing walk, candy, and good BBQ.  We even won a 20 dollar gift card.  We had so much fun meeting new faces from Upward.  Emma had both arms painted with beautiful butterflies that we couldn’t wash off for a few days.  Needless to say bathtime was interesting.  She also climbed the rock wall 5 times.  Mommy did too but only twice.

My car keys have been missing for a month.  We thought they would appear during the move but not the case.  I happen to be looking in the kids kitchen for same little plates and opened a door that hadn’t been openned it some time and there were my keys.  I think a little boy was responsible for that one.   So the moral of this story is check your kids kitchen if you loose something important.

Kevin went on his first training session last weekend.  They flew to San Fran early Thursday morning and flew back on the red eye Sunday morning.  Other than the jet lag it was a great experience.  He ate at the In and Out Burger two times, went on a boat ride that passed Alcatraz and went under the Golden Gate bridge, and went to there conference held in San Jose.  He also forgot to take the camera.  Maybe we will get it together soon.  This week he is going to Columbus, OH.  We will see ours friends and family in Rome July 4th weekend.  We are excited!

Enjoy the photos!

Carolina Moon

We are adjusting well to life here in SC.  The song with the slide show was Kevin’s grandmother’s favorte song.  She passed away this past April at the age of 98.  She was from Wear Shoals, SC which isn’t far from here.  Anyway, just wanted to share a few moments with you from the last few days.  Our biggest news is that Nicholas ate 3 servings of green beans Monday Night and 2 helpings of Fried Squash last night. For those of you who do not know, our son is a very picky eater…usually only bread, chicken, and some fruit.  Hopefully this will continue….

We love you all….

 

More pictures from May

Here are some pictures from the end of the school year including a trip to the aquarium with Emma’s class, last day of school, a rodeo near our house, and Emma’s Ballet recital….Enjoy!

 

 

Arriving in Spartanburg

We are almost all here.  Kevin got here Tuesday night starting at Upward on Wednesday.  Julie arrived Thursday Night.  Our furniture arrives Friday Morning.  Julie’s parents are bringing the kids later Friday afternoon.  We are excited about finally establishing ourselves here after several months of getting ready. Thank you for your prayers.  As we leave Rome we can’t help but think of our immediate family and our church family.  You have all blessed us in so many ways and helped prepare us for today.  We are grateful for you all.  Please continue to pray as we transition and our family back in Rome transitions as well. 

Our new address for now until our house sells is 2000 Troon Circle Apt 20, Boiling Springs, SC 29316.  Our numbers are the same for now: home 706 378-5927 julie 706506-1526 kevin 7065066312 kevin’s direct line at work 864 949-5810.

Thomas the Train

I finally figured out how to put a slide show on this blog.  In May, we went to see Thomas the Train.  As you can see from the pictures, we have a wonderful time.  We had lots of other events in May including Emma’s ballet recital with pictures to be posted soon. 

Is this thing on????

This is our first attept at blogging.  Never gave much thought to it before because I am surrounded by friends and family I see almost everyday.  Well, as most of you know that is about to change.  We are heading to Spartanburg, SC in early June to start a new chapter in our lives.  Kevin will be working at Upward Unlimited as a Basketball Development Specialist.  He will be working on developing and updating curriculum used for Upward’s Basketball Program and well as speaking at training conferences held around the courtry.  We have been blessed with such an opportunity. There main objective is to share Jesus and His Salvation with each child and parent through sports. 

For those of you who do not know how all this came to be, I will try to be short and to the point.  Kevin has been struggling with careers for a while.  We thought when we can back to Rome, we would be here forever.  During this past fall and early winter everything came to a head.  We knew we had to make a change.  We started praying more specifically.  Our church also had a 40 day fast.  Kevin gave up looking for a job on the internet.  Before the fast started he had checked on Upward’s website seeing several interesting job postings.  He also began to feel a tug at his heart leading him more into recreation mininstry.  He kept this to himself for a little while afraid of what I would think of moving.  Once he communicated this, I told him if the Lord was leading him in that direction we had to listen.  After the fast, he applied to several church recreation positions and 2 lisited with Upward.  We also shared our heart with our “interim” pastor Jarrod.   We were about 80 percent sure the Lord was calling us into the ministry when we went for our initial visit.  The best advice he gave us was we would know we were ready when we got to the point we could say “yes, Lord” now what is your question.  Well that day came about a week later.  God confirmed it in both our hearts partly through this verse:

 Deut. 28:1-2 “You must completely obey the Lord your God, an you must carefully follow all his commands I am giving you this today.  Then the Lord you  God will make you greater than any other nation on earth.  Obey the Lord your God so that all these blessings will com and stay with you.” 

We waited about 1 1/2 weeks when we got a response from a church in Warner Robins.  That gave us some encouragement.  Meanwhile, we were trying to find folks who might know people at Upward.  Before we had a chance, they called wanting to know more about Kevin.  Three interviews later here we are about to move to another state.  There are so many details of the last few months that I would love to share.  God has worked through both of us.  I have been able to let go of things especially relating to my sister’s death.  I have seen Kevin realize that God has a purpose for him and he doesn’t have to settle.  He is taking us both our of our comfort zones but given us amazing peace even through adversity. 

We are excited about our upcoming journey. We go next week to finalize some things.  Kevin’s first day in June 4th.  It will be here soon.  Pray for our house to sell.  Pray for our parents.  Pray, Pray, Pray!  We love you all!