this much anticipated day had finally arrived. our church building was complete. our church has been meeting in community centers and camp buildings for over 6 years. we finally have a place all our own!
we had the grand opening and ribbon cutting on saturday.
it was so exciting exploring our new building!!!
the building is beautiful and we are blessed to meet here, but it's just premature rubble. the people and their love for Jesus are what make this place home.
and, on sunday, we packed the place out!!! we may have already outgrown it!
puppy went missing for a few days and we (ahem, i) were very upset about it. we found a look a like puppy on amazon and ordered it immediately, but, as we already knew, it wasn't the same. we had searched the house inside out and we decided that he dropped it in the driveway while walking from the car to the house one day after school. life just wasn't going to be the same anymore and some of us were dealing with it better than others. then, a miracle happened! puppy was found!!! we found it in grace's bed where we had already looked about 15 times. hallelujah! we were so happy and carter started sniffing away. he had to make up for lost time!
we might have a little soccer star here.
we had the awana kickoff and our last meeting in the community center.
completely out of nowhere, he just thanked me for teaching him how to wipe his bottom. i guess this parenting thing isn't always a thankless job!
the night before the first day of school, we had read all the back to school books, including the kissing hand, laid out our school clothes, packed backpacks full of new pencils and gluesticks, put together little teacher gifts, and were tucked into bed.
the next morning, we woke up full of excitement for the new school year! we began our day with our annual "back to school breakfast."
mornings always come too early for us!
after breakfast, the kids got dressed in their uniforms and new school shoes.
then, we were ready to head to the first day.
grace was excited to see her friends and to begin 2nd grade!!!
Carter was eager to see his friends too and to sit in his big desk!!!
we pray that these kiddos have a great year and always choose to make kind, smart choices. we just want them to do their best whether it is coloring, reading, writing, playing, or... and, we hope that they continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus and share His LOVE with others!
we were in the back to school mode. our countdown/prayer chain was made. school supplies were bought. uniforms were ready. i was in in-service. grace was a huge helper!
we were eating well balanced meals of grilled cheese sandwiches.
we were in full swing back to school mode. friday morning, i was getting ready for my parent meeting, a introduction to my classroom and the kindergarten year with 19 sets of anxious parents who are entrusting me with their precious 5 year old, when i received a text from my mom.
my pawpaw was in the hospital and they had decided not to intubate him. well, i knew what that meant. i tried to hold myself together and i did, sort of. i have absolutely no idea what i said during that parent meeting. those poor parents probably thought..."great! we got the looney teacher!" my sweet friends and co-workers helped me get my things together and encouraged me to leave and go to the hospital. i'm so thankful they did and that i went.
all morning. all day. i prayed. but, all i could ever get out was "Jesus." that was it. i could never pray a complete thought. then, i would get frustrated because now, was the time to pray hard and all i could say was "Jesus." my heart had so much to say, but "Jesus" was all that would come out. when i arrived at the hospital, my mom and dad, mawmaw, brother and sister in law, uncle and friend, and mawmaw's nurse helper lady, Bobbie, were all there. we stood around and talked and cried and laughed and sat for awhile. then we circled around pawpaw and my sweet, strong brother somehow managed to pull his emotions together and prayed over our pawpaw. my mom prayed aloud too and maybe others did. but, what blessed me the most was Bobbie. there she stood, behind mawmaw, holding her and whispering in her ear, "Jesus. Jesus. Jesus." that's when God reminded me that there is power in the name of Jesus! and, Jesus is ALL that we need! and, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." {Matthew 18:20} Jesus was there with us! a few minutes later, pawpaw was dancing with Jesus on streets of gold!
the next few days were full of emotions and busyness. grace and carter man were definitely hurting. this was the first person in their lives that they were close to who had passed away. we kept the conversations open and we talked about how pawpaw was in heaven with Jesus. his mom and dad and brother and sister were all there waiting on him. he was probably swapping hunting stories with king david, sharing fish tales with jonah, and no telling what he was telling noah about building that ark. pain? it was all gone. he wasn't hurting anymore and he could finally eat some yummy food again!
this was hard. we loved him a bunch and we are going to miss him. my pastor said, "it hurts so much because we loved so hard." that's the truth and i'm so thankful for this pain because it means that i was loved and that he was loved. he loved a bunch!!! he didn't speak about Jesus to me, but his life was more like Jesus' than most people i know. pawpaw loved. he was a servant, a hard worker, and a lover. love defined him.
but, he was loved too. by a wife, 3 kids and their spouses, 6 grandchildren and their spouses, and 12+ great grandchildren.
what better way to celebrate that love, but with a conga line, of course!
i will always remember how much pawpaw loved me and i will never forget that there is power in the name of Jesus.
No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.
{Jeremiah 10:6}
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
{Philippians 2:9-11}
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
this summer, we celebrated father's day with the "world's best soccer player" for 2015, anyway.
we cashed in some birthday gift cards and went jumping and ate cookies!
she grew.
we saw a movie or two.
what's a summer without swimming with sweet friends?!?
we worked on our tans.
carter taught us some basic theology..."i don't do sins at school." what about home? you ask. "yes, of course, i do sins at home!" why? "because everyone is a sinner and we HAVE to do sins."
we went to jerry's.
we played with cousins.
grace can scramble a mean egg!
she can paint too!
this happened. a lot!
we built marshmallow and toothpick sculptures in our christmas jammies.
our chickens laid their first egg and then a whole bunch more!!!
his hands are in the air like he "don't just care!"
rubber band bracelets are still a thing, in this house anyway.
we went on lots of after dinner bike rides.
then, we had one last hoorah! we went to the water park with some friends and had a wild time!!!
these two are cray-zee!!!
the hotel may have been more fun than the water park.
4 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped his head!
