Fun At Epcot

Hopefully the computer will work more efficiently today. While visiting Gregg's parents we went to Epcot in Orlando for a day and Arnold and Vonda went with us. It wasn't nearly as crowded as we anticipated since it was spring break. It was much cooler than we thought, though. Luckily there were a couple of jackets in the van from the trip down so the kids were able to keep warm. I ended up buying a sweatshirt because the wind was freezing. I never would have spent the money on that thing if it weren't necessary because it was way overpriced. We had a great day in spite of the temperatures. Savannah commented that Epcot was both fun and educational! Ha Ha! It had been many many years since we'd been there. The kids bought souveniers with the money they earned doing chores before going on the trip.

Slow to Post- Sorry!

Now it's time to play catch-up! It's been a very busy month! My parents came to visit us before flying to Alaska to meet their newest grandkids. We kept their little dog, Cici, for them. They were there for five weeks! They saw lots of snow and spent all their time doting on Gabriel and Donavyn. It was kind of a rough visit for everyone- Dad got sick, then Donavyn was sick with a kidney infection and had to be admitted to the hospital, then Beth got sick, then it was Mom's turn. After that, Gabriel decided he needed to be included in the chaos, so he threw a temper tantrum and slammed himself into a table- pushing his new top front teeth back up into his gums. OW!!! He survived after a short trip to the ER. Zach, unfortunately, was missing in action while the party was going on. He was on deployment for three weeks. We're just glad everyone is all better! While Mom and Dad were away, it was the kids' spring break, so we put the pups in a pet resort and went to Brooksville, Florida to visit Gregg's family. We had a good time, but as usual, it went by too fast. We celebrated Easter with them. Conley learned how to shoot a shotgun- which belonged to Gregg when he was a little boy. Savannah and I were able to see some old friends, Leigh Anne, Cora Lynn, and Savannah. They moved to the Tampa area last summer from Washington State. It had been years since we'd seen them, so that was great! Well, I'll post more from our trip tomorrow. The computer is very slow to load tonight.

Snow Days!

I'm a bit behind on posting this news, but schools were closed last Wednesday and Thursday due to snow. Savannah wasn't feeling great due to her braces so she wasn't excited about playing in it. Conley, however, was beyond thrilled! Gregg got out the sleds and all the kids in the neighborhood played on them. Our neighbor, Beth from Tallahassee, took him along with the other neighborhood kids into town to find even bigger hills! He spent the entire day out in it! Rascal didn't want to play in it long, but Cici loved it!

Friday night we hosted the middle/high schoolers from church for a devotional and dinner. We made pulled pork sandwiches, then had the devo, then the kids played games all night. They were having so much fun they didn't leave until 10:30 pm. My neighbor, Sarah, said she could hear all the party noise when she went for her walk. Everyone had a good time!

Savannah Got Braces Today

Savannah has an extremely sore mouth tonight! She was pretty nervous about getting them put on this morning, but she did great! They told us she'd probably not want to eat much tonight, so I took her to the Chinese buffet for lunch before going back to school. She ate quite a bit! I'm glad we did that because she is hurting now.

Conley had his Awards Night for basketball last night. He was so excited! All the players came running into the auditorium when their name was called. The cheerleaders had two long lines for them to run through. They sat with the other players while they talked about the season. They also showed some video clips from http://www.kidstalkaboutgod.org/ . You really need to look at that site- it's so funny! They also tossed out a bunch of gigantic blow-up balls and bounced them all through the room. Conley was so proud of his trophy that he had to take it to school today to show his class.

Conley's Final Game and Savannah's Last Day of TAG Classes

Conley's team won their last game on Saturday. They won 4 and lost 4. Conley had a great time playing. I hope he'll play again next season. I wouldn't be surprised if Gregg decides to coach next time. Savannah had her last day of TAG classes at the community college. She finished up with Youth Leadership. She's thankful she can sleep in next weekend. I'm busy preparing for a lesson I'm teaching this Wednesday night in our ladies class. I'm also working hard on this summers' VBS which is June 25-29. Gregg has been sick this week with a head cold. There is alot of that and the flu going around. I've been baking bread this morning and am getting ready to go get groceries. No milk and no toilet paper means that chore is over due!!!!

Winterfest 2008

Winterfest 2008 was this weekend in Gatlinburg. Winterfest is a youth convention that is organized by members of the Church of Christ and has been led by minister Jeff Walling for the past several years. Today's worship was the largest gathering of the Church of Christ anywhere in the world with total attendance at about 16,000. The event is held in other cities as well but Gatlinburg has the largest attendance. Jeff leads the event in each city.

Our church youth group had 35 attend this weekend including about 10 adults. We rented a cabin for everyone to stay in and spent the weekend in Gatlinburg. The money to attend was raised working the concession stands at UT football games this past fall. As a result, no money came out of the church or the kids pockets. Delinda and Savannah went Friday night but didn't spend the night. Then I went with Savannah Saturday night and we stayed until Sunday afternoon. Two teens who went as visitors with our teens are being baptized this evening back at our building as a result of the time spent there this weekend.

The subjects taught were: know Christ, be Christ, see Christ-teaching the kids to learn how Jesus would want them to live their everyday lives as Christ would. Seeing others as "the least of these", not judging their sin but understanding their needs and serving them.
A missionary who is now in her 70s told her story of going to Papau, New Guinea in her 20s, learning the native language then translating the entire Bible over 23 years in that language for the tribes people who first thought she was a ghost because they had never seen anyone with white skin. Their "witch doctors" are called spitters because they chew up plants and herbs then spit the juice out and use it as medicine. The story of Jesus healing the blind man with dirt and spit was the point where everything clicked for them and they saw him as the "master spitter". It was a really impactful weekend for the kids and adults.

Hello Everyone!

I've been winding down from a busy week. I've been planning our annual Valentine Banquet at church, which was Saturday. Gregg was a huge help with preparing all the food. We served 70 people that night. Everyone said it "looked effortless" and they had a great time. Some of the middle and high school kids helped by serving the meal to the guests. Savannah did a great job making sure everyone had plenty to eat and drink. Now I've got to get busy on VBS 2008. Conley's team won their game Saturday. We were thrilled since they had lost the last 3 games. This time, one of his team-mates who hadn't shown any interest in the game scored quite a few points and blocked several goals from the other team. We were just excited he was moving around! They won 40-20. Yesterday, our little neighbor, Carly, got hurt and I had to take her to the ER. Her mom was out of town and her dad had just left for a meeting at work. I agreed to watch her, but her and Savannah and Conley were playing outside at her house before coming back to ours. She was pumping up a basketball and tripped and fell on the pump. The pump had a hook on the bottom of it to secure the needle and hose. Well- I don't know how she did it- but that hook punctured her lower leg. It was in the muscle. We had to call the paramedics to help us decide what to do. Every time the pump moved she wailed in pain. Gregg figured out to use snips to straighten the hook so we could get the pump off her leg. Then the EMT's wrapped her leg (with the hook still in her leg) and they put her in my van so I could take her to the hospital. Her dad met us there. Luckily, the hook was in a minor muscle and they were able to remove it once they took xrays and numbed her skin. That hook was an inch deep into her leg. She was given pain pills and they have to clean it with peroxide until the puncture closes. She was a trooper the whole time! Then about an hour after I got home, another ambulance was in the neighborhood. This time, our neighbor Billy, was being taken to the hospital. He will be fine, but does have alot of medical problems. It was a crazy night last night. Well- gotta get going. More later!