The Chambers Family

2010-01-29T18:53:00.004-05:00

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T22:31:00.004-05:00

Well I finally found the time to update this blog. Christmas 2009 has come and gone. The tree is down, the decorations are all put away and our house is back in order (well sort of)!

We had a great Christmas and it seemed to be a little less stressful than normal...not sure how that happened!!

We pray that each of you will have a blessed 2010.

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-25T20:46:00.005-04:00

Tonight Alison and Nicole finished up 2 weeks of Swimming Lessons. They both did really good. Alison was so eager to learn that she was willing to try anything. Nicole on the other hand was very scared to try new things. We spent several hours at the pool outside of swimming lessons trying to get Nicole over her fears. In the end she ended up being able to do everything she was asked to do!!

Max's first day home!!

2009-06-07T21:03:00.002-04:00

We brought Max home today!! He will be 9 weeks old on Tuesday! He is adjusting so well to his new home and we couldn't be more excited! He has only 2 times since we brought him home. Once at the cat (poor Patches) and once when Chris quit playing with him. He is so playful but he also loves to snuggle!!!

Our New Addition

2009-06-01T01:07:00.002-04:00

This is the newest addition to the Chambers family - Sir Scruffy Maxwell Chambers. Max is an 8 week old Miniature Schnauzer puppy. We will be brining Max home next Sunday. Thankfully we have been able to go and visit with Max on two different occasions since we originally met him and decided that he needed to be a part of our family. Tonight we got to take him for a ride to the park. He really like being outside! He seemed to be fascinated by the grass and he tried to eat EVERYTHING that he saw...including a splatter of paint on the sidewalk.

End of the School Year

2009-05-27T23:49:00.003-04:00

Wow! It is hard to believe that I have almost made it to the end of another school year. On one hand it seemed like I would never get here and on the other hand it seems like it was just yesterday when I met my 3rd graders for the first time. It has been a great year and I am going to miss my class tremendously. Alison is now going into the 6th grade and Nicole will be in 1st. My babies are growing up way to fast! I always begin each summer with plans to spend "quality" time with the girls and enjoy our time together....every summer I end up working on school stuff and before I know it the summer is over! I am determined that this summer is going to be different. This summer I am going to enjoy my girls and let my job go for a few weeks. This is hard for me to do but I am going to make this summer count because they deserve to have their mommy all to themselves for a few weeks!

Happy Summer!

Graduation and Biltmore

2009-05-19T21:42:00.006-04:00

Nicole graduated from Kindergarten last week! She was so excited! She told me that she had to be at graduation because if she didn't graduate then she would have to start kindergarten all over again! Thankfully she graduated and now she is on her way to 1st grade!!

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Today Alison's 5th Grade class went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. I was fortunate enough to get to go with her today and get to be mommy instead of teacher! We had a great time! The kids were great, the weather was perfect, and the tour was AMAZING! In addition to the regular tour we got to go on the roof top tour. It is worth the time and money! You get to see some of the unrenovated areas of the house and then we got to go out on the roof tops - Very Cool! Mr. Vanderbilt sure had an eye for detail...there is even a fancy wooden door that leads to his attic!

It has been a while...

2009-04-27T20:28:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I updated this blog so I thought it was about time. Over the past few weeks life has been a roller coaster! We spent several weeks just knowing that Chris was going to loose his job at Eastman. As the time drew closer for the "word" to come, our life went into panic mode. THANK THE LORD, Chris did not loose his job so now we feel like things are getting back to normal...at least a little bit anyway.

We completed the Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last night. Dave really knows his stuff and his Baby Steps are transforming our lives. Can't wait to complete all of the baby steps and have true financial peace. It will be a while until we reach this goal but at least we are on the way.

It is hard to believe that in just a few short weeks, Nicole will be finished with kindergarten and Alison will be on her way to 6th Grade! Where does the time go??

Here are some pictures from the past few months:

Alison sang "Realize" at her talent show at school. Chris played for her. They both did such a good job!

A few weeks ago we went to Bays Mountain. We hadn't been there in a while. Everyone had a great time!

Alison got glasses a few months ago. I think she did a great job picking out just the perfect pair!

We went hiking with the Aubrey family. The weather was gorgeous and we all had a great time. Algie felt quite certain that Nicole would be the one to actually get in the water...sure enough when we got to the falls, Nicole fell in. It is a long hike back in wet shoes and socks!

The weather has been beautiful! This weekend we planted grass (which you can see in the background) and we planted this little tree. Hopefully one day it will provide some much needed shade to our front yard!

Christmas Parade

2008-12-06T22:28:00.005-05:00

Today was the annual Bristol Christmas Parade. There was a big crowd at the parade despite the very cold weather. Alison and Nicole danced in the parade ALL THE WAY down State Street (they started at the Bristol Herald Courier). They both did a great job! When we met the girls at the end of the parade route, Nicole started to cry. When I asked her why she said it was because she couldn't feel her feet...ouch! Alison didn't complain at all - what a trooper! Here are a few pictures from today...

Alison and Nicole before the parade

Waiting for the parade to begin...

My niece Bonnie plays the saxophone in the Tennessee High Band!

The girls dancing in the parde...

Parade

2008-12-05T23:29:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is the big Bristol Christmas Parade. This is the first year that Alison and Nicole are going to be in the parade. They will both be dancing with their dance academy all along the parade route. They are super excited about getting to wear their new dance sweatshirts and their new gloves!! It is going to be so cold but they will have on several layers of clothing so maybe they will stay warm...I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T00:01:00.004-04:00

Now that Halloween is officially over, I have to say that this was one of my favorites!! It all started when we carved the pumpkins. We just couldn't carve normal pumpkins this year. We had to get a little creative. Nicole and I did flowers on one pumpkin and Chris and Ali did a scared face on another one. Then on Thursday we met some friends from church for dinner and then we tried to go Trunk or Treat at Steele's Creek park..that didn't work out as planned but we still had a lot of fun. Then on Halloween, we stopped by mom's house and then went went Trunk or Treating at church. Alison went as a Rag Doll and Nicole decided to go as a bedtime girl. They both looked really cute and had a lot of fun! After going to the church we went to Mamaw and Papaw's and Mark and Karyn's. Then it was off to a Club 56 Event. We went to a bonfire at the Marcus' house. We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. We drank hot chocolate and then went on a hay-less hay ride. I have never been on a hay ride at night before but I have to say that it was a lot of fun!!

Nicole loved getting the "guts" out of her pumpkin!

Race For The Cure

2008-10-26T21:54:00.005-04:00

Today our family participated in the Susan G. Komen: Race for the Cure. If you have never been a part of one of these events I highly recommend it. We didn't do the timed race but we did complete the 3.2 mile walk. It was so neat to walk in this event with my mom who is a breast cancer SURVIVOR! There were over 3000 participants at this event and over $400,000 was raised to be used in the Tri-Cities area for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. Here are a few pictures from the event...

The "Hart and Soles" team: Lorrie Smith, Amy Barnett, Debbie Garland, Karyn Garland, Patsy Smithson (the Survivor), Sherry Chambers, Nicole Chambers and Alison Chambers. Mark Garland and Chris Chambers also walked with us but they were the one taking pictures...thanks guys!!The crowd eagerly awaited the start of the Race...

We started walking down Eastman Road...all 3,000 of us!

I was so proud of Alison and Nicole! They both completed the race without complaining ONE time...that in itself is amazing!!

Here is my amazing mother waving to us from the finish line!!! Way to go MOM!! We love you!

Reading Assembly

2008-10-26T21:37:00.005-04:00

Last week we celebrated Reading Week at my school. On Friday, we had an assembly where all of the kids (and most of the teachers) came dressed as a storybook character. Alison dressed up as the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. Nicole was Hannah Montana (I know it is a stretch for this to be a storybook character but Hannah Montana does have some books out). I came dressed as Sister Berta...a nun from the Sound of Music. Again, not a storybook character but several of the teachers were in a skit based on the Sound of Music and I had to sing a portion of the song "How do you solve a problem like Maria?"....LOTS OF FUN!!!

Julie Roberts Photos

2008-10-22T17:17:00.006-04:00

Here is a link to a preview of our recent photo shoot with Julie Roberts...can't wait to see the rest.

http://www.julierobertsphoto.com/chambersfall2008

Fall Break

2008-10-20T21:32:00.006-04:00

So we started our Fall Break by traveling to just outside of Townsend, Tennessee for pictures with Julie Roberts at Sampson's Hollow. We had a great time and Sampson's Hollow is a beautiful place.

Next we traveled to Seabrooke Island/Kiawah Island, SC. Our friends Jeff and Candy Gurley own a Lollipop Shop there so they invited us down for a few days. These two islands are like Fantasy Island. The beaches are some of the prettiest anywhere.

Bohicket Marina

Looking out at the ocean from "The Ocean Course" golf course.

The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island

The Beach on Seabrook Island

It was cold and rainy on Saturday so we went to Charleston and to Sullivan's Island.

We stopped by to see the "Angel Oak" on John's Island. They say that this tree is 1400 years old. It is quite a site to see!

On our way out of town on Sunday, we stopped by Rosemont Farms. It is really a neat place. In addition to produce and flowers (and boiled peanuts) they have animals for the kids to visit with. The girls fell in love with these cute little rabbits!

We all had a great time and enjoyed some much needed family time!

Kids Are Funny

2008-09-20T00:39:00.002-04:00

So I FINALLY got a new computer for my classroom, thanks to the generosity of some parents. Yesterday I went and picked up a new computer desk and today Chris came by after he got off from work to put the desk together. Chris got to school during my lunchtime. He came and sat with me for a little while before it was time for my class to leave the lunchroom. After lunch, my class was at the restroom when one of my little girls came up to me and said, "Mrs. Chambers, do you know who that man was sitting beside you at lunch?". I assured her that I did know THAT MAN and that it was my husband...

Chris spent a lot of the afternoon in the hallway putting the computer desk together. After he was finished, he came into the room and started putting my computer together for me. The class really didn't pay much attention to the fact that he was in my room so we went on with class as normal. Later on in the afternoon, another student asked me if I knew the man in our classroom. I said, "I have know idea who that man is"...just joking with the class of course. Then one of my students said, "People say he is your husband". I assured the class that he was in fact my husband. They asked me what his name was. I said, "His name is Mr. Chambers". For some reason they thought that was the funniest thing. Then one of the girls (in all seriousness) said, "That's your husband? I thought he was the DELL man". To cute!! Then one of them said they thought his name was Walter. Walter???? I am not sure where they came up with that but the whole situation has given me a lot of laughs this evening!!

Random Picture

2008-08-30T20:37:00.002-04:00

I took pictures of the church a while back for the Girlfriends Unlimited Cookbook...I didn't use this picture but I thought it turned out kind of cool with the clouds being reflected in the windows!

Back in the Swing of Things

2008-08-30T20:07:00.005-04:00

Well, I finally feel like I am back in the swing of things. For the first week of school 2 weeks of school I had a terrible time getting everything to fit within 1 twenty-four hour day.

The girls have adjusted well to school. I am really enjoying NOT having make a stop to drop Nicole off at preschool before going to school. They are both really learning alot. If Nicole could just learn to quit talking so much (especially in music class) we would be OK.

The girls have both had a couple of weeks of dance classes and that is going well. They have both already learned one complete dance -WOW!

A couple of weeks ago we went camping at Roan Mountain with the Aubreys. The Paulsons joined us on Saturday and that was a lot of fun. The kids all really had fun playing together! We were all amazed at Mandi who ran up to the top of Roan Mountain...

and then back down the mountain.

Last weekend we rented our house out for the Bristol Race. We were a little apprehensive about the whole deal but it really worked out well. The people who rented our house were from Canda (we got to meet them and they were all really nice) and they left our house in great condition. We stayed with mom during the time that the people were at our house. That actually went well...I hope we didn't drive her too crazy!

Now I am enjoying the fact that it is Saturday night I don't have to work on Monday...

Yeah for holidays!!

Here are some pictures from our camping trip...

Dance

2008-08-09T22:27:00.004-04:00

Today I went to register Alison and Nicole for dance classes. Alison took ballet a few years ago (when she was about 4) but Nicole has never taken any classes. Both of the girls have wanted to take dance for a couple of years so Chris and I finally gave in. We thought it give the girls (especially Alison who stays extremely STRESSED OUT) an opportunity to have fun, unwind after a hard day at school and get some excercise too. Alison has said for a while now that she has wanted to take Hip Hop so it was a blessing that they were offering a class that worked with our schedule...needless to say she is thrilled! Nicole originally said that she wanted to take Ballet but when Alison said that she would have to dance to slow music, Nicole changed her mind. Next Nicole decided that she wanted to take Jazz. She and I talked about Jazz all the way to the dance studio. I asked her several time if she was sure that she wanted to take Jazz. She tends to change her mind alot so I wanted to be sure before I signed her up. All the way to the dance studio, Nicole insisted that she wanted to take Jazz...she didn't want to even talk about Tap or Ballet. When we got to the studio, I filled out all of the paperwork and when I got to the place where I had to write down which class the girls would be taking, I again asked Nikki if she was sure she wanted to take Jazz. She assured me she did and so I wrote her name on the paper beside Jazz. Well about that time, one of the teachers, who was talking to another mom about clogging, picked up a pair of clogging shoes...that was all it took. Nicole heard the sound that the clogging shoes made, her face lit up and I marked out her name next to Jazz and wrote it next to Clogging!! So now, Chris and I are going to have a Hip Hop dancer (who potentially could drive us crazy with the music) and a Cclogger who WILL drive us crazy with her clogging shoes!! Should be fun!

Full Circle

2008-08-07T22:26:00.006-04:00

Today was a little eye opening to me...I went to the funeral home to say goodbye to a very sweet lady and then to the hospital to see a brand new baby girl. I thought it was a bit unusual to do both in the same day but it did remind me about how God is in control of our lives. He ordained our days even before we were born. He knows everything that will happen to us from the time we are just tiny babies until the day we leave this earth.

I went to the funeral home to say good-bye to Lena Pate. Mrs. Pate is the mother to one of my friends, and coworkers - Jeannie Evans. Mrs. Pate fought a hard battle with cancer and actual lived a lot longer than the doctors thought she would. Mrs. Pate baked the best cakes that I have ever eaten and fortunately I was treated to her delicious deserts many times at school. When I went to the funeral home, the family had printed some of there favorite recipes to give to everyone and they were burying her in her apron...I thought it was very sweet. God's timing was good as Jeannie was able to spend the summer with her mom, creating special memories (without the stress of school) and care for her in her final days. Mrs. Pate was a faithful follower of Christ so even though her time on earth is through she is now living with Jesus. A place I am sure she longed for!

After leaving the funeral home, we went to the hospital to meet a precious (only a few hours old) baby girl - Callie Faith. Callie is the daughter of our friends Larry and Christy Dickison, and the little sister to one proud big sister, Karisse. When we walked in the room, the room was full of friends and family and you could just feel the love in that room. It was the sweetest sight to see Karisse sitting with her baby sister just hugging and kissing on her. Karisse couldn't stop loving on Callie. When she wasn't loving on her, she was talking about Callie. While I was holding Callie, Karisse (and Nikki) climbed up on my lap so she could love on Callie some more. Seeing this family together with their new baby, along with Larry's parents was just precious. Again, God is good. He brought Callie safely here and kept Christy safe during the delivery!

So as I sit and reflect on today, I thank God for the assurance that when his followers leave this earth, they are taken to a better place where there is no more tears, crying or pain. A place where we are reunited with loved ones that have gone on before us and a place where we can see JESUS and worship Him forever and ever. I also thank God for new life and for the hope that it brings. Each time I see a newborn baby I am amazed at how perfectly God creates us...even if we aren't perfect on the outside, to Him we are perfect. I thank God for friends and family...how in the world would we ever get by without them. So at the end of today, I find myself just being content and being incredibly thankful for God's goodness and blessings...which I don't deserve AT ALL!!

Catching Up (Part 2)

2008-08-04T18:45:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, Alison took a week long cooking class at the Southeast Culinary Institute. She learned all kinds of neat things and ended her week by cooking lunch for a group of parents and other special guests.

CHEF ALISON

On July 26th, Alison had her 10th birthday party at the Freedom Hall Pool. The Freedom Hall Pool is a great place to have a party!! You get an hour in the party room and the staff takes out the trash and sweeps the floor for you!!! Alison had several friends from church and school along with her family! Everyone seemed to have a great time!! I can't believe that she is 10 years old...it seems like only yesterday that she was a tiny baby!

Catching Up...

2008-08-04T00:22:00.006-04:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything here so I am going to try and catch up over the next two days.

We all survived out trip to Atlanta. While in Atlanta the girls and I went to Chuck E. Cheese. Nikki won these crazy glasses there! She was quite proud of her choice of prizes!

On the way home, we stopped not to far out of Atlanta for lunch. This cool Kentucky Fried Chicken was at our exit. We were all fascinated by this sign because the eyes on the chicken were turning and the beak was opening and closing. It's not everyday that you see something like this so I just had to take a picture.

We made a stop in Chattanooga on the way home from Atlanta and we all had a great time there. We went to Ruby Falls which the girls both thought was really cool. Then we ate at my very favorite pizza place in the world...LUIPI'S. It is right downtown so if you are in Chattanooga be sure to give it a try. We also visited the aquarium before heading to Bristol.

Inside the cave at Ruby Falls.

Ruby Falls

The butterlies at the Aquarium were so pretty! We spent a lot of time watching them. Chris even had a butterfly land on his shirt. It actually stayed there for some time...I guess the butterfly liked him or maybe it was just looking to hitch a ride out of the aquarium.

Our favorite exhibit at the Aquarium was the Penguin exhibit. We had fun watching the penguins swim and then jump out of the water in there own funny sort of way!

I have a few more things to post but I guess this one is long enough for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get all of my posting up to date!!

Oh Atlanta...2

2008-07-22T19:19:00.005-04:00

So the 2nd half of our 1st day in Atlanta went much better than the first part of the day. After our lunch fiasco, I wanted something good for dinner. We went to Bahama Breeze which Chris had eaten at in Raleigh, NC on a previous business trip. The food was really good - our service wasn't that great - but the good food made up for it. Then we were off to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. That was kind of a neat place. There were a bunch of kiddos playing in the water where the Olympic ring fountain was so you couldn't really tell that it was but we did spend a little time playing in the park and that was fun.

Part of Downtown Atlanta from the Interstate

The CNN building (taken from Centennial Park)

After our stressful day yesterday, I decided that for MY sanity, today we would have a low key day. We went to the movies and saw WALL*E. It was a really cute movie and there were only 5 people in the movie theatre (counting us) so that was fun. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles and then we were off to the pool. The girls were the only ones in the pool so they really enjoyed that. Tonight we ate dinner at a place called Slope's Barbecue. It was recommended to us by my sister. The food was good AND the service was good (I found it amazing that we actually had both) but traffic was terrible - even is Roswell, GA. I am not sure what we will get into tomorrow but hopefully it will be fun and stress free!!

Here are Alison and Nicole outside of the American Girl Boutique and Bistro...prior to our lunch ordeal yesterday, but already tired of being at the mall.

Oh Atlanta...

2008-07-21T17:17:00.002-04:00

We arrived safely in Atlanta (well actually Alpharetta) last night. Traffic was crazy at times but we made it. The girls and I came along with Chris (he has a class here this week) and so far our trip has not gotten off to a good start. Today the girls and I were supposed to eat lunch at the American Girl Bistro. We had to make reservations a week ago and couldn't get in FOR LUNCH until 2:30. We arrived at 2:30 (after wasting all morning killing time) only to have to wait a little longer for a table while others around us were being seated right away...mmmm...Finally we got a table, even the girls' American girl dolls had their own seat. We waited and no one came to take our order...then some people sat down beside us and a waitress immediately came to take their order and explain how everything worked at the Bistro. At this point I am a little more that frustrated. After about 5 more minutes of waiting (still no service) we left. The girls were hungry and tired so we went through the Wendy's drive through and then back to our hotel...Not exactly the "fun" we had planned. Hopefully tonight will be better!

Family Time

2008-07-08T11:05:00.003-04:00

Last night, Chris and I (along with Alison and Nicole) went walking at a track near our house. The girls always enjoy playing in the field while we walk. They played ball, did gymnastics and then made "salad" out of weeds...does anyone else remember doing this when you were a kid? After Chris and I were finished walking, we decided that we could play with the girls for a while before heading back home. We kicked the ball around for awhile and then I decided I would do gymnastics with Alison (what was I thinking???). I did a backbend for the first time in probably 20 years and then I was doing cartwheels...again...what was I thinking? Anyway I was actually quite surprised that I could still do a cartwheel...who knew!!! How precious it is just to spend time having "fun" as a family without having to worry about all of the stresses of life!!!

Avoca Praise!

2008-06-30T09:44:00.003-04:00

Over the past few weeks Avoca Praise! has been working on some new stuff. Last night we had a concert at church to introduce the new songs to the congregation. My prayer before the concert last night was that people wouldn't just see us performing on stage but that the music would point them to God and help them focus on how AWESOME He is. Today I am still praying that is what happened last night. We all had a lot of fun at the concert and the band sounded really great and I give God all the glory for that!

Last Monday night the band got to record many of the songs from the concert at Bandy Brownlee's studio. Tonight Heather and I will begin adding some of the vocals and then the rest of the vocals will be added later. Recording is a very difficult thing so if you think about it, please say a prayer for us that we will be able to get it right and not get too frustrated or cause Bandy to go crazy!!

Putt-Putt

2008-06-22T20:46:00.004-04:00

Tonight we had a BLAST (our Sunday night kids' program) party at the putt-putt course in Chinquapin. Where else can you putt-putt and feed goats all at the same time. The owners of the course reserved the entire course just for us, so our kiddos had the whole place to themselves! Everyone seemed to have a good time. Nicole managed to get the last cookie from Christy and then she fed it to the goats....how funny! On the way to putt-putt AND on the way back our van full of girls sang the songs from "CAMP ROCK" at the top of their lungs (sorry Chris)!! They really sounded quite good!

New Life

2008-06-20T01:07:00.005-04:00

On Thursday, June 19th, Jac Cagle Lewis Gurley was born to our dear friends Jeff and Candy Gurley. Mom. Dad, and baby Jac are all doing well. We are so excited for Jeff and Candy as they have been waiting a long time for this day to come! CONGRATULATIONS!

The "Glue" That Holds Us Together

2008-06-17T10:00:00.008-04:00

This was forwarded to me by my mom...she received it from a precious family friend of ours. When I read this I got a bit emotional...God is an AWESOME God!

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway. He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) .....and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking....'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???' Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer. And then I lost my breath And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin.

Here is how wikipedia describes them :'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see....laminins are what hold us together....LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what laminin LOOKED LIKE. But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)....Here is what the structure of laminin looks like...AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it....if you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...

Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing! The 'glue' that holds us together....ALL of us....is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. 'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth , visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER. ' Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together...one cell to another....by the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam even breathed his first breath!!We praise YOU, Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

The Gangs All Here

2008-06-13T11:04:00.003-04:00

Here is the official "Myrtle Beach Gang" photograph. Thanks Dennis!

Photographs

2008-06-13T00:02:00.002-04:00

Today we are traveling to Knoxville to have family photographs done by the amazing Julie Roberts. We haven't had professional photographs taken in a very long time so we are very excited! Thanks to Larry and Christy (and all the rest of you that have shared your Julie Roberts' pictures with us) for introducing us to Julie's work!

The Storm

2008-06-11T02:05:00.005-04:00

On Monday night a terrible storm blew through the Bristol area. At our house we experienced some pretty incredible lighting but we had very little rain. We did have one tree that didn't make it through the storm. Thankfully it is not in danger of falling on our house. We are not sure if it was struck by lighting or if it just couldn't withstand the wind. It is a pretty tall tree so if anyone needs some firewood...just let us know.

Another storm passed over our house tonight. There wasn't as much lightning but we did get a heavy rain. I was told that at the South Holston Little League field that rain was actually blowing sideways...YUCK! I am sure there were some very wet ball players!

Tonight the girls went to VBS with their grandma. When I went outside a little before 9:00 to welcome them home, everything had a pink tint to it. When I looked up at the sky, the clouds were just gorgeous. God had painted the sky with a beautiful scene. Maybe it was to remind me that He is in control even during the storm (whether that be a weather related storm or a storm in my life)! God is so good ALL the time!

On a completely different note...we recently discovered that we have foxes living near our house. They are living in old ground hog holes and we can watch them from our deck. We have seen a momma and two babies. They are really beautiful animals but I am not sure that I am crazy about having them live that close to us! I guess that is what we get for living in the middle of a field! The picture below was taken while standing on our deck.

Sad

2008-06-06T21:18:00.006-04:00

Alison somehow talked us in to letting her bring a hermit crab home from the beach. We bought the cage and got the hermit crab for "free". Well, Myrtle (as Alison named her) made the trip from Myrtle Beach just fine. She even got to go in with us to eat lunch on our way back. Alison noticed that this morning that she hadn't moved much. We came home this afternoon and of course the first thing Alison wanted to do was check on Myrtle. Well, as soon as Alison (and Nicole) got to her room, I started to hear loud sobs from both of the girls. I knew that something bad had happened to Myrtle. Alison said that when she picked her up she just fell apart. Sure enough parts of Myrtle were on the bottom of the cage. Chris did a google search on this and found out that hermit crabs often "fall apart" as a result of stress while adapting to a new environment...who knew....they forgot to mention that when we purchased Myrtle. We learned that there is nothing really you can do for hermit crabs when this happens and that they soon perish...so we had to say good bye to Myrtle.

I felt terrible about the whole situation, Alison thought that she had done something wrong and Nikki drew a sad picture of two little girls crying. Anyway, I made an EMERGENCY trip to Pet Partners and returned with not one hermit crab but TWO (the girl at the store said I needed two so they could be buddies...good sales pitch!). Now we have the penthouse of crab habitats and two very happy crabs(not sure how you tell if a hermit crab is happy but they seem happy). Alison named hers Beth (she said she named it after me - Beth is my middle name...I've never had a hermit crab named after me) and Nicole named hers Hailey.

This is Nicole's new friend - Hailey

This is Alison's new friend - Beth

Pictures from the Beach

2008-06-06T01:40:00.001-04:00

Home again...

2008-06-06T01:00:00.004-04:00

We made it home from the beach today. We had a wonderful time on vacation but it sure is nice to be back home. It is amazing how quickly time flies when you are on vacation...during a normal work week the time never goes by that fast!

All of Chris' family, Tracy's dad, Dennis' sister and her family and my mom got to enjoy spending some quality time together. We especially enjoyed the time we spent at Myrtle Beach State Park. We were able to have a cookout, sit back away from all of the hustle and bustle, and enjoy God's beautiful creation!

The Beach

2008-06-01T21:30:00.007-04:00

We are at Myrtle Beach enjoying some rest and relaxation! The weather has been hot but beautiful!

This is the view looking south from our resort!

This is the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park.

Alison and Nicole were "trying not to get wet"!

Nicole's cute litte feet on the beach.

I am not sure why but we saw a ton of jellyfish washed up on the shores all around Myrtle Beach!

Yesterday, Chris and the girls had some fun Boogie Boarding!

OK...I had some fun too!

Today Alison and Nicole had fun playing in the pool!

Something to think about...

2008-05-26T23:33:00.001-04:00

Currently I am reading a book for our Sunday School class called "REVOLUTION" by George Barna. At the end of the first chapter, Barna makes the following statement that really makes me think...

Barna writes: "The United States is home to an increasing number of Revolutionaries. These people are devout followers of Jesus Christ who are serious about the faith, who are constantly worshipping and interacting with God, and whose lives are centered on their belief in Christ. Some of them are aligned with a congregational church, but many of them are not. The key to understanding Revolutinaries is not what church they attend, or even if the attend. Instead, it's their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in light of biblical principles. These are individuals who are determined to glorify God every day through every thought, word, and deed in their lives."

How many of us strive to be Revolutionaries where we view EVERY moment of life through a spiritual lens and make EVERY decision in light of biblical principles? As Chris said, there are a lot of churches filled with uncommitted people who are only there in body.

...Just something to think about!

Preschool Graduation

2008-05-25T23:04:00.000-04:00

On May 16th, Nicole officially graduated from Preschool. She was so excited about this event. As part of the program, Nicole got to dress up as a rock star (aka Hannah Montana). Her grandma made her a "sparkly" dress and she even had matching "sparkly" flip flops. After this part of the program was over, they had a traditional graduation ceremony. Nicole thought that since she graduated that she would be starting Kindergarten the following Monday. It was kind of sad to have to tell a little girl that was so excited about starting school that she didn't get to go. Nicole got to spend the week with Papaw and Mamaw (and a few of her cousins) so I think that made up for not getting to go to Kindergarten.

Friends

2008-05-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, our Sunday School class had a cookout at the Aubrey's house. We had so much fun!! It is nice to get to know people outside of the "church" setting. Over the past year we have had the priviledge of meeting some amazing people (you know who you are)! Thank you for welcoming us with open arms - We love you all!

Schools Out

2008-05-23T16:10:00.001-04:00

School is finally out! It seemed like this day would never get here!! Last summer I had a bunch of school stuff to do...I was working on accreditation stuff and I was taking a graduate class. I am thankful that this summer I get to just spend time being a mommy - NO SCHOOL WORK TO DO!!

Piano Recital

2008-05-16T00:55:00.004-04:00

A few week ago, Alison had her annual piano recital. She did a great job playing her pieces from memory. While she was playing she actually looked like she was having a great time. This is AMAZING because this year has really been a battle as far as piano goes. Alison loves to play but she does NOT like to practice. She gets very frustrated when she can't play a piano piece perfectly the first time she attempts it.

This year in addition to the trophy that the students are usually awarded (I think Alison got a trophy for just making it through the year) Alison received a trophy for receiving a superior rating at the piano festival at ETSU for three years in a row...yeah!!