Maddy's end of the year

It is very hard to believe that the kids wrapped up their first year of school here in PA. Where does time go? Maddy adjusted very well to her knew school and was pretty busy throughout the year between band practice and choir rehearsals after school. She had several opportunities to perform at the end of the year with band and choir.

She has enjoyed learning to play the clarinet this year. She will be participating in the summer band program as well.

 This was the concert on the blacktop, and it was hot. HOT.  It was fun to look around seeing several kids waving frantically as Olivia and I walked through the crowd. Kind of one of those moments that you take in and realize how much has happened and how many people we have met over the school year.

 Why is Olivia holding this little pebble? Why did I take a picture of it? Why am I sharing this with you? Just so you can see it in her hand after she blew it out of her nose!!! She said "I don't know why I did it" Did I mention to you it was HOT?

Maddy performing at the awards ceremony.

One of the many awards she was recognized for during the ceremony.  Maddy racked up with certificates for library helper, choir, art, classroom, citizenship, music and  2 band certificates. I could safely say that she has had a fun and full first year in PA.

Here is Maddy's principal, Mr. Selvenis. He will see 3 out of 4 of our kids come through the school.

This is Maddy's teacher this year, Mrs. Millar. Maddy had a great year academically and socially. We are looking forward to having new friends hang out over the summer.

Perhaps just an excuse to get in the kitchen and have a creative outlet but I made a few teacher gifts for the kids to pass out. Yellow and White cake pops for teachers and office staff.  We put little tags on the cake pops that said "Thank you" from Maddy/Logan.

What a great school year!

Celebration of a life well lived

Today, we are celebrating Ms. Judy's (Judy Morris) life as she went home to be with the Lord this past week. It was a priviledge to visit and get to know Ms. Judy as she battled cancer and other heath issues. I left those visits blown away by her faith and how she trusted the Lord in the timing of the events in her life. It was evident that God gives a gift of peace that surpasses all understanding when your hope is secure in the Lord. Please pray for this family today as they ache with sadness but celebrate Ms. Judy's life and the leagacy she left for generations to come.

Here is a video of Reyna and Kayla, Ms. Judy's granddaugters. They will be singing at the service today to honor their grandmother.  We had the awesome opportunity to have them sing this song at our baptism service back in April.  Listen to the words...

This is the passage of scripture Ms. Judy clung to for the past few months.

Psalm 71

¹ In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
² In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me;
turn your ear to me and save me.
³ Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
⁴ Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of those who are evil and cruel.

⁵ For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
⁶ From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
⁷ I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

⁹ Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
¹¹ They say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him.”
¹² Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
¹³ May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴ As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
²⁰ Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
²¹ You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.

²² I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
²⁴ My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion

Here is a link to her obituary that appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot News.

http://obits.pennlive.com/obituaries/pennlive/obituary.aspx?pid=158245880

Limo and ice cream- Who needs the major League?!

 What a special night the boys had after their baseball game! The opposing team is sponsored by Unique Limousine service so they treated both teams with a limo ride and ice cream.  It will not be a night they will forget anytime soon. On a side note, our team won and we will be playing in the Championship game on Saturday.

They brought a Hummer and a Lincoln Navigator

The winning team about to board their limo

The boys were amazed at all the details.  They loved the neon lights on the floor and ceiling that changed color.

Billy had the "priviledge" to ride in the limo & keep the boys under control.

He said it was pretty loud in there

Both Teams getting ready to celebrate a great season

all within a week post # 4- NC Visits and the Shaw Move

Forrest and Micheal came for a few days to visit, we had a great time talking, singing and hanging out. We enjoyed having the guys join us on Sunday night for bible study. Also, they provided some nice company in the kitchen while working on Maddy's cake. I fully expect them to know how to make fondant and butter-cream icing now. hehe

 Laura stayed with us a few nights to sign and finalize closing on their house. Olivia kept Sandy busy playing games. The big move is quickly approaching in a few days for the Shaws, our new neighbors.  

 On Friday night the Huffman's, Micheal and his son joined us for the weekend. We worked on planning and handing out information/flyer's in the community for the Tae Kwon Do Sports Camp they will be doing here July 9-13th.
We are so thankful to have them as partners in the ministry here in PA



We discovered we can comfortably fit at least 10 extra people in the basement (they said so themselves) and Cindy and I fed 20 people on Friday night as some neighbors/friends joined in on our activity.
(My camera exposed many pictures including the group picture rrrrrr!)

 The girls hanging out

It was so sweet to look through the camera and see how in less than a year, there are people eager to serve and welcome the Shaws into the body of Redeeming Grace Church.  The Shaws had many from FBC help with moving and it was nice to see and share the moment with them. It's difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that the Shaws live on the same street just a block up from our house and only a few blocks from the Shays.  As the truck was being unloaded one of our neighbors passed by and we talked for a few minutes. They were baffled at the sight of all the busy bodies and how the RGC family is growing. Folks...our neighborhood is changing, changing for eternity.  The connections have already begun with neighbors. 

 Sunday morning we gathered together as Billy spoke a challenging and encouraging Word.  (Romans 12:9-13) . Many people, for many reasons gathered together, but one purpose - to advance the gospel.

 We spent a few minutes gathering around the Shaws praying for them...

We pray and continue to pray for more workers in PA:  Luke 10:2  He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ^"

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

It seems like yesterday this van pulled out from our move. Seeing it three times within a year in the same neighborhood moving in...well, we serve a big God for sure.  We had some personal reflection time as this Saturday last year we closed the door to our home in Wake Forest. As I look back at the post

Empty but so full 

I can't describe how full our home is here in Harrisburg PA.

To God be the Glory for the great things He has done.

All within a week # 3- Maddy's Birthday Party

Maddy is our animal lover, so she requested a safari cake this year. We typically do "family birthdays" besides pivotal years such as 5,10,13,16 years old. She was turning 10 so we pulled off her Birthday party the Thursday after her actual Birthday. She had some kids from school join the fun and neighbors/friends came by throughout the evening. We had a blast at the party as the parents, friends and party goers joined in on the games. The evening went very fast and we didn't  have enough time to play all the "minute to win it" games we had planned.

Who knew you could use plastic cups for so many games that the kids would eagerly wait to play!

Cup stacking was a hit!

another game...

and another cup game!

Putting cut out cereal boxes together

The party didn't stop until well after dark.

We had a fun celebration for Maddy, she ended the evening saying..."THAT was the best birthday party ever"  We are blessed beyond words that the Lord entrusted her to us. She cares deeply for others, she is compassionate, caring, quick to serve, outgoing, teachable, friendly, energetic, loves adventure and she is spontaneous, gifted in music/singing, enjoys deep conversations, innovative, independent....I could go on.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

All within a week Post # 2-Mother's Day

We had a pretty busy weekend and a busy week approaching,  I was very thankful Billy came up with our plans for the afternoon of Mother's Day. We went out to eat for lunch and then headed to a nature park near our house. The park had a variety of trails, streams, birds and paved trails. We had fun being goofy, running, skipping and throwing rocks and just hanging out together.

Just so free.  No worries, no cares. Enjoy the moment.....

All within a week Post #1- Grandparents!

The kids were so excited to have grandma and granddaddy come for a visit. Olivia and I spent time with them in Florida in February but the other kids haven't seen them for 9months! That's a long time to go without hugs from grandparents!

We went to Logan's music performance at the school. They sang patriotic songs and it was very sweet to see my dad stand and be recognized for serving in the Military. Logan was very proud to see his granddaddy in the crowd standing. It will not be a moment he will soon forget...for sure.

Logan and Granddaddy watching the Marines run past the house for PT. This is very common to see large groups run past our house. The kids cheer them on as they past by. Logan tells everyone his granddaddy served and brings all kinds of books home about the military.

We went to The Broad Street Market on Saturday. We picked up a few snacks along the way including the pretzels! It never seems to fail we always see people from the community that we have crossed paths before with various RGC projects.

What could be better than to have grandma and granddaddy playing a game of waffle ball? The kids thought Grandma was pretty cool as she cranked it over the shed.

We headed out to May Fair at Maddy's school. As you can see Olivia doesn't walk...she leaps, skips or runs everywhere!  It was nice to support the school in its fun raising efforts. It was planned very well, with a variety of games, food and activities.

The kids played lots of games; Maddy ran into Maya, Breanna's friend, and she did a little challenge at one of the game stations.

The kids snuggled up  (it was a chilly night!!)  as often as possible to catch up on the hugs. Grandma & Grandaddy were able to see 2 baseball games while they were in town.

It was a great visit and was nice to catch up and let them explore the city with us.