Above the Clouds

I've been in the air quite a bit this spring and on my last flight the view outside the window captivated me for 30 minutes! I was flying home from KC on a Friday around 4pm and the clouds were thick, fluffy and white, almost like the foam on top of a boiling pot. I took a bunch of pictures on my phone, not high quality, but if you look at an enlarged version of this picture you can see the whipped tops of the clouds. I couldn't help think about God's view of us from Heaven. Of course, He placed the clouds and sees our hearts so I presume clouds don't block His view in any way. However, He didn't have to put them there, but He did, to hold the rain and shade us from the hot sun. He's amazing.

RIGHT NOW

I've been on a walk. I walked MUCH farther today than I've ever walked without someone else to talk to. I read this morning in a new book and it inspired me...just to get up, not make plans or excuses and go! "I can! I will!" I repeated this to myself every time my calves would get tight. I kept moving and I walked for almost an hour. The author was right, the feeling I have by accomplishing the exercise is much more than the immediate physical benefit I probably received and I wanted to record it RIGHT NOW, before my shower, before my work begins, before I forgot.  Right now, I feel good.

High School Sports - Senior Year

Can't put into words what it means to know Ryan is wrapping up his sports as a high school senior. Last night was Senior Night, it was a simple ceremony but meaningful for all involved. 6 of these boys have played ball together since they were seven years old. I've got to say that although we have district, regionals and state tournament to go, it will be good to continue closing the door on high school for my very determined son.

Last week we learned he won one of the ROTC scholarships to U of A. He interviewed and applied for this scholarship at the end of last year. We've been "on hold" waiting for news about this full-ride scholarship. When he got the official offer, we learned it is a three-year scholarship.  We'll continue applying for what we can receive for his first year. School fees for a year are around $21,000. We're all relieved and happy that he has chosen to pursue an education in Fayetteville. It's one hour and 15 minutes from our house, and he'll be a third generation graduate from the University.

Easter Celebration

One of our favorite things to do is to set the table for Sunday lunch and have no idea who we're going to have over. On Easter Richard invited three college guys from the Praise Band, and one of the college girls that Erin knows from helping in the youth group. I've got to tell you, God certainly cares about the details as he certainly had these friends picked out for us long before we ever set our table.

Sarah is from Conway and grew up in a small Christian school in a family a lot like ours. Abraham is from Mexico and was hanging out with the two Fernandos playing violin for our praise service. Fernando V is from Panama, and is so funny! He made fun of all of us for having pretty southern accents on our Spanish attempts. Fernando S confided in Richard during the day how much he was missing his family and thanked us all several times for having him over. These guys stayed at the house all afternoon and my family loved it!

 The weather was beautiful and we played kickball and fat bat out in the yard. Richard's sisters and their families as well as his parents all pulled in around 5pm for an evening dinner and playtime for the kids. It was an awesome day full of new friends and family and a celebration of our LIFE IN CHRIST.

Easter Prep

Ryan had a baseball game out of town and Richard was with him. Lauren and Erin played soccer in town and after their game they went to a friend's house. It was a perfect time for Sheridan and I to color eggs! She hasn't done it nearly as many times as me and lives in the modern area...we watched videos online about some fun methods to do and tried to copy at home! It was awesome and we had fun. We'll use them as a centerpiece for our holiday meal tomorrow.

Wednesday Kids

It's been an interesting semester with my choir kids on Wednesday nights. We've consistently had around 20-25 kids and that's good for the springtime. I'm a little uninspired in the music area..even though it's officially called SHOUT! CHOIR. We sing sometimes but mainly we play games, share about our highlights of the week, talk to one another and have great Bible story times. I'm enjoying this semester immensely and the kids seem to be too. This Wednesday we discussed and read through the events of holy week and then I encouraged them to design a banner to celerate the resurrection. I was highly impressed with their ideas. I transferred them to paper and then let them do ALL the painting. I loved it and they had fun!

SPRING

PROM - Ryan 2012 - Senior Year

Ryan deserves his own post for Prom. He asked a wonderful girl to go with him, independently chose a tuxedo in silver, and had a fabulous time! Most importantly, I did not have to fix his hair or glue his nails on. Because of that, I happily offered to return his tux on Monday.

The Mockingbird Lane guys...

DBACKS - Trenton, Andre, Trey, Ryan, Michael and Dillon...all playing CHS baseball this season together. Ahhh.

PROM - Lauren 2012

I'm somewhat anti-prom, for what the TV and movies have made it into. For the inappropriate dresses for 16-18 year olds and for the statistics. HOWEVER, when done tastefully and with a great group of friends, the night can be fantastic. This was our first time to buy a fancy dress for one of our girls, I have to say, I was a little uptight about how different our tastes would be. I threatened reminded her when we went shopping on the first day she was going to need to be willing to try on a lot of different styles to get a good idea of what she wanted. I'm pretty sure she agreed and then said, "I'm not getting a red dress. No school colors, ok?"

Doesn't she look beautiful? From the jewelry to the hair, to the nails I glued on crooked...the girl looked stunning. So thankful and happy for Dillon, who is a great young man. Our kids took pictures with their classmates, went to prom for a couple hours, then went on a progressive dinner at their own homes, arrived at our house at 11:30 for a picture scavenger hunt, ate sweets here until about 1:00, then headed next door for a movie. Lots of yawning in church on Sunday...but smiles all around.