Updates coming soon (hopefully)!

Hi, thanks for stopping by! I know that we are WAAAYYYYY behind on our posts. We have had a wonderful and VERY speedy summer! We started the summer with Leah's 9th birthday and driving to Minnesota to visit with Stan's brother, Sid and family. We came home and I did my civic duty and served on a trial for a week. The next week found Stan and I working a couple of deals and Leah in VBC. Then, Leah and Ellie went to VA to get TLC from both sets of grandparents for a week. July flew as the girls and I prepared for Stan's 40th birthday. He was very surprised and delighted with the visits and cards that helped him celebrate! Swim lessons...a few jobs around the house and summer was over! I hope to find the memory cards soon :) and get some of these events uploaded so you guys can reminisce with us. In the meantime, I am enjoying visiting your blogs and seeing what you have been up to! Take care and maybe the next time you stop by there will be photos!!!!

"Meet the Robinsons"

It is with mixed emotions that I make this entry. Our dear friends, the Robinsons, are moving to NC!!! George has accepted a position as professor at Southeastern Seminary. He will be training upcoming pastors on global missions and evangelism. Please pray for them as their impact for the Kingdom just grew tenfold! George and Catherine were the first friends we made here in GA. Catherine was homeschooling at the time and George was working for E3 Partners Global Missions. We shared a lot of LIFE together - laughter, tears, date nights, prayers and encouragement. They are a phenomenal couple that will always be near and dear to our hearts, if not near to our home! (They are not far from our homes in VA, though!) Tori Beth has been Leah's very best friend since we moved as well. Tori is the friend we prayed for Leah when we were moving here. Those gals are 2 peas in a pod! They have so much fun together. George, Catherine, Tori, Aidan and Caleb, we love you and will miss you! However, we know that you are following God's call on your family. We wouldn't hold you back for anything!! So, we will be looking for that blog to keep up with all of your new adventures. As they say in Costa Rica, "Vaya con Dios"!!!

...and She's Off!!!

Ellie decided last Friday that she wanted her training wheels off. So, Stan took them off and gave her a few riding lessons. That's all it took! She was beaming! We were so proud of her. Leah was a super big sister and patiently helped her over and over. Here are the shots of Saturday morning's early practice rounds.



Getting a little push from Big Sissy.....




She's ready to launch.....






She's solo!!!!




By the end of Saturday, she was starting herself and using the brakes to stop. By Sunday afternoon, she was making the turns without putting her foot down! Ellie is a spunky little thing...gets that from her great-Grandma Martin (from whom she was named). Our girls have grown so much this year. We pray they are growing in the truth of the Lord as much as they are growing physically. 3 John 1:4 says,"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

Soccer Stars!! Go Strikers!!!

We just finished our first season of soccer with both of the girls playing!!! Whew!!
Leah was back for her 3rd season after a year or so off. Ellie finally made the age requirement! Both of the girls' team names were the "Strikers"!
Leah had a great season and showed big improvement. She still smiles the entire time she is running the field. (Remember: "Daddy, look at my hair blowing in the wind!")? She says she LOVES soccer and wants to play again in the fall.
Ellie had a super first season and she had an awesome coach (Stan!). She loves to run and be with the ball. The most wonderful thing for her was that she had a number on her shirt and pink shinguards and cleats. (She slept in the shinguards for the first few nights after they were purchased!) Another bonus was that she received her first trophy. (She is very aware that Leah has 4!!) The trophy tried to go to bed with her last night, but I thought it was a little too pointy and moved it to her nightstand. I am thankful that my girls are healthy and seem to have their Daddy's athletic ability! Our Creator is amazing!

More stretching! (and a choir concert)

Leah auditioned for the children's choir concert "Life School Musical" and was given a special part of signing a song with a group. This was once more a HUGE stretch for her. She was sooo excited and nervous. She did a beautiful job of signing her song, "I Get It Now". Both sets of grandparents came to see her debut. We had a wonderful weekend of soccer games and choir concerts. Ellie's choir class also had a Parent Showcase on the same night. We were so glad Nones, Grandma, PawPaw and Grammie were all able to take part in the girls' big events. We miss that they are not usually able to give that love and support. It was EXTRA special that they were here. Thanks PawPaw, Grammie, Nones and Grandma for the special efforts you made to be here! We love and miss you!

Piano Recital

Leah switched back in the fall from violin to piano. She had been begging to play for awhile. Her teacher was great and very encouraging. Leah had to memorize 2 songs for the recital. She was very nervous, but she walked right up, sat down, and played perfectly! That was a HUGE deal for Leah - and us. She has grown so much this year. She is learning to use the gifts the Lord has given her for His glory. He is stretching her a bit, but she is hanging on and enjoying it (when it is all over!)

Chattanooga Choo-Choo and TN Visit - March

In March, we headed up for a visit to our old hometown of Knoxville, TN. It was our first real visit back. On the way up, we stayed in Chattanooga at the "Chattanooga Choo-Choo". Ellie is a total train nut, so this was almost more than she could handle! She was awestruck at first. We had a fun time touring on the train and finished the night with a swim in the heated pool. Of course, we had to stop at the Mayfield Dairy on the way up! The Athens, TN plant makes ice cream. So, we toured and had a scoop (or 2) of ice cream at the end! We were so excited to see our good friends, Gary and Rena Beeler. We made the trip for Rena's baby shower - her 4th was due in April (but ended up coming the next week!) Laura and Leah were the best of buddies while we were there. The bummer was that Laura was diagnosed with strep while we were still driving up!! So, the girls didn't get to bond as much as they wanted. Not to worry, the Lord protected us (and them, as Ellie came home with pneumonia). This was a wonderful weekend of blessings. We made new memories and renewed past friendships. Thank you, Lord, for these gifts.