Respect!!

Today Tommy and I were invited to a breakfast at Heritage Middle School. Chase was being given an award for Respect. Each month the school recognizes a specific character trait that they hope all students will inspire to have. Chase was honored for Courage last year and is being honored with the Respect award this time!! Tommy and I are so proud of her. Some of the other traits they honor during the year are: Responsibility, Kindness, Self-Discipline, Integrity, Perseverance and Good-Judgement...We can't even express the joy it gives us to know that Chase not only has these characteristics, but they are so evident in her life that she has been given two awards for them!! We are so blessed to have the privilege of being Chase's parents!!

Here is Chase's Award...Her Teachers wrote alittle about her and then they all signed:

Poor Tommy...He worked last night and only had time to come home and shower before the breakfast, but he is so filled with pride in Chase, that sleep doesn't seem to be a priority right now!

We are so proud of you, Chase! We love you!!

In case you didn't notice Chase has a new hair do...Here are a couple of pics of her the night she had it done!! She has been wanting me to wait to post any because she wanted to surprise her friends and especially Mrs. Tara!!

Great Friends....Great Weekend!!

We had a great weekend with our dear friends Lowell and Deanne Bassett (Deanne babysat Tommy when he was a little boy). Lowell and Deanne minister through music, traveling around the country in their RV. They live in California, so they don't make it this far east every year, so we are thankful when we get the chance to spend some time with them. We have such fun listening to their stories about their traveling around to different churches around this country and the people they have met and the places they have seen. We especially love to hear of how God provides for their every need!! We are so blessed to have them in our lives. Lowell and Deanne are also the couple that introduced us to playing dominoes...They not

only taught us how to play, they gave us our first set! We absolutely love playing!! I even beat Lowell this time (only by one point) We had such a wonderful visit. The church they were ministering to in Winston-Salem was having their fall festival, so we were able to participate in that on Saturday evening...What a fun time that was...As you can see Tommy enjoyed throwing pie pans full of whip cream at Chase!! Chase was covered in whip cream, but had a great time!!

Tommy really "creamed" Chase here!!

She even got her face painted with a pumpkin on one side and a heart on the other!!

We also had an unexpected surprise in that Lowell and Deanne were so gracious to pay for us to stay at a hotel, so that we could stay and be in the service with them on Sunday. That was a great treat for us!! Tommy was so excited he tore the handle off the door...Just kidding, but the handle did come off though!!







We had a wonderful service Sunday morning, Lowell and Deanne just have a wonderful spirit about them and you can just tell how much they love the Lord and how they want to honor and worship Him!! It was a wonderful service!!

You will have to ask Tommy how his ride home was?? I drove and Chase sat in the front with me (she slept the whole way home) and Tommy rode in the back with his feet propped up the whole way home...while I rubbed them for the two and half hour ride...that's right!! Over two hours I rubbed his feet...how good a wife am I??

I can't believe I forgot to mention that Deanne made Tommy a special sandwich while we were visiting...one that she made him when he was little, a peanut butter, onion, and pickle sandwich!! Yes...you read that right...Tommy loves it still to this day!!

Our weekend - My sweet husband :)

Chase was off on her fall retreat this weekend and Tommy and I had a rare opportunity of a weekend all to ourselves. Tommy even gave up his normal study time to spend with me!! We had a really good time. We did take sometime to do homework, but it was for me and not him. For my Biblical Foundations for a Minister's Wife class. I had to spend an hour of uninterrupted time with my husband and talk about our couple and family goals as well as ministry objectives. Our biggest ministry objective is to find a place to minister once Tommy graduates!! I can't help but think about the verse in Jeremiah 29- For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (ESV)

As far as our family goals, we know that once we get settled we want to invest in getting Chase some consistent piano lessons, she has taken some, but it's been so on and off that she is not learning as fast as she could be. We also would in the future love to build another house, but that could be way in the future. We just had a really good time reminiscing about our old house, praying, talking about our future, laughing and crying!! It was all good!!

We missed Chase so much...as a matter of fact I had a hard time sleeping Friday night, when they left it was raining and just not knowing whether they arrived safely or not kept me awake. I know for the future to have someone call me when they have arrived and are safe and sound!! Tommy and I did have a good time though...We did alittle eating out, some window shopping, and we came home and watched a movie!! All in all it was a good weekend!! I hope Chase had as much fun as we did!! I am sure she did :)

Nan Fleming Wallace

Nan was a dear friend of mine growing up!! We met in second grade and even though we moved back and forth alot during my elementary school years Nan and I remained good friends. As we became teenagers and adults we were inseparable. About 3 months after Nan married her husband, Matt Wallace, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Thankfully it was only on one ovary and they were able to spare the other ovary and after months of chemo and all that she went through, she was able to go on and have 2 wonderful pregnancies and two beautiful children. Nan was returning for her 5 year check up to get the all clear from her doctor when she received some horrible news, her cancer was back, and not only was it back, but it had spread and was in her limp nodes. She was given a year and a half to live. Her children were so young and Nan couldn't bear the thought of leaving them and them not remembering her. I was 8 years old when my mother died and I remember her asking me all the time, how much I remembered about my mother. I didn't tell her, but most of my memories are what others have told me about her. Nan was determined to live long enough for her children to remember her!! (Nan lived over 5 years after her second diagnoses). She was so strong and her faith kept her going...I can remember Matt was so wonderful to always call us if something was going wrong, because he knew how much it meant to me to be there if anything happened to her...Well, Matt would call and Tommy and I would rush to the hospital getting there before the Ambulance sometimes and Nan would say I don't know what all the fuss is about I am not going anywhere and sure enough they would release her within a few hours to go home. She was such a great mom, she attended all Matthew's ball games and Ashley's dance recitals and everything...oxygen tank and all!! I remember Matt having to carry her into our house for Chase's 2nd birthday party, but she wouldn't have missed it!! I have learned so much from Nan, she loved the Lord, her husband, and her children and she did everything in her power to show them that love everyday. I remember my 30th birthday, she called me and wanted me to come to her house, she had a gift for my birthday. We were talking and I stupidly said I can't believe I am 30 years old and I made a comment about how OLD I was, stuff like that and Nan said I am just glad I made it to be 30! I didn't think I would! I felt like such an idiot!! Now I celebrate every birthday to the fullest and I am thankful for everyday. I am now 40 years old and I am proud to be!! Just 20 days after my birthday on June 28, 1998, Matt called me and said it was time and I needed to come to the house, when Tommy and I arrived there were members of Nan's church already there along with her family. Nan was sitting in the recliner, all 80lbs of her, reading the Bible. Matt's mom and dad had taken the kids because we all knew it was time. Nan read the scriptures aloud until she couldn't read anymore and Matt took over. Nan's sister Melinda knelt down at Nan's feet and was crying, I knelt down to comfort Melinda, I wanted so much for Nan to know that I was there and that I loved her!! As I was trying to comfort Melinda, Nan reached down and held my hand...I knew then that she did know I was there!! We stayed into the wee hours of the morning singing praises to God and reading scripture, but as people were starting to leave. I told Tommy as much as I wanted to be there with Nan, I felt we should leave her with her family. Matt called me about 5:00a to tell me that Nan had gone on to be with the Lord. She was asleep on the couch, she wanted to get up and brush her teeth and hair. Melinda tried to convince her that she was fine, but Nan said that she didn't want to meet Jesus with bad breath :) So they helped her to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and hair, she laid back on the couch and she was gone!

I still miss her everyday!! I wrote an article on the first anniversary of her death and published it in the Newnan paper. I wrote another little piece on the 10th anniversary of her death as well, I have had it on my myspace page, but I have been thinking alot about Nan today and I wanted to post it here on our blog page.

This is the article:

June 29th was the 10th anniversary of the death of Nan Fleming Wallace. She was a dear friend and I still miss her. After the first anniversary of her death, I wrote an article about her and put it in the Newnan paper. I now live in Wake Forest , North Carolina but I wanted to do that again for this anniversary. I tried for a long time to make something sound right – make it sound worth putting in the paper to memorialize her. I soon realized that nothing I could write could truly do justice to her memory but I had to try anyway.

Nan was a precious friend; she was my best friend – the best of the best. The past 10 years have been empty without her. Not a day goes by that I don't still think of her in some way or another. When someone says, "This tastes awful, here try it" or "This smells horrible, here smell it", my daughter, Chase, and I laugh about it all the time remembering that it was her who first pointed out the absurdity of those statements. Even though Chase was only two when Nan died, she knows Nan through my eyes because I talk about her and laugh about things we did. Nan 's memories live on in my cherished stories that I share still to this day with those who are dear to me.

Although Nan is gone from this earth, she has never left my heart or my mind. I suspect other people have many similar fond memories of her. To those of you who knew her, take some time today to honor her memory: think about this wonderful woman who loved the Lord, loved her family and loved her friends and share your memories with others. It has been 10 years since she left us but part of her never will.

I love you and miss you so much Nan!!

Forever,
Heidi DewBerry (as Nan called me)

Chase's Egg Baby "Phoebe"

Chase has a new project for her Life Skills class, she has to take care of an "egg baby" for one week. Her egg baby's name is Phoebe and Chase is having lots of fun learning the responsibilties of taking care of a "baby" 24/7. Chase is also keeping a journal of feeding times, diaper changes and so forth!!

Heidi's typical ordinary wonderful day!!

An ordinary day for me starts with getting Chase out of bed and off to school and then I spend most of my day with Isabelle and Oren. They are the two precious little ones that I have the privilege to keep during the day!!

Isabelle is 16 months old and Oren is almost 1...They both bring so much fun into our home!!

Tommy gets to play some times, but most days we are sending him off to school as well...Once Tommy leaves for school, Isabelle, Oren and I have loads of fun playing with Boz, reading books, playing with the building blocks, and we look forward to having lunch together too!!

Oren is posing for the camera while Isabelle is eating up her green beans and could care less about the camera!!

Isabelle loves stuffed animals and this monkey is one of her favorites!! She also loves to push stuff around, so she loves this new shopping cart!!

Isabelle and Oren play well together our biggest issue most days seems to be who the toys belong too!!

Oren loves to dance and sing with the music!!



Isabelle and Oren both love Boz, but I think it's about time for naps...we hope you have enjoyed a little peek into our day!!

We Did It!! - Our First Blog!!

Since this is our first blog and not everyone who reads this may know us let me start by giving you a brief history about our family. Tommy and I married on November 25, 1994. I became a step-mother to Tommy's 3 sons, Brian, Nathan, and Matthew. I have never liked that term step-parent or step-child. I love the boys with all my heart and they are just sons to me. Almost 2 years later Tommy and I and the boys welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family Rebekah Chase Worthey. Chase was born on April 23, 1996. She is the joy of our life!! The boys are all married now to 3 of the best women I know and we have 5 of the most adorable grandchildren you have ever seen!! Brian and Gerie have sweet little Billy, he is 3 years old and such a wonderful blessing to his Granddaddy and Mimi!! Nathan and Hester have the next big sports hero Jacob Alan Worthey, he is 2 years old and the cutest little thing you have ever seen!! They also are parents to our youngest granddaughter Kinley Kate. She is so beautiful and such a joy to be around!! Kinley just turned One!!









Matthew and Sarah have our oldest granddaughter Hannah who is 5 years old and in Kindergarten, she is as smart as she is beautiful!! And lastly, but certainly not least they are parents to our youngest grandson Kaleb Matthew, he is also one year old and the image of his daddy, and I think is going to be just as mischievous too!! (heehee). All five of them are so special to us. We can't even begin to explain the joy we have experienced in becoming grandparents. Everytime one of them says Granddaddy or Mimi, we just melt!! Although we have not been able to be as hands on as we would like to be, we intend to change that as soon as possible. Chase is now 12 years old and is still the joy of our life!! She is in 7th grade and loves school as well as many extra-curricular activities. She would be lost without her cellphone and her laptop, but Chase's real passion right now is Roots and Shoots club!! GO GREEN!! RECYCLE!! Those are her themes!!

Now that you know alittle about our family I will get to the purpose of this site. As many of you may know over 2 years ago Tommy and I sold our dream house in Newnan, GA to follow God's leading into full time ministry. We moved to Wake Forest, NC for Tommy to attend college at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Tommy has worked hard and is doing very well in school. He is set to graduate in December 2008. Now really we should have started this blog 2 years ago, so that we could keep our friends and family updated on how we are doing here in Wake Forest, but we didn't, but God is not finished with us yet and we still have lots of things ahead of us once Tommy graduates. So we will be keeping you updated from this point forward. Please keep us in your prayers as we begin to send out Tommy's resume. We know the Lord has already picked out the place He would have us to minister and serve Him, we just have to prayerfully seek His guidance, so please keep us in your prayers. I will be updating as regularly as I can. We will post new pictures of Chase and our grandkids and Tommy's graduation and we will also put up prayer request. Thanks for reading and we hope you will keep coming back to follow our journey with our Awesome God!!!