Moving In Day! - Fun with Family!:)

Moving in wasn't quite as smooth as moving out, but it went pretty well...The biggest problem was the rain!! It did finally stop when we were unloading the majority of things so that was a wonderful gift from the Lord!! We had lots of help and we are so thankful for our sons and for our friends that came to help us!! Monica, Ryan and Adam we couldn't have done this without you guys and we really appreciate all your help!:) And I have to put in a special plug for Matthew and Ryan...My dad had a refrigerator that had been at my grandmother's old house and it was practically brand new the only problem was that it had been left turn off for several months full of food and such because my brother thought lightning had struck it!! Needless to say it had a horrible odor!! Tommy wasn't sure it would clean up, but it was new and we wanted to try...I mean it was free, who could pass that up!?! Well our son Matthew and his best friend Ryan spent most of the day outside cleaning the frig from top to bottom....they even went and bought lemon juice and baking soda to try and get all the odor out...and you have to understand this was no little odor...this was bad...really bad!! But much to our surprise they were able to get it all out and the refrigerator is like brand new!! I wanted to get a picture of them with the frig, but was never able too!! But I do have some pics of them doing some other jobs!:) Our house has also been filled with family this whole week and we have had the best time!! Tommy even got his dad as addicted to Wii bowling as we are!:) And the really funny part is Tommy's dad went out Saturday and bought his own Wii so that he could play the bowling more often...Tommy wasn't even sure his dad would play and now he owns his own Wii!! Too funny!!

Here are some pics of moving in and our family visits:

Ryan putting together our new bookcase from Matthew:)

Here is Matthew hanging the new blinds he bought for us!!:)

Here are some pics of Tommy and his Dad playing the Wii and some of the grandkids as well:)

Uncle Matt having fun with Kinley!!

Aunt Chase playing the piano with Jacob:)

Saturday- Move in day it rained...and then Sunday - it snowed!!

Thanks to all who helped us move in and out!! And thanks to all who have been praying for us...please continue to pray that the Lord will continue to guide us as to where He would have us to serve Him!!

My New Love!:)

OK just to be clear...Tommy is still my #1 love, but my dear husband went out the other day and bought me a new vacuum cleaner for our new place!! Our old one died while we were in Wake Forest! My sweet son, Matthew was going to buy me a vacuum while he was here, because he knew I was stressing about not having one, but when he found out that I had my heart set on getting a Dyson...he decided to let his Dad purchase that for me and much to my excitement and joy he did!! I know I am getting old...I am excited about a vacuum cleaner and yes I have a picture!! Am I sad or what!?!

Here is my new love:

Quick Update!

I wanted to give a quick update, because we do not have Internet service at our house yet, it has made it hard to keep our blog updated! We have been back in GA for a little more than a week now! We miss our friends in Wake Forest very much, but we have had a house full of family all this week and it has been wonderful!! As this is just a quick update I don't have any pictures to share yet, but I promise to get some soon!! We are getting settled in to our new place pretty well, almost all the boxes are unpacked!:) Chase went to Texas with her brother Matthew for a few days before it is time to get back to school, so she is having a blast in Texas while Tommy and I do all the hard work!!:) I will update again soon with more details and pics!!:)

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

Today is Jacob's 3rd Birthday!! It's seems like yesterday that Nathan and Hester told us they were expecting!! Jacob is such a sweet and caring little boy!! He loves sports and He loves to come and "visit" Granddaddy, Mimi and Aunt Chase and play the Wii...He loves the golf game!!

You are so special to us Jacob!! We love you....Happy Birthday!!

Moving Day!!!

Today is moving day!!! And we are so excited!! I can't remember if we were this excited moving in here or not, but today has definitely been a good day!! Our son Matthew is here from Texas, and Adam, our friend from GA came to help today as well. We also have some great friends from right here in Wake Forest that have been so wonderful to come and help us!! Thanks Daniel, and Grayson, we couldn't have gotten everything accomplished today without your help...We appreciate you both more than you know!:) We will miss you guys alot!!

Here are a few fun pics from today:

Daniel showed up just in time for Breakfast...Is that good timing or what!?!

We did however put him to work...Actually we worked him really hard...Sorry Daniel:)

Chase and her friend Merideth tried to look busy so that they didn't have to do any real work!:)

And of course Tommy spent the day Supervising!!:)

But look what he had to work with!?!

Matthew...What is that on your head!?!

What do you know...Tommy did do some work!! HEEHEE

There's Adam...He did do some work today!! Just kidding!!

UHHH?? Grayson...Why are you at your house instead of loading the truck??

Don't take it out on Seth!!

Excuse me...no cellphones...get back to work!! Slacker!!

Oh No, Adam is scratching his head...What are they up to now!?!

OK...Chase and Merideth gave up on looking busy and went straight to playing on the computer!! In the back of the moving van no less:)

We really had a good day...We are all so tried, but everything is loaded on the truck and ready to head to Georgia tomorrow!! Please pray for us as we travel!! And thanks again for all who helped...We appreciate you so much!!

I will update you on the Unload as soon as I have Internet access!!

My Dear Friends: Tara Dew and Saemica Wilkins!:)

I am so excited about moving back to Georgia, we will be so close to three of our five grandkids and I am just so excited about that!:) I am also very excited to get back to some dear friends, and family, but I am also very sad that I am leaving friends here...We have made some good friends here at the seminary...Grayson and Kristle Osteen, we love them and their kids dearly, they have made our time here so much fun! And Zack and Rebekah Furches have been great friends to us and we will miss them all so much! Tommy has friends he has made at school and work and I have friends that I have made at work and church...I could go on and on about the friends that I made especially at Heritage...the doctors there were so great Dr. Konopka, Dr. Cefalu, and Dr. Burton, I will love these guys always and I will never forget the year I spent at Heritage! I also worked with a lot of great women too...Jill and Angie and April and Michelle and Mallorie, I spent more time with these woman than I did with Tommy and Chase. They will always be special to me! I also have woman at church that I have come to love, Julie, and Lori-Anne, Barbara, and Corey, and Amy, and Allison...Terry, and Suzanne Snyder, and Donna...They have all been great friends to me!! But I have to be honest...There are two women who have really been there for me for these 3 years that we have been in Wake Forest!! Tara Dew is my pastor's wife, but she is SO much more than that! Tara, I can't begin to tell you what your friendship has meant to me! You have been there for me in so many ways. From allowing me to join the Conversation Peace bible study when I wasn't even a member of your church...We had only visited what twice!?! and then you and Jamie coming to the hospital and staying with Tommy as I had surgery and not just staying for awhile, but staying until I was out of recovery and coming to my room and praying for me, again we still were not members of Stony Hill!! Then when we did finally join you welcomed us there with open arms...you have been a wonderful mentor for me as I prepare to help minister with my husband, you have such wisdom beyond your years. You are such a wonderful example of a Christian wife and mother, and friend and I can't tell you how many times I have thanked God for you...The Lord has provided for us in so many ways since we have been here and putting you in my life when He did was definitely a provision from the Lord for me!! I am excited about my new role and I plan to call on you for more of your wisdom! And I look forward to sharing an even greater friendship as pastor's wives!! I love you Tara and I just wanted you to know what you mean to me!!

I met another woman about the same time, God brought Saemica Wilkins into my life at a time when I really needed her. Unfortunately, the first year we were here I had to have a hysterectomy and although Tommy and I had never talked about having another child, the fact that I couldn't was very hard for me. Saemica was the nurse at my GYN office and she was there to help me from day one...before I even knew I would have to have the surgery! Then much to my surprise, she soon became my boss! And again she was SO much more than a co-worker or my boss, she has become one of my very best friends!! She has been there when I have had to make difficult decisions...She has listened to me, she has given me advice, and she has just been a wonderful friend!! I love you Saemica!! You mean the world to me! I look forward to flying up and still having our lunches at O'Charley's or Chili's. And we always have email and cellphones...I am only a phone call away Girl!:)

This is not Good-bye...Just See you later, Alligator!!:)

Pennies for Peace!:)

Chase has been involved in a special club at school this year called "Roots and Shoots". It's basically an environmental club, they plant plants around the school, and they maintain them as well, pulling weeds and stuff! They also teach the kids about recycling and things that they can do to make a difference for our planet! Chase has really enjoyed Science this year! She has a great teacher, Mr. Yost, that really takes alot of time with his students and does alot of experiments, he makes class fun!:) Because Chase loves her class so much she has really taken to being more aware of the things that we do that are harmful to our planet!! Our daughter in law, Hester, bought us some recycling bags when she was here and so we use them when we go shopping...We recycle our cans and bottles! I have switched to "green" cleaning products...We do our best to use less energy here at the house, turning off lights when not needed and whatever we can think of!!
Anyway, to make a long story longer...The Roots and Shoots club is hosting a dance tonight for "Pennies for Peace" for sometime now they have been collecting pennies (money) to go to providing schools and school supplies for children in Afghanistan! Chase along with a boy from her class were in the Wake Weekly discussing their project!

So Chase and her friend Kinsey came up with this idea back in October to have a dance and have all the proceeds go to "Pennies for Peace", so with alot of drama and alot of hard work...They have finally gotten it all together and I wanted to share with you some pictures of Chase all dressed up to go to her first dance!!

Tommy and I are so proud of the young woman Chase is becoming, I love that she gets such a passion for a cause and wants to do all she can to make things better for other people!:) She truly has a servant's heart and I thank God daily for her!!. One of Chase's favorite shirts says Go Green...Love the Earth, Love the Creator!

Chase's Favorite Language Arts Teacher, Mr. Barringer:) He's actually smiling:)

Chase's Favorite Science Teacher, Mr. Yost:)

Rock Star Hair!:)

Chase has been wanting a new haircut, that she found on the Internet, but she has been afraid that it was too short and although she really liked the cut, she wasn't sure how it would look on her!! She finally took the plunge today and just went for it!!:) I think it is really cute!! She just looks so grown up...Where has my baby gone!?!

Exciting News!!

We made some exciting decision this weekend!! My (Heidi) brother back home has offered to rent us his house for the same as we are paying here in seminary housing and it is almost twice as big as our townhouse. This is just too good of an offer to pass up. It will put us near our grandchildren as well as putting us right between my dad and Tommy's parents. It is also near a church that plans to interview Tommy soon. It is scary not having a definite job lined up, but we feel that God has opened this door and we are walking through it by faith. Please pray for us that God will continue to open doors and show us the way He wants us to go. God has been faithful to our family as we have trusted Him since we first felt His calling. We know God will provide us a job but we will be more at ease once He does. Sometimes walking by faith is not so easy but it is always exciting.
We are experiencing mixed emotions at this time. We are excited and nervous at the same time. I guess it is times like this that help our faith to grow.

Please pray for us as we make plans to get packed up and move in the next 3 weeks. We have made many friends here in Wake Forest and it's going to be hard to leave, but we are so excited about getting back close to our family!!

Here are a couple of pictures of our New Home in Grantville, GA

These are just a few pictures, but we are very excited!!:) We will add more pictures after we have moved in and have all our things in place!:)