Happy Birthday Tommy!

Today is Tommy's 53rd Birthday! Birthdays are always very special events at the Worthey house. Chase and I are so excited about celebrating Tommy's birthday today...Tommy has had to work the last couple of nights and unfortunately has to work tonight as well, so we are trying to get everything ready for when Tommy wakes up! Tommy got a special surprise in the mail this morning, Jacob and Kinley mailed Granddaddy some homemade cards, along with the cards, Jacob and Kinley sent all of us some finger painted pictures! They were GREAT! and we love them!

For those of you who don't know much about Tommy let me fill you in a little. Tommy was born on January 31, 1956. He was born in Atlanta, GA, but soon moved to California. Tommy lived in California until he was 11 years old, at that time his family moved back to Georgia. Tommy's Uncle Ray had become a Christian and talked with Tommy about how Jesus died for him...he also took Tommy to church with him. One day he gave Tommy a tract, Tommy read the tract and that night at his grandmother's house, Tommy knelt beside his bed and prayed the prayer of salvation that was on the back of the tract. He got up and went to sleep...from that moment forward Tommy's life was never the same. He had a hunger to know more about the Bible, to know about God! Tommy experienced some persecution for his beliefs, he was called a "Candy", by his coach, because he decided to quit the basketball team because practice interfered with his activities at church, but Tommy didn't care, he knew his life was not about basketball! I wouldn't ordinarily speak for Tommy, but I think I can say without reservation that Tommy has never regretted the decision he made almost 41 years ago to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior!

I can't begin to totally describe Tommy to you in one blog, but I can tell you from his wife's perspective...Tommy is a wonderful husband, he is a man of God, that will never back down from his beliefs! Tommy is an amazing father and grandfather! He has 4 great kids and 5 precious grandchildren that he loves dearly! Tommy has a great sense of humor and is so much fun to be around...Tommy loves woodworking, he has never been a sports guy, so we will NOT be watching the Superbowl tomorrow!:) Tommy enjoys watching movies...He even likes chick flicks, don't tell him I told you, but he usually cries more than me!! Tommy also enjoys watching Seinfeld...He doesn't have the greatest memory, but he can quote almost any Seinfeld episode! Tommy has a beautiful singing voice, though he has never been trained, he has a God-given talent and he does use this talent for the Lord, singing in the choir at church as well as singing solos! Most importantly, Tommy lives his life to honor and glorify God in all he does, whether it's being a good husband and father, whether it's being a student at school or whether he is picking up trash at his part-time job. Tommy does it all to the glory of God! And I am so humbled that the Lord saw fit to put this wonderful man in my life. Tommy makes me a better wife and mother. Tommy makes me a better person in every way! And I love him with all my heart! Happy Birthday Baby...I love you!!

We have had such a good time celebrating Tommy's birthday! Tommy slept most of the day because he worked last night and has to work tonight as well...Anyway, we started off by opening his presents, Fiddle Faddle (Tommy's favorite) and a new Bible...Tommy has been going back and forth on whether he wanted this new Bible...it's a really nice calfskin NASB...He really wanted it for a pulpit Bible...it has no references and wide margins and most importantly for Tommy Large print HEHEHE!! He did turn 53 today!! We then took him to On the Border for dinner...Tommy loves mexican food!!:) We then headed home for cake!! Our friends the Osteen's came over for cake, Kristle missed out, but Grayson, Rachael and Seth helped us celebrate Tommy's birthday...We had a great day! We are so thankful for Tommy and all he means to our family!!

Here are some pictures from our day! Hope you enjoy!:)

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Fun Weekend with Family!

Nathan and Hester invited us to come and stay with them this past weekend and since Tommy didn't have to work we jumped at the chance to go and spend some time with our kids and grandkids! We had such a good time! Chase got to see her best friend Jade and they babysat while all the adults went out for a late lunch and just some time to catch up! We also took our Wii with us and it quickly became a big hit with our kids and grandkids!! Our sons enjoyed the bowling and our grandsons enjoyed the golf game:) Billy, Jacob and Kinley are all getting so big and we had the best time spending the weekend with them! Thanks again Nathan and Hester for putting us up for the weekend! We love you all!!

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Granddaddy with his little love - Kinley Kate

The boys had such a good time with the Wii...I have a feeling they will be requesting us to bring it with us whenever we come to visit...or either they will end up with one of their own:)

Nathan didn't like that Chase was beating him at bowling...I am sure that was tough to have your little sister cream you at bowling, so he made her play until he finally won a game!! Chase finally let him win so she could stop playing, just don't tell Nathan!:) Of course when Brian got there it was an all out brother to brother contest...all in love of course!:) Dad finally had to bowl a few and show the boys who was the champion bowler!!:)

Nathan has some pretty good moves:

Let's see what kind of moves Brian has got:

Now let Dad show you how it is done boys:

Billy and Jacob's game of choice was golf!!

Jacob looks so serious, he is really studying this shot!:)

Billy was apparently happy with his shot:)

As Jacob would say "That was amazing!"

Kinley didn't care for the Wii, but she did do some dancing for Mimi!:) And as soon as I can figure out how to upload a video clip I will post it for you!!

I thank God daily for our wonderful family...The Lord has truly blest us!! We are so thankful for them and we are so thankful for the time to spend with them!:)

It's Snowing!!

OUR SWEET LITTLE SNOW ANGEL:

The weather man was forecasting snow, but I was not convinced until I woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of snow! I am not sure the official amount of snow, but I know they were forecasting 1 to 3 inches!:) This has definitely been the best snow fall we have seen since we have moved to NC! Chase spent the night at a friend's house last night, as they had already closed school in anticipation of the snow! So Chase was up at 6:30a this morning playing in the snow and doing some sledding! I picked her up about 11am, we came home and had some lunch, played with Isabelle in the snow for a few minutes then after Isabelle's mom picked her up, Tommy, Chase and I went out to play in the snow! What a fun time we had snowball fighting! Chase even made a few snow angels! Mostly we just walked around and enjoyed the beauty of the snow! What a wonderful gift from God...Chase and I have been praying for snow this winter and the Lord has surely answered our prayers!

Here are a few pictures from our day in the snow:

Here is Chase in an avalanche of snow:

Wising Up!

Last week was the beginning of our new bible study at church. The video series is by Beth Moore...She is teaching on the book of Proverbs...The study is called Wising Up! Since this particular study did not come with workbooks, our pastor's wife, Tara Dew wrote the workbooks to go along with Beth's teaching! Like I said we only started last week, but WOW! Tara did an amazing job with the workbooks...I love Beth Moore and love doing her studies, but Tara's workbook along side of Beth's video teaching is awesome! Tara, you did a wonderful job! Our first day talks about who needs wisdom: The simple, the young, and the wise who want to become wiser! There is a point that Beth Moore talks about each one in her video and Tara also talks about them in the workbook...And we are asked if we know anyone who falls into the young, but wise catagory...of course I immediately thought of Chase...I can't begin to tell you how many people I have had over the years tell me that Chase is wise beyond her years! And then today something happened that showed me how true that statement really is...and not just wisdom, but truly a girl that seeks the Lord!

There is a particular girl at Chase's school that I don't allow her to hang out with because...well let's just say I don't want Chase to hang out with her! Chase has never really been friends with her, but Chase has friends that are friends with her...Anyway, they are having a Valentine's dance at Chase's school and several of the girls wanted to go shopping for dresses together and Chase told them that if this girl was going that she couldn't go, but that it was fine, she would just get her dress another time! No big deal! Well, this girl then starts to call / text Chase wanting to know why she can't come...middle school drama you know?? Anyway, she then told Chase that she should just lie to us and then they could all go together and Chase's response was "I would rather never go dress shopping than to lie to my parents" Don't you just love her?? I do!!

I told Chase I was so proud of her. She not only stood up to this girl and said no I will not lie to my parents, but she was upfront with me and told me what happened!! Chase is becoming a teenager more and more everyday and Tommy and I used to be afraid of those teenage years with a girl, but Chase seems to set our minds more at ease everyday!

Chase, I love you so much and I am so proud of the young woman that you are becoming! Keep your eyes focused on the Lord and He will make your path straight! I love you-Mom

OK...so she doesn't look so wise here, but she does look like a teenager right??

Fun Time with Friends!

Since Chase got her Wii for Christmas I think Tommy and I have become more addicted to playing it than she has, everytime either Chase or Tommy comes down stairs usually the first thing I say to them is "do you want to bowl?" I love bowling!! Tommy is better than me, but I beat him on occasion:) We have been trying since right after Christmas to have our neighbors Grayson and Kristle to come over and bowl with us, so last night Chase had her friend Kristen over to go to a movie and spend the night, so when they got home from their movie, we had them go up to Grayson and Kristle's to listen out for their little ones, so that they could come down and bowl with me and Tommy! What a fun time we had!! Chase loves to make all the Mii characters for the Wii and she made one of Grayson before he came to play...Grayson is a real clown, so Chase made his Mii with a huge smile...it's too funny!! I was telling Tommy just yesterday, that I guess I had a mind set of when he graduated then we would get a position in a church and we would be moving, preferably closer to home! So this waiting has not been fun! But God has His own timing and His own plans for us, so we are waiting on Him! In the mean time I am so thankful for friends like Kristle and Grayson, that makes being here lots of fun!! Thanks guys for such a fun evening...We will have to do it again really soon!!

Here's a few pictures from our evening:

This is a real action shot of Kristle bowling:

This is Tommy going for his 9th strike in a row!!:) He blames me that he didn't get it because I took his picture and threw off his mojo!!

This is Grayson's Mii Character:

We couldn't decide whether Grayson was going to have to replace our Wii ; our TV ; or our ceiling fan:) Don't even ask him about the golf game :0

Here is Tommy and Grayson on the Wii play...playing a game where they are riding cows...They are in a race trying to jump fences and knock down scarecrows...It sounds weird, but loads of fun!!

Back to School!

Holidays are over and it was back to school day for Chase. Chase came home very excited about her day at school...many of her teachers and friends were surprised to see Chase back. I think they were under the impression that since Tommy has graduated and since we had an interview in Texas the week before Christmas that Chase would not be back to school after Christmas break!:) Surprise!:) Sadly, she finished up her Life skills class, which she enjoyed so much, she was able to cook, and sew and she even got to carry around an egg baby to help learn about the responsibilities of a child:) Her class also did some wonderful community work by sewing pillowcases for the homeless shelter. Chase was very proud of the pillowcase she made and that it would be going to someone that really needs it!:) This semester she starts Chorus! Which if you know Chase, you know that she is very excited about this class. Chase loves to sing and she has a beautiful voice (says her mother) :) She also found out that they will be doing some drama in this class as well, so she is very excited about that! Chase also got her report card today! She did very well as usual (A/B Honor roll)...Chase has always done very well in school and she continues to make us proud!

Tommy doesn't know what to do with himself now that he is not in school! Of course he is still working hard and he has been trying to spend some time with me and Chase to make up for all the study time the last 2 1/2 years! He is still doing some studying though...preparing for when a church calls him to come preach and catching up on some reading of things just for pleasure!!

As for me, my day started out pretty great I got a call from my friend Saemica, she wanted to have lunch...I was so excited I haven't really been out with a friend in along time! We went to Chili's we had a great time catching up and when I left I had a couple of errands to run and then I was headed back home! No rush Tommy was here...and it was still a few hours before Chase would be home...I don't know why I chose to drive down 98, but I did and as I was cruising down 98 I saw the police car, so the first thing I do is slow down and then try and figure out what the speed limit is...I can't find a sign anywhere, so I was going about 50 like I said not in a hurry just a little lead foot, so I slow to 45 thinking that is the speed limit. Long story short, she pulls me over and she says she got me doing 55 in a 35! YIKES! First, I have to tell Tommy and because it's 20 miles over the speed limit I have to appear in court...ARGH! Just my luck! Things went OK with Tommy, seeing as this is only my third speeding ticket ever and it's the first I have gotten since we have been married, he was pretty understanding!:) We'll see how understanding he is when we find out how much it is going to be!!:) Luckily tonight was sweet sisters night at church, two ladies from our church showed us how to re purpose things that no longer have a purpose...like old candles and broken crayons and old plates and Christmas cards...Chase went with me and we had a really good night!:)

Also let me give you a quick update on our status. We got a job offer from Cal Farley's today! Of course if you read my update on that, you know that we decided as a family that this was not the ministry opportunity for us! We still need your prayers that we will get a clear direction on where the Lord would have us to serve! We have two great prospects, one we believe will be making a decision in the near future and the other is in the beginning stages of their search for a new pastor. We are praying for the Lord's leading!:) Either position would be a great opportunity for Tommy as a pastor and us as a family. When we came here to Southeastern the three of us surrender to give our lives to the Lord in service to Him! We are excited about where we are and where we are going! Thanks to all for your prayers!:)

Happy 2009!

We had so many wonderful occasions to celebrate in 2008, but we can honestly say we are so happy to see 2009!:) Allow me to recap 2008 just a little bit...Of course the biggest accomplishment was Tommy's graduation! We are so proud of all he has done and I can not brag on him enough. When Tommy started here at Southeastern back in June 2006, he had not been to school in over 30 years. He graduated this past December with a 3.6 GPA. Personally I think that is pretty great for an old guy!:) Speaking of old I celebrated my 40th birthday in 2008! I know many people get depressed when they think about turning 40, but so far it's been great for me! I feel older and wiser:) Our two youngest grandbabies turned one and our oldest started Kindergarten! I could go on and on about the many blessing we received in 2008, but this is about the anticipation of what is to come in 2009! We have our resume at 2 churches near our home in Newnan, GA both would be great ministries opportunities for us and we are so excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2009! We wish you all the best as you ring in this New Year! Please join us as we count our blessing of 2008 and as we toast the coming New Year with all it's possibilities!!

Just in case you can't see the label it's Welch's Sparkling Grape juice:)

Happy New Year to all our Friends and Family...We wish you all the best in 2009!

Merry Christmas From The Worthey's

Merry Christmas everyone...We hope you had as great a day as we did celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We started last night with Tommy reading about the very first Christmas from Luke 2. It was a little different this year because it was just the 3 of us, but it was nice! We each opened one gift which is our usual tradition and Chase opened her present from Poppa DewBerry! Chase wanted to open presents at midnight last night, but Tommy and I convinced her she wanted to wait until morning:) Believe it or not I was the first one up this year, all you with small kids are going to hate us, I woke up about 9:30a and came downstairs and got breakfast started and then tried to do something with my hair because I knew we would be taking pictures:) About the time I was blow drying my hair Chase pops in all excited saying "Merry Christmas" I sent her up to wake Tommy and then the fun began!:) We opened presents while the Breakfast casserole and hashbrown casserole both baked! We had such a good time watching each other open presents - Tommy got usual daddy gifts underwear, 2 movies from our favorite comedian Brian Regan, and a Seinfeld Scene It game, which is really fun! I got 2 shirts from old navy, 2 movies from the Love Comes Softly series, a new set of dishes that I absolutely love!:) and I also got a Willow tree figurine! Chase was so excited she has been wanting a Wii and We (Tommy and I) didn't think it was in our budget and Chase understood! However, I found a really good deal online and we were able to get her a Wii...and let me tell you we, all of us, have had so much fun with it today...Neither Tommy nor I are big video game players, but I can see us having years of fun playing this one...Worth every penny:) Chase also got a new Kodak easy share camera and memory card, a game for her Wii, a couple of Webkinz, and some Project Runway stuff...it's pretty cool, she can learn to draw and design:) All in all we had a wonderful day and we were blest with many things to enjoy this coming year!

If you have already seen this post you will notice I have changed it up just a little...I noticed that several people use these slideshows when they have lots of pictures instead of making the post so huge with pictures, so I thought I would try it out...I hope you enjoy!:)

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The Wonder of Wonders

This post is being written by Tommy. Heidi usually writes all the post for our blog, but today I have something that I would like to share with everyone. I assume that most people are like myself and enjoy listening to and singing Christmas songs. I like fun songs like Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman, but I especially like songs that are about Jesus and His birth. Songs like Silent Night and O Come All Ye Faithful are among my favorites. However, I believe that the song titled The Wonder of Wonders is my very favorite Christmas song of all time. I have this song on an old cassette tape by the Inspirations. I was looking on "YouTube" and actually found this song by the Inspirations. I am going to get Heidi to try to add the link here so you can hear it for yourself (I am not technically aware, so I will not try to do it myself). I am also putting the words here so you can at least read them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOcMP3ulLVc


THE WONDER OF WONDERS

THE WONDER OF WONDERS, AS SHE LOOKED ON HIS FACE,
THAT THIS LITTLE BOY, SPOKE THE WORLDS INTO PLACE.
THE STARS AND THE MOON, SHINING BRIGHTLY ON THEM,
THE EARTH AND THE SUN, WERE CREATED BY HIM.

CHORUS:
THE WONDER OF WONDERS ,OH HOW COULD IT BE,
THAT GOD BECAME FLESH, AND WAS GIVIN FOR ME.
THE ALMIGHTY CAME DOWN, AND WALKED AMONG MEN,
THE WONDER OF WONDERS, HE DIED FOR MY SINS.

THE WONDER OF WONDERS, AS SHE LOOKED DOWN AND SMILED,
THAT HE WAS HER MAKER, AS WELL AS HER CHILD.
HE CREATED THE WOMB, THAT HAD GIVIN HIM BIRTH.
HE WAS GOD INCARNATE, CAME DOWN TO EARTH.

CHORUS:

THE WONDER OF WONDERS ,OH HOW COULD IT BE,
THAT GOD BECAME FLESH AND WAS GIVIN FOR ME.
THE ALMIGHTY CAME DOWN AND WALKED AMONG MEN,
THE WONDER OF WONDERS, HE DIED FOR MY SINS.

THE WONDER OF WONDERS, AS SHE HEARD HIS SMALL CRY,
THAT THIS VOICE HAD THUNDERED, ON MT. SINAI.
THE SMALL HAND SHE HELD, SO TENDERLY,
HAD MADE A DRY PATH, THROUGH THE MIGHTY RED SEA.

CHORUS:

THE WONDER OF WONDERS ,OH HOW COULD IT BE,
THAT GOD BECAME FLESH AND WAS GIVIN FOR ME.
THE ALMIGHTY CAME DOWN AND WALKED AMONG MEN,
THE WONDER OF WONDERS, HE DIED FOR MY SINS.

Our pastor has been preaching from the first chapter of the Gospel of John for the past few weeks and this morning he preached on verse 14 which says, "The word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth"(HCSB). His message was about the amazement of the incarnation, the necessity of the incarnation, and the blessing of the incarnation. It truly is amazing, and necessary, and a blessing, that our Creator became flesh and died for us. There is another song on my tape by the Inspirations titled I Love to Spend Christmas at Calvary. The chorus of this song says:

The most beautiful gift there was given,
When God Himself in mercy, decorated a tree,
The most beautiful light there is shining,
I love to spend Christmas, at Calvary.

When I think about Christmas I think about the birth of Christ. When I think about the birth of Christ I think about His death and resurrection. I am amazed that God loved us so much that He gave the greatest gift ever given when He gave us His Son Jesus. My prayer is that you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and that you recognize that when God took on humanity it truly was a wonder of wonders. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and please fill free to contact me if you have any questions.
Tommy

Cal Farley- Update

I am sorry about not updating the blog sooner...I had a terrible headache yesterday and I went back to the hotel and went to bed! Of course we have spent all day today traveling home:) Anyway, to update you on what happened...We had a great interview...I think all went well...we were a little disappointed, to be quite honest we did not have that overwhelming feeling that this is the ministry that the Lord is leading us into. We do not however feel like it was a waste of our time. We needed to go and see for ourselves what it was all about, and they have a wonderful ministry at Cal Farley's and I can't even begin to know how many boys and girls they have helped over these 70 years, but we have talked it through and prayed about it as a family and we just don't feel at this time this is where the Lord is leading us to serve! We have not even officially been offered the position, but unless the Lord tells us differently we are pretty sure this is not the place for us right now! Thanks for all the prayers! We appreciate everything! :)

Please continue to pray for us that we will get a clear direction from the Lord about where we are to go from here! Until we know something for sure we will be here in Wake Forest...Tommy and I both have jobs, Chase is in a good school and we have a roof over our heads! :)

Cal Farley's - Girlstown USA

Tommy, Chase and I are in Lubbock, Texas tonight preparing for our interview tomorrow at Girlstown USA, a part of Cal Farley's...We have been praying together tonight as a family that the Lord will give us clear direction on what He would have us to do. We would like to ask you to pray for us as well. Tommy was reading some scripture to us tonight, where Paul was writing and praying for a church...I can't remember which one right now, but he was praying that they would have the knowledge of God's will for them and that is our prayer and our desire that we would have the knowledge of God's will for our lives. We don't know what exactly to expect tomorrow, we are going in with open minds and open hearts and praying the Lord will reveal to us if this is where He would have us serve! I copied this off the Cal Farley website to give you some idea of what Cal Farley's is about! Thanks for your prayers and we will update tomorrow to let you know how things go!!

Cal Farley's Girlstown, U.S.A. prepares adolescent girls, ages 10 to 18, to become responsible family members and successful adults by providing a family-style, Christ-centered environment supporting each girl's total development. Although needing structure and supervision, the residents function in an open environment and community without extended periods of intense individual supervision. All programs are designed to bring about a sense of balance to each girl's life. The staff works with each girl's entire family unit to develop healthy, positive relationships.
The girls attend Whiteface Consolidated Independent School District and enjoy the same opportunities as other area students to grow academically and socially.
Girls may remain at Girlstown for as short as one year or through high school graduation, depending on when goals she and her family have set are successfully achieved. Youths receive medical, optical, dental and emergency services as needed.
Cal Farley's Girlstown, U.S.A. is situated on 1,425 acres of land eight miles south of Whiteface, Texas, (west of Lubbock) on FM 1780.
The population generally ranges between 50-60 girls.
Girlstown graduates who choose to further their education may apply for assistance through organizational scholarships for academic or vocational training.

The house parent couple is the backbone of our programs at Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch and Cal Farley’s Girlstown, U.S.A. House parenting is arguably the toughest job within the organization.
House parent couples provide daily supervision for up to 12 children in the home or cottage. The job includes serving as positive role models who teach life skills and offer guidance, discipline and spiritual development to the children. This takes a high level of energy and the capacity to meet the demands of a large family household.
At Cal Farley’s, successful house parents come from many walks of life, represent different age groups, and display different personalities. One common theme is that they see their role as a ministry to help hurting and troubled children.
Although it is not unusual for various staff members at Cal Farley’s to serve the organization for ten or even twenty years, it is seldom that a house parent couple reaches the 10-year-mark.

Tommy's Graduation!! December 12, 2008

Jacob and Kinley made Granddaddy some cards to wish him a Happy Graduation day! Here they are giving him their cards! Thanks Jacob and Kinley these are wonderful keepsakes that Granddaddy will keep in his office for years to come! We love you!

Brian, Gerie, Billy, Nathan, Hester, Jacob, Kinley, Matthew, Sarah, Hannah, Kaleb, Chase and I are so proud of Tommy and all that he has accomplished these 2 1/2 years!! We had such a great time watching him walk across that stage and receive his diploma that he has worked so hard for!! We hate that Matthew and his family were unable to come and be with us, but we are very grateful that Brian and his family and Nathan and his family were here with us!! I know the boys and Chase are so proud of their dad for going back to school after all these years to follow God's leading in his life and go into full time ministry! I know I am!! I know we have alot of other family and friends that are so proud of Tommy as well! I am going to post a few pictures that we took at graduation and I am working on figuring out how to post a video, but for some reason...it is just not working for me, but I wanted everyone to see the pictures, so I will post them now and then get the video up as soon as I can! Hope you enjoy the pictures! :)

Here are a few pics from after graduation:

Here is one of the whole clan minus Matthew and his family!

We missed you guys, but we understand NC is a long way from Texas!

The graduate with 3 of his 4 kids!

Chase really wanted a picture with her daddy wearing his graduation cap! :)

So Tommy made me do it too :)

Tommy with Nathan, Hester, Jacob and Kinley!

Jacob is giving Granddaddy the thumbs up!

I think the graduation ceremony bored Kinley to sleep :)

Tommy with Brian, Gerie and Billy!

Grandchildren and Christmas - Life is Good!

What a fun week we have had. Our daughter in law Hester came up early for graduation for us to have a little extra time with our grand kids, Jacob and Kinley. We are so grateful to Hester for giving us that time with them! We can't begin to express how much it meant to us to spend this week with them! Since we have been here in NC, we don't get the chance to spend as much time with them as we would like, so we are so grateful for opportunities like this one! And we are so grateful to Hester for giving it to us! We had the best time! Jacob is almost 3 years old and is so inquisitive...Everything is "Why?" and when you answer that question he always has about 10 more for you! He is so cute! He gave us much to laugh about this week. Tommy, Chase and I are still quoting several of his comments! Kinley is 15 months and is so pretty and sweet...I don't think I will ever be able to have applesauce again without hearing her sweet little voice saying "appy sauce". We also made it out to Frankie's one night while they were here. We had loads of fun just following them around and watching the amazement in their eyes from all the games and lights they saw!

Kinley having fun @ Frankies

Jacob was really good at the Basketball game:)

Jacob and Kinley loved playing skeeball with Aunt Chase!

The balls were going everywhere!! We all had a blast! :)

We also had our Christmas time with the grandkids while they were here. Gerie and Billy arrived on Friday for Tommy's graduation, so we had 3 of the 5 grandchildren here with us. Although we missed Hannah and Kaleb being here, we were so thankful to spend time with Billy, Jacob and Kinley!

Jacob said that he wanted Mimi to get him a scooter for Christmas!

So Obviously Jacob got a scooter! :)
I am pretty sure he really liked the scooter...He rode it inside, he rode it outside, he stood on it while he watched TV! The only thing he didn't do when he was on the scooter was sleep :)

Aunt Chase provided all the safety gear...Helmet and knee pads! Kinley's gift from Granddaddy and Mimi was a shopping cart!

She looks happy :)

Aunt Chase got Kinley a baby doll to ride in her shopping cart!
So cute :)
Billy wanted a bike from Granddaddy and Mimi! He looks so big sitting on there!

Aunt Chase gave Billy a helmet as well...Here is Brian and Gerie helping Billy with the pedaling!!

We had a great time watching the grandkids enjoy their gifts!! And we are so thankful they were here to help celebrate Tommy's graduation too!!