A Few Weeks Ago

If you recall, a few weeks ago my family accompanied me to FBLA state conference. While we were there, they hung out at the hotel, did some shopping, and even went to Gatorland. I expected Gatorland to be kind of cheesy, but they said it was quite good, and the boys loved it! I don't have any photos to share, but be sure, Luke could tell me all about those gators!

For once, I had another photographer in the group, so I handed over my camera and got to be in a few photos. There's nothing particularly exciting about any of these...they're just a few of my favorites. Given the fact that I was working, and I also got sick while I was there, it wasn't a real exciting trip! Still, it's a much better trip to have them with me for the "off" time!

This Says It All...

This pretty well sums up how a lot of us are feeling right now!

For My Mama

This is a tribute to my mama.....yes, Mama. Not Mom or Mother, but Mama. (I guess that's a Southern thing!) I have been blessed with a wonderful mother, and even more blessed to have such a close relationship with her. She is truly one of my very best friends!

Mama is a true Southern belle.....always neat as a pin, hair perfectly fixed (at the beauty shop once a week), face always "made up". I don't know that I've ever seen her look "messy"! She's not dramatic, but when she needs to make a point, believe me, she can, and with a sweet smile on her face. And strong.....she has faced things in her life that I don't know that I could. My daddy died when I was 10, and I think that is a part of the reason that we are so close, maybe even more so than most mothers and daughters. I know a lot of women do it, but the thought of having to raise a child by myself is overwhelming. Of course, we had a lot of family support, but still, the responsibility was hers. We were blessed to have Granny (Mama's mother) live with us after Daddy died. Granny had stayed with us on an off after Granddaddy died, about two years before Daddy, but after Daddy died, she lived with us permanently. It was just the three of us "girls".

I can't begin to put into words how much I love my mama. She has always supported me in whatever I've done. From FHA and FBLA to pageants, she's been there, cheering me on. She's also traveled with me, as I went to state and national conferences, and to appearances as the state agriculture queen, and we had a blast!

She is a wonderful Grandmommy to Matthew and Luke. What a blessing to have her keep both of them since they were born! Mama used to teach school, at the same rural K-12 school that I teach at. The school year before Matthew was born, she had a really difficult year, with Granny having a stroke in the fall, then passing away in January, and then Mama's husband passed away in June. She just wasn't ready to go back to school at the end of July, so she took a year's leave of absence, and kept Matthew for me that year. After that, she just retired! She did get a few months' break when Matthew started to kindergarten, but in January of that school year when I went back to work after having Luke, she started keeping him. I am fortunate that the boys haven't had to go to daycare, and that they are with someone who loves them just as much as I do!

I could go on and on about Mama's wonderful qualities, but maybe the best way to sum it all up is that I hope that I can be half the mother to Matthew and Luke that she has been to me. Happy Mother's Day, Mama! I love you with all my heart!

Easter

We started celebrating the week prior to Easter week, with our annual egg hunt at church. Luke really got into things this year! The day was terribly windy and cool, but we managed to hunt and hide eggs about three different times!

We started off with some Easter activity sheets...

...but Luke decided he was more interested in having Mrs. Amy make him a paper airplane!

Then the hunt was on!

Ella and Luke show off their loot!

Can you tell Luke was ready for the candy?

We ended the day with some music from Luke and his nursery buddy, Anabella.

They actually sat and played without fighting! Anabella is at the age that she wants whatever Luke is playing with, and he is NOT happy about it!

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Easter week was super busy! We had dress rehearsals for our Easter passion play on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and performances on Thursday and Friday nights. It was exhausting, but absolutely wonderful! Everyone worked so hard, from learning lines to the music to the costumes and scenery. We had a full house and a sweet spirit both nights. I do believe that the choir and cast got as big a blessing out of performing it as those who attended. I have to admit I was a little sad when I changed out of my costume that last night...we'd worked so hard for so long, and there was a little bit of a let-down. However, I found out a couple of days ago that we're taking the show on the road! Another church has asked us to come and put it on for them on Mother's Day evening. It will be a challenge, adapting the sets, etc., but what a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with more people! I only got a couple of photos, but maybe I'll be able to snap some more when we perform it again.

This was Barabbas. We did a different "take" on Barabbas than what you usually see. He did a soliliquy, talking about how he felt when he was in prison, when Jesus was thrown in the cell with him, when he thought he was about to be crucified, and finally when Jesus was led out to be crucified, and Barabbas realized that Jesus was dying in his place. Very powerful! A couple of people have told me that was their favorite part of the play, because it made it so personal.

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On to Easter morning.....very low-key for us. We'd had our Easter lunch with our family the Sunday before, since we would be leaving for FBLA state conference that afternoon. The boys found their Easter baskets by the door where we'd left them the night before, and were tickled to see their goodies. Luke's favorite surprise was an electric toothbrush (Thomas) that he promptly took out of the package and tried out, right there on the couch, without toothpaste!

The very best part of our Easter, however, was our Sunday morning worship service. God moved in a mighty way, and three (maybe four) people came forward wanting to get saved, and several more wanted to move their membership to our church. One of those who got saved was someone we'd been praying for for a very long time, so that made it even sweeter. God is so good!!!

95

That's how many posts are sitting in my Google Reader, waiting to be read. And that's with me reading a few on my phone over the last few days.

I've been MIA for almost two weeks now. Last week was spent at Easter play rehearsals and performances. We had Saturday "off", if you can really call it that, because I was trying to get packed to leave on Sunday afternoon for FBLA state conference. We went to church on Sunday morning, then hurried to meet my students by 2:00 to head to the conference....a six-hour drive. Even though Tracy, Mama, Matthew, and Luke all went with me, I feel like I haven't seen them in days, because I was so busy. Unfortunately, the stomach bug hit me while I was there, along with Matthew and Luke. Not fun, especially being so far from home. When I'm sick, I want to be at home!

So, I'm writing from my sickbed, watching all the royal wedding specials, and trying to get caught up with reading about everyone's Easter celebrations, new babies, etc.

Hope to be back with pictures from Easter and the trip soon. In the meantime, please pray for all the folks affected by the tornadoes this week. So heartbreaking!

It's Been Awhile....

About six weeks to be exact! I can't believe I've gone so long without blogging. I've missed y'all! I think I kept waiting for something "blog-worthy" to happen. Well, lots of little stuff has happened, nothing terribly exciting, but it's all been keeping me busy, busy, busy! Plus, we've had some kind of event or activity just about every weekend for a couple of months.

The recap....(I'm using bullets to hopefully keep me from getting too wordy!)

• I had my first little photography assignment. A couple from church asked me to take photos as their 50th wedding anniversary party. It was fun to be able to focus only on taking photos and nothing else.


• We are doing an Easter drama/musical at church this year. First time as long as I've been a part of our church. It's lots of rehearsal time, but we are all so excited about it!


• I'm getting a new camera! Guess what I did to "earn" the money? I went to a "gold party" and sold some chains, bracelets, etc., that were either broken or that I'm never going to wear again, etc. I got quite a nice little paycheck! I'm going to host a party sometime in the next few weeks. My friends can come and make a little money, and I'll make a small percentage as well.


• We had to build a leprechaun trap. These kind of projects aren't my forte. Thank goodness, Matthew came up with idea of what to do (after seeing some pictures) and he and his daddy made the trap!

• We lost another member of the Jones family. My aunt Jackie, Daddy's twin sister, passed away in mid-March. The goodbye part was sad, but at the same time, I know Aunt Jackie's is having a ball. She was mentally challenged from birth, and the last few years, had been in poor health. She's home now with her parents and brothers who have already gone on. Unfortunately, there was some family "drama" that weekend....hurt feelings....most everybody has forgiven each other, but I have one cousin who was pretty angry with me. It still hurts. I've done all I can do, and I'm still praying about it. I hope in time everything will be okay.


• Matthew escorted a little queen for her farewell walk this past weekend. I didn't know if he would do it or not, but he agreed to it. He did such a good job...looked like a little man. So handsome!

• School is rolling along. We're gearing up for state testing next week. If I live until then.... I'm doing school all day, and then coming home and doing it all again...checking Matthew's homework. He has had a TON of work every night for the last week or longer. I really do appreciate all the effort his teacher is putting into preparing the kids, though. Third grade is the first year for this particular test, and the students must make a certain score in order to be promoted to fourth grade. That's a lot of pressure for 8 and 9 year olds!


• We have three more weeks until spring break.....and I don't get a break. I'll be taking students to an FBLA conference that week. I think I see a couple of "mental health" days in my future.

I'm hoping to get back to regular posting now! Have a great week!

Celebrating 90 Years

This past weekend, we celebrated Tracy's grandmother's 90th birthday. Her actual birthday was on Thursday, and the immediate family (if you can call it that....there were about 30 of us) took her out to eat. On Saturday afternoon, we hosted a reception at the church for other friends and family. She really didn't want us to do anything or "go to any trouble", but we couldn't let this milestone pass without a celebration. It wasn't anything fancy, because she's not a fancy kind of person, but we had to do something!

One of the most special, thought-provoking moments of the afternoon for me was when our pastor said a few words at the beginning of the reception. He talked about how Paul wrote to Timothy about "the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you." (2 Timothy 1:5 NKJV) Three of Grandma's five children, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren are active in our church, and that's a testimony to her faith and the way she raised her family. I am blessed to have her oldest son as my father-in-law, a wonderful Christian man who raised my precious husband in the same way. Tracy's granddaddy was a deacon in our church, and now Tracy, his daddy, and his uncle are all serving as deacons. Tracy and I are trying to raise our boys with those same Christian values. I am not saying any of this to brag; I just feel incredibly blessed that the Lord gave me a Christian husband and family.

I had wanted to try to take some really great photos of the afternoon, but I just didn't feel like it. I have had the old cold/sinus junk that everybody else around here has already had, and wound up going to the doctor on Saturday morning. Luke woke up during the night Friday night crying and saying his ear hurt. Since he'd just had the upper respiratory virus, I felt pretty safe diagnosing him myself, and decided to take him to a walk-in clinic I really like instead of sitting at the pediatrician's office for hours. I decided that since we were going, I might as well see the doctor too! So we both got some medicine, and I managed to help with the reception and get a few photos, but nothing like I'd planned. I just felt too bad. Here a few photos I snapped, though. Doesn't she look good for 90? Still able to live by herself and drive to the beauty shop and church.