Fall Soccer Season

This weekend we finished up our fall soccer season with games on Saturday. Grandparents were able to come up and spend some time with us.

 My parents came up on Wednesday evening and were able to be here for soccer games on Thursday night. Elijah, Timothy, and Joanna had games on Thursday night while Isaac and Sarah refereed a game.

 Bryan's parents arrived on Friday afternoon and Gigi (Bryan's mother) brought supper for all of us. She is an amazing cook. She made chicken and dumplings and red beans and rice. Elijah, Timothy, and Joanna helped make the banana pudding, and they enjoyed licking the spoons and bowls.

 Soccer games started early on Saturday. Isaac and Sarah had the first game at 9 and then the other children played games after that with the last game at 1:30. It was a hot and exhausting day. Sarah and Isaac had two games and in between their two games they refereed three games (they were busy and tired).

 Do you recognize these two soccer players? This was one of our first soccer seasons when they were younger... much younger. They began playing Upward soccer when they were 5 and 7 years old.

Here they are all grown up! (Makes my heart melt!) In the fall of 2014 they began playing soccer at the local recreational league. It was a whole different game than Upwards. We had to get use to the rules and plays of soccer at this level. They have had some great times playing soccer. Our family is very blessed to have the physical ability to play a sport and we often remind the children that we never should take that for granted. Thank you Lord!!

Cooking With...

Because of rain here our soccer games got canceled today. It has been a great day to get a few things done and spend some time together. I decided to recruit this young man to help with supper. He is great at making some meals and one of his favorite meals is Sloppy Joes. 

 Cooking with Isaac is always fun! He likes to add a "secret ingredient". This time he added spicy ranch dressing which is his favorite salad dressing.

While he was preparing the sloppy joes and getting some tater tots ready to go in the oven I was chopping vegetables to roast in the oven. There is something about cooking together that makes life sweet! I enjoy cooking for my family but when I include the children in helping me it is lots of fun! I know when the day comes for Isaac to leave our nest he won't go hungry. LOL!

Last night the younger three children helped me prepare something for breakfast. We put it all together then set the delay start on the oven, when we got up breakfast was ready! I will be sure and have the camera ready next time another child is helping so I can share. Loving my life as mommy and wife!!

Don't Blink... They Grow Up Way Too Fast!

The child that first made me a mommy is now 17! He has turned into a young man and his time in our home is getting shorter. One day it will be time to launch him into the world and out of our nest. I thought I would include some pictures and I wanted to start with an older picture. I am not sure how old he is in this picture, I am guessing 9 or 10. This picture is very special but this young man is even more special. 

Below are two recent pictures. We celebrated his 17th birthday with grandparents in AL and these are a couple of pictures from that night.

He is a young man that knows what he wants (actually needs). He asked for some new shorts and a top from my parents and he asked Bryan's parents for a nice button up shirt to wear to church. They were great about getting him those things and actually Bryan's parents got him 4 nice shirts. He was very blessed!

Isaac has started his Junior year of High School! He is enrolled in two dual enrollment classes at the local community college. He is on the high school soccer team and playing recreational soccer right now. Isaac is a very talented young man, he is learning the guitar and can play the piano! God has a special plan for him and we are praying that God would go before Isaac preparing the way! We love him more than he will ever know!

Youth Camp 2018

Our full month started off with our family attending Youth Camp the first week of June. This was the first time we all were able to attend and it was a blessing to be together. The week started by leaving our church early Monday morning and traveling by bus to east Tennessee. Bryan and our youth minister have been doing this youth camp together for 9 years! Isaac and Sarah have been attending for a few years and always look forward to camp! There were a total of 8 worship services, a breakout session each day, games, devotions, and much more! The theme for the week was "He in Me", we learned that its about daily denying ourselves and allowing Jesus to live in and through us. Galatians 2:20 Wanted to share a few pictures from our week.

 Here is a picture of Sarah with one of her friends from another youth group. These two were excited to see each other and had a hard time leaving each other at the end of the week. On the day I took this picture they decided to dress alike. Love these two godly young ladies and can't wait to see all that God has planned for them.

 Elijah and Timothy actually got sick on Tuesday and ran a fever for a couple of days. They both were troopers and I was able to take them and rest most of those days they felt bad.

 Timothy thought this rock was cool! It was right outside the chapel and it had a place in the rock that looked just like a sit. Just had to get a picture of him sitting on this special rock.

There was another family at youth camp and Joanna was able to play with their little girls. They really enjoyed the play ground. It was also great to have another family there and we could help with each others kids. 

 Here is Isaac with a buddy from church. Isaac had a great time at camp and did a great job of making the younger youth boys (first year at camp) feel welcome and apart. I can see this young man maturing.

 On Friday morning the group hiked up the mountain. It was a big hike and these two did a great job of keeping up and trucking along. Proud of how well our three younger children did at youth camp.

 Here is the view from the top of the mountain we hiked up. When everyone arrived at the top we had biscuits and then our final worship service. It was amazing!

Bryan and I start the hike back down the mountain. I think our family would enjoy hiking together often. Makes us remember all the missionaries that have hiked up and down many mountains to get the gospel message to those who have never heard of Jesus. Praising the Lord that we are healthy enough to make hikes like this.

The Fisherman

Isaac really enjoys fishing! Now that he has his drivers license he is able to go fishing at a lake close by or with a friend. Here is a fish he caught last time he was at the lake.

He enjoys fishing and was tickled when he reeled this in! His favorite fishing partner is his Paw!

2018 Tennessee 4-H Congress (Final Post)

 Tuesday morning we attended a regional breakfast followed by the students being able to vote for Congress Governor, Speaker of House, and Speaker of Senate. Isaac is sitting on stage for breakfast because he was chosen to give the invocation for breakfast.

 After voting we were able to change and board buses for our trip to the General Jackson.

 After boarding the General Jackson we enjoyed lunch and great fellowship time with others.

 Can't have a complete trip without a little goofing off. :)

 The Cumberland River

 After lunch and a trip on the Cumberland River we headed back to Murfreesboro for a formal dinner at the hotel. Sarah was chosen to play the keyboard while everyone entered and was seated.

 Here is a picture of our table at the formal dinner.

Very thankful that I had this opportunity to attend Congress with Isaac and Sarah. These two had a great time at Congress.

2018 Tennessee 4-H Congress (Part 4)

 On Monday we all boarded buses and traveled over to our state Capitol in Nashville. Our morning started off with getting to be apart of mock sessions. The students were able to sit where our Senators and Representatives sit and see what voting on bills is like.

 One of Isaac's parts was to stand and oppose one of the bills they were voting on. Then the floor was open to others who wanted to state why they would be for or against the bill. The students were then able to "vote". The students I was with said this was their favorite part of Congress.

 Then after a box lunch at the Avon Williams campus of University of Tennessee the students attended a couple of educational sessions. One was titled "From Sheep to Wool" about the uses of wool. The other educational session was about Memes and how to critique them. We finished up around 2:15 and headed over to meet our county Senator and Representatives.

 First on our list was Dr. Joey Hensley which is our Senator.

 Next we stopped in to visit David "Coach" Byrd, one of our Representatives.

 Our final visit was with our other representative, Barry Doss. At the close of our visit with Barry Doss they were going in to sessions, which we were able to attend but didn't get to stay long.

 Then we had a few hours to grab some supper and look around before heading back to the buses.

 It was a long day, but good. We ate supper at the Old Spaghetti Factory...delicious!

Here we are making our way back to the buses. We got our exercise in for the day and were some tired folks. :)

2018 Tennessee 4-H Congress (Part 2)

On Sunday we headed over to the hotel where Congress was to attend Isaac's speech competition. Here are pictures we took with Isaac.

 Bryan and I are so proud of him. It is hard to believe this young man had to take speech therapy when he was younger. He has come a long way!

 Here is Isaac with Bryan's parents, Pop and Gigi. We were very thankful that they were able to come up and be there for the competition.

 Here is Isaac with my parents, Paw and Maw. Isaac had lots of support for this competition. It was great to have both sets of grandparents there to support and cheer him on. He didn't win State but we are very proud of him for making it this far!

 I just had to share a comparison picture. The picture above was taken one year ago at 4-H Congress 2017 when Isaac competed in 9th grade speech contest at State level. The picture below is this past Sunday at Congress. This young man has grown so much! Can't really notice until you do some comparing. God is good!

4-H Banquet

In December 2017 our three oldest had a 4-H banquet where they were recognized for their participation in 4-H. All three of them received a pennant and certificate for being involved in the Loud Speakers Club (Public Speaking). Then Isaac and Sarah were inducted into the Tennessee 4-H Honor Club. Very proud of them for all their hard work and dedication. 

 Here is Isaac and Sarah during their induction ceremony.

Next year Timothy will be able to be apart. Very thankful for the opportunities that 4-H has given our children. Isaac and Sarah just competed in the Tennessee Regional 4-H Public Speaking Competition. Sarah received runner up  for 9th grade Western Division. Isaac won in 10th grade Western Division and will compete in State Competition in the spring.

Our Oldest is Driving!!

It has come quicker than I ever imagined, we have a child that can drive! In August we celebrated Isaac's 16th birthday! He is growing into a young man and I am excited to see what God has planned for him.

 Here he is with a deer he killed at the beginning of hunting season this year. Isaac enjoys hunting and fishing.

 We celebrated with grandparents at the river. We had lots of fun!

Here he is in his truck. This was my dad's truck and now it belongs to Isaac. He is a very responsible young man and it has been a blessing for him to be able to drive to places he needs to get to.

I really had no idea that he would grow up so fast. Isaac is a blessing, fun, and full of laughter. We love him more than he will ever know! 

State Bound!

When Isaac was in the 7th grade we got involved in 4-H. One of the things I wanted my kids to do is the Public Speaking in 4-H. Being homeschooled our kids don't get the opportunities to stand in front of a class and give speeches or presentations, so I thought this would be good for Isaac and Sarah. The first speech Isaac gave was in front of our 4-H homeschool group, then he went to the county competition and won! In 7th grade the next competition is sub-regionals and guess what...he won 7th grade sub-regionals! Then we did the speech again in 8th grade and he won sub-regionals that year too! 

This year he is in 9th grade and instead of competing in sub-regionals it is competing in Regionals. We had a tough start this year with his speech and was really just wanting to make it through county competition. We really didn't think he would do well enough at county to advance to Regionals, but ended up he was able to advance to Regionals. Because his speech got off to a rough start we had told ourselves that we were proud of him no matter what and it was a great accomplishment to make it to Regionals. 

The night of the Regionals competition Sarah got sick so Bryan took him and I stayed home with the rest of the crew. We prayed that he would just do his best and that was all we could ask. It seemed like forever before I heard from them, but when I text Bryan and ask how Isaac did Bryan sent me a picture of a plaque that read 9th Grade Regional Winner!! WHAT!!!!???? We were so excited! This meant that he would now be competing in the state competition! Below is a picture of him with his Regional plaque and ribbon.

 Going to state meant that he would be going to 4-H Congress in Nashville for 4 nights and 4 days! He was very nervous and even asked several times could he back out. Bryan and I knew that this was an opportunity that God had given Isaac and it would be a great experience for him. Isaac began preparing for Congress. He arrived in Nashville on Saturday and his speech competition was Sunday morning at the Music City Sheraton. We all took him up there and would be there the next morning to hear him give his speech. We were very blessed that my parents were able to go with us! The picture below is of Isaac and my dad right before speech time. Isaac placed 3rd in State of Tennessee 9th grade 4-H public speaking! Very proud of him!!

Because he was a regional winner he was able to participate in things that the other students (4-Her's ) didn't get to. He met lots of new friends! On Monday they got to tour the capitol and he had some educational sessions to attend. Tuesday they took a trip on the General Jackson and that night had a formal dinner. Isaac arrived back home on Wednesday morning around 10, he was exhausted but full of all kinds of stories to share. Very thankful for him and all of his accomplishments!
Love you much Big Man! :)

Two Deer, One Happy Young Man

Isaac is our hunter around here. He has killed a deer each year that we have lived here, but this hunting season he killed three! He got one in November, you can read about that here, and then he killed these two in January, the weekend it snowed. You really need to hear him tell the story of shooting these two and then tracking them down. The ending of the story is that it was a family effort to drag in that second one. Isaac is delighted that he has put meat in the freezer for our family. :)