Happy Easter!!

I love Easter.  I love the certainty of Hope, the Promise fulfilled, the Plan carried out. 

The crucifixion is over;

 the resurrection is REAL!!

   

I love the more temporal things of Easter, too... 

winter (at least around here)  is over...

dressing up for our Easter picture...

and, oh yes! Easter egg hunts-- the kind where the eggs are actually hard to find, which is how we choose to torture our kids every year.  

It's possible that Dwayne and I get more fun out of hiding the eggs and watching the kids find them than the kids get from the hunt and winning the candy, but as you can see, there are smiles all around.

Winter Glimpses, Part 1

Marian performed with Bryan College Youth Choir.

We greatly enjoyed visiting with dear friends: Lionel, Sue, Isabel, and Christopher

We welcomed a new addition to the family----  

 a Foosball table!!  (What else?)

 And Dwayne celebrated 

42 years of awesomeness! 

:)  

A specially designed, one-of-a-kind, cooperative effort from the kids!

October Field Trips

 October was a super busy month!!

First, we took a short trip with some other families over to Athens, Tennessee to visit the Mayfield Dairy Plant, where we got to do some (fake) cow-milkin',

some (real) ice cream eatin', 

and some cool porch sittin'!

 And don't forget some funny-face-makin'!

 After this, we headed over to the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum to take in some relics from the past...

some old, 

some not so old!

It was a really sweet day

 with friends.

Later in the month, our whole family hit the road for a whole weekend of field trips near Johnson City.    

First, we visited the Gray Fossil Site & Museum.  They had some neat activities for the kids.  It was great to learn about fossils found right here in our own home state.

Next came an unplanned stop, a little gem we found out about as we browsed the rack of brochures when we stopped for lunch.  Just down the road from the fossil site, on the campus of East Tennessee State University, is a cool railroad exhibit.  The George Carter Train Museum contains a very large model train layout which was built and is maintained by volunteer staff.  We were all very impressed by its size and detail.  (And it's free!)  What a great find.



The next day, we headed down the road to Greenville to check out the home of the Constitution President!  (Okay.  I don't know how broadly he is known by that title, but if you're going to choose a nickname as president, it doesn't get much better than that!)

  The Andrew Johnson home offers a lot to see.  From a replica of his birthplace, to his  original (!!) tailor shop, to two homes he and his family occupied during different periods.  A lot of information.  I'm sure the kids did not absorb it all, but we always have fun looking around old homes.




Last, but not least, we stopped at Davy Crockett's birthplace, which is a state historic site.  As you can guess from the picture, this was by far Andrew's favorite stop.  He had the opportunity to fire Davy Crockett's gun!!!!

We enjoyed looking around the historical exhibits and cabin (a reconstruction)... and the kids especially had fun taking every chance to photo-bamb.  :)

Strike a pose!

Andrew Attack!!

Ta-da!

Reagan on the prowl... and not quite sure
what Andrew and Ellie are doing to each other here!

And to close, some wonderful words to live by, courtesy of Davy Crockett himself:

Run, Mar, run!

At the start line

This past summer, Marian has been training to run a 5K with me.  Yea!  This past Saturday was The Big Day, a color run to benefit the Women's Care Center.

Marian started out the morning saying she did not want to get any color on her.  I assured her that she could just detour around the color stations during the course of the run, no problem.  Well, my mischievous side got the better of me... that, and I truly didn't want Marian's uncertainty to cause her to miss out on any of the fun.  Before the race, all the runners have fun "coloring" each other, and I found a couple of Mar's friends that were all too willing to let her share in the fun.  So here's how she looked before the race even started.   I couldn't be prouder!

Marian is a blue blur approaching the finish line!

As for the actual 5K, we didn't manage to run the whole way, but this one was just about finishing.  And finish, we did!  Dwayne and the rest of the kids were all waiting at the finish line to cheer us on and take our picture.  As you can see, we definitely did not bypass the color stations!

Check out the green "gloves"!!

Then the whole family went to 

Huddle House for breakfast.  

Now that's a good way to start the day!

Picture of the Week

Let me first say that I lose no love on bugs.  But Marian caught this cicada emerging from its nymph skin.  How cool is that?  Also, check out those beautiful wings.  

Way to go, Mar!

Ballet, Year 1

We have come to the end of the girls' first year of ballet lessons.  I have been so thankful that they have had this opportunity and hope that we can continue next year.

From the beginning, Ellie took to it like a duck to water.  She knew her teacher's names, her fellow students' names, and nearly every dance step from the very first lesson.  Not that she had perfect form by any means, but the desire was there.  She donned her ballet shoes and leotard for multiple private performances in our living room (and made up little tickets and play bills, even!)

Mar, on the other hand, found the adjustment to be a little more difficult.  I kind of anticipated that.  I would imagine it's a challenge to start ballet at the age of twelve when all the other girls in your class have been taking lessons since they were four.  But better to start at age twelve than never to start at all!  At some point in the spring semester, I could tell Marian was coming around.  I wish I had a video of their recital performances that I could post.  They both did so well! Next year perhaps, I can do better at my duties as ballet mom!

Where, oh where has the summer gone?

So, I had big plans to blog all about life this summer:  the garden, the kids, cookouts, fun at the park, work on the farm, friends, trips, firsts,...  Now summer is over.  I've lived all those things, but blogged none!

Incredible sunset on the farm

 All in all, we've had a very eventful season, so allow me to recap.

We finished up school in May with our annual Family Night event.  This year's program was as wonderful as ever, of course.  Ellie's class presented the fruits of the Spirit as we had studied.  Marian and Ellie sang a duet.  Marian and Andrew participated in some recitations with their class.  We handed out report cards, and ended the evening with good food and good fellowship.



Also as part of our end-of-school-year activities, our family went to a play at the Cumberland County Playhouse, "The Miracle Worker", which was the story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan.  As always, the playhouse put on a remarkable show.

 I guess the next big event was birthdays.  June comes with a bundle of them!  First mine.  40!  Wha-at?

 Then Marian's and Cecil's are a day apart, so we celebrated them together.  Marian requested a giant cookie instead of birthday cake.  She turned 12, Cecil 76.

Blow!!!!

This has been a big summer for Reagan.  First came the potty.  Mamma (and Mamma's wallet) says, "Yea!!  No more diapers!"

 Then came the big-boy bed!

Scooby-Doo sheets!  Awesome!

An eggshell discovered in the yard

And as always the everyday amazements of being three.

 Marian, Andrew, and Ellie all had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a soccer camp hosted here in Bledsoe County by nearby Bryan College.  They had a great time!  Shortly after this, Marian and Andrew had another first:  overnight camp!  They attended 4H camp in Cumberland County.

 It was an exciting week all around...

 Marian and Andrew experienced all sorts of new things at camp, while little brother and sister had some firsts of their own...

 One night Reagan slept with Ellie in her room, another night she joined him in his room.

 We finished up June with a bang-- a campout with our dear friends David and Tami, along with one of their daughters, Carly, and grandson, Kylin.  We had a fabulous weekend.  I must say, I do not remember the ground being anywhere near that hard!!  I was very glad that we were quite close to home because the second night, Reagan and I had to bail out!  But we were sure to return for the daytime fun, the campfire, cookout, fishing, the occasional card game, et al.

Breakfast for hungry campers!

Card game & lounging in the tent

 That was our May and June... at least the highlights!  The beginning of a great summer!