Flashback Friday: Christmas Program At Alston Brook

My dad resides at Alston Brook, a local nursing home. This past December, the activity coordinators and residents presented a Christmas program for family and friends. It was a great celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Corinna was asked to be an angel and she obliged.

Here are the two younger angels pictured with a resident.

Here is Mary holding the baby Jesus.

Corinna shows off her halo and angel wings.

The men in the picture depict the shepherds watching their flocks by night.

The wise men bear gifts for the king. My dad is the wise man in red.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those

with whom he is pleased."

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

(Luke 11-20)

Dancing Queens

After CBS today, Lauralyn and Corinna had a playdate. First we had lunch at Subway (Eat Fresh), then we stopped by a consignment store. We then headed to our house. Shortly thereafter, the leotards were on and the recital was about to begin. Since I was the sole audience member, I recorded the production for you to see. The first clip showcases both freestyle dancers accompanied by the music from Corinna's Valentine's Day Card. The photos above were taken during intermission.



The second part of the show features Corinna singing and Lauralyn dancing, although you may notice Corinna's pole move. Hope you enjoy this next clip. It sure is original.

Caution: Children At Play

"You have the right to remain silent."

Ladies and gentlemen, Heeeerrrrreee's Hayden.

"Hey guys, what should we play next?"

Angel and Corinna get their kicks with some sticks.

So, we really do need to put a tire or some type of swing on that piece of rope dangling from our tree.

So often nowadays, it seems like all children want to do is sit in front of some sort of screen. Well, I was thrilled to catch my children playing outside this afternoon with some of the neighbors. Back when I was a kid, we played outside continuously...tag, hide-and-seek, kickball, red rover, mother may I, jumprope, and kick the can were some of my favorite outside activities. Seems like in recent years, the most exercise children get (and adults too) is clicking a mouse or game controller or remote. But not today. After some homework, they were out the door and on the go. As spring approaches in a few weeks, I hope today's choice of activity is repeated time and time again, with excitement. We need an outdoor play revival 'round here. Yet, I must mention that after about 30 minutes outside, Drake ran inside and asked if he and all the kids could come in. I said, "No, get back out there and play!"

Winter Jam

I accompanied some youth from our church to the Winter Jam concert at the Greensboro Coliseum Saturday night. We got there as the doors were opening and only managed to get a seat in the nosebleed section behind the stage. Winter Jam featured various Christian music artists such as Newsong, Brandon Heath, and Toby Mac. There were over 20,000 in attendance.

Natalie and Caroline sat right beside me. I didn't even need my earplugs. Maybe the music wasn't so loud due to the fact that we were behind the stage and speakers.

Here is a pic of some of our group.

And another. (Hi, Rachael! :)

I enjoyed the concert more than I thought I would. Getting out of the parking lot wasn't too bad considering all the people. You might not have to twist my arm for me to go back next year.

Truckin' To The Soccer Game

This is what J.J. brought home this weekend. He went to Salisbury Saturday morning to scope out some trucks. We'd been talking about replacing the Dodge Ram with over 200,000 miles for quite a while. The salesman let him drive it home and to Drake's last indoor soccer game. Well, after much deliberation, J.J. decided to buy the Toyota Tundra. He got a pretty good deal on the 2008 4WD model. Hope this baby runs well for at least 10 years.....by then college tuition will be right in front of us.

Above Drake holds his soccer trophy and here's a little action from his last game of the indoor season. Signups for spring soccer were this afternoon. We'll see ya on the field.

Flashback Friday: Say (Chuck E.) Cheese

Corinna, Hayden, and Drake say cheese as they pose with Chuck E. Cheese.

We gathered at Chuck E. Cheese's in Winston to celebrate my nephew Brady's 2nd birthday. This was in mid-October. Here are the cousins dancing together. I am not sure where Olivia was..... maybe she was scared of the large, furry mouse. Olivia is my niece who turned 2 in September.

The dancing continues.

Everyone anticipates eating the yummy chocolate cake.

The birthday boy does a fine job of blowing out the candles.

What I Like About Wednesdays.......

I like Wednesdays.

It's the middle of the week,which means the weekend will roll around again real soon.

I like going to Zumba class on Wednesday mornings for an hour at the YMCA. Zumba is a form of Latin dance and it is a great workout. Never before did I know that sweating could be so much fun.

The first Wednesday of every month, we have our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting. I have attended MOPS for, let's see, about 7 years. This is my last year so I am making the most of the Wednesdays I have left to meet with such awesome moms.

I like going to the fellowship meals at church on Wednesdays. Although I like to cook, it is nice to have one night of the week off. Paula cooks wonderful meals and the whole family can eat for less than 15 bucks.

I like being a volunteer for our Youth Group. It is a joy to hang out with teens for an hour and a half each Wednesday evening.

I like Wednesdays because that means that tomorrow is Thursday. And on Thursdays I get to go to CBS (Community Bible Study).

I sure do like Wednesdays, and it's not (just) because that's the night that the American Idol results are revealed. But I was pulling for Danny, yeah!

Mall Meeting

Corinna and I are in Winston each Tuesday for CBS (Community Bible Study) Leadership. So, every so often, we plan a trip to Hanes Mall. Well, today was the day for us to venture there. Here is Corinna in the indoor play area. Where else can one jump from banana slice to banana slice or slide down a celery stalk?

Since she was about 2, Corinna has liked going to Build-A-Bear to give a bear a bath. She gets the bear nice and clean for the person who will go and buy it later. She has always been great about putting the critter back and leaving without making a purchase.

When we headed to the Food Court, lo and behold, there was Laci and Caleb. What a great surprise to run smack dab into our church friends. Corinna was very excited!

We planned to meet my college friend Erinn at the Food Court. This is Erinn's daughter Leah with Corinna on the motorcycle.

Of course, a trip to the mall isn't complete without taking a whirl on the carosel. Leah's sister Anna wanted to ride too.

Corinna and I took one last picture before we headed back to Lexington. We had fun and only spent money for the carosel ride (next time we can ride free because we filled up our carosel card) and for a Chik-Fil-A kids meal. Maybe during our next mall outing we'll actually do some shopping, but maybe not.

Flashback Friday: Fun At High Rock Lake

The warm weather here lately prompted me to flashback to Labor Day, when we headed to High Rock Lake. My friend Lynette invited us over to go out on her dad's boat. Above, Drake, Hayden, and J.J. bounce around on the three man tube. Too bad the picture doesn't capture the expressions on their faces. Bob took them on a wild ride.

Here is Corinna pictured with Soph and Kait.

This was Drake's first attempt at skiing. As you can see, he did rather well. He got up after a few tries. Hayden and Corinna tried too, but didn't stay up quite as long. We hope to get some skis of our own for this season. We ordered a three man tube with an Amazon gift certificate we got for Christmas. Thanks, Uncle Jim. We'll keep you posted about our future outings at High Rock. Now, it's so warm that I must go play outside because it's supposed to be colder and rainy tomorrow.

The Once-A-Month Club

I have been a member of The Once-A-Month (book) Club for about 2 years now. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at a local restaurant to have dinner and discuss the book selection of the month. We have about 12 members, and on average, about 7 or 8 ladies are able to attend each month. Our February selection was The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. Here is a quick synopsis:

They died in each other's arms. But their secret-the letters-did not die with them. True love keeps no secrets.

Jack and Laurel have been married for 39 years. They've lived a good life and appear to have had the perfect marriage. With his wife cradled in his arms, and before Jack takes his final breath, he scribbles his last "Wednesday Letter."

When their adult children arrive to arrange the funeral, they discover boxes and boxes full of love letters their father wrote to their mother each week on Wednesday. As they begin to open and read the letters, the children uncover the shocking truth about their past.

In addition, each one must deal with present-day challenges. Matthew has a troubled marriage, Samantha is a single mother, and Malcolm is the black sheep of the family who has returned home after a mysterious two-year absence.

The Wednesday Letters has a powerful message about forgiveness and quietly beckons for readers to start writing their own "Wednesday Letters."

I enjoy going to book club. I am thankful for J.J.'s willingness to watch the children so that I can attend. Now that my children are getting older, I actually do find time to read. There have been a few months when I go to the meeting having not read the book, and the great part is that I don't get kicked out!

Fun At Finch Park

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon, here in Lexington, N.C. My friend Lynette and I decided to meet at Finch Park for a few hours. In fact, we met one another for the first time there last February, on another warm day. It is my belief that the Lord arranged for both Lynette and I to meet a year ago, so that we might develop a friendship. Corinna made two friends as a result of the first Finch Park encounter. Meet Sophie (on the far left) and Kaitlyn (in the middle). They are Lynette's twin girls, and are about 2 months older than Corinna.

Corinna, Kaitlyn and Sophie stop on the slide for a photo op.

Hayden gets his picture taken, although he doesn't appear to be thrilled.

One more of the trio.

I am very thankful for such a beautiful Sabbath day. I enjoyed worshipping the Lord at church this morning, and was able to enjoy fellowship with friends this afternoon. God is so good!

Latte At 4 Months

Our little Latte isn't so little anymore!

Latte was four months old yesterday. She is right at 35 pounds now, which is double the weight she was when we brought her home in mid-December. The picture at the top is Latte a few weeks ago when she could still squeeze under the cocktail table. Not the case anymore, she's too big. Latte is proving to be a great dog. She is house trained but sometimes we are too busy to notice when she needs to go out. J.J. is working on whistle training to teach her basic commands, and she's doing well. Latte chewed up a portion of Corinna's comforter this week, but overall she is a wonderful addition to our family.

Flashback Friday: Tea Party Time

Corinna celebrated her 5th birthday (12-03-08) at Miss Ruby's Tea Room.

She invited a few friends who weren't in school, to celebrate her big day. The girls loved sitting at the fancy table and drinking from real china teacups. Above, Corinna admires the yummy birthday cupcakes. After we ate, the girls posed for some group photos.

Corinna and her guests enjoyed their time at Miss Ruby's Tea Room. Sadly, it is no longer open. The owners retired and moved to Florida a few weeks after our gathering. The home is now up for sale.

It's hard to believe that my baby girl is now five. She is a social butterfly. She has lots of friends. She is very smart and ready to go to Kindergarten next school year. I look forward to seeing how God uses her life for His glory.

Thursdays Are CBS Days

For the past 6 years, I have been blessed by attending Community Bible Study at Pinedale Christian Church in Winston-Salem. Through CBS, God has taught me much from His word, as we study scripture in depth. It has been a privilege to be in leadership for the past three years, where I have taught home-schooled children each Thursday morning. This is a picture of my class this year. They are such a wonderful group of children. More than likely, this will we my last year at CBS, as I look toward being a substitute teacher (in public school) next school year. Truly, God has used Community Bible Study to prepare me for the years ahead. Thank you, Lord!

School Achievements

Report cards were issued last week for the 2nd grading period. Hayden earned A/B Honor Roll status. In fact, he only had one B, so he narrowly missed making the A Honor Roll. He also earned a certificate for good attendance. Way to go, Hayden. Keep up the great work!

Drake also did very well on his report card. Letter grades are not given until 2nd grade. Drake is becoming a proficient reader and is doing great in math, too. Here is Drake displaying his certificate for good attendance. We're so glad you love to learn, Drake!