handsful

Taken by Justin

Don’t let anyone tell you differently.  Moving is HARD.  Moving out of state is that much harder.  Of course, you miss your friends and all things familiar to you.  But, the daunting task of finding replacements for all of the activities, doctors, homeschool connections, etc. is…well, hard.  We’ve prayed specifically that God would provide for us in these areas.  And, even though finding a good guitar teacher might not seem like something God would care much about…boy, does He.  

Driving around in downtown Mooresville, I spotted a small guitar store and I figured that would be a good place to start finding out about area guitar teachers.  The guy who answered the phone said he normally taught, but his summer work schedule was too heavy for it…but, he had a friend who was home from college who was looking for students.  He gave me his number.  Having no info on this guy (he could be an ax murderer posing as a guitar teacher!!), I called him. 

To say he was polite is a grave understatement.  Then, he told us he was a christian, majoring in worship music at a very respected christian college (our nephew heads there this coming Fall).  He came to the house, and did a few lessons here.  We’ve ended up moving lessons to his houe because he also teaches drums…something Payton has always wanted to take.  Jackpot! 

So, I take the 3 kids to his house once a week…and, even though he heads back to college soon, he plans on getting together with them during his weekends home and he has a friend that he highly recommends when he’s not home. 

There are many more examples of how God is providing for our needs here in our new home.  Justin, the totally cool, totally sold-out for God, guitar/drum teacher is just one of them.  It amazes me how much God loves us.

Mom…can we use a roll of toilet paper?  Lainey and I wanna do something. 

Uh…sure.  I guess.  Have fun :)

They’re all fun,

silly,

sweet,

and beautiful. 

And, they’re all mine.  I am blessed.

Sister…brother.  But, last night?  They were fierce opponents.  Facing each other in the…

Boys vs. Girls game!  Not an official thing for Upward.  Randy coaches both Abbey’s and Payton’s 6th-8th grade teams.  Practices are usually back to back, 7-8 and 8-9pm.  This was the last practice of the season, so Randy arranged a double practice so they could take on each other.  They’ve both been talking smack about if for weeks. 

He started it off with a relay lay-up race.  The boys won.  By a lot. 

Then, it was time for the game. When the game began, the boys and girls were both a little timid.  Especially the boys…how do you guard a GIRL?  They lost that really quick, and the game got very aggressive. 

Abbey’s backing him up…

break for devotion time. 

Not sure why I didn’t get a good shot of Payton with the ball, but I remember I shared one of him a while back. 

At the end of it all, the boys won.  They were quite a bit ahead, and then the girls came back to tie it.  So, the boys only BARELY won.  Can you tell who I was pulling for?  Well, honestly, I was pulling for both.  Mostly.  It was a lot of fun, watching the kids play against each other, and laughing at Randy as he tried to coach and referee at the same time. 

Last official Upward games are this weekend, with the end-of-year celebration on Thursday.  It’s been a fun season.

Yes, 14.  1 year away from a learner’s permit, 2 years away from driving…if I keep going, I’ll get lightheaded. 

After a family trip to the mall, where Abbey had a mini-shopping spree, we came home for cake.  Her request…chocolate cake, chocolate frosting.  She IS my daughter, you know. 

Laughing, as her dad serenades her with the birthday song.  Oh, if only you could have heard…

A couple of presents at home…a capo for her guitar and a new voice activated alarm clock. 

Happy Birthday, Abbey.  We love you to bits.

Sometimes the best parties are those with no good reason…nothing to really celebrate, just spending time with friends doing fun stuff.  That was today for Abbey and her 8th grade friends from church.  Here’s what they did…

They played the Wii

They went swimming.  (Yes, Abbey graciously allowed her “non-8th grade” siblings to play, too.)

They played cards,

Guitar Hero,

and ping pong. 

Somewhere in the middle of all this, they had lunch and then…

Randy explained the rules for the day.  As you can see, he’s on rule #2 here.  No running with scissors. 

As the boys giggle behind Randy’s back about said rules, he’s having the rest of them draw colored discs out of a cup.  This was to split the kids up into two shifts for going out on the boat. 

Happy to be in the pink 1st shift!

So, while the 2nd shift kids went swimming and played even more Guitar Hero…

The 1st shift kids pretend to enjoy being trapped in a blown up tube…

or balancing on a knee board. 

There was a change of shift around 2ish and everyone was back at the house around 4pm…some thoroughly exhausted (well, maybe just Randy) and most wanting to stay on that boat just a little bit longer.  It was a great day. 

Ever try to get a group of teenagers to pose for a decent group picture?  Attempt to get them to all look your way AND not make funny faces?  Me too - it’s not possible.