The Graham Family

8/28 Restoring Honor Rally in Washington DC

2010-09-02T21:13:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday morning we got up early and made our way to the 8/28 Restoring Honor rally on the national mall in Washington DC. We went to the rally expecting a move of God and expecting a miracle. When we arrived at our subway stop and made our way to the rally we were amazed at the number of people, and were a little surprised at the small number of protestor there were. As we made our way toward the Washington memorial the crowds seemed energized, and then we reached a point where we could see the Lincoln memorial and the size of the crowd that was there, it was amazing. The only way that CBS could report that 87,000 people were there is if they were counting the overflow that was sitting around the Washington monument and thought the other people were with a different group, or maybe there is another reason they would report something so blatantly absurd. We made our way into the crowd and moved along until we found a place where we could see a screen and hear the sound clearly, we stayed there for 10-15 minutes and then moved a to the next screen and repeated this a couple times until we were close enough to see the speakers on the stage (steps really). All the moving around we did required us to move amongst a lot of people and we covered a lot of ground and not once did I hear a person complain about anything, or say anything that was other than polite and helpful. There were plenty of opportunities to complain if people wanted to, it was hot with not much of a breeze, there were lines at the port-o-johns, the crowd was so thick at times you were packed in tight to get through some areas, lots of people could not see the stage or a video screen, but none of that seemed to matter. These people came to see a move of God, they came looking to witness Faith Hope and Charity, and I will say that I witnessed an overflowing of all three. The overwhelming message for each individual was that God is the only answer to all of your individual problems and to all of the problems that we face as a nation, I was reminded of the scripture “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”. Over and over again the speakers cried out to Jesus and called on His name, they didn’t use a generic “god” to be politically correct, and every time they called on Jesus the crowd responded. This was another opportunity to hear someone grumble about being at a big “church service”, but if there were any around who did not approve of the message they kept it to themselves.
It was very moving to see the video clips of Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’, and even more so to see the overwhelming reaction of the crowd when his niece, Alveda King, spoke. The most amazing part of Alveda King speaking is that she spoke with treats against her and her family from groups that did not want her to be there. Glenn Beck said on his radio show that she was visibly shaken, and that he told her he could get her a bullet proof vest if she wanted, but her response was, “No, I trust in the Lord”. What kind of courage does it take to go on a stage in front of more than 500,000 people when your life has been threatened and all the so called civil rights leaders have said that they expect people to boo her. To me that is amazing.
This day was also a day to honor the heroes that are more commonly known as members of the United States military, it was a time to thank the men and women that have served and are now serving. There was no better place to honor our military, we were surrounded by memorials to almost every war this nation has been involved in, and there were several times that the Vietnam war was mentioned in particular and the fact that those men were not welcomed home after the war, but I believe that there was healing for those veterans who were in attendance, I believe that they were ministered to by the moving of the Holy Spirit. One of the stated purpose of this event was to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a foundation that takes care of the families of special forces personnel that make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, they received over 5 million dollars.
After the event was over we made our way to the Lincoln memorial, and then walked over to the White House. We ate lunch at the White House, it may have been out on the sidewalk but we still were at the White House. After lunch we started making our way back to the subway station and this is where we encountered the Al Sharpton’s protest march. This march could not have been more different from the Restoring Honor rally, my first impression was that the march was like a union strike line, with angry people yelling and chanting. To see this march was heart breaking, all of these people that claimed to be reclaiming Dr. Kings dream had just missed it, and they had just missed being part of it, all because someone told them that we were a bunch of racist. To me this was the perfect opportunity for the civil rights leaders to encourage people of all races and religions and nationalities to go be a part of the rally and make Glenn Beck prove what he had been saying. If they really wanted to prove that Glenn Beck and everyone at the rally were racist then what better way than to come and join, there was more than enough security if they feared for their safety. Instead, the ones who wanted to reclaim the dream missed seeing hundreds of thousands of people honor Dr. King and his niece, as well as others that marched with Dr. King that spoke at the rally. Glenn Beck told of a story on his radio show of a woman and her daughter that attended the rally and on the flight home sat next to a man wearing an Obama t-shirt, in talking with the man they found out that he had gone the Washington to attend Al Sharpton’s protest, but he said that he wanted to see what all the fuss was about and know what he would be protesting so he went to the Restoring Honor rally …. He never made it to the protest, that is the greatest endorsement I can think of, I only wish more could have gone to see what they were going to protest, I think that would have been a dream fulfilled.

Going Batty

2010-07-18T18:00:00.005-04:00

For a couple of weeks Lindsey has mentioned a noise coming from her ceiling. She said it sounded like an animal of some sort moving around perhaps in it's nest with it's young. Well, we decided to investigate the situation. Cameron got on his full-body poopy suit from his Navy days and ventured off into the attic. Laura was outside of the house armed with the camera pointed directly at the wooden louvers where the varmint might make his escape. A coat hanger was shoved through the wall and twisted around in hopes to stir up the nest. Cameron came back down from the attic and decided to pound on the wall to scare them out. When he returned back to the attic he said "Charlie, go get your momma and tell her to bring the camera!" Below is the picture of what he first saw..........

Here's Cameron tackling the situation....

We ended up getting all of them out and sealing up the space with wire mesh. It stunk so bad of bat guano and urine so we gutted that whole area of the insulation which they totally destroyed while burrowing in it. It has been pretty nasty to say the least but we are glad that we didn't wait any longer. My neighbor informed us that a house just down the street had to be completely gutted out because of a bat infestation! YUK! So if you hear something in your ceiling or walls you might want to check it out. It could be that you're going batty. :0)

Katie the Mouse

2010-07-05T21:32:00.002-04:00

The following blog entry was written by Lindsey.

Several months ago Charlie bought a pet mouse for his science project for the science fair. It turned out that this particular science fair project ended up living with us up until about two weeks ago, when I woke up to Charlie sadly declaring that he found Katie (that was the name of the mouse) stiff in her cage. We have had many adventures with Katie the mouse. The most hysterical time being when she escaped from her cage during the night and crawled into my parent’s room and up onto their bed. My mom awoke to my dad sitting straight up looking around, he said that something had just crawled up his stomach and that he slapped it off, my mom turned on the light and there was Katie on the dresser. My dad had slapped her across the room, and she was just sitting there grooming herself. Katie managed to escape several times and we had to chase her around the house several times, though none was quite as funny as when she crawled on dad during the night. As you can tell we had lots of fun with Katie and she will be missed. Here are some pictures of Katie.

This is one of our favorite of Katie.

Here is Charlie with Katie

Here she is at the end of the maze that Charlie made for the Science Fair project.

Going the Distance

2010-05-22T16:48:00.015-04:00

Sat. May 22, 2010
Today I completed my first triathlon….Whoo-Hoo! I didn’t do so hot in the overall ranking. I was second to last in the women's category. BUT AT LEAST I WASN’T LAST! I did, however, do my very best time at swimming. I shaved off 3 minutes compared to my training times. My bike run wasn’t as good as I’ve done but the course was a lot more hilly than I am used to. One hill in particular kicked my butt, it was grooling...I could see my average speed going down, down, down quickly. And the run, well, I totally bombed on that! I really need to work on my run.

On a brighter note, I AM happy that I...
1) finished in time to go to Levi’s soccer game
(well, I am glad I finished period.)

2)didn’t stop at all even though I was tempted to while poking along on my run and…

3)Gave it my all and had fun!

I am honestly surprised that I am not that tired after the race. I feel pretty good. I think I might want to do another one …hee heee heee

Maybe Cameron will do one with me next time....now there's an idea....

Battle at Buckhorn Lake
Laura Graham age 38 Wilson, NC

Placed 40th out of 41 women contestants My number was- 61

Swim Rank- 35th Swim Time-21:15.6 Pace1:58 T1 Rank-21 T1 Time-1:39

Bike Rank-38th Bike Time-1:08:56.4 Average MPH-14.8 T2 Rank-17 T2Time- 0:59

Run Rank-41st Run Time-38:57.0 Pace-12:34 -UUUGH! I was the last runner however…..did I say I need to work on my run??

Laura and Levi strikin' a tough pose

Parade wave before go time-Swim-1000 meters

Lindsey and Charlie on the dock

Transition 1-Going from Water to Bike

17 Mile Bike Ride

Transition 2-From Bike to Run

Final Leg-Run 5k/3.1 miles

We thought this was a cool pic-The oldest runner in the race (72 yrs old) and the youngest runner (12) they finished within seconds of eachother...very cool

Finishing Strong!

Cat Scratch Fever

2010-05-13T12:05:00.004-04:00

Well, we haven't updated in a while so I thought I'd just jot down our most recent adventures. Saturday night we decided to give our cat "Poody" a bath. Cameron and I always go into this with the knowledge that one or both of us will come out with many scratches and much bleeding. This time was no exception. We both had scratches and bites. We both bled. I, however, took a pretty deep bite on the wrist which ended up swelling and becoming extremely painful. After holding out until Monday I finally decided to get it looked at by the doc. Yep, sure enough, it was infected. He gave me some antibiotic and that was the end of that. I feel much better and have started back on my training.....

Oh yea, I haven't mentioned my training on our blog yet. Well, I am doing a triathlon next week. May 22nd to be exact. I am getting butterflies in my belly just thinking about it. This is my first triathlon. I have done a few 5k races but that's about the extent of it. Initially, my goal was to get in better shape and drop a few pounds. I have have been working out for about 2 months now. My schedule looks something like this:

M-swim for an hour in AM then run or bike PM
T-Strength training and bike AM-Run PM
W-swim for an hour AM then run or bike PM
Th-Strength training and bike AM-Run PM
F-Swim for an hour AM and run or bike PM
SAT-Go for long bike ride then run right after
SUN REST

The Rec pool that I have been using has been closed this week so I feel behind the curve with swimming this week. Needless to say my minor setback with Poody-Tat has got me a little nervous that I might not be up to snuff come race time. We'll update with more details after the race!

As I was browsing through our pictures I came across this one of Papa Chuck and it fit perfectly for the song that is now playing, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

The Silver Ring Thing

2010-01-10T16:13:00.005-05:00

SEX! SEX! SEX!
Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you about this great program called “The Silver Ring Thing”. Lindsey’s youth group at church has started this program that teaches the importance of saving yourself sexually until you get married. The mission of this curriculum is "to motivate, educate, support and transform generations of young people to embrace a lifestyle of Christ-centered sexual abstinence until marriage."

We as her parents, as you can imagine, are excited about this! It seems like everywhere you look especially on TV or the computer, there is some website, some sitcom, some joke, some sexual connotation or reference to sex in some way. Now don’t get me wrong, I love sex! I’m sure many of you reading this do too. What we want to express to our children is that sex is an awesome thing. It is exciting. It’s passionate. It’s an amazing gift that God has given us.

Can I get an AMEN, Hallelujah, and thank you Jesus?!!! LOL

However, all too often especially in our society it is made out to be perverted and dirty. That is NOT how God intended it to be. He made it to be a precious gift between a husband and a wife. The gift that keeps on giving ;) Anyways, that’s what this program is all about. Lindsey has made this commitment to God and we as her parents will wear a silver ring as well to show our support for her and to remember to pray for her in this area.

Now, if you are a parent and your thinking “How can I talk with my teen or young person about sexual purity when I haven’t lived it myself”. All I have to say to you is just be honest. I have shared many personal things with our children (within reason of course) and although they may not show it at the time, I believe they respect that honesty. Both Cameron and I have told them that we have made poor choices but that they don’t have to go down those same roads. We have also explained to them the importance of keeping the marriage relationship sacred and not behaving as though you are married when you have not made that commitment.

The website for this curriculum is: http://http://www.silverringthing.com/whatissrt.asp

A BIG thank you to our youth leader Pamela Letchworth for initiating this program. What a blessing you are!

Lordy, Lordy LOOK WHO'S 40!

2009-12-31T21:08:00.007-05:00

Turn up your sound. The first 3 songs that you'll hear are songs that remind me of my brother Brad in some way. Enjoy!

My brother Brad turned 40 today. He is a New Year's Eve baby. I can't make too big a deal about it because if he's 40 I'm not too far behind him. Yep, Brad and I were a year and 9 months apart and I can remember doing all of the fun stuff kids do together. We would go down to the creek and catch crayfish, ride our bikes up to 7-11to get some nickle and penny candy, compete with eachother on our "Atari 5200", go swimming at the pool at Dad's apartment and then take a break to make a "Steakum" sandwich and shoestring french fries. We did a lot of stuff that I would guess most every other siblings that are close in age do. One fond memory I have in particular, is when we would cook up the perch we caught from the pier at Morgantown on our little Coleman stove. Also, there was that one time when I picked a fight with a kid down the street and Brad took up for me. It was the classic case of "no one can pick on my sister but me!" And boy did we have our share of fights....ahhh, the memories. LOL

Well, I just wanted to give a little "shout out" to my brother on his big day. Happy Birthday Brad. I love you.
Love, Lit

Charlie is an "Oompa-Loompa"

2009-12-19T15:53:00.004-05:00

Act! For Youth, which is the theatre arts section of the The Arts Council of Wilson, will be performing the play "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Charlie and Levi auditioned for the play this week. Levi thought that the audition alone was the final act. He thought it was great just to be in there with all of the kids and singing his little "Speed Racer" song. So when his name wasn't on the cast roster we told him what a great job he did, and we just left it at that. We were so proud of him though!

Charlie, however, did land a part in the play. He will be joining the 9 other boys and girls doning their green wigs and orange faces. Yes, our son will be an OOMPA-LOOMPA! GO ahead.....take a minute....sing the song.....you know you want to...lol
If you need a little help remembering the words, I have posted a video below to help you out. Enjoy! Oh yeah, you will have two chances to come out and see the play, as they will be performing for two weekends. The dates are Feb 25th through Feb. 28th and March 5th through March 7th. Also, make sure you pause the song that is playing on our playlist before you watch the video below.

"Elf"

2009-12-17T13:40:00.001-05:00

So I was watching the movie “Elf” last night and there was a scene in which Elf (Will Farrell) says, “I just don’t belong anywhere”. At this point in the movie, this poor Elf had just left his home in the North Pole with Santa and all of the “real” elves and was now looking for his biological father in New York City. Anyways, what struck my heart at that particular moment (and yes I did tear up when he said it) was how often so many people feel just like that; like they don’t fit in no matter where they go.

I was kind of meditating on that today. I thought of how people will do just about anything to fit in. They want to belong to something. They want to be a part of a body of people who see them for what they really are. Basically, they just want to feel loved and accepted. Have you ever felt this way? I think we all have at one time or another…..

Well, before we started school this morning, this thought came up in our devotion time. I wanted the kids to understand that this feeling of rejection will indeed come up in their lives if it hasn’t already. But what I really wanted them to grasp and hold on to, was the fact that God will never make you feel like that. No matter if everyone in your family, your friends, your husband or wife, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your church (yes I said church, sadly) comes against you, God never will. He is always FOR you and if He is for you who can be against you?

Just remember that today, “If God is for you, who can be against you?”…….and if they are against you…..does it really matter? You have the King of kings and the Lord of lords on your side.

Merry CHRIST-mas!

We have a Black Belt in the house

2009-10-03T19:54:00.004-04:00

Today we all drove up to Richmond, VA for Charlie to test for his 1st Degree Black Belt. He has taken Tae Kwon Do at Dong's Martial Arts for almost three years now, and after much hard work and practice he has earned his Black Belt. We are so proud of you Charlie.

As part of his test he had to break three boards

Charlie with his new belt

Charlie and Noah with Grand Master Dong, 9th degree black belt and founder of Dong's Martial Arts.

All the Black Belts from the Wilson, NC School

Grandma Judy, Uncle Brad, Aunt Lisa, and cousins Emily and Noah all came down from Maryland to see him test for his belt.

Charlie's first football game

2009-10-02T19:01:00.004-04:00

Last Tuseday, Charlie's team had there first game, it didn't go to good with the final score of 26-0. But Charlie had a good time during the time he played and the team had a great practice the next day to try and get everyone clear on thier positions. Next week is another game.

Lindsey walks for life

2009-09-26T21:10:00.001-04:00

Lindsey raised money and walked in the Walk for Life event in Wilson, the event raised money for the Wilson Pregnancy Center, will have some photos when we get them developed.

Laura's B-day blessings

2009-09-19T10:53:00.013-04:00

Well, last week I turned 38 years young. I had a great birthday. Cam and the kids got me a whole bag of my favorite things. They took me to Starbuck's, then out to eat and then we cruised the strip in Wilson...lol (that would be the Wal-mart parking lot) A little later, we all made little piggy's out of ourselves while scarfing down a Carvel ice cream cake (another one of my faves). I love my little family. They make me so happy :)

I also love my sweet friends. Amanda and Carla are two of my very special friends. They both planned a get together for me complete with a pan of brownies, two tubs of ice cream and a great time of fellowship. Thanks you guys!

Carla's gift to me was "The Word of Promise" which is a beautiful reading, if you will, of the Bible. Jim Caviezel plays the voice of Jesus as he did in "The Passion of Christ". Richard Dreyfus as Moses, Gary Sinise as David, Jason Alexander as Joseph, Marisa Tomei, Louis Gossett Jr., and over 600 actors contributed to this timeless work. It has really blessed me. I have started listening to it while riding my bike and keeping it playing in my ipod dock just so it can be playing all the time! If you are looking for a great Bible on CD, this is the one to get.
Here is the link: http://www.thewordofpromise.com/

Amanda's gift to me was a VIP ticket to the Aaron Shust concert in Raleigh. It was actually called "Chris Sligh's Back to School Tour 2009". Wow what a night it was! We got our "PRAISE ON", as Kirk Franklin would say it. Merideth Andrews and Andrew Witt were also there. It was not just another concert. It was a night of worship. Our girls went with us and it was so refreshing to look over and see Lindsey and Anna Gracen lifting their hands and praising God. I especially loved that part! One other part I loved was when Chris Sligh started to sing the old Bon Jovi song "Living on a Prayer" and Amanda and I looked at eachother and started belting it out. Then Amanda said PROM!! Oh, us 80's girls are a trip!

You can check out pictures and more info about each artist on Amanda's blog here: http://www.doughertysdigest.blogspot.com//

Oh yeah, turn up your volume on your computer and you will hear one of my favorite Aaron Shust songs "My Savior, My God" also Chris Sligh's "Empty Me" Meridith Andrews "You're Not Alone"

Charlie starts tackle football

2009-09-16T10:29:00.002-04:00

Last week Charlie started tackle football with the city recreation department, he had three days of conditioning practice, although I think these practices were more intended to weed out any of the kids that were going to give up. The practices were not hard, but they were enough to make the kids know that they would have to put forth some effort. Last Friday we went and picked up Charlie’s gear; helmet, pads, pants, and mouth piece, these are all provided by the Wilson Recreation department.
So this week full contact practice in full gear started. Will update more later with pictures (have to wait for film to be developed- the digital is in for repairs)

Happy Birthday Laura

2009-09-11T09:40:00.003-04:00

Today is Laura's birthday, more details of the day to come along with photos and video. We are getting ready to goto Starbucks, Oh what fun.

Having some coffee at Starbucks

Happy Birthday Huggs from the kids

Lindsey and Charlie get baptized

2009-08-30T20:52:00.004-04:00

Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave His charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: GO out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the three fold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I will be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up till the end of the age.”-The Message Bible

Today Lindsey and Charlie were baptized; this is something that we have discussed with them for some time now. We have explained that this is a public demonstration or there salvation and an act of obedience. The Fulford family has allowed our church to perform baptisms in their pool for many years with the stipulation that afterwards the filters would need to be cleaned! (Wouldn’t want all that sin to clog the filters now would we) LOL
We are confidant that this decision that they have made will become more significant as they grow in the Lord and realize His cleansing power.

Pastor Eric reads a scripture and says a prayer before the baptism

Mr. Eddie baptizes Charlie

Mr. Eddie baptizes Lindsey

2009-08-26T22:38:00.001-04:00

Testing Laura's text to blog setup <!LAURA G.!>

One Love

2009-08-20T13:19:00.004-04:00

One Love....one heart....let's get together and feeeeel aaalright.

I love it. I was out riding my bike the other day listening to my iPod shuffling through about a thousand songs and this one by Bob Marley came up and just made me smile and sing so loud that I'm sure if anyone heard me they were in disbelief that someone with such an unrefined voice would be singing so boldly and so LOUDLY! (Sorryaboutthatbigrunonsentencelol)

Anyways, I just love it. I know, I know 'ole Bob was probably flyin' high on some wacky weed at the time, but come on, you've just got to appreciate the lyrics for what they are. The man was spiritual. I'm not going to get into the whole Rastafarian theology discussion, but I will say that 'ole Bob had it going on in a lot of his songs. Exodus, Jammin. Redemption Songs...just to name a few. Anyways, we haven't updated the blog in a while so I thought I'd post some of my random thoughts! Enjoy MON!

One love,one heart
Let's get together and feel all right
Hear the children crying (One love)
Hear the children crying (One heart)
Sayin', "Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right."
Sayin', "Let's get together and feel all right."
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa

Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (One love)
There is one question I'd really love to ask (One heart)
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?
Believe me

One love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning (One love)
So shall it be in the end (One heart)
Alright, "Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right."
"Let's get together and feel all right."
One more thing

Let's get together to fight this Holy Armageddon (One love)
So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom (One song)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
There ain't no hiding place from the Father of Creation

Sayin', "One love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right."
I'm pleading to mankind (One love)
Oh, Lord (One heart) Whoa.

"Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right."
Let's get together and feel all right.
(Repeat)

2009-07-05T15:56:00.001-04:00

On our way to get Lindsey a ferret, oh my what have we allowed to happen

Independence Day 2009

2009-07-04T14:42:00.002-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!!!

2009-06-17T10:10:00.005-04:00

br>We had Charlie's party yesterday but today he is 9 years old.

Charlie, you are one funny boy. You are just like your daddy when you break out in random song and "beat-box". The dances that usually accompany the songs are priceless too. You make us laugh boy! You have always been so full of joy, even when you were a little baby you would play peek-a-boo with perfect strangers and make them smile and laugh. I especially love your "koala" hugs that you still give me. I will take them as long as I can lift you up! We love you so much son and pray that the joy of the Lord will always be your strength.

Here are some pics of Charlie and his buddies at Chuck E. Cheese

2009-06-16T21:23:00.001-04:00

Today Charlie had his party for his birthday at Chuck E Cheese <{:-]CG3>

2009-05-28T18:06:00.002-04:00

Almost home, we have made our traditional stop at South of the Border (at the Border of North and South Carolina) to take a break from driving and act touristy.

2009-05-28T10:31:00.001-04:00

today we are northward bound, headed home, just quick stop at Fenandina Beach to pick up Papa and then I-95 here we come.

Happy 85th Birthday

2009-05-27T10:33:00.003-04:00

Today its a ferry ride and a drive to Amelia Island to visit Grandma Patsy for her birthday, 85 years young. HAPPY BIRTHADY GRANDMA!!!!

History and Science

2009-05-26T18:24:00.002-04:00

Today we went to the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville, and on the way it seems the cars heater coil is leaking, bypassed for now, its all good.

2009-05-25T15:37:00.001-04:00

A special post to remember all those who gave their lives in service to our country and our way of life, they will not be forgotten.

Lizards and turtles and snakes oh my

2009-05-25T11:43:00.003-04:00

Another sunny day, pool in the morning beach in the afternoon, lots of lizards, turtles and a snake, but hey this is Florida after all. No gaters yet.

Beach day

2009-05-24T14:51:00.003-04:00

Sunny Sunday in Florida, warmest dryest day yet, spending most of the day at the beach, now it's starting to feel like a vacation, if Levi would only sleep late.

Disney World Magic Kingdom

2009-05-22T22:25:00.003-04:00

Today we went to Disney World Magic Kingdom, 4 hours of torrential rainfall, 12 hours of walking, a bunch of soggy feet and butts, but still a wonderful day. It was Nana's birthday so they gave her a pin that let everyone know it was and all over the park everyone kept wishing her a happy bithday and singing to her. The good that came from all the rain is that the lines for the rides were much shorter than usual, rides that would normally be 30-45 min only took about 5, and some we could walk up and get right on.

My Brother Greg

2009-05-13T18:22:00.002-04:00

Some of you may already be aware but I wanted to mention this for anyone that I may not have spoken with. My brother Greg went into the hospital last weekend and has now been diagnosed with leukemia. As you can imagine this has been quite a shock for our family, it just seems like it came out of nowhere and happened so fast. Even saying the word leukemia seems so foreign to me, and I still can’t get use to saying it, and I refuse to get use to saying it.

I know that things happen in this life and I know that everyday there are others in the same situation, I also know in whom I believe. I’m not saying others do not know in whom they believe, but what I am saying is that when Gods word says to lay hands on the sick and they will recover and that by His stripes we ARE healed, I believe Him. I take Him at His word.

Too many times I have said “Lord let your will be done” and not have any understanding of what His will is. If His word is His will, then I will stand on that and trust that He is faithful to fulfill it. I know that God did not cause this, but I fully believe that God will use this for His purpose and His glory.

So I ask that you join me in lifting up my brother in this time of healing, for his body, mind and spirit. Here is the website that Greg’s wife Elyse setup and will be updating regularly with his progress:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/gregwilson611

To help keep the site private, visitors need to have a CaringBridge profile to visit. Your profile allows you to read the Journal, see photos and leave messages for Greg in the guest book. You can also sign up to receive Journal update notifications by e-mail each time Greg’s Journal is updated.

If you have a CaringBridge Profile:
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Thank you for your thoughts and prayers
-Laura

2009-05-11T21:55:00.002-04:00

Fwd: LYNDSEE IS AMAZING!!!!!! Put an L at the bottem of the screen if u agree and send to everyone you know lol!!

:LL

The above text is what happens when you let your kids play with your cell phone and they send a text to everyone in your contact list, thats what I get for making it so my phone can text into my blog.
-Cameron

Our Mothers

2009-05-10T21:25:00.005-04:00

Something our pastor said today stuck in my mind. It was a comment about mothers. He said "next to Jesus, mothers are the ones that believe in you, root for you, tell you how much you are loved and would do absolutely anything in the world for you". This statement is so true for me and I know for Cameron as well.

For instance, when there was a play that I would try out for in school, mom would say "Laura, you will do great!" (She would often say it with so much enthusiasm that I started to believe it myself). Mom would sacrifice her own desires for something I "just had to have" or "had to do". I look back and remember the physical labor mom did too. She worked very hard (and still does, I might add).

Cameron's mom is very much the same, in that, she gave completely of herself to provide for things that were needed as well as "wanted", Most of the time working several jobs just to get by.

These traits, I'm sure are common to mothers everywhere. But we just wanted to take this opportunity to tell our mothers thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in our lives. We love you so much!

Free Comic Book Day

2009-05-10T15:52:00.004-04:00

On May 2 the Hobby Shop in the Wilson Mall had a free comic book day, if you came into the store you could get a free comic book, if you had a library card you could get a second comic, if you brought in a can of food for the food bank you could get a third comic, and if you dressed up like a super hero you could get a fourth comic for free. They had Batman, Supergirl and Catwoman available for taking pictures with, and they also had some writers and artists for some of the different comics to talk with and get autographs. Charlie had been talking about going to this for about a month, and when the day finally came his friend Benjamin was visiting and wanted to go as well. So we went up and let the boys get there comic books, and of course you know they dressed up, Charlie was kind of like a ninja with a cape, Benjamin was a masked super hero, and Levi was a police officer.

This event seems to be one that is in comic book stores all over the country, and is on the first Saturday in May. Here is the website for the event

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

And here are the pictures of the kids.

Quest for a green lawn

2009-05-05T19:54:00.002-04:00

When we moved into our house in 2002 we had a lawn that only had grass for about 8-10 feet from the road, and the rest of the yard was made “maintenance free” by the previous owners keeping the leaves and pine straw that fell from the trees in the yard. It was literally about 6 inches of leaves compacted solid from a couple of years of not being picked up, and this was very successful at killing everything in the yard that was under it. After about a month of raking up leaves we at last had a clean yard, or rather a strip of grass and solid compacted hard dirt for a yard. During the first few years we tried a few things to get the grass growing and had the beginnings of a lawn, still with many areas that were just so hard that nothing would grow, then came two years of drought and we put the yard on hold until there was somewhat regular rain. That brings us to where we are today, we are attempting again to convert our little patch of dirt into a lush green carpet of grass (would really be happy if the yard just looks green when you drive by our house). This time we are leaving nothing to chance, we had a friend of ours (Carl) bring over his tiller and we plowed up almost our entire yard, we seeded, fertilized and seeded some more. All those rock hard places that nothing would grow are now loose soft soil, if grass doesn’t grow now I think we might just look into astro turf or something.

here is Carl hard at work

and Cameron doing his part

time for some seed

2009-05-04T19:25:00.001-04:00

testing my tech
this is the first test for using my cell phone and texting into my blog, I cant begin to think why I need to be able to do this.

Cameron's office fun and games

2009-05-03T21:43:00.002-04:00

Cameron works in the Raleigh branch of Siemens Building Technologies and each year the office does a fund raiser for the March of Dimes and as part of the fund raiser the office has an obstacle course competition between the different departments in the office. This year Ops, Service, Sales and Energy participated (Cameron is in the Ops department). Even though Cameron’s team didn’t win they all had fun and raised over $1400 for the March of Dimes.

Lindsey tests for Yellow Belt and Charlie tests for Bodan Belt

2009-05-03T18:41:00.004-04:00

Charlie and Lindsey are now both taking tae kwon do, and in April Lindsey took her first test and received her Yellow Belt, and Charlie tested and received his Bodan Belt, this is the last belt for Charlie before Black Belt. Charlie has 6 months to train and then must go to Virginia to test for his Black Belt with Grand Master Dong ( a 9th degree black belt) the founder of Dong’s Martial Arts. Lindsey just started taking tae kwon do in February of this year while Charlie has been taking it for over two years. Below are some pictures and a video of each demonstrating their mad skills.

Lindsey Turns 13!!!

2009-04-18T19:37:00.009-04:00

Next to Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift is one of Lindsey's favorite singers. She likes the song "Change" on our song playlist....

Click the PLAY button on the slide show to see Lindsey through the years

On April 11 our little baby girl became a teenager. It’s hard to believe that it has been 13 years since we brought her home as a bald, chubby little bundle of joy, by the way she didn’t really get much hair until she was nearly a year old, and we called her our little Sumo wrestler until she was about 5 years old (she had more rolls than Subway). She was born in Ft Myers Florida, and at the time we lived in Cape Coral, just across the river. For Lindsey’s birthday we were in Maryland visiting with family for Easter, and we did celebrate her birthday along with her cousins who also have birthdays in April (Kyle on the 16th, and Alexandra on the 7th). The following weekend we had another birthday party at home, Lindsey invited five friends over for a birthday party and sleep over (that’s right 6 girls spending the night, not quite the 16 she had for her 6th birthday but definitely a tall order to fill, not really the older she gets the easier the sleepovers are, they just go hang out upstairs). She is growing up so fast. She is a wonderful daughter and sister to her brothers, and is the best friend that you could ask for. Her favorite scripture is "a friend loves at all times, Proverbs 17:17" and it is evedent in the way she treats those around her.
We love you baby girl
Happy Birthday Lindsey!

Here she is a her Uncle Brad's house playing pool

and here she is with her friends at her sleepover

50's Party, LFC Volunteers Banquet

2009-03-28T19:05:00.003-04:00

At church we had our annual volunteers banquet and this year the theme was a 50’s style party. Guys with their hair slicked back, girls with their poodle skirts. Everyone should know by now that we are always ready for a costume or theme party. We had food and fun, some song and dance, played some games, and lots of fun, enjoy the photos below and see them all in the slideshow

School in Kapoeta, Sudan

2009-03-09T22:02:00.006-04:00

Here is something that we have felt lead to share about. Our former pastor and continued friend, David List, called us the other day to make us aware of and to seek support for a project that he has been a part of. He and his family are part of an organization that is building a school in Kapoeta, Sudan an area that did not have any schools for more than twenty years due to civil war. The school is almost finished and recently started having classes for the children. They have been having over 200 children a day come to classes, but as I said, the school is not completely finished. The school needs $7,000 to finish the last two rooms. So our hope by putting this on our blog is that as you read this and see the pictures of the children in school that you might consider helping in any way you can. Any donations are tax deductable and can be sent to:

"International Support Ministries"
(and specify clearly for the "Sudan School Project")

and you can mail it to:

15318 Hutchison Rd
Tampa, FL 33625

Below are some pictures of the school and the children, not only are they learning to read and write but they are learning God's love through the people He has put there to help them in such a practical way. Thanks for taking the time to read this and know that any gift, no matter how small it may seem, will be a blessing. Feel free to pass this blog address to anyone that might have an interest, and if you have any questions please email us and if we can’t answer them we can get someone who can.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

2009-02-21T19:14:00.004-05:00

Cameron is 38 today!

38 things we love about him...

1. Levi says he likes when daddy plays "Midnight Club" with him and "Speed Racer"
2. Charlie says "he helps me do stuff like putting things together and figuring things out"
3. Lindsey says "he makes me laugh when he just bursts out in random song"
4. Lindsey's friend Heather says " Mr C. makes her laugh"
5. Laura says he makes me laugh,
6. he is thoughtful,
8. he is a gentleman,
9. he is a great kisser!
10.he is a great daddy,
11.he is super patient
12.he is a wonderful provider
13.I love how his eyes are squinty when he laughs or smiles
14.he has kind eyes
15.he loves his Momma
16.he honors his father
17.he can fix almost anything
18.he is slow to anger
19.he is smart
20.he loves Jesus and acts like Him most times
21.I love how I am the only one that sees certain silly things he does
22.he is generous
23.he shows compassion
24.he's calm
25.he has a gift for peacemaking
26.he's a great kisser!
27.he would give me the last bite of his dessert if I wanted it
28.he walks the walk more then talks the talk
29.he's cuddly
30.most babies fall asleep when he holds them, they must sense his gentle spirit
31.he is trustworthy
32.he gets along with mostly everybody
33.he takes great pictures and LOTS of them
34.I like who I am around him
35.he knows me and still loves me
36.he is unconditional
37.he is more handsome to me now than the day we first met
38.he is self-less, today on his b-day he took me to the dentist to get my tooth fixed...see what I mean, he's my love. We love you Cameron. You are the best.

Cam's b-day cake that Lindsey made

A friend sent this survey thingy to me so I thought I would share it on the blog. The answers next to the questions are mine and Cameron's answers are below. I missed a few but it was fun...

Here's a chance to see how well you really know your husband. Cut, paste and fill in the answers, then forward . . . shoot, you know what to do. The real challenge is to send it to your husband to see how right you really are.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? A Miami football game or a "shoot 'em up" movie
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch
3. What's one food he doesn't like? onions
4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Thick burger and sweet tea
5. Where did he go to high school? Shaw in Columbus Ga.
6. What size shoe does he wear? 10 1/2
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He collects a lot of stuff. Die cast cars mostly 911 Porches, comic books, pens haha
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Turkey with cheese and lettuce and a little bit of mustard no mayo
9. What would this person eat every day if he could? m-n-m's
10. What is his favorite cereal? Apple Jacks
11. What would he never wear? Shirts with pockets in the front
12. What is his favorite sports team? hmmm let me think, oh yea, MIAMI!
13. Who did he vote for? McCain
14. Who is his best friend? Jesus and me
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? fuss
16. What is his heritage? Secretly he would love to be Scottish, but I think he is mostly German and English.
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Strawberry with Strawberry icing.
18. Did he play sports in high school? no
19. What could he spend hours doing? putzing on the computer (checking on our stocks, searching for a 911, touching base with old friends on Facebook)
20. What is one unique talent he has? He has become quite the photographer.

HIS ANSWERS:
1. Something sports
2. Ranch
3. Onions
4. Hamburger and tea
5. Shaw
6.10 1/2
7. EVERYTHING, I collect collections of collections
8. Turkey
9. Candy
10. fruit loops apple jacks, any type like that he says
11. short sleeve button up shirt with pockets and also a white shirt with white pants or black shirt with black pants he says he needs a contrast.
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. McCain
14. Jesus and Laura
15. Laura tries to force food on me
16. American
17. cheesecake
18. No
19. playing on the computer and watching tv
20. fixing stuff that's broke

Cameron and his Momma

Happy Birthday Levi

2009-02-13T23:05:00.004-05:00

Today our baby boy, Levi turns five years old. For those not familiar with Levi and his personality, he is very high energy and is wide open. He likes fast loud cars, guns, anything having to do with firefighters or the police. He is quick to shoot you, then arrest you, then try to rescue you from danger all in a few moments time, and he expects the same treatment in return. With that being said, his presents consisted of firefighter and police uniforms, fire rescue truck, and plenty of Speed Racer toys (the boy loves him some speed racer, almost as much as Starsky and Hutch).

Five things we love about our five year old.

1. We love the way he truly desires to help people, his desires to rescue and heal people is a God given gift that we believe he will use all throughout his life.

2. His imagination and playfulness, he will play out his desires, when he plays “cops” he calls Cameron “Starsky” or “Starsk” and Cameron has to call him “Hutch” or they call each other “partner”, and this has been the regular thing for months. When they play “Speed” Levi calls Cameron “Rex” or “Racer-X” and of course Levi is “Speed Racer”, and Laura is “Huggy Bear”

3. His love, he is always coming up to one of us and hugging us and telling us that he loves us.

4. His energy, we really wish we had the energy to keep up with him, he has an over abundance without question.

5. His persistence, we would all do well to learn from how he goes after what he wants and doesn’t stop.

Levi we love you for all of these things and more, Happy Birthday.

For Levi’s birthday we all went to Raleigh to a place called Adventure Landing and played video games and drove the go carts. Here is a video clip of some of our fun.

Forever in Our Hearts

2009-01-30T15:30:00.005-05:00

My great-aunt Bibs passed away....she was 91 years old. I love you Aunt Bibs.

The other day while I was talking with my brother Greg and reminiscing about Aunt Bibs, we both just shared sweet memories of how we remembered her. Greg told me of a time when he had first gotten his drivers license he and dad and Aunt Bibs were driving to cousin Kathy's wedding. Dad let him drive. I expect Greg was driving like a "16" year old and dad continued to remind him to slow down. Greg said that after a few chides from dad, Aunt bibs looked over at him and sort of gave him a knowing look and said "it's ok Greg hoooney". Ahhhhh, the wisdom. So sweet. It's no wonder he remembered that moment in time.

One sweet memory I have of Aunt Bibs is when she was living at dads apartment and she asked me if I wanted to go to Washington DC with her, on the subway!!! Well, of course I did! The night before, she put pin-curls in my hair so that I would be all fancy for our trip. One lady on the bus said "my, don't you look just like Shirley Temple". I will never forget that...

Dad was a dental technician so while Aunt Bibs was up to visit, dad had fixed her teeth for her. However,I remember Aunt Bibs without her teeth. I spent quite a bit of time with her during her visit, so I learned how to talk like she did....without her teeth. Lord forgive me for being such a simpleton, but to this day, my sister and brothers always request that I "talk like Aunt Bibs". I know Aunt Bibs would laugh right along with us.
We love you Aunt Bibs. We remember you with such loving, fond, sweet and genuine memories that can never be taken from our hearts. Thank you for always being so kind and understanding. You will be missed by so many. I can't wait to see you again!

Also, I wanted to honor the memory of a dear man that went to our church, Mr. Jerry Toler. Cameron and I didn't know him very well but from what we did know he was a wonderful husband, father, friend, and Grandpa. Thank you Lord for his life and for all of the people he had touched. At his service last night he requested two songs to be played. The first that you are hearing is by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton "When I Get Where I'm Going" and the other "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" by Barbara Mandrelle and George Jones. In listening to these songs you can can hear Jerry's heart. Real and beautiful.

Aunt Bibs and Mr. Jerry you both will be forever in our hearts....

Mrs. Amanda

2009-01-26T18:52:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated a wonderful teacher, awesome servant and my sweet friend Amanda. She has been serving faithfully for over 3 years in the 4's, 5's and 6 year old class at our church. The kids are going to miss her and all of her spritual insight and wisdom. We had a little celebration with cake and goodies and lots of hugs from all the kids that will miss her smiling face over in the "Kidz Zone". She is moving into different areas of ministry and worship, and we know she will be a blessing in all that she does.

We had Amber go get her out of church, she told her that her dauughter (Anna G) needed her, and when she came in all the kids jumped out and yelled SUPRISE!!

Snow Day in Wilson

2009-01-21T22:10:00.004-05:00

As you may know we live in North Carolina, we are in the eastern half of the state which isn't known to get much snow. We get an occasional dusting or even more common is an ice storm, but not today. Can you say "accumulation", yes folks, according to the Wilson Daily Times the city reported over five inches in some areas, and at our house our unofficial measurement was about four inches of pure, snow white, powdery, goodness. This is the first substantial snow fall for this area in three years. The kids lost their minds of course, and I guess so did I, I feel like a big kid when it snows. So me being the principal, teacher, mom, and biggest kid in the house, I called an official "SNOW DAY!" We got all of our snow gear out and went out and played in the snow, in and out all day. Cameron took Lindsey and Charlie to an over pass on HWY 301 to go sledding (these are some of the only real hills in the area, its all flat from here to the beach) Here are some of the pictures from our fun.

Look what we found in the toilet

2009-01-21T21:42:00.006-05:00

When I woke up the other day I had to do a double take as I passed the toilet. To be honest with you, I thought that maybe someone forgot to flush, however as I looked a little closer (why would anyone look closer?) it seemed that the object was hairy.....yes I said hairy, and indeed it was. I quickly went to wake Cameron up from his slumber, and I phrased it like this "Um, there is something in our toilet and I think its an animal, I think its a rat." Well this was enough to peak his curiosity and he got up to check it out. After even closer inspection, it was determined that it was a baby squirrel, and it was dead. Poor thing must have gotten trapped in the sewer pipes, and made its way somehow into our house. Our imagination takes us to places we don't want to go, like what if that thing made it out of the toilet into the house, or what if it made its way into the toilet while the bathroom was in use.....but lets not talk about that anymore, thank God for small favors. We called the city to let them know what happend and they kind of laughed and said thanks for letting them know, and said it happens sometimes.

Below is picture of the little fella, may he rest in peace. For some reason Cameron felt the need to measure it.....don't ask.

"Children Learn"

2009-01-04T14:34:00.006-05:00

Well, it's back to the books for the kids and I tomorrow. I can honestly say that I am ready to get back down to business. I am praying that the transition will be a smooth one. We have all gotten used to staying up WAY too late and sleeping in WAY to long!

As a home school person, I try to reflect regularly on things that I do, things that I can improve and things that I should nix altogether. My desire for our kids is that they be intelligent. My hope is that they have and use their manners. I really do care that when they are texting their friends they use proper grammar (yea right!) But I think I have really chilled out in my approach lately. Yes, all of those things are good and I am doing my best to "get it all in there". A good friend said to me during a book discussion "Us as mothers are NEVER going to teach our children EVERYTHING that they need to know" I have to chant that mantra over and over to get it into my thick head. I CANNOT teach my children EVERYTHING that they need to know about social studies, math, history etc, BUT GOD CAN. Where I fall short He picks up the slack. It may not be in a "school" setting, but HE will be sure that they learn what they need to know for the plans that HE has for them. We have all sorts of ideas of what our children will do, be, or become but God's plans FAR EXCEED any of ours. So basically if I continue to abide in Him and Him in me then He will let me in on His plans for our youngins' (well really, His youngins')! He'll let me know when to encourage a thing and when to back off.

I was in the thrift store the other day and I came across this beautiful poem by Dorothy Law Nolte, PH.D.
Here it is and I hope it blesses you as it has me:

Christmas Fun and close out 2008 and Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-01T12:11:00.004-05:00

Well even though this is the first post of 2009, this is a wrap up of 2008, in December we did all sorts of fun stuff. The kids were part of the Christmas play at church, in which Charlie and Levi were angels (they are very good actors) and Charlie was also a Rock Star and Lindsey was one of Charlie’s groupies.

Cameron was able to get some time off and took the boys bowling on Christmas Eve, and of course there was all the fun of opening gifts on Christmas morning. We picked up Cameron’s dad on Christmas morning and brought him over to be with us when we opened gifts, and to have lunch (Christmas Dinner). After we took Papa home we went to the park, this has now become a tradition I guess since this is the second year in a row that we have gone to this park on Christmas day. We spent most of the days after Christmas enjoying our new family gift, new cell phones with QWERTY keyboards and unlimited text, so needless to say we have been texting each other from room to room, thank goodness for unlimited text, so far since Christmas day here are the text totals (this is just 7 days) : Laura – 495, Cameron – 316, Lindsey – 721, Charlie – 860. Charlie enjoys texting just to say Hi every now and then.

After Christmas we made our way to Raleigh to try and find some great deals, but it turned out to just be a good day out of the house (where are all the deals I thought were going to out there). Yesterday we enjoyed the good weather and cleaned up the back yard, and last night Lindsey went to a lock in at a local church with one of her friends and the rest of us just stayed home and watched the new year arrive on tv. And sent plenty of Happy New Year texts of course

So that about does it for 2008, I hope everyone has a blessed and fruitful new year.

Christmas Card

2008-12-23T16:33:00.004-05:00

Well it is time again for our family Christmas card, and instead of the normal family gathered around the Christmas tree, we decided to do something a little different, as you can see. Now when we ordered these we thought we ordered enough, but once we had them in hand we realized that we had fallen short, this then forced us to pick and choose who to send them to. If you don’t receive one of these masterpieces for your collection, we beg your forgiveness and promise to triple our order next year, and promise that next years will be even more spectacular. Until then we placed the card (front and back) for your viewing pleasure.

Front...

...and back

We made the photo a little small to make sure it fit into everyone's web page so just in case you can't read it, the back of the card says:

Dear friends and family,
We hope our silly card puts a smile on your face and joy in your heart. We sure had fun with those candy canes! As you can see the kids are growing up fast and we look youthful as ever (ha ha LOL).
We hope that during this busy season you will pause and remember the reason for the season; Happy Birthday Jesus.
We love you all and hope to hear from you soon. You can see what we are up to on a regular basis by checking out our blog at;
Love, kisses, and candy canes,
Cameron, Laura, Lindsey, Charlie, and Levi

Sitting in the Middle of My Mess

2008-12-16T13:40:00.002-05:00

I received this e-mail below and it really blessed me, so I thought I'd share it on our blog today....

Sitting in the Middle of My Mess
Glynnis Whitwer

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.� Luke 10:38-39 (NIV)

Devotion:

I tend to consider myself a "Martha" type personality. And I don't mean Martha Stewart. By this time in December, that Martha probably has her hand-made cards mailed out, 10 batches of candy made and gift-wrapped, and her entire home decorated.

No, I'm nothing like Martha Stewart. (Me neither) In fact, last year I didn't even manage to decorate the tree. It got put up and because it was pre-lit, it had lights. I managed to put a few gifts under it before Christmas. That only happened because my dear children kept looking at me with those big hopeful eyes, asking when I was going to wrap SOMETHING. But that was it.

Last Christmas ended one of the most stressful years of my life. I'm thankful nothing devastating happened to my family. But the demands on my time exceeded my available time. When that happens, I get behind ... on everything. So I spend lots of time just trying to keep my head above water.

Back to being a Martha. If you know the Luke chapter 10 story of Martha and her sister Mary, that's the Martha I'm talking about. And it's not a flattering comparison. That Martha had the privilege of hostessing Jesus. Jesus actually came to her house. Instead of sitting at His feet like her sister Mary did, Martha worked and actually complained to Jesus that Mary wasn't helping her enough.

Jesus gently chided Martha, and affirmed Mary's choice to sit and spend time with Him in the middle of all the work that had to be done. I remember the day clearly last December when I decided to follow Mary's example and sit in the middle of my mess to spend time with Jesus.

Normally, I feel as if everything has to be clean before I can "treat" myself to some down time. I believe I have to have the dishes clean, counters cleared, urgent emails addressed, laundry going, home-based business checked for orders, etc. Normally, by the time I've done all that, something else has demanded my attention, and my time with Jesus is neglected - much like what happened to Martha.

But not that day. That day I sat at the kitchen table and looked at my mess. It was big. There were papers strewn over every surface, a lunch box left on the counter from the day before, breakfast dishes everywhere, jackets from yesterday, blankets that had been left on the couch, dog fur forming balls, and the list went on. I had to fight my instinct to get up. And I won.

I sat in the middle of my mess, and spent time with Jesus. I pictured Him sitting across the table from me. It was pure pleasure ... and the mess amazingly faded from my view. My stress melted away, and I felt renewed.

This Christmas, whether you've gotten your house decorated or not, whether you've mailed out cards or not ... Jesus has come to your house for a visit. I had such a good time sitting in the middle of my mess with Jesus last year, I'm planning on doing it again. Will you join us?

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending Jesus to be a companion during my hectic days. Help me to remember that peace can only be found when I choose to set aside the pressing demands of my life, and quiet myself with You. Teach me to look for Jesus' presence in the middle of my mess. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

80's style Christmas party

2008-12-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

Last night Cameron’s office had their Christmas party, and it had an “80’s Prom” theme, so you know we were psyched, Laura went and found an awesome dress and Cameron got his Don Johnson / Miami Vice outfit out of the attic (the one he got for an 80’s birthday party two years ago). Big hair for Laura and an earring in the left ear for Cameron and we had it going on. The party was downtown Raleigh and we didn’t even come close to being able to blend in when we walked from the parking garage to the party location. There were several who dressed up in 80’s style with some minor things like a Members Only jacket or an AC/DC t-shirt but there were only a few who really took it to the next level. We won the prize for the best dressed and won a basket full of 80’s movies.

Wilson Christmas Parade

2008-12-14T16:55:00.014-05:00

For the past few years our church has had a float in the Wilson Christmas parade, and this year was no different. The theme for this year was that we are to reach out to the people of Wilson as Jesus would and we are to be Jesus to the community and to the world, so we had the kids dress as different people in the community and we had Jesus on the float with them (He is the only one able to keep them in line, LOL). We had to have the truck decorated as well so we came up with a rendering of some commonly know images of Wilson (commonly known to those from Wilson anyway). There were also dancers walking behind the float (everyone said they looked like angels) and behind them were people holding banners lifting up the name of the Lord.

Here is the link to the slideshow on Flickr

Here is the painting crew getting the decoration for the truck ready...

...and here is the finished product

here is the decorated truck and the float with all the kids on it

and the dancers during the parade

and some of the banners

Lindsey wore Laura's Air Force uniform, Levi was a police officer, Charlie was a construction worker, and Laura and Sue carried the church banner

Nicole and David

2008-12-04T21:25:00.002-05:00

It was so great to visit with my cousin Nicole and her fiance David. They are getting married in a couple of weeks! Congrats you two, we love you! Nicole you got a keeper! Cole, we hope the Wilson clan didn't shy him away any ;)

Mommy Lisa and Markey

Uncle Greg and Markey

Papa Tom and Markey

Aunt Laura getting Markey hooked on her ice chomping habit. It was the only thing that made him stop crying...well, besides his momma of course...

Back at Mom and Tom's house

2008-12-04T14:38:00.003-05:00

We headed back to Mom and Tom's house that night with Heather, Kyle and Noah. Friday evening papa Tom made a fire outside and the kids roasted marshmellows. Greg showed up after a day out fishing and brought home a really big rockfish. Here are some pics ...

Papa Tom takes kids for a ride around the farm in the truck

Thanksgiving Day Fun!

2008-12-04T14:01:00.004-05:00

Thank you Greg and Weezy for the wonderful hospitality. Thank you Mom and Tom for all your hard work and delish goodies and thank you Lisa and Steve for the Cherry tart! Brad and Crystal the smoked salmon was amazing. Barry and Linda, it is always so nice to visit with you two. The kids loved the "champaign" (Welch's) you brought We are so thankful for all of you!

Hercules being ever so patient with Levi...such a good doggy

They had such a great time together

Markey looking adorable with his chubby little self. I just want to eat him up!

I love this picture

Noah....Justa swingin'!

Ali swingin' too!

The boys playing ball

The kids table

Mom and Katie

Heather, Lindsey and Emily hanging out on the roof

Where are these kids parents? oh yea...taking the pictures!lol

Trip to Maryland

2008-12-04T13:24:00.003-05:00

What a great time we had visiting family in Maryland for Thanksgiving. We arrived at Gramma Judy and Papa Tom's house on Wed. They had delicious lasagna waiting for us!

Lindsey, Laura and Cameron were planning to run a 5k race in NC, but instead found a race right near Greg and Elyse's house in Fredrick, MD. We woke up on Thanksgiving morning around 4:30, drove to Greg and Elyse's, picked up Heather and scooted off to the Way Station Turkey Trot at Bakers Park in Fredrick. Here are a few pictures (Cameron took a some during the race too, he ran the race with his camera and camcorder, we will try to get the video up soon)

Heather, Laura and Lindsey before the race

Cameron in his cute hat and Laura, before the race

Lindsey and cousin Heather thawing out on the way home
The race brought out over 1700 people to help raise money for the mentally ill in Fredrick, Maryland.
There were no record breaking times on our part, but a lot of memories were made!

Happy Anniversary

2008-11-18T16:53:00.005-05:00

Today is our 13th anniversary! It seems cliche to say that "it just seems like yesterday that we met", but it REALLY does. On the other hand it's like we've been together forever.....awwwww. I know, cheesy but true.

One of my favorite country music singers is Randy Travis. While both Cameron and I were working as radio DJ's at Cat Country 107 FM in Ft. Myers Fla, I made him a sappy tape with "our song" on it. This song you hear now is it. Forever and ever amen....

Football memories

2008-11-10T21:19:00.005-05:00

This Saturday Cameron took Lindsey to the football game (Georgia Tech vs UNC) and Lindsey decided to get some autographs, she tried to get the attention of a couple of the football players but with the game about to begin they really were not available, but as they made their way to their seats Cameron noticed the UNC men’s basketball team making their way into the stadium. Cameron pointed Lindsey in the direction of none other than Tyler Hansbrough. Since she is not a basketball fan or even a big UNC fan Lindsey didn't know who Tyler Hansbrough was, and just in case you are reading this and fall into the same category I will fill you in (I know tarheel fans will think it absurd and even blasphemous to not know this but here it is anyway).
According to Wikipedia:
He is a player for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team. He was a unanimous selection for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference All Conference Team, 2006 ACC Freshman of the Year, and 2008 ACC Conference Player of the Year. In 2008, Hansbrough swept all major individual honors in men's college basketball. For a North Carolina men's player to have his jersey retired, he must win at least one of six national player of the year awards: the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Sporting News, the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award, and wait until his class has graduated. Since Hansbrough has won all six, and is returning for his senior season, he will have his number 50 retired when he graduates from North Carolina in 2009.

The short and sweet is that he arguably one of the best, if not The best college basketball players in the nation, and to UNC fans he is kind of a big deal.

Here is the photo of Lindsey in action, and this also seems like a good place to post some photos and memories from some of the other games this year.

Cameron and Lindsey before the game

Cameron and Charlie before the Notre Dame vs UNC game

Cameron with a bunch of kids at the Miami vs Duke game

Laura meeting up with long time friend Lisa at UConn vs UNC game

Charlie throwing the football during halftime at Boston College vs UNC game

Cameron and Laura before the McNees St vs UNC game

Jesus Jubalee

2008-11-04T19:42:00.006-05:00

On October 31, the day most people celebrate Halloween, we have our Jesus Jubilee at church. It is a time for the kids to dress up , play games, get candy and go on a hay ride! This year Lindsey was a mime, however, she had a hard time committing to the "not talking thing". Charlie was "too cool for school" in his greaser costume and Levi didn't win any awards with his too small, high water, second-hand, thrift store turtle costume! LOL Mommy wasn't as motivated to make his costume this year.

I used to struggle with the whole idea of Halloween and whether or not it should be celebrated, but I have come to the knowledge that it is still the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it......and go get some free candy with the kids! ;)

Here are the kids while we were at the Wilson Mall

Here is Lindsey and Anna G. during the costume judging at church, and Charlie struting his stuff.

and here is Levi playing one of the games, and here is Laura manning the "fishing hole" game

Thought's on Election

2008-10-19T00:08:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share what has been on my heart today about the upcoming election. I will be so bold as to say which party I am for. I am conservative;republican if you will. I believe that the life of a baby starts at conception, so therefore I am pro life. I am not big on "big government". I am thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country and I would prefer to make my own choices on things such as health care and what to do with my money. I do believe that a marriage is a sacred union between a man and a women. Also, being the homeschool mother that I am, I believe that we should be able to chose what form of education our children have public or otherwise. There are more issues but it seems like those are the "biggy's" that people usually bring up in conversation.

Even though I believe so strongly in my opinions about what is right, something even bigger is at stake here. Say McCain and Palin win; that would be my preference or even if Obama and Biden wins there is really only so much that they can do in each of these issues. Yes, most definitely they can have laws passed to make a big difference in my lifestyle positive or negative but they will never legislate my heart or my morality. I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is not solely some politicians reponsibility to mandate morality through legislation. It is the responsibility of the church to set an example to the world and to love the world unconditionally, and let Christ bring about the change.

By the church I mean the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, not some physical building that we go to on Sunday and Wedneasday, but the Body of Christ also known as the Church. It is not a political figures' responsibility to console a young, hurting girl that just got pregnant and doesn't know what to do. That is what I am called to do. I must be the one to speak life into her. I must give her words and prayers of hope that she will be ok. It is my responsibility to allow Christ to speak through me and reach out and love through me to a hurting world. I don't want to go into every other politcal issue because that would just take too long and the answer would be the same for every one. The answer is this: If the Body of Christ is
demonstrating Jesus to the world then all of this political nonsense will align itself under His authority and His will.

Regardless of the outcome of this election my prayer will continue to be that GOD'S WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Laura's High School Alma Mater Loses in Grand Fashion!

2008-10-14T21:41:00.007-04:00

Today I was quite surprised to hear about my high school making national news. It's pretty bad, however, when the news is that your high school football team has lost
91 to 0. What's up with that?! Here is an editted version of the story that was on Yahoos home page this morning.
GO WILDCATS!!! Win or lose, I still love ya!

ESTERO — The Estero High football staff gathered in head coach Rich Dombroski's office late Friday, almost in stunned silence.
Earlier that night, Estero lost to Naples High by 13.

Not by 13 points. By 13 touchdowns. That's right: Naples 91, Estero 0.

The rout fallout has been growing since the game ended.
"Hey," offered Estero defensive line coach Pat Hayes after the one-sided affair, "I didn't even know 91 was a multiple of seven."
With that, the coaches all got a much-needed laugh.

A half-hour away in Naples, Eagles coach Bill Kramer — the man on the winning end — could use one of those.
He looked at the scoreboard late in the game, saw 91-0, and said he felt sick to his stomach. Kramer's team ran only 31 plays and he kept most of his best players on the sideline — for the entire game in some cases. But still Kramer knew what was coming.

Soon after the game ended, his inbox began filling with angry e-mails, some from Estero parents wondering why so many points were necessary, some from Naples parents wondering why their kids didn't play more in an effort to pad their stats.
"There's only one way to describe it," Kramer said. "Just bizarre."

Dombroski isn't blaming Naples.
"Naples did absolutely nothing wrong," Dombroski said. "We just didn't do anything right." Kramer has been in this spot before.

"The real irony is we've got some of our parents upset that their kids didn't play or didn't play enough. And you just say, 'Wow.'"

"Our team might not be winning or might not be on top right now," said right guard Mike Perez. "But we all have to do the best we can do. We can't forget that."

Lindsey gets a hermit crab

2008-10-09T20:14:00.002-04:00

Since her trip to the beach Lindsey has been talking about getting a hermit crab, she has looked at prices online and at the local pet store. Well today was the day that all the baby sitting paid off, this little guy or girl (I can’t begin to imagine how you could tell) is the newest member of the family. Lindsey calls it Hermoculese (her-mock-u-lee-s) or Hermy for short.

Perogies

2008-10-09T16:12:00.005-04:00

As I was perusing other blogger sites, I came across a fellow Halupki lover. I am Polish and my gramma would always make halupki and perogies. I miss her :(

I had commented that I was inspired to cook a Polish meal for my husband. Well, Cameron is not a big fan of Halupki but he does enjoy Perogies. So here they are:

Just roll out your dough and fill with mashed potatos then fry 'em in butter!

Brad my Bro

2008-10-09T09:58:00.006-04:00

This past weekend was filled with great surprises. As we were in Chapel Hill visiting my friend Lisa and going to the UNC game, my brother Brad called me on my cell. He said that him and Crystal were in Raleigh. Raleigh! That's like right down the road from where we were! They had plans to meet up with Crystal's family that night but said they would come out to Wilson the next day. I was so excited! Here is all of us on our front porch:

Jasmine and Lindsey throwing the football

Brad and Me
"Bones" and "Santa" (our childhood nicknames: he was skinny and I was well...Santa!) lol

Oh yeah, the Redskins won that day so Uncle Brad was in an extra good mood. The kids got a taste of just how LOUD the Wilson family can be when a Skins game is on!

Lisa Freeman!

2008-10-07T18:58:00.003-04:00

Thirty-two years have gone by since that scary, first day of kindergarten class. Yes, Lisa Freeman and I have known eachother that long. Cannon Road Elementary in Silver Spring Maryland....ahhhh, the memories.
It has only been about 15 years since we last met up though.

A few months back another friend of mine found Lisa on Facebook and discovered that she lives in Chapel Hill, NC. I had to see her and catch up! Cameron and I were going to the UNC game and decided to meet up with her and visit before the game. What a reunion that was!
Lisa has such a big heart for college students. She is persuing a PhD in education to become a dean of students. She is living on campus at UNC and oversees 8,500 students. I am so impressed! I believe these students realize what a blessing she is because they don't hesitate to knock on her door at all hours! Just in talking with her, it is so obvious that God has placed so many giftings within her. She is indeed speaking life and truth into the lives of this next generation. I thank God for you Lisa, my old friend! (young friend) lol

Charlie starts flag football

2008-10-07T18:43:00.003-04:00

Last week Charlie started flag football with the Wilson Rec Center. He is on the Panther team. They had a scrimmage on Monday and played their first game on Thursday. The score was 12 to 6, unfortunately not in the Panthers favor. Charlie is having a ball though! He is eager for tackle football which he can do next year.

Charlie doing the Hulk Flex

Run guys ruuuun!

Bugfest!

2008-09-27T00:40:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, while Cameron was off flirting with beautiful, ESPN, sideline reporters, the boys and I went to the BUGFEST! Unbeknownst to me, this free event happens every year in downtown Raleigh. Who knew?
We got there just in time for Charlie and Levi to enter 3 “Olympic” events: "The Ant Race", "The Boulder Roll" and "The Pollen Catcher". They both took gold medals!

After the races, we moseyed on over to catch a glimpse of the "Flea Circus". Levi didn't have much patience for that, so we proceeded to the caterpillar bouncy thingy. It was kind of funny how they entered through the mouth and came out of it’s butt! Here is Levi pulling Charlie out. LOL

We all shared a slushy and then went to make a bet on which cockroach would win the "Roachingham 500". I guessed the Purple would win; Charlie yellow and Levi blue. Charlie's cockroach won by a mile (well, actually about a yard). Levi's only got about half way down the stretch, and my cockroach didn't even make it out of the starting gate! Levi and I got a spider ring as our consolation prizes. Charlie got a bug that grows when you stick it in water. Isn't that wonderful.

For the rest of the time we walked around and did other fun stuff; chalk writing, sand sculpting, following "stilt man" and jamming out to some band that was destroying some good oldies music and telling bad bug jokes. It was a great day with my boys!

Camerons 15 seconds of fame

2008-09-23T20:51:00.002-04:00

On Saturday Cameron took Lindsey to the Virginia Tech vs UNC game in Chapel Hill, before the game he walked by some one he thought he recognized, and after a brief discussion with some other people familiar with ESPN, he determined he was correct in thinking he had just passed by Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter for college football and basketball. So he grabbed his camera and took Lindsey to get his picture taken. Below is the photo that I am sure will be shown off at his office and to all his sports buddies.

Katie Cheering

2008-09-22T22:34:00.000-04:00

Our niece Katie is a high school cheerleader in Maryland. Not only does she cheer for her high school, but she also is a member of a competition cheerleading squad. Here are a few recent pics that we wanted to show off!!!! Spirit Fingers!!!!

Oh what a night!

2008-09-21T14:15:00.001-04:00

On Friday we went to Raleigh to see the "Third Day" concert. There were several different bands, but it seemed like most people were there to see Switchfoot and Third Day. The Pavillion didn't get filled up until about 9 when they were supposed to perform.
The thing that I really loved was the worship. Yes, when you go to a concert there is the element of entertainment, which is a given. However, when you have a band that can do both praise and entertain it is quite unique. Swithfoot is pretty deep. The lead singer would say some profound thing and then break up the seriousness with a statement like "alright let's play" and then commence to lots of guitar screaming and drum beating. Third Day would sing a song like "Thief" or "Cry Out to Jesus", get everyone crying and then sensing a need for release, jamming out afterwards! It was a great balance! I can honestly say, "I laughed... I cryed.... I jammed out.....!".

Here's the video of Third Day

Cam -N- Laura smoochin'. It was a date night afterall ;)

Getting psyched for the concert!

2008-09-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

As you can see by the music selection, we are getting excited for the "Third Day"/ "Switchfoot" concert on Friday. I am not really familiar with Switchfoot but as I have been listening to their songs I've been blessed. I really like the song "24".

Date Night at the Derby!!!

2008-09-13T22:04:00.000-04:00

I love Rock-N-Roller Derby!!! This song by Joan Jett came right to my mind when I tried to come up with a theme song for this event. All I can say is WOW, these chicks are tough! As you know, Cam got us tickets for the "Carolina Roller Girls" tonight and we had such a great time. If you have never experienced this type of event it really is a must on your things to do in life at least once. I mean, the action is packed, the girls are "colorful" and the fans are even more colorful. I loved it. We sat on the floor right next to the rink. We could've opted for the stadium seating but we were kind of hoping that one of the players might trip and fall next to us. Wouldn't that make for a great photo! It never happened but I did get this great pic taken with one of the "blockers".

Here is the Slide show

Thanks, Love and Levi's Gift!

2008-09-11T23:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, today was a good day. I am 37. I feel pretty much the same, just a little saggier around the edges; nothing a little less chocolate and a little more tread mill won't cure. I'm working on that..... but not today. My diet buddy, Amanda, made me a whole pan of cupcakes. Have I told you all that I love that girl! They were so good. I have eaten 4 of them and made Cameron and the kids polish off the rest before I take 'em out!

Cameron beat me to the blog tonight but I just wanted to say that I am really looking forward to going to see the "Roller Derby". I know, it sounds kind of funny doesn't it? A couple of years ago we went to the state fair and the girls from Carolina were skating around this track in these crazy looking outfits and I thought it was just so bizarre. Ever since then I have teased with Cameron saying that I would really like to do that! HA!LOL Hence, the roller Derby tickets for my B-day. I will be sure to get lots of "colorful" pictures. Also, Cameron knows how much I enjoy "Third Day's" music. I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO THAT CONCERT NEXT WEEKEND!!!
Have I told you all what an awesome hubby I have? Yep, I got a good one. Possibly the best. Thanks for being so thoughtful. I love you Shakey.

I also want to share this precious thing that happened today. As you all may know, I homeschool the kids. Well, today we had school as usual and all day long Levi would come in the school room and hand me a present and say "Momma, this is for you". He would rap these presents in newspaper or an empty cardboard box. I would open the present each time and it would be some random item he picked up from around the house. It was so cute. Every time I acted as if it were a diamond ring that I was opening. His little face lit up every time I opened the gift (lego blocks, toothbrush, toy car, puzzle piece) But as he continued to do this, it spoke to me deep, because he was so longing to give. He loved it every time as I opened each gift. He wanted to give more and more and isn't that how it is? When we truely give with such a pure heart, not just physical gifts, but ourselves, we want to give more and more. It never gets old. God tells us that it is better to give than receive, and I believe it. Thank you my sweet Levi for my gift of YOU.

Happy Birthday Laura

2008-09-11T23:05:00.000-04:00

Today, Sept 11, is Laura's birthday, she said she turns 25 today (again). The two most notable gifts are tickets to the Carolina Roller Girls, roller derby (Laura has wanted to see this for some time now) and the other gift of note is tickets to see Third Day and Switchfoot in concert. Both of these events are sure to be a seperate blog entry.

Hurricane Hannah

2008-09-06T08:50:00.001-04:00

Well when we went to bed last night we expected to be awakened during the night or morning by the wind, rain, and destructive might of Hurricane Hannah (it was only a category 1 when we checked last night). So this morning when we woke up (about 8:30) we checked to see when we should be able to do our traditional hurricane report, this is where we go outside and video tape ourselves in the wind and give a weather report like the ones you see on TV for every hurricane, where the reporter is telling you how strong the wind is blowing and how its raining sideways. When we checked the weather we were surprised and a little disappointed to find Hannah had passed us by, if you look at the radar it shows Hannah as of 8:30 am, we live just east of Raleigh in the last little green band of rain. Now don’t get me wrong, I am glad this storm was not a big deal for our area and I pray that it was the same non-big deal for everyone else but at the same time it sure is exciting to have the wind and rain, and to watch the tops of tall pine trees in our yard swing from side to side (to the point that you wonder how long they can do that before they snap). We may still go out and report, but it seems a little silly now (as if it didn't already). To all our friends and family we are safe, the only clean up is all the pine straw that we now have all over our yard.

Are you ready for some football

2008-08-31T18:06:00.000-04:00

For a couple of years now Cameron has had season tickets to University of North Carolina football. Now its not that he has turned his back on his beloved Miami Hurricanes, but he has friends that are UNC fans and they decided to get season tickets together. Its kind of like a guys day out, except its 6 or 7 times from August to November, the best part is that every other year Miami comes to town and he gets to put on the orange and green (and go trade seats with someone in the visitors section). Well this past Saturday was the first game of the 2008 season in Chapel Hill and we (Cameron and Laura) went to the game with Scott, Karen, Heather, Ron, Ray, and Gary. The day was about as humid as it could possibly be (90 deg f with a heat index of 110) and the weather forecast called for thunderstorms, and for once the weatherman got it right. According to Accuweather.com it was going to be cloudy at 5 pm, 6 pm, then thunderstorms at 7 pm, then clearing at 8 pm through the rest of the night. Just before 7 pm the game was suspended due to lightning in the area and we stood under a shelter while it rained and the lightning flashed over head until about 8:30 (hey that’s 30 min late) and then we went back into the rain soaked stadium to finish the game. UNC hosted McNeese State and the game was close until the very end when Carolina pulled away to a 35 – 27 victory.

This was a touchdown

Here is an over view of our game day

Fun in the Son

2008-08-31T17:46:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday at church we had what we call “Fun in the Son” day, it a day that all the kids bring there water guns, and wear their swimsuits to church. We have water slides, pools and lots of water, this is the last big fun activity before the end of summer and its back to school.

Laura gets ready to go down the slide

Cameron and Charlie dripping wet

Cameron and Laura racing on the downhill slide

Levi gets wet

Lindsey in the water balloon race

Pig pickin

2008-08-23T23:56:00.001-04:00

Tonight we went to a pig pickin at the Boswell house, Danny and Glenda invited everyone from church out to their home for a good old fashioned North Carolina style pig pickin. Danny said it was a 130 pound pig, and he had been up since 5:00 am cooking it. There was plenty of food and lots of room for the kids to run around and ride four wheelers. The weather was great and we had a wonderful sunset to end the day. What a great time of fellowship, it really seems that even though our church is smaller in numbers than it has been in a long time, God is growing His people up and growing us closer together. We have such a great church family, we love them!
Here is the Slide show

The poor pig

Our Pastor Eric

Lindsey hangs up her swim suit

2008-08-23T16:22:00.001-04:00

It’s a sad day, Lindsey has decided that she no longer wants to be on the swim team. We told her from the start that we would not force her to be on the team if she didn’t want to be and we are regretting that statement now. It’s sad for us as parents and for her coaches as well because we see so much potential in her, her coach has said on several occasions that she could be a very competitive swimmer if she would apply herself more. The applying herself part is the problem, she just isn’t motivated to push herself to her limits. She has been on the team for almost two years and it has been good for her as far a physical fitness, the friends she has made, and experience of competition. She just does not have a competitive drive required to keep her interested in swimming, we tried to encourage her to stay on the team for one more season but in the end she simply did not want to do it any longer. She has now started working out with her mother at the local health club. :(

Bedroom Makeover

2008-08-23T15:51:00.000-04:00

Since moving into our house we have slowly but surely made our way through every room of the house and have replaced the flooring, painted the walls and made our house our home. Well, the master bedroom and bath were the only rooms that had not seen a total makeover (they had been painted, but floors were in terrible shape). So after all of the summer visitors had made their way home it was time to displace ourselves and take care of our room. Most of the materials were purchased at the end of last year when we bought the flooring, trim, and paint to redo the kid’s bedrooms, so it was just a matter of getting all of our stuff out of our room and beginning the process. We took all of our furniture and spread it around the house, filling the kid’s rooms with furniture and their closets with cloths. We put our bed on the floor in the living room for a few days then moved it upstairs. Once the room was clear it was time to get the carpet up and out, then prime and paint (much easer to type it all out than to do it). Once the painting was complete we realized that the paint was not sticking to the walls along the very top where the wall meets the ceiling (a problem we have had before but thought we had beaten into submission), so with this problem came a decision, #1- sand the wall, clean it, prime it again and repaint and hope this corrects the problem or #2 put up crown molding and know for sure that it was taken care of. The only problem, Cameron had never done crown molding before, but always willing to try something new we decided on option #2, and it was well worth the extra effort. Once we were done with the paint it was time for flooring, we put down oak style laminate flooring (the same as in the kid’s rooms), in doing this we are now carpet free on the first floor of our house, what a joy to not have to worry about spills and stains. There are a few photos here on the blog but if you click on the link to the slideshow
you will see all of the photos that we took of the process.

Book Signing

2008-08-14T21:27:00.000-04:00

Ok, so you remember my post about the book I recommended right? Well, today we went to have our book signed by the author of "The Shack". He was at the Greenville Barnes and Noble. Cameron just happened to be working in Greenville the other day and stopped by there to get a gift card for my uncle when he noticed a sign that said "William P.Young author of The Shack will be here on Aug 14" When he told me I couldn't even believe it! So, I grabbed my friend Amanda and we headed out. He was so real. He sat and spoke with the crowd for a good half hour and then he started signing books. We both got our picture with him, like little groupies! lol He calls himself an"accidental author" because the book was actually just meant to be a gift to his children. Well,3 million copies later, he stands so humble and gives God all of the glory. It was a good day. Above is a pic of me and Paul (he goes by his middle name)

Again, GET THE BOOK! It is wonderful and you will be so blessed.

Fireworks

2008-08-03T16:26:00.000-04:00

On Saturday the Wilson Tobb's baseball team played thier final home game, and Cameron took the boys to see the fireworks (going to the game with Levi and making it to the fireworks would have been a little too much to hope for at this point). Cameron met up with some of his camera club friends at the Vinson-Bynum soccer field to watch and take pictures.

Here is the slide show

Here is one of the shots.

And here is one when the kids hid the tripod

Charlie earns his Brown Belt

2008-08-02T10:59:00.000-04:00

Charlie takes Tae Kwon Do and last Friday he tested for and received his brown belt. He has attended Dong’s Martial Arts School in Wilson about a year and a half.

Barracuda Swim team photo and "fun meet"

2008-07-30T19:52:00.000-04:00

Today Lindsey’s swim team had a “fun meet”. This is the day that they take the team photo and have a swim demonstration for potential team members and their families, also all the kids that have been taking swim lessons during the summer get to show what they have learned in a swim meet style event, complete with timers and awards. Cameron was there, as expected, taking pictures of everything. This is the first team photo that Lindsey has been in so it’s kind of a big deal that we made it on time this year.

Here is the team photo and then the team being goofy photo.
And here is the slide show

Visit with Friends in Virginia

2008-07-29T21:40:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we went to see some old friends (well they're not really old) Curtis, Jen and Isaiah. Man was that a treat! We remanised about when we all first met at McGregor Baptist Church in Ft. Myers, Florida. Curtis and Jen encouraged us to try out this other church. It's funny because Jen had warned me that at this other church they get kind of "free", I think is how she put it. I had never before lifted my hands in church, until that first visit at First Assembly of God. What a step that was! That was the first church Cameron and I attended as a couple and as it turns out, the church we got married in. Thank you guys, we love you!
It is amazing how with certain people you can catch up so quickly as if you've only been gone a short time. It has been over 10 years since the last time we all got together, but if Jen had her way, we would live across the street in the house that is for sale! We will most definitely be visiting again soon! Here we all are in their front yard:

Me with my bonnet being goofy at a little country store in downtown Fredericksburg, Va.

Laura’s Thoughts on “The Shack”

2008-07-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

I want to share with you an awesome book that I just finished reading. It is called “The Shack” by William P. Young. It is a novel based on a mans’ youngest daughter “Missy” who gets abducted during a family vacation. I know, that may not sound like a good read to some but trust me, this book will transform the way you look at God. At certain times in the book your religion will get blown out of the water (in a good way). This writer has a way of thrusting you out of your religious box, and Lord knows we all have them, unfortunately. Towards the end of the book it gets pretty deep. The writer emphasizes the need for a relationship with God rather than a religion and how religion can chew a person up. Relationship is key. The way he portrays the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost is simply genius. Well, that’s all I am going to say. I do hope you read it. I know for a fact you will grow from it in some way. I know I did. Young puts a quote at the beginning of each chapter from various writers, artists, etc. The quote I liked was by Bob Dylan which said “Jesus tapped me on the shoulder and said ’Bob, why are you resisting me?” I said, ’I’m not resisting you!’ He said, ’You gonna follow me?’ I said, ’I’ve never thought about that before!’ He said, ’When you’re not following me, you’re resisting me.’
What a great quote.

I got my book at Wal-Mart, but I’m sure you can find it in bookstores or ask your local library to order it for you. The web site is: www.theshackbook.com

Also, if you've read it or when you read it, I would love to hear your comments on it.

Happy 75th Birthday Uncle Jimmy!!!!!!!

2008-07-22T22:33:00.000-04:00

This video below is a song that my cousin Jim wrote and sang for his dad (my Uncle Jimmy).
Before Jim sang, he said "This is a song that I wrote for my dad. It's based on a verse in the Bible, 'Don't only hear the Word but do what it says'. That's what characterizes my Dad's life to me. That's not something that he needs to say to you neccesarily, because he shows you how he feels about you by the way he lives his life; that consistancy, love and without hypocracy."

What a blessing this was to hear; the song, but also the heart behind it. Beautiful. Enjoy.

Here is the link for a slideshow of the photos.

The latest Wilson Family addition, MARKEY!!!

Nana Visits with John and Savannah

2008-07-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

This past week Cameron’s mom (Nana) came to visit, she brought John and Savannah (Cameron’s sister, Emily’s children) with her. They arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and left on Saturday morning. We had plans of doing some outside activities like going to the pool and parks and riding bikes, but it was not to be. It seems like it rained almost everyday, so we had to find other activities to keep us occupied.

On Wednesday night we went to church and the kids all watched a movie in the youth room and then we had to hurry home to get out of the thunderstorm that rolled in.

On Thursday we went to Raleigh and went ice skating at the Ice House, and that afternoon went to the park since the rain stopped for a little while.

On Friday Nana and Savannah got up early with Lindsey and went with her to her swimming practice (at 6:30 am), in the rain of course. That night Nana and John went with Charlie to see his tae kwon do practice.

John and Charlie kept themselves busy by playing video games, namely Guitar Hero, and kept talking trash to everyone about how good they were at it, until Laura beat them both, then the trash talk stopped.

Lindsey and Savannah watched a lot of TV on the computer; they were always watching the show “H2O”, an Australian show about girls who turn into mermaids when ever they get wet.

John made lots of videos, he was always willing to take the video camera and talk about all that was going on.

On Friday night Cameron took the kids outside for some night time long exposure photos.

On Saturday it was time for them to leave, and Nana took the kids and drove to meet Emily in Tennessee.

Click here to see the slideshow

Laura's Thoughts

2008-07-05T16:15:00.000-04:00

As I was reflecting on the conversations at the cookout the other day, it occurred to me that God was getting my attention on something. My friend Jane and I were chatting about different seasons that we go through in life. She shared with me how she has come to a place in her life where she is completely content in who she is. I love that. Isn't that what Paul says in Phillipians 4:11 "Be content in every situation". Well, I responded to her by sharing that even while I am home with the kids all day and not "working" (outside of the home, that is) I know that this is definitely a season that I am in. Sure, it has it's highs and lows, but what season doesn't? I also shared how my Mom is an inspiration to me because when she was in her mid-50's she went back to school to start a whole new career path. I must say that anatomy and physiology is not as easy when you've been out of school for many years. Kudos to you Mom! Just by knowing that she could do anything, any time, any where, no matter how old or young, has placed a seed of hope within me. I know that while God has blessed me in this season of my life with the kids, He will bless me with the next season He has in store for me.
Well, to add to this vein of thought and reflection, my kind friend Carolyn had given me a little book called "Discovering God's Purpose for Your Life". As I was reading it this morning it dawned on me what God was trying to tell me. Yes, there are seasons in life, but with each season the underlying tone should be on Him, the Lord. Beth Moore put it like this, "He is not the most important thing, He is the ONLY thing. He is it. He is my life - not just part of it, or even the most important thing in my life. He is everything.
So with this season of running around with the kids, jumping on the trampoline, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, washing lots of dirty clothes and scrubbing lots of dirty floors, I will lift up my hands, lift up my eyes and my heart and say "thank you Lord for this season it is all made by you and it is all for you. I praise you for whatever it is you bring my way after this season moves into the next season!"

So , to you I say, be blessed and content in whatever season you are in!
Love,
Laura

4th of July cookout

2008-07-05T01:27:00.000-04:00

For the 4th of July we decided to have some friends over, it’s been awhile since we have had a real get together and cook out. Nothing too fancy, hot dogs, hamburgers, Scott's mac and cheese, Carolyn's ravioli and meatballs, Jane's potato salad, Ron's cheesecake, Amanda's strawberry shortcake (I'm drooling) did I say nothing fancy, this is high livin'

We ended up with almost 30 people over, we didn't know if we would have the space and seating for everyone but it worked out great, we put the video games up stairs for the kids and had all the seats we could find in the living room. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

Everyone grubbing down inside and out

Playing with sparklers with long exposure (if you want to know how to do this check Cameron's Photo blog)

Everyone hanging out having a good time.

So have you heard the news? Rumor has it that if you eat 6 cups of watermelon, it has the same affect as viagra, hence the note to Scott (he is the one who informed us of this) ;)

Click here to see all the photos of the 4th of July 2008 cookout

Lindsey learns to drive.

2008-06-29T19:25:00.000-04:00

Well, for years Cameron has told Lindsey, "I will teach you to drive when you are tall enough to push the clutch in all the way". That time has come, and it's time for cameron to put up or shut up. Cameron took Lindsey to the same field that he took Katie to a couple of weeks ago and started the driving lesson.

She did really well for her first time driving. She only stalled the Jeep three times. She stopped and started several times and shifted into second gear a few times, and once made it into third gear.

Our little baby girl is growing up so fast. Now that this has started, we have four years of asking to go drive to look forward to.

Soggy Swim meet

2008-06-21T22:55:00.000-04:00

Today Lindsey had a swim meet at Morehead City, NC, about two hours from home. Our plan was to head out early and go to the swim meet and then afterwards go to the beach, since Atlantic Beach is about 3 miles from the pool. The plan was for Lindsey to be done with her events by about 12:00 noon, and then the rain came, followed soon after by the sound of thunder, and delays. There are teams at this event from several states so every attempt was made to try make sure that everyone got the chance to swim and get there times, so there were several delays and by 1:30 pm Lindsey had only had one event out of four. Eventually the rain cleared and Lindsey was able to compete in all of her events, we finished the meet around 5:00 pm and then we went to the beach for about two hours, then we headed home. All in all it was a good day, very long and soggy, but still good.

Air Force One lands at RDU

2008-06-20T18:37:00.001-04:00

Today Cameron worked at the airport in Raleigh (RDU) and when he was about to leave to come home he was told he would have to wait until the President landed. Yep, that’s right George W. Bush came to Raleigh to help the campaign of the republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory. Since Air Force One is something you don’t see everyday Cameron grabbed his camera and headed for the highest spot he could find and took some pictures of the landing. Click here to see the slide show.

Empty Nest :(

2008-06-19T22:19:00.000-04:00

Well, they have all left me and I am so sad :(
What at first seemed like it would be overwhelming has now made me want to have fifteen kids running around the house! I had such a great time with my nieces and nephews. Lindsey and Charlie have both asked to have a sleepover with friends and I believe that it is to ease their withdrawls from their cousins leaving. Here are my observations, thoughts and silly comments about each of them:

Katie, Katie, Katie. What are we going to do with you young lady?! LOL You are vivacious and bold and are not afraid to speak your mind. This is so good. When you put your mind to something, you give it your ALL. Continue to do that girl. I noticed what an awesome big sister you are even when you are picking on Heather and Kyle. They look up to you with such love and adoration; and with good reason. You are a true leader with so much to give. We love you Katie!

"Lindsey, Heather, Katie come down here and get your smoothies!"
Oh wait, I mean, EMILY!!!!
I almost forgot about you......NOT!
Hey Emily, I just want to say one thing
YOUR MOM!
You have such a great sense of humor and I am going to start saying that from now on. lol
Seriously though, you have such a way about you, that gets along with everyone on every level. I loved watching you be so sweet with Allie. I really think you should be a swimsuit model. That is why I posted this pic. Don't be mad at me, I love it and it is awesome of you!

Heather, sweet Heather. Gentle, kind, loving and just plain sweet, you are. You have a true gift of nurturing and caring for others especially little ones. It was sweet to see the tears streaming down your face during that movie. You have such a big heart for people. God has made you like that for a reason. You feel deeply and that is beautiful. Levi misses you already!

Kyle, "This way to the beach ladies" (with muscles flexed and abs tight)lol
You are such a joy to be around. Noah, Charlie and Levi loved playing with you! You made us all laugh when you came running down the hall with your turbin on your head and jirating your pelvis! LOL Boy you are a trip just like your daddy! Charlie will never forget when you hit the curb and the bike hit you in the "TENDERS"

Noah, you made Papa Chuck's day by giving him such a welcome hug when you saw him. He was so taken by your kindness. It is not every day that you see children be so open with their affection as you. You cheer people on at whatever they are doing and make people feel so happy when they are around you. I love you sweetness.

Allie, you make me want to have a little baby girl! Your voice is like little angels singing. I can hear you now..."You are my brooooother, best friends foreeeeever!" The picture below says it all....We love you baby girl.

Mom and Tom, such brave souls you are! Thank you for bringing all the fun our way. Thank you for the beach house, the meals, the time and Tom the COFFEE CAKE! We love you guys and hope that your time was as blessed as ours!

Happy Birthday Charlie and Katie drives the Jeep

2008-06-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Charlie turned 8 years old. Laura took all of the kids and Grandma Judy and Papa Tom to the pool, and then we had a birthday party for Charlie at home, Papa Chuck came over as well. The biggest gift Charlie received was a new bike, he was getting too big for his old one and he said it wasn’t fast enough, so we got him a mini mountain bike with 6 gears, he says its fast. After the party Cameron took Papa Chuck home and then he took Katie out for a driving lesson in the Jeep. Katie will be getting a car with a 5 speed manual transmission and needs to learn how to drive one. Cameron took her to a big field and dirt road where she could practice driving with a clutch.

Emerald Isle Beach Trip

2008-06-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

Emerald Isle

Well they are here, Friday night Grandma Judy, Papa Tom, and all the kids (Katie, Heather, Kyle, Emily, Allie, and Noah) arrived at our house, and we had some hang out time and stayed at our house for the night. Saturday morning we got up had breakfast and headed out to the beach at Emerald Isle, it took about 2 hours drive to arrive. We could not have asked for a nicer day, high of about 85 with low humidity and a nice breeze, sure beats the weather last week (100 + and high humidity )!
When we arrived we took all of our bags in claimed our rooms and then headed out to the beach right away. The ocean was warm the waves were not too rough and the beach was not over crowded. After a couple hours everyone headed back to the house. On Sunday everyone slept in a little and then after breakfast we tried to go to a water park, but when we arrived it started raining and before long, lightning. So the park was closed for the day and we headed back to the house. During a break in the storm we headed to the beach and had about a half hour in the waves before the storm resumed and drove us back inside. Sunday we went out to a sea food restaurant for dinner, and then later went out to the beach to play freeze tag with all the kids. Monday it was time to pack everything up and get ready to head home, but first we made another trip to the beach for about an hour and then want back to the water park that we were rained out of the day before. We made it home at about 6:30 Monday night, its good to be home. Check out the slide show of all the photos.

Clean up week

2008-06-10T21:08:00.001-04:00

Well this week we are preparing for Grandma Judy’s visit with six nieces and nephews, talk about a house full, with eleven people in the house space will be at a premium. We have set up the spare room upstairs (papa’s old room) and have room for all four girls to sleep up there, and moved Lindsey’s twin sized bed into Charlie’s room so that there is now room for the three older boys to share that room, and Lindsey’s small bed has been replaced with a queen sized tall air bed. Tom and Judy will have Lindsey’s room and we will keep the big bed and have Levi with us. So, we have a place for everyone to sleep and we have a place to we room for everyone to eat together, but we only have one couch and a couple of chairs, so sitting together to talk or watch TV may be a bit hard, unless its just adults or a few of the kids. They will be coming down from Maryland on Friday and staying that night, then Saturday we are off to the beach. We some friends that have a house out at Emerald Isle, NC, and we rented it for the weekend. Saturday we will head out to the beach, about one and a half hour drive, and we will stay there until Monday.

Until then it is clean up week, going room to room and getting up all the accumulated toys, school papers, clothes, shoes, candy wrappers, dvd cases, and anything else that doesn’t belong. The challenge will then be to keep the destruction at bay until everyone arrives, once everyone is here it will be a free for all.

Sunday morning photo walk and afternoon swim

2008-06-09T18:51:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning Cameron went out with his photography club buddies and walked around downtown Wilson and took some pictures of the old buildings and talked about camera stuff with his friends. Cameron keeps a lot of his photos on Flickr and if any one wants to have a look then the best way is to go to his “SETS” page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camnlo/sets/
this has all the groupings of photos, click on a set, then click "slideshow" (top right) and this should display everything full screen.

After church we went over to the Fulford’s pool for some relief from the heat wave we have had the past couple of days. Since last Thursday it has been in the high 90’s with heat index over 100, and today was no different. The only problem with taking all the kids to the pool is that Levi has no fear of the water, or much else for that matter. Levi has no problem taking off his floaties and running and jumping in, no matter how deep, and every time he does this someone has to jump in to save him. Lindsey and Charlie are both good swimmers but Lindsey sometimes has to pull double duty with Levi and sometimes helping Charlie when he gets tired, we put that swim team practice to good use.

Swim meet and Tae Kwon Do demonstration

2008-06-07T19:44:00.000-04:00

Yes in deed it was another busy Saturday for the Graham family. Lindsey had a swim meet in Goldsboro, and had to be there at 7:00. Charlie had a Tae Kwon Do demonstration that he had to start practice for at 12:00, and since the swim meet would not be over until after 1:00 that called for splitting up. So Laura took Lindsey and was on her way bright and early and picked up Audrey and Heather Louis, this was Heather’s first real swim meet that she has actually competed in. Lindsey did well in her events and set new personal best times in backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle but was disqualified in the backstroke for doing too many freestyle strokes during the flip turn. Heather also set new personal best times in all of her events.

Cameron took Charlie and Levi to practice at noon. Every one met up at home at about 2:00, and had to get ready to go to the Tae Kwon Do demonstration at 3:00 at the movie theater as part of the opening weekend for the movie Kung Fu Panda. There was a platform set up in the main lobby of the theater and everyone that came into the theater could stop and watch before or after their movie. Charlie got to break a few boards and show his moves, and there were fighting demonstrations by several of the older kids, and the main instructors did some sparring and added a little comic relief. The demonstration lasted for about 2 hours, and Charlie got a free pass to a movie as payment for a job well done. Lindsey has now gone off to spend the night with a friend and its movie time for Cameron and the boys, Laura has called it bed time.