Fastest 8 hours...

We all anxiously awaited a call from Ryan on Thursday night. It was to be a 15 second call to say "GO," or "NO" which means he would have to recycle the first phase of his training. The call came in around 11:15 Georgia time and Kate called us to say he was a "GO!"

He passed his first phase, and was to be picked up on Friday for an 8 hour pass. SO thankful Kate is in Georgia to pick him up, take him to get supplies, food, laundry done and some sleep. We listened to him for about 30 minutes during the day. I've never been so encouraged about something so hard!

Ryan is EXACTLY where he wants to be. He told us that when he was in school in Fayetteville he would wake up and wonder what it would be like to wake up at Ranger School. All the physical training he has been doing for the last years has been leading up to this extreme challenge. He has made friends, he has kept his cool during the lack of sleep and food times and has a laminated card with verses in his front pocket.

He now moves to the "mountain phase" and may get to contact Kate at the end of the month. We are SO THANKFUL for his wonderful wife who is so supportive and loving and strong for him! If all goes as we expect, graduation is December 9th.

Still praying...

9am EST

9:01am EST

3:30pm CST

4:45pm EST

Best. Weekend. Ever.

I never suspected a thing and I thought I had pretty good sense about these kinds of things.

Saturday morning Richard and Cam were working outside (there's a never-ending list of clean up and moving things) and I went to the garage to help give some directions to help them out! We knew Ian was coming over later in the day to help out but I was surprised when Cameron announced that he saw him coming up the road. Then he said, "And there's some other guys with him..."

At this point I was headed back inside, because as comfortable as I would like to be, my Saturday morning hair is not made for public consumption. But back to the story, Cameron yells...and starts running, "Ryan and Katelyn are here!"

Cameron is seldom wrong about these kinds of things but there was no way Ryan and Katelyn could be here. They live in Georgia, he is in the possession of the United States Government, via the Army and they hadn't told me they were coming.

It was them! Cameron almost climbed through the window of their car to get to Ryan and ERIN climbed out of the back! Before I knew it Jordan had come out, and Lauren had woken up Sheridan (who happened to have a friend over) and videoed her blindly following her to the garage until she realized it was her big brother in the driveway. And she ran down the driveway, jumped up in Ryan's arm and we were ALL 10 IN THE DRIVEWAY...AND AT HOME.

For 3 days we were all here. We went to the Razorback game in Fayetteville, saw Katelyn's brother and almost ALL their friends...we worked together in the yard, we went to church together, grilled out and BOTH sets of grandparents came to see us. Monday morning Ryan and Katelyn were headed back to Georgia, Erin headed back to college. Monday Richard was back on the road and the littles went back to school.

It was the best surprise ever. Why? Because my kids wanted to be here. They wanted to see us. They wanted to be with us, and eat with us and hug us. They didn't mind washing windows, cleaning up the yard and organizing our boxes in the garage. Because they "get" FAMILY. Every time we're together it's loud enough to make me wish for quiet time, but I know that when we're loud it just means we're all together. The impact that makes on my littles is a seed that will grow over time and someday, I pray, they'll value FAMILY too.

Soccer Mom...Again!

It's been several years since we've gone to a weekend tournament of any kind. For over 8 years we went to tournaments every weekend (sometimes more than one in two different locations) but we've been off the circuit for awhile!

Jordan was picked up on a soccer team this season and it has been such a fun group of girls for her to make friends with. She's never played organized sports like this, so going to a tournament was a big deal...the state cup, no less! She also has learned A LOT about soccer. Her coach has been super patient and the parents on the team were really encouraging as she learned to be a goalie;  when to come up and charge the ball, when to stay back, when to call it, when to dive on it, when not to touch it, when to boot it, how to place it, and how to stay focused through the whole game. She got time in the field too, but during the tournament she played a GREAT game in the goal. We're really proud of the athlete she's becoming but more thankful for the teammate she is!

Busy Day on the Hill

Love to run up the hill (figuratively speaking) and see all these cars at the house! The weather is supposed to be good all week. Workers are busy on the exterior today putting the trim work on the soffit and putting up the front porch siding. 

Today I had the most fun time when I went to UCA to get Erin's stuff to bring home for the summer...On the way home I took a detour by a great furniture store and picked out new pieces for our living areas in the new house. I. AM. NOT. A. SHOPPER. but I had a GREAT time!! 

Raising up Modern Day Men

Thankful for the men in our family who took our 13 year old nephew, Titus, on a guys day trip to encourage him to be a man of God. Even our youngest men gave their day to help:  Ben came from College Station and Ryan came from Fayetteville. The guys climbed Petit Jean and gave Titus some wisdom from their combined experiences. It's a great thing when men challenge men to become strong, kind and stable men of God. 

Springing into Spring

Seriously, best location, most items in a spring event and the highest sell through we've had with this many items ever! My family pitched in, as usual, and helped make rough places smooth. Richard had the littles at home and Mimi and Gramps helped with them a couple days too.

It was supposed to rain all week, but we only had a few times the rain was coming down hard. Even then, customers came in! We had leaks in the building, even then, folks kept shopping. It was a great week!

I'm so thankful for the way God provides for us in this business, to make a difference in the community and get to love on so many families in our area. I didn't take many pictures of this event, it was a whirlwind 11 days and we came out smiling!

House on the Hill

It's still February and it's been 70 degrees all weekend! Our slab is ready and we're waiting on our builder to finish a project he's on to get our walls up! Saturday we took paint and brushes up on the hill and wrote verses on the concrete we choose for our rooms. It won't make our house blessed, but it will help us remember to dedicate every space to Him and to be thankful for His provision. 

School days...

Busy week at school...last days of basketball season and Parent/Teacher conferences for all three kids. Jordan's art was hanging in the hall, and her report card was awesome. There's something very special about a note from one of your kids' teachers that says "Love having her in class!" So thankful. Cameron's class had a valentine's day party complete with ice cream sundaes. Thankful for these kids and the growth they've shown this school year! 

Solid Foundation

The last 8-10 days has been filled with challenges at every turn. I sure don't ever think we're immune from things, but we've all had our mountains to climb these past days. The highlight of my week was the first gathering of our new life group in our home. Our house was filled with 19 other folks who were laughing, talking and smiling. We did some introductory games and I gave an overview of what we're going to look at this semester. I had something prepared to say, but since we had had some rough days I just decided to be a little more transparent and tell them that for sure we didn't have it all together. We for sure don't have all the answers, but without the foundation of God in our home, we would certainly have fallen apart these last days. It doesn't stop tears, fights, misbehaviors, conflict or the like, but the TRUTH of God's unfailing love, the TRUTH of HOPE in Him, and the TRUTH of His way anchors us. I'm so very thankful for a solid foundation.