Greenville, SC & A Trip to the Mountains & lots of Work!

 Summer break is flying by, and with the majority of our family working this summer, we are working hard to cling to the moments we have together! The early years of raising children is hard work, and it can be monotonous and overwhelming. Then they become teenagers! Life is no longer monotonous, but we need a family calendar to keep track of everyone!! 

Earlier this summer, we were praying that Chandler would find a job. He was able to work with me at the Farmers Market for a few days, but he was still looking for more of a full-time summer job. Well, he now has a job with more hours, and he still gets to be outside a lot. Thank you for praying that he would find a job!  Chandler is working for a farmer/produce stand near Roger’s work. Chandler has been working 7:30am- 6:00pm, and he is shucking a lot of corn, selling fruit, working in the fields, and getting an introduction to welding. He’s been busy, but God is so good. God provided this job for Chandler, and it’s about twelve minutes from Roger’s job. Roger has also been working long hours due to the lack of rain, so he drops Chandler off at work and then picks him up. 

Garett continues to work with the gutter company, and he likes it. I’m pretty sure that his favorite thing is going to lunch everyday, but he does like his job. He’s been getting up and going to work around 5:30am due to the heat this week. 

Wyatt and I are working at the farmer’s market. I try to work about three days a week, but it all depends on what’s happening with the other kids, Roger’s job, and other activities. Most of the time, Wyatt comes with me to work, so he’s been able to get some employment this summer also. 

Travis and Emma stay busy with helping take care of Aunt Jen’s chickens, cutting grass, and going swimming. We are thankful that Aunt Jen is willing to have two sidekicks this summer. Currently, Travis and Emma are in Wisconsin with Aunt Jen visiting with my parents. I’m thrilled that they have the opportunity to do that, and I know that my parents were excited to have them come visit. 

In the past two weeks, we’ve worked and played. Last week, Chandler and Wyatt attended basketball camp at Bob Jones University, while Jen and the two younger kids spent a few days in Greenville, SC. Roger and Garett stayed behind and worked, but then met up with us in the mountains for a few days of fun later in the week. 

Last Monday (6/17), we left for basketball camp with two of our boys that were attending as well as two of the Hardison boys. They were all excited about attending basketball camp, and I’m glad that they were able to work on some skills and drills that should help them in the future. While Bob Jones camp was okay, I think the boys will be returning to PCC next summer to try one of their sports camps. I know that I can be OCD about communication and spending time wisely, but to be honest, BJU should’ve done better. Camp should be looked at as a potential student visiting the college (in my opinion). These are 9th-12th grade boys coming to visit the college campus and a little bit more of a “best foot forward” approach would’ve been greatly appreciated by this mama. I also would’ve appreciated a more serious and dedicated approach to spiritual lessons and growth. I know that I’m in a minority and that’s okay, but I really want Jesus to be first and foremost in any activities. I personally feel that sometimes we get so worried about “kids having fun” that we fail to prepare them for eternity! (I did personally call the college to express some of my concerns as well.) So what did BJU do well? Like I said, I appreciated the emphasis on improving skills in basketball. Both of the boys said that they felt like they learned a lot, and they were thankful for that. I’m thankful that this opportunity was given to them, and now they’ve had an introduction to BJU. It’s really too bad that it wasn’t a better experience because I know that Bob Jones does present some top quality events for educators, and I’ve been a recipient at those events.  

While the two boys were at basketball camp, Travis, Emma, Jen and I spent a few days in Greenville. Greenville has a beautiful downtown area, and we walked down there several times. The hotel we stayed at offered breakfast, snacks and drinks and supper- all included in the price of the hotel! That was an amazing blessing as we were able to spend time just watching the kids swim in the pool, eat, read, and soak up some sunshine and relaxation. It was good to get away for a few days, and if I ever go to Greenville again, I’m going to be looking for the Drury Inn and Suites hotel again! A highlight of the trip for Emma and Travis would be going to Smoothie King and trying the Dude Perfect smoothie! 

Basketball camp ended on Thursday at noon, so I picked up our two boys and headed for the mountains. Jen headed back to her home to check on the chickens, and get ready for her trip to Wisconsin. 

We met up with the Everett’s in the mountains on Thursday afternoon. Roger and Garett met us there and everyone went golfing in the afternoon except Emma, Laura and I. Thursday was Laura’s birthday, so we were happy to celebrate her birthday. I had purchased discounted tickets for Anakeesta and the Titantic museum for the few days that we were in the mountains. We went to Anakeesta on Friday, and it was a hot day! The chair lift up to the top of the mountain was a lot of fun, and Anakeesta offers some nice views of the mountains, beautiful gardens, tree walk ropes course, and lot of playground space. We did enjoy it, and I’m glad that we did it. However, I felt like it was more suited towards kids Emma’s age as there was a lot of playground space, slides, and ropes courses. For teenagers, Anakeesta offers two mountain coasters and zip lining (all of which cost extra $$), so for that reason, I don’t think we’d do it again. The boys didn’t complain about not doing the coaster or zip lining, but the playgrounds and slides were a little below their level of interest. However, it was a fun day spent with family and friends, so it was a day well spent. 

Saturday morning was set aside to visit the Titanic museum, and everyone really seemed to enjoy that. There was lot of information to take in, but they did offer headphones that would read the highlights to you as well as a kids version of the highlights. I think I can say that everyone did learn something, and that was a good experience. It was money well spent in my opinion, and I’m glad we took the opportunity to do that museum. 

We also played some game that Justin came up with. It was the adults versus the kids, and the adults did win. We didn’t win by a lot, but we did win! It was a lot of laughter and fun, and then we decided to take a trip to the Smokey Mountains park and get in the creek. We ended up finding a spot with a waterfall, and while we only planned to go wading, everyone was pretty wet by the time we were done! 

A few other notes to remember from our trip: we really enjoyed “Steak n Shake”. It was a restaurant that reminded me of Culver’s hamburgers, and it was fairly cheap. We tried to go to Cades Cove to see some wildlife, but we didn’t realize quite how low we were on gas, so that ended up being a bit of a flop. I guess we will save that for another trip! We had coffee at the Black Rifle Coffee Company, and that was a fun time. We enjoyed s’mores around the fire pit, and the mosquitos weren’t too bad! The cabin was practically straight up a mountain, but it was a memory for sure! We treasured our time with our friends, the Everett’s, and it was a fun few days in the mountains!

We left the mountains on Sunday morning, and I met up with Jen in Newport, Tennessee. She was headed to Wisconsin and rather than come all the way back to Eastern North Carolina, we met up with her in Tennessee. Emma and Travis hopped out of our van, and into Jen’s vehicle. Emma was a little sad about going on Saturday night, but by Sunday morning, she was happy to be going to visit Nana and Papa. Travis kept asking if Wyatt could come with him to Wisconsin, and originally we had planned on that. But when Chandler got his job, then Wyatt could work with me, so Wyatt decided to stay back and work. I think Wyatt would’ve liked to have gone along also, but he was also happy to be going home. Our friends, the Harrison’s, kept Sam from Thursday thru Sunday, so we picked him up on Sunday night. I think Sam was happy to see us, but he really doesn’t seem to mind hanging out with the Hardisons’ dog Marley. We were all happy to be home on Sunday night, and when we sat down for family prayer on Sunday evening, I was like “okay, who’s going where this week and working where?!” I’m thankful that the sun sets later these days, as we are frequently gathering around the table around 7:30/8:00pm for supper! (Everyone still likes to eat!) I’m thankful for employment, memories, family, God’s grace, sleep and clean clothes! (I’m thankful for a lot more, but those are the ones that are on my mind!) 

Travis and Emma will be coming home with Jen tomorrow, and I am very much looking forward to seeing them! Roger has been crazy busy with work also. Typically the standard fire season is over by early June as the humidity rises and we get more rain showers. However, this summer has been very hot and very dry, so Roger has been working quite a bit. The district that he flies for has only received about .5 inch of rain in the past 31 days. Most of the crops are gone, and only the farmers that have some type of irrigation will get anything off their fields. The cucumber harvest is about 90% dried up, and peas will be in short supply as we just haven’t gotten enough rain. Please pray that God will provide some rain for much of the eastern side of North Carolina. We are thankful that Roger is able to gain some extra hours as this will help him be able to take off in the fall when he is coaching the soccer season, but we also really, really need a nice soaking shower of rain. 

Amidst the business of all the working schedules and summer activities, I’m also constantly reminded that Garett will be a senior this fall. I’m not ready! We’re trying to soak up the memories, moments, and pour into each of our children their need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Garett has talked with us a little about his plans for after high school, but he needs a lot of direction and prayers at this point in time. We are capable of hard things, and God provides what we need every step of the way. I know that this also holds true for our children. I’m thankful that while the world erupts in chaos and disorder, we serve a God who has never relinquished His control. He holds us in His hands- and I’m thankful for His presence. 

Summer Break!!

 It’s been a busy two weeks, as we’ve jumped full swing into summer break! We are enjoying a bit of a more relaxed schedule, but we find it’s still really full with kids working, balancing screen time and work, projects that we’d like to finish, and planning a few activities over summer break. 

I’ve still been working at the school some as it’s near impossible to get everything cleaned and packed up before school ends much less when I’m working in both art and library. I enlisted the help of my kids to help take down bulletin boards, move books, haul stuff to the dumpsters, and other cleaning jobs. Working for mom would not fall on their list of favorite things, but welcome to life! I’ve been doing some research regarding an art curriculum for elementary students, and there is so much out there! It’s so easy to be overwhelmed with it all. We’ve also looked for a library curriculum, but that’s a really hard one to come by because I’m picky about what we read and generally we don’t have the books on the list in our small library anyways. I’ve written our own lessons plans for the past two years, but it would be nice to be able to have the book, a game, and an activity all ready to go without searching all over creation for what I want…maybe I’m just too picky or my expectations are too high!? 

On Memorial Day, we went to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ryan’s house out towards the western side of the state. It makes for a long day, but it was a fun day. All the kids got in the pool (multiple times) and Emma and Travis ended up with a sunburn! We took Sam (the dog) with us, and he did very well on the car ride so that was a blessing. The boys walked down to the pond to go fishing, and they caught a few fish. We enjoyed lots of delicious food, good fellowship and time outside. It was a good way to start summer break. 

Chandler had the opportunity to spend a few days at a lake with one of his friends from school and a few other boys as well. He left on Wednesday to go to the lake, and we came down on Saturday to pick him up. He had a great time fishing, kayaking, playing with air soft guns, and doing all kinds of activities. We came to pick him up on Saturday, and we enjoyed time at the lake as well. It was good to get to know Nicholas’s parents a little better, and we surely did appreciate the laughter and fellowship. It was a beautiful day to spend at the lake, and we were thankful for the invite. 

Garett is working full time with the gutter company this summer, and last week he got his drivers license! Yes, he is almost 18 (in August), but we were not in an anxious place for him to get his license and insurance is expensive! However, the timing was right and God arranged for all the details to fall into place. Roger took him to Jacksonville last Thursday for a 8:00 am appointment. They arrived in time, but there was an accident on the route that they normally take the drivers road test on. The DMV told Roger and Garett that they weren’t sure how long it would be before the route opened, but they would be given a “floating” appointment meaning that once the route opened back up, Garett could take his test as soon as they could squeeze him in. Well that was a bit of a bummer as Roger was missing work to take Garett to do his drivers test, and we weren’t sure if we should wait it out, reschedule or if I should come and wait with Garett. Roger and Garett went back into the DMV to talk to someone, and they said that they would allow Garett to take his road test on an old route that they didn’t use anymore. Praise the Lord! Within ten minutes, Garett was walking back into the DMV to get his drivers license permit! We are thankful that one of the boys now has his drivers license as this means that Garett can now help with getting other kids where they need to be! I didn’t think I’d be this excited about one of our kids having their drivers license, but it’s been so nice! 

I started working at a farmer’s market a few days a week, and it looks like Chandler will be able to earn a little money on the days that I work as he can come with me. The days are long at the farmer’s market, but it’s not hard work as it’s just being friendly and selling people produce. I think it’ll work out nicely for a few days a week and help provide a little extra money for a summer trip or the school bill. Chandler would still like to find a bit more work as he’d like to work closer to four or five days a week, but we are thankful for something! 

Travis finished up the soccer season with the rec team this past week. It’s been fun to watch him play, and he’s enjoyed it-mostly. I thought that Travis would be excited about being on a team without his brothers and getting a lot of playing time. He told my sister, Jen, that he enjoyed playing soccer but it would’ve been better if Wyatt could’ve been on his team. The Lord was good to Travis as Travis was placed on a team with Christian coaches, and it was a good experience. One of the coaches is also a coach for a soccer league team in the area. The coach sent us an email about Travis playing on a travel ball team, and then he came and talked to us. While the experience would be good, the cost is way too high, and we are already busy as a family. We don’t need one more event to haul kids to or cause us to split up our very valuable family time. We asked Travis what his opinion was about the travel ball team, and told him that it was nice of his coach to notice Travis’s skill level and offer him a position on the travel soccer team without Travis even going to tryouts. And all of that was and is true! It’s nice to be recognized for hard work and effort, but thankfully this was an easy decision to make. Travis was non-committal about it (he’s not one to talk a lot), but he said, “yeah, it’s nice to be asked to join the team. But I don’t want to. I wouldn’t really want to do it without one of my brothers, and I’ll get to play on the school team in the fall.” So that was that, and it was a good decision. The coaches held a little awards ceremony after the last game last week, and it was so refreshing and encouraging to hear these coaches talk about the “Christian character” award, and how that was being like Jesus. This is a non-Christian school team, and these kids are from all walks of life, but these coaches made a point to bring Jesus into the conversation and to pray over the players after the last game of the season. I doubt Travis thought much about it, but as his mama, I sure did appreciate the prayer and reference to Jesus Christ! 

This past week we’ve been dog siting for some friends of ours. I’ve decided that we are definitely a one dog family, and while we’ve not minded Marley being here, we are thankful for just one dog! We also have the three Hardison boys here, so that’s eight boys and Emma! It’s not been very quiet here, but it’s been fun. They eat a lot, but they also have played hours of basketball and golf. We are thankful for these moments and days. Life truly is a vapor, and if I accomplish nothing else with my life, I want my kids to know and serve Jesus. 

We’ve also had VBS (Vacation Bible School) this past week, so I took Jace and Emma in to VBS with me, while the boys spent time with Roger. They even got to go golfing a few times with the Hardison boys, so that was fun for all. 

Chandler has already gotten a pay raise at the farmer’s market, so that was exciting for him. He worked two days and got a pay raise on the third day. The disadvantage to the farmer’s market job is that it is a bit of a hike to the job, so he really can only work on days that I work, and I don’t want to work every day! This past week, Wyatt also worked at the farmers market for a day. Chandler, Wyatt and I all worked on Saturday, and it was a busy day. I prefer the busier days, as I’m not one for sitting around! The boys worked hard at keeping everything stocked and shucking corn. We always come home tired, but it’s been good to have a little employment this summer. 

This week is basketball camp for Chandler and Wyatt, and they’re looking forward to going to Bob Jones University with two of the Hardison boys for basketball camp. I’m excited that they have this opportunity, and Travis and Emma are looking forward to it as well. I’m going to take the two youngest, along with my sister, and we’re going to spend a few days in the Greenville area while the other two boys are at camp. It should be a good week, and I’m looking forward to spending some time with the youngest two kids. 

Today was Father’s Day, and we barely saw Roger! He spent the day at work flying patrol for the fires. We really, really need rain. The forecast for the next ten days is hot and without rain. Please pray that God will provide some rain. Many farmers are on the verge of losing their crops as the soil is so dry. We really need several days of a nice soaking rain. We missed having Roger around, but we are so thankful for him. He’s not the life of the party, and he doesn’t like to be the center of attention, but Roger is faithful, loyal, kind and a good friend. He loves his family, and he works hard to be present in our lives. I’m thankful for him, and I love him so very much. 

Life can also be heavy and hard, and sometimes it’s hard to know what God is doing. The pastor said something this morning that really resonated with me after this past week. He said, “What you believe in not only matters for eternity, but it also shapes your perspective on life.” And sometimes we just have to walk by faith. This past Tuesday, my friend, Beka, from Wisconsin called me. She told me that there had been an accident and the daughter of someone I knew had been killed in a tragic ATV accident. I was completely taken off guard. Emma is almost the same age as this little girl that passed away, and I was pregnant with Emma the same summer that my friend was pregnant with her daughter. I don’t know what God’s plan was in allowing this tragedy to happen, but I do know that God is in control. He is the God of all comfort, and His mercy never fails. I’ve cried several times this past week as we grieve the loss of life, and for the family left behind. Please do pray for my friend, Jen, and her family, as they grieve the loss of their daughter. 

News Article

As parents, we naturally expect our children to outlive us, and sometimes we are caught off guard by what happens in our lives. I look forward to the day when “He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.” Heaven is going to be an amazing place, and if you’re not sure about where you will spend eternity, please reach out to me. I’d love to show you how you can know for sure that you are on your way to Heaven. Jesus died for you, so that you can have eternal life in Heaven. We need to recognize that we cannot get to Heaven on our own, and we are all sinners. We have no hope of Heaven without Jesus. But..Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Believe that Jesus died for you. Recognize that you are a sinner. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your life. Ephesians 2:8-9 states that “for by grace are ye saved, through faith, and not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” Salvation- that’s the best gift ever!