Monday, September 22, 2008

Michaels Phelts

Caroline loved the olympics! She loved cheering on her favorite swimmer - "Michaels Phelts". Her is a quick video compilation of her talking about him...



-jonathan

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Q

Here is Caroline after a bath last week. She loves to play with the foam letters and numbers, but she totally caught me by surprise with her knowledge of the letter "q"!




-jonathan

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The 'Kees

Let me tell you about some friends of mine. Beth and I have known the Bryants since before we were married (in fact we were both in the same engaged couples small group together.) Jeff and Amy are amazing friends. They, as much as anyone I know, live out Christ's mission and purposes for their lives. Let me explain...Jeff is a football coach (and defensive coordianator) for the South Doyle Cherokees (hence the title of the post!) Both Jeff and Amy pour their lives into this in a way that is truly inspiring. They have players over to their house every week for meals, tutoring, and for just hanging out. In this way, they have opened up their lives to a group of kids that would otherwise have very little support. They care for these students beyond what you could imagine. This is the very thing that Christ has called us to be (and do!) It is not a sunday school program or outreach project. It is organic and natural and comes out of an overflow of their love for Christ. To me it is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us by not only calling us into community, but also sending us out to be salt and light to the world. They are an encouragement to me and I am thankful that God has placed them in my family's life.

Beth and I got to attend South Doyle's first game of the season against Carter. It was a great game full of screaming and cheering that left me without a voice for a day. (High school football is intense!) It was a battle to the end, but the 'Kees pulled out the victory with a strong defensive stand! Here is a picture taken just after victory when the students rushed to the field to celebrate!





21 South Doyle
14 Carter

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"Play! Ki-chen! Nowwww!"

For the past couple of weeks, these are the first three words I hear every morning out of Caroline's mouth! I found a kitchen on craigslist that came with a little grocery cart, and Jonathan picked it up that very day. It was an instant hit! I have trouble getting Cannie (that's what she used to call herself) to come eat her breakfast, because she wants to play and play! I'd say it's one of the best $20 we've ever spent!



(Note to Nana, Mimi, and Grandma...and any others concerned...she was trying on fall clothes on this day to make sure they fit. No, I don't dress her in long sleeves in 90 degree weather! :) )

-Beth

Fun at Home


So this was actually a day Caroline was sick at home, but we still managed to have some fun! This picture was just too cute not to share!

-Beth

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Sunset


Jonathan seems to notice the sunsets more than any other person I know. He'll call to me, 'Hey Beth, come look at this sunset...isn't that absolutely beautiful!?!" And he's right. What a simple, yet beautiful reminder of our Creator. The beauty of His Creation calls out His name! Thanks Jon, for appreciating things that I might otherwise take for granted.

-Beth

ProVision office or Wildlife Refuge? You decide.

So for those of you that haven't visited the new offices at my work, I wanted to take a second and share one of my favorite features of the new place. First off, I have a window office. This is a huge plus to be able to look out and see the pretty scenery all day. I love me some natural sunlight! In addition, we also have some new friends at the office. There are 2 or 3 bunnies, a small flock of Canadian geese, a variety of birds, and my personal favorite Mr. Groundhog! Here is a picture of him posing for a quick photo op!



While I can't prove this, I am fairly confident that these animals must be part of a wildlife service that has been contracted to provide those of us in Lakeside a little entertainment!

-jonathan

Farmer's Market





So, if you live in K-town, and you haven't checked out the revival of the farmers markets, you have got to go! It's such a cool experience, and a great way to support local farmers and artists, etc. You can ask the farmer's themselves about what their farms produce, how best to use/store their foods, etc. There is everything from fruits and veggies to baked goods to all kinds of cuts of meat! There are lots of organic options too, and some simple favorites like farm-fresh eggs and beautiful flowers for your garden. These are pics of Caroline enjoying the fantastic playground and splash pad at the New Harvest Park. The Farmer's Market is there every Thursday afternoon/evening. The Market Square one has it's own flavor (on Wednesdays and Saturdays), with artists and jewelry-makers adding to the fun. We highly recommend both!

-Beth

International Competition!


This is Jonathan's friend and co-worker, Baolerhu. He is working on an interesting Business as Mission project for ProVision. During August, he and Jonathan decided to create what they dubbed 'The ProVision Olympics", with Jonathan representing the USA and Baolerhu representing the two countries in which he grew up, Mongolia and China. They went head to head in games to demonstrate their athletic prowess such as putt-putt and bocce ball! No seriously, they got some 'real' sports in there too (soccer, tennis, basketball, etc.). I'm proud to say that after a long-fought battle, USA won the gold, with a 5-4 score in games won overall! All in all, it was a friendly competition that got the whole office cheering!

-Beth

Saturday, September 13, 2008

View from Mimi and Pappaw's House


This is the gorgeous view of Watts Bar Lake from Mom and Dad’s new house. They have already spent some very peaceful evenings watching boats go by!

Goodbye to Mammaw's House

Recently we spent a lot of time cleaning out many years of memories at Mammaw’s house. It will be a year this Monday since Mammaw Higgins passed away. This house has been the family’s home since before I was born. It was especially ‘home’ for me, since we moved a bunch when I was in grade school...but Mammaw’s house was always solid. Growing up, we spent tons of time there, eating Chef Boyardee Pizzas and Mammaw’s delicious pot roast. Pappaw would sing, we would play in the front yard while Mammaw and Mom rocked on the porch, and I would constantly pester a teenage Wendy for attention. Moving all the stuff was a sad time, but also a time full of laughter as we searched through boxes and boxes (and boxes!) of family history. It is a huge blessing that the house sold very quickly...and, get this, the lady who bought it had been looking for a home on that exact street for some time (to be near her daughter and grandchildren). She had driven by Mammaw’s house several times and said that ‘if that house ever comes on the market, I want it’. Well, she got it! It was only ‘on the market’ for one weekend! When we went by on closing day to pick up a couple of last boxes, her children had put a sign on the door reading, ‘Welcome Home Mamaw’! That makes me cry right now. I couldn’t help but stop and thank the Lord for the peace of mind he had given us that this house would see much love in the years to come.


Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Some of the sweet things...

So Caroline is at a very sweet age right now. She is about to turn two, and while we are sometimes experiencing a taste of the ‘terrible twos’, she is also learning more about the world around her and becoming much more aware of other people’s feelings. She loves to give hugs and kisses. If she knows someone is sick, she says their name and says “...sick. Medicine. Doctor. Hug him. Pray him. Call him.” Jonathan said, that’s more thoughtful than many adults!! She likes to pray for all her relatives (and friends) and more recently, for the kids in Haiti every night. She says, ‘Kids...Haiti...sad. Food. Water. Happy.’ Then, we always sing songs at night...right now she is requesting “God’s favorite” (Jesus loves the little children) and “Hail Name” (All Hail the Power of Jesus’ name). Ha! She’s so funny! She also is beginning to tell us that she loves us without any prompting. She’ll just come over and give me a hug and say ‘Luwee Mommy’. That means ‘I love you Mommy’. It’s the best thing in the world!

Here is a recent picture of her when she was a little sick herself.


beth