Still down memory lane...March 2010

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Roll 'em................................................

Anna was involved in the making of an Answers in Genesis DVD about the human body (look for it in stores in the coming months :) The Homeschool Channel under Jeff Chamblee produced and filmed this for a week. Anna enjoyed feeling like a "star" even though her role was just to sit there and look interested while Dr. Menton from AIG lectured.

Father/Daughter banquet

Scott is enjoying time with two of his favorite girls!!!

Margaret, Martha, Anna, Olivia and Julie

Our homeschool group has a father/daughter banquet each March. This is one of the highlights of my girls' year and this year's banquet was wonderful. Geoffry Botkin and his daughters , Anna Sophia and Elizabeth spoke and challenged the girls and Dads in their walks with Christ and their relationship with each other.

My little girl is quickly growing up. Claire had a fun time at the banquet with her Daddy. He presented the girls with a chocolate rose and another tradition on this night is going to Sonic afterwards for french fries and ice cream.

A collection of April happenings.........

Our day at Tombigbee was a blast! We ate and boated and fished and played and had a great time with friends. Yonea was dangerous with the lighter fluid!

Eatin' popcorn and drinking tea

Some Snyders and Duleys came over and had fun in the barn.

The poor toad! Dissecting in Biology class..

Ben and Scott had a great time fishing and filleting their catch! The yacht came in handy :)

This is the last picture that I have of Daddy. I think it was taken on April 15 just a few days before he died.

April was a blur for us all. It started out with a fun picnic at Tombigbee State Park with the Chunns, Corbins and Williams. Then we had an Easter Egg Hunt at the Johnsons and then Easter. The weekend after Easter was the 5K and then my brother's birthday party on April 15. This was the last time that I saw my precious Daddy. The next Monday he was gone. The days since have been sad, but I am continually thankful for his 80 years and all the good memories that I have of him. He was a good father and provider and he made me (his baby girl) feel loved and special. I miss him terribly but know that I will see him again one day because of the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice and atonement for Daddy and for me.

My first 5K - 4/10/10

The picture on the left is before the race - notice the darkness :) and the make-up. Heather was telling about this saying that she read in a running book. It said runners who wear earrings and make up don't run fast. And I added....runners who wear earrings and make up don't care if they run fast :) I was just thankful to be able to run for 3.1 miles!

This one is after the race. Don't be impressed by the trophies - there weren't many in our age categories.

Our car full of Spartans going to Chick-Fil-A after the race. Race days are fun in that you get to fellowship with friends!

On a chilly morning we got up before the sun rose to trek down to the mall for the Children's Mansion 5K. It started at 7 am! I was nervous and I am glad Scott ran with me most of the way. The first mile was good , but during the 2nd one , I wanted to lay down and die on the side of the road right there in front of Wal-Mart! After we turned at Walgreens, there was a down hill part and that renewed my energy a bit. After mile 2, I kept thinking, only 1 more mile...... and then as I rounded the corner at Belk's it seemed the whole Spartan team ran out to cheer me on. They ran with me shouting encouragement. My goal was to run this in less than 40 minutes and I was very close, but as I ran into the finishing shoot, there was nothing left, I simply could not run any faster and I finished at 40:07 (close enough to my goal). I am thankful to be able to jog and I am still persevering in this. I feel better and have more energy on the days that I am able to run.

Our trip to Jackson, Atlanta, Savannah, and Columbia

Our first stop was Clinton, MS to Jeremy and Lindsay's wedding. They got married in an old chapel on the Mississippi College campus. It was a lovely day!

We blew bubbles for the bride and groom to run through!

Jeremy and Lindsey's wedding was beautiful! I loved the bright, happy colors she chose. Claire was a beautiful flower girl. We enjoyed spending time with family over the weekend.

Next stop.....Stone Mountain, GA

Claire enjoyed the rock wall!

Ben's favorite thing at Stone Mtn. was this sky hike obstacle course. They did this as many times as we had time for.

Claire did a great job on the sky hike course, too. It was scary at first , but fun!

John is not so sure about the sky hike......

John loved the obstacle course!

The top of Stone Mountain. You can see 40 miles from the top of this huge chunk of granite.

While in the Atlanta area, we stayed at the Stone Mountain Park Mariott Evergreen Resort. It was very nice and we enjoyed our time at the park as well. We took the tram up to the top of the mountain and did the sky hike obstacle course and did a good bit of walking/running around our hotel on the trails.



And on the road again..............Savannah, GA.

While in Savannah, we drove out to Tybee Island and spent the day at the beach! Great ice cream there and Ben found this shell with a hermit crab in it! Ben and Claire played for a couple of hours nonstop in the waves! John, Anna and I built sandcastles.

Savannah was beautiful. We walked down from our hotel to the riverwalk and there were many cute candy shops(prailines, YUM!) and restaurants and then the next night we walked all around the historic district. Such a pretty city that is full of history. The picture to the right is inside a gorgeous cathedral in the historic district. It is open for tours.

Next destination was South Carolina........

We went on a nature preserve on the way to SC and were able to observe alligators in their natural habitat. You can't see them in these pics , but we got out of the car and saw some up close. One was over 8 feet long. All I could think about was those nature shows when the crocs spring out of the water and chomp down on a leg or something!!

I did not take a pic of the one that was super close to us, but you can kinda see the head of this one. I took this pic from the car.

Perfect home for the swamp monster!

My brother, Hule, tells stories of the swamp monster to the children after our last visit to their house. We visited the Congaree swamp and saw all kinds of interesting swamp life. My camera started big time messing up while we were in Columbia and I did not take even one picture. We enjoyed our time there as well and were able to visit the zoo and visit with Hule and Loretta and their girls Sarah and Julianne. Loretta is a wonderful cook and she had a fun scavenger hunt for the kids when we got there. It involved the attic of their older home and at the end were gifts for each child!

Here are Hule and Loretta at the wedding with Mom.

This pic was taken during a loooong car ride home from South Carolina. It sums up our trip - a little bit of lace and flowers and a little bit of rest and relaxation and time on the beach and visiting with family!