GLINK Mid-Year Retreat in Gatlinburg

Our family loves the yearly tradition of going to Gatlinburg with the Generation LINK residents every year. We had a great time learning more about each other, playing games, sharing updates on life and ministry, playing at Ober Gatlinburg, and eating great meals. Thankful for this group and all they do to serve at Crosspoint and our community!

Getting ready to hit the road!

We always stop at Newfound Gap on our way in to Gatlinburg. So beautiful!

We walked around Gatlinburg while we waited for our house to be ready.

Another  tradition is to head up to Ober Gatlinburg and do the Alpine Slide and iceskating. So fun!

This year we broke tradition and went to the Old Mill Restaurant instead of the Apple Barn and it was  delicious! We had so much fun laughing during a game of Things and playing some corn hole and some great Spades games.

The morning we head out we always eat breakfast at the Pancake Pantry and take a group picture. Thankful for time with these great people away from normal life. 

Co-op Showcase Day

We had our last day of co-op for the semester on December 1st. We had a showcase day for the kids to show off some of the things they've been learning and working on in in their classes. It was so fun to watch and hear from the different classes. We are so thankful for this co-op and the families that the Lord has brought to it. Here are some video clips and pictures.

Bryn was in a Readers' Theatre class and so they are reading and acting out the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. 

Carson & Bryn took the optional afternoon Kuk Sool class.

 The middle schoolers are showing an experiment from their science class and explaining the concept. 

 The Kuk Sool class.

Spencer with his pre-K class.

Lydia sharing from one of her classes.

More Kuk Sool

The Stockings are hung...

On our (long!) ride home from the lake after Thanksgiving we picked up our Christmas tree so we could decorate the next day. I've always wanted our tree in our family room instead of the dining room where it's been since we've lived in this house. So while Jeremy was at work the kids and I did some serious rearranging (including the TV) so that our Christmas tree could be in the family room. I love it! I think we only had 2 ornament casualties this year while decorating the tree….improvement!

 Clearly my favorite ornaments are pictures of my babies!

 I think we only had 2 ornament casualties this year while decorating the tree….improvement!

We also ushered in the season with a Home Alone family movie night!

Thanksgiving 2015

We had a great time at the lake with my family for Thanksgiving. So thankful for time with family and time to just relax and play. Jeremy got 2 deer while hunting so he was a happy camper. We played lots of corn hole, had several bonfires, enjoyed oysters on the half shell, and just enjoyed being together. Thank you mom and dad for a great time! So much to be thankful for! 

College Friends in Tiger Town

I have truly been blessed with amazing friends from my college years at Clemson. Our group of friends has started gathering for a Clemson home game weekend each fall.  We love having the Andrews for the weekend. It's such a treat to do a few days of life with close friends. I'm so thankful for our days together. 

The Andrews came in on a Thursday night and the rest of our friends gathered on Friday night at the Finley's house for dinner. Saturday we all do our own thing for the game (some go to the game, some come over to watch the game) and then we gathered after the game for dinner. It's always crazy and quick but I'm so thankful for the longevity of these friendships! Hard to believe I met most of these sweet friends over 19 years ago! 

Small Group Girls

It has been a joy for Jeremy and I to again lead an upper class college small group in our home this semester. The Lord has blessed us with a great group of men and women. I am so spurred on by them as they pursue the Lord and are fervently growing in grace! It truly is a privilege to do life with college students as they are growing and learning so much! Here are some pictures from a girls night we had in Greenville.

October Home Life

Here are some snapshots of home life in October. So thankful to do life with these 5 people I call family! 

Time with the Gainors

We are so thankful for the time we got with the Gainors. They are dear friends and we savored every minute with them while they were in the States. We love doing life with them and seeing our kids play together. We had a fun time playing at Look Up Lodge one day. So thankful for these friends! 

We love you Gainor Family!

Grammy's Visit

I'm so thankful for my parents and the effort they make to come visit! My mom was here recently and we had a great time during her visit. She joined us on our Denver Downs field trip. Another day we went up to Caesar's Head and Travelers Rest. So thankful for time with her and time outside (especially considering all.this.rain!!!!)

Home Life

Here are just a few pics from my phone in September. Gray sharing with our small group, Spencer writing his name (pretty good for the first time I thought!), College leadership meeting, Spencer aerating the grass with Daddy, a great read aloud with the kids outside, a women's event at church, Lydia lost her first tooth, Carson listening to Lydia read, Bryn on a walk with me. Thankful for these sweet moments and times of fellowship! 

Papa Simmons' 90th Birthday

Papa Simmons' (Jeremy's maternal grandfather) turned 90 on September 26th and his daughters planned a family gathering to celebrate his life.We were at the college fall getaway at the time so we drove over to join the party. Because Carson shares his birthday Nana also had a cake for Carson. It was a good time to see family and celebrate Papa's life! 

Carson's 11 year old Birthday Questions

1. What are your nicknames? limebacker, Grady, little buddy

2. Where do you want to go on vacation? mountains

3. What is your favorite thing to do outside? go hunting

4. What is your favorite color? blue

5. What do you hope you'll get to do before your next birthday? shoot a deer

6. What is your favorite restaurant? Red Lobster

7. What is your favorite toy? kindle

8. What is your favorite fruit? plum

9. What is your favorite TV show or movie? Gladiator

10. What is your favorite outfit? pants & long sleeve shirt

11. What is your favorite food?  steak

12. What is your favorite game? football

13. What is your favorite animal? tiger

14. What is your favorite book? Swiss Family Robinson

15. What is your favorite song? Centuries

16. Who do you like to spend time with? my friends

17. What do you do really well? go hunting

18. What makes you laugh? spencer

19. What do you like to do with your family? go to the lake

20. What do you love to learn about? science

21. What is your favorite part of each day? afternoon

22. A place you want to visit? Egypt 

23.What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

24. What is your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper

25. What do you want to be when you grow up? Engineer or Chiropractor 

Charleston Trip with my Hubs

I was so thankful to be invited along to Charleston with Jeremy for a work trip last week for a couple nights and so thankful to my in-laws for keeping the kids for us while we were gone! It was a sweet time and very refreshing for us! We got downtown Charleston in time to get dressed up (which we rarely do!) and walk to dinner. It was so fun and delicious! The next morning we enjoyed breakfast with new church partners in Charleston and really enjoyed that time with them! Jeremy then had meetings for a couple hours and I was happy as a clam in our quiet hotel room reading my Bible, listening to a sermon, reading a great book, praying, and journaling! What a gift to my soul! 

That afternoon we enjoyed walking the streets of Charleston and eating lunch on the water. We literally watched 2 dolphins swim all around us the whole time we ate lunch, amazing! That evening began the conference in North Charleston. We were so encouraged to see so many different kinds of churches (racially, style of worship, size, affiliations…etc.) coming together to worship and be encouraged. The next morning we were at this conference and I enjoyed it so much and am still mulling over things that were shared there and asking the Lord to show me clear application for my own life. 

Thank you babe for taking me along and refreshing me! You are my favorite!

Fall Getaway 2015 Look Up Lodge

We always look forward to the college fall getaway each year and we've really enjoyed Look Up Lodge in Traveler's Rest the last couple years. It's fun for our family to do together (and it's getting so.much.easier as the kids get older)! I was so encouraged to see all the college students and so many new faces! It was a great weekend!

Our speaker this year was Dr. Jamie Dew who is a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and it was a blessing to sit under his teaching for for the weekend! And a highlight for us was getting to know his sweet family! Tara and I and our kids became quick friends. It's so fun how in Christ Jesus we truly are family!

Carson's 11th Birthday

Hard to believe we have an 11 year old! We are so thankful for the gift of our Carson! We decided to take Carson Grady to Carson's (to eat dinner) and Grady's (to buy a new fishing pole).

 We were at the college fall getaway on Carson's real birthday (which he LOVED)! I am so thankful for this boy and the young man he is turning into!

Hikes with the Watsons

This week we went one a couple nearby hikes with our good friends, the Watsons. I can't believe we've lived here for so long without exploring these hikes! We first went to Wildcat Creek Falls in the Clemson Experimental Forest. 

Then we explored Todd Creek Falls  down the road. Always thankful and refreshed from time with Darci and her family!