Vacation: Day 3

We stayed in the night on the edge of New Mexico and attended services with the saints. It was a good opportunity to worship and meet with those of like precious faith. We then had a nicer meal at Cracker Barrel before hitting to road to travel some more. Everyone was ready to get to the destination as we have been traveling for two days already. We have been traveling well and have made good use of our time in the car by having family devotionals, reviewing Bible facts, planning for future events, making specific plans for our vacation. Kaylee took a lot of pictures from the car. All of us have enjoyed the dessert and the different scenery from where we live. We arrived at the Grand Canyon at about 4:00 PM local time and immedeately went to check in and find the trail head so that JT and I can be ready to hike it tomorrow. It took us a little bit to find our way around this small part of the park but once we did, we really enjoyed it. The look on the kids' faces when they got a glimps of the canyon for the first time was priceless. JT said it was worth the four-year wait! As soon as we got moved into the room, we took off to get something to eat. We ate at an Italian restaurant so that JT and I could get some energy for our trip tomorrow. Shawna and Kaylee went back to the room to move in and get settled. I took JT to a look-out point and he really enjoyed it. It got dark soon after so we went back to the room, had a family devotional, and went to bed. Looking back, it was hard to sleep that night as JT and I were so excited about hiking the canyon. Here are some pictures of the day.

-j

Birthday Weekend

As you all know I had a birthday. I been trying to get to the point where I could tell you about it. Well, today is that day. So Friday birthday evening, spent time with my mom and dad in a nearby city. Saturday, HAPPY. BIRTHDAY. TO. ME!!!! I woke up. My patents went crazy. I got dressed. We cleaned up the house and set up for the party. We waited for the first person to attend. The first and only one arrived. I showed her my room. Then, we hung out in my room until it was time to eat cake and do presents. We had a snack, ate cake, and I opened presents. We hung out in my room a bit more. We went outside. Then, she had to leave. Mom and Dad took me to one of my favorite restaurants - Cracker Barrel. I enjoyed the time and the staff sang to me. I was so emassed. Then on Sunday we went to church. then we went home.Then my birthday weekend was over. :( . But I think the best/worst part of the weekend was that my brother wasn't there.:(. But I got over it when I had the fun and when I heard how much fun he had. Well that all this week. See you next week.
-k

Vacation: Day 2

We got up early this morning and left about 8:15 AM. We stopped in a major U.S. city for breakfast and then hit the road. We moved through another state and into another making a total of five states so far. There will be 11 states before we finish the journey. We ate the three meals in three different states today. When we made into New Mexico, it was SO VERY windy. We stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico for dinner and then hit the road again. We made it to our destination for the day whcih was Gallup, New Mexico. While traveling in the car, we reviewed some basic Bible facts, made some specific plans for the rest of the trip, and eveyone took a nap at some point. We had a family devotional in the car and JT gave the message. He talked about being the feet of Christ or being evangelist in our efforts and being the hands of Christ have an attitude of service. Everyone is tired of riding but we are all also excited about getting to see the Grand Canyon tomorrow. Here are some pics for the day.

-j&k

 

 

 

An Awesome Week!

The week began in a busy way as usual. Shawna had a conference in another city but was able to come home in the evening so it was not too bad. JT and Kaylee have been at school but they have not been learning too much. All the school has been doing is preparing for some standardized testing which will be this week.

The air conditioner was needed this past week but did not work real well. We had it looked at and it cost too much money. SUCH. IS LIFE.

Yesterday, Shawna and Jeremy spent time doing some much needed yard work. It looks a lot better but still needs some more work. We will probably work on it some more today. I would tell you about the party yesterday but a not-so-little birthday girl wants to post about it by herself. I intend to let her.

See you next week!

-j

Vacation: Day 1

As you know if you have been reading our blog, we had a big family vacation and we have promised to blog about it. So, we decided we might blog about each day chronicling the day's events. There was a lot of traveling involved so some days there will not be much to blog about but other days, we will have pictures and we had a lot. Here we go...

We left town at about 2:30 PM and planned to travel a long way. We were hoping to make it about eight hours but only made it about seven. We left our state and moved into two others. We stopped in a major city for dinner. Mom and Kay ate at Chick Fillet and Dad and Bubba are at Genghis Grill (those boys have a thing about that grill, as you will see). We then stopped at Starbucks and Wal-Mart (no vacation is complete without Wal-Mart, right?) and hit the road again. We made some plans for my (Kaylee) birthday party, had a family devotional, and played some travel games in the car all to help the time pass. We got to a motel at about 10:30 pm and quickly went to bed. Dad thought it was funny that we raided the motel power outlets so we could all charge our mobile devices.

It was a good first day. More traveling planned for day 2!

-j&k

Busy Time (Well, For Some of Us)

We have had a busy, but very productive week! Dad got some exciting news this past week. He will be teaching on an adjunct basis at a college nearby. He starts this summer and has a course to teach this summer and in the fall. He is excited about it.

I (Kaylee) had my banquet this past weekend. It was so much fun. I dressed up pretty as you can see in the previous post. Mom let me wear makeup and jewelry. I got to the banquet and found my friends. We hung out all night, took pictures, socialized, and had a great time. Like my mother says, I am a little social bug!

The college my mother teaches for had a big spring concert/contest this weekend. Bubba went on Tuesday and Thursday. Mom and Dad went Friday night. I went with my aunt on Saturday and we all had a good time.

Today, we get to go to a birthday party for a friend of Dad's. He is turning 40! I keep telling Dad he is getting old and I think it just might be true! We will post about it next week. Mom has a conference to attend this week but will be able to come home each evening so it will not be too bad.

-j&k

A Girl Turned Young Lady!

 

-j

Book Review

This week's review is on The Seven Habits of Highly Accountable Men by Mark Laaser. The short book is available for less than $10.00 on iBooks and is worth the read! The book is part of a three-part series and, based on my impression of the book, I have added the other two on my reading list. The author calls on personal experience regarding how to change behavior and shows, from the account of Nehemiah, the importance of a good accountability network when a person is dealing with addictive behaviors and habits. Some of the applicaitons he makes from the book of Nehemiah were impressive. While the book is certainly written from a denominational perspective and uses such lingo, I still give it a 9 on the 10-point scale.

Happy reading.

-j

We Are Back!!

We have been out of the blog world for a while. There are several reasons for that. I (Kaylee) have been sick. The family has been on vacation (oh, yea! It was awesome! More to come on that later). And, it took us a while to get back in the grove. But, we are back today!

I (Kaylee) was a little sick before vacation but think I'm getting better now. Bubba still has his social life (as usual I think I'm losing mine). He had youth group activities this weekend and has had a good time. Mom has been back at work and working hard she has! We spent about a week recovering from vacation and the house is starting to get back in order. Dad has been approved for the next step in his big paper which is a big goal for him.

I (Kaylee) have my school banquet this coming Friday and then my birthday (last pre-teen year) next weekend. So, I guess I have a pretty good social life after all. I have been making plans for the party and it will be awesome.

See you next week!

-j&k

Book Review

Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, and Mike Yorkey have developed several books dealing with sexuality. Every Young Man's Battle is a direct, candid, and clear book encouraging young men to overcome sexual addiction and gives multiple examples of young and older men alike who have overcome and continue to overcome the struggle. While I apprecaite the book and the cadid clear nature of it, there are some very obvious denominational tendencies and implications with which I cannot agree. When the jargon and doctrinal messages are filtered, however, what is left is a plan which works. I give it an eight on the 10-point scale.

The book can be purchased from iBooks for about $10.00 and is worth the investment.

Happy reading.

-j