tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45739400121136265012024-03-13T09:19:57.476-04:00Sweet Life With BoysWelcome to the chronicles of our family of two boys and a daughter!Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.comBlogger1264125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-7416101578588440292019-10-27T21:28:00.000-04:002019-10-27T21:28:27.984-04:00Momma Says ... (Take 1) I love blogging, and I love to have this space to document our highs and lows, This blog was therapy to me during David's treatment, and we will never forget the support we received here during that time. Never. I love blogging but the problem is my two teenagers and ten year old do not love their business on the blog for the world to see/read anymore. <br />
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So after praying and thinking, instead of closing this space that has been so very special to me for a long time, I am switching gears a little. Next year we will have one in college (I can't even....) and I am going to use this space to share wisdom with my children while I document their milestones for the future. Thank you for caring about us to even read this far! <br />
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I want to say that raising kids is hard. But Mike and I have always taken Proverbs 22:6 about training up children literally. Blessedly they still listen to us, and we have some great chats and talks but there is so much I want to say to them because time is flying by. <br />
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So Momma Says is going to be my way to share my teachable moments with my kids here on the blog. There is still so much I want to teach them and remind them so Momma Says posts will be my way to keep training up our children even when they may not live under our roof. Sigh. Mike may also break out a Papa Says posts every once in a while:)<br />
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So here goes.... Momma (and Jesus) Say that every person is of sacred worth. The bible never says we have to agree with how someone acts or how they live their life. Even when folks make really bad decisions we have to show love. <br />
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We have to show love when people act crazy at sporting events. We have to show love when someone makes an unflattering post on social media. We have to show love when people criticize us. It is hard and it is not natural for us to show love to those who are so hard to love. That is why we desperately need Jesus. We can only reflect Jesus when he shines from within us. <br />
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So Momma Says be patient, show grace to others, and memorize John 3:16 <i>For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.</i> If Jesus can show us that kind of love when we are sinners, we can certainly show love to those who vote differently than we do or drive ten miles per hour under the speed limit when we are late for work! Momma Says this world needs a lot more grace. <br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-62196279530395710072019-10-23T14:43:00.000-04:002019-10-23T14:43:05.419-04:00Checking In I was reminded the other day with a trip to Food Lion that I have been a blog slacker. Again. My apologies. But in this season for our family Momma has a lot to say and this is a pretty great place to share some advice for my growing tribe.<br />
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Kyle is a senior. I always thought I would be devastated when we would get to this step, but I am good. I am so beyond excited to see what God has in store for our first born next year and beyond. Our time is being spent doing the college prep stuff. If you have a friend that has a senior in high school.... check on them. We are not okay. We are tired. We are sad/happy/excited/depressed all in the same day thinking about our kids being gone. The college application process takes a Ph.D and lots of patience to navigate. We are spending our weekends visiting campuses trying to visualize our children there. Our knees are sore from the hours we have spent on them praying for God to guide and lead our children down His path. I have had to learn words like FAFSA, common app, super score, and others that make no sense to this preschool teacher. This process is not for the faint of heart. <br />
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Kyle is blessed and has several tennis offers on the table. We are thankful and excited for him, but we have lots of coaches to meet, financial aid offices to visit, and his dual credits need to be hashed out so his hard work in high school will be counted. It. Is. A. Lot. So much. I just keep praying the Jeremiah 29:11 prayer over all of this. It is so overwhelming. <i>For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. They are plans for good to give you a hope and a future. (Jer 29:11). </i>As I have prayed this over and over for our first born I just keep telling God to make his plan really clear because we Robinsons can be a stubborn crowd sometimes! Ha! <br />
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David and Kyle are enjoying being at the high school together. David is a freshman. Unreal. My heart has exploded a million times already watching them together and hearing from staff how amazing Kyle is with him. Except for that Wrestling WWE moment in the church minivan my boys are best friends and for that I am so thankful. <br />
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Hope is in fifth grade and doing awesome. She and a few of her friends started a praise band this summer and it has been amazing to watch her participate in that. <br />
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I promise my slacker days are over:) Thanks for checking in with us!<br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-656490240224322882019-06-09T15:57:00.000-04:002019-06-09T16:36:08.910-04:00Restoration We just got back from a week in Louisville with our youth group serving on a mission trip. Except for a two night hospitalization for Mike (stupid cellulitus) it was an amazing week. The worship was amazing and the preacher was one of the best I have ever heard. He preached on Joel chapters 1-2 and the theme for the week was Restoration.<br />
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I know that this week was for the kids but this youth leader was certainly blessed beyond words with the message and our service this week. It has been a tough year for many reasons, and being reminded how God restores hurts, challenges, and disappointments blessed me. I recently did a study on the life of Hosea and I studied how God redeems what the locust take and then to hear about locusts again in Joel blessed me. It has been a year full of locusts and I have faith that God will restore the challenges.<br />
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My best girl served with these amazing girls at a park in Louisville. I am thankful for Kim and Victoria who were the other gal chaperones on this trip and for serving our youth all week long. Seeing these youth have bibles open each night during worship and take notes on the sermon just about made me want to weep. May their hearts stay devoted to God.<br />
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Kyle, David and I got to serve along with some other awesome youth in a refugee community in Louisville. We literally went door to door interviewing families on behalf of encounter ministries asking lots of questions about where they are from and how long they have been in America before offering services on behalf of the ministries. Despite our current political climate regarding refugees I was blown away how many homes we were welcomed into. <br />
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We also invited all the children we saw to come to the park each day from 1-3 for fun and VBS type of activities. It blew my mind how many parents allowed us to take their children with us to the park-the level of trust overwhelmed me. It was a magical week of learning about different people, different cultures and different religions. <br />
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The evening worship was so good! David was a big fan!<br />
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I took so many notes from this week but I will always remember the preacher challenging us that we cannot witness to the World if we look like the world. We have to be set apart and look differently. <br />
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I will also remember the phrase " I am not worried about you going to church I am worried about what you are doing to benefit the kingdom of God!" Amen and amen! <br />
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We are not perfect and certainly we all have sins to lay at the cross, but this week I was such a proud youth leader to see our kids step up. They stepped up when we went one chaperone down, they stepped up at their sites, they stepped up their behavior and were so good, and I am just so proud of them. Youth ministry is a challenge (especially when someone always ends up in the hospital) but it is such an honor to see these youth outside their comfort zones serving the kingdom of God. <br />
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I will never ever forget this week in the city of Lousiville learning about God's restoration from the locusts and watching our kids step up for the Kingdom of God. It is always hard to come back to reality after a week serving the Lord but I am thankful for the awesome time we had. <br />
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I am thankful also for the laughs that we have as a group! If anyone thinks it is boring to follow Christ come hang out with us. We crack ourselves up so much because there is such joy in serving the Lord. We may have shushed a few people this week and set off an alarm or two but our joy could not be denied. A life following Christ is a blast! <br />
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I never will forget the beautiful people of all races and colors who also claim Christ as their savior. I was humbly reminded this week that Jesus is not white and he welcomes all the little children of the world. Heaven is going to be a diverse and beautiful place if it resembles Maplewood refugee community. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-22697531435658733082018-11-25T20:14:00.001-05:002018-11-25T21:15:43.384-05:00Thankful and Joy It has been a full and wonderful Thanksgiving break around here. I love time off together and I love it when our schedule allows for shopping dates with Mike, family night at the movie theatre (boys saw Creed and girls saw Grinch), family time in Radford, and.......<br />
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the annual Virgnia Tech and UVA football game! It was cold, and dramatic and some of us left the game smiling when VT pulled it out in Overtime!! It was such a fun time with extended family:)<br />
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Thanksgiving Day was spent in Radford with this strong-willed, hilarious woman and my parents! She is doing well despite her cancer diagnosis. She is sweet as pie but can give the nursing home folks a run for their money. :) She is something else!<br />
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It is officially basketball season here in our home!! Kyle is on varsity and Dave is the middle school team manager. Hope is also on her Daddy's AAU team and they play in tournaments on Saturday. This is the time of year when life gets busy but we love every moment of it. Hope is also swimming one day a week, taking piano one day a week and is learning the basics of volleyball. I keep reminding myself that one day we will have no one to take to practice anymore and we will miss this. <br />
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Hope recently had her piano recital and did amazing!!! Piano has taught her so much confidence and we love it.<br />
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Recently we had a stock holders dinner at youth where our youth served a dinner for those who have supported their faith development and they spoke about their experiences in youth. It overwhelmed me to hear in their own words how God has been working in their lives. My hearts was so proud and happy that I could have wept tears in gratitude. GG and Pops came down for the dinner and here are our kiddos with them. Youth ministry is a family affair in this house and we love every moment of it. <br />
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Speaking of youth, we have launched our big Christmas project through Santa's Elves. We have adopted 40 kids to shop for for Christmas. The youth LOVE doing this and it blesses my heart to see how much love and care they put into shopping for our kids. We will be hosting a party for the kids on pickup day before Christmas. We are all pretty excited about this.<br />
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This month I have been doing a daily bible journaling on gratitude. Between the bible journaling and spending a weekend at Hearts on Fire with some awesome senior high girls from church it has been a wonderful month. I have slowly realized that happiness and joy are two different things. Happiness is dependent upon circumstances and joy is feeling content despite your circumstances. I am focusing on joy for the rest of 2018:) Joy is time with family on a break, watching my youth serve so well, watching my kids play a sport they love, and spending time worshipping God. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-55658136831456585922018-10-16T21:07:00.001-04:002018-10-16T22:11:06.526-04:00October October despite the rain and sudden temperature change... you have treated us well. Life is full but life is good. I am finally OFF of the scooter and trying to live my best life despite all the hardware in my ankle which makes each step a wee bit painful. I am so so so thankful to be on this side of the ankle drama of 2018, but I have learned so very much during this painful season and I am thankful. <br />
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One of the blessings of the month so far was traveling to Knoxville on a random Thursday night to hear Jen Hatmaker! I have read many of her books and I have learned so much from her books about widening who is invited to God's table. One of my favorite Jen quotes is "<i>As Jesus explained, the right things have to die so the right things can live-we die to selfishness, greed, power, accumulation, prestige, and self-preservation, giving life to community, generosity, compassion, mercy, brotherhood, kindness, and love. The gospel will die in the toxic soil of self." </i><br />
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I aspire to be an includer-one who invites all to God's table to taste and see that He is so good. I am not always a model christian (hello, road rage...) but I try so hard to boast about God every chance I get. It was a wonderful and unexpected evening and it blessed my soul. We also were blessed with Nicole Nordeman's gorgeous voice. <br />
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Our "girls" are getting so big and I love them. They are funny, they are curious and they make me happy. We are somewhat concerned Tractor Supply may have mislabled one of our girls and that Felicia may indeed be a rooster instead of a hen. I cannot even imagine saying "bye felicia" to her but if she is indeed a rooster we will have to rehome her. We should know in the next month or so if Felicia is a boy or girl by the scientific method of waiting to hear her crow! Ha!<br />
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Thankful I had an unexpected night out to see Jen Hatmaker. I have always shared that I would have loved to have had a bigger family but our kids are at such a good age and because my parents came to help chauffer kids and feed them it was pretty painless to head out of town for a night that was good for my soul. Mike was out of town teaching his heart out to fellow administrators.<br />
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A joy this fall so far has been family and friend time at VT games. We love our Hokies but spending time together trumps what happens on the field. We are a dysfunctional bunch but we do love each other and have a lot of laughs. My brother is the tailgating drill seargent getting us all organized and hyped for the game. All of our boys are growing so fast.... Pops looks like he is shrinking but our boys are catching up to him.<br />
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Kyle was blessed with a great day of ACC football with his friend Jonathan and our friend, Dr. Bill. They were gone to North Carolina for 20 hours and caught the UVA football game followed by the Va Tech football game. They had such a great time making memories. <br />
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This has been a busy season with our youth at church. Each week I lead a bible study for middle schoolers after school on Wednesdays, we then have breakfast club at Mcdonald's every Thursday morning before school at 7:15 a.m., and then Mike and I are leading a study to guys and gals on Sunday nights. I love every moment of it. Youth ministry blesses you when you least expect it.... One of our girls admitted at bible study Sunday night that she finally "gets it" and it starting her journey of faith after being involved in our minsitry for several years. To see these kids fall in love with Jesus is amazing and blesses my heart. This is a place I never ever dreamed we would be yet here we are surrounded by teenagers....Life is good and God is so very good. <br />
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October you are living up to your hype! Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-77103200172980104102018-09-16T20:44:00.001-04:002018-09-16T21:33:52.279-04:00Hearts Full Life has been busy and here in the Robinson household but we certainly have been blessed with the addition of six sweet little chicks that we are now raising! Mike and I are clueless chick parents but we have read a lot, fretted over them and they seem to be growing. We hope they will be laying eggs by late winter. We are raising them all natural with organic feed so we are super excited for farm fresh eggs down the road. <br />
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<img alt="" id="id_6c2f_7a67_538b_97ea" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o2bZydswpDg/W5744fZ7ZGI/AAAAAAAAS3U/NY88S4vo-HIv-_Nai_NcdcafF9VTmXomQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" /><br />
Here is one sweet little chick sound asleep in my hands. They are curious, a wee bit smelly, but they are so sweet!!<br />
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Here is one of our more curious chicks-we named her James Harden after the NBA player! She is super nosy. <br />
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We always love having kids over and here is Kyle with two friends during the Hokie football game. Raising teenagers is such an exhausting joy...<br />
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But I absolutely love it when our house is loud and full of kids. I love it because it means kids are safe, kids feel welcome here and my job is to listen and to keep the food coming. Kyle and Mike went on their first college visit this past weekend and it hit me hard. These are the days. It is loud and exhausting to have a houseful but I know I will miss this all one day. (I may not miss the slime making these girls are doing though)<br />
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Another blessing that has happened in the last two weeks is our youth bible study at church. We typically start a new curriculum each fall for our youth, and this semester I am leading Dare Greatly for our teen girls and Mike and our friend, Chris, are leading the guys in a Tim Tebow study. Hope went into Mike's class and made sure all the guys knew who was leading the study for last week. They take turns leading these guys and it has been great. So thankful for these guys investment in our teen guys. <br />
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Preschool is back in session and so far it has been a great start to the year. We have some funny kiddos this year and despite the fact that I am still on my scooter it is going well. Speaking of my scooter, I have a doctor's appointment this week with my orthopedic doctor. I humbly ask for prayers that after being on this scooter for 23 out of the last 29 weeks of my life that this ankle will finally be healed. <br />
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Between preschool, our new little chicks, our youth, and our own kids and their friends life has felt very full lately. My focus this year is on kingdom building. I do not want to get distracted on anything that does not bring glory to God's kingdom. I feel like time is ticking so quickly with Kyle under our roof and our other kiddos growing so quickly that I need to focus on what is important-teaching God's word and pointing all kids to Christ as the ultimate example on how to love and serve others. <br />
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I am so thankful for a full heart!Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-62149984474989807632018-08-20T21:22:00.001-04:002018-08-20T21:42:38.995-04:00I Got Saved One of my all-time favorite praise songs is I Got Saved by Selah. I have been singing it all day remembering our beautiful service of Baptism last night at Hungry Mother State Park. Eight of our youth that participated in our Philly mission trip took a big step in their faith and got baptized. It was beautiful and wonderful and made this youth leader so very happy!! <br />
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There was a river of gladness<br />
That pours from Emmanuel's veins<br />
This sinner was plunged beneath the flood<br />
and got Saved.<br />
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Since then I walk in forgiveness<br />
All of my guilt was erased<br />
The chains of the past<br />
Are broken at last<br />
I got saved<br />
Oh, I got saved<br />
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I'm undone by the mercy of Jesus<br />
I'm undone by the goodness of the Lord<br />
I'm restored and made right<br />
He got a hold of my life<br />
I've got Jesus<br />
How could I want more<br />
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I've received nothing but goodness<br />
I've tested and tasted your grace<br />
I was so lost<br />
Till I fell at the cross<br />
and got saved<br />
Oh, I got saved<br />
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Jesus-he is worth it all. As a youth leader I desperately want these youth to taste and see how FUN and GLORIOUS a life with Jesus is. I want them to see that life with Jesus is not guaranteed to be an easy life but it will be a full and beautiful life. To see Him show up in our darkest times and then also to bless us with mercy, grace, and provision is worth it all.<br />
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I want them to know He will never let us down. My meager words could not portray what I wanted to say which was choosing Jesus is the best decision you will ever make. You have now secured your heavenly home and signed up for a life of joy pursuing God. <br />
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That trip to Philly was just that wonderful. We worked hard, oh so hard, yet we grew as we were stretched in our faith. We heard powerful sermons each night and heard testimonies from our youth hosts (Micah and Dalton) who encouraged us with their different testimonies. It was a hard and exhausting week but God did a mighty work in these youths lives and last night they took the next step in their faith. It was beautiful...simply beautiful. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-91040093422155863472018-08-13T22:24:00.003-04:002018-08-13T22:24:21.915-04:00Beauty from Ashes <br />
I have fallen in love with gardening. I was so excited this spring to plant my new plants in my newly tilled garden. Back in May I was so optimistic my injury was on the mend and I had a summer full of fun, veggies, and quality time with my kids. I love summer and I was so excited!<br />
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So it grieves my heart to see my gorgeous garden look like this. I have named it the hot mess express because it is so full of weeds, grass, bugs, and more bugs. My tomatoes have blight, my green bean leaves are so bug-infested they look like swiss cheese. I am so embarrassed how ugly my garden is. My heart is broken that I did not get to spend many hours lovingly working and weeding my garden. My ankle injury sidelined me and hence my garden is the ultimate hot mess express. </div>
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But guess what..... it does not know it is a hot mess. That little garden is the little engine that could and has no idea how ugly it looks. It has produced sooo many vegetables this summer. From the ugly and blighted leaves ....<br />
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All this beauty has emerged. All this goodness not only has fed us healthy awesomeness, but it provided a great multi-generational day this past weekend with four generations under one roof cooking, eating, and sharing around the table together. Saturday was a beautiful day of love and good food brought to us by the ugliest garden in southwest Virginia. My grandma (who was recently diagnosed with cancer), came to my house from her nursing home and spent the day here prepping and eating this wonderful food. Well, to be clear, I am on a scooter and she is in a wheelchair so my Mom did all the big cooking and Mike manned the grill. <br />
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How like our God to use this ugly garden to teach/remind me that beauty does indeed come from ashes. That is one of our God's specialties....beauty from ashes. Over and over in the bible there are examples of evil that man tried to conjure up but God brought goodness and beauty from it. We on this Earth deal with evil everyday-mean people, spiteful situations, jealousy, laziness, .... sometimes it seems like evil is everywhere and navigating it all is so hard and exhausting. <br />
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Yet God is in the business of bringing beauty from the ashes of our hard times. It is no secret that this has been a rough season for me and this stupid ankle.I will never understand why it has been so hard yet I trust and believe that our God will bring so much beauty from the past few months of despair. I have spent so much time with Him that I know I will look back on this as precious spiritual growth time for me. Life is hard folks, but our God has our back. Everyday.<br />
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<i>..and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3 </i><br />
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So I do not know about you but I am eagerly waiting for that display of His splendor that is talked about in Isaiah 61:3 I am ready to wear my garment of praise and witness 7 youth getting baptized this upcoming weekend!!! I am excited to begin another year of morning youth group time at McDonalds that we call Breakfast Club this week with our youth. I am ready to see how the Lord is going to use this stupid ankle for His glory. <br />
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I am so thankful for the lessons learned from the ugliest garden in Smyth County. Because of God... beauty can and will come from the ashes.Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-22844458865782199772018-08-06T19:04:00.000-04:002018-08-06T19:04:51.077-04:00July 2018 I am stunned that it is the time of year again to drag out those backpacks and head back to school. This has certainly been a different summer than I pictured, yet for lots of reasons it has been one of my favorites. Watching my boy work his first job ever (cutest lifeguard I have ever seen), working my garden on my hands and knees, and lots and lots of time in God's word and Netflix have all been good for my soul. God is up to something with a close group of people I adore and we are trying to pray and follow His lead. I wish I could tell you more, but we have no idea what God is up to....just that it involves service and as families being the hands and feet of Christ. <br />
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God and I have also wrestled a little bit this summer. I have no idea why this ankle injury has been so freakishly awful. I have very little faith in the medical community and just know that there has to be a special place in heaven for Mike Robinson for what that man has done and endured for me. It has been so hard to travel on a scooter and the most I have mustered is some housework via my scooter and some garden time on my hands and knees. On this side of heaven I will never understand why this happened but this is what I know. God loves me. God's plan is perfect for me. God understands my anguish and even can handle some hard questions I threw at him. He is sovereign, perfect and in total control. Those are the truths that have helped me this past month. Without Jesus this would have been a very hard month. <br />
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On a different note this past Saturday was our fourth annual trip to VT for Buzz's Bunch. For real, this is David's favorite day of the year. We all love Coach Buzz and of course my boys love basketball. <br />
<img alt="" height="400" id="id_1123_d9ba_51ae_1ba8" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--IUbtJiFpWk/W2jH5iYkNGI/AAAAAAAASxw/TMTrVINyI_4US3Sh9CvVADv60-J5i3jSgCHMYCw/s400/%255BUNSET%255D" style="height: auto; width: 353px;" title="" tooltip="" width="300" /><br />
Here is David with his favorite basketball coach! Buzz! <br />
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This year David loved Buzz's beautiful daughter as much as the basketball! Ha! We had such a good day with them and Dave announced to Coach Buzz he wanted to date his daughter. Crazy boy-we need to coach him on his gentlemen skills! This day is so special because of the love and enthusiasm from the players, the Williams family, and the staff. <br />
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Caroline also was there and here she is with Hope and another of Buzz's daughters. So much fun!<br />
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After returning from our trip to Philly we traveled to Greensboro for Kyle's basketball live period. Our last tournament of the season was then to Myrtle Beach. I learned a scooter is really hard to use on sand (God bless Mike for getting me out there once) but it such a fun trip. <br />
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Here is Kyle with most of our 16u guys and a few 15's that had to fill in. Kyle was challenged and had to play post most of the weekend which is hard around those big guys. There is such amazing talent at these tournaments and we just wanted him not to get hurt while getting better. <br />
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Kyle loves his teammates and they have such fun together. Between games they had some beach time, ate of course, and just enjoyed their time together. They all go to different schools between east Tennessee and southwest Virginia. They are a great group of guys. We have such fun traveling with these families and making memories. <br />
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Our three growing babes on the beach. Kyle got stung on his neck by a jellyfish on this trip. That was a new one for us. Me being the one that often gets a little dramatic, almost called 911 but wise Mike called a pharmacists and was told a Bendryl and warm compress should suffice. <br />
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Of course Coach Buzz is our favorite college basketball coach ever, but I did happen to run into this famous Duke coach in Greensboro. He was at the same tournament we were at recruiting. He was very gracious:)<br />
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I captured this sweet picture of my Kyle working the projector at church. This is what he does on Sunday mornings.... perfect way for a shy guy to serve the Lord. I am so excited for our youth activities to get back into full swing. I am so thankful God called me (and therefore our family) into youth ministry. We have a service of baptism coming up later in August and I already have a lump in my throat thinking of those teenagers who are taking that big step in their faith. <br />
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So as the new school year begins I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us. For me personally it has been a hard season but I know that God makes beauty from ashes. He is so very faithful. Even to this grumpy, peg-leg, drama queen! <br />
<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-18758357530677533412018-07-10T20:10:00.000-04:002018-07-10T20:10:24.913-04:00Highs and Lows Life is certainly a roller coaster full of highs and lows. Two weeks ago I went to my surgeon for my last follow-up. I thought for sure he would tell me to have a great life and stay off the hiking trails:) Instead he came into my room and broke the news to me that I have another fracture-straight up my tibia. I was shocked and frankly cried so hard I could not get it together. It was pretty obvious it is broken and that more surgery would be required. Blessedly the surgeon agreed that if I would get out my scooter and put no weight on it at all, I could still go on the mission trip I have been planning for 8 months for our group of 57!!<br />
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So with doctor's permission, off our whole family went on a mission trip to Philly with lots of friends and youth from church. We took in a phillies baseball game, saw the Liberty Bell, and ate lunch at the Reading Terminal before checking into our campus dorms for our mission to start. It was a wonderful trip and I am so thankful I could still go. The whole week was amazing-watching our adults and youth get split up into different ministry sites and serve so well around Philadelphia. We had three give their hearts to the Lord for the first time, and several that want to get baptized now. It was magical-we had six families go with lots of other teenagers. Our day was filled with worship, bible study, ministry site work, and some downtime for showers and rest. <br />
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Blessedly I got to serve with Mike, Kyle, David and all these other wonderful people at the homeless shelter named CHOC. The staff at CHOC modeled true ministry to me everyday they were there. They treated the homeless folks with respect and dignity and they are truly saving lives at this shelter. I was so thankful to learn that my stereotype of a homeless person is actually very different than the reality. We were encouraged to sit down and visit with the clients and I learned so much about life and grit from theses brave souls who came to CHOC for help. Our group did some painting of walls for them, minor maintenance, and we were asked to design a mural on a wall! Their goal is for CHOC to feel less sterile and more friendly and welcoming. <br />
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While I was with the boys serving at the homeless shelter, this little love went to West Philly and played with children in the housing projects. One of the chaperones sent me this and it melted my heart. This girl has a heart for children and Jesus.<br />
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We will all remember 7/4/18 because we were in Philly serving the Lord. We had a few hours of group time and we chose to go to see fireworks. It was awesome to have such a large group with so many families participating in this trip. It blows me away each year that parents take off from work to go sweat, get up early, chaperone teenagers, and sleep on crunchy and flat dorm mattresses for a whole week to invest in our youth. Even on a scooter with limited mobility I had an amazing time. It never gets old when teenagers ask you to pray with them and you get a front row seat of what God is doing in their lives.<br />
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Here is the mural our group painted and we added paintings from many of the clients to go on the wall! It was amazing!<br />
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This is Mr. Charles who helps run CHOC. He has literally and figuratively saved so many lives at CHOC in the last decade or so. It is obvious he loves the Lord, loves his clients, and I was so thankful that he took time to teach our youth how to do small jobs. They truly modeled genuine ministry. I think sometimes we feel like "true ministry" has to be this expensive and overdone book or program, but Mr. Charles reminded me that ministry for the Lord involves listening, accepting folks for who they are, and helping them get their feet underneath them while showing friendship and love. I will never forget those clients we met and how willing they were to share their stories and hearts with us. It was a humbling reminder to me to never judge a book by its over. <br />
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We came home from the trip with 6,978 loads of laundry and wonderful memories of serving together as a family. Not even 36 hours after we got home, Mike and I were headed down the interstate to Kingsport for my third surgery on this ankle. The ankle saga of 2018 has taught me so many lessons but here I am one day post-op and it hurts. Sigh. <br />
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One of the reasons I was so devastated to have more surgery is because David was scheduled to have his first ever visit at the survivors clinic at UVA. Mike had to take him solo because I cannot travel this soon after surgery. We are still waiting to hear about his echo and his labs, but everything else looks very good! He is 5'1 and weighs 125 pounds! Ha! Here is David with Nurse Pat who is a legend and one of the best nurses ever. She will be retiring in one month and I am so thankful Dave got to see her one last time. The UVA pediatric oncology team will always be special to us. <br />
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So I am so thankful for the wonderful memories we have already made with David's good checkup so far, our amazing trip to Philly, and lots of family time. I am not thrilled to be back at square one with this stupid ankle, but I know our God can take everything and make it good:) He is so faithful!<br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-36180938722833794002018-06-17T15:19:00.000-04:002018-06-17T15:19:00.225-04:00Welcome Sweet summertime! We are so thankful for summer!!!!!!! We are almost as busy in the summer as we are during the school year but it is mostly fun stuff! We have certainly had some Robinson highlights that I wanted to get documented.<br />
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This kid and his tennis team had a phenomenal season and made it to state! We never dreamed Kyle would play #1 seed this year, but we watched them play some amazing tennis and earn a trip to state. All six guys were so much fun to watch! Kyle's team not only won District, but Kyle won District for singles and he and Alex, his doubles partner, won district for doubles. <br />
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Then after a match in the Regional tournament in Wise County that began at 5 and did not end until after midnight, they stunned Eastside and made it to the Regional Finals which also punched their ticket to the state tournament. They lost to John Battle in Regional finals and here is Kyle with the runner-up trophy for Regionals. Don't let his smile fool you.... he was not happy to be runner-up! Ha!<br />
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Then we headed to Virginia Tech to play Galax in the first round of the state tournament. Galax was tough and we were tied after singles. The whole match literally came down to Duncan and Trey in #3 doubles in the third set. We won!!<br />
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It was an exciting day to cheer on our boys at Virginia Tech-we had lots of fans including GG and Pops. <br />
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Any parent of a teenager will tell you it is rare to capture a picture of your child much less with this big of a smile!! Sarah Martin captured this at Virginia Tech when Kyle realized we may win the match!! <br />
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The tennis boys had a weekend before the second round of state where they would once again face John Battle. Half of the team came to church for youth Sunday and I was blessed enough to get to speak during the service that morning. I preached on Mark 10. I was so nervous!!<br />
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Sadly the next day the boys lost in a close heartbreaker to John Battle who went on to the state finals. We were so close and Kyle was crushed. It once again came down to the #3 doubles duo and they played their hearts out, but we fell a little short. It brought to close a Cinderella season none of us could have imagined. <br />
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As soon as the tennis match was over we headed up the interstate for summer league basketball. His school team has played in lots of team camps and a summer league this month. Sarah Martin captured this picture of Kyle!<br />
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Summer also means the Nurture program at FUMC! Once again our youth step us and show up each week to nurture the little ones that God sends to us. We read books, play, eat, and have lots of educational fun. Here is Kyle with one of my favorite kiddos ever! If you heard my sermon on Mark 10 this the sweet preschooler I referenced who "ain't no loser!"<br />
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Another June highlight thus far was David being involved in Amber and Adam's wedding. This is the second wedding where one of David's helpers has gotten married and he was asked to be apart of the service. He did amazing and the wedding was beautiful!!!!!!!! Dave loves Amber and Adam but rest assured he still feels like he is the main squeeze in Amber's life:)<br />
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here is a family picture from the wedding just in case you need a reminder that Southwest Virginia is God's country. <br />
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Well, after parenting for 16 years, we had a first around here this week-we hosted a sleepover. Our best girl ever turned 9, and she had a sleepover. It was precious and I loved every moment of having those girls over. I cannot believe she is 9..... It was full of lots of giggles, lots of food, and a marathon of When Calls the Heart. <br />
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I have also (with enormous help from Hope, bless her heart) have a full and big garden again this summer and just today I got my first little harvest from it. It has been a challenge to put it in and keep it up with all the rain and my stupid ankle, but I am so thankful to garden again. I have had many dark days where I have wondered if life will ever get back to normal after my fracture, but with Jesus, my Physical therapists, and my village of family and friends I am getting better each day! Happy summer!!<br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-54609884966109911332018-04-01T14:57:00.001-04:002018-04-01T15:45:03.729-04:00Easter 2018Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love everything about it. Christmas kind of overwhelms me with its high expectations and hype, but Easter is awesome. Easter is chill and low key and it is all about Jesus. It is my kind of holiday. <br />
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This year Easter has looked a little bit different in this house due to my unfortunate life sabbatical called broken ankle. No shopping trips for me for matching outfits for my kids, no easter egg dying, no decorations, nothing. I did not even make it to church today for the youth easter vigil fire or even one church service. <br />
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Yet, this Easter has felt special. It has felt somewhat holy to me because Jesus and I have had lots and lots and lots of time together in the past four weeks. We have completed Beth Moore's Entrusted bible study together learning about Paul and Timothy and their ministry throughout Second Timothy. I am also halfway through Lisa Harper's study of Mark.<br />
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Not only have Jesus and I have spent lots of time together in His word, he has listened (hopefully patiently) to my many questions about my ankle. "Why now Lord?" "Why..... there was so much momentum going on within our youth-WHY????" "Two surgeries, Lord? TWO?? " "Four surgeons?" "Wow God, you go big I guess...." <br />
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Blessedly I believe God can handle my whiny questions and has used this sabbatical to teach me lots of life lessons. I am still processing them but this morning my pain woke me up a little after 5 a.m. when I should have been going to church with Kyle and the youth to attend the vigil fire. I could not go back to sleep so I had my own easter vigil "fire" with my yankee candle, my bible, and Jesus. It was beautiful and holy time with me and Jesus. <br />
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I do not understand everything that happens on this side of heaven but I do trust who holds me in the palm of His hands. Jesus. He is everything to me. As my one of my favorite Easter songs reminds me:<br />
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<em>And as He Stands in Victory</em></div>
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<em>Sin's curse has lost its grip on me</em></div>
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<em>For I am His and He is mine</em></div>
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<em>Bought with the precious blood of Christ </em></div>
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One of the only traditions we held onto this year was our Easter morning resurrection rolls we make for breakfast. They are yummy and a great reminder of Jesus' resurrection from the tomb. I missed making them with my youth and preschoolers, but there is always next year. <br />
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once the church crowd dispersed, we visited church as a family and placed a daffodil from our yard into the beautiful cross for Memaw. Her last year she was alive she asked me and Hope to put her a "real pretty flower" onto the cross for her. Memaw loved this tradition as much as we do and no broken ankle was going to keep us from placing her flower into the cross. I also love that my kids dressed themselves for Easter today-Kyle wore this to the Easter vigil fire and sunrise service and David and Hope dressed themselves. I love that God is teaching me what is truly important and matching outfits did not make the list this year. <br />
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This sight always makes me smile and maybe shed a few happy tears. It reminds me of my Memaw whom I miss so much, it makes me grateful for raising our children in church, for the love within these walls, and makes me thankful for a Savior who saved us from our sins. <br />
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Easter..... you are my kind of holiday. Yummy resurrection rolls, great chocolate, low expectations, and a focus on a living Savior makes for a great holiday. Even a broken ankle could not keep us from enjoying this wonderful day. <br />
Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-65414774264556260392018-03-13T09:08:00.001-04:002018-03-13T11:52:09.916-04:00Road blocks I am devoted planner type of girl. I have a planner that I keep up with our busy schedule and we live by this planner. As a youth leader I am already planning our summer activities. But due to an unexpected broken ankle, I have not looked at my planner in a week as everything is cancelled for now and life has stopped. I have hit a big road block! <br />
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Last weekend on an amazing youth retreat with our youth, I tripped while hiking in Townsend Tennessee. We were five steps into the hike and I went down. I had to have surgery the same day and it took 11 screws to fix it. I am now home and am trying so hard to learn how to be still. <br />
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I did sneak out of town for 24 hours with some dear jesus girls to see Beth Moore. I was DETERMINED to make this trip since we have been planning it for months. I have even had a counter on my phone counting down the days until we go. I loaded up with my scooter and wheelchair and off we went. <br />
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The opening worship set I bawled. I could not have stopped the tears if I had to. The last time I went to a Beth Moore worship event I was pregnant with David. I had NO IDEA what was to come in our family's life with his Down Syndrome diagnosis, move to Marion, Mike's crazy job and schedule during the superintendent years, David's cancer, and broken bones, and just life. Through it all, God has been so incredibly faithful. He has provided peace to us when our hearts were breaking, he has provided for our physical needs, and given us joy throughout the hard times. I know that I am out there with my faith but how can I not share how God has provided for us and revealed his glory over and over again?! <br />
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While we were sitting in the hospital waiting for my surgery, the other chaperones sent me this picture from our retreat. My heart was broken in a million pieces. Our spring retreat has become one of my favorite events we do because it is teaching kids how to have relaxing and quiet time with God. The hike was the only thing we had planned outside of the retreat center. <br />
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I did a Friday night devotional around the campfire to kick off our weekend theme of Be Different based on Romans 12:2. I had made worksheets for the kids to study scripture and had planned a Saturday night worship plus tons of games and fun. Because of our awesome chaperones some of it still got to happen but I missed it all. But after Mike took me to ER and waited on me during surgery I insisted that he go back to the retreat center and proceed with his devotion for the kids and lead the prayer stations. Despite being so sad over missing it, my heart was so full knowing that Mike was back there pointing kids to Christ. I am forever grateful that he has embraced my youth job and has rolled up his sleeves to partner with me in this ministry. <br />
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This is the ferocious ledge that I fell off on. One of these days it will be funny but not yet. It is also fitting that if you change the El on the end of Laurel to an A it would say Laura Falls. Yep, that is exactly what happened. <br />
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I am not going to lie, this injury has been so darn hard. I am not used to sitting and being still. I am not used to asking for help. I am not used to this much down time. But if I believe Jeremiah 29:11 that God has plans for us and they are good to help us prosper and not to harm us, then I will rest. I am using this time to complete Beth Moore's Entrusted bible study based on Paul and 2 Timothy. <br />
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So I am using my road block to rest and to study God's word. Road blocks are part of life and I am trying so hard to be still and know He is God. <br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-33887453494291677852018-02-17T15:01:00.001-05:002018-02-17T15:01:12.971-05:00Hoops, Heels and hearts <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This season has certainly been full of hearts, heels (one night only) and hoops in our family lately. Basketball season keeps us incredibly busy but we love every moment of it. We are a crazy basketball family for sure! </div>
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My one night of high heels came for the hospital gala last weekend. Being a preschool teacher, youth leader and attending a contemporary church means this gal does not wear heels often. We did have a great night supporting our local hospital raising money for youth programs in our area. Mike is on the hospital board now and loves it. Leadership and vision are two spiritual gifts that God certainly blessed Mike Robinson with. I posted about this earlier on facebook, but I recently hit the 30 pound weight loss mark this past week! It has been a slow and steady better me project but I am excited to feel better and have more energy. It was also fun to buy more jeans at Resurrection so I would not have to keep pulling mine up! <br />
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All three of our kiddos played basketball this past season. Kyle was on the varsity team and had a great season. He was the only under classmen pulled up this year and not only were the guys great to him but he learned and got better. <br />
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This kid is blessed with great coaches in his life. God has certainly put many great coaches and guys in his life to help him get better. We are sad the high school season is over, but we look forward to trying out for another season of spring and summer travel. Kyle is already hitting the weight room and gym to get ready for next season. </div>
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I have not blogged since Resurrection and I am still not ready to put into words what an AMAZING weekend we had at #rez18 with 90 folks from our church. 90 people. It was incredible. Our entire family got to experience this mountaintop experience in Pigeon Forge together. We are all works in progress and this was one of our best Resurrections ever. The preacher, band, and our chaperones were amazing. So thankful. I never ever would have chosen youth ministry but my word what a blessing these teenagers are to me every single day. I have battled flu, asthma and a secondary ear infection this past week and some of our youth girls sent me this. Youth ministry is one of those blessings from God I never would have asked for. He always knows best. <br />
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I know that many talk down about the next generation, but Mike and I would disagree. God is raising up a mighty generation of church leaders and worship leaders. We get to see it working so closely with the youth. Since Resurrection, we have had a Sunday night bible study. I chose Beth Moore's The Quest for our teen girls to do. The first night I had 17 young ladies show up with $12 to buy their book and to dig into God's word. I am blessed by their diligence and hard work. If you have done a Beth Moore bible study you will know that her studies are amazing but come with about 30-45 minutes of homework (for five days) between sessions. Despite these girls having busy lives with cheer, sports and school they are doing it. <br />
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I have spent my flu week laying in bed resting and planning our youth spring retreat coming up in March. Mike will do the Saturday night devotion based on Romans 12:2 and our theme for the weekend will be Be Different. I cannot wait. There is nothing like spending a weekend with God, my family, and our youth. We are also already working hard on our summer mission trip. <br />
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The amazing Sarah captured many pics of my boys on the court this season. This picture makes me laugh so hard because here is manager Dave checking out their competition during warm-ups. He loved every moment of being the manager for the middle school team. It was so great for him and we are so thankful for his coaches for welcoming him into their basketball family. <br />
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My gorgeous, not so quiet, and jesus-loving roommates from Resurrection. Not sure why this picture is crooked but my word these girls make me laugh. <br />
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Our little baller girl has loved every moment of her AAU season. It has been hard to find true third grade tournaments and we have not gotten to play as much as we had hoped. She loves watching and playing basketball just like her brothers and I love to watch her facial expressions as she plays. This girl may not be the fastest on the court but she already has a high basketball IQ and wants to win. <br />
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Thanks for checking in our family! <br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-29162722702572607642017-12-31T19:21:00.000-05:002017-12-31T19:21:52.341-05:00Thanks 2017The year 2017 has been good to us. I always love to spend the afternoon of New Years Eve looking back over the year thanking God for how good He has been to us and remembering all the fun times we have had as a family. <br />
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Dave was blessed with the opportunity to be apart of the NCAA ring ceremony at Virginia Tech back in October. We were so touched that Coach Buzz asked Dave to be apart of the ceremony and that Dave was the one to give Coach Buzz his ring!! What a special night.<br />
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Another special night this fall was attending the ceremony where Pops received the VHSL merit award for 50 years of clock keeping for RHS football. <br />
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In 2017 this dude was labeled a cancer survivor when his five year scan came back clean!!!!!!!!!!!!! To God be the glory for all that He has done in Dave's life. We love our UVA team and count them as one of our biggest blessings. <br />
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Our summer mission trip to Charleston with our youth group was a huge blessing to all of us!! All five Robinsons went on this adventure that strengthened our faith, ,made us appreciate the lower humidity of living in the mountains, and blessed us all. We made some great memories.<br />
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Basketball has been a huge part of our life in 2017. Between Kyle's school ball, Kyle's travel team, Hope's AAU team, Dave's AAU team, and Dave being manager for his school team, our family has spent many many many hours in a gym. We love every moment of it! This picture was taken of Kyle with his Xplosion team after they won the Myrtle Beach tournament in July. <br />
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We loaded up our youth on the buses from Charleston and sent them back to Virginia as we headed to Myrtle Beach for basketball and for vacation. Pops and GG met us there and lots of sweet memories were made at the beach this past summer. We realized Pops is a whiz at the grocery store self-checkout! Ha!<br />
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One of the biggest blessings this past summer was our first ever garden. If you follow me on any social media you may have seen a picture or two of our garden-we were SO excited and proud of our first ever organic garden. We were in the homegrown program through Sprouting Hope our local community garden. We were given tools, materials, knowledge and support to get us through our first garden. We also went a little crazy and learned how to can and we have enough salsa, pizza sauce, and spaghetti sauce to feed a third world country. It is so satisfying to feed your family organic veggies that you grew (and photographed incessantly!!) Ha! <br />
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Do you see the ongoing basketball theme of 2017? Kyle went to Virginia Tech basketball camp because he adores Coach Buzz and he also went to Point Guard College to learn leadership and basketball IQ. We missed him but we knew he was doing what he loves!<br />
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Many hikes were accomplished in 2017!! This picture is a sunset hike to Molly's Knob we did with our youth. In 2017 Mike and I both worked hard to get in shape and I even lost about 24 pounds this past fall. I have some great workout buddies who even encouraged me to do a 5K back at Thanksgiving and Mike plays tennis and racquetball often to stay in shape. <br />
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More basketball..... Kyle's school coach kept the players very busy over the summer with multiple team camps and a summer league. It was a great experience for Kyle to play varsity this past summer to get ready for this season. Good thing all five of us love being in a gym because we are there a lot!<br />
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With Kyle's travel team, we traveled a lot to tournaments. Here are Kyle and Hope downtown Charlotte. We also went to Richmond, Greensboro, Knoxville, Boone, Myrtle Beach, and Chicago with this team. This team was a God thing for Kyle as it literally fell in his lap. We had a blast traveling and seeing the sights as a family. <br />
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Kyle had a great freshmen season playing #2 for the school tennis team. We had fun cheering him on quietly:)<br />
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Have we mentioned how much we loved our garden?? We joked that Kyle doesn't like manual labor or veggies so the garden was a stretch for him but he did help!<br />
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More basketball.....Kyle has been blessed with many good quality coaches and men in his life to teach him about life and basketball. We are so fortunate for all of them. Speaking of coaches, Mike is the coach of Hope's AAU team and that is hilarious to watch! Mike is loving coaching AAU again but he has had to learn in 2017 that sometimes fixing hair and wiping tears is part of the coach's job on the sideline with his cute little girl team.<br />
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It is only fitting that a picture of me doing basketball laundry in some random hotel sink would sum up our 2017. <br />
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2017 was a wonderful year for us because of our good health and blessings. We got to attend Resurrection, Spring youth retreat weekend and a mission trip as a family to strengthen our faith. We look ahead to 2018 knowing that God will be there and has a plan for all of us! May we stay faithful to him in 2018 and enjoy the blessings of every day! Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-41343424748946870032017-12-30T11:05:00.002-05:002017-12-30T11:05:47.867-05:00christian heritage First off, let me apologize for being a blog slacker. Sweet friend at the gym at 5:30 please keep encouraging me to write. I appreciate your encouragement as you blow past me on the track:) Maybe in 2026 I can keep up with you.<br />
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I feel the need to blog after something I heard on Christmas Eve in Radford. My cousin was reading the Christmas story from the bible as we always do and he led us in a family prayer. My extended family has been doing this long before my 42 years on this planet. I might not agree with who they vote for, but Jesus is the backbone of this family. (No family gathering is complete with a little political trash talking which makes family gatherings even more fun:)<br />
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So in this prayer my cousin thanked God for our collective Christian heritage and it stopped me dead in my tracks. As a Mom and a youth leader this golden nugget smacked me in the head. He was right, I may not always agree with how my Dad votes or his driving, and my mother may have even referenced my large bones on Christmas Eve but through both sides of my extended family I was blessed with a christian heritage. <br />
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As a Mom and youth leader who has spent the last year of my life praying, teaching, leading, and trying everything I know to point my own kids to Christ as I try to do the same with our youth, this phrase of christian heritage really challenged and blessed me. I have lamednted, whined, cried, and been extremely dramatic with one of my dear friends in 2017 as we have tried to parent our teenage boys. (Sam and Kyle we know we have good boys and we are thankful but the devil is slick and sneaky and yall can be a wee bit surly).<br />
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So all the whining and praying I have done over parenting this precious, know-it-all, and surly teenager in my life has been for nothing. Just like me, my kids are being blessed with a christian heritage and I have given them the BEST tool I can for their happiness and peace-Jesus. He is simply enough. I shared with Kyle last night on our movie date how God has shown up in the darkest times of us because he needs to know the power and mercy of God. <br />
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As parents we make sure our kids have the right school supplies, the right shoes, the right athletic training, the proper piano lessons, and the list goes on and on and on and hits our wallets so very hard. My goal in 2018 is going to be to focus more intensely on the christian heritage I am providing for my own kids under my roof and for the youth kids that walk into FUMC doors each week. We need to let these kids know that Jesus is the backbone of our church family and our families. He is all we need. <br />
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So weary parents who are worried we aren't doing enough or doing it right...... take a deep breath. If you are woried you are a good parent you probably are a great one. The best thing we can do for our kids is to provide a heritage for them that involes lots and lots and lots of Jesus. That also includes firmly embracing our church families and making the events of the church priority. That also includes loving our neighbor, serving the least and lost, and making sure our kids see us putting Christ on the top of our totem poles.<br />
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Thank you cousin Abie for your golden nugget on Christmas Eve. I am thankful for our Christian heritage and feel challenged to continue this for the blesssings under my roof. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-8317485434494391982017-10-29T20:54:00.001-04:002017-10-29T21:31:34.410-04:00 His Glory! It has been a fun and busy week here for our family. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is almost November! <br />
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Tonight was our annual trunk or treat event at church. We LOVE this event so much because we truly invite the whole town to come and worship, eat hot dogs, and get lots of candy! <br />
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Yes that it snow on our coats and in our hair! It snowed tonight for our trunk or treat. CRAZY!!!! I love these girls and I love seeing youth show up to church to serve others. It blesses my heart. I never ever envisioned myself as a youth leader but here I am loving it. <br />
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This is my grandmother who got moved to a nursing home on Friday after some foot surgery. She will be there for several weeks. She is something. Most of the time she is sharp as a tack and knows everything and everybody. Then there are times she has hallucinations and bless her heart they are very real to her. My parents are doing an exceptional job of caretaking for her even if she is not always the sweetest patient! HA! They continue to show me the example of honoring your parents even when it is not always easy. Today Hope and I had a great visit with her. She loves her Jesus and thankfully is very happy at her new facility as her foot heals. I told her as a left today to show the nurses her princess side and not her big bad wolf side because she certainly has both:)<br />
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Here is our sweet Dorothy with her piano teacher who was dressed as Audrey Hepburn! Last night was Hope's fall piano recital and she played Somewhere over the Rainbow dressed as Dorothy. I held my breath her entire song and despite a few wrong notes she kept her poise and did great! <br />
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The concentration.... :) I love that Hope loves piano and that our home is full of music. the boys do not always appreciate her practicing but we love it! I pray she uses this love of music for the glory of the Lord one day.<br />
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While Mike and I were enjoying a night of music at the recital, my brother, my Dad, my nephews, and my boys were out in the rain watching the Hokies. They are die hards and stayed most of the game!! Tech won and my boys made memories with their Pops. They were drown rats despite the rain gear because it was basically a monsoon!<br />
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Mike was on the road a ton last week doing what he loves doing-teaching, meeting with other educators and visiting kids in his program. Here is Mike last week with the Governor of Virginia at an award ceremony for an award United Way received for their work on workforce development in our schools through the Ignite program.<br />
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He called me when the ceremony was over and said for a moment sitting in the Governor's mansion receiving this award with this organization, he felt grateful for how far God has brought him. He never dreamed as a kid from a small town in Arkansas he would have a PhD and be where he is today. Just a reminder that God can always dream bigger for us than we can and that HARD WORK pays off. Mike Robinson is not perfect but that guy has always worked hard at whatever he does. He is a good role model for our kids. <br />
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This past week was Kyle's first scrimmage for basketball. It is almost that time of year which makes all five of us soooo happy! We joke all the time that when I dated Mike I refused to watch basketball with him because the guys shoes squeaking on the court drove me bonkers and now here I am a referee-yelling, basketball-loving Momma and coaches wife! I still have a lot to learn but that does not keep me from yelling and cheering! :)<br />
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This past week at our after school program at church we carved pumpkins with almost 100 kids and youth. It was loud, crazy and wonderful all rolled into one. We have the most amazing Wednesday afterschool program going on at church. God has called some great folks to teach and lead and we love that our church is rocking every Wednesday after school. My youth taught the elementary kids the pumpkin carving prayer and then helped them carve a pumpkin. Here is Hope with two of her favorite youth ladies!! <br />
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It has been a busy but pretty great week in our household. The days are full and parenting is NEVER easy but we are thankful for seeing God working in our church and in our family. May everything we do be for His glory!<br />
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-17040291087953042142017-10-22T21:05:00.000-04:002017-10-22T21:05:15.379-04:00Our Night at VT What an amazing Hokie weekend we have had! It is hard to come back to reality after such a wonderful and touching weekend. A little over a week ago we received an email asking if David could participate in a special ceremony for the VT men's basketball team. We love Coach Buzz and all the players so of course we agreed! <br />
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Friday after school the boys ran off of the bus to get into their shirts and bowties for the big Tip Off Banquet. That was the first event of the evening. The boys and I went to this fancy and wonderful affair. We even got picked up from the parking lot in a golf cart:)<br />
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David of course wanted a picture with every player-here he is with Justin Robinson. <br />
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He talked Devin Wilson into sneaking him into the locker room for a quick tour and he also talked him into face-timing Seth Allen in Hungary! These guys are all so kind and wonderful with David. <br />
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David thinks he can shoot just like Justin Bibbs. :) The players all looked so professional!<br />
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David loves Ahmed Hill but when he asked David if he liked his hat David said "oh no!" <br />
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My pictures are once again out of order but not only did we have a magical night with the Men's basketball team but we stayed and went to the football game with Pops, Clayton and Uncle chad. We love Cousin Clayton and these two are so sweet together.<br />
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My boys ready for the kickoff!!<br />
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Friday night after the tip-off banquet at 6:00 we headed to the 9:00 Hokie Hoops Madness Event! Mike, Pops, GG and Hope met us there for that event and here are our three babes out past their bedtime. <br />
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David was chosen to be one of ring bearers for the special presentation of the basketball teams NCAA rings. We had no idea who he would present his ring to but lining up Coach Frank Beamer was a few spots ahead of him also as a ring bearer. Coach Beamer is a class act and we all have so much respect for him.<br />
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This is the moment my heart was so happy!! David got to present Coach Buzz his NCAA ring for making it to the Big Dance last year. Each player and coach had a ring bearer and it was an amazing ceremony. Dave was the Buzz's Bunch representative! This picture is so precious! <br />
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We all love Coach Buzz and so admire the way he coaches on and off the court. We have been faithful Buzz's Bunch participants since he came to VT and we respect what he has done while at VT. We were in awe that David was chosen to present him his ring and to be apart of something so awesome Friday night. It is a special Hokie memory none of us will forget anytime soon. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-6992082479781475092017-10-08T21:06:00.002-04:002017-10-08T21:06:46.810-04:00Sweet September September has certainly treated us well. It has been freakishly hot here in Virginia which has meant my garden has kept producing summer crops.<br />
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One of the absolute highlights of the month was traveling to Radford on a Friday night to watch my Dad, Pops, receive the Virginia High School League merit award for keeping the clock at football games for FIFTY years. Fifty years. We all attended the game to watch him get his award and be recognized during halftime. Pops certainly has provided the lesson to our kids to serve in your community and he has certainly served well. We were all so proud of him for this award! <br />
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Another sweet September moment was watching these two cuties head to Marion's homecoming. Sweet Emme attends Abingdon and she came and went to the dance with Kyle. She is a sweet girl who loves Jesus and the Hokies! They looked awesome going to their dance together coordinated in royal blue. <br />
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My pictures are out of order but here are 4/5 of the grandkids with Pops at the game where he received his award. He had no idea he was getting the award and that we were all coming to surprise him. We are so proud of ourselves that we kept it secret for a few weeks leading up to the ceremony. <br />
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Another picture of the homecoming duo taken by Hope. She took some great pictures of them! They went to eat before the dance, then attended a youth group after party we held at the ballroom. <br />
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Because of Emme we have attended some volleyball games this season. To be so little this girl can serve the ball! Kyle and I are still a little clueless on volleyball rules! Ha! <br />
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Kyle has finished golf season and is now training and getting ready for basketball. He has worked hard in the off season to get ready for the season. He has been blessed with some great coaches and mentors in his life to help him. <br />
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This past weekend was the Robinson boys annual fall football trip. This year they traveled to Birmingham to watch Louisiana Tech play UAB. This is now two years in a row where the bulldogs have lost on a last second play when the boys have traveled to watch them play. Bless their hearts. Despite the outcome of the game they did make memories and had fun together. <br />
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The last four weeks I have led a bible study for our youth girls at church based on 1 Thessalonians. It has blessed my heart to watch these girls dig into the word and complete their weekly homework assignments. We have laughed, learned, and had fun studying Paul's letter to the church in Thessalonia. This past week we had to memorize this verse about our the need for our love to increase and overflow for others. I know teenagers these days have a bad rep for always being on their phone and being self-absorbed but these girls who faithfully show up each week to study and to discuss their homework bless me and encourage me. Youth ministry is not glamorous or easy but I love sitting around a room with open bibles and open hearts to pursue God with some awesome Jesus girls. </div>
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<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-73607654290088614182017-09-01T09:42:00.001-04:002017-09-01T09:42:11.593-04:00Homegrown Program<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past summer was our first ever attempt at a garden. I have wanted to garden for so many years but lacked the knowledge to even know where to begin. I was then blessed with an opportunity to participate in the Homegrown program through Sprouting Hope, our local community garden. Gardening has changed my life and I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn how to grow healthy and organic food for my family and neighbors. </div>
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I knew I would love to harvest the gorgeous produce and see the fruits of our hard work, but I had no idea the journey would be such a blessing. Gardening has not only helped me fill our basement with canned spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa for the upcoming winter, but it has helped me connect with my neighbors. Many of our neighbors were interested in our garden and came over to encourage us, share some wisdom with us, and check the progress of our vegetables. I never dreamed how a garden could connect people. I have spent more time with my neighbors during gardening season this summer than I have in the last decade. <br />
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Our children loved sharing our bounty and we would often load up a basket of goodies and deliver to our neighbors. I love that gardens provide the opportunity to teach our children the value of hard work and that there is joy in loving our neighbor through sharing our harvest.<br />
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Gardening gave our family a way to connect and work together towards a common goal.<br />
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Gardening has also taught us patience as we have waited all summer long for our delicious tomatoes to ripen which is opposite of what our "fast food" society teaches us. <br />
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We have created some magical memories as we have all marveled over every new vegetable we have harvested from our garden. What a lesson to teach our children that with God all this produce comes from a little tiny seed we planted in faith in late Spring!!<br />
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As a Mom, gardening has made me appreciate the satisfaction of providing healthy and organic food for our growing family. We have always wanted to eat healthier but shopping organically in our local grocery store is expensive and would blow our grocery budget for a family of five. Now due to sprouting Hope I have learned how to grow the same vegetables here in our own yard. It is very rewarding to know that you are providing the best food possible for your family. We are already discussing how to expand our garden next year!! <br />
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Dinner time is now a place to show off our hard work as we attempt to incorporate our vegetables into our meals. We rarely eat out now, choosing instead to enjoy the fruits of our labor at our own dinner table. Using church friends and canning books, I have learned how to can using the water bath method and now have a basement full of salsa, spaghetti sauce, and pizza sauce for healthy dinners this winter. <br />
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Sprouting Hope you have blessed our family with a new way of life. We have learned how to grow, harvest, cook, and preserve our bounty! We have spent the summer marveling at how God used a little garden to make us healthier, help us connect with our neighbors, serve others through sharing our bounty, and teaching us how to garden. <br />
<br />Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-7107106188275523452017-08-27T21:23:00.001-04:002017-08-27T21:23:45.779-04:00Big Milestone!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This weekend has been full. It started Friday with David's six month checkup at UVA. </div>
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Here is David with our beloved Dr. Belyea. We were one of his first patients when David was in treatment and we adore him. After a day of tests, labs, and oncology visit with Dr. B we got the news that David is now five years cancer-free!! I actually heard the word cured come out of Dr. B's mouth when he called me. This was the moment we have worked so hard for all these years. The five year milestone is huge and we feel it. We give God the glory for healing David and for changing us as a family. We are all different people than we were on November 17, 2011 when this nightmare began. You cannot witness God's glory, protection, provision, and mercy and not be changed. <br />
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We will now transition from traditional oncology appointments to the survivor clinic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The great news is that we are in the survivor clinic, the bad news is we transition from Dr. B to a different oncologist. I am sure he or she is lovely, but we are pretty attached to Dr. B. <br />
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His kidney numbers were a little high but Dr. B. said he is not worried so therefore I am not worrying. He is going to run them by nephrology and get their opinion on them but if you have seen David in real life lately, you know that he is in the midst of puberty. He is now 5'1 and weighs 115 pounds. He is muscular and is actually growing a little mustache. So the kidney numbers could be a little high to compensate for his puberty growth. <br />
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Friday afternoon while we waited on the good results and for Dave and Mike to get home Hope had a cute set of twins over to play. These girls are hilarious and when together they sound like the chipmunks! When Mike and Dave got home we ate pizza and loaded up to the high school football game. Our team was playing an in-county rival and the weather was beautiful! <br />
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Saturday we worked around the house and then Kyle headed to a friend's house to watch the big fight. Another Mom who hosted the fight watch party (God bless her.... ) sent me this picture. Kyle was rooting for Mayweather and this was at the end of the fight. I love Kyle's big eyes! <br />
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After church today we loaded up for a family fun day. These sleepy heads (all but Sam) took a power nap before hiking four miles!<br />
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Another big milestone we celebrated this weekend was Mike's birthday!!! We spent his day going to church and hiking with friends. We are so thankful for all that he does for us and that he makes us all "do the right thing" every single day. He is a good guy and it has been such a joy to see him get to enjoy life again now that he is in a new job. He is obsessed with playing tennis, he is now coaching Hope's basketball team, and he never misses anything his kids do. <br />
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We visited the Cascades today and despite the chilly water, we all enjoyed the hike to see this beautiful waterfall!<br />
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Kyle and Sam modeling under the falls. Have I mentioned how chilly the water was??? Brrrr....<br />
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These brave kiddos had to get below the falls even if it was chilly and the rocks were slick. <br />
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Hiking with Dave is a challenge. He wears out easily and has difficulty pacing himself. <br />
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But with the help of Chris Austin David loved every single minute of the falls. He was so proud of himself that he made it across the slippery rocks and he did it! He got over there and then begged Chris to carry himself (remember he is 115 pounds) back to shore. Chris and David will sleep well tonight.Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-13532497968089761672017-08-09T21:46:00.000-04:002017-08-09T21:46:33.259-04:00Summer 2017 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Summer 2017 it has been real. The backpacks are all packed and ready for the first day of school tomorrow and the kids are all tucked in their beds. Whether we are ready for not, school begins tomorrow in our neck of the woods. I always enjoy taking a few minutes during the last night of summer to recap what we got into as a family. It makes me sad to realize how few summers we have left where all of our chickens are in the nest. </div>
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We began our summer Memorial weekend heading to Charlotte to play some basketball with Team Xplosion. We were all so excited because my preschool year was over and both the boys and Hope had enjoyed our basketball camps at the high school. Charlotte treated us well -we stayed downtown and the kids loved the pool on the roof. <br />
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Team Xplosion did well in Charlotte and it was a great time!<br />
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We returned from Charlotte for Kyle to play summer league as a varsity player for his high school team. They played four games a week during the months of June! It was fun to travel to Ft. Chiswell to watch them play. When it was all said and done Kyle played 28 baskeball games this summer. He was in heaven!<br />
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June was also our weekly Nurture program at church. Only for our sweet Nurture kids would we be at church before 8 a.m. for a day of serving! <br />
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This little lady turned 8 over the summer. Slow down time please:)<br />
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The Summer is always a great time for family time at Claytor Lake! We love our time there with Pops and GG.<br />
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Hope also loved every minute of Camp in the Community at church! String games on her fingers, slime and learning about Jesus were the highlights of the week. <br />
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My pictures are out of order, but we also spent six days in Myrtle Beach with Team Xplosion playing in Big Shots. It was our last tourney of the season and these boys from southwest Va/East Tn came home winners!!! Such fun! <br />
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Another joy of the entire summer was our garden. We are so excited and proud to be organic gardeners growing, canning, and sharing our bounty. We are already planning our garden for next year and we still have a fall garden to look forward to!<br />
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Another highlight of the summer was Kyle attending PGC basketball camp with his friend Ian. They roomed together at Eastern Mennonite University and they learned a lot about leadership and character. It was a great learning and growing opportunity for them both.<br />
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Ahhh, I cannot even look at this picture without smiling. We took a group of 47 to Charleston SC to attend Mfuge mission trip at Charleston Southern University. It was an amazing and hot week serving. <br />
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We never planned to go as a family but that is what happened! God blessed us with a week together serving, learning and growing. We had a blast and will have memories tucked in our hearts forever. It was a wonderful bonding time for us as a family. Hope and I served at a day care, Kyle served at an apartment complex in the city, and Mike and David bounced around doing lots of different social ministries. <br />
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Our family at the beach! Myrtle Beach was such fun. We shared a condo with GG and Pops and it was relaxing, fun and just what we needed after a hectic mission trip week. The weather was a little cloudy and we even had some rain but it did not bother us one bit.<br />
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We have enjoyed the bounty of our garden using lots of different pinterest recipes to enjoy our bumper crop. <br />
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One of the highlights of David's summer was attending Buzz's Bunch camp. Earlier in the summer Kyle attended a basketball camp for several days and this past weekend it was David's turn. We are big Coach Buzz fans in this house so both camps were a treat for our boys. <br />
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One of the blessings of the summer was that I learned to can!! I only water bath can for now but I have loved taking our bumper crops of tomatoes and making spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and salsa. Canning is hot and messy work but it is so rewarding to know that in the cold of winter we will still be enjoying our summer garden. I am so thankful we were chosen to be in the Sprouting Hope homegrown program. Everytime I harvested a vegetable I would marvel that it actually grew! I was a complete garden rookie and to see shelves of canned jars from our garden makes me smile. Canning is not for the lazy but it is so gratifying! <br />
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We are excited for what this upcoming school year holds. Kyle will be a sophomore, David will be in 7th grade and our favorite girl will be a third grader. Every year when school starts back I feel a little panicky when I am faced with how fast the years are flying by. I pray our kids learn a lot, make wise choices, show kindness to all, and remember to stick with friends who share our faith and values. We are blessed with an amazing school system and great teachers for this year so we know that they will be in great hands. Happy first day of school-goodbye Summer 2017:)Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-7301517446752058132017-08-07T21:01:00.000-04:002017-08-07T21:01:02.775-04:00Buzz's Bunch 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This past Saturday we went to one of our favorite days all year-Buzz's Bunch at Virginia Tech! I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this day is for our children that have special needs. </div>
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This is our third year attending (maybe fourth) and each year it feels like coming home to a family reunion. Dave was pretty happy to give Coach Buzz a good morning hug when we arrived. We respect this guy so much as a coach and as a human being. For someone who does not have a special needs child he just gets it. <br />
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We met Khadim Sy when he was a high schooler player in nearby Oak Hill and now he is a star at VT (even if Coach Buzz gives him a hard time about his rebounding). We are not sure how this is possible but this guy has grown over the summer. He informed me he is now about 6'11. His heart is as tall as he is and he is such a great guy. <br />
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David for some reason decided to talk some smack to Justin Robinson and he insisted to play him one-on-one:) We think the score was tied:) These players truly get down on these kids level and enjoy them for who they are. It is really an amazing thing to witness. They are not doing it for show because there are only a handful of cameras around and none of them are media. <br />
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These guys are so sweet and kind to the campers-David got overwhelmed when it was time to go with his color group and a kind former player was there to hold his hand and get him where he needed to be.<br />
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Photo op with Ahmed Hill's jersey and the Hokie bird. <br />
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David may have Down Syndrome but this guy loves his basketball and he is a competitor. He loved showing his skills off:)<br />
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Dude has skill and he also has watched enough NBA to try to be fancy:) He also talks enough smack for a whole team!<br />
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Kyle had been gone all week to PGC basketball camp and Hope missed him so much. Here she is literally hanging on to him for dear life! <br />
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Here are all the players laying hands on kids as Buzz prays for them. I have to giggle looking at this picture because Caroline was also there that day and she has a huge crush on Chris Clark. He is sitting right behind her and check our her expression! She was one happy girl :)<br />
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Kyle and Caorline will be sophomores this year! Where has the time gone?<br />
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Dave always finds the pretty ladies.....<br />
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This picture pretty much sums up the day for David. Because of Buzz's Bunch David feels like these guys and the coaches are his family and best friends. As he went down the autograph line he told each player how many points they were going to score each game. He ended the line by telling Coach Buzz that he wanted the players and coaches to come to our house for a house party to eat pizza, play Xbox, and listen to Fetty Wap. <br />
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Coach Buzz and his players show their true character each August before the season ever begins. They humble themselves to spend a Saturday with special needs children-many of whom do not get to participate in sports in a traditional way. They bring their love and energy and meet our kids where they are. As a parent my heart is full and thankful that Coach Buzz teaches his players that basketball can be used to intereact with and bless others. He is one of our heroes! Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-56312022705696900202017-08-02T22:00:00.002-04:002017-08-02T22:00:50.077-04:00July Photo Dump! I am in total denial that we are close to the finish line of Summer 2017. It has been a great but way busy-so busy that I am way behind on blogging. <br />
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After we left the mission trip with our youth they headed home to the mountains of Virginia, our family headed two hours to the beach to catch up with Kyle at his basketball tournament. His Xplosion team was playing in a Big Shots tournament in Myrtle Beach and we missed the first half but we made it to the second half of the tourney. <br />
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Our family's attempt at a picture on the beach. The boys do not love my photo ops all the time but the kids are growing and changing so fast that I insist:)<br />
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We enjoyed the beach-it has been years since I had been to Myrtle and Mike had never been! <br />
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I love vacations because it gives us time as a family to just be together and relax. I have learned that time away together trumps new "stuff" anyday and we love traveling together. <br />
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Not sure why my boys look so angry, but they enjoyed playing in the ocean, the pool, the lazy river, and the putt putt course at our resort. <br />
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We also spent some time in a gym cheering on Kyle's Xplosion team playing in the 15u divison of Big Shots. Amazingly these boys walked away winners! It was drama-filled after some boys from DC were not happy our boys beat them and they had to be escorted out by the police twice. Crazy! <br />
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Kyle's team does not look too intimidating but these boys can play some ball! <br />
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Kyle has grown so much as a player being on Team Xplosion and he loves every single minute of it.<br />
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Between basketball games, we loved watching this guy have a ball in the water. He showed no fear which made us nervous. <br />
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We were thankful GG and Pops came to the beach with us. We learned that Pops not only can find shark's teeth, but he is a master on the self checkout at the grocery store! We ate well and rested a lot. It was a great trip. <br />
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Between the mission trip and the beach vacation, we were gone for 10 days. I was so excited to come home and enjoy the fruits of our garden. We had great neighbors who watered and took care of our garden and we came home to a feast! This little 20x20 garden space has brought us such joy this summer and helped us really connect with our neighbors. I never dreamed we would be so invested in this little garden. Here is sweet Hope harvesting in her nightgown before getting ready for church this past Sunday. She is my constant companion and whatever I am doing she jumps in whole-heartedly to be with me. These are the days because very soon it will not be cool to wear her Ariel nightgown to the garden with Mom before 8:30a.m. on a Sunday morning.<br />
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This summer Kyle has played 29 basketball games between Xplosion and summer league with his school team. He has attended Virginia Tech's basketball camp earlier in the summer and this week he is at Eastern Mennonite at point guard college (PGC) to work on his basketball IQ and to learn how to be a leader on and off the court. This kid loves the game of basketbal and has big goals and dreams. We told him as long as he puts God and school first he can dream and pray big! He has certainly put a lot of time and effort into his basketball game this summer. </div>
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His friend Ian also attended camp with him and they were not thrilled with my picture ideas but they did pose (without smiles of course). We have all missed Pookie aroud here but we know he is being challenged and is learning lots about the game he loves. <br />
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We have about a week left to enjoy the lazy days of summer-we have certainly enjoyed our time together before reality sets in! Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4573940012113626501.post-32313018427537422772017-07-23T22:53:00.003-04:002017-07-23T22:53:37.432-04:00Our Week in Charleston <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have had on my "to do" for days now to blog about our mission trip week in Charleston. I have amazing pictures to share and we certainly had a wonderful time, but after such a spiritual experience it is so hard to put into words how God showed up for all 47 of us. After listening to our youth share their experience in Charleston in worship this morning, I knew I was finally read to put it into words. </div>
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Youth ministry is not easy. At all. But I feel like this is exactly where God has called me to be for this season of my life. I love these kids and I feel so privileged to get a front row seat to what God is doing in their lives.<br />
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This was David's first ever mission trip. Here he is with Miss Mary -our church host. She prayed with me several times over the phone before we arrived, prayed and met with our group each night after worship and she was awesome!! She is also a talented worship leader and key board player:) David was able to go becaue Mike was able to take a week's vacation and go as well! Last year Mike could not go because he was transitioning to his new job and I remember his coworkers told me that last year he was annoyed he was not with us. Well this year Mike was on the trip!!!!! <br />
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This picture makes my heart leap for joy. We never planned for Hope to go on this trip but God had a different plan and it was amazing to watch her little 8 year old heart worship and serve God. We had two complete families with us and it was awesome. These three girls under the age of 12 handled the late nights and very early mornings like seasoned pros. Their bibles were open, their hearts were huge and they served God like the big kids. She and I served at a daycamp in Charleston and we had such fun with the toddlers in the morning and the elementary kids in the afternoon. <br />
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This picture also touches my Momma heart. Hope adores Kyle and looks up to him so much. She loves basketball like Kyle. She loves Lebron James because of Kyle and my prayer is that her brother will take advantage of her devotion and teach her about Jesus and serving others. Kyle served at an apartment complex. They offered kids in the housing projects a safe place to come and play games and connect with them in order to teach them about God. Kyle's site was outside in the heat all day long. </div>
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Each night we had worship with an amazing band and then a pastor would come preach. It blessed my heart to see youth with their bibles open following along. Hope forgot her bible one night and she asked Mike to find the scripture on his phone so she could follow along. <br />
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Joshua 24:15 says "as for me and my family we will serve the Lord" and I hope our children know that we are not perfect parents (way far from it) but we love them and we love our Lord. It was such a blessing to serve together. We as a family will forever have precious Charleston memories tucked in our hearts.<br />
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It was hot in Charleston and one day we were given a free afternoon to do something together as a group.We thought we would go to the beach with the kids during our 3.5 hours of free time to relax . Well.... the kids had served so well and were so hot and tired they chose to stay on campus and nap, eat at a nearby mall, or swim. I was such a proud youth leader that they realized this trip was about serving and not about playing on the beach. I joked that even the pool was hot in Charleston! We are mountain people and we are not used to the humidity and heat! <br />
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Hope corraling toddlers...<br />
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I felt so blessed that me and my girl got to spend the week together serving toddlers in Charleston. I looked over one day and watched Hope put her little girl down for a nap and I almost starting weeping. She talked so sweetly to her as she covered her up with her blanket and patted her back until she was asleep. <br />
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This trip was very emotional for this youth leader. One night we had prayer stations placed around this beautiful reflecting pond outside of the chapel. The youth had to write on the prayer wall who had helped them grow in their faith and also who they were praying for. I allowed the youth to pray first and then I stepped up with Hope to write my names down of who had encouraged my faith along the way. I then saw that several of our youth had written my name down. I am teary now writing this. I came undone. Like snot flying kind of undone. <br />
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To think that some of our youth put my name down as someone who has pointed them to Christ overwhelmed me. No matter how much money we will ever make, what size house we have, what cars we drive or what my bank statement says is nothing compared to seeing my name down on a prayer wall in sticky Charleston SC written by teeangers with colorful sharpies. It made me realize that God has me right where he wants me. Youth ministry is not glamourous, profitable or even easy but it is worth every single minute when you can show teens that in the middle of this crazy life there is a savior who is desperate to spend time with them.<br />
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This ole gal is not perfect and i have certainly had my fair share of screwups and made some bad decisions, but when I was 19 years old Jesus got a hold of me. I got saved on a Sunday night at Calvary Baptist Church in Radford. Since then life has thrown me some curve balls but I know who I belong to. I desperately want our youth to see that I am not perfect but my Jesus is. I am not always faithful to Him but he is. This song I got Saved is my new favorite song. It so perfectly sums up my night with Jesus back in 1995 ( I think). I love the line "I've got Jesus how could I want more." I want these youth to know that true success in life has nothing at all to do with world possessions but has to do with living a life that honors God and serves Him well.<br />
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Now you understand why it took me so long to blog about this trip. This gal went there to show teens how to serve but got humbled when they made me remember that my job not to plan amazing outings. or feed them a lot, or all the other things that distract me in youth ministry. My single and solitary job is to point them to God and let Him do the rest. He is after all desperate to spend time with us all. Sweet life with boyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15975490914544793855noreply@blogger.com0