Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
New Beginnings: another summer has ended and a new school year has begun
Well, when I left you last Faith was about to undergo surgery on her elbow, and THANK GOD everthing went well. It was such a crazy week and CRAZY rest of the summer that I never was able to take the time to give an update of what was happening.
Her surgery went well, and her dr. was amazing. Even though the actual surgery time was delayed about 3 hours due to a back up in the OR, we were able to chat awhile with her surgeon, hear his personal testimony and be reassured that no matter what happened, God had it all under control.
We didn't actually leave the hospital until after 8:00 that night, got a few hours rest, I sent her home with a friend around 6:15 the next morning, and me & one of our youth who stayed with me all night, headed back out to Charleston @ 6:19 to meet up with our youth group for the last day of camp. Luckily we arrived about 10:15 right as the teams were leaving to go off campus to ministry sites and we got to participate in a full day of ministry to a group of children in a housing project.
After returning home from camp, our family got to take a vacation (first one we've had with just our family in over 3 years) and went camping for 2 days in St. Augustine, FL @ the state park. We had a LITTLE excitement on the first day there when Faith and Timothy disappeared after breakfast to go to the playground and we had to get the park rangers assistance in finding them. Instead of going to the playground RIGHT in front of our campsite, they had wondered down to the playground @ the beach, which was probably about 1/4 mile from our site. After being scared to death and Artie putting the FEAR of GOD in them, we were able to enjoy a nice RELAXING day @ the beach, and even got to swim with a family of porpoises for about an hour after lunch!! It was soooooo cool. After 2 days at the beach we went to visit Trey and Artie's family for a few days before bringing Trey home for orientation @ NC State.
Trey got "orientated" all except for his band audition, which he missed but was able to reschedule with the band director at a later date, and then he flew back to FL for his last week of work for the summer. He then drove ALL the way home on his first SOLO trip on the interstate. He went to State the following Monday for his audition, was accepted into the marching band and left for NC State band camp just NINE days later. Classes started for him on August 21 and he is having the TIME OF HIS LIFE. We are so glad he is getting to experience so many new things, but miss him terribly @ home. We went to NC State on August 31 to watch him march in his first EVER college football game!! Other than being 150 bajillion degrees that day and sweating off our tailgate lunch of ribs, pork chops, macaroni, beans and potatoes, we had a BLAST!! After the game, we enjoyed a nice celebratory dinner @ Kanki, Japanese restaurant. Trey, our friend's daughter, Leeann (aka "Sissy") and myself got complimentary dessert of rainbow sherbert to celebrate Trey's first college half time show and mine and Sissy's upcoming birthdays this week. It was a BLAST!!
As for us here at home, life just continues as normal. We finished up the summer with just a little bit more "excitement" as has been the norm for us. Poor Casey, who wasn't feeling good already, broke her toe and lost her mama cat (the one she rescued as a tiny kitten from the FFA building @ school 2 years ago) while we were with Trey @ orientation. That left us with 5 four week old kittens to look after until we could find them all new homes. They are now 8 weeks old and have found homes for 3 of them. As summer wound to a close, I prepared to go back to work and the kids prepared for school. School started back for me on August 15 and the kids first day back was August 26.
Casey is a junior and has a FULL schedule this fall with HONORS and AP classes, chamber choir, chorus, etc. She brought home her schedule of events for chorus and chamber choir and she will be BUSY, BUSY, BUSY from now until Christmas singing her little heart out. She has been doing cross country training this summer with her sister, but since she broke her toe @ the end of July, has not really gotten back into running, YET, but is still attending practices and helping out with the team for now. Hopefully once she is fully healed she can slowly get back into the swing of things.
Leeann is a sophomore, running cross country again, is taking ROTC (instead of animal science) and food science. She has decided instead of going into the medical field that she wants to be a chef, so we will see how that goes. She and Casey have also begun taking piano lessons with Faith. Leeann has expressed interest in wanting to play the keyboard with the band next year, so we will have to wait and see how that pans out.
Jonathan is in 8th grade, top dog class @ the middle school this year. He is STILL in the band, playing French horn - 1st chair, is in the jazz band, and is playing in the marching band
at the high school as part of the pit /sideline percussion playing the marimba (bells/xylophone). He is LOVING every minute of it, as am I, being a veteran band member. They have SEVERAL competitions scheduled for the fall, one of which is the Land of the Sky marching band festival in Enka, NC, where my high school band used to come every year from TN to compete!!! VERY EXCITING!!
Faith is a 4th grader this year, and has a wonderful new teacher, Miss Turner, whose sister played softball with one of our youth that just graduated this past year. I know that she will have a GREAT year!!! She is still playing the piano and is interested in doing Girls on the Run again this year, if they have it.
Last, but not least, may baby boy started KINDERGARTEN last week. I don't have ANY more babies. They are ALL in school and doing well. Timothy loves his teachers!!! He has the same teacher that Faith had in kindergarten and a wonderful assistant who I have known and worked with for 8 years at Springmore. She and I are actually "sharing" a bus route this year. I do mornings and she does afternoon.
As for me and Artie, we are just trying to keep up with our Gang and ALL their many activities. We are still working with the children and youth at our church, and I am still working in my same position as a kindergarten assistant at our local elementary school. We are also helping out with the marching band - meals, driving bus, working with pit crew, etc.- and will be the new WyldLife leaders for our local middle school this year, beginning in about 2 weeks. We are very excited about what God has in store for us in the days and weeks ahead. But are still in need of prayers, not only for us and our family, but also for our church.
Our pastor has decided to retire and our church will begin the process of searching for and hiring a new pastor in the next few weeks. For now, Artie is the ONLY full time staff person at our church. We lost our outreach/discipleship pastor this summer to cancer after a yearlong fight, our music director is only part time and our pastor was part time/semi retired since before we came to the church 4 1/2 years ago. He decided to stay on as pastor when Artie was hired 4 years ago to be part of what God had in store for the youth/children's ministry, but due to some recent health issues and other things, he has decided it is time to step down and take a break, for himself and his family. He informally told the church last Sunday and read his letter of resignation this weekend.
BUT in the midst of all this our church will still go on, we are still growing, God is still moving and WE WILL SURVIVE. We will continue moving forward in anticipation of what God has in store for us in this next phase of life.
Thank you God that you will never leave us NOR forsake us in our time of need, and now we need Him more than ever. I pray that God finds all of you well and that whatever stage of life you are in or what you may be going through, that God will lead and guide you in all of life's journeys and decisions you face. We covet your prayers and Pray God's richest blessings on you!!!
Until we meet again!!!!
In Christ's love,
The Hubbard Gang
Her surgery went well, and her dr. was amazing. Even though the actual surgery time was delayed about 3 hours due to a back up in the OR, we were able to chat awhile with her surgeon, hear his personal testimony and be reassured that no matter what happened, God had it all under control.
We didn't actually leave the hospital until after 8:00 that night, got a few hours rest, I sent her home with a friend around 6:15 the next morning, and me & one of our youth who stayed with me all night, headed back out to Charleston @ 6:19 to meet up with our youth group for the last day of camp. Luckily we arrived about 10:15 right as the teams were leaving to go off campus to ministry sites and we got to participate in a full day of ministry to a group of children in a housing project.
After returning home from camp, our family got to take a vacation (first one we've had with just our family in over 3 years) and went camping for 2 days in St. Augustine, FL @ the state park. We had a LITTLE excitement on the first day there when Faith and Timothy disappeared after breakfast to go to the playground and we had to get the park rangers assistance in finding them. Instead of going to the playground RIGHT in front of our campsite, they had wondered down to the playground @ the beach, which was probably about 1/4 mile from our site. After being scared to death and Artie putting the FEAR of GOD in them, we were able to enjoy a nice RELAXING day @ the beach, and even got to swim with a family of porpoises for about an hour after lunch!! It was soooooo cool. After 2 days at the beach we went to visit Trey and Artie's family for a few days before bringing Trey home for orientation @ NC State.
Trey got "orientated" all except for his band audition, which he missed but was able to reschedule with the band director at a later date, and then he flew back to FL for his last week of work for the summer. He then drove ALL the way home on his first SOLO trip on the interstate. He went to State the following Monday for his audition, was accepted into the marching band and left for NC State band camp just NINE days later. Classes started for him on August 21 and he is having the TIME OF HIS LIFE. We are so glad he is getting to experience so many new things, but miss him terribly @ home. We went to NC State on August 31 to watch him march in his first EVER college football game!! Other than being 150 bajillion degrees that day and sweating off our tailgate lunch of ribs, pork chops, macaroni, beans and potatoes, we had a BLAST!! After the game, we enjoyed a nice celebratory dinner @ Kanki, Japanese restaurant. Trey, our friend's daughter, Leeann (aka "Sissy") and myself got complimentary dessert of rainbow sherbert to celebrate Trey's first college half time show and mine and Sissy's upcoming birthdays this week. It was a BLAST!!
As for us here at home, life just continues as normal. We finished up the summer with just a little bit more "excitement" as has been the norm for us. Poor Casey, who wasn't feeling good already, broke her toe and lost her mama cat (the one she rescued as a tiny kitten from the FFA building @ school 2 years ago) while we were with Trey @ orientation. That left us with 5 four week old kittens to look after until we could find them all new homes. They are now 8 weeks old and have found homes for 3 of them. As summer wound to a close, I prepared to go back to work and the kids prepared for school. School started back for me on August 15 and the kids first day back was August 26.
Casey is a junior and has a FULL schedule this fall with HONORS and AP classes, chamber choir, chorus, etc. She brought home her schedule of events for chorus and chamber choir and she will be BUSY, BUSY, BUSY from now until Christmas singing her little heart out. She has been doing cross country training this summer with her sister, but since she broke her toe @ the end of July, has not really gotten back into running, YET, but is still attending practices and helping out with the team for now. Hopefully once she is fully healed she can slowly get back into the swing of things.
Leeann is a sophomore, running cross country again, is taking ROTC (instead of animal science) and food science. She has decided instead of going into the medical field that she wants to be a chef, so we will see how that goes. She and Casey have also begun taking piano lessons with Faith. Leeann has expressed interest in wanting to play the keyboard with the band next year, so we will have to wait and see how that pans out.
Jonathan is in 8th grade, top dog class @ the middle school this year. He is STILL in the band, playing French horn - 1st chair, is in the jazz band, and is playing in the marching band
at the high school as part of the pit /sideline percussion playing the marimba (bells/xylophone). He is LOVING every minute of it, as am I, being a veteran band member. They have SEVERAL competitions scheduled for the fall, one of which is the Land of the Sky marching band festival in Enka, NC, where my high school band used to come every year from TN to compete!!! VERY EXCITING!!
Faith is a 4th grader this year, and has a wonderful new teacher, Miss Turner, whose sister played softball with one of our youth that just graduated this past year. I know that she will have a GREAT year!!! She is still playing the piano and is interested in doing Girls on the Run again this year, if they have it.
Last, but not least, may baby boy started KINDERGARTEN last week. I don't have ANY more babies. They are ALL in school and doing well. Timothy loves his teachers!!! He has the same teacher that Faith had in kindergarten and a wonderful assistant who I have known and worked with for 8 years at Springmore. She and I are actually "sharing" a bus route this year. I do mornings and she does afternoon.
As for me and Artie, we are just trying to keep up with our Gang and ALL their many activities. We are still working with the children and youth at our church, and I am still working in my same position as a kindergarten assistant at our local elementary school. We are also helping out with the marching band - meals, driving bus, working with pit crew, etc.- and will be the new WyldLife leaders for our local middle school this year, beginning in about 2 weeks. We are very excited about what God has in store for us in the days and weeks ahead. But are still in need of prayers, not only for us and our family, but also for our church.
Our pastor has decided to retire and our church will begin the process of searching for and hiring a new pastor in the next few weeks. For now, Artie is the ONLY full time staff person at our church. We lost our outreach/discipleship pastor this summer to cancer after a yearlong fight, our music director is only part time and our pastor was part time/semi retired since before we came to the church 4 1/2 years ago. He decided to stay on as pastor when Artie was hired 4 years ago to be part of what God had in store for the youth/children's ministry, but due to some recent health issues and other things, he has decided it is time to step down and take a break, for himself and his family. He informally told the church last Sunday and read his letter of resignation this weekend.
BUT in the midst of all this our church will still go on, we are still growing, God is still moving and WE WILL SURVIVE. We will continue moving forward in anticipation of what God has in store for us in this next phase of life.
Thank you God that you will never leave us NOR forsake us in our time of need, and now we need Him more than ever. I pray that God finds all of you well and that whatever stage of life you are in or what you may be going through, that God will lead and guide you in all of life's journeys and decisions you face. We covet your prayers and Pray God's richest blessings on you!!!
Until we meet again!!!!
In Christ's love,
The Hubbard Gang
Monday, July 15, 2013
Hubbard's Haven: To God Be the GLORY
Hubbard's Haven: To God Be the GLORY: This is the continuation of my last post. I left off with asking for prayers for Faith's surgery, and I thank ALL of our prayer warrior...
To God Be the GLORY
This is the continuation of my last post. I left off with asking for prayers for Faith's surgery, and I thank ALL of our prayer warriors who joined in the effort. We were scheduled to be @ the hospital at 10 am and surgery was scheduled for 1:20 in hopes of going earlier possibly by 12:00. We as life would have it, that didn't happen!!! We arrived around 9:37 for pre-op and were taken to a room by 10 am. Shortly after we arrived the FLOOD of friends and family began pouring into our little room and I am so GRATEFUL for that flood. You never know just how much you are loved and who your true friends/family are until you experience the love and support like we did that day. First it was a friend/former deacon from church, then one of our youth who is just like one of our own children, then it was 2 other couples who have children the same age as several of our children, then my parents arrived, next Faith's teacher (and my co-worker @ school for 8 years who has always reminded us of my younger sister & teacher, Amy), then Faith's Sunday School teacher (another of my co-workers of 8 years from school), then another family from church whose daughter is Faith's age and whose son is Jonathan's age (and who was also one of our youth in Charleston). They kept me SANE and served as the peanut gallery keeping my baby entertained while waiting for the BIG event.
All was going well and as scheduled at this point, she got her IV just before 12, and the dr. came to "sign" her arm just before 1:00 and to explain again the surgical procedure, and to let us know that as soon as the OR was free, then we were set to go. We were excited and anxious to get things over with, because at this point she had not eaten anything since 7:00 pm, and hadn't had any liquids since about 11:30 pm the night before, so it had been just over 12 hours. We thought we were "HOME FREE", and then the waiting game began!!!! 1:20 came and went, then we waited; 2:00 came and went, and we waited some more. About 2:40, the time we were originally told would be her possible surgery time, I checked with the nurse's desk to see what was the hold up and they told us the OR had just called up to tell them we were waiting on a room. About 3:15 the dr. came back in to explain that another dr had gotten backed up with surgery and as soon as the OR was available we could get started. He then proceeded to stay and "chat" with us for a few minutes and in the conversation ended up sharing his testimony with us. He is a West Point graduate and thought God's plan for him was to lead men into battle, but God changed his heart and mind and after years of running and wrestling with God, he finally surrendered to God's call on his life to become an ortho dr/surgeon, and how God had provided the means, the will and the way for him to pursue God's perfect plan for him. He also went on to say that what he does in the OR is nothing short of God's plan and that he cannot take ANY of the credit for what goes on, it all goes to GOD and he is just being used as God's instrument to carry out God's will for his life!!!! WOW WHAT A POWERFUL TESTIMONY, and just what we needed to hear!!!
After he left, then Faith got very upset; she was hungry, tired, scared, ready to BLOW THIS JOINT & missing her daddy!!! (As was I on all of the above). At this point, everyone cleared the room except myself, my friend Mandy (who is also a youth parent and 1/2 the couple who brought me home from Charleston & an EMT/911 operator), and our token youth/red-headed step child, Keeley. She was the next best thing to having one of Faith's siblings at the hospital with us, so she just stayed to help keep Faith calm. SOOO to keep Faith occupied we started calling everyone I could think of who she was "missing" and "needing" to keep her calm - we called daddy, mamaw, papaw, Trey, Aunt Becky, then mamaw and papaw called us back. It did the trick and about 10 minutes after 4:00, they came to take her back for sugery. HALLELUJAH!!!!! A little teary eyed and scared, they wheeled her out then we went to the lobby to WAIT once again.
As I sat down to "relax" I opened up my Journey magazine to read my daily devotion, and God Spoke to me once again. The title for the day's devotion was "In sickness and in health" and the key verse was Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all you who are weary and Heavy burdened and I WILL GIVE YOU REST"!!!!!!! How much more reassurance is that to know that God is taking care of me and my baby girl. The additional/deeper walk verses came out of Isaiah 58:10 - 11, "...if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. AND the LORD will guide you CONTINUALLY and satisfy your desire in the scorched places and MAKE YOUR BONES STRONG (which he was doing for my baby, through HIS loyal servant and instrument, our dr.) and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters DO NOT FAIL!!!" Wow, how much more could that have spoken to me and to our situation to give us the reassurance that everyone would be ok and that everything that we were going through was all in HIS hands, the master physician and ultimate healer, and we had nothing to fear because he would provide for ALL our needs, physical, mental, and Spiritual. Well I was able to take a deep breath, relax & get a bite to eat knowing that God had this all under control and Faith was in HIS hands.
We got notice around 4:30 that surgery had started and things were going well, then around 5:35, Dr. James came to see us in the lobby to tell us that she had done GREAT, surgery went as expected and he gave us copies of her x-rays to show us the "little" screw he put in her elbow. Well let me tell you "it weren't no little screw" as us East Tn hillbillies would say!!! But praise God it was over and we could take her home soon, after a more than 10 hour wait for surgery to begin and another 1 1/2 - 2 hours wait/recovery time, we finally got to "BLOW THIS JOINT" and head home. BUT before we left, she ate 3 PB crackers, a WHOLE milky way bar, sipped some mountain dew and was able to almost fill a hat, so to speak, in the bathroom. All the while, our 3 amigos (Keeley, and Robbie & Mandy, my taxi drivers/chauffeurs from Charleston) never left our side. My mom and dad also stayed with us until we got her home, then they headed back across the mountains to TN.
Faith's request for supper was Chic Fil A, which we thought she could handle because of what she ate in the hospital, but as soon as she took the first bite of chicken, she got sick, most likely as a result of the anesthesia wearing off. So after we got her settled and gave her something for nausea, we fed her one chicken nugget every 10-15 minutes until she had downed the whole 6-8 piece box. She then asked for her fries, which we told her would probably NOT be a good idea until her food settled, PLUS we were afraid they would be too greasy for her to handle. Shortly after that she dozed off into La-La land and was out for the night. Robbie and Mandy stayed with us until a little after 11:00, they were my rock that kept me sane, then they went home to get some much needed rest.
Around 4:00 am I woke up in a panic, realizing I had fallen asleep before Faith got her next dose of pain meds and not knowing whether or not the "Happy Juice" would make her sick, I pumped her full of Motrin and she drifted off to sleep again. Around 6:19, Keeley and I loaded Faith into our friend's (Larry Wyatt's) Tahoe, so she could spend the next 2 days resting at home with her friend, and Keeley and I jumped in the burb and headed for Charleston. We were doing fine and making good time, until I missed the 85-26 interchange to Columbia and we headed south down 85 into Greenville/Spartanburg and had to back track to I - 26. I guess I was so excited to be going back to camp and taking Keeley with me, PLUS I was trying to make sure we had permission forms/medical release forms for Keeley, that I just wasn't paying attention. Keeley was acting co-pilot, until she fell asleep, and with some fancy driving, and little bit of extra "GOD - SPEED" we made it back to Charleston @ 10:19 (exactly 4 hours after we left Shelby) just as the ministry teams were leaving to go off campus for the day. We found Artie, got a couple hugs from the leaders/kids, then followed Artie's team to their site where we got to play games and love on some kids ALL DAY LONG!!
I got the best of BOTH worlds this week, got to be there for my daughter, AND got to experience camp yet again, just in a different capacity. Worship was GREAT, as was church devotion time. Got to pray with one of our youth over God's calling on her life to do more to spread the gospel, although she didn't know how or what, and got to hear the praises and testimonies of ALL the decisions that were made for Christ. I may have told you that when all the obstacles kept getting thrown in our paths that Satan used to try and keep us from even LEAVING Shelby to go to camp, that I told God that I knew that he must have something BIG in store for us and IT HAD BETTER BE GOOD, because Satan was fighting too hard to prevent it from happening. WELL GOD SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT, as always, we had 7 salvations, at least that many or more rededications & several calls to ministry, 2 of which were my Casey and Jonathan. NONE of this was any of our doing, it was God's and most of the decisions that were made came about as a result of our kids praying for and with each other and not with an adult!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
Well we left Charleston on Friday by Noon and got home around 4:30, Artie got to preach Sunday morning, ALL of our youth who made decisions came forward at the end of service and we baptized 8 youth on the spot!!!. Then Sunday night we had our camp service night where the children and youth got to share about their experiences and what God was doing in their lives. It was AWESOME and IT WAS GOD!!! We knew that if we persevered and weathered the storm that God would provide and HE did. This was the largest group of youth we had ever taken on a trip before, this was the most decisions that have ever been made and we had the LEAST amount of trouble, drama, etc. out of our group.
If you don't believe in God or the power of prayer, then just come take a walk in our shoes and see the fire in our kids' hearts and lives. They are like energizer bunnies on steroids right now and are already asking if we can continue to do ministry and mission projects within our own community. The song by Stephen Curtis Chapman comes to mind "Don't let the fire die", and our kids and feeding the flames and keeping the home fires burning. We already have our chaperones lined up for
CONNECT (our winter retreat in Sevierville, TN) and M-Fuge next summer @ North Greenville University in Greenville, SC; AND we are already entering a state of prayer for next year, with the expectations that God will continue to bless us even more. Sit back, buckle up and hold on, this ride's getting ready to start, and I want to be first in line to see what God is going to do. Please join us in praising God for the plentiful harvest and that we will continue to grow in HIS Grace AND in praying for our youth as they continue the work that God has begun in them.
Thanks for being there for us and may God truly bless ALL of you!!!!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Praise you in this storm
Well, as life would happen, the storm has hit once again. At our annual 4th of July "BASH" last Thursday, Emma Faith was doing cartwheels in the yard (a feat she is actually quite good at) and broke her elbow, but we didn't know until around lunch time the next day it was actually broken, because she was up moving it, playing, and dancing "Just Dance 4" on the X Box. However, when we were out running errands the following day, and Timothy grabbed her arm causing her entire elbow joint to INSTANTLY swell about 2x larger than normal. ER determined she had a "chip fracture" and referred us to a local orthopedic clinic. The dilemma in all this is that she was seen on Friday afternoon, and the clinics were already closed so we couldn't schedule an appointment until Monday, the day we were scheduled to leave for Charleston with our youth for M-Fuge and we were meeting @ 8:00 am to leave. Which meant I would have to get up and be at the clinic FIRST thing to schedule an appt, sign paper work, leave insurance card and sign over permission for our friends to bring her to the dr since I was the only one who could drive a bus to haul teens to Charleston.
After having to jump through some hoops and GENERAL political red tape, I got her an appt, and we headed to Charleston. Her appt was at 3:30, and we asked the dr. and our friends to call if she needed more that just a cast. We arrived in Charleston about 3:30 and were checking in and getting room assignments around 4:00 when our friend called to inform us that Faith's "chip fracture" was not merely that, but she had broken off part of the growth plate attached to the ligament in her elbow and needed to have surgery. OUr dilemma was that we were 4 hours away and we had to be @ the dr office in person to sign paperwork giving permission to proceed with surgery and no way to get home, because we needed our vehicles at camp to provide transportation to ministry/mission sights for about 40 people, and if I left, then there would be no on else from our group who could drive our 24 passenger bus, essentially leaving an entire mission team "grounded" for the entire week.
SO we had to figure out how I was going to get home so that surgery could happen AND find someone to drive our bus. Luckily 2 of our youth parents, who we have come to know QUITE well over the past year, didn't hesitate to drive to Charleston to pick me up and get me back to Shelby for Pre op appt and to be here for surgery, AND when Artie told the camp staff what was going on and announced that our bus was grounded for the week unless we could find another driver , an adult leader with a CDL from another church volunteered as a driver for the week!!!!!! ISN' T God Amazing. We just knew with all the bumps in the road and ROAD blocks that Satan threw at us in getting to Charleston that GOD had something REALLY big in store for us and we just had to sit back and watch it happen!!!.
Well I arrived back home around 3:00 am, took a little cat nap, went to see my babies, got Faith to her appt to sign papers and schedule her surgery, met my parents (who also didn't hesitate to drive 4 hours from TN just to be here for me and Faith today, since Artie is still in Charleston), and sat back to enjoy some food and fellowship time with friends and family (you know us Baptists can't fellowship without food and vice versa, we love us some FOOD and FELLOWSHIP). After our Walton's style family dinner around the kitchen table, Artie called and told us that one of our teens had just prayed to receive Christ and the she prayed in front of our ENTIRE group, and that another of our teens, who is actually a visitor with our group, was also on the verge of making a decision. BY the time they went to bed, we had 2 new followers of Christ within our own group!!! YEAH GOD!!!!
So here we are today rejoicing in their salvation, yet still a little anxious about what lies ahead for us today with Faith's surgery. Luckily our dr. is a Christian and is known for praying with his patients before surgery. We know that the bible tells us to be "anxious for nothing, but in EVERYTHIN with prayer and supplication make our requests known to God" (Philippians 4:6), so I am clinging to that verse today knowing that God's got it ALL in his control and leaning on the fact that HE will watch over us and keep us in His loving arms, even in the storm. So we are praising God today for all his wonderful and mighty works, and rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus, knowing that NO matter what he tries to throw our way to trip us up, cause us to lose focus or be anxious about, even he, the devil himself knows that God is still God and that God is still on HIS throne and the devil himself AND his demons BELIEVE in God & TREMBLE (James 2:9) at what God can do.
So I will praise God in this storm and say "Jesus Bring the Rain". If you have a chance between 12:00 and 1:30 today, please say a little prayer for my baby girl, the dr., and anyone else involved with the surgery, and that she will have little pain and heal quickly AND pray for her mama to get through what lies ahead. The Dr will use a small screw to reattach the broken piece of bone to the growth plate, and in about 8-12 months will remove the screw. She will not have a cast, but he will re-splint her arm and send her home. If all goes well today, and she does not experience any set backs then I will return to Charleston tomorrow to finish out M-Fuge with our teenagers, and Faith will stay here with my parents or friends from church until we return on Friday evening. I know that "All things work together for the good to them who love GOD are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). So I am claiming victory in all of this and know that God will work everything out according to HIS will and not mine.
After having to jump through some hoops and GENERAL political red tape, I got her an appt, and we headed to Charleston. Her appt was at 3:30, and we asked the dr. and our friends to call if she needed more that just a cast. We arrived in Charleston about 3:30 and were checking in and getting room assignments around 4:00 when our friend called to inform us that Faith's "chip fracture" was not merely that, but she had broken off part of the growth plate attached to the ligament in her elbow and needed to have surgery. OUr dilemma was that we were 4 hours away and we had to be @ the dr office in person to sign paperwork giving permission to proceed with surgery and no way to get home, because we needed our vehicles at camp to provide transportation to ministry/mission sights for about 40 people, and if I left, then there would be no on else from our group who could drive our 24 passenger bus, essentially leaving an entire mission team "grounded" for the entire week.
SO we had to figure out how I was going to get home so that surgery could happen AND find someone to drive our bus. Luckily 2 of our youth parents, who we have come to know QUITE well over the past year, didn't hesitate to drive to Charleston to pick me up and get me back to Shelby for Pre op appt and to be here for surgery, AND when Artie told the camp staff what was going on and announced that our bus was grounded for the week unless we could find another driver , an adult leader with a CDL from another church volunteered as a driver for the week!!!!!! ISN' T God Amazing. We just knew with all the bumps in the road and ROAD blocks that Satan threw at us in getting to Charleston that GOD had something REALLY big in store for us and we just had to sit back and watch it happen!!!.
Well I arrived back home around 3:00 am, took a little cat nap, went to see my babies, got Faith to her appt to sign papers and schedule her surgery, met my parents (who also didn't hesitate to drive 4 hours from TN just to be here for me and Faith today, since Artie is still in Charleston), and sat back to enjoy some food and fellowship time with friends and family (you know us Baptists can't fellowship without food and vice versa, we love us some FOOD and FELLOWSHIP). After our Walton's style family dinner around the kitchen table, Artie called and told us that one of our teens had just prayed to receive Christ and the she prayed in front of our ENTIRE group, and that another of our teens, who is actually a visitor with our group, was also on the verge of making a decision. BY the time they went to bed, we had 2 new followers of Christ within our own group!!! YEAH GOD!!!!
So here we are today rejoicing in their salvation, yet still a little anxious about what lies ahead for us today with Faith's surgery. Luckily our dr. is a Christian and is known for praying with his patients before surgery. We know that the bible tells us to be "anxious for nothing, but in EVERYTHIN with prayer and supplication make our requests known to God" (Philippians 4:6), so I am clinging to that verse today knowing that God's got it ALL in his control and leaning on the fact that HE will watch over us and keep us in His loving arms, even in the storm. So we are praising God today for all his wonderful and mighty works, and rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus, knowing that NO matter what he tries to throw our way to trip us up, cause us to lose focus or be anxious about, even he, the devil himself knows that God is still God and that God is still on HIS throne and the devil himself AND his demons BELIEVE in God & TREMBLE (James 2:9) at what God can do.
So I will praise God in this storm and say "Jesus Bring the Rain". If you have a chance between 12:00 and 1:30 today, please say a little prayer for my baby girl, the dr., and anyone else involved with the surgery, and that she will have little pain and heal quickly AND pray for her mama to get through what lies ahead. The Dr will use a small screw to reattach the broken piece of bone to the growth plate, and in about 8-12 months will remove the screw. She will not have a cast, but he will re-splint her arm and send her home. If all goes well today, and she does not experience any set backs then I will return to Charleston tomorrow to finish out M-Fuge with our teenagers, and Faith will stay here with my parents or friends from church until we return on Friday evening. I know that "All things work together for the good to them who love GOD are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). So I am claiming victory in all of this and know that God will work everything out according to HIS will and not mine.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Beginnin of the empty nest
Well it has been a while since I have been on here and MUCH has transpired since then. Artie and I have joined the "empty nesters" so to speak, or should I say we are in the orientation phase. We have our FIRST high school graduate, as of last Saturday, June 8, and he has already "flown the coup" and begun his life journey out from under our protective wings. Just 2 days after graduation, Trey left to go to Florida for the summer to work his first REAL job. (The good thing about this is, although he is out of our nest, he will be safely nestled @ mamaw and papaw's nest and under the protective watch of Artie's brother and sister). He is a horse wrangler @ Camp Keystone, a salvation army camp in Starke, FL, where he is part of the barn staff this summer and will be taking care of the camp's horses ALL summer long. His first day was yesterday and he even got to watch the vet perform eye surgery on a horse to remove his blind eye, in attempts to save the horse's life and prevent him from being put down. He will be working 8-5 every day and some weekends. Not so bad for a FIRST job, since he will be majoring in lifestock and poultry management @ the Agriculture Institute, which is a division of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences @ NC State University in Raleigh. THis is a 2 year degree program, and the first step in his journey to becoming a VET. Once the 2 year program is complete, he plans to transfer to the 4 year pre-vet program @ NC State OR University of Florida in Gainvesville. He is also planning to try out for the marching band @ State this summer when he goes for orientation.
Casey just completed her sophomore year @ Crest High School, and is a fully licensed driver. She is still somewhat restricted, because she cannot drive past 9:00 am for the first 6 months, but she will be a big help in shuttling our family around, especially with Trey gone. She was chosen to be a part of the chamber choir, an auditioned singing ensemble, for next school year and plans to run cross country this summer and fall with Leeann. She is also planning to be a part of the color guard in the marching band for the 2013 marching season, even though she does not play an instrument. Our new band director is opening up the opportunity for ANYONE to participate, whether they play an instrument or not. I am VERY excited about this for her, since I, too, was member of the color guard in my high school and captain my senior year. Academically, she is at the top of her class, and is currently "tied" for salutatorian with about 11 other students who have an unweighted GPA of 4.0. She is getting ALL kinds of college information and I am sure she will be able to get tons of academic scholarships and even EARLY acceptance to the college of her choice. Like her older brother, she is involved with FFA and earned her "Chapter Degree" this year. She is also searching for a job right now. I know the market it is really tight and living in small community, jobs are not so readily available, but she has the drive and gumption to keep at it until she finds something.
Leeann just completed her freshman year @ Crest High School. This year has been really good for her, especially since she didn't get into the Early College High School, like she had planned. She began her high school career with the summer running club for cross country and was recognized as a member of the 100-mile club, for her participation in summer training last summer. She ran cross country in the fall, winter "indoor" track and spring track.. Not sure where she got the passion to run, but she has the potential to do really well with it if she will set her mind to it and stick with it!!! She also got her permit last month and has joined the fleet of drivers at Hubbard's Haven, although she must still have a licensed driver with her. She was also involved in FFA with her brother and sister and earned her "green hand" degree @ then end of the year. Not sure if she will stick with FFA like her older siblings, because she really doesn't like taking care of our animals at home, but it has been a good experience for her. She is planning to participate in ROTC next year, so that will give her another outlet, if FFA doesn't work out for her.
Jonathan is now officially a teenager, as of a week and a half ago. We weren't too sure if he would make it to see his 13th birthday, because he is soooo Laxidazical and has to be told 50 bajillion times to get up and MOVE!! He still marches to the beat of his own drummer and takes his sweet precious time in doing things. He ALMOST didn't pass the 7th grade (or at least the 2nd or 3rd nine weeks of school) because of his nonchalant attitude about things, his talent for goofing off and making jokes, and NOT turning in or doing his projects and assignments. But after conferencing with his teachers and giving them permission to "Gibbs slap" him in the back of his head any time they felt he needed it, we re-lit the fire in his pants and he got busy the last nine weeks, bringing up his nearly failing grades in some classes to A/B honor roll. SOOOOO he will be in 8th grade next year, thank goodness. He too will be part of the high school marching band as part of the 8th grade pit crew. He is currently 1st chair French horn in the middle school band and will be a part of the 8th grad jazz band, an auditioned music ensemble, at Crest Middle School next year. He was also on the cross country team and wrestling team this year, and hopefully will continue to pursue his athleticism in these and other areas next year.
Faith has completed 3rd grad and survived her first year of EOG testing. I was a little worried about her and this testing year, because she has struggled somewhat with her reading, just like her older sister, Leeann had at that age. But with the help of small group instruction and intervention, she has come a LONG way in the past year. She made A/B honor roll all year and participated in the Girls on the Run program at her school. THe program is a YMCA sponsored program teaching young girls the value of good morals, ethics and uses running as an outlet to be healthy individuals. She and I actually ran a 5K together just a couple of weeks ago (well we walked - ran together). For someone who is a swimmer and not a runner, this was somewhat of a challenge for Old Mother Hubbard, but we did it, and we finished, although my 9 year old took off and "SMOKED" me at the end. We ran in about 35 minutes, not bad for a 9 year old and an old woman. But she has inspired to try to get out and do more running/walking this summer to stay healthy and to keep up and spend time with her and her siblings who are involved in running. Faith also had a dizzy spell or two with some blurry vision, and other than the fact that she had grown 2 inches in 9 months & had some fluid in her ears (which could cause dizziness and double vision), the dr. said she was absolutely fine, normal and HEALTHY!!! She is also taking piano lessons and LOVES it!!! She is doing extremely well and will be joined by her 2 sisters this summer.
Timothy is our youngest graduate this year. He had a little bit of a bump in the road back in November. Our day care where he had been since he was 8 weeks old (and where Faith had been since before she was 2 and for Pre-K) had to close after 12 years of service to our community. We were devastated and not sure what we were going to do. Luckily another center in our area was opening up some new Pre-K classes and he was able to go there for the remainder of the school year. I was a little apprehensive and worried about sending him somewhere new, but friend and former TA/co-worker of mine had just gone back to work there full time and was one of his teachers!!!! He had a wonderful year, was able to spend time with some friends from his former day care and our church there, and made lots of new friends and GREAT memories. He officially graduated from the NC Pre-K program on May 31 and will be headed to kindergarten at Faith's school in the fall. AND BOY IS HE SOOOOO READY, not sure if I am ready, though.. It's been a little rough on the emotions having my youngest and oldest graduate in the same year and within just a week of each other. (Kind of like Artie and his baby brother Todd). WHERE DOES THE TIME GO!!! Timothy is even taller than some of our kindergarteners who are leaving us for first grade next year!!! WOW!! I know he will do fine, but I don't know if I am ready to have ALL my babies in school yet. Oh well, I guess knowing that Timothy will be around for the next 13 years will keep Artie and I going and Help to keep us young, if not physically then at least spiritually and emotionally.
As for Artie and myself, we have begun another busy summer with VBS this week, kids camp in 2 weeks and then youth camp the week after July 4th. We plan to go visit Trey and Artie's family in mid July and bring Trey home to attend his orientation @ NC State in Raleigh the last weekend of July. As of right now I am still employed as a Teacher Assistant/bus driver with our local school, but due to proposed budget cuts in education, we are unsure in NC who will and will not have a job next year. I just keep praying and hoping that if it is God's will for me to stay employed that he will provide the means for me to stay, and if it is NOT his will for me to keep my job, then maybe it is just time for me to come back home and be a MOM available for my kids and family whenever they need me. I am sure that between our animals, activities at church, kids school activities, etc, that I will stay PLENTY busy, we just need for God to provide the means for us to continue to pay our bills and living expenses, especially with Trey heading off to college in the fall.
Whatever HIS will is then that is what we will do, even if I have to take a part time job somewhere to help make ends meet. One exciting thing that Artie and I are looking forward to in the fall, is WYLD Life. As many of you know, Artie has been a volunteer Young Life leader with our local high school for the past couple of years. Well our Local young Life Director would like to expand the middle school program to other areas and schools in our county as well. They currently have an established program for schools in Shelby, but do not have programs in other schools. Artie and I will be heading up the program here in Boiling Springs with our local Middle School. Jonathan is VERY excited about this, because he sees all the fun things our high schoolers get to do and he can't wait to get involved. Our local parents, teachers a Middle School principal are very excited, too, because they are looking for any means for their kids to be involved and provide a Christian influence for our kids and their peers in our community and in our schools. So please be in prayer for us as we begin this exciting adventure with this pilate program in our local schools. Also please be in prayer for our church and church staff. There are a lot of things happening in the life of our church right now, new things happening, staff battling illnesses, uncertainty for the future, youth group busting at the seams, and the need to rebuild and regrow our children's program/ministry, since a large portion of our children have graduated to the youth group. We hope you will partner with us in prayer concerning these issues and we look forward to hearing from many of you!!!
Our address and phone number hasn't changed and if you need our contact information I will be more than happy to send it to you in a personal message, as well as Trey's new phone # and contact info for the summer and then again for the fall when he begins his classes at NC State. So much information, I hope I haven't bored you to death. I will try to be more vigilant in updating this summer.
Thank you all for your love prayers and support!!! And may God Bless You ALL.
Casey just completed her sophomore year @ Crest High School, and is a fully licensed driver. She is still somewhat restricted, because she cannot drive past 9:00 am for the first 6 months, but she will be a big help in shuttling our family around, especially with Trey gone. She was chosen to be a part of the chamber choir, an auditioned singing ensemble, for next school year and plans to run cross country this summer and fall with Leeann. She is also planning to be a part of the color guard in the marching band for the 2013 marching season, even though she does not play an instrument. Our new band director is opening up the opportunity for ANYONE to participate, whether they play an instrument or not. I am VERY excited about this for her, since I, too, was member of the color guard in my high school and captain my senior year. Academically, she is at the top of her class, and is currently "tied" for salutatorian with about 11 other students who have an unweighted GPA of 4.0. She is getting ALL kinds of college information and I am sure she will be able to get tons of academic scholarships and even EARLY acceptance to the college of her choice. Like her older brother, she is involved with FFA and earned her "Chapter Degree" this year. She is also searching for a job right now. I know the market it is really tight and living in small community, jobs are not so readily available, but she has the drive and gumption to keep at it until she finds something.
Leeann just completed her freshman year @ Crest High School. This year has been really good for her, especially since she didn't get into the Early College High School, like she had planned. She began her high school career with the summer running club for cross country and was recognized as a member of the 100-mile club, for her participation in summer training last summer. She ran cross country in the fall, winter "indoor" track and spring track.. Not sure where she got the passion to run, but she has the potential to do really well with it if she will set her mind to it and stick with it!!! She also got her permit last month and has joined the fleet of drivers at Hubbard's Haven, although she must still have a licensed driver with her. She was also involved in FFA with her brother and sister and earned her "green hand" degree @ then end of the year. Not sure if she will stick with FFA like her older siblings, because she really doesn't like taking care of our animals at home, but it has been a good experience for her. She is planning to participate in ROTC next year, so that will give her another outlet, if FFA doesn't work out for her.
Jonathan is now officially a teenager, as of a week and a half ago. We weren't too sure if he would make it to see his 13th birthday, because he is soooo Laxidazical and has to be told 50 bajillion times to get up and MOVE!! He still marches to the beat of his own drummer and takes his sweet precious time in doing things. He ALMOST didn't pass the 7th grade (or at least the 2nd or 3rd nine weeks of school) because of his nonchalant attitude about things, his talent for goofing off and making jokes, and NOT turning in or doing his projects and assignments. But after conferencing with his teachers and giving them permission to "Gibbs slap" him in the back of his head any time they felt he needed it, we re-lit the fire in his pants and he got busy the last nine weeks, bringing up his nearly failing grades in some classes to A/B honor roll. SOOOOO he will be in 8th grade next year, thank goodness. He too will be part of the high school marching band as part of the 8th grade pit crew. He is currently 1st chair French horn in the middle school band and will be a part of the 8th grad jazz band, an auditioned music ensemble, at Crest Middle School next year. He was also on the cross country team and wrestling team this year, and hopefully will continue to pursue his athleticism in these and other areas next year.
Faith has completed 3rd grad and survived her first year of EOG testing. I was a little worried about her and this testing year, because she has struggled somewhat with her reading, just like her older sister, Leeann had at that age. But with the help of small group instruction and intervention, she has come a LONG way in the past year. She made A/B honor roll all year and participated in the Girls on the Run program at her school. THe program is a YMCA sponsored program teaching young girls the value of good morals, ethics and uses running as an outlet to be healthy individuals. She and I actually ran a 5K together just a couple of weeks ago (well we walked - ran together). For someone who is a swimmer and not a runner, this was somewhat of a challenge for Old Mother Hubbard, but we did it, and we finished, although my 9 year old took off and "SMOKED" me at the end. We ran in about 35 minutes, not bad for a 9 year old and an old woman. But she has inspired to try to get out and do more running/walking this summer to stay healthy and to keep up and spend time with her and her siblings who are involved in running. Faith also had a dizzy spell or two with some blurry vision, and other than the fact that she had grown 2 inches in 9 months & had some fluid in her ears (which could cause dizziness and double vision), the dr. said she was absolutely fine, normal and HEALTHY!!! She is also taking piano lessons and LOVES it!!! She is doing extremely well and will be joined by her 2 sisters this summer.
Timothy is our youngest graduate this year. He had a little bit of a bump in the road back in November. Our day care where he had been since he was 8 weeks old (and where Faith had been since before she was 2 and for Pre-K) had to close after 12 years of service to our community. We were devastated and not sure what we were going to do. Luckily another center in our area was opening up some new Pre-K classes and he was able to go there for the remainder of the school year. I was a little apprehensive and worried about sending him somewhere new, but friend and former TA/co-worker of mine had just gone back to work there full time and was one of his teachers!!!! He had a wonderful year, was able to spend time with some friends from his former day care and our church there, and made lots of new friends and GREAT memories. He officially graduated from the NC Pre-K program on May 31 and will be headed to kindergarten at Faith's school in the fall. AND BOY IS HE SOOOOO READY, not sure if I am ready, though.. It's been a little rough on the emotions having my youngest and oldest graduate in the same year and within just a week of each other. (Kind of like Artie and his baby brother Todd). WHERE DOES THE TIME GO!!! Timothy is even taller than some of our kindergarteners who are leaving us for first grade next year!!! WOW!! I know he will do fine, but I don't know if I am ready to have ALL my babies in school yet. Oh well, I guess knowing that Timothy will be around for the next 13 years will keep Artie and I going and Help to keep us young, if not physically then at least spiritually and emotionally.
As for Artie and myself, we have begun another busy summer with VBS this week, kids camp in 2 weeks and then youth camp the week after July 4th. We plan to go visit Trey and Artie's family in mid July and bring Trey home to attend his orientation @ NC State in Raleigh the last weekend of July. As of right now I am still employed as a Teacher Assistant/bus driver with our local school, but due to proposed budget cuts in education, we are unsure in NC who will and will not have a job next year. I just keep praying and hoping that if it is God's will for me to stay employed that he will provide the means for me to stay, and if it is NOT his will for me to keep my job, then maybe it is just time for me to come back home and be a MOM available for my kids and family whenever they need me. I am sure that between our animals, activities at church, kids school activities, etc, that I will stay PLENTY busy, we just need for God to provide the means for us to continue to pay our bills and living expenses, especially with Trey heading off to college in the fall.
Whatever HIS will is then that is what we will do, even if I have to take a part time job somewhere to help make ends meet. One exciting thing that Artie and I are looking forward to in the fall, is WYLD Life. As many of you know, Artie has been a volunteer Young Life leader with our local high school for the past couple of years. Well our Local young Life Director would like to expand the middle school program to other areas and schools in our county as well. They currently have an established program for schools in Shelby, but do not have programs in other schools. Artie and I will be heading up the program here in Boiling Springs with our local Middle School. Jonathan is VERY excited about this, because he sees all the fun things our high schoolers get to do and he can't wait to get involved. Our local parents, teachers a Middle School principal are very excited, too, because they are looking for any means for their kids to be involved and provide a Christian influence for our kids and their peers in our community and in our schools. So please be in prayer for us as we begin this exciting adventure with this pilate program in our local schools. Also please be in prayer for our church and church staff. There are a lot of things happening in the life of our church right now, new things happening, staff battling illnesses, uncertainty for the future, youth group busting at the seams, and the need to rebuild and regrow our children's program/ministry, since a large portion of our children have graduated to the youth group. We hope you will partner with us in prayer concerning these issues and we look forward to hearing from many of you!!!
Our address and phone number hasn't changed and if you need our contact information I will be more than happy to send it to you in a personal message, as well as Trey's new phone # and contact info for the summer and then again for the fall when he begins his classes at NC State. So much information, I hope I haven't bored you to death. I will try to be more vigilant in updating this summer.
Thank you all for your love prayers and support!!! And may God Bless You ALL.
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