Christopher’s birthday is on the 24th…but we’ve already had a head-start on the celebrating.   Before some friends went away for school, we put together a small surprise party.  Worked beautifully!

Christopher’s birthday table.  Can’t believe he’s going to be 18.  Did I say 18???  I did, didn’t I….

On the way home from his class, Christopher was sent to the store to give us more time.

I wish I had a picture or video of the surprise.  We all hid on the step landing….when Christopher walked by, some of the guys threw a blanket over his head and tackled him.  So funny!

Jen found a really fun game to play.  She set up an “obstacle course” in our backyard, complete with hoola hoops, chairs, noodles, tubes, brooms, etc. Each person had a partner. One would be blindfolded and would have to walk from one part of the backyard to the other while the partner yelled (from behind the line) where the blindfolded person should go. The goal was to get the blindfolded person to the end and then back without touching any of the obstacles (if someone touched something, they had to start over).

It was actually quite challenging!  But lots of fun.

 

It got pretty noisy, since a group of us were yelling to our partners.  We kept trying to yell over each other so our partners could hear us. I also had only one contact in (was having trouble with my left eye), so my perception was a *bit* off.  I accidentally led poor Christopher right into the hammock.  He had a bruise to prove it.  Oops on my part!

 

Yummy cook-out food for dinner!

We played the straw game, where each team had to build a straw tower (with just straw and tape) that stood 7 feet tall.

Each team had a different “strategy.”

Birthday boy!!

Christopher with his siblings and friends.

Christopher is a trooper to live with 5 sisters (not that he had a choice!).  He’s going to make a great husband and father.   Not only is Christopher a good leader, he’s also a good teacher.  I love hearing him teach Bible lessons and share the Gospel.  He is very diligent in his violin practice and his studies.  He’s also very genuine.  We’re excited to see how God uses him in next this year.

Super delicious ice cream cake!!

 

And here begins a long string of celebrations.  From Sept-Dec, there are 6 birthdays and an anniversary.  Our kitchen and dining room will constantly be decorated.    Let the celebrating begin!

 

 

 

 

 

Since the last post, the temperature has considerably gone down (it’s actually starting to feel fall-ish around here!), the ones in school are in full swing with their studies, and those of us who work are workin’!  Soon birthday season will be upon us.  It actually already is, since Christopher’s is next week and we’ve already had a <surprise> party for him! 

Here are some pictures from the non-camp and non-5 Day Club part of our summer. 

 

Friends for the big and little girls

Marianna got to be in a small orchestra this summer.  She did a great job and enjoyed playing pieces such as Pirates of the Caribbean. 

 

Mom and a couple of her friends

 

After the concert (this was while we three girls were at Camp Good News) 

Who doesn’t love a fun rain day and an adverturous night camping out in the playroom? These girls had it made!

 

 Our two violinists of the family. 

Christopher went to the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 5-day camp back in August.

As concertmaster (first chair violinist), Christopher has the privilege of shaking the conductor’s hand numerous times during a concert, not to mention leading his whole section!  He’s worked hard, and we’re glad he has this great chance to be concertmaster.   

The girls with some special gifts.  ———  On the way to camp in July, Bethany and I stopped off at the Tomblin’s.  So fun! 

A view from the top of the Tomblin’s property. 

During one of the weekends at camp, we girls went with Mrs. Carter and Joseph to hike Mount Mitchell.  We stopped a couple times on the Blue Ridge Parkway to view some of the look-out areas.  It’s a good thing we did, because it ended up being foggy when we started our hike and didn’t see any more views (though it made for a nice and cool hike).

The trail was SO pretty.  We were in the woods most of the time, but there were some areas that were more open. 

One of my favorite parts of the hike was eating wild raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. 

If it wasn’t foggy, we would have been able to see for about 80 miles.  Maybe another time.

 

Lots more to come!  Slowly but surely, the updates will appear. 

 

 

It’s hard to believe that over a month has gone by since we finished teaching the 5 Day Clubs in the surrounding Charlotte areas!!  I currently going through thousands upon thousands of pictures from our time up at Camp Good News.  A counselor was kind enough to let me have all her pictures…ALL of them…since we didn’t bring a camera this year.  So I’ve slowly been going through them and will be making many collages.    Maybe they’ll get on here eventually.

In the meantime…here is a glimpse of our 5 Day Clubs.  We taught them for three weeks and had a blast getting to know the kids and teaching the Gospel to them.  I love being able to tell children how much God loves each and every one of them.

One thing we emphasize it that there is NOTHING anyone can DO to get to Heaven.  It’s completely by God’s grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9) that we are saved and have a place in Heaven.  It’s believing in Him (Acts 16:31).

One thing many people (not just children) don’t understand is that there is a PUNISHMENT for sin, and that is to be separated from God forever in a terrible place called Hell.  We don’t hide this from the children when we teach.  It’s imperative that they know WHAT they need to be saved from.  When someone says, “I got saved,” they need to know what exactly that mean.  Jesus is not a life-enhancer.  He’s a life-Rescuer.  When He willingly gave His life on the cross, He took upon every person’s sin.  He received the punishment we deserve.  What love!  By doing this, He made it possible for every person to be saved from the punishment of sin and have their sins forgiven.  If we believe in Him and receive the FREE GIFT of salvation, we can become a child of God (John 1:12), knowing that we’ve been saved from our punishment of sin and will one day spend eternity in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ.

As my siblings and I have grown as Christians, we’ve become more aware of all-too-common misconceptions people have about salvation, Jesus, being a Christian, God, and just Biblical things in general.  That’s not to say that we know everything…but we’ve noticed certain topics that are overlooked or “glossed over” in the teaching world.  We’ve addressed many of these misconceptions during the Bible club because we want people (not just children) to really understand what the Gospel is and what it means to be a Christian.

Being a Christian means having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s putting your complete trust in Him.  While He does indwell your being (heart), the filling of one’s heart has NOTHING to do with salvation.  It’s a result of salvation, yes, but it’s not a means of salvation.  Salvation is receiving Christ as your Savior and putting your faith and trust in Him.  Simple as that.  And that’s Scriptural (‘asking Jesus into your heart’ is not Scriptural). 

There is no such thing as a “sinner’s prayer” as many call it.  Frankly, every prayer is a sinner’s prayer!  It’s not the words that save us, it’s what we believe with our hearts.  However, it does say in Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  My point is that just saying that won’t save you–just as going up front to an altar doesn’t make you nearer to God–it’s what you believe with all your heart.  I mean, even the devil and his demons will admit that Jesus is Lord!  But they don’t put their trust in Him.

Something our family is tries to be very sensitive to is the Holy Spirit’s work in the club and the children’s hearts.  We don’t make the children come back to be counseled after the Bible lesson.  It can be dangerous to say “raise your hand if……” and then pull those kids who raised their hands right away to the back.  There’s nothing wrong with the raising of hands, as long as the message is clear and children know why they’re raising their hands.  I’ve done that before.  But something I’ve (and my siblings have) done in the past few years is just tell the children–after reviewing the Gospel and making it clear that they can talk with me if they want to know how to be saved or if they have any other questions–that I’ll be in the back if they want to talk with me or another counselor.  I personally like this kind of invitation, because it allows the Holy Spirit to convict the children and bring them back…as opposed to me saying “oh you raised your hand…come back with me.”  It’s amazing that the children will leave club during the missionary story (one of the kids’ favorite parts of club) to talk with a counselor.  There are many ways to do an invitation.  I opt for the simplest and clearest way, so as not to distract from the Gospel and what was just taught.

 

We want to make sure the children understand what it truly means to be saved…and what they’re being saved from. We want them to know what being a Christian is…and what the costs are.

Being a Christian isn’t easy. It doesn’t mean life will be wonderful, funds will be plentiful, and things will be easy-going. That’s not promised in the Bible (though many pastors preach this). II Timothy 3:12 says, “Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” There are various forms of persecution, of course. But this verse is saying that being a Christian isn’t always easy. We don’t want to deceive people into thinking that being a Christian will make their life easier.

But we also make it clear that when we think of what Jesus did for us on the cross, whatever persecution we go through here on earth will be worth it. It’s living with an eternal perspective. Keeping our eyes fixed on what is to come, while in the meantime serving the Lord. It’d be a lie to say that I, as a Christian, am always happy. I’m not! BUT…I live with a joy that can only be explained by my love for my Savior…and His love for me.

We consider it a joy and privilege to teach these young ones. We don’t mind getting up early on a summer morning to teach 5 Day Clubs. It’s not always easy to get out of bed, but we also don’t consider it a chore.

The one thing that’s hard about 5 Day Clubs is that you’re with the kids for 5 days and then have to move on the next week. We can’t possibly keep up with all of them, though there are a few we do keep in touch with over the year. Our prayer is that the kids we’ve taught will remember the message of the Gospel and apply it to their lives. And that God would provide people to disciple them in their walk.

Enjoying a nice cold ice cream after our hot outdoor club one week.

Love these kids!

Bethany and her group dressed up one week and acted out the Bible lesson as she taught it.  Brilliant!

Distractions come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and noises.  This one was particularly difficult to compete with.  Thankfully he walked away after about 7 minutes of blowing right.next.to.us.

This girl said she didn’t have a Bible, so I printed off the first few chapters of Mark and gave them to her to start out with.

We enjoyed our time teaching 5 Day Clubs this summer.  Our challenge to each other (and to other Christians) is to continue to share the Gospel throughout the year.  Summer is a GREAT time for missions work…but it’s not the only time.  II Timothy 4:2a says “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season…”  It’s harder when we don’t have a structured time to teach.  But that’s the beauty of living in the United States of America…we are free (for the most part) to preach/share the Gospel openly.  Praise the Lord!!  Now if Christians will only do that…

That’s our personal challenge.  And that’s our challenge to you Christians who are reading this.  Find someone to talk with.  Ask God to help you change a conversation from the natural to the spiritual.  We have some fun and easy ways we like to do that that I might share on here sometime.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!!!

 

 

Boy, has summer flown by!!  Christopher is at orchestra camp and Jennifer, Bethany, and I are still at Camp Good News.  We had a great week with about sixty 10-12 year old girls last week and are looking forward to the teen girls coming tomorrow! Between all the cameras that are around here, thousands of pictures have been taken.  At the end of summer, I’ll hopefully post a few of them, but in the meantime, visit

http://campgoodnewsnc.wordpress.com/

 to get a TINY glimpse of what’s going on here. Some of the girls here are updating the blog on a regular basis with pictures and short snippets of what we’re doing and learning.  During chapel times, we are learning about the life of Daniel, what it means to be a Christian (and to be persecuted), and martyrs of the New Testament and beyond.  It’s been so good and there have been over 20 salvations. Praise the Lord! The most important thing is that the Gospel is being shared very clearly during chapel in the mornings and evenings as well as during the day when the counselors get a chance to have some one-on-one or small group time. Lots of questions from the girls have been asked, and many good conversations have followed. I could write a book on what I’ve learned, what the girls are learning, what we’re doing, etc…..but I’m not going to.  Just visit the blog site for a synopsis. of Camp Good News. 

We appreciate the prayers as well. The enemy will go to great measures to distract us and make things difficult.

Since I have internet for a short period of time before another week of camp starts, I wanted to get some summer pictures on here. These are from early July.  Seems like forever ago since we’ve been up at camp for weeks, but it’s really only been a month.  Hoping to get 5 Day Clubs on here next. 

Basketball with some friends.  We girls did a good job considering the boys were so good.  When we played guys vs. girls, the guys only used their left hand.  That made it so much more even.   It actually worked well.

Knock-out

The guys taught us and gave us tips about basketball.  We were good “students” and had lots of fun playing!

Ultimate Frisbee!

Our friend Lana came over and made us a Vietnamese dinner.  It was interesting yet very good.  We put a strange variety of food in a rice tortilla (that was clear…which was weird at first, but we got over it.  haha!). There was beef, eggs, pears, apples, peppers, blueberries, shrimp, crab, hot sauce, tomatoes, peanut butter, and more. Not the obvious combination, right? But it actually tasted really good.

Our sweet friend, Lana

Christopher was able to have some guy friends over for soccer and swimming.  The little guys still love to sell lemonade. 

Chick-fil-A’s ‘Cow Appreciation Day’ fell on a day we were teaching 5 Day Clubs, so a bunch of us met for breakfast before our clubs.  If you dressed up like a cow, you got a FREE COMBO!  Amazing! So we did that and then headed to our clubs.

After our Bible clubs were done, we met again at Chick-fil-A for lunch. 

Then we went again for dinner.  Crazy, I know.  But we did it.  And we had a blast. 

LOVED the cow Missy and two guys made.  She looked so cute in the middle of them.

Mom has done a great job keeping our yard looking nice.  She loves having people over, so she always makes sure things look nice.

 

Missy was being used as the pool toy.  LOL!!

Missy was in total control.  It was so funny to watch.  The big kids had so much fun with her.  Meanwhile, Marianna and her friends were having a ball on the diving board.

Our angels

A few weeks back, one of our trees got hit by lightning.  Part of it ended up in the road.  Dad decided to cut the rest of it down, so it ended up being a big job.

  

So thankful for neighbors and friends who came to help haul the limbs into the firepit in our backyard.

 

Enjoy the rest of the summer!!  It’s gone by fast, but there is still summer left! 

 

 

 

Last month a bunch of us headed to Asheville for the North Carolina CEF state training.  The 11-day training included learning how to teach a 5 Day Club, going to an apartment complex for an outreach, and doing a week of 5 Day Clubs.

I’m actually at Camp Good News volunteering in the kitchen (will be here for four weeks…this week in the kitchen and the others as a counselor).  We have 30 boys here ages 7-9.  So far so good.  Looking forward to seeing what God is going to do here.  The morning chapel times are about Daniel, and the evening chapel times are about New Testament and modern-day martyrs.  The Gospel is shared every day and counselors are encouraged to have one-on-one conversations with the children. More on Camp Good News later.

Here are the pictures from CEF camp.

Part of the Charlotte chapter ready to head to camp!

We four had our own teams we were in charge of. 

After session time, people practiced their lessons and then had to say them for their counselors.

As interns/staff, we had more than one opportunity to teach some sessions and to demonstrate parts of a 5 Day Club (Bible lesson, Bible verse, missionary story, etc.).

Jennifer and I taught a session on how to teach teens.  Something we really like to do is analogies with an application.  The middle picture lists some of our favorite analogies. If you want to know what they are, I can send them to you in a message. Maybe I’ll put them in another post sometime.

Jen working with her team

The juniors working on their missionary story and Christopher giving a demonstration

The first half of the week is spent mostly in sessions.  The second half of the week is spent practicing, doing practicums, and actually going out to do a 5 Day Club.

Practicums

Our sweet cabin.  About 12 of us fit in this cabin.  It was nice being in a small cabin because it was easy to keep clean and we all got to know each other pretty well.

We found these poor bunnies outside one day, so some of the staff took care of them. 

Half-way through camp, we went to an apartment complex and did an outreach. 

Sharing the Gospel with people of all ages

It never ceases to amaze me how many times the ice cream truck will come by while we’re either teaching a 5 Day Club or doing an outreach.  This time was no exception.  However, none of the kids wanted ice cream and stayed to listen to the rest of the Gospel presentation.  Praise God!

Knocking on doors and Christopher sharing the Gospel

We did manage to have some fun in between all the sessions and studying.

These children were the sweetest little things!  Their parents went through the training, so we took turns watching the kids.  They became our new best friends.

The Charlotte Chapter (minus one) and with the regional/state director and his wife.

Staff/Interns and the NC Christian Youth in Action group

Our annual/traditional Wescott face

All four of our clubs

It was a great camp and our 5 Day Clubs went really well. We did three weeks of clubs and are now going to be here at Camp Good News until mid-August. A post on the 5 Day Clubs will be coming up.  We had some GREAT kids to teach and are thankful we live in a country that allows us to speak about the Lord Jesus.

 

 

 

 

The independence we have in this country is something many of take for granted, but shouldn’t.  While that independence isn’t what it used to be, we are still more free than many other countries, and for that our family is thankful.  We are thankful that we can still share the Gospel without getting arrested.  We are thankful for the troops who are keeping us safe.  We are thankful to God for placing us where He has.

We had a beautiful day (with one storm) on the 4th of July for our crowd of 70+ people! 

 

With new friends from church. 

We had a major cookout with lots and lots of food.  It was sunny and HOT for the first little bit, then we came inside because of a thunderstorm.  When that passed, we went back outside to play sports and swim.  Then when it looked like it was going to storm again, we brought all the food inside and ate in there.  It ended up not raining, so we ate dessert outside and kept playing sports and swimming.

Some of the little guys and the bigger guys

Everyone had so much fun fellowshipping, swimming, and playing.

The buffet.  There was SO much good food.

We played some intense games of Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, volleyball, and basketball.

Sports on-lookers

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Our sweet friend Lana came over the other day and made us a Vietnamese lunch.  We filled a (clear) rice tortilla-type wrap with beef, eggs, apples, pears, blueberries, hot sauce, peanut butter, rice, and other stuff you wouldn’t think would go together.  It was strange, because you could see through the rice tortilla.  We all liked it though!

 

Our Vietnamese lunch

More lemonade stand

Christopher had some friends over to swim the other day.  They had fun catching up with each other, swimming, and playing soccer.  I’m glad Christopher has friends like these.

We *finally* celebrated Father’s Day last week.  We had home-made cheesecake and gave Dad his gifts…the big gift being a grill.  So thankful for Dad and everything he does for our family.  Grateful for his wonderful sense of humor, too.  He always keeps us laughing. 

Missy “helping” Dad with his gifts

Love you, Dad!

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We’ve had lots going on here.  Since Independence Day, we’ve started another week of 5 Day Clubs, had people over for more sports, had a tree hit by lightning, and more.  Life keeps on rolling! 

 

 

I’ve been working on this post for over a week!  All of our computers are going really slow when it comes to sorting through and uploading pictures, so it’s been a process.  I’ve gone through soooo many pictures and decided to just post a ton of collages to give a tiny taste of our summer so far.

We older four got back from the 12-day CEF training in Asheville last week.  We are now in the midst of teaching 5 Day Bible Clubs in the surrounding areas of Charlotte.  They are going really well and we are having a blast!…even in this almost unbearable heat.  God is doing great things.  I see it in the kids who are teaching and in the children being taught.  And in myself!  A CEF/Camp Good News post will come later.   

We’d appreciate prayers as we continue teaching Bible clubs and as we prepare to head to Camp Good News soon to cook and counsel (Christopher will also be going to Worldview Academy camp).

Jen and Bethany got a group together each week to play Ultimate Frisbee on campus before school was done.  They had a ton of fun!

The music school I work for had its spring recital in mid-May.  Actually, we did 7 recitals in two weekends because there are THAT many students.  Marianna and Missy did a great job.  So proud of them. 

 

Love them!

 

Siblings and friends

We had some friends over for a delicious Thai dinner and a fun time outside playing soccer (lol to Dennis barking at us…he wanted to play!).

A couple from our church that moved to Toronto in October came to visit in May, so we had a cook-out at the church property to spend time with them.  It was great catching up with them and hanging out with other people there.

Christopher’s orchestra (CSYO) had their spring recital in May.  Auditions for next year have already happened, and we’re excited that Christopher made first chair!!!  Woohoo!!

Friends and family at Christopher’s concert

Right before we left for CEF camp, we four went to a recording studio to record several songs for our music website.  It was a fun experience and we’re happy with how the recordings came out. Can’t wait for the samples to be up and ready for people to listen to! 

Before it got incredibly hot, the days were perfect for lemonade stands.

Mom’s Mother’s Day table.  Mom works very hard for our family, and we are thankful for her. 

I wanted to put out baby pictures of the six of us.  I had trouble finding one of Missy. I found the picture on the far right and just couldn’t figure out if it was Missy or Marianna.  I went to Bethany and Jennifer and said, “Is this Missy?  I need it to be.”  Haha!  Thankfully, it was.

One of the gifts we gave Mom was a photobook of our Florida trip from last year.

Our friends Kristen and Mark got married at the end of May and we had the privilege of playing and singing for the ceremony.  It was SUCH a fun wedding rehearsal and ceremony.  Very laid back, casual-yet-elegant, and just plain fun.  Perfect weather, too!

Bethany caught the bouquet!

Mark grew up in Cameroon and Kristen in the Solomon Islands, so their cake had both flags on it…so cool!  For their “unity sand,” Kristen used shells from the Solomon Islands and Mark used sand from Cameroon.  Really neat!

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The next several pictures are from our family vacation to Williamsburg, VA.  Part of the Carter family came for some of the time.  We also celebrated both Missy and Marianna’s birthdays. 

Our M ‘n M’s

We toured Williamsburg for a few days.  ‘Twas fun!  Then we spent time at our place by the volleyball court and the pool.

Can’t beat that outfit, huh?  Both girls loved dressing up.

 

Joseph had the brilliant idea to copy the large picture on the wall at the visitor center.  We actually did a pretty good job, did we not? 

The little girls loved ping-pong.

Dutch Blitz!  We also did several puzzles…that was our new activity.

Birthday time!!

Missy opening her birthday present from Marianna.  So sweet.

Both girls got breakfast in bed on their birthdays.  Marianna turned 9 and Missy turned 6.  Both were SO excited about their birthdays.  We all had fun celebrating with them.  Can’t believe how big they’re getting!

“How ‘booouuuuut….CUPCAKE?”  {inside joke}

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When we got home from VA, the girls opened their presents, had the table decorated for them, and went to Build-A-Bear with a gift card from our aunt.

Birthday table

Build-A-Bear!

Love these girls!  (on the right: Patriot Club prizes from church)

We had some friends over to put this puzzle together one evening.  It took a long time…it’s harder than it looks!

Pool time!!!!!!

Missy and Marianna *love* the pool.  They are in it almost every day…which explains why they are tan little bunnies. 

Swimming lessons and fun times with friends.

 

Mom and the little girls went to an orphanage (while we were at CEF camp) to give away these baskets they made.  Such a great opportunity for the little girls!

This past Sunday morning, Jen, Bethany, Christopher, and I and some friends played our instruments for our church’s offertory.  We played a really cool arrangement of “Come Thou Fount.”  It was a fast piece, but also had a couple beautiful parts.  There were three violins, one viola, three cellos, and a harp.  It was a blast playing together and we look forward to doing it again!

We had to move our furniture to fit everyone.  There are few things more fun than playing music together with others who also enjoy it.

Dad lit our burn pile a few days ago.  It was getting really high and needed to be burned before it was too high.  Boy, was it a great fire!

Had some friends over for a movie and dessert, so we all went outside to watch the fire.

 

And that’s just a teeny tiny idea of what we’ve been up to the last month.  Much more has gone on and is continuing at a pace that we can hardly keep up with!  Hopefully it will be less than a month before the next update!

 

 

Last week, all of us except Dad (who had to stay home to work) spent a few days at North Myrtle Beach.  The weather was gorgeous and we had a blast!!

Our ocean front home

Bethany made Isengard (from Lord of the Rings). Pretty good, huh?

We had three friends (and a friend of theirs) join us for a bit.  So much fun!!

Haha!!!

 

Yes, we actually played Duck-Duck-Goose.  I’m pretty sure we entertained many people.

I know we looked funny, but we definitely know how to have some good ol’ fun!

Who said that eight 17-23 year olds can’t do this?  Haha!

 

The water was a bit cold at first, but it wasn’t to bad after a while.

 

 

We made sand mound goals and played a girls vs. guys game of soccer.  Lots of fun and a great way to get hot before heading back in the ocean.

 

Everyone had a great time and we’re thankful for the wonderful weather we had. Until next year!

 

 

 

Announcing the most recent college graduate of the Wescott family: Jennifer Margaret Wescott

Jennifer has officially graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte!  We all went to her graduation on Saturday and had a blast cheering her on during her 3 seconds of fame on the stage.  It was a fun experience. 

We’re excited about where God is leading Jennifer and what He has planned for her.  In the near future, she will be shadowing someone who works with branding and design in Charlotte.  She’s excited about that!  She’s also wanting to acquire some more cello students so she can teach on the side.

The night before Jen’s graduation, Bethany and I went to a friend’s house to make a cake for Jen.  It was a late night, but the cake turned out GREAT.  The cake recipe was doubled, then Lana cut the cake into three layers and we added whipping cream and fruit to each layer.  It was a big cake!!  Quite delicious, too. 

The morning of her graduation, Jen and I went to our music school’s recital.  One of her students gave her the cutest graduation gift.  Isn’t that such a great idea?  And so creative!

Getting ready to head to UNCC for the graduation!

There were well over 1,000 students that graduated that afternoon.

Found her!!

Jen’s view and name card

Can you spot her?

There she goes!!

Someone got bored during the ceremony and threw up a beach ball.  It was a fun distraction. 

Jen had a bit of trouble turning her tassle. 

Some of Jen’s friends

WOOHOO!

At the Belk College of Business reception after the ceremony.  It was fun seeing teachers we all knew.

All three of us had Dr. Swartz as our Managerial Economics teacher

 

Bethany is going to miss having Jen around

 

A_Full_Half_Dozen

Two UNCC alumni, one current student, and one future student

Lovely campus

 

Opening grad gifts when we got home later

We’re going to the BEACH to celebrate Jen’s graduation.  Wahoo!!!

 

Congratulations Jen!!!!!

 

 

We’ve got LOTS going on around here!!  I have to make sure I don’t get too far behind!

Dad passed his PMP examp last week and we celebrated this huge accomplishment at Olive Garden.  Hadn’t been there in a long time.  We were able to have a corner all to ourselves.  Good thing, too, because we weren’t exactly quiet. 

In our corner   Congratulations Dad!!!  All your hours and hours of studying paid off.

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Christopher’s high school choir had their performace two weeks ago.  Christopher played the violin for two of the songs.

 

Looking sharp!

The choir has about 90 people in it.  Their instructors are very thorough and have done a good job with the kids.

Choir director, her parents (who also teach/help), and Mom & Mrs. Fletcher.  Mom has been the treasurer for many years and is “passing the torch.”

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Somebody is just a little excited about her birthday.   She even made a poster for herself…just so we don’t forget the monumental occasion on May 29th.

Speaking of Missy….

 

She loves to dress up

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We had some people over after church two Sundays ago after a service of just music.

 

Lots of yummy food!

The big kids played a serious game of Ultimate Frisbee.

 

The younger kids had some fun of their own.

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Missy showing the guys how it’s done.  Love this!!!

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Bethany’s and Christopher’s ensemble did a great job at their performance.  One of our friends took the little girls to Marianna’s soccer game so Mom, Jen, and I could go to the concert (Dad was working at BGEA). 

They sounded fantastic!

 

 

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Bethany performed in the UNCC symphony concert.

 

After the concert

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We officially have another college graduate in our family!!!  Jennifer joined the graduate ranks on Saturday when she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Way to go Jennifer!  More on that later.    A lot more, actually!

 

Graduate 2012