Cracked Up At Christmas

Fall

thirsty at the fair

livestock at the fair was RK's favorite

sweet

at the pumpkin patch

"that's the one"

Gwen's Birthday Weekend

Oct. 30th was Gwen's birthday and we went to Charleston to celebrate and visit my brother and sister. The plan was for Bethany to watch RK while Gwen and I toured through Charleston for the day. However we were surprised by Bethany, Andrew, and my parents with a night in a nice hotel! It was a wonderful weekend that we really needed. Happy Birthday Gwen!

Quick Pic

My sister (Aunt Bep) snapped this photo while feeding RK breakfast a few weeks ago. She was a happy baby early in the morning!

Sad Day

Gwen is gone to a wedding down in Florida for the weekend. I miss her! Come home soon sweetheart!!!!!

So Big!!!!

RK is learning faster than we think. She cracks us up!

My Brother is Engaged!!!

My little brother (Andrew) is now engaged! He proposed to his girlfriend, Brittany, on Labor Day weekend. They plan to get hitched on June 5th. CONGRATULATIONS ANDREW AND BRITTANY!!

Wilmington Mission Trip

Back in July a group of tenth grade students and I went to Wilmington, NC for a mission trip. We did minor construction repair work on low income housing for five days. We did roofing and painting mainly. We also got a chance to hang out at the beach for an afternoon which was a blast.

leaving the church

beach at Fort Fisher, NC

part of my team

cameras always caught me like this

my faithful co-leader

We're Back

Finally! After a two month blog hiatus Gwen and I plan to update the blog more regularly, mainly with pictures. Here are a few from the summer. We still have a lot of catching up to do so keep checking in with us.

Gwen and I downtown

RK and I with mom, dad, and Andrew

Great Granddaughter/Great Grandfather (Papa)

Great Granddaughters (RK & cousin Lilley)/Great Grandfather (Dadad)

cousins

cousins

again

Harbor Island 2009

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Vacation

We returned from vacation yesterday.  I'm looking forward to posting pictures and videos about our week.  This'll have to do for now.

No, Mr. President: John Piper's Response to President Obama

Beatbox Genius

Check this out. UNBELIEVABLE.

Congratulations Andrew!

Last Friday Gwen, RK, and I drove down to South Carolina for my brother's graduation.  We had to be back for the Senior Brunch Sunday morning so it was one of those 24 hour trips.  We quickly drove down to my parents' house where we got to see my aunt and cousin from New Hampshire.  We haven't seen them in two years!  

We got up early Saturday morning to go to Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa, GA to see Andrew walk.  Gwen and I both went to TFC so visiting the campus brought back many memories.  It was so good to see Andrew walk across that stage.  We're so proud of him.  After graduation we had a party for Andrew and Dad and Mom's with many of Andrew's close friends and family attended.  It was worth the quick trip.

New Gym

Back in November our anniversary present to each other was a one year membership to a local gym here in Raleigh.  It wasn't the fanciest but it worked for us.  A few weeks ago we went to work out and them gym was closed.  A few days later-same thing.  After a couple of weeks a friend of mine who is a former member of our gym said that Gold's Gym has bought all of the memberships at our gym. 

So we are now automatically members of Gold's as well as members of the other locations of our former gym in North Carolina.  Not a bad deal since Gold's is honoring the fee we paid at our old gym.  What happens after our membership expires?  I'm thinking the price will go up juuuuuuust a little bit.

Johnny Jumper

We caught RK in a great mood and ready to laugh while she was jumping in her Johnny Jumper.  There's something about it that makes her giddy.  Gwen is shaking her laugh, I'm holding the camera, and my sister (Aunt Bep) is sitting behind her.  Riley Kate was really tickled!

Green Beans

What happens sometimes when dad feeds RK...

Easter 2009

Preachers Boy

Our goal for this blog has always been to share about our family as we go through life.  Every now and then a spiritual thought or random musing creeps in.  Gwen and I definitely want to keep sharing our lives with you but I've created a personal blog to share a lot of my own thoughts and how God is shaping me from day to day.  I'd love for you to check it out.  It's www.preachersboy.wordpress.com. Okay, Okay.  More baby pictures are coming soon.  I promise!

What.... EVER!

Riley Kate will NOT be doing this when she get's older! Yeah right.

Gwen's new haircut!!!

Today was a big day.  When I got home from work Gwen went and got a new haircut!  I have always loved Gwen's hair and her new hairdo is no exception.  I think it's hot and she looooooves it too.  She hasn't stopped grinning yet.  See before and after below.

Ed Stetzer

I attended a forum on church planting at Summit Church in Durham tonight with Ed Stetzer leading the discussion.  Stetzer is the guru on church planting and missiology.  He spoke about "Pitfalls in Church Planting:  What we and others do that undermine the work and how to avoid them."  It was an extremely encouraging time for those with a heart for the church.  Let's just say I'll be processing what was said for at least several days.  Here is his basic outline:

Pitfalls in Church Planting

• Lack of spiritual preparation
• Stressful family relationships
• Inadequate training
• Lack of accountability
• Unrealistic expectations
• Broken partnerships

Birthday Weekend

It's about time for a new post. Last weekend was a special weekend as my parents came up for a visit on my birthday. We saw them last at Christmas and they were dying to see their grand-baby...and their son and daughter-in-law.

A few weeks ago I was leaning on one of our vanity doors in our downstairs bathroom and it broke in half! This gave Gwen and I an excuse to do some work in this bathroom that really needs to be done. We decided to remove the entire existing vanity and replace it. But of course, work on one project leads to another two or three. Once the vanity was removed, something had to be done with the floor. So Gwen and I decided to tile it. I helped dad lay tile which lasted the entire weekend but looks great. We could not have picked a better weekend to do it. It was 80 degrees-a perfect weekend for projects and family.