Steven Curtis Chapman

Last night, the Steven Curtis Chapman was in concert at the Theatre, where I work. Brandon and I were able to watch the concert, which was AMAZING! The opening band was CALEB, which is Steven Curtis' son, Caleb, as lead singer and drummer for both CALEB & Steven Curtis, was the other son, Will. The entire night was great.
Throughout the night, Caleb as well as his dad shared about Maria Sue, an adopted sister for Caleb and daughter for Steven Curtis, that passed away in 2008, due to a tragic accident at their home. Steven Curtis allowed all of us in the audience to step into their lives and share their grief and heartbreak along with them through the songs and stories that were shared. I felt as though I could relate to the songs he had written after losing Maria, as his heartbreak was reflected. Although I, along with 800 other people, laughed & cried together as Steven Curtis shared so transparently and raw, we were able to celebrate at the end of the concert right along with one another: celebrating the life of Maria & celebrating "How Great our God" really is.

Although I don't have any pictures to prove it, I was able to see my best friend, Julie and her mom, Debbie. It was precious to sit and talk with them (even if it were only through intermission). I definitely miss the times we used to have together, but I am thankful that we have special times like last night that leave me thankful for the people that God has put in my life, even if we only share "moments" together, they are Special Moments all the same.

Steven Curtis Chapman singing "I Will Be Here", the song that we played at our wedding.

I was excited to get my picture made with one hot man and Steven Curtis Chapman. :)

Happy 4th Birthday, McKenzie Faith!

McKenzie celebrated her 4th birthday on Monday, August 16th. We celebrated along with her on Saturday before her actual birthday at The Factory. We had a great time. She hugged everyone there over and over. We had pizza, she opened presents, and then we all ate cake. I was able to get a few pictures as the batteries in my camera were going dead. My favorite picture is the second the last one that I posted. She is SUCH a DIVA. If McKenzie sees a camera, she is ready with a smile and pose.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Dollywood Pictures Continued...

Raise your hand if you are excited!!!!

Ready to drive the cars.


Lucas is ready to go....Brandon is not so sure.

Speed-demon, McKenzie

I love her smile.

I love his freckles.

All of us.

Dollywood

Earlier last week, I realized that there was not a show at the theatre on Saturday and that we didn't have plans for the day. Brandon and I called to see if Lucas & McKenzie could go with us to Dollywood. McKenzie had been with us already and remembered enough about it to know that she wanted to go again. Lucas on the other hand, had never been to Dollywood, although he wanted to go, he didn't understand why I was so excited about it.

Saturday morning, Lucas came to my house ready to go - pack back and all. We loaded him in the car and went to pick up McKenzie. We got to her house and she met me on her porch with her bag in one hand and chocolate milk in the other, ready for a day at Dollywood.

We started the day off with the two having Rice Crispy Treats and Chocolate Milk for breakfast. It's the Breakfast of Champions, I know. As we entered the Parkway, we saw a few Elk, which in my vehicle, was something extremely exciting. We had to pull over, look at them, ooo and aaahhh, then we got back on the road. Lucas & McK talked all the way there...it was humorous to listen to their conversations.

We got inside the park, found the bathrooms and then got on a simulation ride, which was fun. When we came out though, it was raining. Ugh. We rode the cars in the rain. I was hoping the whole time that the rain would stop, however, even when we finished riding the cars, it had actually started raining even harder. :( We ate lunch at Red's Diner. After we ate, Brandon and I thought it would be best if we wait out the rain. So we put Lucas & McK on the hood of an old truck that was under shelter and we stood beside them and just waited. It was definitely getting hard to keep them occupied so I was glad to see the acapella group come under the shelter, where a crowd had already assembled. They stood right in front of where we were standing, so once they began singing, they had the attention of Lucas and McKenzie. I was thankful.

The group really interacted with the audience. One of the songs they sang to McKenzie, the next, to Lucas. I have tried to post videos of each. McK was great. She performed right along with the singers, however when he finished singing, she realized there were A LOT of people looking at her and she had a mini-meltdown as she busted out into tears. :(

A girl sang to Lucas and when she did, he grinned the biggest freckled face grin he could possibly offer. He was definitely proud.

Thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We were able to ride rides, eat junk, and have a good time. By the time we were back on the parkway headed home, both, Lucas & McKenzie were sound to sleep.

Here are a few pictures:

On the first "ride" the tram, from the parking lot to the entrance of the park.

Brandon, the trooper

Lucas
McKenzie
Rain, please go away.

Waiting....

VeggieTale Rollercoaster

In front of the big log.

On the carousel

Seeing who could fall asleep first, I think it was a tie.

World Changers

July 19-24, World Changers came to Franklin. With those of you unfamiliar with World Changers and what it is, allow me to explain. WC is a program of the North American Mission Board. It allows youth groups to select from a list the location they would like to do a project. Nationwide, there are 80 different locations. The groups travel to the project on the specific week, sleep on the floor of a school or church, are divided up with people they do not know to create "crews", sweat during the day, and to beat all, they pay to do it!

I have been a part of WC since 1998. From '98 to 2002, I was a participant of WC. 2003, I went to Penang, Malaysia for International World Changers. In '04 & '05, I worked for WC Summer Staff, meaning I traveled for the entire summer with a team of three other people and did 4 to 5 projects each summer. In '06, I went back to Malaysia. I didn't do anything in 2007 as we were planning a wedding for the fall, in retrospect, I totally could have done something. In 2008, I traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand with IWC. In 2009 and 2010, I served as a Project Coordinator for the Franklin, NC project.

July 19-24 of this summer was the week that WC came into town. The summer staff came in a few days earlier than the project starting so that we could do set up and have everything ready to go as the groups arrived on Monday.

The project went really well. We had groups from Texas, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. Total, we had 240 participants, 26 crews, and 19 homes worked on. We were thankful and praised Jesus for having very few injuries and nothing serious. For sure, it was a great week and I am thankful to have been a part of it.

Groups arrive on Monday, work Tuesday - Friday, and go home on Saturday. Each night, we had worship. It was great and definitely the highlight of each evening for me. It was also a major help that the speaker was super good looking.... his name was Brandon.

Brandon Breedlove. :) Really though, he did a great job, even though he was nervous speaking to students. I feel as though the week was an encouragement to the both of us and I am grateful that we had this experience together.

I want to point out that World Changers is not only to change the world of the homeowner, but it is to change the world of the participant. The hope is that the participants that travel to a project location will return home prepared to share the gospel and meet the needs of those in their own community.

Enjoy a few pictures from the week:

This is the Summer Staff: Rachel, Neal, Meredith, Cameron

A radio interview with Charlie at WPFJ, The Dove.

This is two participants and Rachel from Summer Staff.

This is Allie. She was my right arm, left arm, and brain throughout the week. She is a trooper and does ANYTHING that needs to be done.

A special girl and I am so glad she was with us for the week, it wouldn't have been the same without her.

July 2010

It seems as though the month of July has come and gone. Today, being the 29th, there are only 2 more days of the month. Part of me feels like the month has flown by, another part of me feels like the month began such a long time ago. The month of June was certainly busy all on its own, however, when July 1st hit, the business got busier and the crazy got crazier.

Disney's Beauty & The Beast ran from June 24-27 at the theatre. VBS began at our church on June 27 and lasted through July 1. There was a movie at the theatre June 28 and a show on June 29, I Love a Piano. We had a break on June 30, which served as "the calm before the storm".

July 1st - July 4th, the theatre was hopping. The theatre hosted The Inspiration's Independence Weekend, which consisted of 6 events combining the concerts and chapel meetings.

July 3rd, the town did the 4th of July Celebration in the Park because the 4th landed on a Sunday. I was able to finish at the theatre to meet Brandon and watch the fireworks. Since I had come straight from work, I didn't have my camera or anything... :( We were able to find Mama, Daddy, & Lucas n the midst of the madness at the park and sit with them for the firework show. Lucas loved them.

July 7th - David Crowder Band

July 9 - Little River Band

July 13 - Lary Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers (2:30 & 7:30 show)

July 16 - Doc Watson & David Holt

July 12 - 16 - I would leave from work and go straight to Brandon's parent's house, where Terry was helping with create "crews" for World Changers. (That is a totally different post all in itself, more to come)

**Somewhere in all of this there were three movies, but I can't remember what or when they were**

July 17 - 24 - WORLD CHANGERS FRANKLIN

July 24 - Beatles Tribute

July 25 - Recuperate from World Changers

July 26 - 28 - Worked during the day, had a couple lunch dates, rested in the evenings

July 29 - TODAY - we have Folkmoot at the theatre

July 30 - Point of Grace & Laura Story

July 31 - DOLLYWOOD with Brandon, Lucas, & McKenzie!!!

As you can tell, this month has been nuts, as it has been for everyone else as well, I'm sure. Brandon and I have tagged team on all necessities of life - grocery store, laundry, getting the mail.... you know, things that have to be done, but get tossed to the wayside until you reach the vital point of no milk in the fridge, a packed mail box, and heaps of laundry. If it were not for Brandon and his unfailing willingness to "keep everything going" it would have been a disastrous 30 days. So here is a shout out to Brandon. Thank you for all you have done this month just to keep life going.

Happy Birthday 95th Birthday, Papaw!

I am just now posting this, however, at the time, I didn't feel as though I had enough time to sit down and do this blog post justice with the time I had. I did not want to barely mention Papaw's birthday without the attempt to share his life with those that read. Therefore, I chose to wait until I could sit down and work on it. I didn't realize it would be one month later....

June 28th, we celebrated Papaw's 95th birthday. I left Brandon at VBS (he had to teach) and I went up to Mamaw & Papaw's house. When I got there, my parents and a few other members of our family were there visiting with the Birthday Boy (there is just something about calling someone who has been through all that he has, a 'boy' that does not settle well.)

As I sat in the living room with him, I tried to think of all (at least a lot) of the major events that Papaw has lived through - events that shaped our family and nation. Knowing that throughout his lifetime, he has seen 22 different men take the office of the President of the United States and 16 of them he was able to vote for, I am amazed at exactly how much he has been a part of and how he has watched the events in history change the nation.

He was born in Franklin in 1915 to Jerry & Hettie Holland, farmers and gardeners and "folks that took care of what they had". World War 1 had been well underway as it began in 1914, with three years left to go. Woodrow Wilson was President.

Growing up in Franklin, life was slow, but hard. In a world of farming, gardening, and manual labor, there was always something for he and his five other siblings to do around the house. In 1929, life got even harder. The stock market crashed which led the nation and eventually the world into what we know as The Great Depression. Papaw was 14. The nation emerges from the Depression in 1939, but its celebration didn't last long as Hitler invaded Poland, the beginnings of World War 2. Papaw was 24, one year younger than I am now.

In 1942, Papaw was drafted to serve in WW2. He trained in Fort Benning then he was able to come back to Franklin for a 30-day fur low. It was 1943. While he was home, he met a man who invited him over for supper and to "make music" at his house. Papaw went and met Betty Stewman, one of the daughters of the man. I prefer to call her, Mamaw. At the end of the month, Papaw went to New York where he and his fellow soldiers sailed to England, a sail of 21 days.

He was a sharp-shooter. His friend, "Cotton" was the driver of his tank. They were best friends while serving. I'm still trying to find the family of Edgar Cotton, but as of now, I have had little luck. I have heard many stories of their friendship, camaraderie, and mischief. "Cotton" is a familiar name in Papaw's house. Papaw served in Germany from 1942 to 1945, when the war ended.

Papaw & Mamaw got married after the war, moved around to here and there, and settled back into Franklin to begin and raise their family. They have four children: Daddy, Randy, Marianna, & Jesse and their family has only continued to grow. He & Mamaw have 4 children, 12 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, all because two people fell in love. We are all thankful for the investment that these two have poured into the life of our family. To us, they are our Legecy.

Happy 95th Birthday, Papaw!!!!