letters to the next president/GL

The White House (yeah-that's a drum set in front!)

Secret Service Agent Don
I had to have "special clearance" to get this close!

On Sunday morning we began a new series at Ridge called, "Letters to the Next President". If you weren't there, check out the message here, so you'll be caught up for this week. Trust me, if you missed last Sunday, you'll want to make sure you're there this coming week! We had a White House on the stage! Yes, the White House!!! *could my husband be any more talented?* A limo out front and the secret service to greet you..... you just knew someone important was watching from behind that tinted glass! The band was amazing and the message was so important, especially now, in this day and time. You won't want to miss this week!

Then on Sunday evening, Ridge Church held our second "Group Link". If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you already know how I feel about group life.... It is amazing, it is one of the best things that has happened to our marriage, we've met some of our closest friends in groups, and it's one of the main reasons I am so passionate about Ridge. There is just something about 'doing life' with a group of people. Something you can't get sitting in rows of chairs with 40 other people.... something intimate, life changing, something I think everyone should be involved in. Group Link is a get together we offer if you are interested in joining a community group at Ridge Church. We had pumpkin pie, apple cider and some great fellowship. (I know that's such a churchy word~but I'm not sure how else to say what I mean:) It was a long day @ Ridge, but so worth it.... Don't miss out next week and if you still haven't joined a community group go here and check it out! See ya Sunday....

I have a confession to make....

OK, I'll be the first to admit that I have a problem.... I am addicted to Facebook.... I guess there are worse things to be hooked on, but either way, I can't quit! I joined a little over a year ago to keep in touch with friends from Florida when we moved to North Carolina. That was my only goal, I promise. But just this week I have been able to reconnect with 7 friends that I haven't spoken to in years! This morning I found three people from my junior high days and it totally made my day! It is so very easy to lose track of friends, even great ones. People marry, move away and go off to college (maybe not in that order~but hey, whatever works). It's easy to get disconnected and lose touch with each other. This past year I have reconnected with some amazing friends through this crazy site and with todays new "friends" I would have to say, I am even more hooked! If you get a chance, join up, add me as your "friend" and happy hunting! I'm sure it won't be long until you're addicted too!

The Love Dare

It's probably not a big surprise to those of you who know us well... but there was a point in our marriage where Rusty and I hit a pretty rough patch. I'm sure our story is not too different from many of yours, or the people you may know~too much effort put into work and the relationships there and the exact opposite happening at home. We started to grow apart. We weren't fighting, we just didn't have much to talk about. I went to work at a job I loved, teaching kindergartners, and he went to work at a job he had grown to feel was suffocating him. I didn't want to hear how unhappy he was and he didn't want to hear how happy I was. It didn't happen overnight~it was a slow, silent process. Looking back, it was purely just a lack of being very intentional with our time with the Lord and with each other. Thankfully, we were able to spend a lot of time figuring out what we wanted for our marriage. We knew we wanted a marriage that glorified our Father above all else. We also knew that we had fallen madly in love with each other so many years ago and that we had missed that more than anything else. God has been so good to us. He has used some of the most amazing people, some who have no idea how they have blessed us, to bring us to where we are now. We are so grateful!

One night last week, Rusty and I had a date night and went to see the movie, "Fireproof". It was an incredible movie and I recommend everyone go see it if you get the chance. In the movie there is a book called, "The Love Dare" that is used and it completely changes the marriage of the couple in the story. It inspired us so much that we began doing the love dare ourselves.

One of the things Rusty and I are committed to doing is praying and doing a devotional together every morning. The Lord has used this time to bring us closer than we have ever been and it always amazes me how He can take the words on a page and make them so pertinent to your relationship. We are now on day 8 of "The Love Dare" and it has been incredible! For those of you who don't know what the book is about... each day (there are 40) has a message and scripture to read and then at the end of the passage, there is also a "dare" for you to do for your spouse. Some days have been easier than others and some have sparked conversations we have been putting off for years. I highly recommend, whether your marriage is stronger than it's ever been (like I believe ours is today!) or whether you are struggling each day to find the reasons why you got married in the first place (like I felt at one time) that you check out this book. Happy Reading!

apple pickin' & linville falls

Saturday morning we loaded up the cars (my sister brought gas from Columbia, SC so we would have enough to get over to the mountains and back) and headed to the foothills to pick apples. It was so much fun! We took a wagon ride through the orchard and then hijacked a wagon of our own and made an adventure through the trees:) We picked Jonagold, green delicious, red delicious, and cameo apples. We had apple cider slushies and bought apple butter and apple preserves to send home for the grandmas. It was so much fun to watch my kids "teaching" their cousins the correct way to pick an apple... (you know, with one year of picking under their belts, they're almost professionals!)

After we'd picked way more apples than we can ever eat, we drove to Linville Falls for an afternoon hike to the waterfall. With all the rain from this recent series of storms, the trails were a muddy mess, but it didn't stop the kids from reaching the falls in record time:)

family night #4 ~ apples of my eye

Carter rolling out the dough for our biscuits

making mini caramel apples

Gaby loved cutting the biscuits out!

what a goof!

Aunt Sam helping with the apples

At this week's family night, we had a few additions to our fun! My sister and her family flew in for the weekend. (I think she secretly didn't want to miss all the fun we have at family night! lol) On Friday night we had baked chicken with apples and the kids helped me make homemade biscuits with apple butter. For dessert we each made a few mini caramel apples. My plan was also to 'bob' for apples, but once again, the rain kept us inside, and I wasn't brave enough to do that in the house! This week was pretty low keyed, no decorations or games, just lots of family togetherness and the kids had so much fun helping us cook! Our family night carried over to the next morning, as we all loaded up the cars and headed to Morganton for some apple pickin' and wagon ridin'!!

check her blog out for more great ideas!

i'm as special as can be....

My sister, brother-in-law and two nieces have been visiting this weekend from Florida. We've had such a great time with them! The first night they were here, Gaby spent some time showing Aunt Tina all the new songs she's learned at school. Thank goodness for video cameras.....now you can enjoy this too! Here's Gaby singing her rendition of "Special Me". It's a hoot!

out of the mouths of babes....

I have to share this really cool thing that happened today in my class....

Let me set up this little story~Every morning we start our day off praying together. I have 7 of the sweetest four year olds you'll ever meet, and I have to say, this is one of my favorite parts of the day. After we pray, we read our bible story. This week we have been learning about Noah and the Ark. This story has been fascinating to them, especially the two boys! They ask question after question, like, "How high was the water? Was the boat as big as our classroom? & What happened to the people who didn't get on the boat?" Today for some reason we got stuck on the part about God shutting the door to the ark right before it began to rain. One of my boys asked, "Miss Tina, if God is invisible, how did He shut the door?" you laugh, but you try answering THAT one!! I answered it the best way I knew how.... I told him that just because you can't see the wind, doesn't mean it's not there.... We looked outside and the wind was blowing hard and the tress were rocking! (thank you Lord for Your perfect timing!) He seemed to understand... the faith of a child always amazes me! This leads to another question by my sweet "J"... "Miss Tina, where is God right now?" I told him, "He's right here with us". He said, "So, he's invisible, right?" I said, "Yes, but the bible says 'where two or more are gathered in His name, he will be there too'. So when all of us pray together, He is here with us!" He got the most excited look on his face and then he started looking around the room and then he said, "But where does He sit?!" We always sit in a circle for prayer, so thinking on my feet, I said, "Right here in the middle" and pointed to the center of our circle. A minute or so later, I look over to see "J" tickling the air.. saying, "tickle, tickle, tickle". I say, "J", what are you doing?" and he looks at me with a face that just melted my heart and says, "I'm tickling God. Do you think He's happy?" I told I was most certain that God was smiling right now.

How sweet is that??? This is why I love being surrounded by preschoolers.... some days, like today, I know I leave having learned much more from them, then they learned from me!