May is one of those turning point months. Summer is almost here (and so is bathing suit season- scary.) The kids just have a few weeks of school left. They're starting to say things like, "I'm almost a sixth grader". And it's a month that is full of activities! We have a color coded calendar (I know it's a little over the top, but it helps me keep track!) and the calendar page for May looks like a rainbow.
The first Saturday of May was typical. That day we were going in multiple directions. I actually ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K run. My friend, Greg, said he had a goal in mind for how fast he was going to finish the race and asked if I had a goal... yep, I said, crossing the finish line before all the people who were walking the 5K. (I wasn't kidding)
Actually, I didn't do too terrible considering I don't run nearly as much as I used to. We all ran and walked in honor of our precious friend Sarah Beth who passed away just weeks before the 5K of breast cancer. I'm so glad I got to be a part of it.
Later that day, while Hannah was at back in Huntington at a school play practice, we celebrated with our friend Tim as he got married. I have never seen him so happy. He cried through the ceremony. Then at the reception, my family danced like crazy people- I wonder where they get it from?! Garrett and Becca were all over the dance floor. They knew all the dances. Even Lou tried the Hillbilly something-or-another. He kicked his leg up in the air and all I could think was, "He's going to pay for that later!" But we had a great time. We have so many crazy, frustrating days... it's nice to have days like these every once and a while where you can just celebrate.
This weekend was Mother's Day, of course, and I was with Garrett in Charleston for our final weekend of Youth Leader Core, a 5 weekend youth leadership training program through our state Baptist convention. I led a class called "Worship Is" and at the end of the weekend as sort of a grand finale to the entire program, the youth led the early worship service at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Louie's mom and dad attend there and its where Louie grew up going to church. The service came together better than I thought and I loved it. One thing they did was write their testimony on a piece of cardboard. The premise is that sharing your testimony is as simple as "before" and "After". So on one piece of a piece of cardboard, they wrote a word or phrase that described their life before Christ... and on the back they wrote a word or phrase that described their life after they truly were changed by knowing Christ personally. One by one, the kids walked to the front, held up their piece or cardboard and then turned it over to reveal the other side. It was powerful.
I wasn't sure if the adult leaders were going to share their cardboard testimonies or not, so I created my own. As the planning continued, the kids just shared theirs and the adults really sat back to let them lead the entire service without interruption. So... my cardboard is in my backpack. I didn't share it Sunday, but I'm not embarrassed to share it with you now.
That brings us to Marvelous, Manic May 13. Today was a double-milestone day. First, Becca got her braces of!!! One and a half years ago.. that would be at the beginning of 4th grade, Becca got 'the works' as I like to call it. She had a narrow palate because of 7 years of sucking her thumb, so she got expanders on top and bottom with a crank. She's dealt with broken pieces, sores in her mouth, rubber bands and all kinds of discomfort like a trooper. Her dentist bestowed on her all the sticky candy she's not been allowed to eat... in moderation of course. To keep those beautiful teeth beautiful, she will wear retainers well, basically for the foreseeable future.
She wouldn't let me take a close up picture because she's not seen her teeth for a long time and thinks they look weird. But as she pointed out in the car on the way home... "Hey! I can whistle again!" Ah, the joys of having your braces off!
Another 'Marvelous' milestone today is that Garrett is off with Louie's dad on two college visits. Emory University in Atlanta and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. I can't believe I used the words 'Garrett' and 'college visit' in the same sentence. I've teared up about a dozen times today. It's this crazy mixture of exciting and scary. Happy tears, I promise.
A quick update... I mentioned that Becca auditioned for a part in the Huntington Outdoor Theater production of "Annie". She found out last night that she got a role in the awesome "Annie" Preshow that warms up the audience before the play begins. She's happy with that role and there will be 9 performances during July. More infor later!
