Things you might see at the Cleft #2

Okay, so let me see if I can explain. As Ty is playing peacefully on the shores of our backyard pond, he suddenly decides that it would be a good idea to climb into the sandbox lid and push out into the water.  The big boys, hearing Ty call (not for help, but for attention) go into Rescue Hero mode, grab the canoe and paddles, and start to work their way over to where Ty is now stranded (and loving every minute of it).  In the meantime, Andrea comes running into my house to alert me to what is happening in my backyard (not to alarm or warn me, but to make sure that I have my camera on hand in order to capture this priceless moment!).  Well, it's a good thing that Ty is in no real danger because it takes quite a few tries before Will and Jarrett and Andy are able to make it close enough for Ty to grab hold of the paddle and be pulled to the safety of their boat (because a canoe with four  boys in it is always a safe place to be).  Meanwhile, Jacob and Will Mock are waiting on the shore and wondering why they hadn't thought of the idea first.  In the end, I guess all is well that ends well.  And as far as an explanation goes, I guess the best one I can come up with is . . .

Boys will be boys!

Will Turns 11!

So, since we were in Charlotte on Will's birthday, he opted to have a few friends over the next weekend for a sleepover in honor of turning 11.  They played ball, jumped on the trampoline, watched The Adventures of TinTin (great movie!), and woke up the next morning to a donut cake.  Not many pictures, but plenty of memories.  Happy Birthday, Will. 

Let The SonShine!

We did it again! We held our second annual Easter Sonrise service at Mulberry Park this year with Team Jenkins, thereby making it officially a tradition!  Following the established pattern, the kids helped as we read through the Easter story using the Resurrection eggs, shared personal testimonies, sang songs of worship, and watched the glorious birth of a new day, reminding us, not only of Jesus' resurrection, but the new birth that we can experience "because He Lives!"

Spring Break in Charlotte

On a bit of a whim (a whim for us is anything that is not carefully and deliberately planned out far in advance) the kids and I decided to take a trip to VA over Spring Break to spend time with the Deagles.  As it turns out, airfare to VA was great, but the return trip way out of budget, so we opted instead for 5 tickets on Amtrak from Richmond, VA to Charlotte, NC, where Chuck met up with us for a 24 hour visit to the city.  We thoroughly enjoyed it!  After arriving on Friday night, we checked into our hotel and just spent a couple of hours walking around the city, watching a street magician, seeing the stadium where our friend, Mr. Ben, plays footbal, and grabbing a bite to eat. Saturday, we played at the Discovery Museum, caught a matinee of Stomp at the theater downtown (uptown??), and stopped in for a brief visit at Billy Graham's homeplace and museum.  We were able to pack a lot into a few hours, but decided that it would be well worth a trip back. 

A sure sign of a full trip and a fun time had by all!