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We want to welcome you to our family blog. We are posting this as a way to keep in touch with family and friends and we hope that you enjoy reading about the events that happen in our family. Kasey is currently preaching part-time at Holland's Gin Church of Christ (www.hollandsgin.weebly.com) and works full-time as the store manager for McClary Tire Co. I am a full-time wife and mother. God has blessed us with two beautiful boys: Chase, age 12 and Hunter, age 5.

Come visit our Bible Classes at Holland's Gin Church of Christ!

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Kasey and I are so blessed to be a part of the church family at Holland's Gin Church of Christ. Kasey preaches there part-time with Carl Witty serving as their full-time preacher. We would really love for you to visit us and bring your children to our Bible Classes, too. To find out more about the Church that meets at Holland's Gin and their Bible Classes visit the following website: www.hollandsgin.weebly.com. Come study with us!

Family Portraits 2010

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Journal Entries

Thank you for joining us today! We hope you enjoy catching up with us. Feel free to leave comments on our blog. We would love to hear from you!

Boy Scout Camp 2010

Chase went with ABS Troop 21 to Boxwell Scout Reservation in Lebanon, TN for Boy Scout Summer Camp during the week of June 20th - 26th.

Kasey and I dropped him off on Sunday at camp. We didn't hear a word from him until we went to the family night program on Friday night. As a mom, I could not wait to see him. But, I made a promise to myself on the long drive to camp that I was not going to embarrass Chase by running up to him and hugging him in front of all the other boys when I got there. I was pleasantly surprised when we saw Chase and he wrapped his arm around me and told me he loved me and he missed me this week. AWWW!

When we arrived at the reservation, we purchased our meal ticket at the "Cripple Crab". They gave us a map and told us how to get to Chase's campsite called "Camp Craig".


I think we walked about 1/2 mile to get there. His campsite was located right on the waterfront in a beautiful location.






This was Chase's humble abode during the week:

After we saw Chase's campsite, we went to the flag lowering ceremony. As all of the boys gathered in their formations, it was such an amazing site to me. All of the boys were required to wear their uniform shirts. They had to remain silent during the formation. Suddenly we heard the staff scouts marching from another area of the camp toward the flag pole. There were about 30 of them marching and singing in unison. When they arrived, they shouted out some commands to all of the boys and the flag lowering ceremony began. Then they entertained the scouts before dismissing them for supper. Here are a few pictures from the flag ceremony:





After the flag ceremony, we went to the cafeteria for supper. The scouts had to enter the cafeteria in silence, wait for the prayer, then sit in silence until their table was "tapped" by a staff scout.

When their table was "tapped" they were allowed to enter the line to get their food. The scouts served us BBQ sandwiches, baked beans, salad, and peach cobbler. It was actually pretty tasty.


The staff scouts were quite talented. Some of them formed a Camp Craig Band and they performed for us during our meal. They also got the scouts involved in a "buffalo dance" which was hilarious!



After our meal, the boys were responsible for cleaning their tables. They each had assignments: wiping off table, taking trays to the garbage can, sweeping, and mopping. Guess what job Chase got to do? He can put this new skill to work at home!


After they finished cleaning up, we had a little free time. Chase took us on a little tour of Camp Craig. This was one of the sites where they met each night for the campfire ceremony.

Here are some pictures of their swimming hole. Chase had a lot of fun here!


We met at the flagpole at 8:30pm to prepare for the closing campfire ceremony. Some of the Scout Staff led us by carrying torches to the campfire site on the waterfront.


All of the scouts were getting pretty tired by this time.

The Camp Craig Band performed for us again:


At the end of the campfire a member of the Scout staff stressed the importance and honor of achieving Boy Scouts' highest achievement - Eagle Scout. As he talked, other staff members used torches to light a flaming eagle across the lake from our campfire. Then the staff members gathered in a circle around the campfire and sang a scout song.

As we were being dismissed I heard another scout tell his mom, "I love this place. This is the best place on earth. I want to come here every Summer." I think Chase feels the same way. He had a great time. We have already noticed some great changes in him. He not only fulfilled many of his rank requirements and earned two merit badges, but I think he learned way more from his peers and scout leaders this week than we will ever know. He has so much more confidence in himself and just seems all around a much happier boy!

Boxwell Scout Reservation

Here is a link to Boxwell Scout Reservation in Lebanon, TN.

http://www.virtualboxwell.org/v2/index.html

This is where Chase is staying this week. It looks like a lot of fun! I hope it is. Can't wait to see him on Friday.

Happy Father's Day!

We made Kasey a photobook for Father's Day made up of photos of him and the boys over the years since they were born. If you copy and paste the link below into your web browser, you should be able to see a sample of the book we made.

http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/holiday/father-s-day-4803119

If that does not work, you can view it on my Facebook Profile.

He loved it. He looked at it several times when we gave it to him.

I wish I would have had enough time to scan photos of Kelly, me, and our Dad to make him one. But, scanning those old pictures takes a long time. Maybe if we started on it this year, we could finish it by next Father's Day! We need to make a Grandparents book with pictures of the family with Grandma and Grandpa!

We did not get to do much for Father's Day today because we dropped Chase off here today...

It is in Lebanon, TN. So, we spent most of the day on the road. While he is there, I will be doing this until we get to see him on Friday...

On Friday, parents will be invited to eat dinner with their scouts and attend the campfire ceremony. Hopefully, I can get some good pictures then.

Home from the hospital...

Kasey scared me half to death Thursday morning telling me that the left side of his face and his left hand were numb. Of course, the first thing that came to my mind was a stroke. I woke up the boys and we headed to the ER. Kelly later met me at the hospital and took the boys home with her.

They began running tests to see if Kasey was having a mini-stroke. They decided to admit him so they could observe him for 24 hours, run more tests and make sure that they would not send him home before ruling out any risk factors for heart attack or stroke. All of the tests came back fine. The doctors feel like the numbness in his hand and face were not related to each other. Kasey suffers from migraines and they think that the numbness in his face could be related to his migraine. He told them that he got too hot at work one day this past week and that it started feeling numb in his face then. It would come and go. So, they also thought it could have been related to heat exhaustion and dehydration.

The numbness in his face went away later Thursday night. But, his hand was still tingling and numb. They are pretty sure it is from a pinched nerve. We are home now and he is feeling better.

Thanks so much to Grandma and Kelly for taking care of our boys the past two days! Thanks for all of the calls and visits to check on him! We love you!

Chase's work at Day Camp is over...

During this past week of June 7th - 11th, 2010, Chase attended Cub Scout Day Camp at Point Mallard in Decatur, AL.


Boy Scouts of America is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary! This was a banner that all of the scouts made on the first day of camp.

This was Chase's third year attending Cub Scout Day Camp. But, this year was different because this year he got to wear a t-shirt with this on it:

Since Chase "bridged over" to Boy Scouts in May, he decided he wanted to volunteer as a Den Chief this year at Cub Scout Day Camp to earn some service points for Boy Scouts and for Jr. Beta Club.

Kelly's son Dalton also worked as a Den Chief this year. Here is a picture of Chase and Dalton. Part of the week they helped with the Bear Den and part of the week they had to work with a Webelos Den. This picture was taken at the end of the day during their closing Flag Ceremony.

Chase had a good time as a "staff member" and the adult leader he was assigned to said he did everything that was asked of him and she appreciated his help. This week was a great way to teach him what it means to be a good servant to others. He worked from 7:30am until 3:00pm daily exept for one day when camp closed early due to weather and one day when I had to pick him up early for a doctor's appointment. Needless to say, he was one tired scout each day!

He was proud of the signatures from fellow scouts and cubscouts on his shirt. This has become a tradition at camp each year.

This is a group picture of Chase and Cody with one of the dens they helped this week. Chase is the second one from the left on the back row.

Now, he has one week to relax before heading off to Boy Scout Camp next week. We will be dropping him off in Lebanon, TN next Sunday evening (June 20th) at Boxwell Reservation. He will spend a whole week working on requirements for various merit badges and scouting badge requirements. He will also get to take part in some fun activities, too, such as swimming, hiking, biking, dodge ball, crafts, games, campfire activities, etc. He is so excited about it. I will be nervous while he is gone. But, I am also happy for him and I know it will be a good experience for him. The parents will be invited to the Campfire on the last night of camp and hopefully I can get some good pictures, then.

One Year Anniversary with Weight Watchers!

One year ago, I joined WW. It is one of the best things I ever did for myself. I met my goal in November 2009 and have not gained anything back yet. Hopefully, I never will! (Not trying to brag - just proud of what I finally accomplished after a lifetime of weight problems)

Before Picture Taken in June 2009
After Picture Taken in November 2009

Most Recent Photo Taken in May 2010 at Hunter's Preschool Graduation