Happy Spring!

Written on March 29th and never published:

Well today doesn't really feel like it, but Spring is here! Easter has come and gone and we hope it was wonderful! Our's was very full, but it was great. We are definitely keeping busy. On Easter Sunday 10 people were baptized at our church and we had 411 in attendance! Oh my goodness. It was amazing. We ran out of chairs! God is definitely taking charge and making Himself visible in Pleasant View. We are so thankful to be witnesses.

Noah enjoyed his first Easter Egg hunt with Hope and Hannah Chayse, courtesy of his KK. He soon saw the dog next door and lost interest in the eggs. He didn't know there was chocolate and money in them! (You can see pictures on our web album.)

Real Estate is hopping again and it's keeping Dad and I busy. I am truly enjoying my new profession. On Friday I was helping a client work on a contract for a home she is buying and it made my day to see the joy on her face! She lives in a one bedroom trailer right now and the quality of her living situation is going to be so much better. That's what it's all about!

April 23rd:

We had a great weekend! Friday night, Nathan and I had a date night courtesy of my parents. It was wonderful to enjoy a relaxed evening at the movies. Thank you Pops and KK!

Then Saturday we went to Rivers and Spires in Clarksville.

It is a great festival with activities for the entire family. Jay, Shantel, Hope, and Hannah Chayse came to enjoy the Kids' Zone with Noah and I. Then Nathan and his band, Making Malorie took the stage and played some great music. It included worship songs, cover songs, and some original work by Nathan. They did such a fantastic job and I was very proud. They had a pretty good crowd to cheer them on, but it was kind of chilly and the rain earlier in the day definitely kept people at home.

On Sunday after church, we left for Oak Ridge to visit Nathan's grandparents. They rarely get to see Noah and we hadn't been up there in almost a year. We had a great time and Noah got some fun new presents. It was very relaxing and good for us all.

Noah is growing every day and is bouncing off of the walls. He is climbing on every piece of furniture and he never stops eating! Nathan still won't let me get his hair cut and he gets called a girl atleast once a week. But, his hair is really beautiful. Nathan says he never got to have cool hair when he was growing up and he wants Noah to be cool. Daddys and their little boys! He loves being outside and loves looking for the Doggies he hears barking. He loves doggies! He is talking more and more, and is doing really well at repeating what we say. He's such a smart little boy and we are having a blast with him!

There are a bunch of pictures from the weekend and past several weeks in our web album. Enjoy!

Welcome Home Toby!

Friday night was a highly anticipated night all over Tennessee. Our favorite consignment sale was having its pre-sale, the snow was coming...BUT most importantly---Toby was coming home! For those of you confused, my cousin Toby Fleming, has been a Journeyman missionary in Niamey, Niger, West Africa for the past 2 1/2 years. I wasn't even engaged to be married when he left- so needless to say life has changed just a little since he's been gone. Hope and Hannah Chayse were born, I got married, his brother Drew graduated from college, our grandfather Big Daddy died, Noah was born, we found out our grandmother, Nanu, had cancer and she died about 3 months later. Home is definitely different.

Toby has lived in the middle of the desert for a long time. He has made some really tough decisions and relied on God to sustain him and guide him. I am so proud! Toby was born 23 days before I was, and we were partners in crime growing up. We did everything together...Opryland, Vacation Bible School, the trampoline, swimming lessons, GI Joe. I haven't known life without Toby.

OK- so, He's back and that's what this post was all about. We all went to his little Welcome Back party on Saturday. It was really great to see him and hear just a few stories. His feet are permanently nasty and he's pretty skinny, but he's forever changed. Please keep him in your prayers as he adjusts to being in civilization and makes decisions about what's next in his life.

Be sure and check out our web album. I've posted lots of pictures.

YEC and the Warehouse!

Well, it was a crazy busy weekend. But, it was so wonderful! Friday and Saturday were the Youth Evangelism Conference. This conference used to be my job, but this year I wanted to go as a volunteer. They are always needed, so I rallied the troops. Nathan, Logan, Melody, and I worked the conference on Friday night and then it was just the ladies on Saturday. Nathan's band, Making Malorie led worship Saturday at 2 smaller YEC sessions at Woodmont Baptist. They did an awesome job and I think had some fun while they were there. Nick Vujicic was the speaker at the Main Sessions and he was amazing. He has no limbs, http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/, and he is such an inspiration. Through his words, God touched the hearts of thousands of teenagers. The aisles were packed with people going to the altar to commit a change in their life. He spoke a message of hope and transformation only with the power of God. Hands down the best YEC speaker!

Then, as if we hadn't had a full enough weekend...Sunday was our first service in our new building at church! The Warehouse is what we affectionately call it, since that's what it was when we bought it. We had 354 people there on Sunday! That is a lot more than normal, and it was the best experience. There was just excitement in the air the whole day. I couldn't help from crying and I think Nathan's voice probably cracked a little at one point! I (of course) tried to take some pictures, but the lighting guys weren't exactly working with me on this one. I'll attach what I have.

I think I'm still on a joy high from this weekend. God moved and I couldn't ignore everything that He is showing me and doing in my life. I am so blessed!

I also am going to attach a video of Noah from last week. It's sometimes hard to show his personality in pictures, but you can't hide it in a video!