They Say A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

So here are 10,000 words. I'll Let My Words Be Few. Enjoy the pictures.

I Love New York Too!

Here's some more pictures for the New York post. Even though she did not fly with us to New York, I can assure you that Lily Grace was there with us every step of the way. When, by the grace of God, an angel like Lily Grace comes into your life, going a minute or two without thinking about her is next to impossible. Here she is in her Big Apple shirt that I bought in Times Square.

I Love New York ...

And Washington, DC. Even with two planeloads of 7th and 8th graders and a few parents as chaperones.

Last year, as soon as we got back from China with Lily Grace, Austin got invited to join the ELHS Jr Beta Club. Become a member and be eligible to travel to New York and Washington, DC for a week of fun and learning. So without hesitation, we signed up. Connie and I would both travel to New York with Åustin, while Lily Grace got to spend some quality time with Memaw. At least that was the plan. So we began paying our installments for the trip for the three of us. But as time advanced, we knew in our hearts that there was no way that we could all travel to New York and leave Lily Grace here. So, Connie sold her ticket to another lady and Austin and I made the trek alone. Well, sort of ....

There were 90 of us in all. Two buses. Two airplanes - I was responsible for 60 on my plane. Two hotels. 30 hotel rooms. 65 kids and 25 parents (only three of us parents were men). We left East Limestone around 11:00 pm on the 24th and arrived in New York around 10:00 am the next day (we drove to Atlanta and flew Delta Airlines to Laguardia International). It was the first time to fly for several of the kids, so we parents had some comforting to do. Of course, Austin, being the worldly traveler, was explaining everything to anyone who would listen. He did manage to comfort one girl through takeoff and landing. Ah, the Big Apple. A piece of Americana. I wish everyone could go to New York at least once in their lifetime. It's really an awesome city. Especially Manhattan. Once in New York, we hit the ground running. Times Square for lunch. I had four boys to look after most of the time, so we watched to see where New York's finest, the members of NYPD, would eat lunch and we followed their lead. Ray's Pizza. How much more American can you get? Checkout the pizza slices. No skimping here!



Next up a tour of New York via motor coach. Chinatown, Wall Street, Central Park (checkout the group picture at the Alice in Wonderland Bronze statue), Uptown, Downtown, St. Patricks Cathedral, NBC Studios, Rockerfeller Center, Ground Zero. Stop. All day long, the kids had been chattering unmercifully. But now, as we exited the motor coach and began surveying the site of the most blatant attack by the enemy in modern history, every one of them simply stared quietly. Not so much as a deep breath could even be heard amongst them. No American can look upon this site without some emotional response, not even our children. It troubles me to wonder what they must be thinking. "Am I safe, if this can happen here?" We were blessed to have a wonderful New Yorker as a tour guide and even he couldn't say much. You just look and reflect. Some remember the victims, some their families, some the policemen of NYPD or the firemen of NYFD, others the attackers (they too must be prayed for), and still others the men and women in our armed forces protecting our country from further attack.




"One of Austin's Best Friends"

A Broadway show "Wicked" topped off the evening. In a word, awesome, awesome, awesome! Oh, sorry, that's three words. All in all, nearly 50 straight hours with no sleep. Wow, what a fun time that was! While we were away, Lily Grace was back home learning to say "Da-ee in Nu Ork, Au'tin Nu Ork, too!" She told both of us to come home after only a day or two. The next day was only slightly less chaotic. We visited a wax museum, Central Park again, 5th Avenue, toured NBC Studios and Rockefeller Center, prayed at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and then went to the UN. The final day in New York was spent in a pouring rain trying to get to Liberty Island. We did make it, but most were soaking wet, even with umbrellas and ponchos. But I guarantee you, everyone of us would do it all over again. The Statue of Liberty means so much to our country, you just have to see it, no matter what.

Next Stop, Washington, DC. Count the kids on the bus. Oh, we're a few short, not surprising. They have cell phones, they'll catch up. The Capitol, the White House, Ford's Theatre and the Peterson House, the Memorials and Monuments. The World War II Memorial is amazing beyond words. Go, see for yourself. Union Station, the Mall, Washington Monument, Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetary and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Changing of the Guard. Well, you get the picture. We were all very tired, but so much the better for having immersed ourselves in some of the most historic and exciting facets of our wonderful country. But by now, Lily Grace had added a few words to her phone conversation "Da-ee, come home, now pease!"








I forgot to mention, I learned how to shop for purses while in New York. I bought two for Lily Grace and one for Connie. The boys were very disappointed in my shopping habits and were more than a little embarrased to be seen with me in the likes of 9 West. Oh well, some day they too will be in the market for purses for wives and they'll have me to thank for teaching them to not be embarrased to shop for them!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace ... and 90 of our now closest friends!

Cardinal and White ...

And Pink and Green!

I have some catching up to do on posts and hopefully will get that done this weekend. But for now, just a short note on tonight's football game at East Limestone. Oh yes, football here at East Limestone is big. Coach Cav really established a tradition of effort and workmanship that has served our program proudly, even beyond his untimely passing a few years ago. Coach Cav, we miss you and we love you and we're keeping on keeping on.





Although we didn't match the attendance at the Alabama spring game (we were just a few short of 92,138 fans!), we did have a great crowd. It's really cool to live in a community that supports its children the way we do here in East Limestone. And of course, Lily Grace thought they were all there to see her. So she put on a show. Laughing, cackling, and squealing as she took "telephone pictures" of those around us. She wanted to play "falling," a little game we play where we pretend she's falling and I catch her at the last minute, all night long. She'd get louder and louder with every time and then squeal "one more time" as she looked around to make sure everyone was watching her! Hilarious! Every day that comes along is a new experience for Lily Grace. And such was the case tonight as Lily Grace got to attend her very first Cardinal and White spring football game.

Austin continued his role as manager that he started under Coach Cav - it's pleasing to see that he has the character and personality to dedicate himself to something and stick with it. But as he has gotten older, his desire to participate with the marching band has increased. But how could he do that and remain dedicated to the football team? He promised his best friend on the team that he would be there helping him until he graduated. His friend will be a senior this coming year, so Austin definitely wanted to continue as manager for at least one more year. He had been trying to figure this one out for some time and then this week he and the band director talked and worked out a plan where Austin could do both! He is so excited. Now he gets to march and go to competitions and play his drums with the high school band, but keep his commitment to his friend. Thank you Jesus!


"My Big Brother is the Greatest!"

Oh, the game. Well, the Cardinal team claimed the "Toilet Seat" with a thrilling come from behind 34 to 28 victory. Trailing 28-13 with only nine minutes left in the game, the Cardinal team scored three unanswered touchdowns and Austin's best friend was in on all of them. In fact, as the starting QB, he passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another!


"I'm not even going into the whole "toilet seat" thing!"

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace

SoulStock07 Rocked!

I don't know how many new Christians were born in Athens this weekend, but by the numbers praying together during the time of invitation, it was clear that Jesus was there increasing His kingdom through the dedication of the SoulStock volunteers and the presentation of His message by Scott Dawson.
At one point in the evening, I heard 162 had given or rededicated their lives to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Only God knows for sure, but any believer could see clearly His hand at work in this ministry event.

We are so blessed here in Limestone County to be priviledged by God to host Soul Stock every year at Athens State University on Beasley Field. Next year will be the 10th anniversary of Soul Stock. If you haven't been to one yet, mark your calendar for the first Saturday in May 2008 - It's totally free! Every year, top Christian artists like Third Day, Rebecca St James, BarlowGirl, Audio Adrenalin, Kutless, Newsboys, and others grace the stage on Beasley Field and lift up the name of Jesus. There's usually a speaker who brings a message as well (this year was Scott Dawson). Several churches have pooled their resources to sponsor this event and it is treated as a completely non-denominational ministry. It is for Him and Him only, that no denomination can lay claim to its successes. If you want to know more, check out the link I've added to the sidebar. but more importantly, plan to come next year!

This year's headliners were Sanctus Real and BarlowGirl, both very, very good artists, but more importantly, very, very good ambassadors for Christ! The event started at 2:00 pm and went all the way until 10:00 pm. In addition to Santus Real and BarlowGirl, there were many other up and coming acts like Need to Breathe, This Beautiful Republic, and Matt Papa. We even had a local group called Unchained that opened the festival this year. Maybe next year our praise band at Isom's Chapel could do that! I've talked to a few of the members and they all said I was crazy. "Opening for the likes of Sanctus Real, BarlowGirl, Jerry, I'm sorry, but you've definitely lost it." But I've got a year to convince them. We'd have to get past the audition/contest for local artists, but it would certainly be cool to give it a shot. Of course, Austin immediately grabbed the idea and began running with it. Be sure to stay tuned to this story!


"Lily Grace, This is What We Call Soul Stock, You'll Really Like This!"

Of course, Austin has been to Soul Stock every year since 2001. But Lily Grace got to attend her very first festival Saturday. And she was certainly all about it. Not even the loud music could keep her away. She made herself at home like she does in everything new. Lily stayed until just before Sanctus Real, but began to give out from the heat and had to go home. Austin and I stayed until they turned the lights out and began sweeping the parking lot. It's just so amazing to be able to witness what God is doing here in Athens with this ministry. Take a look at some of the photos below to see how she and Austin enjoyed the afternoon and evening.

By the way, I haven't posted much lately for a few reasons. First, we added a Macintosh iMac to our home network and I'm having to spend time learning its operating system and applications. It has very promising capabilities that make the Windows XP system look ancient. However, my learning curve (or Blogger photo processing capabilities) probably explains the sideways pictures below - sorry! Secondly, Austin and I just got back from New York and Washington, DC on a trip with the East Limestone Jr Beta Club. While we were away, Lily Grace learned to say New York pretty well. A post on that later in the week.


"Turn me up right and I make a great picture!"










"I tired Da'ee, go home now?"













"Getting Autographs on His Sanctus Real T-Shirt"


"Austin Discusses the Finer Points of Music Presentation with Members of Sanctus Real"

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace