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

Compassion for His Children...

Passion for the Giver of All Good Things.

Wow, they say that time flies when you're having fun. Well, I must be having the time of my life. It seems every time I look up from existence, another week or even month has passed by. So it's been the past two weeks. Around our family, we've been struggling with a virus that has attacked all of us at one time or another. Austin's doctor finally decided to put him on a strong antibiotic to try to get his body back on track, while Lily's doctor decided that she just needed some strong cough medicine. Funny, Austin and Lily both had doctor's appointments at the same time in different cities. I took Austin and Connie took Lily. Connie joked that if we had another blessing, who would have taken that one to the doctor? Hopefully they're both on the road to recovery, but now Connie is taking her turn. Ugh!


"Oooh, rocking horse ... "Eh, sit down, Granny, ride horsey!"


"Oh, no, Granny ... what next?"


"Time to go home, Lily ... But first, a picture with the colorful cow. Show us your teeth!"

Now the reason for the post title. This past Thursday night, we attended a worship service at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. It was labeled as a concert featuring Aaron Shust, Audio Adrenaline, and MercyMe. But those who were in attendance know different. The Holy Spirit filled that arena that night to the point of all musicians and entertainers leaving the stage to allow Him to work amongst His people. There is nothing so sweet as to hear several thousand people sing praises to Jesus, being led only by the Holy Spirit, without accompaniment, or professional vocals. We sang I Love You Lord, Amazing Grace, and several other favorites. Everyone knew the words and sang to honor God!





In the middle of it all, God was at work, ensuring His plan (and not ours) was taking center stage. See, for those of you who do not know, Audio Adrenaline is doing their last series of concerts, er, I mean worship services, after 16 years. Several of the band members and their families are moving on to another ministry, Compassion International. They will work in Haiti, building orphanages for children who need God's love to reign down on them. The band members took time out of the worship, er concert, to describe Compassion and how we could help. Now, you know by now that many of the Christian artists do this, but what struck me was the commitment of these awesome warriors for Christ who are planning to uproot themselves and their families to achieve this part of God's plan. They asked us to consider contributing to Compassion instead of purchasing Tee shirts and CDs. So, you feel that little tug and go out to try to get to the Compassion table. Oh, there's too many people in line, MercyMe's gonna start any minute. I better get back inside. I'll do something about this on line later.

And then, just like clockwork, God's plan is put into action. "Oh missed the opportunity Thursday night, did you? Check this out." Sunday morning at church we had a special video before services. Something about helping children in need... Something called Compassion International. OK, ok. Got it. Where do we sign up? Give me the forms. How does this work? We ended up sponsoring a little 7 year old boy from Honduras. He likes music (that fits), playing with cars (fits), and art (ding ding ding ding!). Maybe one day we'll get to meet Olvin, but for now, we'll settle for providing what we can through Compassion International. Please pray for Olvin as Compassion International ministers to him to raise up a child in the ways of the Lord.

In case you're curious, or even a bit cynical as I am usually about these things, check out the web site for Compassion - I've added it to the sidebar on this blog. Turns out their mission statement is lifting children out of poverty for Jesus Christ. Their first and foremost objective is to glorify our Lord by ministering to the "least among us." The current President of Compassion International grew up as a missionary kid in Africa and so he knows firsthand the difficulties that poverty inflicts upon children, he himself living in fairly destitute circumstances. All in all a great organization to partner with in the name of Jesus, ... Compassion for His Children, .... Passion for the Giver of All Good Things!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, ... and Olvin!

Best Birthday Cake Ever!

Today was easily the best birthday I've ever celebrated. Never mind the age. Didn't matter. Never mind the tough day at work. Didn't matter. Never mind that I still have about an hour's work to do tonight before going to bed. Won't matter. In simple words, today was awesome! Why you ask. OK. Check this out.

The workday lasted from 6:45 am to 6:15 pm with a mid-day dash to take Austin to the doctor - he's got a cold again. Please pray that these colds will stop terrorizing him. That's been the only down side to our trip to China last year - it seems that Austin's immune system took a hit and now he catches colds with a regularity that worries me. But the doctor said he'd be ok after a few days. So that's good news.

So, Connie calls work and says come home, Lily and Austin have a surprise for you! So I canceled the last meeting of the day and went home. Upon opening the door, I hear Lily Grace shouting at the top of her lungs (and boy does she have some) - "Happee Birday, Daaeee! Happee Birday, Daaeee!" Is God awesome or what!! Lily immediately ran to the refrigerator, opened it, pointed inside, and shouted "Cake, eat!!" She and Austin had spent the afternoon preparing the best birthday cake ever. It was called Strawbabies De-ite (that's Lilyese for strawberries delight)! Lily even sprinkled the sparkles on it herself after 'helping' Austin with the icing. After dinner we put a few candles on the strawbabies de-ite cake (no comments about needing to get approval from the fire marshall please!), sang 'happee birday' and dug in. It was delicious. Best birday cake ever. Thanks Memaw for helping Lily and Austin. And thanks Connie for being the absolute, most awesome, wonderful wife I could ever hope and pray for and for being a great mommy to Lily and Austin!

Check out the pictures while I go and have some more Strawbabies De-ite cake!

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace

What About That Easter Dress, Jerry!

Oh, my gosh. See, that's the problem with us fathers. Sometimes we just simply don't think about these things. New clothes and particularly little girls dresses are as much a tradition of Easter as the infamous bunny himself, but until you have a daughter of your own, you can't understand.

Time to Pray!

When I was a kid growing up, we always got new Easter shoes and boy were they really tight and they hurt your feet. Shiny black and about two sizes too small. I think that Mom was getting out the same pair year after year since they were only to be worn once anyway. Why waste good money on comfortable shoes when it could be better put to use on chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits - good thing those weren't recycled! Anyway, yes we also got new clothes. Suits for the boys and I guess my sister got a new dress. See, that's the problem - I didn't notice these things because I was too busy looking at my feet and wondering how to get out of wearing those shiny, new, recycled shoes!

So, did Lily Grace get a new dress for Easter? Are you kidding? Does Connie like to shop? Is there a stairwell picture in the future of this blog? Silly you for thinking there would be no picture of Lily Grace in her new Easter dress. Of course there is. Connie, wake Lily Grace back up and put on her Easter dress so I can get a picture. I know it's 10:30, but I need to finish this post. OK, here she is. No, no I didn't wake her up, that was a joke. I think every time Lily Grace smiles, we take a hundred pictures. Because seeing that smile after knowing how her life started out causes our hearts to melt and our eyes to fill with tears - every time! We are truly blessed by God to be given the opportunity to raise two of His most precious belongings.

I'm a big helper ain't I?

So, without further delay, the Easter pictures...

Behold, the Easter Dress!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace

He Is Risen!!! Let's Celebrate!

“In pagan times, the "Easter hare" was no ordinary animal, but a sacred companion of the old goddess of spring, Eostre. The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. Since long before Jesus Christ was born, parents told their children that the magic hare would bring them presents at the spring festival. The presents were often painted eggs, as these represented the new life starting at this time of year." Hares are animals which look like rabbits, but are larger and in many countries quite rare. In most places, the Easter rabbit (bunny) has replaced the Easter hare completely.

Of course, with Christianity came the true meaning of Easter, that being the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For this reason, Easter is celebrated by Christians as the most important and holy of all days! Praise ye God for the resurrection of the body, that we may spend eternity with thee in Heaven!

When the children began arriving Saturday morning, it hit me that when we hosted this event last year at Isom's Chapel, we were a family of four separated by half a world. That seems like eons ago and yesterday all at once. All we had was a picture or two of a little girl named Jiangyong Xing and a brief medical report. But, know this that everyone who came got to see that picture more than a few times! We were so excited to show our new friends our new daughter and didn't care one bit if they'd seen the picture already a dozen times, one more couldn't hurt could it?


We had met many of the Athens FCC families at the 2006 Chinese New Year celebration but still, we were new to the group and didn't have our little girl with us yet. Except for the pictures. Oh, we had Kaitlyn and Kristin around teaching us about girl stuff and were beginning to understand that Amanda and Emily were in God's plan for us, but Lily Grace wasn't there that day for our Easter 2006 celebration. We had worked tirelessly all morning. Kaitlyn helped us and was just as excited as the rest of us at the opportunity to see Mary Beth and all the others again. She and Austin decorated the fellowship hall and prepared the game tables for the kids. Connie and her Mom had prepared a feast (including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the more discriminating tastes of the younger ones expected to attend). And I prepared the camera, but you'd already figured that one out right? And so we invited the entire Athens FCC to Isom's Chapel for an Easter celebration and egg hunt. Just for another opportunity to stand in awe at some of the most beautiful and loving children we had ever seen. [Sorry parents, the food was just to lure you into our trap!]

2006 Pictures: Check out Hannah and Emma! And Wendy and Gracie Mei

One Year Later ...

This past Saturday, we hosted the 2nd Annual Athens FCC Easter celebration at Isom's Chapel. And this time, Lily Grace was prominant among the children, garnering her share of attention. The children now know us a little better and are more comfortable around us. Mary Beth calls me Uncle Jerry - how cool is that!!! The parents have forgiven us (I hope) for our little trap last year and have become some of the most wonderful friends we have ever known. There is a certain bond that adoptive parents share that cannot be described - a simple look conveys thoughts more readily than a thousand words between those not blessed to share in this part of God's plan for His children. Our group continues to grow, with new families it seems almost every time we get together. I know in my heart of hearts that God has a special plan for these children and I cannot wait to see it unfold. God hasn't shared the details of that plan with me, but wouldn't it be awesome to see one of these children become a vessel for our Lord and lead their birth country to Christianity in large numbers! To be a part of that or just to see it happen would be awesome!

Anyway, back to our Easter celebration. Kaitlyn couldn't make it this year, but this time we had both of Lily Grace's grandmothers to help. Memaw was here already and Granny couldn't resist the tug of spending time with grandchildren, so she made plans to retire and move here. It's truly a blessing to see her excitement at every little thing Lily does. Our celebration included the usual festivities, food, and easter egg hunts, coupled with the excitement of a new family who visited from the Huntsville FCC. It turns out that our events are generally closer for them to attend and so we hope to see them more in the future. They have a beautiful daughter named Anna that we think came from the same orphanage as Mary Beth - cool! We missed those who couldn't make it and were greatly blessed to share time with those who did.

Praise God for His Risen Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace