Chey & Victoria

On the very last night of May the first morning of June, we had some wonderful visitors...sisters Chey and Victoria. Chey and Victoria were part of a youth choir from a sister church in Alabama, and several families from Pleasant Valley North hosted the youth overnight in their homes.
We were one of those host families, and we had a fun evening with the girls, playing Pictionary and talking. It was a great time, and a new experience for Chey and Victoria, whom we returned to PVN in the morning for their return trip to Alabama.

Memorial Day 2009

We celebrated Memorial Day with some friends from church - the Blackwelders and the McCurrys.
Jon grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

We spent time outside talking and playing.

Here ZioB (Martin Blackwelder) and Julia enjoy some time together.

Caleb enjoyed playing badminton.

And Jules enjoyed mooching food from Andrea.

It was a fun afternoon for us all.

Aunt Chris & Uncle Brent & Marquis Visit

In May, we enjoyed a visit from the Carters.

Here Marquis is getting a good look at Julia.

Julia had fun hanging out with Marquis and Uncle Brent.
An afternoon at the park.
I think Marquis had the lead in this shot!

Stephen loved showing Marquis the ropes.

The whole crew went to the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, TN.

The kids had a lot of fun with the water works.

Now if this doesn't look like trouble, I don't know what does.

Three kids 4 & under at a large tub of water?

That's Syndi peeking out.

Julia and Marquis had a lot of fun.

Julia enjoyed playing Doctor to Uncle Brent...

...but her bedside manner needs some work.

Raspberries, anyone?

Maybe Marquis can do better.

Marquis and Brent checking out a museum exhibit.

Junior performing on a stage.

The special theme this visit was tied to architecture and building styles.

Each of the Caruvanas had a go at making a building.

Here Stephen works on his cinder block house.

Rivaling Donald Trump, Julia built a cardboard tower.

Syndi worked long and did a great job on her wood house.

Junior shows off his brick home.

And, of course, the annual fun at the bubble curtain.

Stephen, following his older brother.

A trip to Kangaroo Jake's was fun one day.

The order of the day was climbing...

...and tumbling...

...and bouncing...

...and being worn out by day's end.

Here Aunt Sylvia hugs and loves on Marquis.
It was a fun visit with Jon's sister and her family.

A Visit from Leah

Syndi had a friend over last weekend. Leah Camper, Syndi's best friend when we lived in Michigan, spent time camping with Syndi this weekend. Syndi's Grandpa and Grandma met Leah and her mom (Hi Anke!) in Alabama, and camped nearby for the night. Severe storms raged through the area and across into our county here in Georgia before passing through Atlanta. The campsite survived the hail and the tornadoes missed Rome by a few miles.

When they returned, they pretended to be at a campsite in our back yard, cooking over the fire pit (to the left of Syndi above).
We saw a beautiful rainbow from our back yard.
It had begun to rain, so the girls came inside, and then we saw this.
Near the end it became a double rainbow, but I couldn't even capture the whole rainbow in one photo, much less the double rainbow.
This is Syndi and Leah back in 2000!
That was then,
and this is now:

Leah joined us at church Sunday morning, and we took this picture out in front of our church. Syndi and Leah had a great time together, renewing an old friendship.
Aren't they cute?

A Frosty Visit

We had a wonderful visit from some friends.

Dan and Jen Snow, with their daughter Bethany, came to visit us shortly after Thanksgiving. Dan "Frosty" Snow is a Delta Sigma Psi fraternity brother of Jon's (from the old college days at LeTourneau). He lived in Michigan while the Caruvanas were there, attending the same church as Jon and Sylvia. He went into the mission field, and now works with Wycliffe, working in aviation maintenance in Papua New Guinea.

There he met Jen, a school teacher. Now their family serves in PNG, where Dan keeps their planes and helicopters flight ready. They are here in the States for only another month, after which they return to PNG.
Stephen enjoyed playing with Bethany. They made lots of noise together.
Jon enjoyed talking with his old friend, Dan. (Not that Dan is old, mind you. Though I did tell him he was looking old...hah! [Please note that he is younger than Jon.])
It was good to catch up. Our family really enjoyed having them visit, and we hope they come again next time they're stateside.
Please pray for the Snows as they return to PNG and continue to serve the Lord oversees.