A Visit From Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad came for a visit, arriving Friday, September 26th in the afternoon and staying until Monday Morning, September 29th.

Friday evening we went to see Fireproof (http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/), which by the way, if you haven't seen it, go see it! It's a great movie!!!


Michael and Jennie Walston - Joy's Mom and Dad ...


The Newvines and Kipp ...

They came to church with us Sunday morning, and then Sunday night we had a cookout to introduce them to the "riff-raff" we hang out with :)) Sorry, I forgot to get pictures of that ...

We were glad to have you here!

Happy Birthday Russ!

Russ showed up at our house tonight, and to his surprise, no one showed up for Small Group. David and I told him we were going to just go out to eat since it was just us.



David also told him we had to run by Thunderworld to pick up something for a student ... but instead, it was a surprise party for Russ!




Surprise!


A Birthday Cookie for Russ ...


Waiting on the pizza to come ...






Having fun bowling after pizza ...


The biggest hit of the night ... The Jukebox ...


A fun way to end the evening ...

Weekend Camping Trip to Elkmont

The Newvines and Roberts had a "guys" weekend fun-filled with camping, fort-building, and orienteering.


Jared hiding behind his stone-made "fort." He said the Park Ranger came by the last day and knocked the fort down saying, "You don't mess with Mother Nature."


The "boys" hanging out ... when it got dark, the boys would gather their weapons and go to "Rock Island" and play.




Group photos ...


The fellas in charge ...

While the Boys Were Away ...

Friday, September 12, 2008:

Girls night out ... Sushi Time! We had 2 ladies who had never tried Sushi before ... Kate and LaDonna. It was a fun new experience ... well, it was fun to watch their new experience anyway ...


Our choices ... salmon, A rainbow variety, California rolls, and Yellow Tail (if my memory serves me correctly).


Here's Kate giving it a whirl!


Back Row Left to Right: Lindsay, Dawn, & Kate.
Bront Row from Left to Right: LaDonna, Joy, and Caroline.

Neither Kate nor Ladonna were overly excited about the sushi, but I'm waiting on a craving to suddenly hit them one day as it did me ... :))

As a side note, I would love to say what an encouragement and blessing these ladies have been in my life. They are women whose heart is to follow Christ, and I am especially blessed by having the chance to know each one of them. I love you girls!

Labor Day Fun ...

LaDonna came up with a great idea of taking the bikes to Fort Loudon for a picnic. It was a great day to ride (a little on the warm side, but awesome when the bikes were moving) ...


So ... the Coverts, Borders, and Newvines rode to Fort Loudon Park for a Labor Day picnic with Justin driving the car with the boys close behind.


Jared and Mom ...



Discussions while the burgers are cooking ...


The fellas cooking the burgers ...


After a big feast, it's feels good to lie down and rest on an old Indian bed ...


The Covert Family


Joy and Kate in the doorway of an old storage building for food ...


A sweet moment ...


The Borders ...


The entire clan ... Happy Labor Day!

Next Stop ... A Vow to Remember

Our friends, the Coverts had been praying about exchanging rings as they did not do so their first time around (almost 20 years ago). After much thought and prayer, they decided it would be a good thing for them to do. The Newvines were planning to have a hotdog cookout on Sunday, 08/31/08, so on the spur of the moment, it was decided we would have a combo hotdog cookout/Renewing of Vows at our house ...

The Rings ...

The Bride and Groom ...

The BEST men ...

The merry married maids of honor ... (say that 3 times fast!)

The fancy shoes for the occasion ... look at those beautiful toes!!

The guests ...

Chris Carpenter performs the ceremony.

Their son Justin, shares his heart about his mom and dad. He makes a statement that when he gets married, he hopes his marriage looks like theirs ...

Thanks LaDonna and Joe for allowing us to be a part of your beautiful Renewing of Vows!!

A Trip to Dollywood

We took a trip to Dollywood on 08/29/08: LaDonna, Clayton, Jared, and I traveled out to Dollywood on Thursday planning to have a great day of fun, but when we got there, lo and behold, it was CLOSED! So, we decided to post-pone our trip to Friday. We traveled back out to Dollywood, and here are a few pics of our day ...

Our first stop at LumbarJack Lifts - one of the biggest hits of the day!

Jared getting ready to climb ...

Look at him way up there !!!

Clayton climbing ...

Jared and Clayton are a little "wet" after the moms got 'em with the water guns on their ride :)))

Waving from "The Scrambler" ...

Taking a lunch break. Okay, you know the old pics of "Where's Waldo" ... I took this wondering, Where's LaDonna?

Picking up after lunch on the rapids ... here they come ...

There they go!

Flying high in the sky ...