Do You Know What An Ordinary Hero Looks Like?

I sure do.

As I prepare for my trip to Ethiopia, the "ordinary heroes" just keep showing up. They show up in the form of ladies at church who bring me little boys & girls underwear for the children of Ethiopia because they heard that the littles there love their own undies. They appear in the form of sweet friends who bring me Crocs and rain boots to share with children who have none for their bare feet. They are out there combing the shelves of yard sales and thrift shops for sweet little dolls and then taking them home and cleaning them up before delivering them to me so that some little girl will have a fresh, clean baby to love. They are friends and family who quietly donate online through Visiting Orphans toward my trip costs. They spend a day working hard at our fundraising yard sale; they clean out closets and donate items we can sell (and sell we did....yard sale post coming soon). They clip coupons and, weekly, bring me bags of toothpaste and toothbrushes to donate to the people of Korah. They sell Ugandan magazine beads in their offices and hair salons because they believe in the cause and they drop off things like Dum Dums (suckers) and Matchbox cars out of nothing but love.

And sometimes they are sweet little boys who, for their birthday, ask their friends to bring items for the children of Ethiopia instead of gifts for himself. And just like that story we've all heard about the starfish. He/we can't save them all but he/we can make a difference for at least one.



Thanks to one of my favorite ordinary heroes, Eli; I am so very proud of the sacrifice that you made on behalf of the children in Ethiopia who will be so very blessed by the gifts of you and your friends.

Friends With News

Our sweet friends, The Hulshofs, received their referral(s) on Friday !!!

We have gotten a sneak peek at the faces of two cute girls who will soon be Hulshofs and are so excited for this family, whom we love so much.

If you don't already, follow them here and watch the rest of this story take place.

The hope is that Chris & Valerie will have a court date in June. Typically, the return visit to bring the girls home would be a matter of weeks later (sometimes 3-4, sometimes 6 or more). If things work out the way that it looks like they will, I hope to be able to visit the girls (Hannah and Aby) and take them a care package while I'm in Ethiopia in early July.

I am so excited for this family and eagerly watching God unfold the story of their family.

Update(S)

I have been neglectful in updating since my previous post regarding the scare surrounding Ethiopian adoptions. As it turns out, prayers have been answered and all seems well in Ethiopia. I am praising God for the following, posted by the Joint Council:

Since announcement, the Department of State has heard many rumors, but none have been substantiated. The U.S. Embassy can confirm that the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs has shuffled the portfolios of key adoption personnel. The Embassy has not been able to confirm how this reorganization may affect the processing of cases through the ministry. Additionally, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa is discussing the possibility of developing a consolidated assistance proposal to MOWA to find out what the resource needs are and find what assistance can be given to allow MOWA to accomplish their goals.

In the meantime, for the Williams family, time seems to be racing by at lightning speed. There is so much going on in our lives and in the upcoming months. Currently, we are "Spring Breaking" in Destin, FL where the weather is beautiful and the time together as a family is priceless. This is the last Spring Break of its kind as Jordan will soon be graduating from High School. This time next year, he'll be off to Union University and it's highly likely that the boys' Spring Breaks won't coincide for a trip like this one.

Another sign of time NOT standing still is the fact that Braeden will be celebrating a BIG birthday on Sunday.......can't believe he'll be THIRTEEN !!!!

In addition to Jordan's May graduation, Jeff graduates from Vanderbilt in July (with his MBA) but, first, he'll be taking his International Residency trip with his class (to Budhapest and Istanbul) in late April/early May.

I continue to prepare for my upcoming trip to Ethiopia. I am currently fundraising through Ordinary Hero. In addition, my sister (Ashley) and I will be holding the first of two yard sales on April 8th and 9th (at her home in Murfreesboro). So many people have been so gracious to donate items to the sale. We currently have one bay of our garage FILLED with items for the sale AND friends of Ashley's are housing another LARGE collection of items.

Speaking of collecting, I continue to be overwhelmed and humbled by the individuals in my church who, each week, bring me goodies for the children in Ethiopia. I can hardly wait to see the faces of the little ones when we take these items over. I have one special contributor who I plan to post about soon.

On Friday, March 25th, ORDINARY HERO is offering a matching grant for the first affiliate to raise $100.00. If you were considering ordering some OH gear for yourself/family, tomorrow would be a great time to do it. When making your purchase, simply choose my name from the drop-down box in order for me to receive 40% toward my trip costs.

Lastly.....for some time, I have followed the blog of a local family who adopted from Ethiopia. As it turns out, the Mom of this family (Amy) will be traveling on the same OH trip to Ethiopia. In addition, she recently linked to another blogger (Kim) who also will be on the trip. Kim is currently doing a giveaway on her blog with proceeds from the donations given benefitting El Olam Orphanage (which we will be visiting).

I apologize for the randomness of this post. I just felt like I had some catching up to do, but vacation calls and I likely didn't do this post justice. I have more posts swirling around in my head......promise to update soon.

Long Time No See

It's been two months since my last post.

And though I'd like to be able to say something like, "where did the time go?" or "how did that happen?"; the truth is that I've been very aware of not posting. Time didn't slip away. I didn't forget. It wasn't that I had nothing to say.

It's simple really. The more that I learn that someone is actually reading my blog, the more anxious I become in writing. To quote a sweet friend: In writing my thoughts here, I often feel as if I'm "standing in front of you wearing only my underwear". Shiver.

I've spent many years on the surface but, of late (the last couple of years really), God has me going deeper and deeper and I love and praise Him for that but, at the same time, I am not secure enough in myself to hash them out publicly.

Sure...my blog could be about "surface" events. It could be just a decorating blog or just a blog about my kids or, for pete's sake, what I ate for lunch. But that's not where I am and so, my blog, it has some catching up to do. It's having an identity crisis of sorts.

In the meantime, my kids are awesome. They amaze me each day as I've come to realize that they are young men. I'm thankful to be their Mom. They're as individual as they can be and I love that about them.

And, my husband, he's amazing too! He's back in school...getting his MBA at Vanderbilt. I'm very proud of him.

I'm ready to drag out the Fall decor for my home....I love Fall ! (Is that surface enough for you?)

And my Savior? Well, He's something else. I just began the study of Esther and these are some things that have spoken to me:

• There is as much to learn about God by where He does not make himself obvious as when He does. Just because you don't see Him, doesn't mean He's not there.
• You seek HIM and his will will find you.
• We must learn to trust His providence even when the Red Sea doesn't part.
• And....just in case you're thinking that He would choose (and use) anyone but you, see Esther.

A Sneak Peek

At some point in our travels last week (before boarding the ship), Jeff and I talked about how awful it would be if we'd built this cruise up so big in our minds only to get onboard and be let down.

Know how that happens sometimes? We build up something and think about how wonderful it's going to be, have all these HUGE expectations, only to wind up setting ourselves up for disappointment when that thing can't possibly compare to the dream we have in our head.

Well....

I'm happy to say that though we have spent the better part of the last 10 months:

*talking about our cruise
*hearing about cruises
*reading about cruises
*looking at pictures of cruises
*wondering about our cruise
*shopping for our cruise
*planning our cruise
*surfing the internet about cruises
and just basically submersing ourselves in anything "cruise"
OUR CRUISE DID NOT DISAPPOINT !!!

It was just wonderful. Everything that we hoped and dreamed and more.
Just what we needed to rest, relax and celebrate the last 20 years together.

I have hundreds of pictures and am still working to label and edit them but I couldn't wait to, at least, give you a little teaser. I'm sure you can't wait for some more detailed posts later (just humor me) but, for now, I leave you with just a few. You have no idea how hard it was to choose only five.

And, by the way, God sure does have a lot o' water......who knew????

One Week From Today....

Jeff and I will fly out of Nashville for a 9-day trip that's been months in the making. We will arrive in Orlando, FL for an overnight stay and then take a shuttle on Sunday morning to Port Canaveral where we will board Royal Carribean's "Freedom of the Seas" for a 7-day cruise to CocoCay Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Neither of us have ever cruised before and are really looking forward to discovering something new. We will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary on the trip.

I am so very excited but anxious at the same time because we will be leaving our boys for 9 days. I believe the most we've ever been away from home like this (without them) is two or three nights. They'll be well cared for by Grandparents and other friends/family who love them. It just seems like a long time away the closer we get to departure.

I will have lots of pictures to share when we return but, for now, I found some pictures of the ship online:

Little Fat Birds

(NaNa's favorite "little fat birds" with a picture of her as a child.)


My NaNa passed away one year ago today. I can still hardly believe that she's gone. Though, over time, mourning is replaced with memories and tears are replaced with loving thoughts, life is never the same. I have missed her so this past year.

She had a love for "little fat birds" (what she always referred to them as) and, because of her, they have become precious to me as well. I can never look at a pair of little fat birds without thinking of her.

Of all of her belongings, the thing that I wanted most was this pair of little fat birds (above)....a pair that I recall has been around for as long as I remember.

I've added a few others here and there as well (and will continue to do so) because they bring such sweet memories of her to the surface.

Spring Break 2009

I'm really behind on posting and wanted to, at least, make one installment today.

Several weeks ago, we took a little trip during the boys' Spring Break. We decided to try out the new indoor waterpark (Wilderness at the Smokies) in Gatlinburg. It was AWESOME! Eventually, there will also be an outdoor water park also but, for now, the indoor was perfect for our trip. In this part of the country, in the Spring, you have to go much farther south to be able to do anything water-related in March and April.

 

Our sweet Addi went with us and we so enjoyed her company. Having a girl along (other than me, of course) was a change for the Williams family.

 

We experienced the gamot (weather-wise) as we were sunburned on Sunday and it snowed on Tuesday. Only in Tennessee.

 

 

It's been a Mandisa kind of week

As I have stated here before, I am on a mission to lose a large amount of weight. I have currently lost 51.4 pounds and am thrilled but still have quite a way to go. Unlike many other times that I've dieted, I finally feel as if what I am doing is just part of my life. I no longer see it as something that I'm doing short term; it is a complete change of lifestyle. I am not one to pat myself on the back normally but I have been working very hard....working out 4-5 days per week.

Anyway, I didn't start this post just to boast but did want to update some of you who read and have asked about how my diet is going.

Now to the "meat" of my post:

I don't watch American Idol (I know, I know) but I have heard of Mandisa. To be honest, I couldn't have told you if she was from a past season or the current season (I would've guess "past"). I couldn't tell you whether she'd won or lost but I had heard her name. Well...Wednesday I jumped in the car to run some errands and caught the tail-end of what turned out to be a new release by Mandisa. Really, I only heard a few seconds of the song but they took phone calls following its play and people were raving about how good it was.

Fast forward to Thursday....I went to get my nails done and right there at Hana's I met Mandisa's personal trainer. By the way, I visit my own personal trainer on Thursdays and was going straight there from the nail salon (just thought that that was a neat tidbit). Come to find out, Mandisa has lost 80 pounds in 8 months with the help of this trainer (named Tina). Now, I may be the only person on the face of the earth that didn't know this but humor me. This trainer (whose business card reads, "Your Body, His Temple" - so cool!) was talking about what a beautiful person INSIDE and OUT Mandisa was and I left there wanting to learn more about this person who had now come up now twice in the same number of days.

Later on Thursday I came home to find that a sweet, sweet friend had left me a little "happy" on my front porch. A sweet devotional book titled, "Jesus Calling" and the all-time sweetest, most humbling note I believe I have ever received. Anyway, while communicating my thank-yous to this friend she shared with me that she'd had a date with God that day (a little alone time with Him) and that she'd spent it praising his name in unison with, you guessed it, the new Mandisa CD. (She didn't know of the incidences above). She was beside herself about how awesome this new work was and wanted me to have a copy.

Being that I am the impatient person that I am (and also being that I have an Ipod and never know what I want to put on it or how to do it even if I did), I decided I wanted to put the album on my Ipod so that's exactly what I did.

Mandisa's new CD is titled "Freedom" and it is really, really awesome. I also found the following video on Tangle where Mandisa shares a little about her journey to lose 100 pounds. I've enjoyed getting to know Mandisa this week and look forward to following her in the future as she reaches her goals and praises His name.

Sorry....I'm having trouble embedding the video but you can see it here.

I Heart These Faces !!!

In my newly-acquired Photography interest, I have combed the internet for lots of Photography sites.

A favorite that I found is "iHeartFaces" and this week their contest is specifically for pets. And, of course, since Baxter is the cutest puppy dog face EV-ERRR I had to sign him up.

And, in fact, though it's definitely not fair for one family to have the TWO cutest dogs ever, I simply couldn't leave ole Smokey out of the mix.

Despair

In my 41 years, I've never known a time that there was more hurt and despair among the people that we know and love more than now.

In the past weeks as a church family, we have experienced loss after loss (through miscarriages, sudden deaths, illnesses and also on the job front). It seems that pain and disappointment runs rampant amongst us.

Today, I ask special prayer for the following families:

• An unspoken for a hurting friend.
• For the family of Jeremy Powers, a 21-year old husband (to Courtney), father (to Koby), son (to David & Tracy Noland), grandson (to Jan Noland) and nephew/cousin (to Kenny, Debbie, Alycia and Kacey) who lost his life suddenly in a motorcycle accident last week. I don't believe that I have ever attended a sadder funeral...as young mother Courtney carried in that sweet 2 month old baby (who had just been released from Vanderbilt following heart surgery) to say goodbye to his Daddy. Continue to pray for little Koby's healing and strength.
• For my friend Valerie Hulshof whose sweet mother, Betty, was found dead in her home yesterday afternoon (by Chris & Valerie). As we speak, she is meeting with the funeral home to make arrangements for this sudden loss. I don't believe I have ever known a mother and daughter who have a closer relationship/friendship. Please remember Chris, Valerie, Stephen, Alex and Avery as they adjust to life without Betty.
• Another unspoken for friend's whose baby has received a difficult diagnosis.
• For two of the dearest friends that our lives have ever known; who are struggling with their loss of income and accompanying uncertainties. Brent & Gina Bumgarner (Tara, Addison, Baylor and Blaine) and Danny & Paula Garrett (Erica, Erin, Eli and Ethan).
• Phaedra Clemons' father, Luther, who was diagnosed with advanced cancer two weeks ago and her mother, Elaine, having biopsies done this week as well.
• Niki and Bryan Ary who have experienced the loss of two sweet babies in the last year or so. I know that Niki had a day last week where these losses weighed heavy (heavier than other days) on her and I want to continue remembering her this week as well.
• Tony & Aarol Williams - Tony who is dealing with neck/back pain and Aarol who is undergoing surgery on Wednesday.
• My aunt, Wanda Castleman, who had MAJOR back surgery and developed other complications following.
• Jason Kennedy's father who is battling cancer.

The list is long and, even now, I'm sure is incomplete for I know I have, at the moment, forgotten someone. God knows who they are.

My prayer for each of these is that they would see God in a way that they have never experienced before. That He would be so very real to them and that they would crawl up in His lap and feel loved. He knows our every want and our every need and I praise His name. I may not understand all that is happening (and I don't) but I know Who is in control and I trust His plan.

He's my Baby!

Today is Braeden's birthday. He is 11 years old today....so hard to believe.

Braeden,

Happy 11th Birthday! I hope that, this year, you learn more, love more, live more and be all that you can be. I pray that you never lose your sweet, sweet spirit (even in the upcoming teenage years) and that you always know how very much Jesus loves you; not to mention your Daddy and I.

Braeden, I love that you are so loyal to your friends. I also love that part of you that will NOT allow you to tell me you love me without also telling your Daddy (for fear that he might get his feelings hurt) and vice versa.

This time next year, you'll be in Middle School and I can hardly believe it. In my mind, you'll always be my baby. You and your brother are our greatest blessings! Thanks for being just who God made you to be.

I love you!!!

************************************************************************************

We had Braeden's birthday a week early (on Friday March 21st). He wanted to have a sleepover with a few of his closest friends. He also asked that we go to O'Charleys for dinner which we did. The boys are all awesome kids and we enjoyed their company. We are so grateful for Braeden's friends:

Cameron - our neighbor

Samuel - a long-time friend from church. Braeden and Samuel starting going to THBC together 9 months before they were born and have been friends ever since.Gideon - like Samuel, a long time friend from church.

Henry - Henry and Braeden met at Kindergarten Camp the summer before they began Kindergarten at Winstead Elementary. They have remained close friends over the years even though they haven't gone to school together since 2nd Grade. Our other neighbor, Kyle, with Cameron
Luke - Braeden and Luke have been friends since they were 4 years old and their 9/10 year old brothers played football together. Tom and Lynda, by the way, are the only friends we know who have 2 boys who are the same age as ours. Braeden & Luke crack us all up in that, no matter how long they've been apart, once they are together they pick back up just as if they'd seen on another the day before. That and the fact that, without ever consulting with one another, they are always somehow "into" the same things. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Lynda about the party and she shared with me that Luke had taken up guitar....just like Braeden. As it turns out, they started lessons within 1-2 weeks of one another.

A Full Weekend

"The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” “Though he slay me, yet will I serve Him.”

This verse comes to the forefront time and time again. This very weekend is no exception.

On Friday, the entire family (Mom and Les; Mike, Hailey, Connor & Tate; John, Ashley, John, Sam & Sadie; and Jeff, Kelley, Jordan & Braeden) drove to Lebanon to meet Carson for dinner. Earlier in the week, he had received his much anticipated championship ring and we all wanted to celebrate with him.

Saturday evening, we were thrilled to take part in a sort of "going away" celebration for Mark & Dena Caruth. Mark will be leaving Tusculum Hills Baptist Church (after 14 years of service) this coming week to return to what is his first love....music. He has been such an encouragement to so many over the years and Immanuel Baptist Church will surely be blessed by him. After our split with THBC in July, we have all prayed for Mark & Dena; all along he and Dena reminding us that God would take care of them....in His time. Even in their waiting, they were a great witness for Him. Mark was, in fact, surprised when he arrived and it was such fun to share in a little of their joy.

But in the midst of that joy came much sorrow as we learned that, for the second time in a year, Niki and Bryan Ary had suffered a miscarriage. It is so very difficult to understand God's plan in times such as these but, as Mark & Dena taught us, He does have a plan and it is better than anything our finite minds can comprehend. Please join me in praying for the peace that only He can provide for this sweet couple.

We wrapped up the weekend with a Super Bowl Fellowship at the Hulshof home where fun was had by all......

......some more than others.

Debbie - I borrowed pictures...hope you don't mind. I'll share mine as soon as I get them unloaded from the camera....

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away.

I have thought and spoken recently (on several occasions actually) about how I feel that I have lived a WHOLE LOT O' LIFE in the last year. Possibly more than ever before in my 41 years.

In this time, I have learned (and am still learning) lots of lessons. I honestly wish that I had had the forethought to keep a running list. I didn't but there is one thing that has become so very real to me and I wanted to share that here.

In what has likely been the hardest year of our lives, I am so thankful that Jeff and I have a group of people to "do life with". Life is hard but, without the love of friends and family, I can't imagine what it would be. I realize, time and time again, what a blessing it is to have this and find myself feeling so unworthy of these valuable relationships. I often think of the fact that some people live an entire lifetime and NEVER experience true friendship. There are so many people who have been placed in my path who allow me to see a little bit of Jesus each and every day. I am humbled and honored.

"BooMama" wrote a post about this very thing today and it rings so very true; when you have a chance, click over and read what she has to say.

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." - Ecclesiastes

A Sweet Nursery for a Sweet Girl

I meant to post this a while back but somehow never got around to it. Today, as I ran across the pictures that I'd taken, I thought I'd go ahead and share.

As you know, I have a new niece...Sadie Katherine....who, by the way, has already turned out to be quite the drama queen, having spent 6 days in the hospital after she was born (with jaundice) and just returned home yesterday after having spent 3 more days at Vanderbilt with a fever.

Anyway, I wanted to help Ashley with a cute nursery for her new baby girl and these are a couple of the things that I came up with.

I started with these supplies (and a couple of other canvas' not pictured here) and some inspiration from the cute ladybug bedding (pillow shown) :

Gave them all a good base coat of paint (this pretty green for the little ones and white on the larger one (not shown in this pic):

Then I added black borders (again..to the smaller ones..for some reason, I didn't get pics along the way of the larger one but the finished product is shown below):

And then come the ladybugs:

Now, for some reason (perhaps when I panicked that I had NO IDEA what I was doing), I stopped taking pictures of my progress; however, I do have pictures from the nursery once they were hung...

We also made the letters at the top of this post. They are made of a cardboard-like material and can be purchased at Michael's. I was so excited to find the ladybug-esque scrapbook paper to cover them, then hung them from black cuphooks with the coordinating black and white gingham ribbon.

Welcome Baby Girl

I just wanted to introduce you all to my new niece, Sadie Katherine. She was born last night (11/11/08) at 7:38 p.m. weighing 7 pounds and 6 ounces. As you can see from the picture, she is just beautiful.

My sisters and I had 5 boys in a row and, finally, the last two have been girls. Of course, these girls aren't going to be worth a nickel because we're so silly over them and spoiling them with all the cute "girl" stuff that there is out there. Not that we don't LOVE our boys, of course, but there is just something about a little girl.

Now, go here for Ashley's update and some more pics of the Gordon Party of Five.

Edited to add: Please pray for "Sadie Kate"...she has jaundice and is being kept "under the lights". John & Ashley have barely been able to see her. She also has a "splotchy" appearance that has prompted the doctor's to order some bloodwork for a possible infection.

And another update: Jaundice is clearing up. Ashley was "technically" discharged from the hospital yesterday but was given a courtesy room until Sadie Kate can leave. Hopefully today (Friday). She was taken out from under the lights last night and on only the bili-blanket (which makes her look like a glow-worm). They will check her levels this morning and then decide if she can go home.

So Long, Phil!

If you know my family, you know that our blood runs Tennessee orange. As far back as I can remember, we have followed University of Tennessee athletics. Particularly Volunteer football.

In 1966, my Dad graduated from High School. He was a gifted athlete who not only had talent but had heart. His jersey (#44) was retired at Smyrna High School and remains there today. Upon graduation, he was highly sought after by many colleges. He recently shared with me that he was approached by every SEC team (with the exception, I believe, of Florida).

Dad's dream was to attend UT and that he did. I have pictures of him signing to play for the "Big Orange".

Dad has been a loyal follower of Tennessee football over the years; traveling across the country to see them play, driving to Knoxville to watch them practice and keeping up with every statistic for every player. He is the epitome of a true fan. (Not to mention that buying him a gift is always a cinch...if it's ORANGE, he loves it).

I haven't talked to Dad today but I know that he is saddened at the news of Phil Fulmer's dismissal. In all the talk over the last months, he has remained faithful, always countering anyone's negative talk about this season with Phil's overall record of success. Dad wants what is best for the University but I know that he hates to see Phil go. It is definitely a bittersweet parting.

I am on an email list for the University of TN Athletics and, today, received an email from Mike Hamilton regarding UT's parting with Phil Fulmer as head coach. An except from that letter read:

Coach Fulmer has been, and will continue to be, a great representative of the University and the athletic department. He has dedicated a majority of his life to our program and brought home two SEC championships and a national championship. He has secured his place as the second winningest coach in Tennessee history behind General Neyland. I personally appreciate everything he has done for Tennessee and look forward to him continuing to be a part of our family.

If I was Phil Fulmer, I'm not sure that I could continue to be a part of this program/"family"; however, I hope for Daddy's sake, that he sticks around. UT Football would not be the same without him.

P.S. My daddy has to be the best Phil Fulmer look alike ever...particularly when he's wearing a cap. He is often mistaken for him out and about. It is so funny (when we are in and around the Knoville area particularly) to see people stop and look at him, speak to him or just come right out and say, "you're Coach Fulmer".

Just a tad proud

As most of you know (since MOST everyone who reads this blog is related), I have two sisters and two "baby" brothers (20 and 21 years younger than me). Technically, they are each 1/2 brothers and I've sometimes joked that the two of them combined make one whole brother but the truth is, these are my brothers...nothing 1/2 about it (except the DNA of course) My "baby" brothers are both approximately 6'4" tall which is tall for normal standards but, me, I'm all of 5'2" so their heighth is even more evident when I'm around. These boys are both real blessings to me and I have always been so proud of their accomplishments.

Carson is currently playing college football for Cumberland University. He was recruited and wanted to play right out of high school but tore his ACL playing a pick-up game of basketball. He has since had a couple of surgeries and was released from the doctors. He is academically a Junior but sports/eligibility wise, he's a Freshman so we have several more years of watching him play football ahead of us while he gets his degree and possibly his Masters. We are all very excited about following his career, dressing in Maroon & Black and cheering him on.

Saturday was his first home game and he had a large crowd present. Mom and Les (of course...they have traveled to all of his away games as well), Erica (his girlfriend who has also been to all of his games), Jordan, Braeden and I, John, Ashley, John and Sam as well as Bro. Mark and Dena Caruth. They beat Bethel 44-16 and Carson got LOTS of playing time.

As well as this being Carson's first year to play College football, it's also John's (my nephew) first year to play football at all. He plays for the Smyrna Bulldogs and is on quite a team. They have only been scored on once the entire season. Both of our family football heroes share the same number: 79. John was so proud to wear his uniform to the game and have his picture made with Carson who, several years ago, was "UnTle Tarson" to this little cutie.

Sorry for the crick in your neck....I have no idea how to rotate these pictures.

Upcoming blog post.....a little bragging on my husband....stay tuned!