It's Been a Happy Day

Adrian and Susannah had their birthdays today and it was a great day.  At every birthday meal each person tells something they love about the birthday person or a favorite memory that they have with them. It's so fun to hear how each person impacts the others!

Until Adrian came along, I always thought it would be hard to give my daughters away in marriage. I'm so thankful for who he is and how he loves his family. He takes care of Rachel and the children with the sweetest spirit. One of my favorite things I've ever heard him say to Rachel (who was pregnant at the time) was, "You're growing a human, go sit and rest. I'll do the dishes." He is always willing to serve anyone in need and is passionate about the gospel.

Susannah Joy lives up to her name. She lives life as fully as she can, giving everything she has to what she does. When she hugs, it's a full hug. When she smiles, her whole body smiles. And when she laughs, oh, what a wonderful laugh! She's a girly-girl who can play as hard as the boys.

Ray always takes the birthday kids out on their own special date. This year Susannah was old enough to go by herself. I think Ray was glad she chose Waffle House. He and Adrian will go out later, because for some reason, Adrian has a little busier schedule than Susannah.

Happy Fifth Birthday, Abigail!

Five years ago, God showed us great mercy in delivering to us this child. Abigail was born while Ray's daddy was suffering cruelly with cancer, we were getting ready for Rachel and Adrian's wedding, and  Sarah was on almost complete bed rest due to concussions. As I look bad at those days, I wonder how we survived. The presence of God's hand on us was never more real than at that time in our lives. We are so thankful to God that He chose this little princess to to be born to our family.

We got some new pieces for the playground because it's in need of an update. Adrian gave everyone a ride on the swing inside. The next day I came in and she had made a "car-sled" out of the pieces. The swing set may never get the update...

Abigail and Susannah love Frozen and play princess a lot!

It's a Birthday Party at the Rhodes House

Ray turned fifty-five in October and we did a lot of cooking. He likes lots of options on the table so for his birthday, that's what he got - fried chicken, fried eggplant, potato casserole, roasted cauliflower and zucchini, and crusty bread. Dessert was a pound cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. He usually likes healthy eating, but he didn't get that.

An activity he really likes is something we've been calling the read a line game. Everyone in the house gets a book that they've been reading lately and reads a line, a paragraph or a page from it. I'm always impressed by what the girls find meaningful that they want to share. I wish we did it more often.

I love that the little ones wanted to read books that they have memorized. Their sweet little voices have already gotten the hang of the sing-song rhythm of reading aloud. Josiah chose Little Blue Truck, Susannah read If You Give a Pig a Pancake, and Abi read The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear.

This is the first time Rachel and Adrian played with us and we couldn't get her to stop reading. We should probably come up with a few rules like-

• pick your portion before anyone starts
• no reading silently while others are reading aloud
• have a question or comment about each person's reading
• there should probably be a time limit too

It's a good thing to enjoy books and reading!

Just Because My Grandchildren are Amazing!

Rachel had a birthday recently. I'm surprised she can be so old when I'm so young!

Susannah is the perfect granddaughter.

Every Friday morning Rachel's family gives away free coffee to passersby. They live immediately across from an elementary school.

This is just a tiny glimpse at the benefits to living so close to Rachel's family. I get to see them when they take walks. Caleb often falls asleep on the way back home. 

For Rachel's birthday we hiked to the Indian Seats in Cumming. Josiah made sure no bears attacked us.

Hannah, My Favorite Teacher

It's Teacher Appreciation Day as I write this and I have been thinking about qualities of a good teacher. From young childhood, Hannah has had a desire to help children in need. She thought that she would be living in an inner city area, counseling and mentoring children in need.  All through college her ministries led her to working with privileged children more often than not. She found that children coming from privileged homes were as needy as those coming from impoverished communities. Their needs were different but had just as serious side effects as anyone else.  Many different things led her to teaching in a Christian school.  And after two years of teaching first grade, I can't imagine Hannah doing anything else.

I love this picture of her. Her love for the children she teaches is so apparent and they love her back. She isn't a typical school teacher; she's sad if her breaks seem long. For the past fifteen months she has also been getting her Master's in education while teaching full time. 

 She and Sarah took Mary to Charleston for Mary's 16th birthday. Hannah loves to travel and is always planning her next trip. She's in the process of getting her passport in hopes of a big trip soon.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to my favorite first grade teacher!

Sarah's Birthday

I went to Sarah's Facebook to find her twenty-first birthday pictures, but this is what I found. She is loving life and living it as much as possible. She is thrilled to be in the EMT training program and can't wait to get to work.

Sarah had been sick for a week with a sinus infection, she passed out in class and I had to come drive her home. The next morning I took her to urgent care, but she wouldn't go home until she had voted.  Walking out of the voter's booth she said, "People are gonna do what they want to do." She lives this out  completely in every area of her life. 

The Spartan Race was supposed to be training run for a half marathon that she would be doing in the  next few weeks. But since she had been so sick, the goal was to finish. Not only did she finish, she had an amazing time and was able to take this beautiful picture.

Here she is on torture hill in the Oak Barrel Half Marathon. She's not afraid to push herself.

Mary Turned Sixteen

In January, we celebrated a milestone in Mary's life. It was fun to do something special for her "big" birthday. We chose to have her birthday broken down into sixteen fun things that she loves spread out over a weekend.

 

It turned out to be one of the easiest birthday bashes that I can remember. (But not the least expensive.) I asked Mary for a list of some of her favorite things to do, food, restaurants, people, etc. Then I put together the list in an order that would hopefully give her fun surprises through the course of the weekend. Some things had to be done in a certain order due to scheduling. Mary didn't know anything we had planned, but by number fourteen she was guessing correctly.  I wish I could have included more of family and friends for such a momentous occasion but sometimes, things can't be helped. The older girls helped with the details and did some of the driving. 

Following is the list in order as she received each thing. 

1. manicure

2. Dunkin Donuts for coffee

3. movie

4. Hannah J.- came to the movie with her

5. Catherine- also came to the movie

6. lunch with her Daddy at Ted's, which is becoming a family tradition

7. Mary Margaret- came to supper with us

8. dress up dinner at Luna's

9. Mary Margaret spent the night

10. Nana's green beans- all of the kids love! Nana Jarrard's green beans

11. family birthday party- where the sweet words of what we love about the birthday girl come from every person
12. Gray's anatomy book- a legitimate wrapped present
13. Amazon gift card
14. Sophie-came spend the night, this was delayed due to a death in Sophie's family
15. Olivia-drove Mary to several fast food restaurants because she herself hadn't ever eaten at many of them
16. fast food frenzy-Mary loves french fries from everywhere, but especially Arby's

For a lot of people, I would recommend this kind of party over the large gatherings of friends. We've all known that awkwardness of being the odd person out in a group of people who know each other.

For Catherine

Catherine is Robin's oldest daughter

I was greatly honored to be invited to my niece's sixteenth birthday luncheon that was held for ladies in her life that have had an impact on her. We were supposed to give her words of encouragement and advice. Following is some of what I tried to say to her.

Catherine, I see in you a pure heart. Not a heart untainted by sin, but one who truly loves Christ and wants to follow Him. You are a bold witness and that encourages me. This world is not your home, don't live for it. Live for Christ and do your best to keep your eyes on Him. Stay unstained by the world and keep that pure heart for Christ.
To stay untainted by this world, you have to live for the next. Desire the pure milk of the Word. I Peter 2:2 ."..long for the pure spiritual milk, that you may grow up into salvation."
Stand on the rock of ages because He is the one in whom your hope is secure. "Psalm 18:31 for who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? He is the solid Rock."
The words to the song "Rock of Ages, When the Day Seems Long" give great encouragement and hope. God is our rock. He is the one who will keep your heart secure. 
As you stand in Christ, remember that His promises hold just like an anchor to your soul. Continue to give Him praise.

As I was listening to the other ladies speak, I was struck by the impact that Catherine has had on others. She is a sweet girl who truly wants to serve Christ. She has been a blessing to me and my family. Catherine is a testimony to Robin (Ray's sister) and Lane who are her godly, diligent parents who work tirelessly for their children.

I love these pictures of Mary and Catherine!

Hannah's Birthday

As the girls (and I) get older the birthday celebrations are getting more and more casual.

Susannah was clearly the kid to take pictures with on this fun night.

But Abigail wouldn't be outdone. She brought me these two blankets and asked me to dress her as Moses. She then walked around the table telling Pharaoh to let God's people go.

 

Hannah asked for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and that made for a really easy meal and something that we don't have that often.

 Josiah was here, but I guess he was hiding his cuteness from the camera.

Soy free brownie mix from Aldi is the best! And of course, Breyers ice cream.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Well.... Happy Belated Birthday Sarah!

I made this cake on the actual day of Sarah's birthday and took it to church. Yes, just like that! It fell apart, I didn't make enough icing to cover it and I didn't have time to fix any of the problems with it. Sarah thought it tasted good and there was enough caffeine in it to keep me awake for a big portion of the night.

Wherever she goes and however she gets there, she will always be "Sarahshine." She actually turned twenty, but since she didn't really want to, I had "19" put on the store bought cookie cake. (Which is what she requested, by the way.)

We celebrated the day after with homemade Chinese food and some good photo opportunities. 

Hannah and Mary

Abigail, Josiah and Susannah

Susannah has been really sick this week, so she didn't get to participate as much as usual.