Fiddler's Grove

(To get the full experience of our weekend, let the video clip play while reading the post so the music is in your head too! Make sure to watch the video to the end to see the crowd cheering for Philip!)

This past Saturday and Sunday, we FINALLY went on our first family camping trip. I say finally because I grew up camping and five years ago when my parents were moving and going to sell all our old camping equipment, Matthew and I bought it from them. Five years that stuff has been in our garage attic and we FINALLY used it (well, some of it!). We joined in on an already planned trip to go with some friends to Fiddler's Grove, a family campground which hosts a Bluegrass Festival every Memorial Day weekend and has for the last 85 years! My church friend Kelly grew up attending as a child with her family and now recruits friends to join them. In all, the group was Matthew, Philip, Braewyn, me, Kelly, her husband Don, their foster baby Sarah, their niece Mallory (13), and nephew Thornton (9), and then also from church Leah, Dave, and their kids Lauren (8), Jack (6) and Ryan (5).

We arrived on Saturday around 10:30am. Braewyn had slept for the 2 hours in the car, and Philip was thrilled to finally be camping! We set up the tent and ate a quick lunch before heading down to the amphitheatre for some bluegrass fiddle playing (at least fiddle listenin'!). After a few hours, we walked back to camp for dinner -- steak and new potatoes on the grill! Thank you again Kelly! After we wiped off the kids, back for some more music. Around 8:30pm, Braewyn was getting sleepy so my four headed back to camp. Leah and her kids joined us and her three and Braewyn all "turned in for the night". Philip was awaiting marshmallows on the campfire so Matthew proceeded to try to make a campfire. I thought all charcoal brickettes (sp?) already had lighterfluid in them so we went as is but the fire wouldn't light. Don got back around 10:00pm, doused the thing with lighterfluid and up came the flames!! Philip was excited but then decided he didn't like brown marshmallows. He didn't understand that you can't keep a toasted marshmallow from turning brown. After talking with Don and Kelly until 11:30pm, Matthew and I headed to our tent and they to theirs. Oh, I forgot to mention that it was about 50 degrees outside, and we were outside!! I shivered myself to sleep...

Until Braewyn began to cry at 1:00am! I patted her back trying to soothe her back to sleep, but between the cold and her pack-n-play being on a slope, she wouldn't settle down. I didn't want the whole place to wake up, so I scooped her up and headed for our Trailblazer. I reclined the driver's seat and held Braewyn close to me under the two baby blankets which she had been sleeping with. Yeah, two baby blankets don't keep an adult warm in 50 degree weather. The next THREE hours I sat shaking from the cold in my car cuddling my daughter as she slept fairly well. Now that I look back, it was actually a very, very sweet time. The moon was full and shone right down into the car. I watched her little face in the moonlight as she slept (something I have never done before and don't know if I'll do again). It was priceless (although I would dread having to bear with the frigid shaking again). Finally around 4:00am, I decided to try to take her back into the tent, and get at least a few hours of sleep myself. The transition went well (thank you, Lord!), yet I continued to shake FREEZING in my sleeping bag.

The next morning, we emerged from the tent at 7:00am and were extremely grateful that Don had restarted the campfire!! My bare feet were in heaven on the cement blocks beside the firepit. By 10:00am, it had warmed up and we were all in shorts again. Down came the tents, another quick lunch and back to the amphitheatre. The music was good, but the funny part was that I had to keep reminding myself that everything I heard was being performed live before me. This world is so multi-media driven that I take background noise for granted most of the time. At the festival, there is live music played 10+ hours a day for three days straight (different musicians fill 30-60 minute timeslots with a few meal breaks). It was a little otherworldly as there was very little intrusion of the "real world" there. We were at Fiddler's Grove for only 29 hours but it seemed like at least a week. It makes me realize that making life busy is what makes it fly by so fast. Maybe we'll go again one year... uh, without diapers to change and after solid nighttime sleep has been established and all four of us can fully walk!

Before & After

The hardwood floors are in (they were done last week and only took the two guys three days) and they are BEAUTIFUL!! Here are some before and after shots.











Another funny before and after... amazing what one little girl is capable of!

What's Ahead...

Even though our family is not involved in the school system yet, I feel our year of activities is coming to an end and summer is approaching. Tuesday was our last MOPS meeting and yesterday was mine and Philip's last day of BSF. We're joining some friends for a short camping trip this Saturday and Sunday, and then three weeks from Saturday, we'll be on our way to a relaxing (Lord-willing!) week at North Myrtle Beach.

However with all that said, the Lord has led me to a few exciting opportunities for this summer and next year. Through this last year's study of Matthew in BSF, I have grown in my love for Jesus and want to fulfill all the plans He has for me, not just set out with a to-do list of my own. He has clearly taught me that my job while on earth is to tell others of His love for them. I pray He will use me to do that on a daily basis with every person I come in contact with as well as through teaching Bible School and facilitating a Bible Study this summer.


The week of July 7-11, I will be leading the rising 6th grade girls' class at our church Vacation Bible School. I have a love for teenage girls and so I enjoy teaching the older ones in VBS knowing when they reach the youth group in a few years, we would have already made a connection. This world is a tough place for young girls to grow up in so the sooner they can have their heart planted in God's love, the better. I am also excited about VBS as this will be Philip's first year to attend at our church. I can see cherished memories coming from this week as he and I drive each night to church, enjoy dinner, attend our respective classes and then discuss the night on the way home. It will enable Matthew and Braewyn to have special time too at home (unless he's recruited to help with something too!).


Starting June 5, I will be facilitating the ladies' Bible study, "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" by Angela Thomas at our church on Thursday mornings. I was hesitant at first to say ok to facilitate, but God showed me (and is continuing to do so) that this is how I should serve this summer. It is a seven week series so I have some breathing room before and after it (BSF starts back in September). I recently saw Angela Thomas speak at a women's conference and she is hilarious as well as so spiritually grounded. I pray new blessings and new friendships might come from this Bible study.


Finally, I am praying over which position to serve in at MOPS next year. Through a few different conversations and a peace from the Lord, I feel most led to be the Table Shepherd (Discussion Group Leader) Director. This person is the Table Shepherd to the Table Shepherds! MOPS is set up with assigned tables so women can get to know each other in a smaller group with a woman assigned to each table to lead in discussions and be an encourager. The position includes meeting with the Table Shepherds once a month to grow closer to the Lord via devotionals and with each other via prayer requests. After having taught Sunday School to teenage girls for 7 years, I feel the Lord is leading me to "shepherd" this group of women. In four to six weeks, the group should have its Steering Team positions filled (meeting soon to review evaluations and position applications) and then I will know for sure.

Around the House...

We've been changing things inside and outside our house. Hoping to put our house on the market next spring, Matthew and I decided to have hardwood floors installed in the living room, dining room and hallway to add value. This involved moving everything out of those areas and into other rooms. Thank you Matthew for all your blood, sweat and tears. Well, he didn't really bleed or cry, but he did make it all fit and Sunday night it looked like we just moved in (albeit with a lot of carpet stains). The installers have been working yesterday and today and are about half done. It looks great, and the new acoustics have been really fun. Matthew and I were whispering to each other about 20 feet apart, and Philip has found that sad, soulful songs sound great with the echo.

The living room almost clear. Matthew's latest woodworking project is an entertainment center for our new television. We sold the other wall-sized one and tv because he wanted to go ahead and buy a flatscreen tv before the digital switch next year. The loss of the other entertainment center makes our living room look much bigger also.

Yeah, I don't have to cook or wash dishes all week! Just kidding. The installers moved the couch back into our empty dining room as they wouldn't be working in there until tomorrow. Oh, well.

Here's where the bulk of our stuff ended up. Yes, this is the office and the other couch, Philip's train table and our computer desk are still in there somewhere. I'm posting from Mom's house as we've been coming here in the afternoons so the kids can sleep as there is constant pounding in our house right now.

Now for the outside improvements. We've been growing vegetables for the last several years; tomatoes for the past 4 years and attempted squash, cucumbers and some herbs last year. Each year our "garden" has grown in size, and this year's finally deserves to be called a REAL garden. Matthew worked so hard in tilling the ground, mixing in potting soil, cutting the timbers and hammering them in place. We planted the vegetables (squash, okra, tomatoes, and corn) just as a downpouring rainstorm hit our area. I'm so excited as to how everything is growing. We've also added green pepper, eggplant and cucumber plants to it. Matthew works with a woman who is a true gardenered and she gave him the green pepper and eggplants. She grows her own lettuce and broccoli which we've enjoyed too. We pray that the Lord allows our garden to produce lots of produce!!


The garden a few days after we planted everything.

Look how it's grown in just a few weeks!!

Lastly, we're going camping with some friends in two weeks. We "practiced" setting up our tent in the backyard and slept in it Saturday night. I can't wait as I grew up camping every fall with my family. This is the tent we used all those times. Several years ago, my parents were getting rid of all their camping gear so Matthew and I bought it. This will be our first camping trip so it's about time. Philip can hardly wait!!

Braewyn's Birthday, Part 2

Like Philip on his first birthday, Braewyn also found herself getting two birthday parties. We were leaving my grandparents' house on her birthday so the day before we enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream. I have a video of that which I'll try to post soon. The second birthday bash for my sweet one was at our house on the following Monday. Her Grandma, Nana, Papa, Great Aunt Elise, Mollie and Michael joined us for some cake and ice cream. We had a fun evening together. Philip was a very helpful big brother. We told him he could help Braewyn with the present opening if she got stuck. He decided she was stuck about 1.5 seconds into the first present! Obviously, we asked him to give her a little more time.

Here are the cakes and a party plate. At Party City, there were two designs for baby girl first birthday parties. I picked the cute "Hugs & Stitches" design over the "Diva Princess" design. And people wonder why kids are growing up too fast!

"Why is everyone looking at me? What am I supposed to do and what is on my head?"


"Ok, now I get it!!!"


"What? You want me to eat the cake too? But all I really want is the icing?" (Like father, like son!)

Sweet teamwork. I didn't mean to have them both in yellow. Braewyn hadn't been feeling that well, but I wish I had changed her into a cute party dress.

Michael and Philip had fun playing together with Braewyn's new Busy Ball Popper from her Great Grandparents. While in Georgia, they gave me some money and let me pick her something out at Walmart.

Our Daughter is One!

My how the year has flown! Well, I have much to post about overall but little time to devote to it. However, my baby girl's birthday is something I must thank God for. I still remember the morning I found out I was pregnant, the feelings of anxiety about having two children, the high-speed delivery (she was born 3 hours after I arrived at the hospital), and those early sleepless nights. But tonight, I now have a beautiful, cheerful, laughing little girl who loves her brother and sleeps soundly through the night! Thank you, Lord! I am so excited to see what lies ahead for Braewyn in her life. Mostly, I pray that she would come to know Jesus personally and follow His will for her life. Whatever that might be, I will always be grateful to be her mommy.

Just a few weeks old.

Tonight, chowing down on her little smash cake. Braewyn's birthday was Friday, May 2, but we were out of town. More photos and recaps to come.