Tiger Givens

William, as you probably all know, loves golf. Here are some pictures of him and his Papa Bill practicing their swings.

(Notice the golf hat :-)

Bath-time

Here are a few shots of Lily at bathtime. She loves the water and thinks she can swim!

VBS

We have been very busy lately! We just wrapped up VBS last week. We did Outrigger Island and loved it. We decided to make the worship time more like a kids' camp experience; thus evolved THE DAVE THE WAVE AND ROCKIN RUTH SHOW. I know-it WAS incredibly corny, but the kids loved it! With the help of others, we had our own series of video driven games and segments in the show. One of the kids' favorites was "The Search for Outrigger Island." Instead of using the video dramas from Lifeway, we came up with our own live drama. David wrote each day's script. I was very impressed. It was all about Frankie Fortune (David) trying to find Outrigger Island to build his resort. He had a sidekick named Sally and a "Crazy old kook" Maile to help him. We also had a segment where the kids got to pick a food to dump on Mr. Brian's (a good friend) head. We pre-recorded the choices and it was hilarious! We had a great time and can't wait to start working on next year's!

Our House

After 3 very LONG years of remodeling (contributions of labor made by countless friends and family!), we have now put our house on the market. I have posted some pictures of the "finished" product. "Finished" is used loosely here, because there is still so much that someone could do to improve it. It is an almost 100 year old Craftsman Bungalow that we love. We will wait and see if anyone else shares the same feelings.

An Addition

Last weekend we got the news that our little one was ready to be picked up. She was just the right age, 4 years old. We were overjoyed when the pictures showed us just what we were looking for. We made plans to travel and get her. William was excited and couldn't believe he was getting a new...car. Yes, we put a lot of effort into getting this car. And yes, I did feel like we were picking up an adopted child or atleast a new pet. David researched the best used cars, waited for the right price, and it payed off. The only thing was, it was in Jacksonville, Fl. A quick 6 hour drive, or in our minds, half-way to Michigan! We made our plans, woke up at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and made the drive. About an hour outside of Jacksonville, I realized Amelia Island was on the outskirts of town. This would probably mean nothing to the normal person, but to me, it was great. You see, since I saw a show on the Island about 7 years ago, I've wanted to go. Nobody else really ever shared this desire with me, so I figured I wouldn't get to see it. Well, as soon as we picked our car up at the Mercedes dealership (which by the way was the nicest dealership I've ever been to-luxurious bathrooms...remember a 6 hour drive, cookies and softdrinks, free internet room, VERY large flatscreens) we headed to Amelia Island to have lunch. The whole trip was an adventure and we got two great things out of it-a great 2004 Pontiac Vibe and a trip (quick trip) to Amelia Island.

Graduation

The past few weeks have been very busy. As soon as the play was over, which by the way went very well, it was time to say goodbye to 13 really great teenagers. The biggest senior class for Eastwood Christian School graduated this year. Out of the 13, 10 were girls. Part of this class started as 8th graders when we first came to Eastwood. Since then others have joined. Seven of the seniors have been acting with us from the beginning of Eastwood Drama. Two of the guys have each been a starring role or main character every year. It was hard to say goodbye to such dependable and unique friends. We hope to see them soon and we hope we get to watch them take on bigger things in the years to come!

Civil War

This past weekend we all went to The Selma Re-enactment. I have been going to this for about 16 years or so, with a few misses here and there. This is the second time David, William, and I have been and Lily's first time to go. We had a great time! We got to buy a new tent, which was very exciting to William. He likes that it is green, which we all know means that it is a John Deere tent! William also was very happy to get two new guns ( a pistol and a shotgun), a new canteen, and a new haversack in the deal. He was a real "soldier" and was proud of it! I think William and Lily were sort of a hit for all the spectators. They got their pictures taken constantly. It did seem as though we were the exhibits and the spectators were looking at us in our habitats, but we asked for it. It is rewarding to teach people about such an important part of our nation's history and such a different way of life.