Celebrations

I haven't blogged in so long that I had to update my profile.  It has been a busy several months but I have been blessed in so many ways.  The picture above is from a fantastic July 4th celebration with friends that live on a beautiful lake nearby.  They also had a cake to celebrate my birthday which was the day before the 4th.  It had those fun trick  candles on it that made it impossible to blow out and they even sang Happy Birthday to this aging 57 year old.    It was a pleasant surprise, a great evening, and a blessing indeed!

Here are a few updates:  a great anniversary- now married 34 years, the twins are so much fun and will celebrate their 2nd birthday on Aug. 23rd,  my kids are busy and happy, I just returned from a fantastic vacation in Chicago with hubby,  we head to Savannah, GA this weekend for a wedding celebration,  I've hired a new director for the preschool I founded 24 years ago and this has been very time consuming but rewarding, and I am continually blessed with the fruits of my labor from my vegetable and flower garden.   Please forgive me for the lack of blogging.  I will try to do better but I must confess... I do enjoy face book and I spend WAY to much time on it.  Find me, if you haven't already, Nancy Goforth Carson.

Graduation 2009

It was so much fun celebrating with my sisters family during her daughters graduation from high school.  I felt so honored to be a part of all the festivities, surrounded by 18 year old mature young adults, that renewed my faith in our younger generation.  They are bright, enthusiastic, adventurous, grounded, and intelligent.  Jordan thanks for letting me be a part of this very important day in your life.  You are a beautiful young lady with so many God given talents.  You have the future in the palm of your hand and I look forward to the great things that God has planned for your life.  I am so blessed to be a part of it all!

Happy Birthday Big Sister

This is my big sister Kathy and today is her BIRTHDAY!  We had a chance to meet at Mom's house yesterday and celebrate her birthday a day early, which was a blessing indeed.  She has been such a positive influence in my life and has shown me, through example, what unconditional love is all about.  Kathy is constantly giving to others, putting other's needs before hers, and she has a contagious bubbly personality, in a tiny 4 foot 10 inch frame!  She has taught me so much about life; how to put God first, how to be a great mom, how to be an energetic & effective kindergarten teacher, how to be a forgiving and loving wife, how to be a great sister, how to pick myself up out of the mud and keep on going, and best of all: how to recognize my daily blessings and count them one by one!  I love you sister Kathy and I look forward to sharing many more birthdays with YOU, here on earth and... with our Heavenly Father.

Fruit Loop Adventure

Life is good, fruit loops for snack and Nancy to play with!

Mattie thinks Ella may have more Fruit Loops than she has.

Hey sweet sister Ella, will you cover your eyes for just a second?

Okay Mattie, do you have a surprise for me?

Mattie uses the quick fisted grab!

Not me Nancy, I don't have anything behind my back.

NANCY, Mattie got my Fruit Loops and she's hiding them behind her back!

The grandniece twins are nearly 21 months old now and 25+ pounds.  I can still carry them both but not very far or for very long.  They are so full of energy and life, investigating, contemplating, and freely sharing their love.  I never take a minute with them for granted, as I'm constantly aware of the miracle that God has performed in the lives of these two precious girls, and that is a blessing indeed!

Thank You Heath

This rose bush grows beside my garage... blooming faithfully from spring until fall each year, BLESSING me one bud at a time. But the biggest reward in the blooming of this beautiful flower is the reminder of the precious student that gave it to me, as an end of the year gift, many years ago. Each time I see a new bud, or cut a flower for an indoor vase... I think of this young man, say a prayer for him and his family, and thank God that he was in my kindergarten classroom. It is definitely a gift that keeps on giving, year after year, bloom after bloom. Thank you Heath for blessing my life in so many ways and for giving me a gift that keeps on giving.

Family Easter Fun

This family photo includes my daughter Katherine on the left, my niece Meredith visiting from Michigan in the  middle, and my son Ben on the right.  I only had them for one night but I'll take what I can get... they all have such busy full lives, and live too far away to visit very often.  If you look to the far left you will see grand-dog, Mimi, stalking around in search of something to get into.  She is a delightful labradoodle puppy, full of energy, and always in search of a new adventure.  My life has been so busy lately, some of it good, some of it not so good but it has prevented me from blogging and I've missed all of my blogging friends.  I hope to catch up soon with all that's going on in your lives and maybe things will slow down SOON, which would be a blessing indeed!

Little Brown Church

Isn't this just the cutest "Little Brown Church in the Vale"?  I sang this song growing up and can still remember some of the words..."oh come, come, come, come to the church in the Wildwood"!  That song popped into my head the minute I first saw this brown stone church and as I sang, I started looking forward to the great things that are ahead for this church.  This is the church where my niece has been appointed Senior Pastor and she has already preached there for three weeks.   The parsonage isn't ready yet, so she has been traveling back and forth until all of the remodeling is finished.  I can just see my twin grandnieces growing up in this precious church, surrounded by God's children, romping on the church playground, and running back and forth from parsonage to church where mommie works.  So many wonderful experiences are ahead for this young family and it such a blessing for me to be a part of it ALL!