The Joyce's Visit Kershaw

We had some very dear friends from North Carolina come to visit us this past weekend, The Joyce's. Chris, Stephnie and Madeline. They came down on Saturday and spent the day with us and went to church with us on Sunday. We had a great time of just hanging out. We really miss them. The kids had a ball together.

Caleb and Madeline had a ball together.

He was such a ladies man already. Oh boy

Caitlyn and Madeline

Chloe and Madeline
The girls dances around and sang songs, they had lots of fun. We went out to dinner Saturday night at one of our favorite places to eat, Sato's Japanese Steakhouse. It is the best.

 Here is Dale and Chris.

The kids being goofy.

My favorite part the brick of rice, yummy.

We were so glad they could come see us and can't wait for them to come visit again. Well I think I caught you up on mostly everything. We had a pool party/birthday party for the girls this past week and now school has started. My job search continues. I have a second interview tomorrow morning at Palmetto Heart Hospital over in Columbia so I really hope it works out. I think I would love to work in the unit there. So just continue to pray that God will place me where He would have me. Until next time.

Jill

Start of a new school year

Well the kids are back in swing with a new school year. Chloe started 2nd grade today and Caitlyn started kindergarten. They are now back to a traditional school year and not year round. They are attending Kershaw Elementary School. Chloe's teacher is Mrs. Gardner and Caitlyn's is Mrs. King. They are both excited to start school. It is so hard to believe that I have 2 children in elementary school. Time sure does fly.

Dale loves to take pictures so here is Chloe in front of the school sign. We are the Bulldogs.

Chloe with all her school supplies in her class at her desk. Can you tell she is just a little apprehensive?

This is Chloe and Mrs. Gardner.

Chloe and Mrs.Gardner
Caitlyn was so excited to get to go to school today. Since she is in kindergarten she only went for a few hours today and then will go on Thursday and all students will attend Friday. They have a staggered entry. So I went along with her today for her orientation.

She was ready to go with her backpack and all.

When we got to her classroom she was really shy and would barely talk to anyone.

She did not like me taking the pictures. Here she is faking a smile just so I could get a picture. By the end of the day she was starting to warm up to Mrs. King and the other students. She will be fine once she gets to go each day. She is still talking about it now.

Both girls seemed to have a great time at their new school and meeting new friends. Overall it was a very successful day.

Saddle Ridge Ranch at Oak Ridge Baptist Church

I had the distinct opportunity this year to get to teach the 3-5 yr old class. I knew from the start this was going to be a crazy and fun week. Each night we had more children and a  little more chaos but we ended up having a blast. We were all tired by Friday night, but had a great time singing, playing and learning about God. I had 18 children a couple nights and no less then 15. It was pure craziness, but fun. I thank God for those who teach day care on a regular basis. Whooo, I was wore slap out. Here are a few pictures of the week. It was such a great theme and I loved decorating my room. Thanks so much to Shaw Heights Baptist Church in Sumter for allowing us to use their decorations. It made my room rockin.

Chloe being a cowgirl. 

This is the kids playing one of the games during recreation time. They had to use water bottles and shoot the cups off the wall. They loved playing this game. They were real cowpokes.

Here they are learning the theme song for Saddle Ridge Ranch.

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Hannah and Chloe eating before class.

This is one of the pictures of the class when most of everyone was sitting on the carpet. That didn't last long :)

 

Caleb thought he was the horse in this picture. He loved playing with this saddle.

I had to come up with a way for all the little ones to stay in line and together, so I took a green rope and tied bandannas on it and they each held onto it. Thank God for the rope.

Finally I was able to catch him long enough to get a picture.

If you look closely at this picture compared to one earlier it is hilarious. Especially if you look at Caitlyn's face. That is how I felt some nights.

Cale loved this big horse.

One of the  nights for recreation we were able to toss water balloons. It was hilarious to watch the kids throw their balloons and then the look on their faces when they burst. Caleb and Caitlyn were a pair.

We ended the week with a family night. We had hot dogs and hamburgers and we were going to swim but it stormed that night. So instead of swimming we went bowling. The kids had a great time as well as their pastor. See Dale pretending to know how to bowl :)

When it was all said and done we had a great week at VBS, 2 kids made decisions for Christ and lots of seeds were planted. It was great.

Jill

Chloe's 7th birthday

This is the house we worked on as a mission project.

Chloe celebrated her 7th birthday on August 7th. We had ended our VBS and worked on a mission project that morning at a nearby house. After that we went out to The Outback for Chloe's birthday dinner. She was so excited. Here she is eating some  yummy cheese fries.

She had some ice cream and we sang Happy Birthday to her. She shared it with her brother and sister. They all enjoyed it.

We are so thankful for the gift God has given us in Chloe. She has such a sweet spirit about her. I pray that she grows to know Him and serve Him all her life. This is my prayer for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLYN

We celebrated Caitlyn's 5th birthday on August 4th. It is so hard to believe that she is 5 years old and about to start kindergarten. God has truly blessed us. Caitlyn has such a sweet spirit about her. She will pray when we eat and she is just so specific and sincere with her prayer. I love her so much and thank God daily for her sweet presence in my life. We let her pick where to have her birthday lunch. She chose Olive Garden.


Caitlyn has been asking for months for a zhu zhu pet for her birthday. I had never even heard of zhu zhu pets. So here is Caitlyn and Chloe with their new pets. Chloe got her present a couple days early. Tomorrow is her birthday.

The 3 little munchkins.

I am ready to go mom. Got my purse, now let's go shopping.

We have had VBS this week, so we have been extremely busy and tired. I will do a separate post on that with pictures. On her birthday Caitlyn was able to be one of the flag bearers at VBS.

So thankful for my family. Check back for more on the Myers.

Jill

What have the Myers been up to?

Well let me see where I can start. We have been extremely busy over the last 3 months. I am going to give you a quick rundown of some of the things we have been up to. We have officially moved to Kershaw, SC to be pastor of Oak Ridge Baptist Church. We moved here on June 25th (yes my birthday) and that in itself was a crazy and tiring day. Thanks so much to Chris Joyce one of our dear friends for all the muscle he put in that day, we couldn't have done it without you. On the way to SC, our car died on I 95. A long story later and we had to have a new engine put in :(

Here is a shot of our new house. We live across the street from the church in the parsonage. It's great.

Here is a shot of the church.

Chloe finished up her year of being a first grader in Mrs. Andersen's class. She loved having her as a teacher. Now she has had a few weeks off of school and will soon be starting in 2nd grade here in SC. Caitlyn will be starting kindergarten.

Since Dale had a night out with his fellas, I was able to escape long enough to have dinner with some very dear ladies. Here is some of the ladies from my small group. I miss them each dearly.
Robin, Erica, Me, Stephnie, Laurie, Laura and Kristy

The weekend before all this, we went up to WV and on the way our van died. Yes we haven't had much luck lately with our vehicles, but I guess that's how it goes. We ended up selling our van via Craigslist and buying a new (used) van in VA. It's been a whirlwind. My mom had her retirement party. She retired from being a teacher after I can't remember how many years. Now she is free just to be grandma.

Here is a shot of the family. All of my sisters and their husbands and their kids.

With moving comes goodbyes. Here are a few dear friends from WakeMed. We went to the Angus Barn in Raleigh for dinner and had a great time. I am definitely going to miss each one of them.
Sarah, Melissa, Me, and Amanda

In the midst of all the chaos and traveling it was Caleb's 3rd birthday. We were in WV on his day so we had a little party for him there. He was just excited to get some new little cars. Boys are so much easier than girls when it comes to birthdays.

One of the biggest things that have occurred over the last month or so is that Dale GRADUATED. Yes you read that right. Dale finally finished his M Div. It only took 8 yrs (I think) but he did it. We are so proud of him and his hard work.
My parents, his parents and sister and niece Julia all came down for his graduation. We had a great weekend celebrating with him.

He was so pumped. Here he is outside of Binkley Chapel.

This shot is one I took as he was walking up the aisle after the ceremony finished.

He wasn't the only graduate in the family. Caitlyn graduated from her preschool. Here she is with Mrs Neely and Mrs Jamie.

Here she is receiving her diploma.

Chloe and Dale finished up Indian Princesses.

That is just a quick recap of what has been happening over the last few months. We are getting settled here in Kershaw. I still have a few boxes to unpack, you know those boxes with miscellaneous items in them. I just love unpacking those. I had a job interview but am still waiting to hear from them. I am praying that God will lead me to where He would want me. I know He will provide for our needs until I get a job. We have met some great people here and we are excited for what God is going to do. Dale is away at one of Billy Waynes camps, so its just the kids and I. I am trying to deal with attitudes of a almost 7, almost 5 and a 3 yr old. But its great, we will survive. We went to Myrtle Waves Saturday and had a great time. Next week is VBS and Chloe and Caitlyn's birthdays, so I will be posting more next week. Thanks for keeping up with us and praying for us.