Easter Egg Hunt at FBC

This year's hunt at the church was great. Tracy and Elijah joined the boys, Corbyn, and me. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to get out and spend some fun time with the children. The day began with the egg hunts. The big kids went to the soccer fields and the little ones went to the playgrounds. The eggs are always in plain sight so the big kids are finished in about 0.2 seconds.

Tracy took Corbyn and Elijah while I took the boys. The twins were hesitant at first but got the hang of it after I mentioned that the eggs hand chocolate in them. Handling both of the going in different directions was difficult so Hayden Park helped by taking Carson on his hunt (Thanks a million, Hayden).

Following the hunt, children were able to play on inflatables, interact with clowns, and enjoy the fruits of their "labor" as they yanked open their eggs and dumped out the goods. The boys weren't interested in the inflatables but they were all about the basketball shot station.

The church provided a yummy lunch of barbecue and chicken nuggets. It was a great day!

Annual Eddie Kendrick Golf Tournament

For the past several years, First Baptist Church, Kingston has hosted a golf tournament on Good Friday to raise funds for the youth or college mission trip. This year was the 14th Annual Eddie Kendrick Golf Tournament. Thats right, it is named in memory of Daddy and it is always a pleasure to attend and wish the golfers well in addition to thanking them for their participation.

Daddy used to help run the tournament since he was so involved in the church's youth program and missions for Christ were dear to his heart. The sponsors named it in his honor a few years before he passed and now it is in his fond memory that they work so hard every year. Tracy and I attended this year to thank everyone for coming since mom was enjoying a much deserved cruise with a friend of hers. She had looked forward to this Christian cruise for several months but was disappointed when she learned that she would be unable to attend the tournament. She was kind enough to write a few words to be shared on behalf of our family. Thanks to the participants and First Baptist Church for honoring my Dad and being crusaders for Christ!

As you can see, the kids had fun too...

Spring Break at Grandma & Grandpa's

This year for Spring Break, we decided to go for a short visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house in North Carolina. The weather was amazing so we were able to spend lots of fun time outside. We arrive in Hickory just in time for Grandma and Grandpa to treat us to a delicious and filling lunch at Ryan's Steakhouse. Next, we checked into the hotel. The children were excited to jump around on beds as you can imagine. After getting the car unloaded, we headed to Grandma's to play outside. They have an awesome basketball court right outside their back door as well as a playground. All 3 children (and Grandpa) were content in playing ball and running around all afternoon.

One of the pinnacles of the trip was our adventure at the Hickory Motor Speedway. Grandma is always the greatest tour guide because she always finds fun and exciting things to do every time we're in town. The racetrack was having open practice while we were there and the children really enjoyed watching the cars.

After spending a while at the racetrack, we returned to Grandma's house for more outdoor fun. She also fixed us an amazing little picnic of finger foods that everyone loved munching on. We finally headed back to the hotel to settle in for the night after a long day of travel and play. Sleeping in the hotel room was quite an experience. Once we all had baths and got into bed, it went rather well but getting cleaned up and put down took a while.

The next day, true to form, Grandma had more adventures planned. We had breakfast at Bojangles and headed to the "duck park" to feed the ducks, take a walk, and play on the many playgrounds. The duck park was really neat. We set off on this wooden walkway on our search for the ducks. It didn't take long for Corbyn and the boys to find some.

The ducks seemed as excited to see us as the children were to find them. The boys and Corbyn had a great time throwing bread and other snacks that Grandma had packed.

The wooden walkway wound around in a big circle so we continued our walk in search of more ducks. It didn't take long until we found more. The children (with instruction from Daddy of course) began aiming for the ducks. The new game was to see who could hit the duck with the bread. After the bread was gone, we set off to find the playgrounds. Corbyn had been here on a previous trip and was anxious to ride the "tire swing".

The boys were in awe of the swing but were not interested in riding it. The were even more in awe (or shock) that Daddy would try to ride it.

Everyone had fun climbing, swinging, and sliding. Grandma plans the best days ever!

We were all exhausted by the end of the day. We finished the trip by going to an awesome pizza parlor called "Geppeto's" that was delicious. Thanks for the super fun trip, Grandma & Grandpa!

Corbyn - Our Young Achiever!

The Loudon County Education Foundation (LCEF) each year recognizes students who excel from each of the county and city schools who are considered "Young Achievers". Each classroom teacher chooses a student who exhibits exemplary character and is a role model among his/her fellow students, but also has proven academic excellence. As a teacher, I enjoy selecting a student each year to be recognized at the Young Achievers Awards Night.

This year Randy and I were so proud of Corbyn when we learned that she was chosen as her class's Young Achiever. Her teacher, Mrs. Brooks, had to submit her name along with a little write-up describing Corbyn's accomplishments. The annual recognition event was to be held at our church and we had looked forward to it all year.

Corbyn was invited to the Awards Evening that included a buffet of desserts like none other. It looked like Willy Wonka had done the catering. Corbyn seemed to thrive on the attention and greeted all of her friends who were also in attendance.

She had her portrait taken and submitted to the local paper, the News Herald where it was published in last Wednesday's edition. The same portrait was flashed on the big screen in the church on awards night. Her name was also printed in a bulletin which she was thrilled to note. Corbyn got to walk across the stage and shake the hands of several local representatives of companies and politicians who had sponsored the evening's event and awards.

She also received honorary certificates from the Loudon County Education Foundation, Randy McNally, our State Senator, and Jimmy Matlock, our State Representative. We are so proud of her!

Thank you Nana for staying home with the boys so we could attend. We know you wanted to be there for Corbyn and appreciate your sacrifice.

Ringling Bros. Circus Night

Nana scored us some tickets to the Ringling Bros. Circus. We decided to take the boys to the event and see how they did. I knew that they would be captivated once the show actually began. If the show wasn't enough, the junk food would take up the slack.

In true Nana style, the children got twirly circus lights before we even got to our seats. The boys chose one with an elephant on the top and Corbyn got one with a ballerina. Corbyn's played this extremely obnoxious music that seemed to grate on the nerves of the folks who sat in front of us (I don't know why, it only played for about 2 hours - jeez!) Corbyn also got a lemonade which was soon followed by a funnel cake (and a fruit punch - not sure what happened to the lemonade). The boys got the $20 (not really, but it seems like it) snow cones in the clown cup and popcorn.

The boys enjoyed the show (and the treats) and Corbyn was in awe of the acrobatics and animal tamers. Carson and Micah seemed to enjoy the dogs, tigers, elephants (the most), and zebra. Corbyn was glued to the tight rope walkers and lady hanging by a rope doing some sort of ballet. The jump-ropers held all of our attention. The clowns (there were really only 2) were pretty entertaining as well.

It was a late night but we all had a wonderful time! Thanks for the tickets and treats, Nana!

Check out our circus slide show:

Upward Basketball Awards Night

Last Monday night, Corbyn attended her Upward Awards night for basketball. Her team this year was the Lady Wildcats and they had a rather successful season. Corbyn enjoyed learning the fundamentals and playing the game. Randy and I are excited that Corbyn has taken to a sport. We hope that she continues to be involved in team sports and enjoys them as much as she has Upward Soccer and Basketball.

Corbyn has developed a keen sense of the game and is eager to learn all that she can. She tagged along this season with the middle school girl's team and watched the practices. She would practice her shot at the side goals and improved significantly considering this was her first year. She would often say, "Show me some basketball moves, Mommy." She and her Daddy play out in the driveway on Friday afternoons before her brothers get home because they horde the goal. Corbyn will play every chance she gets and loves to see how many goals she can make.

Here is a photo of her team at awards night:

State Champs!

Woohoo! Our girl's basketball team. the Lady Panthers, has won the state championship (or the equivalent of it that is). As many of you know, I am the assistant girl's basketball coach for Lenoir City Middle School. God has richly blessed me this year in paving the way for me to be a part of these girls' lives and team. I have learned so much from them and hope that along the way I taught them a few things as well. They are an amazing group of girls and the head coach, Miss Wilson, is a dear friend of mine and an awesome coach.




The girls had a dream that began right after district tournament last year (2007-2008) to become district champions this year. At our school, championship teams are given "immortality" in a manner of speaking by having the team photo blow up gigantic and displayed in the hallway outside of the gymnasium as well as having the championship sign displayed in the gym itself. The girls have worked hard for over a year including playing all summer and during a fall league where they were also champions.

Our season this year certainly wasn't flawless but the girls have learned and improved so much as well as grown to become a true team. We have shared many ups-and-downs but through it all, they held their heads high and remained focused on the goal. Unfortunately, their hearts were broken in district tournaments when they lost to Oliver Springs, one of our biggest rivals. The girls wept for what might have been and ended up placing 3rd in our district.


What we didn't realize at the time was that 3rd seed set us up for the games that would determine the team's fate. Since we were 3rd, we got to go to sectional play-offs. Our first game was against Sunbright School, a 2nd seed team within their district. We faced them on Sunbright's floor and beat them. The girls were ecstatic and their confidence and spirits were immediately lifted. This game changed everything and guaranteed us to go the the play-off tournament in Pigeon Forge. This game also allowed us to make history for our school since no girl's team has ever gotten this far in play-offs.


Our first game was against Boyd's Creek School who had placed 1st in their district. The Lady Panthers won this game easily. Our next game, the semi-final was to be played a week later and we would be facing an undefeated team, Rogersville, who makes it to play-offs every year. We stayed after our Boyd's Creek game to watch them play. They had the tallest girls we had ever seen. Rogersville had 2 post players who were about 6'2" that were unstoppable. They got every rebound and shot over every defensive player. We knew it would be our biggest challenge yet.


Most people slated us to lose but the hearts of the Lady Panthers by this time were soaring and determined. We managed to upset Rogersville and the celebration afterwards was amazing. I was so proud of our girls. They played their tails off and stayed focus. Heart (and a lot of prayer) is what won the game! Our girls were on top of the world. We would play in the sectional championship game the following afternoon (Feb. 16).


I doubt many of the girls slept after beating Rogersville but we had one game to go before making LCMS history. We had to face Hampton. We were feeling a little cocky after beating Rogersville and the game was sticky at times. We were losing by 2 at half time. They pulled together and ran with it during the 4th quarter. The Lady Panthers were the East TN Sectional Champions! (Middle School doesn't have a "state tournament" so this is our equivalent).

What a celebration! The LC School Board had told the girls that if they won they would buy them championship rings. We took the girls to Fudruckers for a victory dinner and were welcomed back in Lenoir City with a "parade". We received a police escort (5 cars from city, county, and state). They drove us through town, stopped traffic, and parents were stopped in their cars along the route cheering. I can't remember the last time I saw smiles that big. What a blessing to be a witness and a participant in something so amazing.



The girls became history and will have their gigantic picture on the wall after all but instead of district champs, they are so much more.