Children of the world- ONE LAST TIME!

Children of the World have blessed us once more! It's amazing how close we have gotten to these young children. Last Friday on John's Birthday he received a very special phone call from Mark, one of the boys we kept from the Philippines. He was so excited to hear Natalie tell him that the children have been asking for Aunty Pepper and Uncle John continuously.

Again yesterday Isaac, our young boy from Gulu, Uganda called and reminded us of their performance in Lenior- just 35 minutes down the road! So of course we went to see their smiling faces once more.

It was a joy to hear all of their stories about their travels since the last time we have seen them. They were eager to share about the Disney World Trip that they were blessed with and had many new teeth and inches added to their growing bodies. They were so loving and it was unbelievable to imagine them each returning to their very own countries in a little less than three weeks.

The Filipinos will leave the group first and say goodbye a week earlier than the other children. Then the children from India will go home and then Chad and Natalie will have the privileged of going back to Uganda with the children from Africa and meeting and family that may be living. They have recently had to receive all of their shots and are excited and anxious about the opportunity to see what the children will be returning to. Isaac shared that he was excited to see his mother.

Natalie said there have been many days filled with tears as the children have had to say goodbye's to the ones that they have grown to love. As the children worshipped to "How Great is Our God", you can just imagine how easy it was for my eyes to well up with tears as I realized that this was it for spending time with the children and knowing that they are safe. It is hard to believe that many of them may have to return to hard home situations or no homes at all. One thing that I must remain grateful for is that they have learned to know that God is love for them and their might provider. As I watched a group of young boys lift their eyes and hands in worship, I prayed that God would keep that forever burning in their hearts and lives.

Schools Out for Summer!

I made it! I made it through an entire year of teaching 5th grade.

I must be honest that there were times that I wasn't sure whether I could hold out the entire year of not, but finally at 1:00 yesterday the final bell ring announcing that the 180th day of school has ended and my work at Cove Creek was completed.

I experienced a new age group of students this year and I was definitely stretched.I can remember the first day when one of my boys decided to throw out the "f bomb" on me and flip me off. It was an eventful way to begin the year, but praise God that through much prayer and patience that could only come from above I made it with him and I am proud to say he was much different at the end than he was that first day! It was a joy to see him as proud of himself as I was of him.

All 25 of my Fifth Graders were special in their very on way and together we were very successful!

So Much Has Gone on!

Well alot of happened since I last blogged....


We celebrated Mother's Day in Hendersonville and had some good family time! I included some of the best pics! We enjoyed a buffet breakfast at Highland Lake Falls Bed and Breakfast! It was great and we were able to celebrate the mother that Denice has been to us all by giving her a new Ipod and some flowers. It was a great time of celebration and seeing each other. I went to visit my Aunt Wanda and Nana to celebrate the mom's they have been in my life.







We also enjoyed a family reunion with all of the Jones'. It was a good time to see those that live far away and to check up with the family that you don't get to see all the time. How cute is Ella in her cool sunglasses!!!?? She is adorable. I just love some Ella time!















We also enjoyed a good time at Eric (John's college roommates) wedding on May 17th. He is on a previous post about our Bed and Breakfast. He and Mer finally tied the knot and it was a beautiful day of celebration with them!





We went on down to Greenville, SC to visit our brother and sister and niece for Ella's dedication!





On May 23rd we celebrated John's 28th Birthday with an awesome cookout with our closest friends! It was a time to celebrate how important he is to us all! I love celebrating him, because he just smiles the whole time. Here's one good pic that I got of that.





School is over in just a few days and summer will be in full swing. God is sending us into a season of trust, faith and unknown territory for as a couple. But we will rely on Jeremiah 29:11 knowing that all that he has for us good! Can't wait to see what he has in store.