Lucy's Birthday Party

Yes, it's been over a week since Lucy's birthday, but with choir tour, I haven't had time to get her pictures up. . . until now! The picture above is from Lucy's actual birthday. We got a small cake for that evening and as you can tell, she thoroughly enjoyed it. It only took about a minute before she dove right in! Since her party was going to be the next day, we kept the evening low key and just enjoyed dinner and cake together. I don't know if she knew it was her birthday or not, but she was happy and smiling all day long, as if she knew it was all about her! :)

The next day was Lucy's birthday party, so we rested during the morning until grandparents got to the house. The party began around 4 and Lucy had lots of friends stop by to see her. She enjoyed the attention thoroughly, as she always does. We had a great meal together and then it was time for cupcakes. The cupcakes came from a little bakery in Brevard and they were SO yummy!!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Lucy

She knew what to do with her cupcake! :)

Lucy got so many nice presents for her birthday - lots of beautiful clothes and fun toys. She has been enjoying them so much and flits from one to another to another when she plays.

Opening presents with Daddy - they have the same

expression on their faces!

Family photo - Lucy was ready for bed by this time, can you tell?

Lucy had a great time with grandparents while she was gone. We missed her so much but knew she was well taken care of! (And probably a little spoiled too!) I am amazed at how much she changed in just one week while I was gone. She has a new little "fish face" that she makes. She is taking her fish out of her toy aquarium AND putting them back in! (We worked SO hard on this and she's never done it while I've been at home . . . then today she was like it was no big deal!) She also is getting steadier on her feet, pulling up on EVERYTHING and cruising around. She's not taking steps on her own yet, but it won't be long!

Lucy had her 1 year check up today. She was 18 1/2 lbs and 29 1/2 inches. That's almost 2 lbs more than she was at her 8 month appointment and 3 1/2 inches longer! Her weight is still on the small side for her age, but she eats like a horse! She's such a busy little girl though, she must burn off all the calories she eats. (If only her Mommy had that kind of metabolism . . . sigh. . .) Other than her weight, everything else looks great! She is happy and healthy and meeting developmental milestones like she should. She got three immunizations today and except for a quick moment of pain at the doctor's office, they haven't seemed to bother her at all! That's good because tomorrow, Grammy, Mommy and Lucy are heading to Gaffney to check out the outlets!

The final leg of choir tour: Thursday and Friday

Swimming at the hotel

On Thursday, our kids got to sleep in a little and we left the hotel around 9:30 AM for the Central Florida Children's home. (Ironically, they seemed even more tired on the day we got a late start!) We arrived at the Children's Home out in the middle of nowhere and found that the front door was locked. After knocking, calling the contact number, and walking around for awhile, we weren't sure what to do! Finally, the House Mother answered the back door and I thought things would finally get underway. Unfortunately, another group had called and cancelled their trip to the Children's home but our group was the one that had gotten crossed off. They weren't prepared for us to arrive, didn't have work for us to do, and weren't going to be there in the afternoon when we were scheduled to sing. My mind started racing as to what to do because we had scheduled to be there for the whole day! Fortunately, the House Mother finally suggested we drive over to Longwood, Florida where they have a thrift store. The proceeds from the thrift store go to support the Children's Home and they are always in need of volunteers. Well, our group is a flexible bunch so we hopped back in the fan and headed over. On the way over, I began calling nursing homes in Longwood and found a place for us to sing that afternoon. While at the Thrift Store, the guys helped to unload a truck full of donations and the girls worked at tagging, pricing, hanging, and organizing clothes as well as straightening the shelves out in the store.

Hanging/Organizing the clothes

Tagging/Sizing the clothes

Our group worked hard at the Children's Home and while they were disappointed at not getting to meet and interact with the kids, they recognized that our help was much appreciated. It would have taken all day to do the work that our group was able to do in about an hour and a half! And of course, Nicole found some books to buy, so she made a monetary contribution as well! :)

After working, we had lunch at a Boston Market and then headed to the Village on the Green Health Center to sing. For a last minute concert, there was a large crowd! You could see that our kids were beginning to tire when we arrived at the concert, but after a quick reminder that this group deserved as much energy as our first group on Monday, they did a great job. After we sang and visited, we hopped back into the van for a quick "naptime" at the hotel before hitting downtown Disney. (Or at least, I took a nap!!)

Maggie, ready to head to Downtown Disney!

At Downtown Disney, different groups ate at different places. Some went to the Rainforest Cafe, some went to Paradiso 37, and others ate at Wetzel's Pretzels. There were lots of stores for them to visit and I think they had a great time just browsing and hanging out together.

Kim and Mr. Potato Head

On Friday morning, we loaded up the vans and said goodbye to Orlando. It was a fairly quiet drive home - most of the group took a nap at some point on the way home. We had a quick stop for lunch and a quick stop for gas but otherwise headed home. I think the group had a wonderful time - I know I did! Hopefully as they look back on it, not only will they remember the fun that they had, but remember the work they did, the people they met, and the joy and love of Christ that they shared. Our theme verse was John 10:10 - "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundant." All week long, we looked for ways to share that message with others as well as for the youth to recognize their own need for abundant life in Christ. I look forward to Youth Sunday in August when they get a chance to share what they learned with our church. I am so amazed by our wonderful youth - their hearts for service, their love of each other, and their joy and zest for life. What a fabulous group of kids - God is going to do and is already doing great things through them!! :)

Choir Tour Sunday through Wednesday

This week (June 20-25), the Mills River UMC Youth Choir is traveling on our Choir Tour to Orlando, Florida. It has been a great trip so far and I am so proud of our kids. Not only are they great singers, I am so impressed with their attitudes. Everyone has had a great attitude and I haven't had to speak to anyone about whining or complaining. (Which if you had been on MY youth choir tours, you would understand how much this amazes me!)

We drove down to Savannah, Georgia on Sunday night after a slow start to getting on the road. We arrived around 9:30 PM, checked into the hotel, had devotions and went to bed. The next morning, we got up and went to the Second Harvest Food Bank where we volunteered. They had us doing a variety of activities, from emptying boxes to shelving/organizing food to getting mailers ready to distribute. Our group worked hard and got a lot accomplished.

Shelving food at Second Harvest

Emptying boxes into carts

Fixing the mailers

After the food bank, we headed to downtown Savannah for our lunch reservation at The Lady and Sons. It was a great buffet lunch filled with all the southern fixin's - fried chicken, macaroni, green beans, biscuits, okra, amazing desserts and more. (And of course, SWEET TEA!) After lunch, we let everyone walk around downtown for a while to burn off some of what we ate!

Lunch at Paula Deen's!

After walking, we headed over to Magnolia Manor for our 2 PM concert. The kids did a great job singing through their program and the residents there were such a great audience. They laughed during the skits and were very attentive. After singing, our kids visited with them for a while. More important than the singing is the interaction that we get to have with the residents. They were so friendly and enjoyed visiting with our group so much. It was a great first concert!

Singing at Magnolia Manor

Our attentive audience

We hit the road again after the concert and braved several rain showers (or monsoons, depending on who is telling the story!) once we hit the Florida line. We stopped at a Waffle House for dinner and everyone got hats as we were leaving. If you know our group at all, you know that this was a highlight of the trip! :)

Waffle House!

Monday evening we checked into the hotel, had devotions and went to bed. Tuesday was all day at Universal Islands of Adventure, which has the newly opened Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We got there as soon as the theme park opened, and many of our group went straight to the line to get into Harry Potter's world. After about an hour and a half in line (yes, that's right!), we were into that section of the theme park.

Michael at Hogwarts

We rode the rides, had some pumpkin juice and butter beer. (non alcoholic, in case you don't read the HP books!) After Harry Potter, we visited the rest of the park and a great time was had by all. Our kids were worn out by the time we left, but everyone enjoyed themselves and no one was sunburnt! (which I think is AMAZING! Yay for responsible kids who remember to put on their sunscreen!)

Enjoying Pumpkin Juice and Butter Beer

Wednesday morning started with a discussion about our visit to the Russell Home for Atypical Children. Then we headed over and sang our program for them, as well as having a sing along time with the residents afterward. I think they enjoyed our program, but I KNOW they enjoyed the sing along. We sang songs like "Jesus Loves Me," "Deep and Wide," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and many other favorites. After singing, we visited for a while and it was hard to get the kids in the car to leave so the residents at the Russell Home could continue with their daily routine. In the van ride to lunch, several of our youth were already trying to figure out what they were going to share about their time on youth Sunday.

Sing along with the Russell Home Residents

Sarah and Emily with Tanya

All of us together

Lunch followed at McDonalds - but not just any McDonalds! A two-story, "Bistro Gourmet" McDonalds! Many of our group ordered off the regular menu, but several of us sampled the pasta, pizza, paninis, chimichangas, and other "gourmet" items that were available! :) Our next concert was at Hunter's Creek Nursing and Rehab Center. It had been a eventful day at their facility (They had a kitchen fire that morning!) so they weren't completely prepared for us. That was ok - our group is flexible! We sang (Most) of our program, and visited for a while, and then on to our 4 PM program!

Hunter's Creek Nursing home

Our final program for the day was at the Life Care Center. We came in and as soon as we started singing, the bottom dropped out of the sky and it began POURING rain. If you look carefully behind our group, you can see where the outside patio began to flood!

Life Care Center (after the rain!)

Life Care Center

Life Care Center

We weren't able to visit long after singing because it was time for the residents to have dinner and as anyone knows, you don't mess with meal time! We came back to the hotel, changed, and went to dinner ourselves at Fuddruckers. Our group all had to get balloon animals of course, so dinner took quite a while! Once back at the hotel, we had devotions and then let the kids have some free time. (Since they have been working so hard today!) They have played in the pool, played cards, rested, and just enjoyed being together. This group, of course, can have fun doing absolutely nothing together.

Balloon animals at Fuddruckers

Tomorrow we are headed to the Central Florida Children's Home for service work in the morning and a concert in the afternoon. We'll finish out the day walking around and playing at Downtown Disney before driving home on Friday. Make sure to ask one of these youth all about the trip to find out more details - they all have lots of stories to share! And if you'd like to see more pictures, you can go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/meflack/ChoirTour10#

A Year of Lucy

I decided to go through and highlight this past year . . . hope you enjoy!

At the hospital

Sitting in her bouncer

Full of personality even in her first few weeks

One month old

Two months old

Three months old

Four months old

Five months old

Six months old

Seven months old

Eight months old

Nine months old

Ten months old

Eleven months old

One year old

Birthday Girl!

Today Lucy turned one . . . where does time go? I will post more about our birthday festivities after her party tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to share this picture. Happy birthday, Lucy! I am beyond blessed to be your mom.

Trip to Gatlinburg - Warning! Cute pictures ahead

Lucy with the fishes at the Aquarium


On Sunday, we took Lucy up to Lake Junaluska for the Sunday service. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it wasn't TOO warm. :) We saw Wes and Toni Ruth and their kids while we were there and it was nice to visit with them. Lucy seemed to enjoy it and it was fun to see all of the other PK's (preacher's kids) playing outside of Stuart Auditorium.

After the service, we drove over to Gatlinburg for a few days of vacation. We spent Sunday afternoon shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Sevierville and then ate dinner at the Olive Garden across the street. Lucy charmed all the people that she met - it was amazing the number of people that came over to speak to her and wave at her and say how cute she is! Of course, her Mommy and Daddy already know this, but it's always nice to hear other people say so. :) On Monday, we took Lucy to the Aquarium where she enjoyed watching all of the fish and even though she was too young to understand and appreciate a lot of what she saw, we enjoyed watching her laugh and squeal as she watched the different fish swim. After that we went to lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp company. (Yes, Michael was in the mood for seafood after watching all the beautiful fish!) It rained while we were at lunch so when we finished it was really hot and steamy outside. The Hollywood Wax Museum was right across the street so we went in to escape the heat. Lucy was interested in all of the "people" she saw. . . except for Michael Jordan who scared her! When we were finished, Daddy had some ice cream which Lucy loved! It was a short, but fun trip for us and nice to have some family time together before Michael and I leave next week on choir tour! Below are some pictures from our trip.

Getting ready to leave for the aquarium - the hat didn't last long!

She loved the fish - she's just not quite sure about all the people around her!

Mommy and Lucy

Daddy and Lucy

Looking at the penguins

Telling Donald Trump he's fired :)

Playing Ray's piano - Lucy can't understand why it doesn't play like hers at home!

"Beam me up, Daddy" - if you look at Lucy's face, you can tell that she is thinking the same thing her Mommy is thinking! :)

Standing on her own with Toto from the Wizard of Oz

MMMM - Ice Cream!!!