What’s up with the May’s

Just wanted to update family and friends on what’s going on with the fam. and house.  Be in prayer for us because we are hoping we can use the existing well instead of having to drill a new one.  We should hopefully find out this week.  They should start putting the siding on this week and finish up the outside.  As for the family we had a great Halloween.

We hung out with some neighbors, one of which is George Wright who is the Lead Pastor at Cedar Crest Church.  If your in the Acworth area you should check it out.  We got to do a Hay Ride (which Avery pronounces Hay Wide) and get a ton of candy.  It was cold and the leaves are in full change up here.  It is beautiful.

Happy 6th B-Day Baylee!

May Family on the Hay Ride.

Didn’t get out of the fifties the week of Halloween.

The local crew about to hit the streets.

Home at last, been a long night.

“I can’t feel my hands!”

Roof is done.

Looking out from the front porch.

View from the backside.

Phase 2, Beginnings of a house.

For all of those from back home here are some pics of the house starting to go up and I threw in some pics of the kids.  Now that the house has started it is going up quickly.  We hope and pray    (and would ask that you would do the same) that this will be a real quick process. Thanks for checking in and I also have thrown in some pics of the fam as well so you can see how the youngins are doing.  Drop us a line, we miss you guys back home.

Well it finally happened

No, Heather didn’t finally beat me up.  That happened  a while a go .  They actually broke ground on our house so I wanted to post some pics for you.

It’s a weird feeling seeing some thing for two years remain the same and then it begins to take shape.

I will keep you all up to date from here out.  Please be in prayer for us that everything goes smooth and that this place becomes a way we can bless others.

bulldozer that killed all my trees

trees were never so big in Fl

It’s a little too late to be measuring?

Snow Miser?

OK so the other day I was pulling up old shows on You Tube and I remembered this song from when I was a kid. So, i decided to show it to my kids and they loved it.  If you never seen it then check this out.

Most of us remember the Snow Miser and “whatever I touch, I’m too much”.  Well now Avery can’t get it out of his head.

You see our kids enjoy the same things we liked when growing up.  Heck , they we’re a lot cleaner back then and I have to say the music was much catchier.  Just be prepared to have the song stuck in your head for a week!

road to the theater: prayer guide day 2

Here is our blog post from our Family pastor Jonathan;

Reaching kids and families is not a secondary thing at Oak Leaf. It’s not an afterthought. And KidVenture (preschool & elementary) is not a low priority. In fact, it’s a top priority! God has called us to impact kids and parents in Bartow County and beyond. We are on a mission to see thousands of lives changed!

Today, please pray these three specific prayers for KidVenture:

1. Let Oak Leaf Church become the first place hurting families turn to in a time of crisis. Our prayer is that we become known in the community as the healing place for families. Through counseling, providing basic needs, or whatever the situation calls for, we want to reach families at the point of their need.

2. That our church would reach thousands of children through the public school system. We believe thousands of kids will come to faith in Christ over the next several years. And we believe this will be a direct result of Oak Leaf’s involvement in the public school system. Inviting kids to KidVenture on Sunday morning is great…but we must do more. We must go to where they are. Pray for the right strategic partnerships with our local schools. Pray that the right doors will open so we can take the Gospel in to the schools.

3. That God would raise up crazy, energetic, passionate volunteers on Sunday morning that would make KidVenture contagious. It’s no secret: Oak Leaf has the best volunteers on the planet! We are VERY APPRECIATIVE for all the sacrifice that each individual makes throughout the week and on the weekends. Our prayer is that as we go to three services at the theater, God would raise up even more terrific volunteers. We want to make that one hour on Sunday morning THE BEST hour of that child’s week! Pray that parents, teenagers, moms, dads…anyone and everyone would step up and volunteer for that one hour each Sunday. Let’s unite and make KidVenture so contagious that kids in Cartersville are dragging their parents to church each week!

Invest…

I was swinging Baylee in one of those cool tire swings the other day and a thought occurred to me.  This is the only time in all of eternity that she will ever be this age.  She will never again be 5 and I will never have this opportunity to interact with her like this again.  One day when we are both living on the other side of this physical life we will only be able to remember what our daughter/father relationship was like.  It will never be experienced again.

Like most fathers I already look back to the past times in my life and wished I would have been more engaged with my family.  Some of us believe that we have to sacrifice our family time in order to provide for them.  I believe this comes more from the man’s perspective that in order to be a good father I have to provide financially for the family.  But yet children desire time to be spent with them not toys or outings with friends.

They desire a relationship with the father.  The father that gives guidance and direction.  The father that creates a sense of comfort and safety.  Working long hours doesn’t do this, time together does this.  Research shows that many of our problems entering into adulthood stem from a lack father influence in a child’s life.  

Think about it.  We were created in the image of God.  We were created with a need to have a relationship with Him.  If we do not get the time with Him we encounter a life that doesn’t make sense.

Now, how do you think our children feel?  Don’t miss the opportunity, invest!

A day at the lake

My kids and I spent our first trip out to the lake here in the south.  We had a ton of fun.  I could not get Baylee off the boats and all AJ wanted to do was ride on the ATV.  Check out the pics below.

This was a day sponsored by the Jordan family from Oak Leaf Church.  They were so gracious in allowing us to hang with them and be a part of their weekend.  We ran the boats all day so I know it wasn’t a cheap day for gas.  They were a great example of Southern Hospitality.  Tnank you for the great memories Jordan family!

Saturdays Lost

As I am writing this the family (Heather the kids and myself) have just got done having lunch together. We were in the kitchen talking, singing, and laughing. These are the things that remind me of my mom and dad. Growing up my Saturdays were filled with chores, sweat, sunburns, just plain old work. They were also filled with laughter, hugs, play, fun, and just plain love.

By writing this I will be going against the typical culture enmeshed family but this view comes from my past and a awareness of families today, that doesn’t sit well with me.

I see so many families spending their weekends: running to birthday parties, running errands, going to multiple soccer, baseball, football, cheer-leading, and whatever travel sports there are. What I don’t see is dad’s teaching their kids to do lawn work or taking the kids golfing with him. I see a lot of us (including me) spending too much time picking up after our kids rather than have them do it. I see housekeeping hired out because people have run out of time yet we complain about our shrinking budget. I see families allowing their little league coaches to teach values yet we don’t take the time to get to know them. I see a lot of us buying into the philosophy that the busier we keep our kids the better off they are. I see….a country that looks a lot different than it did 30 years a go before we had all this.

What would it look like if we managed our schedules so that we actually took a day off to hang with the family at home and not worry about what we could be doing down the road?

If you think this is hard you’re right! Culture doesn’t want you raising your child they would rather have that job. Unfortunately, for us, the world is not being run by nice people but by a prince. And this guy knows what makes us tick and he’s not out for our best.

Grace

OK, so I am a toughie. I have spent way too much time working with kids that were basically spoiled by being with parents who let them get their way too much. After all those years working with behavior disorders I pride myself on knowing how to discipline my children. I have no problem matching up their consequences with their wrong doings.

So Baylee decided to pitch a fit the other day when she was told it was time to go home. Another parent actually reminded her to listen to her mother. Oh man, when I found out I was determined that she would learn her lesson. She would not be allowed to visit her friends houses for 1 week. Then wouldn’t you know it the very next day one of the mom’s was having a cookout over at her house with all of Baylee’s friends. OK, so you know my thinking, it is the perfect consequence! (picture me with the mad scientist laugh rubbing my hands together)

Everything was going well till my wife got a heart. She said that now could be a great time to teach Baylee about grace. Yeah I know, grace is for the weak, but after much considertion I decided to give it a try.

I got to explain that it was something not deserved but that it was given out of love. As a matter of fact I would not even use the fact that she was given grace if she happened to wrong her mother again. I also got tell her how grace works for all of us becasue we all have sin.

Since then I have to tell you that disciplining is actually easier. When she is kind of slow following a direction we just say, “First time direction please.” And she instatnly remembers the grace that was shown and she acts out of love not fear of a consequence. How cool is that?

How cool is it that we still are like this even as grown ups. Our behaviors are slowly changed the more we realize His love for us and our love for Him.

Hanging out

I just wanted to let you all know what is going on with us.  As you can see we have been keeping the kids busy.  If you ever get up here you will definitely have to take cover if they get the jeep out!  I have to say that Baylee is definitley a better driver than Avery.  That’s because Avery gets a kick running into everything he can!

We’ve also been working on our aversion to insects.  As you see we are doing pretty well with it but Heather still won’t have anything to do with them.

Did you notice anything different with Baylee’s smile?  That’s right, she lost her first tooth this week.   She was all pumped!  She thinks this means she is ready for highschool now.  Sadly she does not know that she is not leaving home until she is ready for dentures.

You also see that we went to see the world’s largest aquarium.  If you ever get up here you definitley need to take the time to visit.  The trip is worth it to see the whale sharks!  The 4d movie is pretty cool as well.  Just make sure you get good directions for when you have to drive through downtown Atlanta.

Alright tune in next time when we will have more to share, especially when it comes to what God has beeen working out up here.

Bless you all!