My little speller....

A couple of weeks ago Kaitlyn and I headed south on a Friday morning since she was in the Regional Spelling Bee. This was her second year to be in it, along with three students from each grade, she was one of three from her class. While we do study a little, we don't spend hours getting ready for these. We want her to go and have fun and definitely try to do well but it isn't something to become obssessed about (for us - whatever anybody else does if fine - this is just us) but to just enjoy.

Kaitlyn and one her classmates get their name tags and numbers....

Waiting patiently for her turn. Most of the time she had a big smile on her face, and from the moment that it was her turn until she returned to her seat there was a big smile each time it was her turn....

One of her many turns to spell....
Kaitlyn came in 5th. I thought the word she went out on was kind of funny. They gave her the word joyous....she hesitated, asked for it in a sentence...and then spelled it j-o-y-i-c-e. I knew immediately what she was doing! Her middle name is Joyce and she was spelling it like her name, except adding in the "i", and spelling it just like it sounded to her. I thought that was pretty cute.

Considering how much we had studied, she did very well going to 5th place. She had some tougher words and she surprised me more than once when she spelled then correctly. I didn't video much because I didn't want to be distracting but I do have a one minute long clip from the earlier part of the Bee - this also shows two of her classmates spelling a word.


Or here is the link.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Slm6fCfgc

And here is the link to a few more pictures from the day...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125641&id=616327758&l=e5b4d7a125

Congratulations to our little Katie bug and the rest of the spellers from our school - ya'll did great and most importantly we saw lots of good attitudes!

Let's go Camping - final day

Sunday was our last day. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast cooked by some of the men, followed by our own church service. There's something really neat about having church with a bunch of other young families outdoors - really special.

After church everyone gets busy getting everything ready to leave after what is always a delicious dinner. This year Jan Hobbs made her enchiladas, I honestly think I could eat them three times a week and not get tired of them for a VERY long time!

Before we headed home our family posed in front of the camper we stayed in.....

If you have never gone camping with your family, especially if you have young kids, you are really missing out on a chance to make some wonderful memories!!

To see a few more pictures from out last day just click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125260&id=616327758&l=f44bab7b18

Let's Go Camping part II....

Saturday was a full day of whatever we wanted! There was game playing, four wheeling, shooting, basketball playing, eating, and all the other fun, relaxing and enjoyable things you can do when you are camping with a bunch of other young families!

Here are a few pictures....

You can click on this link to see many more....

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121001&id=616327758&I=284cb0b33e

And here is a video that shows moments from a variety of things from the weekend...


Or here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAD0Z_V5r5g

Let's go camping!

Thanks to many of the kids in our church Lifegroup being out of school from Wed. at lunch time on for the rest of the week (teachers went to a teachers convention) someone suggested it would be a perfect weekend to go out to the church owned land and go camping.

While not everyone could, quite a few families went out on Thursday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Others came out on Friday and a few came out for the day on Saturday. It was warm but not unbearable and the nights were beautiful. Because of the pavilions with paddle fans the adults could stay comfortable even during the warm afternoons. Thanks to how dry it's been mosquitoes were almost non-existent. This is definitely something our kids love doing - not only do they enjoy being with so many other kids but they love riding the four wheelers and all the other fun.

While there were far more boys than girls, there were a few young ladies who had fun together. Julie combs one of her girls hair while Kaitlyn, Lydia, Katie and Janessa play with toys....


Ethan and Rick just hanging out....



It was so great to have Annie at "The Land" all weekend. If you want to keep reading the updates save this link http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=53856821742&ref=ts You can go there anytime, just click on the tab that says "INFO" to get the updates.

BIG hug for her amazing Mommy....

I think this little guy is SO cute! I asked Mr. Dylon if he would smile for me and he happily agreed...

To see a lot more pictures from our first day click on this link... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120616&id=616327758&l=923dd6c7ab

Monday morning update on Marc Sankey:

I am writing on Monday morning from Celaya, Mexico, and from the hotel where Marc's family, and Janet and I, are staying.

The Lord has marvelously touched Marc so that he is able to function almost as before he was struck in the forehead by a rock/piece of concrete that came through the windshield of the vehicle he was driving. Because of swelling, it is difficult for him to open his eyes, more especially his left eye which was damaged by the impact of the rock. When he does open his eyes, as best he can, he says he sees quite clearly...and how thankful we are for that.

He is fairly steady on his feet, his humor is returning, and he carries on a good conversation. He wearies quickly, and he sleeps/rests a lot, and is taking quite a bit of medication, though, thankfully, he suffers little pain.

Today, he has two doctors' appointments - the head neurosurgeon and the ophthamologist. The latter may be able to tell us whether or not his eye has suffered permanent damage. We expect they (and the plastic surgeon who he will see on Thursday) may release him to go to his/their home in Saltillo, about an eight hour drive north of Celaya. He will be under the care of another neuro-surgeon in their home city.

From our two families, please accept our thanks for your prayers and concern."

Leonard Sankey


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This is Tuesday morning, Janet and I are in the hospital room with Marc and Melodie. Marc had a very good night of rest (and Melodie rested well too), and this morning has shown the most improvement yet in his recovery. The ophthamologist was in last night and thinks that Marc's eye will make a complete recovery. Though it is still swollen in the area of the eye, yet the bruising is receding, and the eye itself looks better.

This morning, Marc (with aid of the nurse and Melodie) walked to the bathroom, was able to shower and wash his hair. Then he was able to see well enough to walk across the room (and was walking better too) and sit down in a chair. The nurse re-dressed the suture line across the top of his head (Janet says the suture line is beautifully done [if such a thing can be "beautiful"]), cleaned out the actual wound area where the rock/piece of concrete had smashed into his forehead, and rebandaged that area and his nose that had been shattered.

Right now he is eating almost normally though he says it hurts to swallow. Altogether, and thus far, this day has been very encouraging to all of us. As Melodie has mentioned, "The prayers of God's people are making a difference in my husband's life."


From all of us - thanks for your prayer,and we earnestly request that you continue until God brings us the whole way through this present circumstance.

Leonard Sankey (Marc's Father)