I never realized......

Since life has gotten so busy for me the last few weeks, there are lots of things that I never realized over the last 18 years. I never realized how much time I actually had for myself and the many ways that I spent that time....some lazily, some foolishly, and much more of it was quite well spent on home, family and friends. Trying to find time to have coffee with a friend or do something fun with my daughter (who is also much more busy these days) is a challenging find. But it is also filled with grace. God provides moments at just the right time to sing or pray or read or talk to a friend or even to update my blog. I am grateful! New seasons....they challenge me....my goal.....not to complain but to be awed by the grace for the season and the promise of mercies anew with each new day.

Here He Is -- Such A Cutie!!!

He's just a sweet, cute baby boy.....not much else to say....enjoy the pics!

He's Here!!!!

Yep....grandson #2 has arrived! No pics yet, I'll post those when I get them. Landen Xavier Wilfong arrived this morning....08/08/08 weighing in at 6 lbs 7 oz. Everyone is doing great! Shelley was only in labor for 4 hours and pushed for 15 minutes and he was here! What a blessing. Don't know when our crazy schedule will allow us to visit. Hopefully Gene will get a
peak at the little man this afternoon before he comes home! Yea!!!

Chelsey Says I Need to Update.....

Ok...I don't think I have much to update, other than to say, I think my calendar has exploded! It has been a challenge to add this job to the mix, but it is a blessing in many ways other than the obvious. I am learning how lazy I had gotten about getting things done in an orderly way, and needing to really look at my time management. It has been a blessing to be able to get things done in a short amount of time and still have time to relax with my family. I'm still adjusting, but God has been so gracious in all of these adjustments. Being purposeful about my time and what I do with it and making sure that nothing gets left out is essential. I'm grateful for this season of growth. I might -- well, probably wouldn't -- have chosen to do it this way this quickly, but God does know me so well! So posts are probably slack, but the more important stuff in my life is getting done when it should! I'll try to update on a regular basis, but if I don't....you know why!

A New Adventure...

Well....I'm on a new adventure.....maybe I should say that differently. Let's just say it's been a while, but I'm working again! This time, I'm going to be able to work from home. I'm just trying to figure everything out this week. How it all will work, what the schedule will look like, the number of hours I'll work and all of that, and what life will look like from this point. I'll be doing phone calls -- call center followups for Great Direct Concepts/Auto Lending Network. I've been looking for something to do from home for a few months, and this one seems like it is going to work out well. I'm hoping so. It's kind of a good feeling to know what I'll be doing now that homeschooling is over. I'm sure the Lord has plenty in store for me, and I look forward to this all fitting together. Very interesting!

One Season Ends, A New One Begins.....

Well, once again, it has been forever since I last posted! As of Saturday, we have officially ended the high school years.....with the conclusion of Youth Camp 2008. It was a wonderful time! The presence of the Lord and the work that He was doing was evident. I'll post more on that when I get all my thoughts together. So now we move on to the college years and M28. With Chelsey now working, and today, we got her registered for the last class she needed for fall at CPCC, the busyness of life looks different. We are still praying for God's provision for a car for Chelsey to be able to use for her many destinations as they increase in the months to come. It is exciting to see how she is also changing, maturing and realizing how much she must trust the Lord in many areas of her life. It is also a new season for Gene and I. We have the opportunity to spend more time together alone and do things together. What a change! I tell you what -- those 17 years since we were last alone have flown by! I am just so grateful for all that the Lord has done through the years to teach us and grow us and draw us all closer to Himself and continue His sanctifying process with an abundance of grace! So here is my question I pose to the Lord now.... Now what do I do? That is where I am....trying to figure it all out and hear from Him. I'm looking forward to whatever is next.

Deep *sigh*

Well....for now, all the things on my plate are done.....referring to graduation, youth banquet, anniversary celebrations and mom's bible study. I really enjoyed all of them! Still can't believe that Chelsey is actually done with homeschool. I think in my mind I never thought that we would make it through to the end. Yea God! He did many awesome works in the two of us.....there was definitely a lot of character growth that took place, and as a family, He has been faithful to keep us drawn to Him. So now she must decide what she is going to do next. She has some really mixed feelings about whether she wants to start school in the fall, or whether she just wants to work. She is really enjoying working at Chick-fil-A. I can't decide if she really likes it or if she just realized how cool it is to get paid and enjoy the work at the same time. Today she made a huge investment. She bought herself an ipod. She really had a tough few moments of justifying spending that much money. I'm grateful that she doesn't want to spend all of her money. I pray that she stays with that mindset.

The youth banquet went very well. I think that was very and there have been lots of compliments. I am very grateful to everyone who contributed! The place was beautiful! Kendra did a great job with decorations, and many ladies did a fantastic job with the food. AND, M28-ers we can't do it without them! Their servant hearts on Thursday and Friday were outstanding. What a wonderful evening! Congrats to Mark and Chelsey for receiving the Quest Awards this year. What an honor. It will be exciting to see all that the Lord has in store for the youth, and how He will draw them as they enter college and M28.

Anniversaries....well Gene and I celebrated our 21st....I think we celebrated several days. Shelley reminded us that not only was Chelsey's graduation taking over our anniversary, but her high school graduation was also on our anniversary....that was 12 years ago! Wow! But Saturday we drove to Greenville (SC) to Gene's sisters....she and her husband were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Their kids threw dinners and receptions all weekend. We were so exhausted, we only made the Saturday afternoon reception. It was really nice. There were folks that we got a chance to visit with that we don't see very often. Gene's sister from Iowa, his nephews from Florida and Pennsylvania. AND, Gene's mom returns from her winter in Iowa back to SC. It was great to see her...we haven't seen her since last year! WOW!

Sunday, needless to say, we crashed. It was a very nice day, Gene put up the hammock and took his nap outside in the breeze. I made it to the couch! It was a great day of just relaxing!!!

Monday....I worked on the bible study for my mom's WOC (women of the church) meeting that was today. I emailed Gene in the afternoon to ask for prayer because my brain felt like mush and I just couldn't decide how things were going to turn out....but I did know that I just needed to trust the Lord for what He wanted me to share. So I took Chelsey to work and when I came back home, was able to get it done without a lot of trouble. And today, I was able to trust the Lord for the delivery! It was nice to be able to share what the Lord had shown me with these ladies.

So that's what I've been up to lately!