Jayson is home!!!!

I'm so happy to report that Jayson is home from Student Life Camp! He had a great week of fun and fellowship with all of his friends. He's a little "gamy" smelling...but he says it was all worth it. He played crazy word games, worked at a youth camp (Jayson put his weed whacking skills to use and considers himself an expert now), sang, worshiped, rededicated his life to God and in short, he says the week changed his life!

When we picked him up, guess who greeted him first. Yep....his "best friend!" Her world is complete now that he's home. :)


Jayson's pastor, Chad, says they all had a really good time but didn't get much sleep. Jayson reports sleeping 2-3 hours a night! I'm sure they are all in need of some downtime, especially Chad!


Jake and Jayson are also very close. They are in the same worship band. Jayson says they spent time playing "swords" (grasp the opponent's hand and point your index finger; first person to poke the other in the chest with their finger wins) ....Um, Jake won a lot.


More of Jayson's friends...Jayson says Ryan (the one on the left) tried to "kill" him in his sleep! (That's 13 year old for "we had a great time!") Um....Ryan, I'd have to hunt you down if you had succeeded! (Just kidding) I'm so thankful Jayson has wonderful friends who look out for him. Really?!?


Here's a group of the boys. I think they have bonded for life! I have such fond memories of summer camp when I was a kid and I know Jayson will forever remember this week as one of the best times of his life. Oh, and the "life changing" part? Jayson says he wants to be a youth pastor. That just shows what a great influence people like Chad and Jake are on Jayson. He admires them so much. Thanks to everyone who brought my boy home safe and full of fantastic stories (especially Ryan who was not successful!)


I Kings 18:1-40 is Jayson's favorite Bible reference because as he says, "It shows the power of God." He also says Luke 10 is a fave because it shows the joy and happiness God can bring. Amen!

A boy's best friend

Lahki (pronounced Lucky) is Jayson's new best friend. She is darling! She is a black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. These small dogs are precious and originally bred for royalty as footwarmers or to sleep with them and draw the bugs away during the night (ok, we're talking a LONG time ago...). Well, we've had no footwarming or bug-drawing in this house...just FYI.


Famous people who have owned Cavaliers include former President Ronald Reagan, Jayson's very own Jr. High Pastor, Chad, and US!


Lahki became part of our family in June on Jayson's first day out of school and they have been inseparable ever since....until this week when Jayson went to camp and left Mom and Dad to care for the dog. Well, she's a poor substitute for our boy, but we are enjoying her. We can tell that she misses her constant companion and he sent a text telling us that he's missing her too! Jay thought he could teach her computer skills....but the tongue is mightier than the mouse! She won the licking battle!


The breeders named Lahki after her father, Black Knight's Luck (Lucky). Since she responded to that name the best, we decided to keep it. We have all come up with several nicknames for her including "princess", "muppet", "beastly", "goose", "goosums", "PUPsicle", etc.


As you can see, we are very happy with our new "best friend". However, after being the family princess for more than 16 years, the cat is not so thrilled!

Official Launch!

Well, I've officially decided to join the blogging world! I have enjoyed keeping up with family and friends so much that it just seems like a good idea.

I'll be on the lookout for some interesting things to post. Here are some potential topics you may read about....

• The recent completion of a collaborative CD project entitled "Lullabies of Love." I sang on it and served on the creative team.
• Jayson left for his very first summer camp experience today! Jay and I are going through withdrawals already!
• Lahki, our newest family member. She's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and she's ADORABLE!
• My very first ever worship leader conference in Austin, Texas