National Parks Trip #6

In 2002 we took our FIRST National Parks trip.  Kate was 3 1/2 years old, and we had a car seat in checked baggage!  We travel with our neighbors, the Williams, and it's time to go again!  You can read about how this all started and see pictures from the past here.  The 2010 trip isn't included there but there are separate posts about that journey.


Now it's 2012, and we are travelling to Colorado.  It's Carrie's senior trip, and our whole family is on board.  The last time all six of us went was 2006.  When the destination was chosen for this trip, Aaron decided he didn't want to miss out!  I'll let you know how we fare in our family bonding this year.  


The Williams will be missing one from the trip, Emily is working a camp in North Carolina and has to report for duty before we return.  Brandon is going, and we are excited that his surgeries haven't deterred him from joining us.


I won't be blogging on the trip, but you might want to follow my tweets on Twitter, which will probably include a few pictures. 


Colorado here we come!

Friends

Alyssa has been fortunate to have wonderful friends as she grew up in Rome and at Calvary.  This past Sunday the church honored her work with the children's ministry that she started during her sophomore year in college.  She would not be the wonderful young lady she is today without the love, support and encouragement of many friends.  I could list so many that have impacted her life and the whole Nobles clan, but I'm afraid I would leave some out.  As a mom, I am eternally grateful for the guidance she has received. THANK YOU to those who have been a part of her life.  

Alyssa is wearing heels & Bradley still towers over her.

Two kiddos that love Ms. Alyssa & drive her crazy!

Josh, &  Kendyl Clark with Alyssa & Josh Hines

What would we do without Jan Morgan?  She is so precious.

Alyssa, Taylor, Chelcie & Becky.
These girls went to Camp Pinnacle together  and still love to hang out together.

Please pray for Alyssa as she moves to Mississippi to start her time with Teach for America.  This is new territory with new people.  Pray that she will find Godly friends that will continue to love, support and encourage her in this new season of her life.

Graduation #2

The Graduate!

Today was Carrie's day...Rome High graduation.  It happens at the Forum in downtown Rome, and you have to have a ticket.  Each family gets eight tickets, but with twins you gets 16! Highlights/trivia from RHS graduation:

• There were 5 sets of twins in the 2012 class!
• Graduation starts at 10 a.m. - to get a good seat you need to be there before 9 a.m.
• There were 2 student speakers - both were excellent, entertaining and brief.
• There were about 75 honor graduates...Carrie was among those and got to sit up front.
• It's not an RHS graduation without shouting, air horns and the occasional dance across the stage...today was no exception.
• Graduation was over by 11:40 a.m.

After the ceremony we took a few obligatory photos on the pedestrian bridge, and then came home for the celebration lunch. The Williams family took care of balloons and a yard sign announcing the graduate. 

Pre-graduation ceremony.

Three down, one to go! 
Or reverse that for college grads in our family.

My oldest brother, Leo and sister-in-law, Dee.
They came from Florida for the pomp and circumstance!

With Grandmommie, Randy's mom

Gift from Grandmommie.
She painted this picture, it's Carrie in the snow at Berry, Christmas Day 2010.

Quilt from Ms. Wendy!  
It's made from Carrie's favorite tshirts from her youth!
 This is a special gift that all  three of my high school grads have received.

Laundry bag from cousin Leslie who is in the  "other  Georgia".
Carrie's a Saints fan!  She made one for Alyssa that had Patriots logo.
Carrie was SO excited to get her own NFL laundry bag!

Party people

Opening gift from the Williams - towels and other college goodies!

Uncle Leo and Aaron 

Glad to have some of my other kids here!
Hailey Burns and Drew Landis. Berry grads who invested in my kids.

Jackson Burns playing with cars. Love that boy!

Carrie and Hailey.
Hailey was our youth pastor during Carrie's middle school years.

Aaron and Jackson are big buddies!

Glad to have Leo and Dee at the celebration!
My other brother Jim was excused from graduation festivities
because his grandson had a birthday party today.

Drew and Emily drove from Acworth for the party!
Always great to hang out with them.

Most parties include cake, but Carrie always prefers pie.  I made three kinds for today: Apple, Chocolate and Key Lime.  The latter was a request from Leo, and definitely not Carrie's favorite.


If you look at the folks who helped us celebrate, I would deem them all family.  The Williams - Stephen, Beth, Emily and Brandon are neighbors/travelling friends.  Rachel and Rebecca Stewart are the newest adopted Nobles, though there aren't any pictures of them with Carrie.  You can see them at Graduation #1 post!! Hailey and Drew are typically introduced as older siblings, and the rest in attendance are blood relatives! 


Missing today were Carrie's grandparents from Florida.  Nannie (my mom) turns 88 tomorrow, and Papa is 89.  They are not the best of health, and aren't able to travel long distances.  We missed having them, but grateful for their influence and love.


Aaron is scheduled to finish at Kennesaw State University in December, so stay tuned for graduation #3.


Congratulations to Carrie...next stop Colorado!

Currently at the Nobles

It's almost time for Carrie's graduation and her senior trip to Colorado, but there are some other items to report that are worth noting in the Nobles household!

Since Alyssa graduated from Berry on May 5 she has been busy getting things ready for VBS at Calvary.  She also has pre-institute reading and work to prepare for Teach for America that begins in June.  In short, she is not still for long!

Aaron finished his semester at KSU, and though he didn't make Dean's List, he definitely had a better spring semester than in years past!!!  He took 15 hours of classes, worked at Olive Garden 20 plus hours a week, and refereed high school soccer games.  To his credit he also was a ref for 2 state playoff games, which pays very nicely!

Carrie has officially finished high school with her last exam on Tuesday!  She made a 99 on her Biology test, so she pulled her grade up to complete the semester.  She is working at Chick-fil-A, writing thank you notes, making gifts for graduating friends and learning to use her new MacBook Pro!!  Yep, we splurged and bought her an Apple.  I know it is a good investment.  She also played in her last piano recital on Monday night.  She played a Chopin Waltz and Pachelbel's Canon in D.  She did a lovely job, and I am very proud of her for continuing piano through a busy high school career.

Kate continues to swim with Three Rivers Swim Club, which keeps her busy after school and some weekends. She recently got her CRCT scores, and I'm pleased to report that she exceeded in 4 of 5 subjects!! Another recent accomplishment was making the Rome Middle School Leadership Team.  This year a teacher had to nominate you before you could even apply.  Kate was not nominated, but wasn't going to be deterred.  She stepped up and requested an application, it was granted.  She got an interview and made the team. I'm proud of her determination.

Kate receives her gold cup at recital.

Kate received her 30 point gold cup for the National Federation of Music Clubs from our local chapter.  This means she has received a superior rating 6 years in a row.  She also participated in the National Piano Guild Auditions, preparing a program of 8 memorized pieces.  She continues to enjoy band (playing trombone!) and chorus at Rome Middle School.

Randy is trying to decide about retirement.  He plans to wait until Kate finished RMS next year, but with changes in the TRS, he may change his mind and retire sooner if it makes sense economically.  Stay tuned!  Meanwhile, only two more days of school!!!

Kathryn is trying to keep everything under control at home with graduations, trip planning, and waiting for doors to open or close in her life.  Also, the family is transitioning to a new church in the coming months...again, details to come.  We have been faithful members and servants at Calvary since our college days, but the season of our life is changing.  We sense God is leading us to a new place to worship and serve.

Graduation #1

This year the Nobles will have THREE graduations!  So, Alyssa's is #1, and it is official...she is a graduate of Berry College with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, which is not the highest of Summa Cum Laude. Her GPA was a 3.8912, and it has to be a 3.9 to graduate with the highest honors.  It doesn't matter to us, we are so proud of her.

It's been a fast and furious four years of college.  Alyssa has enjoyed  her Berry experience, and she has boxes of t-shirts to prove it!! Having grown up at Berry, she really wanted to go away, but she couldn't find Berry in any of the other schools she visited. Once she was accepted into the Winshape College program she was hooked, and she thrived at Berry.

Lisa, Alyssa & Rebecca at Winshape Senior Banquet

Winshape provided a wonderful community that taught her leadership & also helped her grow spiritually. Berry challenged her academically, and taught her the joy of service.  Alyssa really lives the Berry motto found in Matthew 20:28 "not to be ministered unto, but to minister:"  As she leaves Berry and Rome for Mississippi she will get a chance to further the understanding of that motto as she teaches in Hazelhurst Mississippi.  She joins the Delta Corp of  Teach for America beginning June 5.  She could have had a job at Elm Street Elementary in Rome, where she student taught, but she chose to serve in a region of the country where students struggle to achieve academically.

Photo highlights from graduation!

Good friends, Surls & Weeks! Occasionally found at the Nobles Sunday lunch table

Before the ceremony

Laurie Chandler was Alyssa's work supervisor in the Bonner Center.

ECE Majors:survived junior block and now graduating together!

Lining up for the processional

Because I work at Berry I was privileged to give Alyssa her diploma!!

The family after the HOT ceremony

Dr. Pethel & Aaron enjoying lunch on the patio behind Cook.

Kathryn & Layne Stewart, Berry grads from the early 80's. Layne is Rachel & Rebecca's mom.
Layne helped me get everything ready for the party today! I couldn't have done it without her!

Hug from Ally Slade, mentor and friend!

Hug from Mrs. Forsyth, her supervising teacher at Elm Street.

Alyssa loved working in Mrs. Forsyth's 3rd grade classroom.

Morgan is a special friend from high school.
This was Morgan's first outing following surgery for a brain tumor!!

Alyssa & Alesa, Winshape friends! 

Dr. Slade, teacher, mentor and friend.
Alyssa spent the summer  between freshmen & sophomore year with the Slades ,
teaching English in Costa Rica.

Alyssa & Rebecca, joined at the hip.

Lisa & Alyssa, roommates one year - friends for life!!

Grandmommie helped us celebrate & helped make some delicious food for our lunch!

Gifts from friends, which is the real gift!

A map from Coach Davis. He never lets her forget that she got lost going to a soccer match in Canton.
This map highlights the route from Rome to Hazelhurst MS!!

So happy that Brandon was able to attend! He has had several surgeries this spring,
but is on the road to recovery & soon going to Colorado with us!!

Sisters, plus Rachel...she is one of the family too!

Proud parents of a college graduate!

We are very proud of Alyssa and all she has accomplished.  We look forward to how God will use her in Mississippi, and the lives of those she teaches.