Visiting the Pascual family and Stone Mountain

We enjoy having college students over to our home, this is something we have done for almost 30 years. We love all the students, but some are truly special to our family. Jonathan Pascual (2004 Berry grad) falls into that category! Several things endeared Jonathan to us: his smile, a heart to serve Christ, and he was so intentional in building relationships. He was also an awesome role model for my kids. All those things are still true today!

Jonathan and Kate really bonded. When he and Sarah got married they ask her to be the "rock girl" in their wedding. We loved Sarah from the start, she is the perfect soul mate for Jonathan. Sarah is so unpretentious!

Kate with the bride and groom, January 2008

Kate and Rory, December 2010

It had been awhile since we spent time with J and S....three children ago to be exact.  Of course, they went from 1 to 4 children in less than 3 years. Last March, God blessed them with Ugandan twin girls, Faith and Favor. I have known many people who have adopted from overseas, but it doesn't usually happen at warp speed like it did with the Pascual's.  We kept up with the family progress through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Sarah's blog, but we wanted the personal experience. I sent Jonathan a text and told them we wanted to visit them, and a Saturday at Stone Mountain was planned.

Sarah wrote about the experience here, and I would encourage you to read her perspective.  

Waiting for the Laser Show, or the movie as the girls called it!

Precious people

We met at J and S house in Stone Mountain to get to know the children before we ventured to the park.  Kate loves babies, and held Ransom at every opportunity!  He looks just like Jonathan, and embodies his personality too!

Love the world map stenciled on the wall.
Notice the heart in Africa!

Of course the teacher would be reading with the girls

I know J and S have had many struggles over the past 15 months. They adopted girls who did not speak English and had lived their entire life in a rural orphanage.  Now at age five, the girls not only speak English but also can sing songs from musicals such as "Annie" and "The Sound of Music." They are so patient with the girls, and are very intentional.  Remember I mentioned that was a trait we loved in Jonathan.  That translates to being a great Dad!

Frisbee time!
 If they only knew their Daddy in college!

Blowing bubbles

Favor's time to blow!

Things I have learned from J and S:

Pray. If God leads you to do something that others say is crazy, He will bless you.
Live in the moment and enjoy them.
Give because you can.
Be the new normal.
Go explore.

Whenever I think of the Pascual's I remember the children's song and smile:

Red and yellow, black and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Family at Tybee

A beach trip to the Georgia Coast with Randy's family was a great way to start our summer.  Typically we are headed out west to explore new territory and cooler temperatures, but it was time to put our feet in the sand close to home.  Randy's mom goes to Tybee Island every March to do porcelain art painting. She stays in this amazing house near the Lighthouse on Tybee.  The house sleeps 16, has a private pool, and a beach front that is far from the crowds.  It was lovely, but expensive...but YOLO!

View from the pool

The whole crew!

Girls enjoying the waterfall.

Randy and Aaron took their kayaks to Tybee.  They used them almost everyday.  One day Greg rented paddle boards.  That was amusing to watch! Jackson and Carrie did the best job of staying up on the boards.

Mornings at the beach were my favorite. So peaceful.

On Tuesday we decided to explore Savannah. We started on the riverfront and enjoyed lunch at Spanky's.  

Inside Saint John the Baptist Cathedral

Girls in a Savannah square!

The storm clouds were looming as we walked the squares, and some of our crew (there were 13 of us) decided to go back to Tybee.  The remainder ducked in and out of the showers. We found the square where Tom Hanks sat on the bench and said "life is like a box of chocolates".  

This is where the feather floated down in Forest Gump.

Found this great cookie store (Byrd's) that carries my motto: "may your cookie jar never be empty"!!!

Kate and cousin Lauren enjoying ice cream while we waited  for the rain to stop

Randy and his sister Karen

Our house included constant views of  cargo ships making the journey to and from Savannah.  

Lauren Tillman is a 2007 Berry grad who lives in Savannah and came to visit.

A tradition when you hang out with Uncle Greg is that he loves Krispy Kreme. We into Savannah one night just to get doughnuts.  Greg bought THREE dozen.  I bought one dozen. They were ALL eaten by the next morning.

Cousin Ashley, her friend Samantha and Kate sporting the KK hats!

Yum!

What do you do when it rains at the beach? We watched movies, Duck Dynasty, read books, played lots of Catch Phrase and Phase 10. One day was a complete rain out, so we headed back to Savannah to find a bowling alley.  

Carrie and her great form!

Uncle Greg also enjoys having a low country boil when we go to the beach. 

Aaron enjoying his crawdads!

It was a fun week with the family,  We came home to a new kitchen. The Rawlings returned to North Carolina before moving to Virginia where Greg starts a new job with NATO.