Some days

Some days are tough. Today was one of those days.  But God knew before today that I would need Him, that He would provide the time and the words to say.  Today was a day I needed to be calm in the midst of the storm.  I could not have done that if God had not provided His peace.

Last Friday Carrie had outpatient surgery.  She had a Fibro adenoma removed from her breast.  She had discovered this cyst during her first semester of college.  After several doctor visits, it was determined to have it removed.  Carrie did great on Friday. The lab report came back, and the cyst was benign - just as expected.  She went back to the dorm on Sunday evening and in class on Monday.  She was tired and sore, but okay.

She called me crying this morning.  She was not feeling well and possibly running a fever.  She had an appointment to apply for her passport and didn't feel well enough to drive.  God had this...it was Tuesday, and I have a big block of free time (read: time to work on stuff that never gets done because I'm teaching).  I was able to immediately leave my office and pick her up.

All this is going on physically, and looming is the big emotional discovery of the day.  Carrie applied to be an RA next year.  She has been talking about it since fall semester.  She was pumped to serve in this capacity.  Today was the day they would get the letter about RA selection.  Her roommate also applied.  The letter came - she was not selected.  She was devastated, distraught and disappointed. Her roommate was chosen.  Remember, they are Winshape students.  There are a limited number of slots for RA on mountain.

I had been praying about this since she applied.  I knew there was potential for being disappointed.  I sent her a text this morning "God made you special and He loves you very much - and so do I."  I prayed for her to have grace to handle whatever happened, to have peace.  

Again, God had this.  I was in a lesson with a voice student that I accompany and was able to leave and answer her call.  She came to my office - a perk of going to school where your mom works - and I was able to hug her, let her cry and talk her through this difficult time.  

We talked about how much this hurt.  We talked about how to be really honest about what she was feeling.  We talked about how she couldn't be angry at anyone, the decision was made.  We talked about what she could learn through this experience. I prayed with her, asking God to pour out His love and grace on her during this time.  I eventually had to get back to teaching, but she stayed in my office. 

She played the piano and picked up the hymnal.  Both ministered to her.

"Lord, You light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness.
With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall.
God - His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him."
Psalm 18:28-30

Pray for her, she is hurting. Pray that God will open doors and she will feel loved by Him.

Great Freshman Year for Kate, RHS swim team

Kate has been swimming since she was in the 1st grade.  She swims with Brooks Coville and Three Rivers Swim Club, and has always enjoyed the sport. While in middle school she participated at the home meets for Rome High. As she has developed as a swimmer, she has caught the competitive spirit and has already set records as a freshman in high school. I don't anticipate her going to the Olympics (and people always ask that question), but she eats, sleeps and breathes swimming.  

All through middle school she often out touched the high school swimmers. This year she is still winning and scoring points for the team.  In fact, the team did not lose all season in their weekly dual and three way meets. They participated in three invitational meets, where they finished 3rd, 1st and 8th.  The invitationals had as many as 30 teams!

Swimming is all about technique and fast times. Coach Coville is a technique coach.  Coach Powers, the high school coach, works on speed.  It's a great combo!  Kate has dropped times in every event this year, getting faster and stronger.  She is primarily a distance swimmer, but she can't sprint too. We call her the beast! And this year we have begun calling her Wonder Woman, which is her favorite 70's TV show!

A very young Kate with Coach Coville

Kate has changed so much since December 2012 when Randy retired.
The photo on the right is with Kenzie Bentz, a Berry student who helps coach the RHS team!

Kate, Coach Powers and teammate Charlynn

THE relay team!
They broke the 2004 school record in the 200 IM

Waiting on results at the Invitational!

They won the meet!!

State bound swimmers!

Kate has her usual cheering section at every meet - me, Dad, Aaron and Grandmommie.  On occasion Carrie will come and bring a friend or two.  At the Dalton Invitational we 'Face Timed' with Alyssa in Mississippi.  That was really exciting, especially since Kate dropped 5 seconds in her 500 freestyle! In fact, she has dropped 17 seconds in that event since November.  

Team Kate! 

There is a record board in the pool area at the high school.  Many of the girls' records are from 1999 and the early 2000's.  I am predicting new records over the next several years! 

At the beginning of the season there were three empty spaces on the board.  An empty space exist because no RHS swimmer has qualified for state in that event.  Kate's name will go up in one of those empty spaces for the 100 backstroke.  Here's the exciting night!  

Not many freshmen qualify for the state meet in an individual event, but Kate did it!  She was really close in a few other individual events. If her times continue to drop, then next year she could qualify in 5 individual events.  She will represent RHS next week at the state meet in 3 relays and the 100 backstroke. It's been fun to see Kate have success in something she loves!  We are the proud family!

Snow Storm 2014

On Tuesday January 28 there was snow in the forecast, but the weatherman said it would most likely be a dusting for our area.  He was incorrect, proving that God is in control!

View from my office at 11:30 a.m.

Classes were cancelled at 1:00 p.m.
Here is the Ford Complex when  I left campus

Traffic was bumper to bumper going to West Rome.
The usual commute is 10 minutes turned to almost an hour.
Nothing compared to the Atlanta nightmare.

I didn't have an ice scraper handy,
so my Swift and Finch coffee sleeve did the job!

Ready for some fun on a local hill!

Aaron decided to try snow kayaking.  Click for a video!

Randy's vintage 60's sled was the favorite mode of transportation!
Even I went down a few times!

Give me a push!

School was out the remainder of the week due to ice covering the roads.  We enjoyed several neighborhood walks to try sledding on other hills, and a couple of WalMart excursions helped us walk off all the eating we did.  I like to cook on snow days! Randy, Kate and our travelling neighbors, the Williams hiked to the Berry Reservoir to enjoy the beauty of the mountain campus. Carrie and her Winshape friends hiked to the House of Dreams where they skated on a frozen pond. Instagram blew up with pictures from the Berry campus!

Alyssa had snow and ice in Mississippi too which meant no school for several days.  Though we have all enjoyed the snow and days off, we are ready for the routine to resume!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from the Nobles

I am thankful for an amazing family.  Even though there are days of bickering and sarcasm, we still love and support each other.  

I am thankful for God's amazing grace.  It is His love, mercy and grace that allows me to be the wife, mom, sister, daughter, teacher and friend that I strive to be.

I am beyond grateful for a job that I love and the opportunity to serve those who come into my life.

Wedding in Hawkinsville

Weddings.  Ask my kids, they have heard 'elope' most frequently when asked about the subject of nuptials.  As a musician I have been a part of many weddings and seen the tension, trauma and tears of numerous brides.  I don't have anything against getting married, or weddings in general.  But, the storybook bride is a far cry from the reality of the event.  

As a musician I play for weddings.  Because I work with college students, I am also invited to a myriad of ceremonies.  The latest invitation came from a favorite Berry grad, Golden Goss. What a great name, and it is his given name!  Golden is from the class of 2004. The group of students that attended Berry from 1999-2004 was an awesome crew.  A large contingent poured into the lives of my children. They set Godly examples as they studied, played, loved and ministered. 

Golden graduated and I lost touch with him.  For awhile he was in North Carolina, then I heard he moved overseas to work with  Samaritan's Purse.  Years passed, and I discovered he was back in Rome!  Golden, who was an environmental science major, became a Rome firefighter.  Long story short, we reconnected at Sunday lunch and the rest is history.  In a few months we met Mary Katherine, and liked her immediately. She and Golden seemed perfect for each other.  

There are other Golden stories I could share, but what you need to know about GG is his love for God, his devotion to MK, and his Godly perspective of marriage.  GG & MK were married on Saturday October 12 at the Goss family farm in Hawkinsville Georgia.  It was a wonderful celebration of how God brought these two sweet people together.  I was excited to share a part of their day. The wedding was simple and sweet, just like the new Mr. & Mrs. Goss.

The ceremony would overlook the lake.

MK is an artist.  The guest registry was signed with your fingerprint using a variety of ink colors, thus making a lovely tree.

Josh Clegg, another 2004 graduate and one of Golden's roommates.

Trees and flowers lined the aisle!

Golden waiting for his bride!

Sweet nieces

The beautiful barefoot bride and her father.

Mitch Jolly from Three Rivers Community Church in Rome
led the couple in their marriage vows

Current Berry students who attend TRCC with GG and MK.
They are all vocalist that I have the pleasure to work with on a regular basis.

Tabatha is Golden's sister.  
She attends church with Joe and Abby Fernandez,
another sweet couple from Berry's 2004 class.

Boiled peanuts and apple cider.  Perfect.

Golden and Wes. Berry past and present!
They are in a D group together. 

So excited for Golden and MK.

The only question I have now, is about texting. When I reconnected with Golden he gave me his phone number, but told me he didn't text, because he was saving it for marriage!

Mountain Day 2013

The first Saturday of October is like Christmas morning for our family.  It is on this date that we enjoy the presence of friends returning to Berry.  I don't think Randy and I have missed a Mountain Day since we graduated in the early 1980's.  Our anticipation and excitement isn't in seeing friends that graduated with us, but the kids that have been in our home while they were students.  We have been blessed to know many wonderful students during their Berry days, and love to see them come home!  

Carrie got to march this year!
Last year she played in the band.

It was a beautiful, sunshine filled and warm HOT day.  The students make five trips down the hill before the march is complete.  This year there were about 900 students that marched. The band played for about 40 minutes before the flags led the procession for the singing of the Alma Mater

Carrie and childhood friend, Carroll.
Both ECE majors at Berry!

One of my favorite Berry/Kindermusik stories goes like this:  A set of twins, Sophie and Valerie came to Kindermusik when they were 16 months old. Their family is from Belgium and the girls did not speak English.  Because they were preemies, they were not walking when I met them.  The girls stayed in the Kindermusik program until they were about 6 years old.  Occasionally I would see their mom and catch up on what they were doing. Both were in the band.  A few years ago, the girls started swimming with Three Rivers Swim Club.  Despite a four year age gap, Kate and Sophie became great friends.  When it was time to apply for college, Valerie had already determined she wanted to come to Berry and play tennis.  Sophie had her hopes on Stanford.  Long story short, both girls are at Berry, and Sophie is on the Berry swim team!

Sophie waves to the crowd.

Alyssa and Will Graham,
a regular at the Sunday lunch table!

It is wonderful when the students return with their families.  The comment that is uttered most is, "I remember when Kate was little".  Kate has been to 14 straight Mountain Days! They love to see how our kids have grown and we enjoy seeing their growing families.

Chris and Heather Bragg

Kate, Kevin Llewallyn, Aaron and Alyssa

Recent grads hanging out with friends.

Spencer  - happy boy!

Jessica (Spencer's mom) Mills Vandagriff

 

There are a few from my era that return.
Kathy Hawk of 4th West Mary is one I usually see!

2 Berry grads and one current student.
Blessed family!

2014 is the Centennial of Mountain Day! You should make plans to come, we want to see you!

Mistaken Identity at the Berry game

This has nothing to do with Berry football, except that this FIRST happened at the very first Berry game.   

Berry had its inaugural game at Barron Stadium on September 7.  Randy, Aaron and Carrie attended to represent the Nobles family.  It was packed with 6700 excited fans! You couldn't stir a Viking with a stick, much less row!   If you haven't seen any video about Berry football, click here and here. The latter link includes highlights from the game, plus a touching speech by Coach K.

Father and son were in the stadium, when Randy hears, "Hey Mr. Nobles".  When he turns to reply, he sees an elementary age child and realizes that they are referring to the younger Mr. Nobles.  Randy told Aaron, "that one is yours".