May Birthdays

Happy 7th Birthday, Samuel!

May 27 is Samuel's real Birthday but we are

 going to celebrate it tonight with family at

Snappy Tomato.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Daddy's birthday is on May 5 but

I didn't get around to bloging about it

until now.

        Happy 1st Birthday, James!

James' Birthday is on May 6th the day after Daddy's

Birthday (which is also Mamie's Birthday).

~Anna

Our Recital

Last Saturday, Delie, Anna, George, and I had our spring recital.  This year we took music from the Smith family, and really enjoyed it.  Even the little boys enjoy going to their house, because they get to play with the Smiths' cousin, Olivia. 

This is a picture of most of the students (a couple left before it was taken).  The Smiths teach harp, violin, piano, and mandolin, and I enjoyed the wide range of music, from fiddle tunes to Beethoven to The Lonely Goatherd.

George and Delie with their teachers, Miss Amanda and Miss Emily 

Anna and me (Joy) with our teachers, Miss Melissa and Miss Sarah

For more pictures and a video of us playing our piece, go to the Smiths' blog, 11 Smiths. Our video is eighth from the top.

Bible Bee this summer!

This summer, our family will be hosting a Bible Bee at Union University!  We are all very excited, and we pray that the bee will draw families closer to each other and to the Lord.
Here's is what Daddy says:

Last year our family went to the National Bible Bee in Nashville - just as spectators. We had heard of the Bible Bee but didn't know that much about it, so we wanted to go to learn more. We came away very impressed and decided that we'd like to host a local contest in Jackson this year.
The Bible Bee is a contest for 7 to 18 year-olds on Bible knowledge and Scripture memory. Registration is currently underway and ends May 31. Around June 1, participants will receive the materials that they need to prepare for the Bee - a Bible, Sword Study materials, and cards for the memory verses. Students will prepare all summer for the local contest on August 25 at Union University. It is supposed to take about 20 minutes a day for the Bible study material, and there are about two passages a week to memorize. We are also planning some fun events this summer to keep the families excited about their work and to encourage the children to persevere in their preparation.
Our family is doing this together. We have five children in the contest (ages 15, 13, 11, 9, and 7), and our younger ones (5, 2, and 1) will be learning some of the verses and doing some of the Bible study along with their older siblings. There is also a Parent Guidebook that keeps the parents involved without us doing all of the memorization and study that the children are doing.
Our prayer is that the Bible Bee will help establish good habits that will last much longer than this summer - that young people will learn how to study and memorize God's Word, and that parents will be more invovled in the discipleship of their children.
You can find out more and register your family at http://www.biblebee.org/
Please pass this on to others who may be interested. We have materials that you can use to promote the Bible Bee in your church - posters, bulletin inserts, etc. Just let us know how we can help.
One of the slogans the Bee uses is, "Do something eternal this summer." We hope that you will.

We plan on having activities during the summer; but if you live too far away, we would love to have you drive down for the contest.  If you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us.

__._,_.___

For His Glory,

Joy