Frankie's Birthday

In addition to it being Abigail's first day of college classes there was a much the important event today, Frankie's birthday! Little Ms. Frankie turned 32 today!  The Kirkwood birthdays usually begin with breakfast in bed, but today's schedule didn't allow for that. 

Instead, everyone got ready for our busy day and then we had pancakes and bacon in the living room where Frankie found her packages and cards.  

Abigail headed off to her first day of classes and Frankie and I ran up to the church building.  She thought we were there to babysit for the Mom's Bible Study, but I had made arrangements for a surprise including Little Mermaid cupcakes!  Frankie enjoyed everyone singing happy birthday to her and sharing her day. Plus she got to snuggle with the babies! It's a great day to be 32! 

The father said to his servants, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, 

and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, 

and let us eat and celebrate! Luke 15:22

The Baby is Off to College

As of today we have two college students, how crazy is that!  Abigail began today taking classes at Collin College.  She's knocking out some of the freshman basics for dual credit, meaning they will count as high school credit and college hours. 

The girl wanted to start last year because she was eligible with her SAT scores but I wasn't ready for a fifteen year old to attend classes at the collegiate level. But this year she's an experienced driver and has a little more maturity to handle herself.  

We have altered our volunteer work to free up her schedule for the classes.  She was able to stack her classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays back to back.  This means the remainder of her high school classes will be doubled up on Monday-Wednesday-Friday.  And somewhere in there we will make time for Varsity Softball, select softball, piano lessons, volunteer work, working and Bible Bowl.  It's going to be a busy school year! 

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might! Ecclesiastes 9:9

Cheering on Friends

Tonight Jon and Abigail headed to the ball fields to cheer on our buddy Malachi who was the starting pitcher for tonight's game.  

Malachi had five strike outs tonight!  I'm thinking the extended fan section helped! Way to go Malachi! 

The kiddos in the picture are some of Abigail's favorite kids to hang out with! 

Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Off to Spain

Today my heart took flight across the globe as Caleb and the LCU Global Campus group headed to Spain.  They flew our of Dallas for London, then on to Madrid for their final destination of Avila, Spain. 

Last year LCU launched its Semester in Spain program.  The semester-long program, held every Fall, will bring LCU students and professors to the beautiful city of Avila, in the heart of the Spanish countryside. The students will take 15 hours of University Core-type credits with LCU professors, while also studying the Spanish language.

The LCU students will be partnered in tandem with Spanish speaking students from the University in Avila who are studying English. Classes will run Monday through Thursday, the student will be able to travel Friday through Sunday.

Today the group will fly nine hours to London and then another two and a half hours to Madrid, followed by an hour and half bus trip to the University. I'm thankful we were able to see him off at the Dallas airport.  Godspeed for the next 4+ months, Caleb and group! 

Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 3

Solar Eclipse

Today's solar eclipse was a total eclipse visible within a band across the entire contiguous United States. 

Prior to today, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entire contiguous United States since June 8, 1918; not since the February 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States!

We joined our church homeschool friends for an eclipse party.  We all had our glasses and viewing boxes to check it out.  No eclipse party would be complete without snacks, so we even had mini-eclipses made from Banana Moon Pies and thin Oreos! 

In the coolness of the afternoon with the sun partially covered the kids played a little ball in the park. 

And when I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars; 

I will cover the sun with a cloud And the moon will not give its light.  Ezekiel 32:7

First Day of School

It's the first day of school pictures for the boys!  Every year they've taken their first day photo in front of the chap after chapel.  This year there were a couple of new additions to the photo, a wife and a girlfriend. Richard's wife Melissa and Caleb's girlfriend Sonny joined in the fun!  

In the lower right corner are the photos are the photos from their freshman and sophomore years.  Caleb has had a little fun wearing the same 'Future LCU Alumni' shirt each year! 

For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.  Matthew 12:50

Back to School

Summer ends today for Caleb as he heads back to Lubbock Christian University for his third year of college. It will be an incredible year for my kind-hearted, God-fearing Bible major.  I'm thrilled to see what God has in store for him but I am going to miss his warm smile! 

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you!

Thessalonians 3:16

Darius Rucker Concert

It's time for a little country music!  Abigail's sweet friend Gracie bought her a Darius Rucker CD a while back and we love his music.  The theater was so much nicer and cozier than the big arenas in Dallas. It was a family friendly environment. Yes, I said family friendly even though it is at the casino.  You don't have to enter through the casino and it's not the drink fest that Jon and I have faced at other venues. 

The opening act was a group named Midland, who were recently featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live.  They are a country act with a Dwight Yoakam sound. They toured last year with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.  They've got a great sound, they are still working on their stage presence. 

Then it was time for the main event!  Darius put on a two hour show that was incredible!  He stopped to honor a wounded warrior with house keys to a new home and a standing ovation or thanks to the veteran!  

Some of our favorite hits from the former Hootie & the Blowfish lead man are: 

This

Southern Style 

History in the Making

Comeback Song

Homegrown Honey

It Won’t Be Like This For Long

So I Sang

As a public service announcement for moms who think it would be a great idea to take your son and youngest daughter to a concert 12 hours before the son leaves for college and then out of the country. If you choose a country artist who happens to play a song with lyrics about the milestones of a young man growing up with a final verse, like:

No one believed in me as much as Mom

See, she worked overtime to buy my first guitar

When the angels called her home

My sister asked if I would speak

But there were no words to say how much she meant to me

So I sang, "It Is Well With My Soul"

And I played, "I'm So Tired Of Being Alone"

'Cause those were Mama's favorite songs

And what I felt would take too long to say

So I sang

You might end up a weeping, sappy mess! But still, so happy to have this one more sweet moment with the boy as he reached for my hand! 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 

Summer Fun

Our last big hoopla for the summer was a trip across the Texas border for the Darius Rucker concert!  It was the our first visit to the Choctaw Casino Resort, and of course the kids first visit to a casino.  Abigail and I had a little fun at the idea of taking the Bible Intern to the casino.  

The concert venue joins the casino but you don't have to enter the casino to go into the grand theater.  We did go into the casino for dinner before the concert.  We enjoyed burgers at Gilley's and enjoyed hanging out together.  

The casino was filled with guitars and memorabilia signed by lots of famous performers. We were excited to see some of our favorite Oklahoma performers including Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, Vince Gill even Toby Keith! 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Psalms 16:6

PEACH Kick-Off

Tonight marks the 13th PEACH Kick-Off our family has attended, and of course six of those years were as an officer or board member.  PEACH is our local homeschool support group.  The kick-off is the beginning of the school year event to help home schooling parents get plugged into the homeschool community.  

PEACH offers scouting programs, Jr. Toastmasters, a runners club, field trips and so much more to help new homeschooling families connected.  For the last 12 years I have helped coordinate field trips and for 4 years I maintained the website, monthly newsletter, Yahoo group and member data base.  

Now that Jon and I are on the last steps of our homeschooling journey it is nice to step back and let others take the lead.  Abigail continues her involvement in PEACH with the Jr. Toastmaster program lead by Twice Distinguished Toastmaster Ms. Vogel using the Jr. Toastmasters Program. She is also helping lead the Jr./Sr. Teen Program. Tonight at the Kick Off Abigail helped man both booths and answer questions for participants.    She enjoyed getting to see her friends and spend sometime together. 

the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant

Luke 22:26