Weekend of Celebration

Hello family and friends!
I hope that you all are doing well.  This past week has been full of planning celebrations.  Our pastor, Scott Heare and his family are moving to Israel for the summer to study at Jerusalem University.  So, at the end of May, Pastor Scott, his bride, Cathi and their 4 children (ages of 3 to 12) will pack up for their summer adventure.   Traveling with children for any length of time can be challenging, so as you think of the Heare family this summer, please pray for travel mercy for them.  It is a privilege to be apart of the fair-well party planning committee for them.  I have also been blessed to be apart of the planning committee to help with our upcoming women's retreat this weekend.  So, needless to say it's been one planning meeting after another.  On top of those things I have been planning a early birthday celebration for Caleb and a baby shower for a sweet friend that took place this past weekend.  I'm so thankful to see this last week come to a close and to have been apart of such great celebrations and to move forward into the upcoming week.  Although, Caleb's birthday isn't until May 15, he wanted a Spurs basketball party (which included attending a Spurs game) and the Spurs regular season end's before his birthday.  So, we planned it for this past Saturday.  It was so much fun.  Caleb had 3 boys from his class and church join us for the Spurs game and a sleep over.  They had a ton of fun at the game.  Phil sent a special request to the Spurs requesting the Spurs mascot, The Coyote, make a visit to our seats to surprise Caleb.  It was for sure a surprise!  He was showered with all kinds of Spurs gifts and time with The Coyote.  A night I'm sure he won't forget!

Caleb and The Coyote!

Zane, Lane, Caleb and Colin

Niaya and Emily

Such a fun evening!  The girls had a good time as well.

Thank you for taking time out to keep up with us.  Our kids and community keep us going.  Never a dull moment here.

"Life's a garden....Dig it!"

Shalom,
Vicki

Our Community

Some of you already know that we have suffered some loss over the past few weeks.  Emily's hedgehog passed away.  He developed an infection that he just couldn't overcome.  Thank you to all who lifted a prayer for Emily.  She took the the loss really hard, but is adjusting back to life without her hedgehog, Orie.  Our community also suffered a loss on March 23rd.  A young man that attended our church and was involved with our kids in vacation bible school, was shot and killed.  To my understanding, Randall was attempting to be the peace maker in a heated situation.  He is survived by his parents and a younger brother in 9th grade.  We will miss Randall deeply.  He had a smile that was contagious and a laugh I will never forget.  Please keep his family and his friends lifted in prayer.

On a happier note, we did have some out of town guest come in for the weekend.  Robby and Rock Vaughn.  It was great to see them both.  The kids had a great time playing and keeping Rock entertained. We haven't seen them since Rock was a baby.  He's now 3 and a busy boy.  Caleb kept up with him well.

I discovered a talent that I've always wanted.  ART!  That's right, art.  Who knew that I could carry on my grandmothers gift of art.  My grandmother was an extraordinary artist.  I can still remember some of her paintings that hung in our home when I was a little girl.  Emily also has this gift, but she paints and draws effortless.  Hers is a natural gift.
My friend Jennifer and I went to a coffee, corks & canvas party that a friend put on.  My friend is doing this on a regular basis, and Emily and I will be attending a Mom and Daughter canvas party at the end of the month.  We are both looking forward to it.

Emily has started to play volleyball with the Mays YMCA with some friends from school.  She is doing really well.  She is also going to a sports camp this summer and has selected volleyball again this year as her sport.  She is also eligible to play in Spike Feast this summer that is put on by her school for 6th grade and older.  Yes, 6th grade.  Hard to believe that Emily will be starting Jr. High School this coming fall.  This also means that she will be able to play volleyball for her school.  I see a lot of practices and games in our season to come.  We are so very proud of her.  As for school, Emily continues to make high honor roll.  She has overcome her math obstacle and is bringing home 100 on most all of her math pages.  This is huge.  So, praise be to G-d for showing her that she is good in this subject.

As for Caleb, he still has a strong passion for all sports.  He is gifted at everything he attempts to play.  However, he is still not interested in playing on an organized team.  He is happy playing with his friends or his daddy in the back yard.  I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever seen someone throw their own pass and run and catch the football, until Caleb.  He loves the game...any game.
He is just now beginning to say that he will participate in upwards basketball for next season.  We will see.  We are so proud of him.  As for Caleb and his schooling.  He to continues to make honor roll.  We couldn't be prouder of both him and Emily.

We hope that you all are doing well.  We were really concerned for you all with the weather being so bad yesterday with all of the tornados.  We are so grateful that everyone is okay.  Thank you for keeping us informed.

Thank you for taking a moment for our family update.  Until next time.

Shalom,
Vicki