CYC



My Rock



My Brave Husband



     CYC...Challenge Youth Conference comes once a year!  I absolutely look forward to it EVERY year! And after living in Florida for the past 8 years, I NEED CYC!  We have gone every year and have watched CYC grow from 500 to nearly 8,000 people!  So we were very excited to see CYC time come again this year.  Since our move to Clermont, we have started attending Clermont Church of Christ.  We don't know a lot of people there yet but we have met Christine and she has a daughter Megan who we didn't know at all.  We invited Megan to attend CYC with us this year and she agreed to go.  So on Thursday morning very early we picked Megan up.  I was amazed that she actually got into the car with the two of us.  I was a little nervous because we did not know her well.  But I thought she was a trooper for getting in the car with two strangers and traveling to Gatlinburg for the next 12 hours! 

    I have to say that for me, after about 30 minutes, I knew it was going to be a great trip!  We immediately clicked with Megan.  We stopped at JL's BBQ in Macon Georgia.  A place we have stopped plenty of times.  But today because Megan was with us, JL's BBQ was filled with smoke.  We ate our lunch gagging the whole time and RAN outside to BREATHE!  Of course we just bought a new car and it still had the "NEW CAR SMELL" so Brian rolled down the windows so it would blow out the smoke smell! But we refused to hang out the window like he requested! We decided to take a different route to cut off some time and we ended up going through the Smokie Moutains.  It was beautiful!  Of course we did not see any BEARS!  We checked into our hotel room and decided to walk around Gatlinburg.  We met up with Jeff Shults for dinner!  It was fun talking about old times and we spent the dinner laughing.  On Friday, Brian decides to go to a Magic store that he didn't know existed.  I wonder why?   I'll tell you why!  We drove and drove and drove on these back curvy roads to a place where I know people never return from.  It was in a little old cabin house.  Of course the "I'll only be here for 30 minutes turned into forever!  But we did meet this hillbilly mountain kid with a mullet hairdo!  He kept Megan and I entertained the whole time.  

    We decided to drive up to ski mountain.  So up the big mountain we go only to find that you have to pay now to go to ski mountain.  Of course Brian is too cheap to pay so we head back DOWN the BIG mountain!  By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain our breaks were smoking and smelling! I just knew when we got back to the hotel that our car would catch on fire and burn down the hotel. I saw so many of our past youth groups and old friends and met a lot of new friends! 

    Brian did an afternoon magic show at CYC and did a great job! Of course Brian was excited because his FB friends increased after the show! We ended the night with Greg & Sherry Woodall from Knoxville at Calhouns!  We love the Woodalls and always have a great time. We attended the Sunday morning worship with nearly 6,000 people! AMAZING!  We were sad to see another CYC come and go. But it was back in the car for a 12 hour drive home.  Back through the Smokie Mountains. Again NO BEARS! We decided we needed a ROCK from the Smokey Mountains to put in our flower bed.  Soooo my very brave husband, YES BRIAN climbed down a small mountain into a creek climbing across rocks to find the perfect ROCK for ME! With no injuries this time.  The last time we stopped for a rock, Brian ran over a kid's hand with the car! Not kidding.  We stopped at a Japanese place for lunch that ended up being a awkward experience!  The trip home seemed to go by fast! We laughed most of the way home.  Brian & I had a very uplifting and wonderful weekend!  I only hope Megan did too.  But by the way she jumped out of the car before Brian had a chance to stop the car tells me she may never go anywhere with us again!  lol  We loved Megan and loved getting to know her.  I can not wait until CYC 2012!!

The West Point Parent Has Beens

Tacky Gift Christmas at Bravos



The Pope Room at Bucas



The Willow Tree







The Willow Tree




Turkey Basters at BJs



It is hard to believe that in June will be our 8th year in Florida!  I wish I could say that it feels like yesterday but it feels like forever! I have had my share of ups and downs here in Florida and everyone knows by now that if I get the chance to leave.....I am out of here!  When Kyle was accepted to West Point, we were introduced to the West Point Parents Club of Central Florida.  We met some amazing people! We all went through the West Point experience together.  Our group has graduated from West Point and has moved on to Army life!  But our group chose to stay together and NOW we are known as "The West Point Parent Has Beens".  Our group consist of about 18.  We get together for dinner and other fun things.  More importantly we are just there for each other.  Some of our friends have watched as their sons have deployed.  We have seen their tears and listened to their fears.  We hold back tears because we know it's only a matter of time until our sons get the call.  Of course we are bursting with pride because we are so very proud of each one of them for choosing to serve our country!  But it will never be easy to let them go!  We will pray many, many prayers for their safety and comfort for their families.  We spend a lot of time together laughing and sharing "cadet and soldier stories".  I have truly come to love these people and they are becoming "my family".  I don't really think they know what a blessing they have been to my life and that they have made my life in Florida worth being here!  So to Jim, Vickie, Phil, Kathy, Ed, Joni, Mike, Vernon, Ed, Denise, Darlene, Jim, Gladys, Wil, Nancy, Jim, thank you for letting me travel with you on this West Point/Army journey!

The Empty Nest

Casey's Graduation from Ft. Benning

2nd Lt. Kyle Staron



 

We are officially "Empty Nesters".  It seems hard to believe that our two little boys are all grown up and are officially starting their own lives.  Kyle has graduated from West Point and is now starting his first post at Ft Hood Texas.  Casey graduated from Ft Benning and is begining his first post at Ft Lewis Washington.  Some of us think that holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go.   Our lives use to revolve around diapers, meals and sleep. The baby disappears and we found a toddlers in their place. We realize that our job is to prepare them to go out into the world without us to hold their little hands.  Then it's off to Kindergarten, Middle School, scouts and campouts and then on to High School.  The days flew by so quickly.  We knew the day would come...college and West Point!  And now our little boys are serving in the United States Army.  They no longer need us to hold their little hands.  They are smart, strong and focused.  They are everything we dreamt them to be and prayed for them to be and so much more. Somehow over the last 24 years we have raised two fine sons. Their future we leave to God and the United States Army. Kyle and Casey, we are bursting with pride!  And as happy as we are for them both, our hearts are still aching for their little hands in ours. May God go with you always! Now as for us, we have to figure out how to fill our time!