Pomp and Circumstance!

Congratulations Class of 2010! This has been a very full May celebrating with my 2 favorite graduates this year.

William Rushton Syphurs

Hoover High School

Sam Mathis DeVane

Ensworth High School

I began babysitting for Rushton when he was 3 years old. The Syphurs went from being the family I babysit for to being a second family for me over the years. I am so proud of Rushton and Alyssa and can’t wait to see what God has planned for them for the future.

Rushton graduated from Hoover High School (where I am also a graduate) on Thursday night. The best moment of the night was seeing him walk in with his class with a smile that had such a sense of accomplishment and pride. That night is one of my new favorite “Rushton memories!”
Our celebration of Rushton’s graduation continued on Saturday. It was a great time for everyone who loves Rush to gather together just to let him know how proud we all are of him.

Congratulations Buddy!

Mom, Dawn and I traveled to Nashville on Saturday afternoon to see my cousin Sam graduate from Ensworth High School. I love any opportunity to spend time with my family and being able to celebrate with Sam made the time even better. Sam’s graduation had to be moved indoors to Lipscomb University due to the possibility of inclement weather. I have to say it was one of the liveliest graduation ceremonies I have been to and I loved it. The friends and families of the students at Ensworth were truly there to celebrate all they had accomplished. Listening to the speeches made by the four student speakers reminded me of high school…actually they made me miss high school.

We then had a delicious dinner hosted by Sam and Denise at their house following the ceremony. It was a special night to celebrate and create new memories for our family. We ended the weekend with the perfect southern family breakfast this morning at Loveless Café….amazing!!
As we ate breakfast Denise said that this weekend went just how she had imagined it and couldn’t agree more. It was a great time from Saturday to Sunday!

Great Aunt Jerri loves all of her nephews!

Baby James (Nolan and Olivia) and Baby Kate (Matthew and Courtney) will both be here soon!

Go Into All The World: Praying for Shanna!

My friend Shanna leaves tomorrow for Tanzania with e3 Ministries. She will be gone for 2 weeks working in some of the most remote parts of the country. Please remember Shanna and the rest of her team in your prayers. I cannot wait to hear all about her trip when she gets back. Love you Shan!

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20

Strawberry Shortcake!

Kevin, Dawn and I took Mom to La Paz Sunday for lunch. Since Dad had to work, we did a double Mother’s Day celebration! We cooked out at my parent’s house Sunday night. It has been too long since I cooked and volunteered to bring dessert and an appetizer. I decided to take on homemade strawberry shortcake. It tasted great, however, as you’ll be able to see in the pictures…the preparations had some “interesting” moments.

Kevin is a grill master and made a perfect Mother’s Day hamburger

Cody was a big time helper in the kitchen!

For the Cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
½ cup whole milk
1 t. pure vanilla extract
Strawberries and Cream:
2 pts. Strawberries
1 T granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 T. confectioners’ sugar
½ t. pure vanilla extract

For the cake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and lightly flour an 8 inch round cake pan.
Whisk the granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

Lightly whisk the butter, egg, milk and vanilla, just until smooth. Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

For strawberries and cream: Set aside 1 pint of the strawberries for topping. Hull and thinly slice the other pint of strawberries and toss with granulated sugar. Set aside.


Whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until soft peaks begin to form. Refrigerate until ready to use.



To assemble the cake: Cut the cake in half horizontally.

Obviously I struggled a little with the "cut the cake in half horizontally." The top half of my cake ended up in several pieces...fortunately, whipped cream can cover anything!

Place the bottom layer of the cake on serving plate. Drizzle the juice from the strawberries on the cut side of both halves of the cake. Fold a couple of tablespoons of whipped cream in with sliced strawberries and top the cut side of the bottom layer.



Top with the other half of the cake, cut side down. Spread the whipped cream on top of the cake and top with whole strawberries.

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake...mutalated top half and all!

Just braggin' on Sweet Cody. That is Cheese Dip n the crockpot in floorboard and strawberry shortcake on the console next to him, and he's just looking out the window.

Happy Mother's Day!

Who can find a noble wife? She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband trusts her completely. She gives him the important things he needs. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She chooses wool and flax. She loves to work with her hands. She is like the ships of traders. She brings her food from far away. She gets up while it is still dark. She provides food for her family. She also gives some to her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it. She uses some of the money she earns and plants a vineyard. She gets ready to work hard. Her arms are strong. She sees that her trading her lots of money.
Her lamp doesn’t go out at night. With one hand she holds the wool. With the other she spins the threadShe opens her arms to those who are poor. She reaches her hand out to those who are needy. When it snows, she’s not afraid for her family. All of them are dressed in the finest clothes. She makes her own bed coverings. She is dressed in fine linen and purple clothes.
Her husband is respected at the city gate. He takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen clothes and sells them. She supplies belts to the traders. She puts on strength and honor as if they were her clothes.
She can laugh at the days that are coming. She speaks wisely. She teaches faithfully. She watches over family matters. She is busy all the time.
Her children stand up and call her blessed. Her husband also rises and praises her. He says, “Many women do noble things. But you are better than the others.”
Charm can fool you. Beauty fades. But a woman who has respect for the Lord should be praised. Give her the reward the she has earned. Let everything she does bring praise to her at the city gate.

Proverbs 31:10-31, NIrV

To Everything There is a Season...

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pick that which has been planted; a time to kill and a time to heal…a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance….a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to lose and a time to seek; a time to rend and a time to sew; a time to keep silent and a time to speak; a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Saturday morning, Emma Catherine Velotas was baptized at Holy Trinity Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church.

Emma’s mom Mary is my cousin. I was Mary’s Maid of Honor when she and Jimmy were married almost 4 years ago. We have been very close ever since we were little girls and I am so excited now to have Emma a part of our lives. She was an angel during the service. I can’t wait to see the professional pictures from the church.

Emma Catherine Velotas

Emma’s beautiful cake to celebrate her baptism I love having Jimmy as my fousin (fake cousin). From the time I met him I knew that he and Mary were meant to be and I am so glad that he is a part of our family. There are so many things that I love about Jimmy, he is very kind, has a great sense of humor and will do anything for his friends and family; but I have to admit that one of my favorite is that he is Greek, which means he can cook and I get to enjoy delicious Greek cooking either from him or going to the Greek Food Festival every year! Hummus is a personal favorite but I really l love it all!

Little love from Grammy and Grampy
Brooke and John (Jimmy’s cousin and Emma’s godparents) hosted a delicious lunch for the guest of Emma’s baptism in their neighborhood . I don’t have any pictures of the service. I was caught up in watching the service and traditions that went along with baptism that I never took any, however, Mary did have a photographer and I will post pictures from him later to give you any idea of the many different traditions associated with infant baptism in the Greek Orthodox church.

While we celebrated Emma’s life through her baptism this week, our family is also walking through a valley. My cousin Robert passed away Thursday morning. We all love Robert very much and he will be so missed by all of us in the years to come. Robert loved being at the lake for the 4th of July and I will always think of him from now on when I am celebrating with family and friends. He also loved to torture his little cousins growing up at Mammaw's house. I remember many summer afternoons banging on Mammaw's door for Robert to unlatch the screen so that we could come inside. Love and miss you Robert!

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Robert with Blair, Kathleen and Rebecca just after his December wedding.

A final celebration of Saturday was the wedding of Michael and Alice Moss. Spending time with friends on a beautiful early summer night was just a reminder to me that God is faithful. He holds us during the hard times and gives us opportunities to still see Him at work around us. I am so thankful that my hope and joy are not based on the temporary things of this world! My heart can be full of God’s love and a joy from Him even when I can't imagine where it comes from.

Alice and Michael's wedding was at Oxmorr Valley Golf Course. It was the perfect setting for an outdoor wedding. The weather had been a concern earlier in the day but turned out beautiful for the ceremony. Their reception was held in the clubhouse. We enjoyed the reception and dancing on the porch of the clubhouse overlooking the golf course as the sun set. Congratulations Michael and Alice and Best Wishes!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13

The GAP girls celebrating Michael and Alice’s wedding with Steve.

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Moss

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand. --Irish Blessing