Welcome to our blog...

As many of you know, Blairlee and Chris got married on June 29, 2007, although we had originally planned to marry on September 8 of this year. That was until Chris got an unexpected phone call one May day while in Florida recording his first album with his brother J.D. He found out that he was being appointed to First United Methodist Church in Laurel, Maryland (http://www.fumcl.org/). Needless to say, this totally changed our wedding plans, living plans, school plans, etc. We decided to move up the wedding date in order to allow us to start at First Church on our first Sunday as a family and so that we could move into the parsonage and settle into our new family routine before Kathryn started school in the fall. That set into motion a few busy days for us. We got married on Friday, June 29 at Blairlee's home church, Asbury Arnold United Methodist Church by Rev. Ed DeLong who was the pastor at Asbury when Blairlee was younger and has been one of Chris' mentors. We then started at First Church on Sunday, July 1 and moved into the parsonage on Tuesday, July 3. Our first few days of married life were very busy, but exciting as well.

First Church is a vibrant and special congregation! They have welcomed us with open arms. When we arrived at the parsonage, the refrigerator and pantry were stocked for us and we had a wonderful meal prepared for us that first night. We have all jumped right into church life. Kathryn is enjoying her Sunday School class and enjoyed Vacation Bible School that Chris and I helped with. She has already made several friends and has had play dates and a sleep over which was great for her! Grace is enjoying her Sunday School class when she is with us. They both love WOW Worship, which is offered for children up to 5th grade during the church service. I have joined the Koineonia Sunday School class where we just finished a study of I Corinthians and will be starting a study of II Corinthians this coming Sunday. It is nice after several years of teaching Sunday School to be able go to my own class! In September, Blairlee will be attending the New Member Class. It will be weird to have my membership transferred from a church that I have attended for 33 years. But I am excited about formally becoming a member of First Church! I also plan on joining that Chancel Choir and hope to take Disciple II as well.

Kathryn is enjoying her new home! She especially likes "her" bathroom. She also likes being able to walk out the back door, through the back yard and be at church. She will begin 4th grade at Laurel Elementary on August 20. She will be attending Orientation next week and is looking forward to meeting new friends and is even excited about wearing a uniform to school. Another plus in her book is being able to walk to school. Her school is 1.5 blocks away from our house. She went to her first sleep away camp at West River Church Camp this summer with her friend Aley and had a blast. She also had a great swim team season this summer and qualified for the Gold Meet. She is becoming quite the swimmer! She will be playing soccer this fall for the Laurel Boys and Girls Club. She likes having a sister and a new daddy.

Grace spends every other weekend and Tuesday evenings with us and we cherish these times with her. She loves having her own room and especially loves having a big sister and two dogs and two cats. She will begin Kindergarten in September at the Calverton School.

We just returned from a week at Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Blairlee's parents and sister and her family. It was a relaxing and fun-filled vacation and just what we needed to recharge and bond as a family.


Stay tuned for updates and pictures in the coming days and weeks...