Our Bird Dog

This morning, Penny proved herself to be a very talented bird dog. She and Chris go for a walk each morning. This morning, while on their walk, as a bird flew by in front of her, she caught it. When Chris came in the door with her, I could hardly believe it when he told me. I knew that she was talented, but I didn't know how much! Chris did get her to drop the bird and they finished their walk. I would imagine that she was quite proud of herself. She did seem happier then usual when they got home. Each day she likes to sit at both the front door and the back door and watch the birds, as do both our cats. I can only imagine the story that she had to tell them when we left for work this morning.

Kathryn's First Day of 4th Grade

Kathryn had a great first day of school! She got up this morning and ate breakfast and got ready in record time. She had both Chris and I walk her to school, which is 1.5 blocks from our house. When we got there, I did get a quick hug, but no kiss as she didn't want me to embarrass her in front of her new friends. She just got in line with the other 4th graders and headed off into school without ever looking back.

Her homeroom teacher and the teacher that she will have for Reading is Miss Barber. Mr. Cavanaugh will be her Science teacher and she will have Mr. Buckingham (or Mr. Buck as he is called) for Math. She has another male teacher for Social Studies and Health whose name we aren't sure of right now. Kathryn was very impressed with the Media Center, which is at the center of school because they have all of the "Junie B. Jones" and "Magic Tree House" series books, some of Kathyrn's favorites.

She came home from school very happy about her day and the new friends that she made. Laurel Elementary has a very diverse population and Kathryn says that she likes that. She has several classmates who have English as their second language and she thinks that is neat.

The only "hiccup" in Kathryn's day came at recess during a game of kickball. She tripped and skinned both knees, both elbows (one quite nicely) and one wrist and hand. The school nurse called us to let us know that Kathryn had come to the Health Room and then patched her up and sent her back to class. When Chris and I picked her up from school at the end of the day, she took off all of the bandaids and gauze to proudly showed us her wounds. All in all, she said, it was a good day.

She was funny on the way home as she remarked that although she had homework, we had more then she did with all of the forms that we had to fill out. She was right. However, her homework was a lot more fun. She came home with a paper bag that she decorated in class to place five things from home that describe who she is and what she likes to do and will take it back to school tomorrow to present to her class. She spent a lot of time carefully selecting her five items...

1. High School Musical 2 magazine
2. Swim Team trophy
3. Softball
4. Stuffed animal
5. Snowglobe from the Outer Banks

She can't wait to get to school tomorrow to show off the treasures in her bag.

Kathryn's School

Laurel Elementary School where Kathryn will start 4th grade on August 20. It is about 1.5 blocks from our house.

First United Methodist Church of Laurel

Here is a view of First Church as you pull into the parking lot.




Here is a side view, and you can also see the historic front of the church, too.



And here's the sign. As you can see, we have two worship times with Sunday School hour in between. We also have a very active Youth Group.

The Parsonage

Front of the parsonage

We are really enjoying living in the parsonage. It is in the Historic District of Laurel and you can walk to many things nearby, including Red Hot & Blue which we have already visited several times. The parsonage has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms and a finished basement...just the right size for us!




Back of the parsonage




Our backyard from the back door.

The brick building in the back left of the picture is the back of the church, so you can see that Chris has a really long commute to work everyday!

If you ever want to come by, just give us a call. We would love you have you visit.

Happy Birthday Penny!

Penny & Kathryn - Best Buddies

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY PENNY!!!!!!!



Thursday, August 9 was Penny's 1st birthday. Penny is Kathyrn's puppy that was her 8th birthday present last October. She is a wonderful dog who is a Border Collie and English Pointer mix. She seems to really like the new house, especially all of the birds that populate the back yard! She also enjoys the daily morning walks that she and Chris take down by the river and back. Penny loves Kathryn! Kathryn is with her father this week and Penny has really missed her. She keeps going up to Kathryn's room to look for her. She will be happy when Kathryn comes home tomorrow! Kathryn talked to her on the phone the other day and Penny really seemed to be listening and enjoying the conversation.

Pictures from Nags Head

Kathryn and her cousin Hannah...



The Owens family!



The cousins: Grace, Kathryn, and Hannah



Kathryn hitting the waves!



Grace is working hard, building the perfect sand castle...



Kathryn strikes a pose...

Nags Head was a great time away for our family! We spent a lot of time on the beach and in the ocean. We also visited the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo. While there we got to touch sting rays and horseshoe crabs as well as watch two divers in the big tank who were able to talk to us and answer questions. There were some big sharks in that tank!

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...