Tips for Flying with Preschooler??

Hi there! I've been missing home, so after getting the go-ahead from my parents, I booked round-trip, non-stop flights from Jacksonville to Chicago (where my parents will pick us up) for me and Annaliese. Here's where I need help...

... I have never flown! Can you believe it??

So what do I need to know, especially since I'll be going with a three-year-old?? Any tips?
I'm not too worried about entertaining her, we won't have a layover, and she'll be good coloring and reading books for 2 hours. The flights are in the morning, so I'll pack snacks (I assume I can??), but won't have to worry about meals on board.

I'm going to leave my car in the airport lot (cost winds up being about the same as gas money to and from the airport for Carlin to drop us off, not to mention his time!). My family has arranged for a car seat to be waiting for us there. Do I need to have a child restraint on the plane, or does she sit like a big girl?

Ok, I guess those are my major, immediate concerns.
Thanks in advance!!
~Janay~

Atlanta Exhibit

There is currently a museum show running in Atlanta entitled, “Cradle of Christianity” and it runs through the beginning of November. I am wondering if anyone else is interested in caravanning up to Atlanta to catch it some time this fall.

Here is a blurb from the website:

“Cradle of Christianity explores the concurrent histories of early Christian and Jewish life through some of the most significant biblical artifacts ever found, including a section of the Temple Scroll, a major Dead Sea Scroll. Other highlights include the burial ossuary of Caiaphas the High Priest—who, according to the New Testament, delivered Jesus to the Romans, and an inscription bearing the name of Pontius Pilate. These artifacts represent the only surviving physical testimonies of these two prominent figures. Cradle of Christianity features a full-scale reconstruction of the chancel of a Byzantine-era church and other remains of excavated synagogues, churches, and religious sites, such as capitals, mosaics, and marble furnishings, dedicatory inscriptions, and liturgical objects.”

I’ve seen both the Temple Scroll and Caiaphas’ ossuary when I was in Israel in ’98 and they really are remarkable. I am very excited to get to see them again and I’d urge anyone interested to take advantage of the opportunity.

Tickets are $15 per person, or $13.50 if we have a group of more than ten. Also, depending on the size of the group and other people’s Atlanta friends, we may be able to just stay in homes rather than at a hotel but again, that depends on how many people we have (I’m only confident of 3 spare bedrooms at this point).

There are only four weekends that work for me that are not FSU home games, but unfortunately, two of them coincide with FAMU home games so if anyone is a Rattler, I apologize if these dates don’t cut it for you:

September 15 (FSU vs. Colorado at Colorado/FAMUS vs. Howard - home)
September 22 (bye week, both schools)
October 13 (Thursday night game vs. Wake Forest on the 11th/FAMU at SC State)
November 3 (FSU vs. Boston College, at BC/FAMU Homecoming)

I am leaning towards September 15 at this point; however, any of those dates will work for me, so whatever date works best for the other folks interested is fine.

If you are interested, please leave a note with your preferred dates in the comments section so that we can try to figure out a date that works with everyone’s calendar.

(I am also sending this to the e-mail list.)

-Tiffany B.

Collecting...

If anyone else has anything they'd like to include in the package for the Belize orphanage, please drop me an e-mail or give a call, or just bring it to church on Sunday (I'm back in town now) . I'd like to get the package in the mail next week.

Thanks, y'all!

When the sole is called up yonder...

Some friends of mine work who with a orphange in Belize just sent me an e-mail letting me know that they've had an influx of kids and need many of the following items. I will be putting together a package to mail to them over the next week or so, so if you have any of these items and would like to send it along, please let me know and I can either come and pick it up or else you can give it to me at Life Group or church.

-Shoes(all sizes and welcomed if they have an intact sole)
-Socks
-underwear
-band-aids, neosporin
-tylenol, ibuprofen
-latex gloves
-lice medication
-vicks
-washable plastic cups and plastic plates
-vitamins
-lotion

Shoes are an especially big need. They can use any kind, but they really like flip-flops since they are in Belize, after all. Target has a number of teenage/adult sizes for a dollar right now, and those are great for the workers and older children, but I know that there is a need for smaller sizes, too. So if you have any outgrown shoes or sandals from any of your little ones that you'd like to donate, so long as they have an okay sole, I know that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, y'all!

-Tiffany B.

P.S. - Be sure to check out Jenny's two entires below. I don't want you to miss those new postings.

MERIDIAN WOODS SKATE NIGHT!

MERIDIAN WOODS SKATE NIGHT
Thursday, June 28th
6:30-9:00PM

Even if you can't (or don't) skate, you are invited to our first Meridian Woods skate night at Skate World on Thursday, June 28th. Admission is free for non-skaters and children 3 and under. They do have fisher-price skates to fit over your little one's tiny shoes, and they also have tiny regular skates that fit (almost) Bryce. If you don't have your own personalized skates in storage, then skating will cost you $6...but our ministry will receive 20% of the fees paid by anyone from Meridian Woods.

Observation seating encircles the rink, so there's plenty of room for fellowship on solid ground while you laugh out loud at grown-ups on wheels and toddlers trying to speed skate.

Be sure to bring your cameras! I've heard there are a few true skaters among us...can you guess who they are?


Contact me at praycontinually@comcast.net for more info.
Jenny

Girls' Night Out (again!)

Mark your calendars for Thursday, July 19th!

We have reservations at Fusion Cafe (on Monroe Street) for dessert and coffee at 7:00PM. (I'm sure they'd gladly whip you up some dinner too if your schedule and wallet permit it!). The desserts are all $6, ranging from homemade chocolate or carrot cake to a gormet cheeseburger dessert made of doughnut bread, brownie middle with white chocolate "cheese" sauce and mango fries.

They have assured me that we will all be at one table =) so just RSVP to me at praycontinually@comcast.net to make sure that you have a seat!

This is such a special time of fellowship with our sisters (especially the ones who aren't in our particular LIFE group), without a little one pulling, crying, interrupting, or perhaps just grinning and stealing the show! I hope you can join in the fun!

Jenny

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

As an update on Ehtan Powell (the baby with leukemia that I posted on a month or so ago), there has been an absolutely incredible breakthrough -- the doctors just checked his spinal fluid and it came back with zero cancer cells, which means that he can undergo the stem cell transplant that can save his life!

If he'd had even a 1% count, they would have "sent him home to die peacefully." The doctors had warned Ben and Becky (the parents) that the chances of Ehtan having a clean tap were slim to none, but they committed to prayer and encouraged eveyone else to do the same.

Check out the site to read more about this wonderful miracle, and please continue to remember this little guy in your prayers as he continues his fight.

Ultimate Bible Quiz

Take the Ultimate Bible Quiz challenge.

Let us know how you did.

Here's how I did...

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

See if you can beat me without cheating. (yes, it's a challenge... we need to get things hopping on this site) :)
-Daisha

Williams-Trammel Group

I have put your calendar in a link as well. It is on the Right Column.

Washington-Landes group... do you guys have a calendar you want me to put on-line?

My hope is that these calendars will help avoid communication mishaps AND if there are new Young Families that are moving to the area, or that we have missed meeting at church, by checking the blog, they can get connected. (or at least see what's going on)

Williams-Trammel LIFE group schedule

Hi there! I don't know how Daisha did the fancy calendar for the Mosier-Sheets group, but here's a list of our upcoming hosts for the Williams-Trammel LIFE Group:
6/15 Davis
6/22 Newcombe
6/29 Kimber
7/6 Williams

Last week we started a study loosely titled "Why we believe what we believe" or "Why we do what we do how we do it". We started with an excellent study of communion. We'll be looking at other topics like why baptism, roles for women, elder/deacon/ministry leaders and their roles compared to scripture, instrumental music in worship, membership to a congregation, etc. As of right now I don't know what we will study when, but check with Chris/Carlin/John if you'd like more details.

Thanks!
~Janay~

Who Checks this Thing?

We have yet to spark some great discussion over the comments section...

Is that even something that we want to use this blog for?

We haven't seen the pics of Forrest in a dress. (and Troy, for that matter)

How can we make this more of a tool to keep us connected?

Any ideas?

PLEASE, leave your comment in the comment section.

For the Stay-At-Home-Moms

I have not yet joined the ranks of motherhood, but I can still appreciate this article from the Washignton Post for what it says to all those who ask (somewhat snidely) "What do stay at home moms do all day?"

I'm sure many of you will appreciate it.

-Tiffany B.

Memories of Memorial Day

Here's the video that ran before service yesterday showing clips from the Memorial Day picnic. Thanks to Jenny Kimber for letting me have the photos, Forrest Doddington for letting me have the footage he shot, and Hannah Arnold for taking my camera around and shooting some footage, too.

LIFE Groups

The Sheets-Mosier LIFE Group will be meeting throughout the summer. We have our schedules all lined up from now until August.

If you are in another group that isn't meeting, or if you are not currently in a group, please check out the link on the side. I posted our calendar.

(I'm not well-versed in HTML code, so it looks kinda' weird, but it gets you where we're meeting.)

We meet at 6:30 and eat and then have Bible study.

I didn't put our addresses on the calendar, so you'll have to look us up in the church directory.

Feel free to join us anytime!

--Daisha

Gideon's Surgery

Here G is in his hospital gown.

Isn't he adorable?

The Ronald McDonald House was a great blessing. We were fed dinner, and given a place to stay.

However, Gideon being the light sleeper he is, and being in a new place... none of us slept.

And we weren't allowed to feed Gideon after 3 am. But that morning he was signing for breakfast so nicely, I felt really mean for saying 'no.'

Gideon made friends with adults and kids alike everywhere we went. He had no idea of what was coming up. At 7:30 we handed him off to a nurse and watched him go through double doors where we were not allowed to follow. (that's when I broke down)

Two hours later, his surgeon, Dr. Earhard, came and told us everything went well and that a nurse would be coming to get us soon.

A few minutes later, we were shown into the recovery room. Gideon arrived about a minute later... This was the hardest moment for JR, and I broke down again. He looked SO small and perfect. And then they showed us what they did and told us how to take care of his dressings. That was hard too.

He was a trooper all the way home. But once we got home, his bladder had a spasm and he screamed in pain until we could get him settled down. He stayed in my arms for the next 2 hrs. and then I passed him along to my mom. And while I was taking a shower, he started getting up and moving. By dinner time, he was running around like normal.

Today has been like yesterday. The only time he seems to hurt is when his bladder spasms. OH, and his catheter has a small amount of blood in it, but the nurse said that was to be expected.

Thank you for all of your prayers. (Keep 'em coming.) :)
-JR, Daisha, and Gideon

An AFV moment? You decide...

It was just a few moments before the start of the Meridian Woods Memorial Day Picnic, and the last chance for us big boys to "test the safety" of the bouncer! So, Brian, JR, and I made a mad dash to the bouncer door to start some "serious" fun.

What ensued is what Sarah had deemed "Forrest's Fall from Grace." Enjoy the video!



BTW: Sarah wants to know if you think she should submit this to America's Funniest Home Videos. You can use the comments here to place your vote? Should we keep this just between us, or share the embarrassment with the whole world?

Girls' Night Out

Hello Ladies! The Macaroni Grill is expecting us next Monday at 7:00PM. They are also expecting a phone call from me confirming a headcount. Right now I've only heard back from a few of you...please RSVP quickly to my email address or home phone.

I'm looking forward to enjoying the evening with you!
Jenny

Please Remember

Gideon goes into surgery tomorrow. We are still waiting to hear from the hospital as to exactly WHEN.

Thank you for your prayers.

Oh, and our hotmail account isn't working, so if you leave a comment on here, that will be a better way to communicate with us.

-JR, Daisha, and Gideon

Gideon's Turning ONE!

We are so blessed to have a church family that has fallen in love with Gideon almost as much as we have. :)

Please join us in celebrating his birthday (May 27) the day before. The details are in the invitation I scanned in.

We'd love to see you there.

OH, also, we currently DO NOT have access to our hotmail e-mail account. So, if you need to get a hold of us, call or e-mail me at (here I'm going to be tricky)...
my first name, dot, my last name, @gmail.com

Happy Monday!
Daisha

Memorial Day Video Annoucement #2