Fait Accompli

The last few days have led to some fun accomplishments in our family.  Although we all dream about surprise victories in life, most of the time our greatest deeds are when opportunity meets preparation.  Such is the case in recent days for us.

Each January our church hosts an AWANA Grand Prix event.  The participating students each begin with a stock wooden car that can be modified and designed to individual tastes.  Then they compete against one another in various races.  Here's some video of what happened during this year's races with Ethan and Lily's cars:

Although we didn't end up winning the award, the kids learned a lot about diligence, patience, and supporting others.

Another January accomplishment was Jenson's first Tang Soo Do karate belt test.  He was successfully promoted from a white to a yellow belt.  He has worked SO hard and his instructors Masters Matt and Nick Coffman have complemented Jenson on his dedication and determination to master the principles.  Way to go, Jenson !



This year we began a new homeschool adventure by joining Scholars Guild, a homeschool co-op community that offers accredited classes once a week.  Sydney is in 8th grade this year and has really enjoyed working with her history instructor, Mrs. Becky Yount (who also is proficient in Russian and likes to surprise Jenson with her Russian questions).   As a part of Mrs. Yount's work, her students were given the opportunity to contribute a National History Day assignment and offer their work in a competition at the University of Georgia.  This was Sydney's first project for this program.  She chose to design a web-page on Narcissa Whitman, a missionary to the Oregon Territory during the pioneer days.  Here's a link to Sydney's page: http://47135798.nhd.weebly.com/index.html.

On February 18th, she and her fellow SG students headed to UGA to have their projects judged by a series of history experts and professors.  Each student was interviewed by the judges as a part of the competition.  We were thrilled when Sydney took 2nd place for Junior Divison web design !  Sydney and the other awarded students advance onto the state level competition to be held in April.

Ethan Fountain, Sydney Dowd, and Katelyn Hensley

All of the Scholars Guild participants, including medal winners and teacher Mrs. Becky Yount

Last, but certainly not least, Lily is celebrating her 9th birthday on February 22nd.  Because it's a middle of the week birthday, she opted to have a few friends over to celebrate the weekend before.  It's hard to believe my "baby" is already 9!! 

What to most families may seem mundane party planning, was a big deal for us that taught us another reminder of how God provides in the big and small requests of our hearts. Since Lily was 1 year old, we've known she has food allergies and Celiac Disease (gluten intolerance). Because of that I've always had to make her birthday cake at home since the typical bakeries don't do allergen-free cakes. While I'm good at old-fashioned cooking, I am NOT a pastry chef, so my kids have had to endure years of plain cakes. Last year we met a wonderful man named David Kilpatrick who lives in the Atlanta area and does bake custom allergen-free cakes. All week Lily has been waiting to pick up her specialized Hello Kitty cake. When we met David to pick up the cake, Lily almost burst into tears to have such a beautiful thing to enjoy for her party. Thanks, God, for hearing the inner requests of a 9 year old's heart!

Lily, Lexi, and Zoey

Lexi, Ryleigh, Lily, and Zoey

So, I'll end this post with a passage that reminds me of how God really does know my innermost thoughts and desires.  How gracious He is to us -- How comforting it is to know He cares about every little detail of our lives.



Psalm 139

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹ O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
² You know ^[a]when I sit down and ^[b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
³ You ^[c]scrutinize my ^[d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
^{4 [e]}Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
⁵ You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.