Our email has been out since last Thursday so I've not been able to send an update. Our power went out Thursday evening and when it came back on, we had not internet. So, I've got lots to catch up on. We had a great SongKran (Thai New Year). Hoppy enjoyed getting wet and we took several pictures (more about that later). Kel has gone to Nepal for the first time for a week. The kids and I are still hanging out here. They start back to school on Wed. I need to run to the store before the crowds hit! More soon...
Blessings,
Jamie
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Learning something new about your spouse!
I am reading Fox news on the computer and Kelly is looking over my shoulder. The headline reads, "Georgia High School to Try Integrated Prom." Kel says, "I bet that's Turner County.... Did your high school have integrated proms?" I said, "When did you go to high school? In the dark ages? Of course, our school had integrated proms and integrated everything else." He informed me that his school...Turner County High School, did not. Wow! My senior year the homecoming queen was "African American." (that's not what we called it, then!)
Lo and behold, he was RIGHT! It was Turner County High and they have had segregated proms for the last TWENTY TWO years! (or it's been that long since K graduated!) This year will be the very first integrated prom.
See news report below!
Georgia High School to Try Integrated Prom
Tuesday , April 10, 2007
AP
ADVERTISEMENT
ASHBURN, Ga. —
Breaking from tradition, high school students in this small town are getting together for this year's prom.
Prom night at Turner County High has long been an evening of de facto segregation: white students organized their own unofficial prom, while black students did the same.
This year's group of seniors didn't want that legacy. When the four senior class officers — two whites and two blacks — met with Principal Chad Stone at the start of the school year, they had more on their minds than changes to the school's dress code.
They wanted an all-school prom. They wanted everyone invited.
On April 21, they'll have their wish. The town's auditorium will be transformed into a tropical scene, and for the first time, every junior and senior, regardless of race, will be invited.
The prom's theme: Breakaway.
"Everybody says that's just how it's always been. It's just the way of this very small town," said James Hall, a 17-year-old black student who is the senior class president.
"But it's time for a change."
There are excited announcements of the upcoming dance plastered all over the school, where about 55 percent of students are black and most of the rest are white.
A makeshift countdown to the prom is displayed as a cardboard cutout on a main hallway. Student council members canvass the hallways, asking students to buy a $25 ticket and be a part of history. In the cafeteria, images of palm trees and waterfalls brighten up the sterile walls. "The First Ever!" a poster exclaims. "Got your haircut?"
Students say the self-segregation that splits social circles in school mirrors the attitude of this town of 4,000 people. So getting every student to break from the past could be a difficult task.
With prom night about two weeks away, only half of the 160 upper-class students have bought tickets. And there's talk around the school that some white students might throw a competing party at a nearby lake.
"Everyone is saying they're not going to the school prom," said Steven Tuller, a 17-year-old white junior who doesn't plan to attend either event because he wants to wait until he's a senior. "They're saying it's tradition."
Yet Turner County High already has defied tradition this year. The school abandoned its practice of naming separate white and black homecoming queens. Instead, a mixed-race student was named the county's first solo homecoming queen.
Some alumni welcome change at Turner County High.
"People still think of how life was 20, 30 years ago," said Keith Massey, a 1990 graduate who now runs the popular Keith-A-Que restaurant in town, about 75 miles south of Macon. "And life's got to move on."
Massey recalls an attempt to integrate one of the prom parties when he was in school, but few whites showed up. Attempts to organize a school-wide prom in recent years failed because of a lack of student support.
Stone, serving his first year as the school's principal, has been enthusiastic about an integrated prom. He's funneling $5,000 of his meager discretionary fund to hire a DJ and buy decorations, and he's persuaded a photographer to set up shop at the civic center to snap photos of the couples before the dance.
"This senior class is a close-knit group from top to bottom, and they want to do what's right," said Stone, who is white. "They wanted a full school prom. And I told them if they would do it, I'd do them right."
Lo and behold, he was RIGHT! It was Turner County High and they have had segregated proms for the last TWENTY TWO years! (or it's been that long since K graduated!) This year will be the very first integrated prom.
See news report below!
Georgia High School to Try Integrated Prom
Tuesday , April 10, 2007
AP
ADVERTISEMENT
ASHBURN, Ga. —
Breaking from tradition, high school students in this small town are getting together for this year's prom.
Prom night at Turner County High has long been an evening of de facto segregation: white students organized their own unofficial prom, while black students did the same.
This year's group of seniors didn't want that legacy. When the four senior class officers — two whites and two blacks — met with Principal Chad Stone at the start of the school year, they had more on their minds than changes to the school's dress code.
They wanted an all-school prom. They wanted everyone invited.
On April 21, they'll have their wish. The town's auditorium will be transformed into a tropical scene, and for the first time, every junior and senior, regardless of race, will be invited.
The prom's theme: Breakaway.
"Everybody says that's just how it's always been. It's just the way of this very small town," said James Hall, a 17-year-old black student who is the senior class president.
"But it's time for a change."
There are excited announcements of the upcoming dance plastered all over the school, where about 55 percent of students are black and most of the rest are white.
A makeshift countdown to the prom is displayed as a cardboard cutout on a main hallway. Student council members canvass the hallways, asking students to buy a $25 ticket and be a part of history. In the cafeteria, images of palm trees and waterfalls brighten up the sterile walls. "The First Ever!" a poster exclaims. "Got your haircut?"
Students say the self-segregation that splits social circles in school mirrors the attitude of this town of 4,000 people. So getting every student to break from the past could be a difficult task.
With prom night about two weeks away, only half of the 160 upper-class students have bought tickets. And there's talk around the school that some white students might throw a competing party at a nearby lake.
"Everyone is saying they're not going to the school prom," said Steven Tuller, a 17-year-old white junior who doesn't plan to attend either event because he wants to wait until he's a senior. "They're saying it's tradition."
Yet Turner County High already has defied tradition this year. The school abandoned its practice of naming separate white and black homecoming queens. Instead, a mixed-race student was named the county's first solo homecoming queen.
Some alumni welcome change at Turner County High.
"People still think of how life was 20, 30 years ago," said Keith Massey, a 1990 graduate who now runs the popular Keith-A-Que restaurant in town, about 75 miles south of Macon. "And life's got to move on."
Massey recalls an attempt to integrate one of the prom parties when he was in school, but few whites showed up. Attempts to organize a school-wide prom in recent years failed because of a lack of student support.
Stone, serving his first year as the school's principal, has been enthusiastic about an integrated prom. He's funneling $5,000 of his meager discretionary fund to hire a DJ and buy decorations, and he's persuaded a photographer to set up shop at the civic center to snap photos of the couples before the dance.
"This senior class is a close-knit group from top to bottom, and they want to do what's right," said Stone, who is white. "They wanted a full school prom. And I told them if they would do it, I'd do them right."
Saturday, April 7, 2007
HomeMakeover Continues
We worked hard again today. We started off by going to a garage sale. We ended up buying bookshelves, odds and ends and a queen size frame and mattress. It was an older lady who lived in Nepal for about 20 years and here for about 5. The bed was in very good shape...it was her guest bed. Malia is thrilled. Kelly told her it is OUR guest bed and he is allowing her to sleep in it! :>
Of course, before we could bring it in the house, we had to disassemble her room, and disassemble Sav's room to disassemble the boys' room, so there could be room for it. We ended up giving, Noah, Malia's old loft bed. Giving Sav. the extra twin bed from the bunk beds (she has two twin beds in her room) and now there is the loft bed and a twin bed in the boys room. Whew! It was a lot of work! We will probably be all sore tomorrow. Going up and down the stairs with that loft bed is a lot of work!!! So, we have plenty of room for guests now! (Hint, Hint...)
We ended the day by meeting friends at the pool and then going to "In and Out Burgers," a new burger place out on our side of town. The kids ended up having the kids over to spend the night that we met at the pool.
It's hard to believe tomorrow is Easter! All the other families in our home group are out of town so we will go to the Big international church tomorrow. We don't have a big Sunday dinner planned, though. Oh, well, not much time to think about dinner when your moving around furniture! I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Happy Easter everyone!
Of course, before we could bring it in the house, we had to disassemble her room, and disassemble Sav's room to disassemble the boys' room, so there could be room for it. We ended up giving, Noah, Malia's old loft bed. Giving Sav. the extra twin bed from the bunk beds (she has two twin beds in her room) and now there is the loft bed and a twin bed in the boys room. Whew! It was a lot of work! We will probably be all sore tomorrow. Going up and down the stairs with that loft bed is a lot of work!!! So, we have plenty of room for guests now! (Hint, Hint...)
We ended the day by meeting friends at the pool and then going to "In and Out Burgers," a new burger place out on our side of town. The kids ended up having the kids over to spend the night that we met at the pool.
It's hard to believe tomorrow is Easter! All the other families in our home group are out of town so we will go to the Big international church tomorrow. We don't have a big Sunday dinner planned, though. Oh, well, not much time to think about dinner when your moving around furniture! I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Happy Easter everyone!
Friday, April 6, 2007
God Answers Prayer!
Today we painted a wall in Savannah's room and repainted a wall in the boys room. Yesterday, the boys cleaned out their room and (I think) emptied several of their drawers into a huge give-away box so we spent several hours this afternoon going through that box! There were lots of treasures....AND I have an organized box for the Grace garage sale if I decide to participate.
Tomorrow, we will paint the dining area/family room.
I have some baskets that I have put on top of the closets in my room. I'm thinking about filling them with my favorite books and really parring down the books. I want to get rid of the book corner in my room and make it a sitting area. We can take the couch that is downstairs (the landlords) up there when the new one arrives, IF I have the area cleaned out. I will also need to sell my desk. It's big and I never use it.
Malia is spending the night at a friends tonight. Yesterday we discussed the friendship issue...she lamented that she didn't have any friends. We discussed ways she could be a friend and then just spent some time praying about it. Today, she got a call from one of her classmates inviting her over. God does answer prayers! I hope she will get the connection!
I've done some surfing on the internet tonight some, looking back at Sage's orphanage and reading about the latest with adoptions in Ukraine. I've told Kelly that I have a hard time when I think about Sage's half-brother still back in the orphanage. I know there is no way we could go back and get him. The funds just aren't there, as well as the emotional energy it takes to go through the process. But, I can't help thinking about him. Pray that God will give him a Christian home and help us be able to connect them when the time comes.
Blessings!
Tomorrow, we will paint the dining area/family room.
I have some baskets that I have put on top of the closets in my room. I'm thinking about filling them with my favorite books and really parring down the books. I want to get rid of the book corner in my room and make it a sitting area. We can take the couch that is downstairs (the landlords) up there when the new one arrives, IF I have the area cleaned out. I will also need to sell my desk. It's big and I never use it.
Malia is spending the night at a friends tonight. Yesterday we discussed the friendship issue...she lamented that she didn't have any friends. We discussed ways she could be a friend and then just spent some time praying about it. Today, she got a call from one of her classmates inviting her over. God does answer prayers! I hope she will get the connection!
I've done some surfing on the internet tonight some, looking back at Sage's orphanage and reading about the latest with adoptions in Ukraine. I've told Kelly that I have a hard time when I think about Sage's half-brother still back in the orphanage. I know there is no way we could go back and get him. The funds just aren't there, as well as the emotional energy it takes to go through the process. But, I can't help thinking about him. Pray that God will give him a Christian home and help us be able to connect them when the time comes.
Blessings!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
House makeover
We continue to work on our home/decor/organization projects. We bought fabric for the girls rooms and I found fabric for my chair and made a decision about what sofa fabric I am going to use. We will take the girls fabric to the tailor in the next couple of days. We will try to send pictures of the finished projects when we get them completed. We have decided not to go away but to stay home and finish some of these projects as well as take breaks for swimming and eating out!
The boys are busy cleaning out their drawers and getting rid of things. Then, I will need to decide if I'm going to do the large garage sale at Grace in May. We have enough junk. It's just how much time do I want to spend organizing it to get rid of it? :>
In between times we are doing some shopping. The girls desperately need a couple of new outfits to wear when they are not in school. They will also need something to wear at the meetings this summer. I've pulled out some of Malia's old things for Sav to wear and we will see if they are a go. Before she wouldn't be caught dead in them (they are skorts!) but I think she is desperate! Ha. Neither of these two like to shop so it's not fun taking them to try on clothes. Yesterday, we were successful with getting Malia some tops but we still need one or two pairs of shorts and a pair of jeans (she's outgrown the ones she has although she doesn't think so) It's good for Malia that the tops are a bit longer than the style a few years back. IF we can last until summer (I'm not sure we can!) We might order some things for grandmother to bring back with her.
The boys are busy cleaning out their drawers and getting rid of things. Then, I will need to decide if I'm going to do the large garage sale at Grace in May. We have enough junk. It's just how much time do I want to spend organizing it to get rid of it? :>
In between times we are doing some shopping. The girls desperately need a couple of new outfits to wear when they are not in school. They will also need something to wear at the meetings this summer. I've pulled out some of Malia's old things for Sav to wear and we will see if they are a go. Before she wouldn't be caught dead in them (they are skorts!) but I think she is desperate! Ha. Neither of these two like to shop so it's not fun taking them to try on clothes. Yesterday, we were successful with getting Malia some tops but we still need one or two pairs of shorts and a pair of jeans (she's outgrown the ones she has although she doesn't think so) It's good for Malia that the tops are a bit longer than the style a few years back. IF we can last until summer (I'm not sure we can!) We might order some things for grandmother to bring back with her.
Science project
The picture above is Sav's science project that she and Sara did for class. Sara's parents work for the same organization we do and the class was paired up to work on these projects. I think they did an excellent job...the teacher thought so, too, because they received A's.
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