Twiggs County Relay For Life~Luminary Edition

Ok so we have looked at the pre-walk activities, and the walk, now for the best part of the night (at least in my opinion)
I had purchased luminaras in honor of Kennedy, and in Memory of Uncle Bobby, so I was looking forward to this part of the night. I added a luminara that night for Grandpa, but they put it on a In Memory tag, and I didn't catch it until after we got home and I was looking at the pictures.

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Our kindergartners came out and sang This Little Light Of Mine at the end of the ceremony. So sweet and so cute.

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I need help deciding which picture to enter into this week's contest! The deal is you are to enter your best/favorite up close shot.
So here are the ones that I have narrowed it down to:

1. Kelsey at prom!

From Online Edits

2. Kelsey sweet 16

From Online Edits

3. DJ Green Eyes

From Online Edits

4. DJ Flower

From Online Edits

5. DJ at Matt and Angela's wedding

From Our life as an Air Force Family

I have to decide no later than Monday May 18th! So leave me a comment and tell me which one I should choose!!

I heart Faces Blurb Book Photo Contest

It's time once again. For my favorite post of the week! The I Heart Faces contest. This week is extra special, because this week we are entering for a chance to be a part of the I Heart Faces Blurb Book!!! There are two categories, one for the professionals, you know those people who are lucky enough to get paid for their photography skills, and then another for the rest of us shumks. ;)

So without further ado:

From Online Edits

The neat part about this contest is you can enter a picture you have already entered in a weekly contest. I entered this one in the category for green a few weeks ago. But my friends on facebook almost all agreed that this was their favorite out of the ones I was trying to decide from. :)

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

Patty Cleveland

Keep up with the Cleveland family, check out our blog at http://scienceesl.blogspot.com/

Cabbage patch update

Pictures from the 15th of some of our cabbage patch cabbages

Twiggs County Relay For Life~ The Walk

In last night's installment of Relay for Life Twiggs County Style... We reviewed the events leading up to the walk itself.

In tonight's installment we will look at the walk itself.

First was the surviors lap. A bit delayed due to the rain, but we got it in, and as always it was a bit emotional.

From Drop Box

Kelsey and her friends showed up just in time for the first laps.

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The team lined up with our banner

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And so we walked, some times fast,

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some times slow, but we walked until about 1:50 am in Natalie, Ashley, and I's case.

Please keep the Swanland Family in your thoughts and prayers

I saw Larissa's post on Facebook on Friday morning, when she posted about the loss of her sister, but was not sure what had happened. Today I saw where Larissa posted a link to the news article: http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/45049632.html Serena was killed in a car accident in Texas, where she was attending A&M.

We knew the family from our time in the UK. Please keep Larissa and her mom in your thoughts and prayers during this horrible time.

Also take this as a reminder to always wear your seat belt! I don't know if it would have saved Serena or not, but it always feels like an even bigger tragedy when the person killed is not wearing one.

Congratulations Natalie~~

She passed the CRCT with flying colors in all subject areas!!!

:)

I know 7th grade isn't one of "those" years, where she has to pass, in order to be promoted. But it sure does feel like she is on the right track for next year. :)

Twiggs County Relay for Life prior to the walk

Friday afternoon as we left school to get ready for the Relay For Life, the skies looked like this:

We had lighting, hail and high winds for a good hour after school.
Then just as the kids and I got to the High School track, the sun began to make its appearance again: I found Kennedy's luminara bag, a bit damp.

But they replaced them all by the time the ceremony started (of course with DJ in tow, I had a hard time finding it when it was lit!)

The girls (Natalie and Ashley) were worried that we wouldn't get to walk:


DJ, Ryan and Ryan's little sister decided to get in a quick train ride before the rain came back, just in case!

The team forged ahead with decorating the campsite.

From Drop Box

The sun started shining a bit brighter and DJ was mad excited.

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So he had to go down the giant bouncy slide.

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And ride in the train again with Ryan, and again, and again, and again! ;)

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The team waited patiently for the start of the walk.

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Got busy cooking and selling food and drinks

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And then we got to WALK!

More pictures to come tomorrow!

Sticky post~Donate to my relay for life walk please!

This post is going to stay as a sticky post until our Relay on May 15th and 16th. Please consider helping me reach my goal, and helping fight this horrible disease. Thank you so much!span>

This year, hundreds of thousands of people will hear the words "You have cancer", and there's a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love. We have all been touched by cancer in some way ... and we all have the power to make a difference. That's why I have chosen to fight back right here in my own community by participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®.

I am walking in honor of my Aunts, Grandparents, Trish and Kennedy. I am walking in memory of my Uncle Bobby, Julian, Coleman, and many more.

I want to invite you to join me in the fight against cancer by making a donation in support of my efforts. Further down in this message is a link to my personal Relay For Life® web page where you can make an online contribution. You can make a one time gift or increase your impact by donating monthly. Every amount, no matter how small, makes a difference and provides hope.

Relay For Life® brings more than 3.5 million people from across the country together each year to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against a disease that takes too much.

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we will celebrate, remember, and fight back.

Click here to visit my personal donation page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09SA?px=2496022&pg=personal&fr_id=12732&fl=en_US&et=T_h1rk2osAN7byYmyQkqVw..&s_tafId=244403

Click here to view the team page for JES Tropical Heroes
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09SA?team_id=461523&pg=team&fr_id=12732&fl=en_US&et=ssgGtJ3HXh4ouCcx0Do5pw..&s_tafId=244403

Help me decide! I Heart Faces!~WEEK 19 - May 18th - Blurb Book Photo Contest

I need help deciding which picture to enter into this week's contest! The deal is you are to enter your best/favorite up close shot.
So here are the ones that I have narrowed it down to:

1. Kelsey at prom!

From Online Edits

2. Kelsey sweet 16

From Online Edits

3. DJ Green Eyes

From Online Edits

4. DJ Flower

From Online Edits

5. DJ at Matt and Angela's wedding

From Our life as an Air Force Family

I have to decide no later than Monday May 18th! So leave me a comment and tell me which one I should choose!!

Price of Children

Relay for Life was WONDERFUL!!! Our school team (JES TROPICAL HEROS) raised over $7,000 blowing our goal out of the water! The County as a whole raised over $34,000 which is $10,000 over their goal! I will post more about it all later, along with lots of pictures!   For now enjoy this from my mom!       The Price of Children This is just too good not to pass on to all. Here is something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen thebreakdown  of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice. The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuitio n! . But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into: * $8,896.66 a year, * $741.38 a month, * $171.08 a week. * A mere $24.24 a day! * Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is: don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140.00? * Naming rights. First, middle, and last! * Glimpses of God every day. * Giggles under the covers every night. * More love than your heart can hold. * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies. * A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate. * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites. * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day. For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus. You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies, and * wish on stars. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodlewreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day. For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for: * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, * taking the training wheels off a bike, * removing a splinter, * filling a wading pool, * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and * coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless. You get a front row seat in history to witness the:          * First step,          * First word,          * First bra,          * First date,          * First time behind the wheel. You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great-grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!! Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!! It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!   Hotmail® has ever-growing storage! Don't worry about storage limits. Check it out. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.325 / Virus Database: 270.12.26/2110 - Release Date: 05/12/09 06:22:00 Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out. Hotmail® has a new way to see what's up with your friends. Check it out.