All this is true testimony to what He’s about.
Springtime is upon us. It’s always a welcome sight to see God’s creation come into bloom and color. Life. Springtime is a living, vivid illustration to God’s business. Look outside and you’ll see times of refreshing, fresh starts, second chances—creation coming to life again. All this is true testimony to what He’s about.
Along with all that, it’s the time of year at Shiloh where gardens are worked up and planted, strawberries are growing, grass is mowed, the sun lingers, and everybody is outside. Kids enjoy playing basketball, riding bikes and scooters, fishing, and just hanging out. It’s a great time of the year!! School is out!! Obviously, the kids are enjoying that.
It was a good school year for our house. All the kids did well with the homework and with their grades. And those in our house involved in extracurricular activities did very well juggling school and sports. Throughout the year kiddos in our house were involved in football, cheerleading, cross country, softball, basketball, archery, band, and track. Busy year for sure!!
Brooklynn and Bella are our two that will be seniors in the upcoming school year at South Shelby. Bella just finished up track. She threw the javelin. This was the first time she went out for track. She did well, although you’d never hear that from her. She will be working at nearby camp Jo-Ota during the summer as a lifeguard. She’ll also have softball camps and practices periodically throughout the summer. Brooklynn will be working at Prenger Foods, a grocery store in Macon, during the summer. She will also have cheerleading camps and practices throughout the summer. Both are seeing the next chapter of life beyond high school coming into the clear. Prayers as they transition to this new chapter.
Ethan will be a junior at South Shelby. He is looking forward to playing football again and all that comes along with that. He will have practices and camps this summer to keep his football joy complete. Here in a month, he will be eligible to get his driver’s license. He’s excited about that!
Samentha will be sophomore at South Shelby. She is the track star of the house. Her love of running is mystery to me but that’s ok, we will cheer her on wholeheartedly from the sideline. Her track season was amazing!! She qualified for state as freshmen and competed hard. She ended up getting Third in Class 2 in the open 800M, while breaking a long-standing school record for that event. (It had stood since 1980!) Her 4X400M team took Second in Class 2, and her 4X800M team took Sixth. She came home from all that and took a day to relax, but then ran three miles the next day, presumably to celebrate her accomplishments, I guess. This Monday, summer cross country practice starts, and she couldn’t be more excited.
Kendall will be 7th grader upcoming. Kendall is our “no stop till he drops” kid. Outdoors is his kingdom. He loves to ride his bike, loves to ride rip sticks and scooters. He’s not really interested in sports, but we’ll see what happens. He attends Shiloh Christian School, our on-site school. He struggled some at the beginning, but improvements were seen as the year progressed. If it’s rainy, he goes to work on the Legos. He can build some very creative stuff.
Devin will be an 8th grader at South Shelby. He does very well at school. He played middle school football this last year and plans to play again as an 8th grader. I think he’s excited to play again, but he’s pretty much a one mood kid—mostly happy and not much emotion. He is a great kid, very responsible.
Larry and Julianna finished the year at Tri-County Christian School in Macon. Larry will be a 6th grader, Julianna, 5th. Both had some struggles with schoolwork and staying focused. Homework got to be a struggle when the weather turned nice towards the end. There are probably several reasons for this, but a big one is that they both keep a high priority on socializing. Both are incredibly extraverted and love all the attention you can give them.
Summer is closing in here at Shiloh. Soon work groups will be joining us, which means lots of work, fun, food, and playing. Misty and I just celebrated 10 years as houseparents back in February. Seems like yesterday we just got here. Pray for our house and pray for this vital ministry. Thank you all for thinking of us and being so generous.
In Christ, Todd and Misty