Twenty-One and Full of Fun

Dearest Leila,

Well, officially you have now been a part of our family for half of your life. Can you believe it? That 43 pound 10.5 year old we brought home has now become a beautiful young lady with dreams, a strong faith, and a community of people who love and support her. Wow! Look what the Lord has done. Look at how all of your hard work and persistence has paid off. Your time in the orphanage made you a survivor - scrappy, some might say! if you don't know how to do something, you're not afraid to ask - you're a great advocate for yourself. 

You are in your senior year and enjoying all the special moments that come with that - celebrating the last first day of school, senior sunrise and all the prep that comes with graduation. You are in your second year of culinary school at the Hanover Trade School, and you regularly bring home delicious baked goods and other food you've made. You're helping me by cooking a meal when I have a busy work day/evening. Of course, your go-to meal includes rice, which is still your favorite thing to eat. 

Your focus this past 3-4 months has been securing a job, so that you can gain some work experience and some much-needed cash for all the fun things you want to be doing as a young adult. Today you have an interview with American Family Fitness, and we're hoping that will turn into an opportunity!

You love to serve at church with the little ones and the kids. You're a part of the worship team in our kids services, and you sing with the worship team for youth group. You are a true worshipper and seeing your love for Jesus fills my heart. You are devoted to reading the Bible and prayer, and every year I see your relationship with Jesus grow. I'm so thankful. 

While your timeline has been different than we all thought it might be, I know with your hard work and the Lord leading you, you will get to reach your dreams of becoming a missionary and living with purpose. We are excited to see how it unfolds, and we'll be cheering you on every step of the way. 

Love you,

Momma

Happy 14th Birthday, Frazier!

Dear Frazier,

You are becoming an incredible young man. When I look back on these pictures from the last year, I am reminded of your love for people and for God's creation. You are such a likable person, ready to help, ready to serve and happy to be socializing and talking with others, both old and young. Any opportunity to ride your bike, get on a boat, shoot targets and explore is welcomed by you. 

Your go-to friends Liam, Jack and Isaac are your favorite pals to do all these things with and there's no shortage of laughter, mischief and noise when you're all together. Your buddy, Trey, is a close second and one whom you've enjoyed going to the driving range with, cheering on your school at sporting events, and shoveling snow with to earn some extra cash. You've surrounded yourself with good young men and we're so thankful - show me your friends, and I'll show you your future. 

School is still not your favorite, but you continue to do well with your grades and own your work. You love serving as the male representative for your grade within student government and take great pride in coming up with new ideas, representing your class, and participating in all the things. 

As you've grown both physically and in maturity, you've become such a help to your dad with things around the house and the land. You're a quick study, and I can't wait to see what you will do with all you know. Your dad has been very intentional this year to talk with you about becoming a man, what it looks like to live with integrity, and how to be a godly man in a culture that doesn't support that well.

Out of all your siblings, you are my saver and the one your sisters come to if they need to borrow money. You are thoughtful about your purchases and plan ahead. This year you're learning how to operate the cameras and the switchboard at church while also still helping in MCCKids occasionally - you're in an in-between season of trying to figure out where you should land at church, and you're making the shift to owning your relationship with Jesus as your own, and not something we just talk about as a family. 

Saying goodbye to Carla (our 16 year old beagle) was really hard on you this year. You love our animals fiercely, and Amos knows you are the one to come to for extra love. 

We are so proud of you, and we love being your parents. Keep growing, keep seeking and keep pursuing all that God has for you while maintaining your humble, loving self. We love you so much,

Momma

The Last 6 Months in Pictures

The blog has sadly been neglected in 2025 but not for lack of stories, celebrations, memorable moments and the joys found in the mundane. Here are some highlights!

Tent camping at Hatteras in the Spring made for a fun, chilly weekend that everyone enjoyed more than they expected. 

Love doing life with this guy.

Heading over to Ocracoke on the ferry. 

Benaiah was invited to be a part of the groundbreaking ceremony for his elementary school, Battlefield Park, this spring.

Andrea and I had the opportunity to co-emcee Bloom, a women's conference featuring Kelly Minter. 

We even tap danced (or pretended to). 

I look forward to my annual weekend with these 2 lifelong friends from UVA, Faith and Ashleigh.

Five of the six of the Lawrences trekked up to New York over Spring Break for a mission trip. We had such a grand time with these amazing students. 

Brooklyn Bridge!

Our girls enjoyed attending prom with some friends from youth group at their school. 

He is Risen! What a special Easter with over 3000 people attending our services to worship Jesus and remember his death and resurrection.

Hosting a late Easter lunch for family and friends has become a favorite tradition. 

Powderpuff game for Leila. 

She loved this moment!

Grace Christian School prom for Mary-Michael.

The girls enjoyed themselves immensely.

More dancing and celebrating at the May Ball for TDT. I loved the mother/son dance.

Look at this handsome fella!

These 2 enjoyed the father/daughter dance.

In early May we finished leading our Freedom small group and ended with a powerful conference. What a blessing to walk through this with these couples. 

More dances! Leila was the beauty in pink for her prom. 

We are so thankful for these 3 friends who love her and love Jesus. They encourage one another in the best ways!

Beautiful!

Mother's Day 2025 with my favorite ladies!

So thankful for my momma and my girls.

And of course, I love my boys!

Tough guys. These 2 took us to Chattanooga for their very first half IRONMAN race. 

He did it!

This year, Geoff took Mary-Michael on her special trip, and they explored the island of Roatan in Honduras. 

So thankful for an intentional Daddy who loves his family fiercely. 

In early June, Benaiah and Geoff wrapped up a fun season of spring ball. 

Just in time for swim team! 

Happy Father's Day to this guy!

We loved celebrating this bride in 2025 (Abi Bell). 

Kings Dominon was a popular spot this summer for our family - especially our older 3 who have developed a special friend group through youth group. 

More swim team fun with Burkwood and these 2 besties, Liam and Frazier. 

We enjoyed some time on the Bay with Nonnie, her sister/my aunt, and our cousins. We look forward to this every year!

Blueberry picking with cousins. 

Sailboat adventures on the Bay (Frazier and Caleb). 

A double date lunch for my 42nd birthday. 

Another trip to the Bay in Mathews.

Brandi joined me to try out a Women's Alliance group - we worked out, prayed, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

In late summer, we finally were able to harvest some Restoration Woods honey. 

40 pounds of honey!

We love our missionaries. We love our friends. And we really love those who are both like the Huguets from France!

Cousin fun at Kings Dominion with Max and Eddie. 

For the 2nd year, Geoff and I lead the Royals Tribe for MCC YTH Tribal Wars. So fun!

So proud of this new member of the National Honor Society. 

More visits from dear friends who serve the Lord as missionaries. 

We love these kids who fall back into fun so fast after not seeing each other for over a year. 

The fall brought more celebrations with 2 weddings in a row!

Geoff co-officiated one of them!

Introducing Evan and Abi (Bell) Mabry!

Our children were so thankful for their TDT dancing lessons as they stayed on the dance floor all night!

Even this little guy couldn't stop dancing!

The wedding day and evening was one of our family highlights for 2025. We all enjoyed dressing up, dancing with each other, and celebrating a great couple. 

So happy to celebrate my favorite friend's birthday with a day of doing some of our favorite things together in Richmond.

The fall is also one of my busiest work seasons. We launched our largest Rooted cohort ever, which was super exciting.  

First day of 8th grade for Frazier.

First day of 10th grade for Mary-Michael.

First day of 2nd grade for Benaiah.

Senior year for Leila!

Our 4 amazing, not perfect, beautiful children. Please don't grow up so fast!

Class of 2026!