It's Official!

We finally heard back from the agent Thursday, and our offer on the house has been accepted! (They kept us waiting for nearly a month.) We went in that same night to sign the papers. The house will be built by the end of April. I'm very happy we have something definite nailed down...it will make the next few months easier.

Everyone was looking at me like "aren't you excited?" Thursday night, but I had a lot on my mind and was feeling sick, so the full impact of it hadn't struck me. But now it's starting to sink in, and honestly, it cannot come fast enough. SPACE closet space walking space breathing space dancing space!!

Us in a Carrington model that had already been built (this is the floorplan we're getting)


















Another shot of the Carrington front room. The door off to the right is a tiny parlor, perfect for a music room!

















Kitchen (though ours probably won't have the dark cabinets)

Winter pics

It's 70 degrees today and we've hardly gotten anything close to cold weather! I'm missing the cold so thought I'd post some pics from last winter's ice storm. Though it was destructive and we lost power for 5 days, it was also beautiful. I love the variety God puts into the seasons and the changes in nature.

Making music with the Michael O'Neal Singers

Just thought I'd post some pictures from our Christmas concert Dec. 4! I love singing with MOS, and I was even able to make it into the Chamber Singers! That has been challenging as well as fun. Michael is a highly qualified conductor who studied under Robert Shaw...he was also a noted soloist for many years. We have a 120-person choir of people of all ages from the Atlanta area. I love that Stephanie and I are in Chamber Singers together! We are going to be singing in Spoletto in Charleston in the spring. We'll begin working on Brahms' Liebeslieder, Op. 52, when choir starts back up again in January.

During rehearsal--me in the pink sweater














The church...it seats around 3,000 and has wonderful acoustics. When we stopped singing, the church rang for several moments afterward.

















Me n' Jeff after the concert!

















Stephanie and I.

















Jeff and Tim...our faithful supporters

Our possible future home...

This is the spot we're hoping to build a house on (if everything works out). Right now it doesn't look like much!
The community is nice...it's a "conservation community" which means they have to leave a certain percentage undeveloped and covered with trees. This lot is on a cul-de-sac and has some nice woods behind (just enough to cover the community behind us....in the summer it will be even more private).
The building company is a Christian organization and they have signs up saying they won't work on Sundays! They have won a couple of awards for best houses, so we're pretty confident they'd do a good job. If we sign the contract in the next couple of weeks, our house would be ready by April.

Chuck Goes Spearfishing

Chuck has updated his blog recently with pictures from his spearfishing expedition with his Islander buddies! They caught octopus and parrotfish. Chuck, are you sure you're not just on a paid cruise out there....? :D

Dayton wins the bronze medal!

If you haven't looked at Dayton's blog for a while, take a look at his latest entry and read about his martial arts competition! Congratulations...we're so proud of you, Dayton!!

more fall pics

It was a beautiful day and I got some good pictures right there in the yard...with my little PowerShot A95. The right lighting can do wonders. :)
I meant to take some pics of Jeff's and my trip yesterday to Stone Mtn, but the batteries were dead--that's what I get for not checking before we left! We had a great anniversary, hiking up to the top and then poking around in shops. There is a glassblowing place at Stone Mtn. where you can watch them work. After leaving the park we ambled around in a furniture warehouse (getting some ideas for our house). Then we went for a chat with the realtor at Chandler Bluff...and wound up having dinner at the Lil' River Grill. I had salmon, steamed asparagus, and goat cheese mashed potatoes. It was very good and a great romantic atmosphere. All in all it was a nice anniversary and I'm thankful that Jeff could get off work and we had such great weather! Thanks to Jeff's Turner rewards, we got a discount on Stone Mtn. and on dinner, so all in all it's probably the least expensive anniversary we've ever had...but also one of the most enjoyable. :) That's four years we've been together. I have learned a lot in those four years, and I am more thankful now for my sweet husband than when we were first married!

Hiking pics

I love fall...the colors, the cool air! My sis-in-law Stephanie and I decided to get out there in it even though we were busy. So glad we did! It cleared my head and gave me a new outlook for the week. These were taken at Stone Mtn, GA.

We were crazy nature girls and put leaves in our hair....

pics of Em & Jeff

Here are some recent pictures of me & Jeff. We never seem to get any together, but that doesn't mean we don't love each other!
















Mr. Fixit Man

Christmas???

Please, nobody shoot me for bringing this up so early, but do we want to draw names again this year? I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts, and I was wondering if we could nail something down.

I liked the drawing names thing, but it might be hard to get us all together. Maybe we could just do a "chart" for the next five years (yes, I'm being a nerd about this) and not have to think about it again.

What about something like this for this Christmas (using just the sibling names to make it simpler)

Dayton--gift for Will
William--gift for Laurance
Laurance--gift for Emily
Emily--gift for Charles
Charles--gift for Dayton (this last part kind of makes sense since he'll be over there for Christmas!)

Over the next few Christmases we could mix it up so everyone gets everyone one year. (So, Christmas '07: D/W, W/L, L/E, E/C, C/D. Christmas '08: D/L, W/E, L/C, E/D, C/W. Christmas '09: D/E, W/C, L/D, E/W, C/L. Christmas 2010: D/C, W/D, L/W, E/L, C/E.)

Just an idea. Of course, if someone is feeling especially giving :) they could give gifts to everyone. I don't want this to limit anyone's giving impulses--but realistically we all have many other people to buy for.
-Emily

Chuck Has a Blog!

Check out some great pictures on Chuck's new blog! Go to http://chkannon.blogspot.com/

I'll add his link to siblog soon.

Siblog

Siblog
GUAM UPDATE:
The Lord is good--so far, I've been staying healthy, and starting to
get more sleep.
School here is keeping me pretty busy, but i'm starting to get in the
swing of things and have some free time on weekends now :)
It's kinda weird living 5 minutes from the beach/reef--but cool
too. I was going to go snorkling/spearfishing this past Friday night
on a beach/reef about 1/2 hr. away with some guys from my church as
we have some extra time b/c of a school holiday this Monday (Columbus
Day), but there was a thunderstorm so the waves were too rough, so we
just camped out on the beach--some slept in a tent and got wet, but I
just slept in the van and stayed high and dry!
I think we're going to go again sometime when the weather is better-
-maybe a few weeks from now. :) It should be fun.

Em & Jeff in Atlanta

It's been awhile so I thought maybe it's time for an update! Jeff and I are doing great in Atlanta (well, Lawrenceville). Jeff has a challenging job and has been learning about web design at breakneck speed, but now is being switched over to design projects (like logos, banners, etc.). He's no longer working in Tim's department, and they're moving to a new building. Something's always going on at Turner. However, they certainly treat their employees well for their work. Every Friday they have catered breakfast, and during the summers they cater lunch as well. It's demanding, though. Jeff says he doesn't want to keep this pace up for the rest of his life, though he seems to be dealing with it okay.

I am enjoying teaching...7 guitar students (all beginners) and 8 piano. I am REALLY enjoying my guitar lessons. I'm at my third lesson and already have learned so much. (I didn't realize how much I've missed having someone to guide and push me in music.) I think I'm on the upswing now after last week's funk when I discovered I have been using the completely wrong right hand position for classical guitar. My teacher called it a "classic rat claw." So, suddenly I couldn't play anything decently anymore with the new position. I'm getting the hang of it now, though. Classical guitar is a very picky, difficult instrument!! I like my teacher very much...he's extremely disciplined and has got me planning out each practice session. He's also a cool guy who is easy to get along with, and though I don't think he's saved, is very nice. I'm also getting the info he learns from Georgia State straight off the presses (he's working on his masters in guitar). So that's all good! Laurance, I'd love to sit down and show you some of the stuff I'm learning some time!

I also made it into a chorus--the Michael O'Neil Singers, and just had one rehearsal last Monday. It's a choir of 125 people--big!--and I'm singing first alto. We are doing a "Holocaust Cantata" which is very sad of course but has some beautiful music. They have tryouts for a smaller chamber group within the choir this Monday. I'm going to give it a try at least.

What else...Jeff and I joined Berean Baptist last Sunday, and, though I've been comfortably under the radar until now, the principal of the school asked me to start playing the piano for specials and some choir songs. My wrists have really been bothering me, but are getting better now, so if you think of it I'd appreciate prayer there. I don't think it's carpal...just sore muscles from the unaccustomed guitar position. Last week it was bad enough to keep me awake, but thankfully it seems to be healing, with the help of a heating pad and wrist brace.

We're getting along fine with Tim and Stephanie, and have been doing some fun things together...Stephanie got a guitar and is taking from me, and we like singing (and doing errands) together. Jeff and Tim have a "blast" literally playing each other in video games...though I'm hoping that subsides soon!

Well, that's my stream-of-consciousness update for now :) I miss all of y'all and enjoy hearing how you're doing!! By next summer we'll actually have a house, and then can have some of you over! :)

bdays and anniversaries

Our family is getting so big, it's getting hard to keep track of bdays and anniversaries! I don't know if this will help anyone else, but I thought I'd post this in case anyone else needs the info. Let me know if I'm missing anything or need corrections.

February 12--Laurance's bday
February 14--Mom's bday

April 5--Dad Kannon's bday

June 10--Gma Dinkin's bday
June 30th--Ella's bday

July 25--Jeff's bday
July 31st--Chuck's bday

August 3--Laura's bday

Sept. 5--Grace's bday
Sept. 8--Isaiah's bday
Sept. 16--Mom & Dad's anniversary
Sept. 17--Dayton's bday
Sept. 21--Kimberly's bday
Sept. 24--Laurance and Kimberly's anniversary

Oct. 9--WIll's bday

Nov. 9--Jeff and Em's anniversary
Nov. 19--Erin's bday

Dec. 1--Emily's bday
Dec. 18--Dayton and Erin's anniversary
Dec. 24th--Will and Laura's anniversary

Isaiah is ALIVE

Thursday night at around 8:30pm Isaiah drowned in the bathtub. Grace put him facedown in the tub and sat on him. Dayton fell asleep on the bed while watching them. I heard a gurgle and something that just didn't sound right. Dayton found him, pulled Grace off, and we had to work on him for 3 minutes just to get him breathing. It took another 2 or 3 minutes to get him to open his eyes and more water out of his lungs. Once he was barely breathing, we ran out to the car and took him to the emergency room. After getting oxygen, he perked up. A chest x-ray shows some water in his lungs. The blood work shows elevated white blood cell count. The pediatrician (thankfully with good English) says this may be the beginning of pneumonia, which is common for near drownings. I stayed overnight with him in the hospital with him hooked up to an IV. He was doing so well that we were sent home Friday at 6pm. We still have to watch carefully for coughing and fever, a sign of pneumonia.

For the same story from a different point of view, go read Dayton's blog.

We are still in shock. Grace is spending the night at a friends house so we can catch up on sleep. Please pray for Isaiah that he won't develop a serious infection.

Erin

Another update from Guam

Thank you for all your prayers for me.
I'm going to try to get my passport soon and I'd like to come
visit Dayton and Erin this Christmas--now that I'm on this side of
the world now :)

I have about 30 students in each of my 5 classes, so 150 total.
I teach two 10th gr. Biology classes, one 8th grade earth science
class, and one 9th grade and one 11th grade computer class. Most of
the students I have(natives--Chomoro, and those from Korea, Japan,
and the Phillipines) are serious, studious, and well-behaved.

For my computer class I have no textbook or curriculum, so any
spare time I have, I'm spending on that. The Biology and earth
science both have books, so it's easier to make lesson plans for
them. With the computer class, I have show them how to do things and
try to think of projects for them to do.

On Friday or Saturday, I usually go out to eat with a group of
teachers--this past Friday we went to the Top of the Mar, a
restaurant on the top of a hill, which has a nice view of part of the
island.

One of the teachers loaned me his car so I could go to K-Mart and
PayLess grocery store and I saw several teachers and members from our
church:)--it's a small island!

As far as Jet lag, I slept 4 hours, was awake for 4 hours, slept 4
more hours and repeated this for 2 days, and by the 3rd day, I was
sleeping from 11 pm until 5AM, and by the 5th day, 10PM to 7AM, which
is regular for me.

Ginger was suprized by the suddeness of my move, but is okay with
it. We went out to eat with a group of teachers, but we haven't had
much time to talk, as I'm so busy with school duties and lesson
plans. Hopefully later:)

Thank you for your prayers,
Charles

Chuck in Guam

Chuck's update from 8/18/06:

Sorry for no pictures yet. I've been extremely busy making lesson
plans and going to teacher meetings and training, teaching and
grading papers. The first week now done, I have a little time to
breathe...
Guam is different. There's a lot of asians and Fillipinos here.
Guam does have a K-Mart, although prices are sometimes twice as high,
they have basically everything a K-Mart in the states would have.
It's part of the Micronesian islands--only 30 miles long and 10 miles
wide, with 150,000 people. It's 1500 miles from the Phillipines, and
if you go another 1500 miles in that same direction, you'll get to
Thailand. It stays about 72-88 degrees year round. There's only 2
seasons here: rainy season and dry season. It's the rainy season
right now, so it rains every day. In the dry season, it rains about
every 3 or 4 days(still kind of 'wet' !)

I'm teaching at a Christian school of 1,000 students, but the
majority of island is Catholic. I'm teaching 10th gr.High school
Biology, 8th earth science and 9th & 11th intro to computers. It's a
3 year teaching contract, but I can come home during the summers.

Right now, I'm living in one of the many apartments owned by the
school--faculty housing--with another teacher for a roomate, with
separate bedrooms and share a bathroom, den and kitchen. It's pretty
nice--rent is about $300 a month for each of us.
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless,
Charles

Chuck's Update

Dear family and friends,

All summer, I was planning on coming back to BJ and get the teaching biology degree to get certified in teaching high school.

Well, just 3 weeks ago I found out that I can’t get another B.S. from BJU, but since I got a B.S. in Biology and already have been certified in Elementary Education, I can just add on an additional area of certification without any further course work, but just take the Praxis II test in Biology, and I’ll be certified to teach Biology.

I agonized over what I should do next--I desperately wanted to do God's will, but didn’t know what His will was. It’s times like these that perhaps I need to think on how I can bring God glory and focus more on being the man God wants me to BE rather than focusing on what He wants me to DO.

I also found out that Pensacola (PCC) in Florida has a state certified masters in teaching science—a field I feel I need more experience and preparation in before I begin teaching. However, the courses are offered only during the summer sessions, and not Fall and Spring.

So, school doors were kind of closing, and I didn’t know what to do next. My brother suggested I email the principal in Guam that I met last summer, and who offered me a science teaching position, to see if he still had an opening. I put it off a few weeks and then reluctantly--because I was scared he might actually have an opening--I contacted that principal in Guam (where Ginger is) and he said he still needed a Biology teacher! Well, I prayed about it, and the pieces just seemed to fit together and a door open wide, so I told the Lord: Lord, if you want me to do this, please let me know. Numerous family members and people at my church told me I ought to go for it. I was praying "Lord, I think this is your will, and I'm going for it, and if this isn't your will, please stop me." I still wasn't sure, but I told the principal a few days later that I was interested and he was overjoyed because he was praying that someone would come, and I had been on his mind for teaching a Biology class, because they were one teacher short.

All of this in combination, although there's still some fear and anxiety, has given me a peace about it.

So, to make a long story longer :) I sent in my application and resume today and he said he wanted to hire me and would send me the contract by email and arrange for me to fly to Guam this Sunday! Talk about sudden! But that's the way God works sometimes!

Thank you for your prayers, and I know I'll need some more as a new teacher in a new country! I'll be praying for y'a’ll as many of you are starting school again soon. I'’ll miss you guys. I thank God for the opportunity and time I had to get to know you. Keep in His Word and be faithful in doing whatever He has put before you. I pray that God will direct each of you to the place and ministry He has for you.

I plan to leave this Sunday (July 30th) at 6:30 AM and arrive in Guam 24 hours later. Please pray that I’ll have a safe trip and opportunity to be a witness while traveling. Also, please pray that God would use me to impact those around me in Guam for Christ. Amen!

My BJU address will expire soon, so my new email address is:
chkannon@netzero.net

Please let me know how things are going for you and if there's anything I can pray for.

God bless you all,
Charles

Chuck's News

Charles is leaving for Harvest Christian Academy in Guam this weekend. A lot of things came together to make it clear that he should go. He'll be teaching biology, Bible, and a couple of other JH classes. This is a huge step for Chuck, and he needs your prayers, but we're excited for him, too!

More old pics

Grandma, shopping in Columbia, dressed to the nines. Look at that hat and those gloves! This must have been shortly after she was married (married in '34, so maybe late '30s)











Grandpa, in his suit and bow tie. He looks very dapper! Not sure when this was taken--possibly before he was married.



Grandma as a young girl. She was so pretty. Her hair was dark brown and fairly straight when she was young.























Grandma in the middle, with two of her friends. The one on the left is Mary Vernon, who became a doctor. She died only a couple of years ago, and they stayed in contact all their lives. I'm not sure who the one on the right is. I like their dresses!








Grandpa and Grandma arm in arm. This must have been shortly after their marriage. A handsome couple. Grandma always said that "Willie wasn't a 'handsome' man but he had such a wonderful smile!"






















Grandma in profile, probably in her early '20s. She was married at 19.























Portrait of Grandpa as a young man. He has a very sensitive face. Note the "Dinkins ears" that we kids all have!





















Grandma with Uncle Will (on the truck) and Mom!

















A "music party." Grandpa loved music, and loved to play his fiddle. Grandma played the piano. They are standing together behind the two seated at the piano. Seated at the piano are Mr. Smith, Gpa's friend, who played the violin well. Next to him at the piano is Aunt Sis, and standing behind her was Uncle Doug, her husband. Aunt Sis married in her '40s. Grandpa brought his friend Uncle Doug home with him, and he and Aunt Sis got to know each other and eventually married. Uncle Doug was a civil engineer--he built the barns out behind our house. From what I've heard about him he was a very quiet, sweet man. I'm not sure who the other people in the picture are.

Old ancestral pics

I thought some of you would like to see these. I don't know if you can download them from the site...? Let me know if you want a high-quality copy and I'll email them.




Robert Brownfield Dinkins, Grandpa's father, who had a glass eye. Notice he's turned so it doesn't show. His wife, Mattie Doby Dinkins, who died young (Gpa was only 5). The little boy is Gpa's older brother who died very young of a fever. The baby is Gpa's older sister, Leila, "Sis." Grandpa was not born yet.

Robert Brownfield was the man who built our old house (that burned), with the help of a former slave, Simon.

Pics from the 4th

I didn't get many good pictures--though I got some cute videos--so please upload any pics from the 4th that you have!

Dayton and Erin come to Em and Jeff's

Here are some pics from July 8th...Dayton, Erin, Grace, Isaiah and Will spent the afternoon at our house. Dayton & Will kept Jeff entertained with stories of guns and explosions, and Erin and I talked about kids and pregnancy...how gender-stereotyped is that! :D It was so much fun seeing them. Grace enjoyed running around outside, eating grapes, and picking flowers. She called the blueberries "bad grapes."

4th of July

As soon as I can get them off Jeff's computer, I'll post a few pics of July 4th. We had a great time...it was very hot as usual...but we had all the food & family you could wish for. There were a lot more little kids running around this 4th. It seems like each year there are more! Of course, this 4th was special because Dayton and Erin were visiting from Thailand. Grace has grown so much--she's almost 3--and this was the first time we'd seen Isaiah. I enjoyed walking Grace around as she played in the "dirt" (the sand they put on the beach at Dinkins' Mill) and went on a canoe ride. She was scared of the doggies and kept telling them "I am nice!" We also enjoyed little Isaiah...a very easygoing, "cool" dude. Jeff took a nap in the room with him and found out Isaiah likes to stand in his crib and talk to his pacifier! Ella was cute as always, even though she was a little tired from having her schedule disrupted. Even when she's upset, she's entertaining to watch...she can do so many mouth noises and funny expressions! The little guys all had fun splashing in the kiddy pool.

We had a good time catching up with relatives, playing the guitar and mandolin, hearing Chuck's version of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again," and of course sampling everyone's favorite dishes! Kimberly and I took a spin on the inner tube pulled behind the boat, and the guys went fishing...Laurance caught a huge bass.

Pictures coming soon. Please add your own too. (Check out Laura's blog for some 4th pics!)

Check out Laura's Blog...

...and some hilarious pictures of Ella! My personal favorite...Ella finds a new use for her head:

Jeff and Em's Update

Things are coming together for the Atlanta move! Jeff was hired by Turner two weeks ago, and he will be starting there June 26th. I'll stay here until I finish my teaching contract July 14th, and then go up in time to help with summer music camp at Berean. We have a buyer for our house already (if all goes through as planned). Jeff got the inspections done on the attic for both electrical and mechanical (air conditioning etc) and passed them both---yay!! So, now he just needs to put in the sheetrock and finish things up. His last day at BJ is this Friday (the 16th), then he'll have a week at home to work on the attic. I'm kind of sad that we won't be able to enjoy it, but it will increase the value of the house.

Tim and Stephanie (Jeff's bro and sis-in-law) have been kind enough to let us stay with them until we can sell our house and find a new place. It will be kind of strange "living out of a suitcase" for a while and putting everything in storage, but it's just temporary.

Jeff and I had fun last weekend over at Will & Laura's! Will and Jeff worked on their porch--Will got the roof all done, and is putting up the screen--and Laura and I planted flowers. We actually ended up recruiting Willie to dig the holes for us...the hole for the rosebush had to be really deep! Anyway, it was lots of fun having "girl time" with Laura and seeing how Ella has grown.

Here is a picture from my recent piano recital I had for my students! I only had 7 that played in it (I have more students with the studio in town). It was kind of a fiasco, because two of the kids forgot their books and we had to wait until their dad returned with them! Finally, we had waited so long that we went ahead and started. Their dad arrived JUST in the nick of time before the end of the recital. This was the first recital I had hosted personally, and I was a little nervous, but everyone was understanding and seemed to enjoy it. :)

Me and Stephanie's nephew, my student, at the recital:

Laurance and Kimberly's update

Hello, this is Laurance and Kimberly--we are keeping busy with youth group at victory Baptist and have seen 20 youth come to know Christ this year. I, Laurance, am a teacher's assistant with special needs kids at a public school--I want to start First Priority, a Bible Club at the school. I also want to do a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and have a chance to give the gospel to many youth.
I, Kimberly, am working with the girls in the youth group and helping them be accountable. As well, I am working as a teller at a local bank--it is lots of fun dealing with all the interesting country folks/aka rednecks that wander into the bank, some of them leaving a lasting impression (aka they don't smell so good:)
We are praying about the possibility of moving to Sumter. God bless, L&K

Charles' Graduation

Charles graduated with a B.A. in Science this weekend. Mom and Dad came up to see him walk, and we made a mini-reunion out of it. Mom and Dad spent the night here Friday night, and on Saturday they, Laurance & Kimberly, Chuck, and some of Laurance's friends got together for lunch at Texas Roadhouse. Mom and Dad had to leave Sat. afternoon, but the rest of us had lunch here on Sunday. Ella kept us amused with her newest cooing sounds. She also had an encounter with the cat that was fun to watch! She kept following him around on the floor, trying to get close enough to touch him. She was fascinated!
Charles is taking a piano class in first session summer school, so I gave him a brush up on note-reading so that he can (hopefully) pass out of the lowest class. I'm sure it will be nice for him to have an easier schedule after all his hard classes last semester.
We had fun catching up with each other and cutting up...as you can see from these pictures!

Erin's Update

Emily, That's a great test! Here's my result:
Independent Analyst


My favorite question on the test: I would never travel to a foreign country that doesn't have indoor plumbing. Agree or disagree. Made me laugh. Well we happen to have indoor plumbing, but on our vacation....wow. Even Grace has mastered the outdoor "squatty potty."

We're solidifying our plans for visiting this summer. We think our tickets are for departing here June 12 and coming back July 26. I'll be in touch for planning when to see you all! Oh... and Dad Kannon says we can stay in the fiddle house????? Um, no thanks.

Here's a recent picture of Isaiah... with his new haircut!