Little Kids and the Lion King!

Tuesday, April 22nd.  Deanna, Jake and Johnny have been in Branson, MO conducting their annual Jubilee conference for that area and I was able to keep two of the four sweetest little children in the world!  Katie and Carson are just incredible little people.  You would not believe how well trained they are.  They set their own alarm for school, get themselves dressed and completely ready for school then come downstairs and wake me up!  Then, they prepare their cereal and sit and talk with each other and then head for school.  With no complaining or bickering about not wanting to go to school...even after a very late night like last night when we went to see the Lion King!  It was a wonderful show and the kids really, really liked it but just could not stay awake for the ride home! Next week is another Jubilee conference, this one in Myrtle Beach, SC, and this time the kids and I will go!  I'll get to see my brother, sister-in-law and little nephews and nieces and I am really looking forward to that.

Celebrations and Dedications!

Sunday, April 20th....Finally!  The Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers finally have classrooms!  Not only do they have classrooms, but each of them have a  state of the art large meeting room complete with stage, lights and sound.  Plus, a cafe on each side!  The Big House was renamed the Warehouse and is clearly marked on one side for the Middle School and the other side the High School.  Those kids are pumped!  We had the grand opening and dedication of the new building on Sunday night and served hot dogs and hamburgers while people toured the new facility and the kids had rides, moonwalks and so much fun!  The fellowship time was great and the weather was wonderful.  If you haven't seen it...you MUST!

Sunday, April 20th...Happy 2nd Anniversary Vinings Lake Baptist Church.  Pete and Hollie celebrated their 2nd anniversary at Vinings Lake this past Sunday.  It was a great day of celebrating the past and being challenged for the future.  I had a little 'surprise' greeting for Pete right as he approached the platform for his message.  (These preachers are never going to trust me in their services again!).....

Hope got her haircut!  It is soooo cute!  I was happy to get to have Sunday lunch with them after church.  

Busy, Busy Saturday

Saturday, April 19th .... 7:30pm...The First Race at Dixie since the death of our wonderful friend, Mike Swims.  It was a very sad night for me and for many others.  Debra stood there with the radio just waiting for Mike to call her for something....anything!  But, of course, it didn't happen.  Another emotional time was when it was announced that Chase, Mike and Debra's son, was driving the Pace Truck.  Mike ALWAYS drove the Pace Truck.  Things will never be quite the same at Dixie without Mike and dirt track racing in general is missing him now.  Johnny will be having a special time of remembrance at the official Season Opener at Dixie on Sat. May 3.  We are praying for an "Unclouded Day"!

Saturday, April 19....Lindsey's First Bridal Shower!  My niece, Lindsey and her Mother-in-law-to-be????  Isn't that scary? I still can't believe she is going to be Mrs. Taylor Dorner!  Lisa's friends gave Lindsey her first shower and lots of Lisa's friends were able to go and meet Lindsey for the first time.  I am sure she made a great impression!  Hollie, Addie, Deanna, Katie and I were honored to be invited to represent the Fam!  Deanna had to hurry and get to Carson's race and I needed to make an appearance at the Creekside Bank dedication.  It was a very nice shower and of course, Lindsey loved getting gifts!....pink kitchen utensils that she will probably not need!

Saturday, April 19....A Day of Dedications....9:30  Jivan Wellness Center in Johns Creek...Wow!  Was that star studded or what??  If it wasn't enough for the famous Johnny Hunt to attend the dedication service, but also present was our sweet friend and Governor of the great state of Georgia..Sonny Perdue, PLUS...John Smoltz, pitcher for the Braves...and another local celebrity that I was excited to meet for the first time...JEFF FOXWORTHY!  He really is a very nice guy...but then, aren't most of us Rednecks?  And besides, he is smarter than a fifth-grader and all fifth-graders know to be nice and polite.  Jivan Wellness is a great place to go for a massage, facial, etc. and try out their 'Indian oils' which help heal a tired, sore body.  

The day continued with the 11:30 official grand opening and dedication of the Creekside Bank in Woodstock that Johnny is affliated with.  That one was attended only by Johnny since I needed to go to Lindsey's bridal shower!  If you haven't visited the new bank, you really should. The people there are extremely friendly and the bank is just beautiful!  A very pleasant and personable place to do banking.

April Family Night

Friday, April 18....our monthly family night was a blast as usual!  This month it was Deanna and Jake's turn to choose the activities and they picked the 755 Club for dinner and then the Braves game.  It was a beautiful night for being outdoors and a perfect time of enjoyment with the family!  I get to choose the next time and place for family night....does anyone have any suggestions for the Hunt, Carswell, Hixson clan?

Hopie at Cagle's Dairy Farm

Wednesday I was honored to meet Hope at the Cagle's Dairy Farm for her Kindergarten class field trip!  She had so much fun and I enjoyed even more being able to be with her for the morning.  She is such a sweet child and enjoys doing EVERYTHING!  I think she likes me!

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Tuesday, April 15

Johnny had the privilege of speaking at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, the school where he received  his degree, as he spoke at the commissioning service for the students that will be going to serve the Lord on the mission field for the next 2+ years.  Danny Akin, president of the seminary, pictured with Johnny, invited us to stay with him and sweet Mrs. Charlotte in the seminary mansion.  In their home is a bedroom and bath that was dedicated to Janet Hunt in honor of the grandchildren.  You will notice on the wall is a copy of my testimony and a picture of me and the grandchildren.  

Mega Metro Conference in Orlando, FL

Emeril's was fabulous!

Our Annual Mega Metro Conference for Senior Pastors and Wives was held this year in Orlando, Florida and the Florida pastors and their wives who hosted it along with Diane and Jay Strack did a fabulous job and we enjoyed it sooo much.  As you can see by some of the pictures I have posted that we stayed very busy and had no time for rest!  I'll try to give you an idea of some of the highlights of the three short days.  Immediately after arriving in Orlando, we dashed to see the Blue Man Group show.  It was so very entertaining.  Afterwards we dined at Emeril's and that was a true treat.  The food was definitely of the quality and taste that we had expected.  Our Monday evening dinner was highlighted by the presence and message of Pat Williams who is the Senior VP of the Orlando Magic.  He is a great presenter and motivator.  The Tuesday evening dinner was certainly memorable as we heard and met Al Weiss, pictured here on the platform and afterwards with Johnny and me at the great dessert reception and fireworks at the Eau du France in EPCOT.  Mr. Weiss is the President of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.  The amazing thing about him is that he has a burning passion for planting churches in Mega cities. One we certainly share with him so he and Johnny were quite a pair together!  Sea World was the site of one of our meeting sessions and the best mall in Florida was the setting for one of the ladies sessions....isn't that too bad!   We ended our time in Orlando with another treat of being able to go see the LANouBA Cirque Du Soleil.  I highly recommend going to see that show.  It was very unusual and worth every moment you spend being there.   Great job Diane Strack, Ginny Whitten and Rachel Uth and spouses.  You did good!

                            

                                               The gals having lunch after the conference is over and Diane still can't quit working!

Sunday, April 6, 2008/AM Service

If you were not there to witness it for yourself,  you MUST go to the FBCW.org website and look at my 'setting the story straight' interruption right in the middle of Johnny's sermon! You have to see the look of fear on his face.   Now I have him right where I want him....never knowing what to expect from me!  

Don't give up on me, yet!!

It's difficult to put cool pictures on the blog without a cool camera of which I do NOT have. This cute camera I have doesn't take good pictures at all! Sometimes you can't even see the pictures! But, no more excuses because I am buying a good camera this week as not to become the "don't look at her blog because she never updates it" person!

OR - I could use the excuse....I have not fully recovered yet from the big wreck!

OR - I could use the excuse....I have not fully recovered yet from the big Easter week...and it was big! Johnny and I spent a few days in the Riveria....red neck Riveria..PCB and went home in time to go to Jake and Deanna's first race of the season which was very exciting to see the new car run for the first time. (Can't wait until next weekend for the next one in Dillon, SC which will bring back sweet memories because it was in the Dillon Courthouse where Johnny and I were married and I have not been back to Dillon since 1970!) We got home around 1:30am on Sunday morning, Easter morning! Went to church....great service...then had all the family over for lunch including Eddie and Terrie and Cody and Katie. We had a good lunch and then had the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard. The older the children get the harder it is for the 'hiders' to find all the eggs they hid! It was a fun time.

We were going to return to the Riveria on Sunday afternoon, but our dear friend, Gary Stewart, went to be with the Lord on Good Friday so we had his funeral service on Monday morning. Monday afternoon we headed back to PCB and stayed until Friday. Again, another friend in heaven! This time our sweet friend, Jane Audia. Her funeral service was today, Saturday.

She had a very sweet service to say, "Goodnight, Jane. We'll see you in the morning!"

Tonight Hopie is spending the night with me and will go to church with me in the morning. We have had a lot of fun tonight. She is such a delightful child.

Here are a few pictures from Easter:

Expert Driving Skills Come in Handy!

Friday, March 14th: Yes, I know, women drivers have a bad reputation for not being able to drive, but honestly, this was NOT my fault! I was driving along, minding my own business, in my lane, not talking on the phone and driving below the speed limit when out of NO WHERE a car slammed into the side of me! I was not badly hurt, except for my feelings! The crazy person didn't even stop! He went across the median and took off in the opposite direction! I very impatiently waited for the police to arrive to fill out the police report but I could not even give him a description of the car or the tag number because it was soooo dark and there were no other cars around at the time to give light from their headlights. However, later I came to the conclusion that he was driving crazy enough to hit me and didn't stop because he was being chased by two police cars that came racing by me right after I pulled off the road. I first thought that they must have either seen what happened or was called by someone who saw it and they were just that close by, but they didn't even slow down when they got to me so they were not coming to my accident after all! I really believe they were chasing that person who hit me! Well, enough of the sob story! At least I will get some massages out of the whole ordeal! I am very sore! It may not look like much from the picture, but it was a very hard it. I am just glad that my expert driving skills helped me to maneuver the car back into control so that the car was not damaged any worse!

Saturday, March 15th :

Our dear friend, Greg Moss, had a birthday this week so we took him to dinner at Aspen's on Saturday night since the Winter Jam concert was cancelled, to our dismay! We were determined to have a great Saturday night with the concert or without it so we had one with Greg and Stephanie. They are great friends and we thank God for their friendship. Happy Birthday, Greg!

What a Fun Week!

Tuesday, March 11 am: Did you see Good Morning America on Monday morning? If so, you got to catch our sweet friend, Anita Renfroe on there with Diane Sawyer! Anita is now a regular contributor for that show! Anita is just the best....so funny and so sweet and so much fun to be with. Deanna and I had lunch with Anita and her cool, fun Mother, Kay, at the Tea Room then went for a bit of therapy...shopping in downtown Woodstock. We had a blast together. We better see Anita while we can because she is getting big....as in famous! Go for it...but please don't forget us..the common folks in Woodcock!! (see the article below about our visit to Washington, DC to understand Woodcock!)

Tuesday, March 11 pm: Schedules!! We all live by a calendar with very busy schedules but we do get to see our families quite a bit. However, getting all three families together at the same time for a family outing is not always easy. So, Hollie devised a plan where we each family gets to choose where we will go and what we will do one night each month. Hollie was first and she chose for us to go to Kani House and then bowling. It was a surprise that she chose bowling because she has to be the worse bowler there has ever been! She was really really bad! Even Addie had a higher score than Hollie! But, if she had been good, the evening would not have been nearly as much fun! We enjoyed laughing at her and making fun of her! She is a barrel of laughs anyway and was not offended by our comments of her total inability to knock down more than one pin at a time! I can't remember what her total score was, but it was in the range of 25!! It was a great family night. Deanna is next to chose the when, where and what and I can't wait to see what is next in store for the Hunt, Carswell, Hixson night out...stay tuned!

Sunday, March 9: Everyone kept saying, "I guess you are going to the race at AMS this week?" My answer had been, "No, the weather is always so unpredictable so I am waiting for someone to offer me some suite passes so I can be inside where the weather doesn't matter!" Of course, I was only kidding because how many people do we know who have suite tickets and will actually offer them to us?? Not many....I can't think of even one....BUT, someone in another state did call on Friday before the race on Sunday and offer us some suite tickets they were not going to be able to use! Do you think I would pass them up! Right!! So, they overnighted them, but to my dismay they arrived via the US Mail and someone had to be home to sign for them, which we were not, so they ended up back at the post office with a note left that said we could pick up the envelope after 9am on Monday morning....after the race!!! You think I was happy? Do you think I was extremely frustrated? But God is good...all the time! After many calls and many prayers, just by me I am sure, we managed to get to the right person...a very nice person....who spoke with another very nice person....who delivered the envelope to my home on Sunday morning! God is good... He must also like racing! Deanna and Jake already had tickets and had some friends going with them so after church on Sunday morning, we all headed for Hampton. Hollie was able to go with me and we had a great day at the races.

Saturday, March 8: Hollie and Pete went away for the night for a 'special surprise getaway' and I kept Hope for them and Addie stayed with her special aunt, Deanna. Johnny was away doing a men's conference so Hope and I had some special time together starting with going to the Alliance Theater to see Seussical the Musical. I tried to explain what a 'play' was, but must not have gotten the message through to her because she kept referring to the "sing-a-long" we were going to. We both really enjoyed the play. It was only an hour and 10 minutes long which was great for children of that age. We arrived about an hour before needing to be seated in the theater so we had a delightful lunch at a special restaurant in the Woodruff Arts Center.

Missing Dr. Falwell

This past Tuesday we flew to Lynchburg, Va. (on a King Air owned by Liberty University) for Johnny to attend the Liberty University Board of Trustees Meeting. For the first time, the wives of the trustees were invited to attend a brunch given by Becki Falwell, the wife of Jerry, Jr.. We had a delightful brunch and tour of the new Montview Mansion (formerly the Carter Glass Mansion). This is where Dr. Falwell's office was which is now roped off and left just as it was when he died. The house has been remodeled and will open soon for guests of Liberty University. Just outside the Montview Mansion is the eternal flame and burial spot of Dr. Falwell. It was my privilege to sit with Mrs. Falwell at the brunch and hear her entertaining stories of the past. She certainly truly misses Dr. Falwell and has experienced many 'firsts' this year....Dr. Falwell died on May 15 of 2007. She seems to be doing well and has a very close relationship with her sister who lives close by and takes great care of her. I know she is proud of her two sons, Jonathan and Jerry, Jr. who have picked up and carried on the legacy of a great father. We all miss him.

The trip home.....due to the stormy weather and the size of the plane we were traveling on (small) we decided to rent a car and drive home! The plane did make it safely into Atlanta, thank the Lord, and so did we....a few hours after the plane...but we made it without the fearfactor of the storms!

P.S. Of course, we were fortunate to have a delightful dinner with my niece, Lindsey and some other Liberty students from FBCW.