A day in the life of...Mark Williams

The Tailgate Party

We just finished up our churchwide tailgate party.  I'm exhausted.  The food was great.  The fellowship was great.  And most of all, the people were great.  Tailgating at church is a different experience, but it is soooo good.  On my menu for this tailgate party were:

• Bacon-wrapped deer tenderloin
• Deer Sausage 
• Deer summer sausage 
• Cajun chicken roll-ups (My wife's recipe!!) 
• Melanie's cheese dip 
• Grilled pineapple     

I got to tell ya though....I'm exhausted.  I think I may do more grazing at the next one.  I did enough grazing at this one to fill me up.  I "just graze" about once every 2 years.  The one in October will be that one for me.   

The blog is not dead

It sure seems like it right now though.  It's not that I don't have anything to post.  It's that I haven't had as much time.  So....here goes.

Last Thursday:  This was Micah's last day of school.  At approx. 2:15 p.m., I get a frantic call from the school saying Micah busted his head open.  Short story:  running backwards trying to catch a kickball.  Ran backwards onto the concrete, fell...split back of head.  No stitches required, although our Dr. friend said he could probably use one.  Not worth trip to ER though.  Said he'd be fine.  So....Micah ended the school year with a bang!!  Literally.

Last Friday:  Micah and I ventured out for a day together.  Our first stop was the USS Alabama battleship.  We both LOVED it!!  There were some Air Force special ops guys doing some training on there.  It was pretty cool to turn the corner on the ship and see these guys all around you.  I thanked them for their service.  We also checked out the Flight Pavilion, where we took a simulator ride.  Micah loved that too!!  We then checked out the submarine.  I could handle the battleship.  Staying on the submarine though....not so much.  It wasn't made for people 6ft tall. 

After the battleship outing, we headed over to eat at Backyard Burgers.  Then we went and saw the new Night at the Museum 2 movie.  It was GREAT!!

That night, I scored a ticket to graduation for GCHS.  It started almost an hour late b/c of a venue change due to weather.  It'll definitely be one to remember.  Kelsey had a speech that she did great on.  Two of our students from Agricola also prayed during the commencement.  Wow!!  It was a wet night though.

Last Saturday:  We ventured off for a few days to north Miss. to Melanie's parents.  We ate lots of barbeque, ribs, and fish. 

Last Sunday:  We worshipped at Melanie's grandmother's church, Sparta United Methodist Church in Holcomb, MS.  It was an experience. 

After that, we stayed in Starkville through Tuesday morning.  I came down with some horrible allergy junk that I'm still trying to shake.

I'm back in the office now.  VBS prep is in full force.  Less than 2 weeks away.  I can't wait. 

Last Day

    Today is the last day of school for both of my children.  Well...technically tomorrow is Micah's last day, but we're letting him skip.  We will go up to the school and pick up his report card at some point.  They have already done the party thing, and the teachers and students are ALL ready to be done.  After today, that means I'll be the parent of a 3rd grader.
    For Malaree, her end of Mom's Day Out program is today.  She'll be singing (and probably starring) "The Wheels On The Bus" for her class song.  She loves this song.  You see, Malaree wears pigtails most every day.  Two for those of you who may not know...ha!!  And she is adorable.  I am absolutely 100% super proud of both of our children.  They have a wonderful mom that does a great job with them!!  I can't begin to tell you how much joy they bring to our lives. 

Cool video

Picked this up off another blog.  Wanted to pass it along.

Speechless

I just don't have a lot to say right now.  I'll be back soon. 

Seniors and graduation

It's that time of year that seniors and graduations are at the forefront of what's happening.  After all, great accomplishments are coming to fruition.  Hours and hours of schooling, classes, papers, projects, and accomplishments all come down to ceremonies, goodbyes, leaving the old things, beginning new opportunities, new towns, new cities, new professors, and even new friends. 

I must say that this time of year is exciting, yet bittersweet.  It's not easy to say temporary goodbyes to people.  You get used to people "being around".  But you know, I couldn't be happier either for those making those steps in life.  The opportunity to move on to something new and fresh.  The activities and opportunities will be endless for those that choose to make the most of what God puts in their path.  With each decision that is made, a life-course will be determined and changed.  It's not that they don't have directions.  It's the fact that the highway can go in many directions.  I will say, however, that God gives us a path to walk down.  It is straight and narrow.  But it has so many adventures and endless possibilities.  What an amazing way to look at the future.

You don't have to be graduating to think about those endless possibilities that lie before even you and me.  It is up to us to take the road that God has given us to travel.  We have the opportunity every day to Seize The Day.  So...even though I am not graduating, I am choosing to make those decisions that will forever alter my future.  My prayer is that you will do the same. 

It's been a few days

It's been a few days since I posted last.  Honestly, it's just been a busy week.  I've had a meeting of some type every day.  I've traveled to both Mobile and Gulfport this week.  Not really something I love to do all the time, but it's ok.  It has been productive this week though.  Today, I've got some things I've got to finish up before Sunday.  We've got a S.S. workers' meeting.  It will be that "marathon" Sunday, with meetings starting at 8 A.M. and going through the evening.  I'd rather do it all in one day though. 

Statements I like to hear

I got this from another blog I read.  Statements I like to hear:

If you want to win my heart, start a sentence with the following words. You’ll have my full attention:

1. What if we …
2. No one has ever tried something like this …
3. Here’s something that will make us more effective …
4. blah, blah, blah, FREE, blah, blah
5. I had this idea …
6. It doesn’t seem possible, but …
7. I’ve been praying about this a ton …
8. I know this might sound crazy …
9. I think God might be leading us to …
10. I’d like to take you out to lunch …

A weekend in Philadelphia

It was a quick visit, but it was a GREAT one.  They Hardys (my mom's family) got together yesterday.  There were around 50 of us there.  We were low this year.  Usually, there is around 90-100 when it lands on Memorial Day weekend.  Needless to say, everyone had a great time sitting, talking, fishing, rocking babies, and spitting on crickets.  Below is a short video. 

Getting together with family

This weekend (today and tomorrow actually), we are headed to Philadelphia for a family get-together.  I'm not real big on the word "reunion".  I like "get-together".  Last year, we weren't able to make it...and I'm not sure about the year before.  We are really looking forward to seeing family we haven't seen in a long time.  Our kids are excited as well.  They will be super-dirty from playing and fishing.  It will be a great day.  And.....we get to celebrate Mothers this weekend.  I'm not sure about you, but I have a wonderful mother, and my wife is AMAZING at being a mom!!  My mother-in-law is pretty cool too!!