Christmas Fun!!

We had a blast creating Ginger Bread houses again this Christmas. Last year was our first ever event with our kids. This year it was even more fun as you can tell in the pictures. Julie bought every imaginable candy to decorate with. I guess in all it took about two hours to complete them because everyone was so creative in decorating. These are memories that last for ever.

TJ Turns Seven!!

Happy birthday to our one and only little man...TJ! TJ turned seven years old on November 20th. We thank the Lord for blessing our family with such a precious little guy!

TJ The Woodworker

TJ recently helped me sand and prep our front door for painting. He has become quite proficient with the palm sander. What a helper he is and always willing.

Pa Pa DD's Birthday!!

On October 5th we celebrated dad's birthday, He is better known as "Pa Pa DD by TJ and Ellie. He is very special to them as you can see in the pictures. Happy Birthday!!

Katie Turns Twenty

On September 10th we all celebrated Katie's 20th birthday! What a treasure she has been to all of us these past twenty years. She is a sweetheart to all of us!!! We love you Katie!!!

At the Zoo!!

Recently, we took TJ and Ellie to the NC Zoo and I am not talking about the one at our home!! We left on a Sunday night and stayed in a hotel in Asheboro. This was TJ and Ellie's first stay in a hotel and they certainly were excited. I learned a valuable lesson from them that it is not always the big and better that often generate the most excitement but the small things in life like a simple one night stay in a hotel with mom and dad. A lesson learned! We spent the following day at the zoo and TJ and Ellie had a blast to say the least. It was a mild 75 degree day so all the large animals were out and about and quite visible. A good day for pictures too!

Jennie Graduates From College!!

Congratulations to our daughter Jennie Dickens Harrell. She graduated today from Southeastern College at Wake Forest. She has worked so very hard to get to this point and we are so proud of her. We Love You Jennie! (Click on picture for a larger view)

Snake Handling!!

TJ found and captured this beauty of a snake recently. We both observed one of our cats (Rosebud) hovering over something in the side yard and as we approached we realized it was a snake. We have found very few snakes in our yard over the years but on occasion we see one slithering around. As you can see TJ wanted to keep this one to observe it for a while. As best we can tell it is a Kingsnake.

At the Museum!

Today, we spent the afternoon at the NC Life and Science Museum in Raleigh. I must say the museum has been updated quite a bit since I was there last. They have done a very nice job with the updates...even improving upon the hoax and myth of how we all came from an original "big bang" and evolved from something that looked like and un-cooked egg (don't blame me I did not draw the picture.) Anyway, if their was a "big bang" God made it happen!! I also noticed their is no alternative to the "false" theory of Evolution as that would cause you to ask to many questions and make you "think" which would do us all a lot of good instead of accepting a false theory just because it is taught and "they must know." Give me a break!

I have also included a picture of the same Dinosaur we recently saw walking down Hwy 401 just south of Raleigh about two months ago. He evolved too except from a much larger un-cooked egg! I am glad they finally caught that thing!!!

Anyway, we did enjoy our visit...especially TJ and Ellie! They are a joy to be with!!!

Lawn Mower Man!

Today is a great day at the Dickens. TJ has accomplished a milestone in that he drove the lawn mower by himself for the first time. As you can see in the pictures he is behind the wheel with Ellie behind him! And yes, the lawn mower is moving. I see this from a different set of eyes however. I picture TJ happily mowing the grass so I do not have to. What a day of rejoicing that will be!!

Celebrating 25 Years!

It is hard to believe that twenty five years ago I married the precious lady standing beside me in the picture. The truly amazing thing is Julie has continued to stand beside me after all these years. I married much, much better than I am deserving of! The picture was taken on our anniversary which was March 14th. We had just returned home from having dinner together at the Angus Barn in Raleigh.

Visit From A Friend

This past Sunday we were treated to a visit from our long time family friend Lynn Fields also known as LA LA to the Dickens family. Lynn has been such a part of our family for so long that when she comes to visit it is like a family member dropping in. Lynn and her husband Eldon live in Spring Hill, Tennessee and as you can see in the pictures have a precious daughter named MacKenzie. Is she a doll or what? Lynn and her dear family are a perfect example of God's faithfulness in answering prayer. Lynn prayed for a wonderful husband and baby for so long and God was so gracious to answer her prayers.

Shootin Hoops!

A few weeks ago TJ began playing Upward Basketball at a local church in the area. It has been a blast for all of us. He plays every Saturday morning at around 8 am. He practices with the rest of his team for about fifteen minutes and then they have a real game. He tries so hard but has a difficult time shooting the ball hard enough for it to reach the goal each time. He is getting better however. We recently purchased him an ajustable basketball goal, and as he has practiced he has gotten stronger and made several baskets on his own. His dribbling has gotten much better too! I am not sure but I think he is being scouted by some local college teams!

Big Helpers!

TJ and Ellie recently joined me in the office at church. Many times when Julie is in a class or teaching at church, she will drop by the office in order for me to see TJ and Ellie before she goes home. It is always a bright spot in my day. They usually rush in the office with big hugs and kisses. What more could a dad ask for!

New Years With The Frinks

Today we spent the afternoon with some our very closest friends, Jim and Dawn Frink. They have been very close to me and Julie for many, many years and we always enjoy our time with them. It has been a tradition over the last several years to spend time with them either at their house or ours on News Years Day. Today, Dawn served up a great lunch for our family and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with dear people who are actually more like family than friends. Pictured are Lewis Frink (hands on TJ's shoulders) and Jill Frink (pink shirt.)
Pictured above is Julie and her dear friend Dawn and me and Jim.