Our life took a turn in 2004. A BIG turn. The Lord 100% confirmed to Clark and me, after much prayer and fasting, that we were to move our family to Maryville, TN. It was one of the hardest things for us to do. However, knowing that we were in the perfect will of the Lord, made it doable. It was a HUGE change for Avery, even though he was only six years old. The hardest part for him was leaving his Nana and Papa Presson and favorite cousin Drew, as well as close church friends. He and his Papa were BIG golfing buddies! Nana was his CONSTANT source of entertainment. Whenever he was at her house, he and Riley had her undivided attention. She also took them for weekly trips to the Dollar Store and McDonalds! After the heartache of saying many goodbyes to our Jackson family, Lighthouse church family, and friends, we settled into a brand new city and church.
Avery quickly made new friends. My parents had retired here, so he got to spend time with them, which he loved! His new school was awesome, thought his new 1st grade teacher (Sis. Kirby) was absolutely the coolest, and talked often about the pretty girl he sat by in class (Savannah Coffey). However, six years later he still longs to make more trips to see his grandparents in Jackson, and says that one day he might attend college there. So, I know a part of him will always love his hometown. Roots go deep.
If you have been reading along on this 13 blog journey, you now know that Avery is very energetic. He went though a cart wheel phase. Everywhere we went he turned cartwheels. When I say everywhere, I really do mean everywhere. The aisles in the store, the parking lot, and even in the bathrooms at the restaurants. My main concern was all of the germs getting on his hands! It was a constant “discussion” among the two of us.
One of my main cartwheel memories happened at our new church. Our pastor would ask us to walk to the front of the church to put our offering in the plate. You guessed it, Avery cart- wheeled up the aisle one service on his way to give his offering. Although it was great entertainment for those around us, I failed to find the humor in it! So, off to ladies room we went for much more than a “discussion!” Thankfully, the cartwheel phase soon came to an end.
Soon afterwards, our offering “plates” were changed to offering bags. They are velvet bags with a ring around the top. Avery was a bit fascinated by the new offering bags and one service decided to see if his head would fit in the opening of the bag. In case you are wondering, his head did fit into the bag (and thankfully back out again!). Again, I failed to see the humor, although the usher enjoyed it tremendously. Needless to say, off to the ladies room we went, again!
Life has taken a lot of turns since 2004 when Avery left his “hometown” and I’m sure it will take many more. As a mother of a teenager, I am constantly praying that as he begins to make his own choices and decides for himself which of those turns to make, he will always make the turns that lead him closer to the Lord.
This was taken 2 months after our move. Avery, 7 - Riley, 4 - Landry 2 months. It is one of my fav of my 3 little guys!
I love this!! - Brenda
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