God's Great Mercy!

This weekend, we Cunninghams once more experienced God's great mercy towards us.

For a few months, our van had been giving us some trouble, with it worsening particularly in the last few weeks. We finally figured out that it was likely a transmission problem, but Mom and Dad decided to take it to the shop on Monday. On Saturday (the 10th, three days before our original shop plan), we decided to go to Ikea in Atlanta to get Seth's much-belated birthday present. Ikea is a neat furniture/ home store in northern Atlanta, and it generally has spartan styles. It also has little demonstrations of how you can fit an entire apartment into a space about as big as Seth's bedroom. We five had a good time looking around, trying out chairs and couches (with often humorous results) and picking up a few odd things, including a new dresser for Seth.

As we pulled out of the parking garage to go home, the transmission started acting up. Because of Atlanta's poor design, we had to take the long way to get to the highway, so we took Northside Drive. Northside Drive is a pretty, forested road, but it has a lot of hills; our poor van became very sluggish, going no more than 20- 30 mph. By now, we were all praying that we could just get to the highway, as the van would do much better on a straight, flatter surface. Finally, we got to I-75, but we pulled the van into a parking lot, as we didn't think we could make it home. Dad almost called someone to get us, but eventually he decided to try and get the van back to the house; if we left the van in the lot, then we would've had to pay a pretty penny to get it back to our county. Still praying, we got onto the highway. Traffic wasn't as bad, and we didn't run into any significant problems. When we got onto the road which our neighborhood is off of, the van started acting up again; but, God be praised, we got it safely onto our driveway. We were all frazzled after we got home, but we were all so thankful for God's mercy to us. Our van could have died in Northside Drive or on the highway, but it miraculously ran long enough to get us home.

Our van's been repaired now and is running just fine, but it's a testimony of God's goodness towards His people.

Nothing Much...

It's sort of hard to post when not much is going on around here. But I'll post a few things.

- Mom and Mandy start homeschooling on Monday the 22nd. It's bittersweet because this is Mom's last year of homeschooling her kids. Mom's also been preparing for her science class that she's teaching to several kids, and she's also been enjoying reading about British history in her spare time.

- Dad's being kept busy at work. Radiant is being bought by NCR, and the transition period is rather hectic and full of unknowns. Plus, one of Dad's co-workers just went on maternity leave this week, and so he's taking her place while continuing to manage his current job. Seth's doing well at his staging job, and he seems to be enjoying it.

- I think our cat Pooky is mental problems. I kid you not, this male cat acts like he's a prissy girl when he meows, sits, and even walks; it's rather bizarre. Lately, he's taken to following people around the house like he's a little lost puppy. This is a joy when I'm trying to clean or do something important and he keeps getting underfoot. I don't know why Pooky is so needful (and way more so than the other cats), but his behavior's getting rather annoying.

- Earlier this month, we determined that I am not going back to GGC... at least for this semester. There were a variety of issues involved in that decision. I'm not sure where I'm going, as I'm running out of job options in the area, so some prayer is much needed. In the meantime, I've been taking to doing more things around the house, like straightening it up more often. This week I also made dinner on Thursday; it was a promising recipe that we'd never had before, but I admit I was disappointed with the results and thought it was rather bland. Everyone assured me it was good, and Mom and I both thought of ways to make it better next time. I'm hoping to make dinner one night again next week, and I'm trying to decide between catfish tacos or cuban grills. At least the poppy seed chicken I made on Sunday for home shepherding group turned out; I was real pleased with that dish. Besides more attempts at cooking and cleaning, I've still been writing. This week I finished my latest novel attempt, and we'll see if I can get it nicely polished up in subsequent drafts.

- Oh, guess what? Sarah H and I may get a few seconds of fame. Celtic Woman is recording their latest show in Atlanta next month, and Sarah and I are both going to see the first night of recording. We're really excited about it. It's 17 days away, on September 6th, and it's exciting because we could possibly end up in audience shots on the DVD. But it's too early to tell, but it's an exciting possibility. I'm still trying to figure out something to wear, and I think I may need to make a trip to Cato soon.

- Mandy passed the six-month mark for having her license. Now she can drive one friend around. She celebrated it this week by hanging out with Bethany for an entire day at the mall. She was ecstatic on Tuesday night and was so excited about it that she started fretting over wearing something cute just for the occasion.

- Music lessons have been going well. Mandy's sort of taken a break with her teacher over the summer, and she'll get another break while her teacher has another baby. Seth's started double bass lessons last month, but he's only had two classes because his teacher is always sick or busy with something else. I've continued guitar over the summer, and I'm still enjoying it. The fingers on my left hand are developing callouses, which is a good thing and will make playing easier. Christie and I took Johnny to the repair shop this week, and I must say he's sounding a lot better than he was before, though I want to say that something still doesn't sound quite right with it. But I'll wait until Monday and see what my teacher says.

- It's been extraordinarily hot down here, with temps getting into the upper 90's during the day. Everything is starting to look brown, and rain has become very sporadic; we had our first rain in probably over a month this week. Thankfully, the humidity hasn't been as bad as previous years. I'm looking forward to cooler weather and, hopefully, more rain as fall approaches.

Formal Dance

Last Friday, there was a formal dance held at church, though several non-members attended. It was a very fun evening, and I managed to record some of the dancing. Here's a youtube link to the video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBour2_4czo

A Week in Florida

Last week, we went down to Cape San Blas along the Gulf coast of Florida, and we spent a week there. It was us five, and Grandma Linda and Bethany G. accompanied us.

Here are some highlights and memories:

- Our little white van was absolutely packed to the gills with everything. We had seven people, their luggage, a bunch of food, games, and you name it. The van rode low the entire way down to Florida, and going over train tracks was quite interesting. It rode low also on the way home, but it was not as bad.

- A family from our sister church owns a rental place about four hundred yards from the beach. They were generous enough to give us a discount. It was a beautiful little place. Mandy and Bethany took over the in-law suite downstairs while Seth and I each got our own room, which has not happened on vacation in years (Seth even had the luxury of a bed, as usually he sleeps on a couch or on a pull-out bed).

- The water was gorgeous. The first day, it was a beautiful blue and calm. However, as the week progressed, it grew choppier and less blue because of frequent storms that churned up the water. It made for some nice body-surfing opportunities.

- We found several shells in the water. It became a game to find whole shells without cracks before the waves carried them away.

- We were smart and put on a bit of sunscreen this year. And we only spent about an hour and a half in the water at a given time. Thus, none of us got badly sunburned. We all came home looking nice and brown.

- We got rain at least once a day, usually in the mornings or at night. It was amazing to watch the big storm clouds roll in and the thick gray line of rain underneath the clouds grow bigger as it approached. On the last night, I watched lightning flash inside a big cloud, which was very neat.

- We didn't do much. When we're on vacation, we don't like going to a bunch of places. We largely spent most of our time at the house watching movies, goofing on the computers, reading, swimming, long walks to the beach, and taking pictures of everything (with the occasional trip to the store for something). On Friday, we went to Crooked Island to find some shells; it wasn't very successful, but it was a nice beach. It made for a very relaxing week, and we lost track of the days.

- We made friends with the local wildlife. There was a little green frog called Spencer who occasionally showed up at night, and his frog cousins Roger and Hyacinth were always nearby. At Crooked Island, we met a crab called Eddie.

- On Friday (our last night) we went to Mexico Beach to go out for dinner. We had the hardest time finding a good restaurant to eat at, but finally we settled in the Fish House Restaurant. It was a small, hole-in-the-wall place. The people who worked there were nice and served us quickly, and our waitress was a hoot. The food was pretty good, though I found the batter for my fried catfish was a little bland.

All in all, it was a good week. Here are some more pictures.

Reformed Conference in Virginia

Well, last week we three Cunningham kids, our cousin Gabe, and several people from our church spent a good portion of the week up in Bluefield, Virginia for the annual Reformed Family Bible Conference. It was an amazing trip, and next year we're hoping we can go again... as an entire family this time.

On Tuesday, we three, Gabe, Bethany G., and Joseph and Leila B. got up early for breakfast and to get the car packed. It was weird to have us packing it up and then telling Mom good-bye because for years I've been so used to Dad packing the van and then everyone leaving. After getting in our caravan, we began driving north. We took the scenic route to Virginia, going through South Carolina, then North Carolina to Tennessee and then finally to Virginia. We spent about seven, eight hours driving (including a few breaks), and we arrived in the town of Bluefield that afternoon. Bluefield is literally right on the border of West Virginia, and later we would actually cross the state line on our way home. The entire Appalachian region is absolutely gorgeous, and I wouldn't mind at all living somewhere in that area.

Because I was a last-minute addition, there was a bit of a fiasco over where I would be staying. However, we finally solved it, and I shared a room with Evi F. We got the AC dorms while Mandy, Bethany, and a few others were in the non-AC dorms; thankfully, the weather would remain nice all week so those without AC weren't miserable. After unpacking, it was soon time for dinner at 5 PM. In the past, I'd heard horror stories about the food served at the conference, and I was fully expecting to spend the entire week without food; however, God was merciful in that the food was edible, not great but enough to keep you from starving; everyone agreed that the food was much better this year, even if the portions were tiny.

On Tuesday night, we had our first hour-long lecture from one of the pastors in the denomination. Between Wednesday and Friday, there were three lectures a day, two in the morning and then one at night. The lectures this year were on the book of Ephesians and centered around Christ and the church. They were all excellent and very relevant to the times we live in. It made me very thankful that we have such good, faithful pastors who still preach God's Word and not rely on entertainment to do it.

When there were no lectures, there was plenty of other things to do. Several of the nerds played nerf gun war, many guys and a few girls played ultimate frisbee, but most of the time people sat around various places on the campus and socialized. On Tuesday evening, a Gospel group from further south gave a concert in the chapel; on Wednesday afternoon, Judy Rogers, who is the wife of one of the pastors, gave a concert; on Thursday afternoon, several of the young musicians and singers got together and did a little concert, which was excellent. A few people at any time of the day could be seen playing an instrument on campus, and we even had a talented bagpipe player one day. Several people also danced throughout the week, particularly the Salty Dog Rag, and it was largely for practice for Friday. On Friday evening, after the last lecture, everyone gathered in the Dome (the campus' gym) for the dance. The place was filled, and people danced the Pattycake Polka, the Virginia Reel (a fun dance), Postie's Jig (very entertaining to watch people leap around and try not to hit each other), and several others.

It was an amazing time to meet other people from other churches in the denominations and to make new friends. The one downside is that the entire week was quite exhausting, given the busy days, excellent lectures, late nights, and early mornings. By Friday, it was clear that sleep deprivation was beginning to set in, and several people were tired before the evening dance began. Most of us spent the trip home sleeping (except Mandy and Joseph who goofed off in front of the camera and did some rather bizarre and strange things, as evidenced by Mandy's pictures).

It was an amazing trip, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone's already beginning to think of next year's conference, and we're hoping that Mom and Dad will be able to join us next time.

Busy Summer

It's been a busy summer thus far. Between Six Flags trips, camping trips with the family, and other social events, we've sure been kept on our toes. Last week we went to a recital for a young baritone at our church, and we spent most of that week cooking in preparation for the event. The week of Memorial Day, we spent a few days camping with the family at Vogul State Park; we had a good time, and I've posted pictures up on facebook.

And things are only going to continue to get busier. Today, Christie's coming over so we can try to compose music for some song lyrics that I've written. Tomorrow, we're going over to some friends' house for dinner and fellowship. On Monday, there will be something like a large party starting in the afternoon and lasting until sometime Tuesday. Let me explain; every year, the RPCUS (the denomination our church belongs to) holds an annual family conference in Virginia. Mandy's been twice before, but this year Seth and I will also be going (I was a last-minute addition). Several young adults are carpooling with us up to Virginia, and so some of them will be spending the night with us on Monday so we can leave early on Tuesday morning. I'm really excited about going, as this will be my first time. I'm bringing my camera, so hopefully I'll get some good pictures. And, over the rest of the summer, we've got other events like a family vacation to Florida and a possible second camping trip with the church family.

So, yeah, it's been pretty busy around here. As of now, I have not had much success on the job front, most likely because I have no experience in retail. I've applied at some places, but I haven't had the time to apply at others. I will try to start looking again after the Virginia conference. Keep me in your prayers as I continue to look and also as I begin to wonder about my calling and what the Lord wants me to do for His kingdom.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

It's been an excellent three days for Memorial Day this year.

The fun started with the clan gathering together on Saturday to celebrate Grandma Linda's birthday. We grilled out, and then afterwards we just chilled in the house. Ainsley was a hoot. She had fun playing with the tape measure and treated it as if it was a magic trick, bowing every time it went back into the metal container. Then she wanted Mandy to chase her around the yard, and she kept denying that she was crazy (which is a sure sign that she's a Cunningham through and through).

Today, we went to the Howlands for the annual Memorial Day picnic. This year marks the tenth picnic we've attended since we first started attending Covenant eleven years ago (they didn't hold it one year for a few reasons). It proved to be a very hot year, but thankfully there wasn't much humidity. Nonetheless, most people stayed outside, seeking shade under the pavilion or wherever they could find it. There were boat races this year, and Christie and I raced once (we failed miserably, but then neither of us really knew what we were doing). There were other games like ultimate frisbee, kickball, wiffle ball, and volleyball all throughout the day. After the boat races were done, the teenagers decided that they couldn't take the heat anymore. So, not caring if big snapping turtles lived in the pond, began jumping in the pond. They dragged the floatable dock out towards the center of the water, and there was a game of "king of the raft" that went on for a while. Some people took great delight in pushing others off the raft or into the water, and Mandy would have gotten thrown in had not one of the adults intervened (Cliff later dunked her to get her fully wet, though). Dad even took dip in the pond to cool off, which made several of the kids cheer to see an adult join them for a few minutes. Because of the heat, a lot of people got sunburned. Right now, I'm looking as red as a beet, but I'm expecting to be nice and dark in a day or two.

Next stop: camping with the clan in north Georgia later this week. It promises to be a pretty hot week, but we're all looking forward to it.

Oh, and Seth officially starts his new position at Radiant tomorrow, where he'll be working in staging, which is a step up from peripherals. We're very proud of him and the fact that he's quickly advancing at Radiant based on his own hard work and not because of Dad's position in the company.