HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS!!

WE MISS YOU LOTS DAD (AKA DADDY, POP, CHARLES, CHARLIE) .......
CHARLES FRANCIS GLOECKNER
January 3, 1915 - August 2, 2002

Gettin' Ready for the Peachtree

Cordele Watermelon Festival Run 6-13-2009



























10.5 K Blake Gammill Run, Douglasville 6-20-2009

Here she is!! ( rather, Here they are???) 24 weeks and growing!

Karin posted this photo on her facebook page. Thought I would share it for all the world to see on my blog also. The babies are both over 2 pounds and doing exceptionally well. We are all praying for her to make it until the end of August (she's due 9/24, don't think that will happen). A boy and a girl for sure. Ain't grands great????

God Bless America

Today is Memorial Day. This the day that we as Americans celebrate and honor those who serve to help us continue to live in a free society - those both living and dead. As a military family, having lived and visited in other countries, this holiday is one which we appreciate possibly more than many other Americans. We are so fortunate to have been born in this country of more than plenty and freedoms that most others in the world can only dream of. God has truly blessed us as a people and a country.

Americans celebrate this holiday in a variety of ways, but most often it is a day for family activities, BBQ's and picnics in addition to memorial services honoring the military. We started the day today in Cordele, with Joe running in the Kiwanis 8K run. He was pleased to receive a trophy for finishing second in his age group I might add. After having a late breakfast with Joe's sister, we headed home to hopefully miss all the later traffic, which fortunately we did. Now like so many others, we will cook hotdogs on the grill and eat watermelon we purchased on the way at a local farmers market.

Happy Holiday!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. Hope everyone stays safe.

A Homeschool Graduation Day!

Today our firstborn grandchild, Alison, graduated from High School. It was a graduation to remember. You may or may not know that Alison has been home schooled her entire education up to this point. If you have never attended a home school graduation and get the opportunity, please go. It is a very meaningful, family oriented event. For the past four years Alison has attended Koininia, an organized home school group that offers a curriculum that is accredited to award a high school diploma. Parents teach most of the classes, combining their collective specialty areas, and students supplement the courses they take at Koininia with other courses they take at home. So, if a parent is fluent in Spanish, he or she might offer a Spanish language course, and another parent, who may be proficient in another content area, would teach that course to a small group of students. If enough students need a particular subject area, such as an upper level math course, a qualified teacher might be hired to teach that course. When I tell people that Alison and all her siblings have been home schooled since day one, I continue to get the response (or something similar to) "but what about socialization?" If you have ever met Alison, you would know that she is one of the most outgoing and "social" people you will ever encounter, as are all the Turner kids.

You will see here a few pics from the ceremony this morning and tonight's celebration party. Each student that graduates prepares a display table of things that are significant to them personally. Being the photographer that she is, Alison's table was primarily a collage of photos. Alison was especially proud of the fact that both her sets of grandparents and her great grandmother were able to attend the day's events.

As each individual student came forward a previously recorded videotape of personal comments and thank yous by each student was played. Following that each received their diploma. Today, when it was Alison's turn to receive her diploma, it was not a principal or headmaster that presented it to her and each other student. It was the parents, (in her case, Kim and Jimmy), that stood with her on the stage, each of them giving personal comments expressing their pride and joy in her many and varied accomplishments. She has done so many things to be proud of, and is a true leader within her peer group as well as her church. For now, her plans are to attend Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida next year to study communication, youth work, or mission work. Who knows what the future holds? Our entire family is excited to see where the future will take her. Congratulations Alison, we love you!

Seattle Space Needle

After my city tour yesterday, we attended the final event of the convention, which is the awards banquet. The women were dressed in cocktail wear and the men wore mess dress or a tux. It is a fitting way to end every convention. Both military and civilian airmen and women were given awards for safety and bravery- those things that go above and beyond the call of duty. There is not time to relate the many stories of heroism, but leave it to say everyone attending left with a new sense of pride in what this country is and all it stands for. There were so many heroes among us!

You can't come to Seattle without seeing the Space Needle, which has stood in downtown Seattle since the World's Fair that took place here in the early 20th century. We had to take a look at Seattle from the top. What a view! Although it was not as sunny as yesterday, it was quite clear and one could see for miles. After a trip through the gift shop, we headed by foot (not realizing what a walk it was) to Pike Market. We walked along the water front, and saw several docked cruise ships, heading for Alaska no doubt, on the way. The Market was as busy as yesterday and we just meandered through the stalls and enjoyed the musical offerings of local musicians. After we had walked back to our parked rental car at the Space Needle, we figured we had walked at least 4 miles - surely enough to warrant the nice marguerita and Mexican dinner we had later in for dinner.