What A Lame Blogger

Ok, I admit. I get busy...as do so many people. My best intentions for this blog was to update it regularly to involve my extended family in the goings on of the Lexington, NC Zehmers.
Well, I have fallen down on the job. Quite frankly, I have been consumed with work and family over the last few months...so much so that I have not even taken the time to look at this let alone post. I will do better.

So, here I am on Hatteras Island, having spent 3 days here planning, reading, and praying. It is so important for me to get out of the office regularly to come to a quiet place. My parent's house on Hatteras during the off-season qualifies for a quiet place. I have spent a good amount of time reading the book Soul Revolution by John Burke. The subtitle is "How imperfect people become all God intended." It says it all. I'd highly recommend it. I have also spent a lot of time walking and praying as I seek to abide in the vine of Christ. Finally, I have done some much needed sermon planning and work planning. Remember what they say: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

So what's going on with the girls? Well, we finished the outside of the playhouse, except for the swings. It is functional and being used. More work will come this summer. Madison and Kinsley enjoyed playing basketball for Upward this year. Madison has really improved over last year and Kinsley made significant progress in just the 6 weeks of playing. All three are taking tennis lessons now and enjoying them. Mollie has just started soccer, and all three are getting ready for the big dance recital is coming up in May. Hey...now I know why I have been so busy.

I am in the middle of Confirmation classes at church and getting ready for officer training. As a church we are considering partnering with the Vital Church Institute to participate in the Acts 16:5 initiative. This partnership will help us make our mission statement a reality and become responsive to the ministry environment of the 21st Century.

Well that's about all for right now. I'll post some pictures soon.

Grace and Peace,

Lee

The Theatre is Alive!

Here are Madison and Mollie after the big show. They have been working on "A Christmas Carol: The Musical" for over six weeks with the Lexington Youth Theatre. Opening night was on Thursday, and they have two more shows.
Madison is playing Scrooge's sister Fan, and Mollie is part of the pantomime/elf group. The music for the show is wonderful - written by long time Disney composer Alan Menken.
This is Madison's third show. Two years ago she played Charley Bates in "Oliver." Last year she was one of the Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz." This is Mollie's second show. She was a Munchkin last year. They both love the Theatre!
Break a leg!
Lee

M & K meet Pat McCrory

Who knows who you'll meet on the street?! This afternoon, Mayor of Charlotte, Pat McCrory, who is running for NC Governor was in Lexington. I had gone to hear him speak, and Madison and Kinsley showed up out of the blue!
Our friend Joy picks them up at school each day, and she happened to see the gathering on her way to drop them off. She stopped; I was there with my camera....picture happens. Joy's daughter Emmy is in the picture with Madison and Kinsley.
All three were very excited to meet the possible next governor of North Carolina.

Till next time,
Lee

Phase Three

Well, November 2nd saw phase three begun. It was the roof this time. Thirteen trusses were laid and 160 square feet of plywood was nailed down. It really is starting to look like something. In the photo above, Madison, Kinsley, and Mollie are sticking out of the roof right before the last sheets of plywood were put down.
Next weekend we will get the roof shingled and the door installed. Also, we hope to have a ladder constructed so they can start getting into the playhouse. We still have bunks to make; a slide to attach, and swings. All in all, however, we are coming along nicely.
So many people have helped with our project: Robin Team, Roddie Hobbs, Mike Keifer, Mac Parrott, Steven Welborn, Kent Herman, Burr Sullivan, and Ryan Harman. Many thanks to each of them giving their time to help us out.
More to come!
Lee

The Project - Phase 2.1

Well, it took us a lot longer to pick up the supplies than we thought...then we had some obstacles to work around...so we only got about half-way done with phase two. The game was called because of darkness. The deal of the day, however, was getting some windows on clearance. $27 a piece. I was so excited. They are actually better windows than what I have in my house!

Mollie was always near watching us closely. She liked picking up the cut off pieces of wood and building things with them:

We hope to get the third and fourth walls up this week. Then it will be November before we get to the roof. It is my plan for it to be habitable by Thanksgiving.

Keep hammering!

Lee

11th Birthday Party

Friday night saw five girls added to my three for a sleepover party. Pizza was eaten, games were played, a movie was watched, presents were opened, and lots of squeels were heard. This is the third sleepover for Madison and Kinsley, and they had a wonderful time. Here they are with their friends:

Brooke and I were very tired, but we survived! It is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since our answers to prayer joined our family. I am a man most blessed. It is exciting to see how they are maturing, but it is also a little sad...for my "little" girls are growing up. I am trying to treasure this time, for I know it will be gone soon.

Hoping for time to slow down,

Lee

The Project Begins

Well, after three years of promising the girls that I would build them a playhouse, we finally got started in late September. I invited some of the church friends over to help. Robin, Roddy, and Mike joined me and the girls to get phase one done. Here is a picture of Madison and Mollie digging the holes around the posts for concrete:

After 4 hours of work, we had a platform about 7 feet off the ground measuring 8 feet by 16 feet. It is made up of 8 4x4's, 4 sheets of plywood, and a whole bunch of 2x6's. The girls had a wonderful time helping, and here they are celebrating the completion of phase 1:

Phase two will commence this coming weekend. We hope to get the walls and roof up. The big decision on our plates this week is how many windows to put it!

Till next time,

Lee