Griggs Family 2012 in Review

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

from the Griggs Family

Jerold, Tiffany, Tia & JJ (Jerold, Jr.)

Our 2012 year in review:

· In January, Tia had her first try at basketball with Upward Sports (she likes cheerleading better!)

· On June 1st, JJ celebrated his 1st birthday

· On July 6th, we celebrate 10 years of marriage

· In July, the 2012 Griggs’ Family Reunion was celebrated in Charlotte

· In August, Tia started 2nd grade at Back Creek Christian Academy

· In October, Jerold has been coaching basketball for 10 years

· On November 3rd, Tiffany celebrated her 36th birthday

· On November 17th, Tia celebrated her 8th birthday

· On November 30th, Jerold celebrated his 36th birthday

 

JJ (Jerold Jr.)

He is ALL boy.  Very energetic and athletic.  He loves throwing balls (and everything else).  He loves rough housing and talking loudly.  He repeats everything we say...for good or for worse.  His last 4 teeth are finally coming through (teething has been rough).  On his 18 month check up on December 4th he was 27lbs (68 percentile), 33" long (72 percentile) and head circumference is 19 1/2 (90 percentile). He’s wearing 24 month and 2T clothing and size 6 or 6 1/2 shoes (big boy!).  His favorite words are snack, milk, walk and “I do” because he’s Mr. Independent.  He loves being tickled and being the pesky little brother.

Tia

Tia is the optimal big sister.  Always wanting to help and be “Mama #2.”  She loves to sing, dance and do gymnastics.  She has become quite the reader and absolutely LOVES arts and crafts.  She is definitely going to be outgrown by her brother as she still has not reached 50 lbs and is in a size 12 shoe (my little bitty sweet pea).  We are so blessed that on Christmas Day 2011 she prayed to receive Christ on the way to JJ’s baptism service.  We have seen her faith and trust in God grow over the past year and look forward to see what God will do in and through her.

Tiffany

This past year has been full of excitement and challenges.  Adjusting from having one child to two, sicknesses with an asthmatic child and a toddler, as well as unexpected financial hardships.  Through it all, we have learned to have faith, trust God and laugh hard.  I have been blessed to celebrate 10 years of serving as the Pastoral Administrative Assistant at StoneBridge Church.  It is a pleasure to work along side brothers and sisters in Christ that I consider my family.

Jerold

Jerold has also been blessed to be at the same job teaching at Kannapolis Middle School.  He is in his 11th year and loves teaching Math today as he did on his first day.  He is an avid Atlanta Falcons fan and is hoping they win the Super Bowl this year.  He is a wonderful godly husband and father who loves and serves his family well.

We pray you and your family will feel the love of God today and always!

Pain that Heals

So I get a call from my father on Monday. He calls my cell while I'm at work and leaves a message that he needs to talk to me. Usually that means he's sick. He has a ton of health issues. But his message is = "I'm not sick, I just need to talk to you." Let me give you some history.

My parents got divorced when I was 2 because of my father's consistent infidelity. The first time I saw him/met him was when I was 6 years old. I saw him again at 16 and after becoming a Christian at 18 - I confronted him asking if he wanted to have a relationship with me or not. He did - so we began to get to know each other. Before I was 18 - he would send the occasional card and give the occasional call. He always made promises but never kept them. He came to my college graduation in 1998, my sister and I traveled to his 3rd wedding in 2000 and he came to my wedding in 2002. All that to say, he would go back and forth between "I want to be your dad and have a relationship with you" to me not hearing for him for months at a time. When I did hear from him - it was "I'm in the hospital for another surgery." My father has literally had over 100 surgery's. He has high blood pressure, diabetes and has had a kidney transplant.

So when I hear my father's voice, I'm numb. We usually do the dance of "how are you? how's the weather? what's new?" That's it. But this time, when we talked (I, of course, had to call him back - though he promised to call back, he was like "I've changed." He goes on for 15 minutes saying he's at a new church and the sermons have hit home. He's caused a lot of hurt and problems and now he wants to be the solution. He says he can't change the past but wants to do something about the future. He wants to get to know his grandchildren (my sister has 2 daughters). He has NEVER seen Tia, talked to her or even sent her a $0.50 card. I'm okay with that - because I expect that from him. But this call gets to me.

Tuesday - all the emotions hit me. I'm pissed - afraid and sad all wrapped up. I'm rolling my eyes like "here we go again" he's making more promises he's going to break. He's looking to me to save his soul from the guilt he's built. The Christian in me says - go ahead, "take him back" - that's What Jesus Would Do. The abused daughter side of me says - RUN - get the HELL out of there!!!! I feel like the parent in our relationship. That's not my role. If he wants a relationship, it's HIS job to do something about it.

Please pray with me to be strong. My father's call awoke emotions I've worked so hard to move away from. I'm happy, content and very blessed where I am. But the little girl inside me longs to have her daddy......but the only Daddy that satisfies is Jesus.

Fall 2008

As you can tell, we're not "bloggers". We try.....well, I try but I'm not good at it. Facebook is my new friend. So what's going on with the Griggs' family? Life is busy, but it gets better and better. I don't know if we are maturing or just relating more deeply, but marriage is sweeter each year. We seem to just "know" each other. We can finish each other sentences and complete each other's thoughts. It's funny sometimes and really incredible other times.

It's a joy being parents. Tia has more energy than the both of us, but she also keeps us laughing. The way her mind is a sponge soaking up everything is amazing. She loves preschool and so do we. She recognizes her name and is able to write the letters A, B, C, D, E, F and is working on G! She is a musician at heart moving at every song and memorizing every lyric. She now makes "requests" for songs so I guess I'm a DJ in the minivan. :)

Basketball has begun. Jerold is in his 7th year coaching. He is the Assistant Varsity girls basketball coach at AL Brown Hgh School and is in his 8th year teaching at Kannapolis Middle School. He loves coaching and loves basketball. We're happy that Tia is old enough for us to be able to attend the Friday home games.

I'm in my 6th year as the Pastoral Administrative Assistant at the church we worship at (StoneBridge Church). The 3 pastors I assist are a joy to work with. I'm not just saying that....I feel blessed to be called to work where I do. It's a pleasure going to work! Because I work full days Mon, Wed & Fri and get to work til 1pm on Tue & Thurs - I feel like I get the best of both worlds!

I'm still figuring out this blogging thing - so for pictures, check my Facebook page.

Our Weekend in the Windy City - Chicago!

How the Story Starts

I was having coffee with my friend Kelly one morning and she suggested that Jerold and I take a weekend trip once a year. She even offered to care for Tia while we were away. I walked away thinking, that's a great thought, but when are we ever going to get away? One week later I get a call from my friend Cynthia, whose husband Mark is temporarily working for US Airways. She wanted to let us know that Mark wanted us to fly somewhere before they moved to Atlanta in May.

The hunt was on! Where do we go? What do we do? We don't travel much and had no clue. We elicited help from friends and then had an "ah-ha" moment. We remembered we had friends in Chicago! When we told Chad & Brooke of our plans, they were elated to have us visit them. So the plan was set. April 4 - 6 we were going to Chicago and would be away from Tia for the first time.

The Adventure Begins - Friday
On Friday, April 6th we wake up at 4:20 am (yes, you read that right, AM!). We wake Tia at 5am and head over to Kelly's home to drop Tia off. When we pulled in the driveway at 5:30 am, we noticed that all the lights were off. It was weird, but it was also pretty early. At first, we didn't think anything of it. When I walked up to the front door, I got a sick feeling in my gut. So I called Kelly and sure enough - we were at the WRONG house! Thankfully, we hadn't gotten any of Tia's stuff out.

After finding the correct house, we unloaded, kissed Tia good-bye, and were off to the airport. It was a dreary and very cloudy day which made the flight a bit bumpy. (I hope Jerold's hand is okay.)

When Brooke picked us up from the airport, she drove us down Lakeshore Drive and we got to see the skyscape, Lake Michigan and the Navy Pier. We relaxed at their apartment for a while, then we got hungry. I didn't know what we were about to experience when we walked into the little mom and pop restaurant. The Art of Pizza was Chad & Brooke's favorite place to get Chicago deep dish pizza. The crust and sauce was hand-made and all the ingredients are fresh. It was the best pizza I have ever tasted. YUMMY!

We picked up 2-day passes at the grocery store Jewel and were off to the "L" train. We headed to the Museum of Science and Industry which was a 40 minute ride. It was a good opportunity to catch up. On the way, we passed the Cubs Wrigley Field Stadium and the White Sox US Cellular stadium.

The first thing we headed to at the museum was the Transportation Gallery and The Great Train Story. We saw planes, trains and automobiles! There were also cute chicks hatching, an exhibit on how crude oil is used, a toy making machine, Colleen Moore's fairy castle, farm technology, historic circuses, and a U-505 submarine. This thing was so massive, they put the sub in first, THEN built the building around it. It was awesome!

We headed to an authentic Thai restaurant for dinner called Yes Thai. We got a big laugh because they were playing rap music. Very unexpected. After resting at the apartment for a while, we headed off in the night on Michigan Avenue on our way to the John Hancock Building. On the way, we saw several horse drawn carriages. The city is beautiful at night. After we cleared our ears after the elevator ride to the 96th floor, we grabbed a table in the Signature Room Lounge. It is an area above the premier restaurant where we sat and enjoyed dessert, coffee and a breath-taking view of the city at night. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

The Adventure Continues - Saturday
We slept in - Oh, what a feeling! After everyone slowly woke up, Brooke prepared a very delicious breakfast. Yummy! We lounged around for a while and then headed off for more adventure.

We quickly found out that the L train was under construction so we took the scenic route to Millennium Park. It was a beautiful sunny day and 65 degrees. We didn't even need a jacket! We saw the"Cloud Gate" also known as "The Bean," the Pritzker Pavilion, and the Lurie Garden. After lunch at Chipotle, we headed to the United Center where the Chicago Bulls basketball team plays. Our goal was to see the famous Air Jordan statue. After wiping the drool off Jerold's chin, we took a few pictures, saw his accomplishments, hand prints, footprints and signature.

In stead of walking down the Magnificent Mile, we preferred taking the comfortable route and rode on the bus. We saw the NBC studio and the John Hancock building (whose structural support is on the outside). We also took pictures of the Old Water Tower. After grabbing an authentic Chicago hot dog (no ketchup) at Wriglesville Dogs for dinner, we headed to tickle our funny bone at iO Chicago Improv comedy club. This is the place where Chris Farley and other famous comedians got their start. On our way back to the car (parking is first come, first served) we walked by Wrigley Field and got a shot with "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks.

Thus concluding our amazing trip to Chi-town! Special shot outs to Mark, Cynthia, Chad, Brooke, Kelly and Sarah for making this a memory we will treasure always!