MAY 4 | MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL | I love the game of football. I love winning. Even more than that, I love what football can do for a young man. It helps him learn what it means to be a part of a team. It helps him learn how to go farther than he thought he could. It helps him consider the well being of the group as a product of the work he puts in as an individual. And I’m thankful that at @nccseagles, football means even more. This is Eli’s third year of spring football to get ramped up for fall. Our coaches are crystal clear that their number one goal is to produce godly men that will go on to become godly husbands, fathers, and leaders in their community.
Yesterday was extra special as Coach Jones and the staff hosted a combine. The guys did all kinds of fun football stuff, but the foundation of the day was clearly and intentionally on helping these guys know that following Jesus is the best choice they will ever make. @clintstrange32 stayed the whole time with a lot of the parents and he was so impressed with how everything was handled and the clarity of its gospel purpose. Super fun bonus, Eli got to meet @bruceirvin51 of the Seahawks who came and shared with the boys.
Praying for another awesome year of Eagle football! Let’s go Eagles! #7000days
MAY 5 | POWDER PUFF 2025 | The old peeps…we still got it. The need for Advil that is 
Sophomores ran the table tonight. Good news for the other powder puff player in the house. Such a fun night all around. So grateful for the @nccseagles family. Always a good time when we get together for some fun! #GoEagles
MAY 6 | 11 YEARS AGO | We woke up early Tuesday morning and were all super excited about going to pick up Eli. Tuesday, May 6, 2014 was Eli’s official GOTCHA DAY! When we arrived at the Hilawe Children’s home, you could definitely tell that it was a big day. There was a film crew and a photographer taking pictures of us exiting the van and they continued videoing and shooting photos the entire time we were there. The farewell ceremony at the children’s home was truly a treasure. The people at Hilawe were so happy for Eli and they pulled out all the stops for the celebration. One of the social workers was so thoughtful to video the whole thing with our camera so we will be able to show Eli what a special ceremony this was.
They started by having a time of prayer over all of us. The director of the children’s home prayed in Amaric and then Clint prayed in English. They put some fingerpaint on Eli’s right hand to make a handprint so that people at the children’s home could remember him and pray for him. After that, they presented us a huge loaf of bread for us to cut together. It was similar to cutting a wedding cake and everyone was served a piece. The next item was a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony complete with popcorn. They also served us cokes and brought little chocolates…which totally thrilled Emma! Emma was wonderful throughout the ceremony as she realized this was a very special time for her brother. She kept herself busy giving Eli kisses and making sure he was having a good time.
After the Embassy that afternoon we headed back to the hotel and got ready for naps. Emma insisted on climbing in the crib to sleep by Eli so he wouldn’t be scared. We got some precious pictures of the two of them snuggling together. We pray that they will always be very close and that Emma will always look out for her baby brother. Once naps were over, we played on the playground at the hotel and then ate dinner at the gazebo restaurant by the pool. Eli ate a ton of rice and some chicken. He is a great eater and did a great job at dinner! Emma could hardly eat anything she was so excited to finally have her brother!
Read more: https://meganstrange.com/?p=8273
MAY 11 | HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY | So grateful today for the gift of my Mom. She singlehandedly raised three kids and always gave us more than we could have ever asked or imagined. She has always been my biggest fan and my most excited cheerleader. Thanks Mom for loving me so well! Happy Mother’s Day! Can’t wait to have the whole gang together in just a few weeks!
MAY 17 | SMALL GROUP | The past four years, this group has met together to study God’s word, to enjoy some great snacks, to bear one another’s burdens, and to lean into “what’s up in your world?!” One of my favorite things we do at @nccseagles is our Upper School Small Groups. These are same grade/same gender groups that meet together once a month in place of chapel to grow together in Christ. Each year we study something intentional from Scripture. Here was our plan these last four years:
9th grade – Spiritual Disciplines
10th grade – Philippians
11th grade – Colossians
12th grade – Ephesians
And now these ladies are headed off to: Berry (2), Tusculum, Georgia (2), Georgia College, Lee, Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern, and Samford (2)
I can’t wait to see what God has in store for each of these precious ladies. What a gift it has been to journey with them these past four years. They have been such a blessing! #CirclesAreBetterThanRows
MAY 17 | EMMA | This girl left home with me this morning at 6:10am headed to get things finalized at the church for graduation. We have a Starbucks tradition on the way 
She helps me get the last minute things sorted and has helped for so many years she just knows what to do. When people hand me things, I hand them to her, and she makes sure it gets to the right spot.
She took care of things all morning, handed out programs, and enjoyed cheering her friends on during graduation. Afterwards, she jumped right in to cleaning up and helping our teachers get things packed up and in my car to go back to school. We have our Chick-fil-A lunch drive thru on the way home debriefing the morning and all the fun stories 
Then, we drop off the grad stuff at school and go to as many parties as we can.
We rolled back into our driveway around 8pm tonight and she told me she can’t wait to help again next year. The next year she will be graduating…and she told me she wants to help then too. 
Being a principal’s kid is not always glamorous, but this precious girl chose to lean into it early on and truly has been the very best sidekick and teammate for so many school activities over the years. Emma is a joy and I’m so grateful God shared her with me! #7000days
MAY 23 | GRATEFUL | We are so thankful for the way that so many godly men and women have poured into our kids @nccseagles this year through academics, arts, athletics, and student life. 10th grade and 6th grade were great growth years for both kids and we celebrate God’s faithfulness in and through them both. Bring on summer! #7000days
