Camp, School and other musings...

Well it has been one week since our lives changed. Falls Creek went very well and Craig got things started off on a good foot. All the kids and adults seem to be happy that he is the new youth pastor. It looks like there are the beginnings of a whole new dynamic in the group. One that is respectful and loving. We are excited to see what God has planned.

It was nice to see Craig on our 10th anniversary. The cooks planned a little party for us...it was sweet. They decorated a table outside and let us eat our dinner together while the kids watched and blew bubbles at us!

On a different note: school will be starting soon and Josh will be in kindergarten. It's hard to believe my little boy is a real school boy now! He can be so funny. He came in here a few minutes ago with the best laugh....he was wearing a wig that Craig brought home from camp. (I think one of the kids got it while playing bigger or better.) It was hysterical to see my little pale face kid in an Afro!

Andrew is doing well too....I think he is going to miss his big brother when he goes to school. They have gotten to be better friends this summer. I'm hoping that Andrew will enjoy some time not having to fight over the toys though. He has gotten so big! This summer he has gone from being my baby to a big boy....although he still wears diapers! I'm not too hung up on getting him potty trained though, because I know it will happen when he's ready and I learned the first time not to try too soon. Saves us all so much frustration!

Well...I better go get some things done so I can go grocery shopping. Thanks for checking in with us and please do leave comments so I will know you were here!

It's an interesting road we are on...

Well, God has done it! He's gone and done one of the things I never dreamed He would do.... Although I know and recognize that ALL Christians should be "ministers" of the Gospel, Craig and I are now "in the ministry" so to speak. We are the new Youth Pastor and Youth Pastor's Wife at Immanuel Baptist - Sallisaw! Mind boggling isn't it?

Craig will be "bivocational" and will still be operating our carpet cleaning business. This week he is at Falls Creek, summer youth camp and I will be joining them on Thursday, which happens to be our 10th wedding anniversary. It seems strange to think that we were the youth of IBC 10 years ago and now we are leading the next generation... Please pray!!!!

We are very excited about what God has in store for us and we want to be found faithful in His site. We would very much appreciate all of your prayers...

Our Family

N.O. pics I promised

Now a family site...

So I was thinking...maybe I should just make this a general family site and not only for the boys. I wanted to have a place where I could share misc. other pics and comments, including my trip to New Orleans.

Some of you may or may not know that I had the privledge of going on a mission trip to help with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort a couple of weeks ago. It was my first "mission trip" ever and it was indeed eye opening. Unlike other stories I've heard, the people we found there were SO grateful for everything we did. Just our presence was appreciated. We were, however, much more than a presence. We worked HARD and yet so much is left undone.

Our group worked as a "Mud-Out" Team. Sometimes this did literally include mud, but mostly it is removing all items from the home (trying to salvage anything precious, ie. pictures) and tearing out everything from the kitchen sink, to trim, sheetrock, flooring and nails. You name it we probably took it, all down to the base of the structure, except for ceilings, toilets and any flooring stuck down too tight to pull up. Some incredible things we saw 9 months after Katrina.....water still trapped between two glass panes in a door, water trapped in an upside down bucket, items on a top shelf of a closet, still soaked.

One of the houses we worked on, the lady who lived there was actually rescued on Day 4 from the roof! We were able to meet and pray with her, which made the whole experience much more personal. Another house we cleaned was that of an older man who had cancer. He survived Katrina, but died shortly after. His children all lived in the same neighborhood. They all lost their homes and their Dad....it was emotionally difficult for them to say the least. One daughter came the day we were working and looked through things as we pulled them out. She was absolutely thrilled when she found one polaroid shot of her Daddy when he was younger. She thought that all of the pictures had been lost.

There were so many other experiences as well. Perhaps I will share more later.

It was my intention to post pics with this blog....but for some reason they aren't working...I'll try again sometime...