Picnic Sunday!

After church today we all met and went to Spring Mill for a picnic! I hate it that Cole couldn't go!





How cute!!


Dancing....or trying to




Do we look scared? We had just learned what a "hammer tooth" was right Mom??? (rofl!!!!)




Be vewy vewy quiet... the hammer tooth might get you!





The Girls.... and Caleb.. kinda



Swing those arms Chloe!



Mom in the "aucusting" bathroom as Chloe says

Wang Chung being cool

Daddy's girl

The kids just HAD to show Ed the bathroom!

Dad


Ed, Andi, Chloe and Mikey

Chang, Aim and Caleb

Surprise!

We had 2 surprise parties today... Whew!! My mom's 60th birthday is today... WHOO HOOO!! And Annette's 50th is in 2 weeks. They were both thrown today! I am attaching pics for you to enjoy!!

Waiting..........

The lookout

Indiana Jones and Chloe

Surprise!

The sign says it all

My new boyfriend and the "other woman"!

Mom & I

Dad & Mom


Mom and the Butts!


Aimee and Andi


Ava

Hot mama!!


Annette and her Depends!!

The Chin Sistas ! !


The Ya Ya's plus 1 and minus 2!

Annette and Seth

The Gang

It is well with my soul

I have heard this story a few times and it amazes me still. So, I wanted to share it with you.


Horatio Spafford - writer of hymn "It is well with my soul"


In 1871, Horatio Spafford, a prosperous lawyer and devout Presbyterian church elder and his wife, Anna, were living comfortably with their four young daughters in Chicago. In that year the great fire broke out and devastated the entire city. Two years later the family decided to vacation with friends in Europe. At the last moment Horatio was detained by business, and Anna and the girls went on ahead, sailing on the ocean liner S.S. Ville de Havre. On November 21, 1873, the liner was rammed amid ship by a British vessel and sank within minutes. Anna was picked up unconscious on a floating spar, but the four children had drowned.



The Spafford daughters, Annie, Maggie, Bessie, and Tanetta drowned when the S.S. Ville du Havre sank after it was hit by a British vessel en route to Europe in November 1873. A fellow survivor of the collision, Pastor Weiss, recalled Anna saying, "God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why." The Spafford's son Horatio, born three years after the tragedy, died in 1880 at age four.



At their home in a north side suburb of Chicago, the Spaffords hosted and sometimes financially supported many guests. Horatio had been active in the abolitionist crusade and the cottage was a meeting place for activists in the reform movements of the time such as Frances E. Willard, president of the National Women's Christian Temperance Union, and evangelical leaders like Dwight Moody, who ignited a religious revival in America and Europe. Spafford, a senior partner in a thriving law firm, invested in real estate north of an expanding Chicago in the spring of 1871. When the Great Fire of Chicago reduced the city to ashes in October of the same year, it also destroyed Spafford's sizable investment.



In 1873, to benefit his wife's health, Spafford planned an extended stay in Europe for his family. At the last moment Spafford was detained by real estate business, but Anna and the four girls sailed to Paris on the steamer Ville du Havre. Within twelve minutes on November 21, 1873, the luxury steamer sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after being rammed by the British iron sailing ship the Lochearn.



Anna was picked up unconscious by the crew of the Lochearn, which itself was in danger of sinking. Fortunately, the Trimountain, a cargo sailing vessel, arrived to save the survivors. Nine days after the shipwreck Anna landed in Cardiff, Wales, and cabled Horatio, "Saved alone. What shall I do . . ."



Anna Larssen, later Americanized to Lawson, was born in Stavanger, Norway, in 1842. Horatio was immediately attracted by Anna's beauty and intelligence when she attended his Sunday school class in Chicago. When Horatio realized that Anna, fourteen years younger than he, was only fifteen, he arranged for three years tuition at a boarding school near Chicago before the idea of marriage could be discussed. The couple married in 1861.



After receiving Anna's telegram, Horatio immediately left Chicago to bring his wife home. On the Atlantic crossing, the captain of his ship called Horatio to his cabin to tell him that they were passing over the spot where his four daughters had perished. He wrote to Rachel, his wife's half-sister, "On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs."

Horatio wrote this hymn, still sung today, as he passed over their watery grave.

Thankful Thursday

I am taking Misty's theme of Thankful Thursday today. I think it is important to stop and be thankful for what we have. It is too easy to be caught up with what is wrong or what could go wrong. So here goes:

* I am thankful for my God. That is he a merciful, loving, forgiving God BUT that he is also a Jealous God.

* I am thankful that I love in a country where I don't have to worry about when and where and what God I worship!

* I am thankful for my family...ALL of them. Ed, Chad, Aimee, Cole, my parents, my siblings, and extended family.

* I am thankful to have parents that never divorced!

* I am thankful for my Ya-Ya's!!!!!

* I am thankful for my WONDERFUL Sunday School class. We are a special group, in many ways!

* I am thankful that I may be able to travel to Africa in December (if I can get the funds raised). This is a life dream of mine, and it would be to take presents and to work in an orphanage! Ed said I would bring home 5 kids... I would LOVE to!

* I am thankful for healed relationships.

* I am thankful for my teenage kids, and the one grown one! It is hard to be a parent in today's world.

* I am thankful for my kids' youth group leader. Cole told me just the other day how much Pam has helped him. There is a boy giving him a hard time at school now and he has learned to just walk away no matter how hard that can be!!

* I am thankful for my faithful readers!!! It can be hard to blog at times!!

3:16

As I have said before we are doing Max Lucado's 3:16 Bible Study. None of the Ya Ya's are Bible scholars so it is a learning experience for us all. I usually lead it and we all join in with conversation and have a little video to go along with it. This week the lesson was on the hardened heart. We had a new gal there and the lesson was so fitting for her. It was our confirmation that she needed to be in our group. We are a close group. We share our struggles, disappointments, joys, and just about everything. I am SO very blessed to have all these ladies in my life. I know that God sent them to me at just the right time. I am not sure I could go through my day without talking or texting them!! It is nice to have a diverse group who can share what God is doing in their lives and to try to strive as a whole to be as Andrea would say a "God Follower". If you do not have friends or an accountability partner I highly suggest you get one. It is very beneficial to our daily lives.

Hard Hearted by Max Lucado

Hardhearted people are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. (Eph. 4:17-19)

A hard heart ruins, no only your life, but the lives of your family members. As an example, Jesus identified the hard heart as the wrecking ball of a marriage. When asked about divorce, Jesus said, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because our hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” (Matt. 19:8) When one or both people in a marriage stop trusting God to save it, they sign its death certificate. They reject the very one who can help them.

My executive assistant, Karen Hill, saw the result of such stubbornness in a pasture. A cow stuck her nose into a paint can and couldn’t shake it off. Can-nosed cows can’t breathe very well, and they can’t drink or eat at all. Both the cow and her calf were in danger. A serious bovine bind.

Karen’s family set out to help. But when the cow saw the rescuers coming, she set out for pasture. They pursued, but the cow escaped. They chased that cow for three days! Each time the posse drew near, the cow ran. Finally, using pickup trucks and ropes, they cornered and de-canned the cow.

Seen any can-nosed people lately? Malnourished souls? Dehydrated hearts? People who can’t take a deep breath? All because they stuck their noses where they shouldn’t, and when God came to help, they ran away.

When billions of us imitate the cow, chaos erupts. Nations of bull-headed people ducking God and bumping into each other. We scamper, starve, and struggle.

Can-nosed craziness. Isn’t this the world we see? This is the world God sees.

Yet, this is the world God loves. “For God so loved the world…” This hard-hearted, stiff-necked world. We stick our noses where we shouldn’t; still, he pursues us. We run from the very one who can help, but he doesn’t give up. He loves. He pursues. He persists. And, every so often, a heart starts to soften.

Let yours be one of them.

When my daughters were small, they liked to play with Play-Doh. They formed figures out of the soft clay. If they forgot to place the lid on the can, the substance hardened. When it did, they brought it to me. My hand were bigger. My fingers stronger. I could mold the stony stuff into putty.

Is your heart hard? Take it to your Father. You’re only a prayer away from tenderness. You live in a hard world, but you don’t have to live with a hard heart.

Tuesday Tunes

I LOVE this worship song. So, it is our Tuesday Tunes







Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name


Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name


Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name


Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name


Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name


Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name


You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name

Can people change?

Tonight is our weekly meeting of the Ya Ya's. We are doing a Bible study. It is Max Lucado's 3:16. It has been good so far. We will have a new person joining us tonight. It is kind of a funny story, but definitely a God thing.




This person has had some struggles in her life and I have to admit I have judged her harshly here lately. Then I had a tugging at my heart strings that I may have been wrong. So, I called her up one day and we talked for a while. I found out that she is really trying hard to change her life around and I realized how mean and unforgiving people can be especially when we have done things in our pasts that aren't exactly righteous. It would be hard to try to start over in a small town where everyone knows you. I talked to a couple of my Ya-Ya's and asked forgiveness for the way I had thought of her. They both said they understood and they couldn't imagine what she was going through. So, I invited her to our study tonight. I am sure it will go well, we have all gone through things but we have moved forward and are trying to learn together.




It got me to thinking that we all have to repent to move forward but we cannot do it on our own. It isn't possible, God has to help us. It says if we go to him he will remove our sins as far as the East is from the West. God wants us to have an abundant life, but he wants us to have life through him.




Does this mean we won't ever sin? Nope, that isn't possible either. However, we can get up each morning and strive to do what is right.

Hi, My name is Christy......

.................. and I am addicted to me cellphone.



Ok, now this is becoming a sickness! I got to the Dover Hill Gate this morning on my way to the wonderful training and I panicked. I COULD NOT find my phone. I stopped at the gate and one of the guys said "What's wrong".. then he laughed cause as he later tells I could not even formulate a thought. He said here call it and handed me his phone. I didn't hear it ringing so I continued on to work. Well Ed heard it at home and called it back and mark said bring it to me at the gate and I'll get it to her.



AHHHH.......... I felt much better when I had it in hand. Now, how silly is that!!! I felt a little embarrassed. It was like I had lost ALL touch with the world. Which then made me think, where would we be without God? Do we feel that same dread when we think we don't have Him or have lost Him??



Probably not as much as we should!



Tonight is a Purity Retreat at my sister's church. Lauren is the "main event" and I can't wait! Aimee and I are going up after watching a bit of the soccer game. She says she has to take pictures for Media.... but the boyfriend plays as well. SO, you figure that one out!!


Have a great weekend!!

Our Purposes

Got this from Annette today, just at the right needed time!


'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California


In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren ,Rick said:


People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.


One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.


I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.


We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.


Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now,you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.


The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.


We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.


This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.


I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.


Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.


No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.


And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.


You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.


If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,which is 'my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.


We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.


It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.


You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.


Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.


It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.


So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72


First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.


Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.


Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor ,care for the sick, and educate the next generation.


Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.


We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?


Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness?Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?


When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.


That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.


Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.


Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.


Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.


Painful moments, TRUST GOD.


Every moment, THANK GOD.


NOW . PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

Be still and know...

You know that part in Psalms that says: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."



MAN THAT IS HARD!!


Ok, back to normal font. I have had, well, to put it frankly a really crappy last couple of days. However, instead of shooting off at the mouth (like I usually do) I have tried to restrain myself. I must say I am doing pretty good, BUT, I want so bad to tell this one certain someone what I think.



Oh man, just great. Guess what God just told me.... Pray for him Christy. Darn it!!



Ok, Ok, Ok... I am being quite the baby. I know that God is in control over ALL situations... yes ALL. So, I will go quietly pray for this individual and hopefully it takes the urge away from me to want to rip his head off...

Tuesday Tunes

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing











Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise


Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
I'll praise the mount
I'm fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love


Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by thy help I come
And I hope by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home


Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood


O to grace how great a debtor daily
I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above



I love that last verse:
O to grace how great a debtor daily
I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above


Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

Bigfoot!!

Ok, here it is the story at Ed's expense. lol


If you watched any of news this past week you heard about the 2 men who claimed to find "Bigfoot" in Georgia.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080816/NATION/808160333/1020/nation

I do not watch the news, so Ed yelled at me to turn it on. I laughed of course because it was just funny to me.



Ed has always had kinda a fascination with Bigfoot stories. Ok, when and if he reads this he will kill me but hey whatever. He has always watched the specials that have been on t.v. on Bigfooot. Now I'm not saying he is a Bigfoot enthusiast or anything but I like to make fun of him over it. He did say "Bigfoot doesn't want to hurt people, they are people". Aimee and I laughed so hard and I even wrote that statement down to remember it! Cole of course took Ed's side.



I don't have a lot of room to talk, I did watch a special on the Discovery channel in the Loch Ness Monster supposedly sighted in Lake Champlain.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/060307_lake_monster.html

History Made

We got home from the Chrysallis last night fairly late, it was going on 11:00. We were tired but just happened to turn on the Olympics... I LOVE the Olympics. I got all the kids gathered in the living room and we watched as Michael Phelps won his 8th Gold Medal overtaking Mark Spitz's Olympic record. He won the following to secure the record:

1. 100-meter butterfly

2. 400 freestyle relay

3. 400 individual medley

4. 200 butterfly

5. 200 freestyle

6. 200 individual medley

7. 800 freestyle relay

8. 400 medley relay

Michael was born on June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, MD. His Mom talked a bit about his childhood. Here is what she said: "He was a very tall glass of water, a string bean," Phelps's mom told ABC News. "He was a very tall kid, and he was very awkward. His ears were a little big. People would tease him, which was very difficult for Michael."

"He wanted to run, but he had trouble running," she said, smiling. "But he has such a charismatic smile and a great personality."
Along with the teasing classmates, teachers told his mother that the young boy wasn't going to make much of himself. "It was very difficult to hear that," Phelps admitted. As a mother, teacher and now administrator, she knew better than to believe Michael's critics.

"Mike was a very energetic little kid who wanted to get answers to questions ... always in motion," she said. It was this ceaseless curiosity and energy would eventually serve as the foundation of his success as an individual and an athlete. I just wanted Michael to experience everything he could possibly experience."

Usain "Lightning" Bolt

Then I just couldn't go to sleep before I watched the men's' 100 meter dash. I have to admit though... I kinda hate to say it but I was rooting for Usain Bolt a.k.a Lightning. The 21-year-old "Lightning" Bolt was already the world record holder in the event when he smashed it again in a record 9.69 seconds.

In an awesome display of power running, the 21-year-old obliterated his own world record, despite raising his arms in triumph well before he crossed the line in 9.69 seconds.

"I came here just to win, that was my aim," said Bolt. "I didn't even know I'd won the record till I did my victory lap."

Bolt's supremely self-confident run in the world's most-watched race capped a magnificent day of sport in Beijing.

Bolt's victory was beyond doubt within meters of the starting block. He was ahead in a heartbeat and with 30 meters to go he glanced sideways and smiled in realization that he would win the showcase race of the Olympics.
The 21-year-old almost highstepped across the finish line to take the most coveted athletic crown meters clear of Trinidadian Richard Thompson who won silver in 9.89 seconds.

American Walter Dix won bronze in 9.91 but Bolt's blistering speed made his rivals look like sluggards.

After scorching across the line, Bolt draped himself in a Jamaican flag, took off his golden running shoes and kissed them.

His performance sealed a remarkable transition from 200 meter specialist to winner of the showcase race of the Olympics.

Bolt only began racing the 100m in the last year, putting his fellow sprinters in the shade with his performances. He first really showed his threat in May, when he set a world record time of 9.72 in New York.

JOY AT HOME
Bolt's father said "yam power" won it for his son. Wellesley Bolt said Usain son was partial to the vegetable grown in the Trelawny area of north-west Jamaica where he was born. Local citizens believe the local staple has medicinal powers.
Much of Jamaica clustered around televisions to watch the extraordinary run and jumped for joy at the victory of the man dubbed "Lightning" by the media.
Despite a tradition of producing world class sprinters, the Caribbean island had never before won a men's 100m gold at the Olympics.

Bolt can now set his sights on becoming the first man to win the 100m and 200m Olympic double since Carl Lewis in 1984. He will be full of confidence ahead of Wednesday's 200m final.

"I am just focusing on the 200 meters now," said Bolt. "I came here prepared and I'm going to do it."

The much-touted clash between Bolt, former world record holder and fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell and world champion Tyson Gay never happened.
Gay, suffering from a hamstring injury, failed to qualify for the late evening final in front of a roaring 90,000-strong crowd in Beijing's magnificent Bird's Nest stadium.

Powell, 25, who has never won a global sprint title, finished in fifth place.
"I messed up big time," said Powell. "My legs died on me. Usain ran an awesome race. I'm very happy for him."

Saturday

We found a new travel team today. Aimee had a tryout today in Terre Haute. She has already had an offer from a team out of Indy but we choose to go with the Indiana Diamond Outkast from Terre Haute. They are an 18U team who last year traveled to Denver and the Nationals were in Panama City, Florida. I can handle that!! Not sure if my checkbook can though =)





Cole and Chang stayed home and I was surprised to see that Cole had cleaned his room spotless. Chang took a nap. He said "I love naps" he fits right in!! lol. The kids a few weeks ago got a hermit crab and an underwater crab, they are actually cute... I was hesitant at first! Well, last night Cole got a Beta fish from Wal-Mart and today on the way home from Terre Haute, we stopped at Wal-Mart and got him an aquarium for the Beta. It turned out to be a nice one.






We are getting ready to go to Chrysallis in a bit. We always enjoy those. I have a funny blog at Ed's expense coming soon.... Wait for it!!!

Dry Bones

I was reading this today and thought it was good. It was a pretty good analogy of how things seem to go. Enjoy!


Ezekiel 37

Breath of Life

1-2 God grabbed me. God's Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun.

3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Master God, only you know that."

4 He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones: 'Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!'"

5-6 God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!"

7-8 I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.

9 He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'"

10 So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

11 Then God said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they're saying: 'Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there's nothing left of us.'

12-14 "Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, 'God, the Master, says: I'll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I'll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you'll realize that I am God. I'll breathe my life into you and you'll live. Then I'll lead you straight back to your land and you'll realize that I am God. I've said it and I'll do it. God's Decree.'"



No created power could restore human bones to life. God alone could cause them to live. Skin and flesh covered them, and the wind was then told to blow upon these bodies; and they were restored to life. The wind was an emblem of the Spirit of God, and represented his quickening powers. The vision was to encourage the desponding Jews; to predict both their restoration after the captivity, and also their recovery from their present and long-continued dispersion. It was also a clear intimation of the resurrection of the dead; and it represents the power and grace of God, in the conversion of the most hopeless sinners to himself. Let us look to Him who will at last open our graves, and bring us forth to judgment, that He may now deliver us from sin, and put his Spirit within us, and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation.

Food, Fun and Friends

My favorite picture of the evening!!

Last night we went to Los Bravos to celebrate my boyfriend (as I affectionately call him) Mert's birthday. We had a great time. It is nice to sit back, relax, enjoy each others' company and talk. It was the old gang, minus a few members. We always had a good time together. John was usually the life of the party and at times it just isn't the same without him, however, I know he is in a better place than us and he lived his life to the fullest. We miss him but we still hold him in our hearts. We got to talking a little about the "old days" with John and even are making plans to go back to The Great Wall like we used to. We will have to rub the statues belly for John this time.

Mert!!

Kevin

Teresa & Melisa

Me & Joni

Mert the birthday boy!!

I did notice that I didn't get any pictures of Ed, but then again you know what he looks like!! Notice I didn't fake smile... darn it!!

Signs

Tuesday Tunes

I heard this song on my XM on the way to work today at 4:15. It really woke me up and made me think. It is powerful. Read the words as you watch the video!












Anyway
Written by Brad Reynolds




He's been sleeping on the sidewalk...Since the money went away...Can you love him anyway, really love him anyway...He lost his mind but finds the time, to bum a dollar everyday but my Jesus says to love him anyway...




Love's the only evidence against us... that tells the world we're guilty of a change and there... there is not a one who lives among us... who wasn't lost somewhere along the way, but judgment turned to mercy, and mercy took our blame when it all comes down to loving anyway...



She did not want to be a mother; she still supports her right to choose... can you love her anyway, really love her anyway when she hates what you believe and proudly shares her point of view my Jesus says to love her anyway...




Love's the only evidence against us... that tells the world we're guilty of a change and there... there is not a one who lives among us... who wasn't lost somewhere along the way, but judgment turned to mercy, and mercy took our blame when it all comes down to loving anyway...



So open up your heart and let them see how it feels, and what it really means, when…



Love's the only evidence against us... that tells the world we're guilty of a change and there... There is not a soul that lives among us... who wasn't lost somewhere along the way, but judgment turned to mercy, and mercy took our blame when it all comes down to loving anyway...



So drop that stone of condescension, and don't forget to mention that Jesus chose to love us anyway... Excuse me Mr. Christian I sure hope you were listening, when Jesus said to love them anyway... ‘Cause no matter who we are where we've been or how deep our scars Jesus came to love us anyway... Hey there Sister Christian, I sure hope you were listening when Jesus said to love them anyway...

First Day of School

Well, today is a depressing day. It just hit me that Aimee is a Junior now and Cole an 8th grader. In just 5 short years my kids will be off and in college. I can't handle it!! I am one of those parents who never wants their kids to leave.



For the first time ever, Cole DID NOT want to go to school. This was very shocking to me. He has never done this. He has always loved school but he started last year stressing about getting all A's and I think he is stressed about it again. He has never had to work at his grades and he had to last year. Unlike Aimee who has had to always work hard to get her grades, which she always does well.



I always say a prayer for our kids and employees at school. Let's face it, it is a tough world and school can be very challenging for kids. Let alone kids can be cruel and teachers can sometimes not help the situation. I just hope that my kids can be kind to everyone and not judge them and not get caught up in the cruelty that can happen. But I am also a realist and know that my kids do make mistakes and you know what??? That's ok. As long as they learn from their mistakes and don't continue to make the same ones.



I think I need to listen to my own words. How easy is it for us to fall into that trap. We do things that we know aren't the right things to do, or the right things to say, or even the right things to think. Then we pray about it, and say I'll never do that again, and low and behold we do it over and over again. That is why God's Grace and mercy are so great. I mean how many people could we do things to over and over and over again and still get forgiveness.


What an amazing thing!!

Weekend chaos

We had a great weekend. It was busy but it was a good one. Aimee had some tryouts in Indy yesterday so we set off around 7:00 a.m. We went to one at 9:30, got done with it then went to eat lunch and to the Indiana State Museum. It was really nice. I had never been and we thought Chang-woo/Whoo-Hooo/Wang Chung/Freddy Bob (our redneck nickname for him) would like to go to it.




From there we ventured on to another tryout at 4:00, we finished with it at 6:30 and met up with some friends of our that we met in travel ball for dinner. We absolutely love these people. Shelly was fascinated with Chang. It was a neat experience, he had never had Mexican food so that was kinda hard figuring out what he wanted to eat but we made it through and he liked it a lot.




School starts tomorrow which I am glad because that puts us all back on a schedule and Cole will be home and not have to go to his Dad's but just every other weekend. I don't know if it is just me but it seems like this summer has just flown by. Well, I am going to go enjoy some couch time and watch the Olympics!

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!!!!













May The Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

He's here

We picked up Chang-woo last night. His plane came in at 5:25 Evansville time.... and just so you know they are an hour BEHIND us not ahead of us. Our mistake, I think we were just so excited to get him here that we got confused. Well, I am using that excuse anyway!! It gave me some time to read the new Twilight book. It is really good so far!!

Everyone got off the plane and no Chang-woo... I thought oh great he's lost already. Then here he came, electric guitar and all with an escort. The escort came up to us and required identification for us to "take" him. Which I found odd because when Hou Hou got here that wasn't required. I soon found out why. He is only 15... 15!! Can you imagine sending your 15 year old to another country for 9 months???

So, you know me. I already have many names for him which he said "I have many names in America". Then when I told him he looked a little like Hou Hou he replied "Oh, so Hou Hou handsome too". He has a great sense of humor. He is 5'9" and 110 lbs. and he told me "I like to get fat", well Ed & I laughed so hard at that one and then I said "Well, you have come to the right place".

We got home and explained to him that he could not eat our dog... which he laughed very hard at... and reassured me that they don't eat dogs that are pets in South Korea, and I said well, we don't raise them for anything but pets in America!!

He is going to be a great fit I can tell already.