Family Photos

Ok here are our most recent family photos.

They turned out pretty good!

Catching Up!!!

Ok, I know I have been very slack on my blog. I have been chasig kids with the camera. (Haha) Does feel a little like that. I am going to back track and fill everyone in as much as possible. And of course I have photos to accomapany. Really the only way I know where I was. I try to be funny. Last I left you I had just gone on my wonderful Mission Trip. ( An event I hop to repeat soon.) While I was on my journey Jamie was gone to cheer camp. She was so excited about the whole cheer adventure. She was choosen to try out for All American Cheerleader during the first day. Her try out went very well and she made it. Her squad had a great camp, and came back ready to cheer it up.

Well camp lead us right into practise 3 times a week ect. So our year started. And we have been full force ahead since then.

We have done several fun things with the youth. We went to our local amusment park in OKC in August. We had a lot of fun. Us adults may have had as much fun as the kids. :)

I did put on my dare devil hat, and loved doing it.


Next on our agenda was Jamie's 14th birthday. I decided we would attemp a surprise party. It went off with out a hitch. She was so surprised.

Now on September 4th Jamie had her first pep rally and first football game. They did great.

Ok, Now Jamie was not the only one to have things going on. Jordan is ful speed ahead in dance. Did I mention that I am taking a dance class. Trying to not be such a cluts. I will fill you in with photos when that happens. (NOT) I am really enjoying and understanding how hard Jordan works at what she does. Now Julie...... Well band is on and she is breaking in a new percussion teacher. She is doing well in school. But the big thing for her. My sister Sarah (aka Sadee), her father in-law saw Julie's passion for horses. She was over at her Aunt Sadee's a lot so that she could be closer to the animals. He blessed Julie with the Gift of Angel and Twister. She is all smiles.

Angel

Twister

Summer Mission Trip 20018

Summer Mission Trip 2008
Sunday July 20, 2008
Thru
Sunday July 27, 2008

What a trip… We had 15 teens and 6 adults. So 21 people set off to give and to learn together. This group not only needed to learn God’s word together but they needed to learn to be a team and act as one. The goal was to use the trip before arriving in Mexico to make sure that we were a team. We had no idea what God had planned for us at that time.

Day 1
Sunday
Well our first stop was West of Fort Worth where we pick up some home made Koloches. I believe that the kids were unimpressed. As we pressed on we arrived into San Antonio, and got checked in to the hotel. We freshened up and walked to the Riverwalk for dinner. We had good Mexican food all together and even had a mariachi band sing to us. They got mixed reviews. J After that we walked the riverwalk a bit and then took a River Taxi ride. This was very informative. We did have a phone casualty at this time. (Jake it happens to the best of us.) After that we walked back to the hotel for some sleep.

Day 2
Monday
We awoke and hit the floor running. We were off to see the Alamo right after breakfast. We toured the Alamo, and picked up on a little Texas history. Even heard a tour guide talk about the flag that my great great great great great Grandmother made. (The Come and Take It Flag) After a nice visit to the Alamo we were off and running for the vehicles. We needed to check out and head to South Padre Island. And we were off. We made it for dinner and evening worship with Creek Ministries. At our individual church time we had our devotion on the beach. This ended up to be a very touching time together. A long day came to a end and we were all looking for the renewal of sleep.



Day 3
Tuesday
We woke up knowing that our planned scheduled from before we arrived would not be taken place as planned. We had scheduled Tuesday to be a free day for the kids but the storm was coming and the Methodist church in Port Isabel needed to be boarded up. We had about a hour and a half before we were to go to the church, so we let the kids enjoy a little of the beach. You would have thought they were professional body surfers the way they took on those waves. (Just so you know I am not one for the ocean, give me a lake any day) The kids did great. There was no complaining that there free time had been lost, they were eager to do what needed to be done. We were exactly were God had intended us to be, so that we could do what needed to be done. We were able to get the church some more lumber to finish boarding up the church. This was something that needed to be done quickly. We wanted it done before the storm arrived. When we found the lumber and they did arrive back with it. It seemed instantaneously that the windows were boarded up and ready to fight a storm. We were all delighted that we were exactly were we needed to be to do the work that we knew needed to be done.

Day 4
Wednesday
As we awoke the storm could be seen off the cost. We took the kids out to the beach after the worship service and let them enjoy what they could before the storm hit. You would have thought they were professional body surfers the way they took on those waves. (Just so you know I am not one for the ocean, give me a lake any day) About lunchtime it began to rain and all the fun was moved indoors. The wind picked up but it was nothing worse then what I might see in Oklahoma on a normal day. I felt perfectly safe and at ease. As Creek Ministries began the worship Wednesday evening and they began the message the power did go out. It seemed to me to go right along with the message. We had dinner in the candlelight. It was an interesting evening. We went to bed in the dark and marveled what tomorrow would bring.

Day 5
Thursday
After the long, hot, and dark evening we awoke ready to move on. The kids all did a great job of getting packed up quickly at the spur of the moment. The storm was over but there was still no power and the water was off. (We had drinking water!!) It was the other things we do with water. After breakfast we loaded the vehicles and were ready to go leave but we instead stayed a bit longer at the hotel helping Creek Ministries load all there equipment up. We had no elevator so it all had to come down the stairs. No gripping or anything. The kids did the work that needed to be done. I was very proud. Cause it was hot and we were sweaty and getting ready to travel on top of that. These kids really stepped to the plate. After we had gotten them down the four flights of stairs we were as the singer says, “ On the road again.” We were headed to Fort Clark, Texas which would take us close to were we needed to be for Friday to cross the boarder. It was a long stretch of road that was going to take us about 6 hours. We made it late but by golly we made it. We did experience our first boarder patrol check on this stretch of road. We hit the hay and were looking forward to the 8:30 wake up call, because it felt like we were sleeping in. [On a personal note- I want to thank you all for putting up with me on this stretch of road even though I was not feeling well and was not the best traveler]

Day 6
Friday
We were to meet at 9am to go and get to enjoy the natural spring pool that is at Fort Clark. I did not jump in but from what the said the water was like silk. And Oh it was COLD. We did not have long to play but they did enjoy the time that they had. Mark arranged for us to get a little more Texas history at the Fort Clark Museum. The guy came over on his day off and gave us some interesting facts. After that it was on to meet the Hands and Feet Ministries in Eagle Pass to cross the boarder. Before I go any further, we had a lot of stuff on our agenda as we got to Mexico. I am trying my best to remember everything but I am getting older. Crossing the boarder into Mexico was a breeze. Nothing to it. Except I did not know that you had to pay a toll to cross. Learn something new everyday. We arrive at are hotel to check in and then we were off to the things we were to get done while we were there. I am going to start by saying I may slow and write more, as I was moved and spiritually touched by this experience. Humbled might be a good word for it. We began this Mexico trip with a trip to a place they called “the tracks”. This was shocking to me even though I had been told what to expect. This people lived in what they could find. They had houses built out of palettes, cardboards, scrap tin, or what ever they could find. As we go done through the Tracks we arrive at Erma’s soup kitchen. It was called “Cristo Es El Rey” This exceptional women’s testimony moved me to tears. She is full of Gods spirit and is spreading God’s word. I wish we had a lot more time to spend with her. We were able to do a little extra for her. She had told us she did not have any propane to cook with and she was cooking outside. Mind you she was not complaining about it at all. This was just the way it was, and she said that God provides. As us adults huddled up we were able to pull enough money together to fill up her propane. Another interesting story is that we were going leaving late and trying to get to our next stop, it was muddy and the wires hung low and we had high-topped vehicles. A few of the residents held up the wires so that we could pull out. Luis’ took an extra step and took the a few Cokes that we had left in the car. They were in hog heaven. This is something I will never forget and I look forward to going back and spending more time there. I believe that this woman has a lot to teach, and language was no barrier for her. Our next stop was the baseball fields. Now the men that run this baseball program….. Mark (our youth director) use to couch in a similar program. I told Mark that he was seeing the seeds that he planted blossom and grow. This program is to get the kids off the street and put their talent to a much better use. We did arrive late to the field due to having such a hard time leaving the tracks. When we got there Mark gave a baseball clinic and our kids ran drills with the little leaguers. We had one more stop before our evening was over. We were heading to our first orphanage. This orphanage was for disabled Hispanics. I did not say children because some of their orphans were adults. I wanted to do so much more for these children. Now they were very happy with the time we were able to give and the touch we shared with them. We were able to get the information of what could be done to help them after hearing they get now help from the government. The head guy says that God always provides. We made sure to find out the biggest needs that the facility requires. After that it had been a long day and we called it a night early so that we could hit the ground running the next day.

Day 7
Saturday
We ate and were off to the baseball fields early. We get there to get our instructions. We need to paint the fence post, dig about thirty-fence post, set the thirty posts, and stretch the fencing along the baseball field. We had a goal and were well on our way to getting it done. This kids worked hard. They did not complain, grip, protest, or whine. They were there to do what needed to be done. They worked hard. We were not entirely done when it was time to go visit our next orphanage. This was the Hands and Feet Methodist orphanage. We all played with these kids and were touched by them some how. I believe these children even helped break a few of our shells that our kids where in. All these kids wanted was a little of our time and attention. The awareness that these kids needed a home was there for me. All I wanted to do is to give to them. And they were happy with just asking me to take their picture. They loved to pose. We had some fun playing soccer with them. And some other outside activities. We did sing for them and do our few skits. They seemed to like it. And then we were off to finish at the baseball fields. We had very little time left and a lot we wanted to do before it was time for dinner. Our Caterer had invited us to eat dinner at her home. That lady could really cook. We worked our tails off tell we had no choose but to go get ready for dinner and the church service after. Dinner in the backyard was wonderful, I only wish we would have had more time to relax there but we were in a hurry and had to move on to church service. Church service was an extraordinary experience. The people were in a small HOT church and it did not mater cause they were praising God and happy to be there. They had dancer and a band that was amazing. The service began and ended with music. Mark Mann preached the sermon and did a fabulous job. I was moved again. After his message we sang our songs and did our skits for the congregation. These people were so outgoing, loving, and accepting of us all. It did not matter that it was hot. These people seemed to be absolutely thrilled at our presence. I thank God for that church experience. When we left the church with a detour to a grocery store. Which was incident of its own. I had to go potty but the bathrooms in the grocery store did not have seats. Any of them. And we could not find the toilet paper, in any of them. Well after being very puzzled and confused we finally had a little girl show us that the toilet paper was already in individual servings if you will in a basket outside the restroom. It was one of the few culture shocks that I received on this trip. After the detour we were off to the plaza to see plaza our last night here. We did that and got some photos. We watched the fountains to the music and began to wind down from the long day. After this we called it a night and were trying to get some rest for our very long drive home.

Day 8
Sunday
We hit the ground running. We left about 7:30 am and arrived in Sapulpa about 1am. It was a long day of travel, but the trip was totally worth it. It was a warming sight to see our welcome home sign hanging at the church. My wish is that we can take all that we have encountered this week and let it shine through us in all that we do.

Testimony
I can honestly say that I have never done anything like this before. My heart has been very hungry to serve and this was such a wonderful opportunity to be able to serve. This group is my extended family. I want them all to know that all they have to do is call and at anytime. During this trip I was not sure what to expect. I did not to a lot. I mostly took a lot of pictures, but I received so so much. God has filled my heart with all of our youth and the other leaders, each and every one has taught me something. I hope that I have made some life long friends through this trip. The facts that we were exactly where God thought we needed to be during a hurricane were astonishing. We were able to be there to prepare and protect the church. I am not sure I can put into words the feeling that both of the orphanages left me with. I could see God in the smiles and the hugs that those children longed for. The baseball field was beyond belief also… How often do you get to see another person’s fruit blossom from the seeds that they planted in children so long ago. That is what that field felt like to me. Seeing the things that Mark had done in the past grow in these wonderful, good-hearted missionaries. And all he did was talk to them and play ball with them. He showed them a better way. Mark you are an inspiration. It is an honor to have you help to guide my daughters in their spiritual faith.
Leaders

Heather – When I think of a person that Radiates, I think of you and your family. I have a great admiration for you and your giving heart. You have what I would call a charitable soul. You make such a difference in all that you do. I look forward to getting to know you so much better. I see a great connection in our future together.
Cathy – I know that I do not know you as well as some of the others, but we have gone a long ways together. I have such an admiration for the relationship that your large family has, and how you all have such love between you. I look forward to the next event and the growth of our spiritual family.
Luis’ – You shine with your heart of gold. You are good with the kids and listen when they needed you. You were absolutely invaluable on this trip. You keep us laughing and maintain on our toes. You have an eye for needs of others, and I believe that this team with you can accomplish anything that they set their mind out to accomplish.
Jake – You are on your way man. There is nothing you cannot do. It took awhile to see the man you are. “You are a little quiet” But once we opened you up there is a man with a heart of gold. You seem devout and committed to all things you do. This is a rare quality at times. Keep that devotion!
Mark – What can I say? In the time we have known each other my admiration, respect, and love for you have grown. You are one in a million. You should never sell yourself short. You have accomplished some wonderful things. Stand proud! We are so proud of you. I have assurance that my girls are in the best of hands when they are with you. Keep on being exactly who you are!!