Tuesday, January 20, 2009

"You have arrived"...I don't think so!!

So we had to drive from Saint Petersburg, FL to Savannah, GA today...Al Henderson Boulevard to be exact. Our calendar said it was Al Henderson Avenue, so Steven punched it into the GPS, which only brought up Henderson Avenue in Savannah. So he figured that was it and went with it. We were looking for a big church. One of the worst feelings has got to be when the GPS says, "You have arrived" and what you are looking for is nowhere in sight! We had arrived alright, just not where we wanted to. A quick call to the church confirmed that there is indeed a difference between Henderson Avenue and Al Henderson Boulevard. We were 13 miles out of the way (which is a long way when you've been driving all day). To top it all off, that 13 miles took 45 minutes because we were now in rush hour traffic! I think there needs to be a law that says no town can have 2 roads with remotely the same name. Second, come on GPS!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

You have got to be kidding me!

So I thought since we are in Florida, I should ditch the snowflake background. The site I usually get backgrounds from has been down, so I tried a new one. I got a new background alright, but I lost tons of stuff...links to my friends' blogs, our tour schedule, headshots of all the kids...hours of work! Anyways, if anyone has any clue how to recover it, I will love you forever. I can't figure out anything, and I don't even really like the new background. Anyways, I'm getting off the computer before I cry.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

WARNING: if you look at this you're gonna be jealous!

We ended up having a few hours to kill on our way to Deltona. The weather was perfect, so we made a short side-trip to Daytona Beach. The kids had sack lunches, so we planned to have a picnic and then take a walk along the beach, just getting our feet wet. For most of our kids, it was their first time to see the ocean. Once Wilber "tripped" and got soaked, the rest of the kids gave that look..."can we 'trip and fall in' too?" We obviously gave in. The kids were thanking us profusely after we left. They had a blast...and we're in Florida all month!!





Thursday, January 8, 2009

We're ready for the Winter Olympics!

An early attempt at a train...


Ritah takes a lap with Uncle Rick


I think this was taken right before they fell...
you should see Ashley's knee!


Uncle Josh & Esther practice for their pairs routine!


Auntie Jennifer & Catherine holding each other up


Juliet loves ice skating!


Everyone knows those toe picks don't work...just find a wall!


Look at that form! We had so much fun making trains 
that lots of other people hopped on.

We snapped this shot right before the zamboni came out. Notice Juliet (the girl farthest left and the one sleeping in the picture above) already has her shoes on by this point!! Oh well, 12 out of 13 ain't bad!!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

13 reasons why I'm just now posting Christmas!

And here they are!

We had all the kids at my parents' house in Wilsonville, AL. Out of 13 nights over the weeks of Christmas and New Years, we spent 10 nights under 1 roof (they spent 3 nights with families from our home church...words cannot express how grateful we are to them for those 3 nights). We had a great time and there were lots of highlights. Of course I was planning on keeping everyone up to date with what we were doing...oh well! To get the full scoop of all we did at Christmas, you'll have to see the blogs below!




My mom and dad worked really hard to get the house ready for Christmas. They were worn out by the time we left, but the kids had a Christmas they'll never forget.

Stuffed with Love!

The first Christmas gift came on Christmas Eve...a trip to Build-a-Bear. Centenary United Methodist in Shelbyville, KY sponsored the trip. The kids had a blast through the whole process, and they love their bears!

First you have to warm up the heart!

Then you make a wish...

Once your bear is stuffed, you have to give it a shower and a brushing...

Then you pick the outfit!


After about an hour and a half, we had successfully stuffed, brushed, dressed (and in some cases re-dressed), and named 13 new friends. Thanks for a special memory Centenary!

A baker's dozen...kids in the kitchen that is!

We have a family Christmas tradition of making painted sugar cookies, and the kids have always loved it. My mom found these adorable Santa aprons and chef hats which got us all in the sugar cookie-painting spirit. We decided to break it up into 3 shifts, so the last shift was baking in their pajamas...you'll see why I'm telling you that when you see the pictures!

Shift 1: Suzan, Esther, Juliet, Ericka & Wilber






Shift 2: Blanca, Ritah, Catherine & Matia






Shift 3: Suresh, Deepesh, Jonathan & Francis




They all have a story...

This year's children came to us all the way from Nepal, Uganda and the Philippines. Most of them come from children's homes, but they all have a story of trials that God has brought them through. Some of them have faced things in their young lives that most of us won't face in a lifetime. We praise the Lord for the ministries that love and care for these kids, and most importantly, are teaching them what it means to live for Christ. These children are the future Christian leaders to some of the most unreached areas of our world. We are so blessed to be able to disciple them and have them here as missionaries to the U.S. this year.

give hope

Everywhere we tour, people have the opportunity to give HOPE by sponsoring a child. Just $30 a month provides a little boy or girl with food, clothing, medicine and an education, but it also gives that child the opportunity to hear about Jesus...the only HOPE for eternity! Maybe this is something you've always wanted to do, but you just wanted to make sure it was a trustworthy organization. Maybe you came to a concert and are still thinking about it. Whatever the case, we hope that you will prayerfully consider sponsoring a child. There's no better time to invest in eternity! 

Tour Schedule

'09-'10 tour schedule to come...we'll be heading west this year!