Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Family Friday Fun

With all the craziness that was in our house last week, Craig and I decided that we wanted to do something special for the kids. Overall, they had done pretty well with the week's events. After all, they've lost their downstairs playroom and their front room play area and their backyard due to all the water. Trinity asked if we could go to Chuck E. Cheese's. We weren't able to do that, but we decided to have a little pizza and game night at home.

After enjoying some pizza and watching a couple of Power Puff Girls episodes, we pulled out the Wii for some family competition. We played some tennis and baseball and had tons of laughs. Kalyn was so fun to watch - she would simply swing her controller and would inadvertently make some really good hits!


Trinity snapped a picture of me waiting for Kalyn to pitch me a ball in baseball.

The girls in action



Following the games, we headed out for some yummy ice cream at Bruster's. Kalyn and Xander are still small enough to enjoy the free scoop and Trinity had a gift card.



What a great end to an unexpectedly wild week!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Kalyn's Trip & Top Banana Day

Last week was a very special week for Kalyn. She got to got to Nashville and spend some time with Mimi and Papa all on her own!! Being the middle of three, she unfortunately does not get too much 1-on-1 time with anyone, so she was very excited when she found out that she was going on a personal trip. I must say that there were some tears from Trinity when she found out she wasn't going, but we reminded her that she had school (most importantly) and when she was three, she got to go on the same trip. Eventually, she calmed down a bit and at least acted a little excited for Kalyn to go. However, when Kalyn saw how sad and upset Trinity was, she became upset herself. She looked at me and said, "Mommy, I was excited to go, but I didn't think about Trinity not getting to go." Such a sweetheart. So, after lunch last Sunday (of Trinity's baptism), Kalyn headed out with my mom and dad.

From the stories I've heard, it sounds like they had an amazing time. Since Kalyn was going to miss some preschool, I had sent her "classwork" up with my mom. I told her that if she got to it, great and if not, not a problem. Her class was working on the letter B and so B became the focus of Kalyn's trip. As they drove around town, they looked for all kinds of B things - books, balls, bobbing (in the pool), bikes, a bridge.

One day they tried to go to the library (but it turned out to be closed on Monday). Another day they went swimming and to Uncle Jeff's gym. At one point, they went shopping and picked up some very sparkly lip gloss for Kalyn. Kalyn also picked out some pink lip gloss for Trinity and a new Pooh toothbrush for Xander. As they were heading over to visit Uncle Jeff, Kalyn said this -

"Mimi, I am going to have to call Uncle Jeff Uncle Jess. I know it's Uncle Jeff, but when I say Jeff, my sparkly lipstick comes off. So, I'll have to say Uncle Jess."

After all, we all need to examine our lives and see what we're doing that makes our sparkly lipstick comes off then adjust our lives so it stays on!! She's such a hoot!!

Kalyn had to return Wednesday in time for her special day in preschool on Thursday. Each day in her class, someone is "Top Banana" - line leader, weather person, calendar person - whatever the teacher needs help with, the Top Banana does. It's also the day that the student gets to bring in a show and tell item (which the teacher prefers to match up with the letter they're studying). Her teacher had mentioned that she was looking forward to Kalyn's first show and tell because Trinity's had been so creative (they have the same teacher). Well, Mom and Dad took care of the show and tell.


They created a t-shirt (front and back) with all the pictures of Kalyn and her B-things they had found in Nashville. Kalyn had lots of fun showing her friends all the pictures on her shirt and talking about them. Of course, she loved being Top Banana - what kids doesn't like being the center of attention for a day? It was truly a special week for her!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

SYATP '09


Wednesday was the national See You At The Pole day. A day for students to gather together and pray for their school, classmates, teachers and administration. I took Trinity last year and wanted to take her again this year. Before we left the house, together we made a list of ways that she could pray.

Her list was:

  • my teachers - more money for classroom and some will follow Jesus and patience
  • friends - bless - Jesus learn more {that God would bless them and they would learn more about Jesus}
  • me - teach Jesus - be good student and friend

It touched my heart to watch her and listen to her pray for her school. It encouraged me to see her stand alone at her flagpole and boldly pray. She wasn't shy or embarrassed as she stood in front of the carpool drop off spot. I know that God is going to use her in such special ways. I am simply thankful that He's allowing me to watch His hand in action!!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Movie Time

By Tuesday afternoon, we were ready for a break out of our water-logged basement. Since Trinity was out of school, we decided to take the family to see a movie. We headed to our local $1 theater and enjoyed Tuesday's deal of only $.75 per ticket. We decided to see the movie UP. We had heard mixed reviews, but at the end we loved it! Kalyn had travelled with my parents for a few days alone with them, so it was a bit odd having only two kids with us. We all had a great time thought and it was a wonderful chance to simply get out of our house and relax for a couple of hours.


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Here Comes The Rain (Again)

For at least the last two years, Georgia has been in a drought. Our main source of water has been way down. Last year, we went camping at a nearby lake and found ourselves standing right next to the "eight feet deep" marker of the beach area - and the water was still quite a ways from that marker. We've been blessed to received a bit more water this summer to help relieve the drought a little bit, but we were nowhere near prepared for the rain we've had over the past week.

It has rained and rained and rained and rained. At least six days straight of solid rain. It may have stopped for an hour here and there, but for the most part, constant rain. Nothing too problematic. Until Monday. Just to give you an idea of how much it rained - our friend's rain gage received 5 inches of rain in about 5 hours, interstates were closed due to flooding, schools were closed due to too much rain, our large lake (Lake Lanier) which supplies most of Atlanta's water went up over 3.5 feet in 5 days. That's a lot of rain.

We woke up Monday morning to a forecast of showers during the day. It wasn't raining when we walked Trinity to the bus stop (at 7 AM), but we knew it would probably be raining soon. And we were right. It started raining about mid-morning. A little after lunch, it really hit. We had hard, hard downpour from about 12:45-2:15 - only an hour and a half. But, what a 90 minutes that was.

Our lake-front property, or I mean, our front yard

Our street - almost completely covered by water


Around 1:45, Craig went outside checking the flowing water through out backyard - no, we don't usually have a pool or river back there, but we did on Monday. There is a drain between our property and our neighbor's and it was completely overflowing. It created a couple of waterfalls in our back yard and a very wide flow of water through our yard, our other neighbor's yard and to the street. He looked at me and said, "We may get some water damage inside on this one." We've never had any water damage before, but this rain was different than we had ever had.

Within 15 minutes, it was flowing into our basement. We felt blessed because it was only coming in on the playroom and unfinished side. We were also glad that most of the kids' toys were picked up from the floor in the playroom. So, we quickly began moving everything out of the room and over to the other side of the basement. Then we began sucking the water out with a couple of shop-vacs.
Even the spots that look dry are pretty wet.

About 20 minutes later, we noticed there was water coming in the finished side. Not a good thing. So, we suddenly moved over and began vacuuming up water on that side. Unfortunately, it was coming in faster than we could contain it. It soaked into the carpet and within a few hours, about 90% of our basement flood was wet. As we walked across the floor, the water would pool up around our feet. Our second move began - taking everything from our basement to our front room upstairs. Who really needs a StairMaster at the gym when you've got stairs and tons of stuff that need to be moved upstairs?


So, this week has pretty much been consumed by our wet basement. We spent over 10 hours vacuuming out water from the carpet. Tuesday morning we did the same until we spoke to a company to come extract the water Tuesday night. We took a brief break during the afternoon and just got out of the house. Wednesday, Craig was nervous about water seeping into the walls and creating a place for mold to grow. So, he took out all the baseboards to let the walls air out. We did all we could to continue drying the floors Wednesday, but to no avail. We realized that the company that came out just couldn't get out all the water (due to a few misunderstandings between us and them). So Thursday morning, Craig and I pulled up all the carpet and removed all the still dripping wet carpet padding. At this time, there are still a number of fans and "air movers" trying to dry out the last little bit of dampness.

It's our floating carpet, due to the air being blown in beneath

Carpet padding removal



Amid all this, we can still give God the glory. Some of our blessings are:
  • The damage was fairly minimal. We didn't standing water, just a soaked carpet. People lost homes in this storm. People lost family members. The damage was to a part of the house we don't use too much and can afford to be without for a time being.
  • We have been surrounded by loved ones and friends who God has used to help with the recovery. We've had people loan a huge fan and an additional shop-vac. People have volunteered to come help in whatever way they can. My family has helped out financially. I know we have been covered in prayer by those who know.
  • I now have an opportunity and excuse to get rid of some of that basement stuff that I've been meaning to toss out. It's also creating the reason to redesign the basement to be more beneficial to our family.
  • God has revealed some things in me that I've been pushing aside. This has given me the chance to really examine them.
  • No matter what happens to us, it does not change the fact that God is still God, God is still in control, even when I'm not. Knowing that helps me rest in His peace.
This process is far from over, but it's beginning. Thanks for all those who have been there (and continue to be there) during this. Of course, Craig made a video for the occasion. Enjoy!!


Trinity's Baptism

Sunday was a very special day in our family. We had been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks. Trinity was getting baptised. She was showing our church body that she "was a member of God's family" (that's how she's explained what has happened to her and I love it). Both my parents and Craig's parents were able to make it in for the special occasion. We were really looking forward to sharing this celebration with our church friends and family.

Another special part of the baptism was that Craig got to do the honors of baptising. Our Pastor of Families, Scott Slaughter, was right along side him, but Craig got to dunk his new sister and Christ. It was a very special moment.








Following the service, we had a few very close friends and family over for lunch at our house. Now, if we had invited every single person who had impacted Trinity's walk, our neighborhood would be overflowing. So, we just had a few friends over. It was a wonderful, special time to encourage one another and celebrate this very momentous occasion.


Thank you to everyone who has ever reached out to Trinity and shown her the love of God. Thank you to all of our friends, family and spiritual family who have encouraged us, supported us, prayed for us and been there for us. God is doing an amazing work in Trinity and you are a part of that!!

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Hebrews 12:1

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Auburn verses Wet Virginia

We love football season. There's just something special about a fall Saturday filled with stress, excitement, frustration and general college camaraderie around one team. This year, we've been able to bring out our purchase from last year - our own personal inflatable Aubie. Plus, we even had opportunities to put him out. Check him out -



We have some good friends that are very strong West Virginia fans. Usually it doesn't make a difference, but last year Auburn played (and lost to) WVU. Well, the rivalry was back this year, down on the plains of Auburn. A few weeks ago, Steve purchased a couple of tickets for he and Craig to attend as Craig's birthday gift. So, a little after lunch, Steve arrived at our house and the boys headed off to Auburn. Craig was looking forward to seeing the new campus, eating at Cheeburger Cheeburger and hopefully rolling Toomer's Corner (an Auburn tradition after a win).

About 15 minutes before kickoff, I received a call from Craig. He said, "We're in a tsunami!!" The game was delayed over an hour while the officials waiting for a complete deluge of water to pass over Jordan-Hare stadium. The stadium was evacuated while the rain poured down (except for the faithful students who weren't leaving for anything). It was a quite the weather delay.

After a painful first quarter, Auburn pulled out the victory. It was an amazing game, we could feel the energy through the TV. I love college football!!! Here's the video Craig made of their trip. (He's quite into the video making lately and I must say, he does a pretty good job!)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Craig's Birthday Celebration

Last Tuesday, we celebrated Craig's birthday. Actually, it was a bit of a hard day for him. He usually takes Ansleigh and Kalyn to school. About five minutes after he left, I got a call to come pick up the girls. He was given the "opportunity" to chat with one of our wonderful Department of Transportation police officers. Because he is drives a vehicle and trailer that is over a certain length, he is held to a commercial vehicle standard. The vehicle inspection officer can stop him at anytime for simply an inspection. It is a pretty lengthy inspection and today it lasted almost an hour (which is why I got to go pick up the girls). The blessing is that he wasn't given a ticket for anything. He was given a citation and had to get two new trailer tires before he could really begin his work day.

That morning, when I reminded Trinity to wish Craig a happy birthday, she asked if we were going to make him a cake. So, we made him a cake. Trinity had lots of fun helping me mix the ingredients and Kalyn helped with sprinkles. We had some family fun with the cake and giving Craig his special gifts.


His gifts included some new ponytail holders, a new flagpole and a new t-shirt. (All you former Align Center80's children should be able to read it and interpret.)






Craig and I headed out for dinner, just the two of us. We had a gift certificate to Brookwood Grill, a nice restaurant near our house and we simply went and enjoyed a delicious meal. It was so nice to just sit and relax from the craziness of the day and chat for a while. We closed out our evening with a trip to Blockbuster and the viewing of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". It may have started out negatively, but ended on a good note.

Our New Favorite Website

We have found a great new website. Many of you may have heard of it, but we're new to it. My friend, Jennifer, has gotten me hooked on this site. I've now used it and know that I'm going to use it many times in the future. The website is www.restaurant.com.

The idea behind the site is that you purchase a gift certificate for a discounted price. It's super easy. Simply type in your zip code (or any zip code you want to search in) and it will bring up participating restaurants within about 15 miles of that area. You can scroll through and see which places you'd like. There are links to a map, their menu and their website. Usually there are a few different options for the amount of gift certificate you can purchase - a $10 certificate is $4, a $25 is $10, and a $50 is $20. Not a bad deal. However, it gets better. They run specials. Last week they ran a 90% off special. We bought $25 certificates for $1!!! What a deal. I don't know how normal that deal is, but my friend tells me that they often run 60% and 80% deals. I'm all excited about that!!

The nice thing is that we're trying places that we haven't been to before. We're going places that we wouldn't usually go (because they are a little bit more that we usually spend). However, if we usually spend $30 on a meal, add that with a $25 gift card and that makes for a pretty good meal. Plus, we haven't run into problems using the certificates. (You just have to check the details for the specific restaurant - some are dinner only, food only, or certain days of the week). We are now supporters of this site. Love it when we find a good deal!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Poor Dax

We love our dog. Dax turned 12 years old during the summer, so he's been around a while. About once or twice a year, we have to battle little heat spots on his back. Well, when we arrived home from the beach, we found out that the small spots he had before we left had grown into pretty large spots. Between the irritation of the skin rashes and the stress of us being gone, he must have spent the whole time biting at them. There were huge patches of missing, red skin. Poor thing.


We began with lotion and spray to cool the spots and keep him from biting. Well, attempt to keep him from biting. It wasn't too successful. After being woken up many times one night by the sound of Dax's teeth biting at his back, it was enough. We were moving to the next level. The lampshade.
The next day, I headed to our local PetSmart to purchase one. However, there's a new movement in pet care, where the offer a "more comfortable" option, that is simply an inflated collar. More comfortable also means more expensive. Craig said, "I can make one. Just give me some posterboard." So, this is how our poor dog has look for the past week and a half.


The first few moments with his new accessory were slightly amusing (sadly). He obviously couldn't see around him, so he kept hitting it on any furniture he walked by. It was also a bit pathetic as we realized he couldn't fit out his dog door. He's managed to tear it off twice. We're up to simply using whatever resources we have around the house. Our latest poster we found was not simply a blank poster, but a large poster card that the youth had been given many years ago. We couldn't remember the people who had signed the card or from which trip it came. Therefore, has become our latest lampshade. So we present . . . Party Dog.

Doesn't he look amused? We simply hope that he'll stop biting and the spots will heal.




We just hate to see him so sad.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Kalyn's Off

The day after we returned from the beach, Kalyn headed off to her final year of preschool. She was excited about the start of the year and was looking forward to a new class with new teachers and new friends. I was ready for her to head out also, but of course in a good it's-time-for-you-to-get-out-of-the-hours-for-a-few-hours-a-day way.


This year has also brought a new addition to our house. Kalyn's friend, Ansleigh, is joining us a little before school begins and then comes home with her in the afternoon. They are good friends through church and the two girls have the same school schedule, so it's working out well.


Xander was a little taken aback that Kalyn was going somewhere without him. There were a few tears from the little boy. He had to have one more hug before she climbed into Craig's truck. It was truly a precious site!


Kalyn's first project was to complete a poster about herself. I really try and let my kids do their own projects as much as they can. There's a fine line there between letting them do it completely on their own and making sure it's at least readable. Here's her completed project.



Thursday, September 17, 2009

Craig's Beach Videos

While we were at the beach, Craig complied a couple of videos of his own. Thought we'd share them on the blog.

Video #1:
There were a number of times when we would look up at the water's edge and see Trinity, off in her own world. She was dancing and singing - a star on her own stage. Put that with Xander's own use for the sand buckets and Kalyn's personal dance style and seagull chase, and we arrive at this video.

Video #2:
While we were taking pictures of the kids, Trinity and Xander decided to break out into song.

Video #3:
One afternoon, as we set up our towels, we noticed a wonderful sand sculpture of an alligator right in front of us. The kids then decided to play around next to it. Being the courteous beach-goers that we are, we told them to move away so others could enjoy it. About that time, the women next to us said, "It's okay. We'll actually need to tear it down because we're about to leave and it's our boggie board that is holding up the top jaw." My mind began working and I explained that my sister was a University of Florida alumni (gators) and we were an Auburn family, so would it be okay if the kids tore it down for them. They responded that they were Tennessee fans, so they would be glad to let us. Here's the result. Warning, this video does contain images that may be difficult for our Florida-fanned friends to watch.


As you can easily tell, we had an great and very entertaining trip!! We'll be back to our daily life blogging soon.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Beach Weekend

(Finally, a beach post)

Labor Day weekend brought our annual trip to the beach. We travelled over over to Myrtle Beach and had a great weekend. This year, Craig's parents joined us which gave us a bit more freedom than if we had gone alone. We arrived late Friday night, but jumped onto the beach early Saturday morning. It took a little getting used to, but the kids were all lovers of the waves by the end of the trip.

We stayed at the Caribbean Resort, which was right on the beach and had a number of fun kiddie pools and lazy rivers. We expected to spend a bit more time in the kiddie pools, but the water was a bit on the chilly side. The kids had a blast in the lazy rivers!! It was a great place and we'd highly recommend it to anyone heading to Myrtle Beach.

Craig and I got to enjoy a special night out. We walked down to the boardwalk area and took in all the touristy stuff that the beach had to offer. We also were able to enjoy nightly walks along the beach. The last night, we were out on the beach for at least an hour and only saw only a couple of other people.

We all had lots of fun searching for seashells, building castles (Kalyn called drip castles, "poop castles"), jumping in the waves and simply relaxing for a few days. Here's a brief montage of our memories!! Enjoy!!




Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Happy Birthday, Craig!!

In honor of Craig's 37th birthday today, I have come up with a list of 37 reasons of why Craig is so special to our family.


1. He is a follower of Christ who continually seeks to deepen his relationship with God and loves to serve Him
2. He loves his family very much
3. He is a wonderful, faithful husband
4. He is an amazing daddy
5. He encourages me
6. He challenges us - in our spiritual walks, in our personal relationships
7. He leads our family in a way that seeks to glorify God
8. He watches the kids so I can have time to do things like Golden Bells and hang out with friends
9. He enjoys spending time with his guy friends
10. He talks things out, he doesn't keep stuff hidden inside him
11. He treasures his friends - many of his friends from high school remain his dearest friends
12. He is a great youth leader - with praise band, small groups discussions or having fun on trips
13. He takes care of his body through changing his eating habits and working out
14. We both enjoying serving together in the youth ministry and our family
15. He's funny (even in the times when I act like he's not)
16. He's sensitive
17. He listens
18. He desires so deeply to protect our marriage
19. He's a great camper and outdoorsman
20. He is an unbelievable handyman and can fix anything around the house
21. He is extremely creative (which often comes in handy with #20)
22. He is a great drummer and I love to watch him worship through the beat
23. He plays the Strawberry Shortcake and Pretty, Pretty Princess games with his daughters
24. His son wants to be "just like Daddy"
25. He humors me
26. He delivered Trinity
27. He loves to be around our friends as much as I do, but also loves a quiet night at home, doing nothing.
28. He loves any Danny Kaye or Don Knotts movie.
29. He loves to plan special little surprizes
30. He fixes the kids' breakfast each morning
31. He enjoys sending notes in the girls' lunchboxes
32. He loves his mamma (and his dad) and my family
33. He works very hard for his family
34. His priorities are in order
35. He relishes the opportunity to have fun (and make a fool of himself) in front of others
36. We fit together - he and I and our family as a whole
37. There's only one Craig!!


Happy birthday!!!!
We love you!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

What A Day!!

This morning was set to be a special morning. While Trinity had already talked to Pastor Jerry and Pastor Scott about her decision to follow Jesus as her Savior, we felt that she also needed to do the "official" thing and go down in front of the church during our service's invitation. In our church, kids from kindergarten through second grade leave the service early for a Kids' Worship time, so she was not familiar with the invitation part of the service. She couldn't understand why she had to go up front and tell Past Jerry what she had already told him.

We told Trinity that it was simply a way to show the whole church that she had made a special decision. There would be a special time at the end when she would walk up. We expected that it would flow as it usually did - Trinity would go up and tell of her decision and then she would be taken with an Encourager to talk through her decision. However, it didn't go that way.

Pastor Jerry concluded his sermon and invited anyone who had made a decision to come forward. We had told him as we came into church that she would be coming forward, so he was "expecting" her. Trinity heard the words, "If anyone has made a decision . . ." and she was gone. We actually called her back and told her to simply wait until he had finished talking. She walked up, so boldly, so unfazed, all on her own. Pastor Jerry bent down on one knee and smiled at her. He asked her if anything had changed and she said no. Then he simply asked her to sit back on the front pew.

As the invitation song concluded (after another child came forward - praise God) and Pastor Jerry invited her back up to the front. He told her story to the whole church - that she had made a decision to invite Jesus as her Savior. We then were greeted by most of the church as they filed by to congratulate her. It was so precious to be encouraged by our church family. (We kind of expected to do that next week after she was baptised.) Many of these families have been around us since her birth, so their support has meant a lot over the years.

Throughout the whole thing and as she has told many people, one response has stood out to us. Craig was standing next to her as she told our associate pastor, Pastor Michael. He said (something along the lines of), "It is wonderful to see God working in your life." What an amazing way to keep the focus on God, not on something she did.

Next Sunday is her baptism. We are greatly looking forward to celebrating with friends and family. All day today, she has been saying, "This is the best day ever. I know I keep saying that, but it is." What a wonderful and precious gift God has allowed us to be a part of.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Preschool Open House


Last Thursday was Kalyn's time for her to meet her preschool teacher for the year. We were excited and please to find out that she would be having the same teachers that Trinity had for her 4-day, 4-year old class. They are great teachers and have been teaching together for a number of years. Kalyn was looking forward to see her new classroom and see who would be in her class. Many of her classmates from last year are going to be in her class this year. We have been eagerly anticipating her start of preschool. We know it's going to be a wonderful year for her!!!



Xander couldn't stand having a picture taken without him

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Trinity's Decision

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6
We had this verse printed on her dedication announcement when she was an infant. It is something that we have strived to do since her arrival - raising her in a home where she is taught about God. She has been in church, surrounded by wonderful teachers and caring adults, since she's been able to go. She loves her Sunday school leaders, her AWANA leaders and everyone who greets her as she walks through the halls. Church is truly her second home.

While we are very glad that she is surrounded by God's truth, it has also created an interesting dilemma as she has gotten older. We have been praying for Trinity to come to a point in her life where she asks Jesus to be her Savior, to realize that she's not a Christian just because we go to church, but because she recognizes what Jesus has done for her personally. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what she truly grasps and understands verses what she has learned and can spout back from rote memorization.

Last Wednesday was friend night at AWANA. Trinity has been looking forward to it since the first AWANA meeting three weeks ago. I've had to push her off for inviting people until the week right before friend night. She gave me her list and I sent out informational emails to the parents of the ten people she wanted to invite. Five of them were able to join her!! She was so excited to have her friends come learn about Jesus.

During the story-time, the leaders presented the Gospel, telling the kids about how Jesus was the Son of God, lived perfectly here on earth, and then died to pay the penalty of our mistakes and wrongdoing to allow us the opportunity to join Him and God in Heaven. As I went to pick Trinity up at the end, I was told that she was talking to one of the leaders and that she had some questions. I wasn't surprised, because she always has questions. I spoke to the leader as we were leaving and he told me that if she wasn't a Christian already, she was very, very close.

We got in the car and Trinity told us that she wanted to get baptized. So that night, we started a conversation and why people get baptized. She told us that it was to show other people that you have decided to be a Christian. So, we asked her if she was a Christian. She told us yes. She was downstairs during rest time one day, drawing pictures of a cross, Jesus and different worship images. Then, she began thinking and praying about the A-B-C's of becoming a Christian. She told God that she she knew that she was a sinner, that she had done things wrong (A-admit that you are a sinner). Then she said, that she knew and believed that Jesus was the Son of God and He had died for her sins (B-Believe). She was still trying to figure out how to confess, what did that mean and how do you do it (C-Confess that Jesus is your Lord)? We told her that confessing was simply telling others about what you believe, that you've made that decision.

I remember the day that she came up and asked me about what it meant to confess. It was the week before VBS. From there, I knew that she had made a decision, but I was simply trying to determine if she had actually gotten it. So, we've been praying for clarification for a few months. Through the words of another trusted adult and through our many conversations with her, we come to a point where we really believe that she has become a Christian and she could (and should) get baptized. Looks like that will be happening on September 20th.

As we ended our conversation Wednesday night, Trinity told us that she wanted to meet with him. So, Thursday afternoon, we all headed up to see Pastor Jerry so she could tell him her good news. It was a great time where she got to really tell people that she "had become a member of God's family" (her description of what's happened to her).

We are so excited to celebrate with Trinity as she has made the biggest decision in her life. Thank you to all those who have taught her and lead her to this point. Thank you to our friends who have supported, encouraged and walked with us. It's nowhere near over, but it is very good to know that all the prayer, time and energy is well worth it.

One down, two to go!!

PS ~ If you are one of our good friends and are hearing about this announcement through the blog, please do not feel left out. Between getting ready to head out of town and heading out on Friday, we haven't had much time to tell many people in person.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Another Farewell

Last week, we bid one more farewell to our recently-graduated youth. On Wednesday, Alex headed to Argentina to begin a year-long mission trip and study at Word of Life. We are so excited for this step. He is going to do amazing things and God is going to do amazing things in, through and around him. We can't wait to hear about his progress and excitement during his trip.
His family gave him a going-away party at his Nana's house. There was some yummy food and great fellowship. They had asked everyone to bring in a picture of you and Alex to put in a scrapbook album. There were some great pictures and some wonderful pages made. They also had a mini-karaoke machine. The girls had a blast with it - whether it was watching and listening to whomever was "performing" or actually taking a crack at it!

scrapbook contributors hard at creative work

the kids really enjoyed some HUGE rice krispy treats


music masters


Alex, we're proud of your decision to be led to Argentina. We'll be praying for you along your journey!!