Life in South Louisiana

Flat Stanley came to visit....

2011-05-09T17:50:00.007-05:00

My sweet friend, Jerrah Cantrell, sent her Flat Stanley all the way from Dawsonville, GA to visit us in South Louisiana. We had such a good time with him and took pictures of alot of different things we did. I made a video to document our time together....Enjoy.....Lassiez les bon temps rouler!!

NJROTC Military Ball 2011

2011-03-28T18:38:00.010-05:00

As a Sophomore, Carly is a Petty Office 3rd Class in her High School's NJROTC program and loves it! She is the commander of the Unarmed Exhibition Drill team and participates in the Physical Training Team and Drill Team. She hopes someday to be a Naval Aviator and land jets on aircraft carriers...and if up to her, her dream will become reality. She's already looking at attending Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR so that she can major in Aviation...

This past Saturday was her High School's Military Ball. Below are a few pictures of her day...

My family....

2011-03-15T17:54:00.005-05:00

Just realized when I shot some early morning pictures recently that my kiddos are growing up WAAYY too fast! Just some random pics to share....

CJ - baseball is back...he's got a great team with several of his good friends playing so this season will be interesting! Carly's last year for band. She has already auditioned (and made) her High School advanced Choir for next year.....as a JUNIOR!! OMG!

Samantha is fulfilling her dream of becoming a chef and is the middle of her degree at Louisiana Culinary Institute. SO proud of her!!

Me and Carly at the Louisiana Sportsmans Show this past weekend....just a fun foto since I'm rarely on this side of the camera...

CJ's 5th grade picture day. I had to snap a picture before he left for school in case the school pictures didn't turn out...

These next few are from a Field meet for Carly's NJROTC platoon. She dreams of becoming a Naval Fighter Pilot and serving our country as a Naval Aviator.

Here, she checks in with the judge and asks permission to use his drill deck....she's so cool.....and completely not intimidated by Marines...Carly leading her platoon in their Unarmed Exhibition DrillCarly is also in the Armed Basic Drill Team. This was on their NJROTC field trip to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans....fun with my camera and editing....Carly giving out high 5's to her platoon for a flawless performance during unarmed exhibition...

So proud of all my kids. They are each as amazing as they are unique. Love them each like crazy for being just who they are....

My mornings...

2011-03-01T08:30:00.004-06:00

March 1, 2011! Already! Time flies! Wanted to post a few pics of how I typically spend my mornings....

Up around 5:30am to see Carly off...she doesn't need my help anymore, but I like to see her before she leaves for school. Today is Tuesday, so she has inspection. She is sporting her new medal for being an amazing student, child, mentor, and leader. She's awesome.

Watch the sunrise and read the Word. Scripture seems to be so timely....

Then CJ's up around 7am. Get him ready, fed, and waiting for the bus. This has been his routine lately as his "friend, girl" from school loaned him a book that he can't seem to put down....better than video games (in my opinion)!

Just a great way to start off March...spring is here...loving the warmer weather!

What's new??

2011-02-27T16:29:00.001-06:00

Time with CJ

2010-06-28T19:02:00.004-05:00

Samantha was at the beach with friends, and Carly was in Los Angeles on her mission trip, so Mike and I took CJ to the country for some fishing, a picnic and to visit from friends....it was a good time.
CJ caught the first fish (a brim)....
I caught the second (a bass)....

It was so hot, we took a break from fishing for lunch and let Moose run around and we all were too hot to leave the shade, so we packed up and went to Clinton to visit Dennis. His pool was fun for CJ to cool off, so after an hour or so in the pool we headed home with fresh tomatoes and corn on the cob. That's when the fun stopped....I spent the rest of the night shucking and cutting the corn off to freeze. Not fun, but well worth the effort.

Date Night with Master C!

2010-06-23T07:00:00.003-05:00

CJ and I had a date last night. He requested I call it a "day" (minus the "t") so it didn't sound so boyfriend/girlfriend...but either way, we had a blast and made memories...

Started at Las Palmas (his fav Mexican Rest)

Then to the arcade for a little "death and destruction"! (achieved...)

Into to the movie to see Karate Kid - it was very good!!

And ended the night with frozen yogurt at Menchie's!!

Love my little man! They grow up so stinkin' fast! Cherish these times when he still actually enjoys spending time with me!

What's been going on....

2010-06-21T06:10:00.006-05:00

I see its been several months since I've updated the blog! So sorry...facebook has taken over...but I'll try harder to keep it up to date....to fill everyone in on what's been going on, I'll use pictures....they are worth a thousand words...right?? :)

So, my nephew, Coley, graduated high school and me and the kids were able to get back to GA for that! So much fun having the grandchildren all together and spending time with my brothers and sister! (and my Amazing Mom!) Stan, Cathy, Mom, me and Michael (he was being mean to me first! :))

Stan, Cathy, Mom, Cindy, Michael

Mom with the Grandchildren....Mom, Coley, John, Daniel, CJ, Grace, Carly, Caitlin, Mikaela (except Samantha)

Samantha competed in a culinary competition in New Orleans....Awesome job!
Father's Day - All together
Carly, Samantha, Mike, Cindy, CJ

Carly is back on the softball field injury free! (Thank you, Jesus!)

Carly

CJ played baseball.....(Catcher)

Carly attended the Military Ball with her good friend Cameron (from St. Louis)

My kiddos together at Easter!

Samantha, Carly, CJ

Samantha graduated High School and starts Louisiana Culinary Institute in the fall!

So proud of our kids and all they do!

Just this morning, I put Carly on a van with 35 other young people from our church. They are heading to the Los Angeles Dream Center to be the hands and feet of Jesus.....so excited for her and that team! They were originally scheduled for Mexico, but the drug wars were too dangerous.....

I'll make a few more trips to Georgia this summer (I hope!) Really miss my family and all that is going on there.....much love to everyone! Keep in touch!

love and miss, cindy

Maybe Freshman Spanish will pay off!

2010-02-27T12:55:00.002-06:00

Carly is heading out on the mission field again this summer. Kid is totally committed to Mexico! So proud of her and her heart to serve. I know its been a while since anything has shown up on here. Facebook, Baby! I've moved on and its hard to get back but I wanted to let the loyals know that she's going and if you get a chance send a prayer out for her. She's going with a team that doesn't include me this time! So, PLEASE pray! :)

Here's a copy of her letter, so you can see where her heart is...

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this letter finds you well. As a Freshman in high school, I have been thinking a lot about my future and career path. I feel that I have a calling on my life to help other people in less fortunate areas. One of my areas of interest is Mexico. My desire (as of now) is to finish high school and obtain my degree in Education from Bible College with a minor in Theology and Missions. My dream job would be to teach English to children in Spanish speaking countries.
This brings me to the purpose of my letter. I have an amazing opportunity with my church to go with a team this summer to lead a Vacation Bible School for the children of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. Mom and I went in 2008 and I felt as though I left a small part of my heart there. I can’t wait to get back and reunite with the Missionaries there, their families and the friends that I made on that first trip. I also look forward to all the new faces that I will see and get to minister to in that poor city.
For my trip to be possible, I need lots of prayer! Pray that I will be safe (without Mom!!) and can accomplish all that God has planned for me during my 8 day trip. I also need funds. The total cost of the trip is $695. If you feel led to help support me financially, I would really appreciate it. All donations are tax deductible and will used solely for this mission trip to Mexico and to help these children. If you are sending money, please make checks payable to Healing Place Church (with my name in the memo section) but mail the checks to me in the self addressed stamped envelope provided by May 1, 2010.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the years and please keep me and all of our mission teams in your prayers.

Carly Shoemake

“You don’t have to cross the sea. You just have to see the cross” – Ps. Mike Haman

It's been a while!

2010-02-04T06:52:00.004-06:00

I'm sorry! I know I have really been disconnected and I feel it!

Our Thanksgiving was less than exciting - alot of action but not alot of fun. I was hospitalized on a spinal meningitis scare. Once they did the spinal tap, it caused a severe migraine with triggered a whole other series of events. Long story short, I was released 5 days later and was not able to drive to Georgia to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom, sister and brothers.

Christmas was better and was able to visit some of my San Antonio family along with my sister from Georgia. Hope she had a good time....we sure did.

Since the new year, work has gotten slow, so my job gets crazier! I traveled to Atlanta twice for meetings, one just for Marketing Directors, and one for a rally to promote the new WinShape C3 camp for kids. Its coming to Baton Rouge this year and could be great....

With the Saints going to the Superbowl, Valentines Day and Mardi Gras all coming up at about the same time, we will be busy around here. Hope everyone else is having tons of fun and staying safe! I'll try to be better and keep in touch!

Some random pics - because I'm random....

Me and Angela Fielder (Truett Cathy's granddaughter) and organizer of C3 camps

Me and the cow at the Chick-fil-A luncheon in Atlanta

Carly performs at Showcase

2009-11-08T08:55:00.004-06:00

Dutchtown Sound - blurry picture....I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures, so I couldn't use the flash...

Carly's marching season is coming to an end (for this year at least). She's had an awesome year and I think she's really had fun marching with her High School band. They are amazing and I'm so proud of her. I struggled with being a Band Mom, but it all seemed to work out in the end. If she marches next year, I might even volunteer to work concessions....

Pictures from last night at Cajun Field, Lafayette, LA....

Me and Carly before they performed

Carly's best friend, Lily

Carly and her boyfriend, Philip

What keeps me busy...

2009-11-03T07:32:00.006-06:00

I guess it's not enough that school is back in session and I'm back at work, but the kids all have extra curricular activities. That's what keeps me busy.

Samantha goes half days and works at a local bakery to gain hours in her field of interest. Some days I get the amazing priviledge to pick her up from school and take her home. I cherish that time with her! She makes me smile.

Me dropping Sam off at work (on her birthday....this pic is a little old)

Carly has marching band practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after school until 5:30pm and Navy JROTC marching practice BEFORE band practice on Tuesdays. Then Friday evenings are high school football games until late. She's very busy but thrives on chaos, so it works for her.

Philip and Carly after an away game

Carly in her summer JROTC uniform

CJ is playing football and loving every minute of it. He's starting to figure out that if you hit them it doesn't hurt as bad as if they hit you. He's a huge fan of scoring touchdowns so he does that as much as possible and it seems to work. Saturday he recovered a fumble and ran it 80 yds for the td. Then scored on a trick play which he is still talking about. Sunday he repeated his 80 yd run to score. Monday started the "extension" where they get some training in specific areas and not just an overall concept of the game.

CJ #20

Mike works alot and travels alot so I'm busy with juggling the kids schedule and making sure the house is taken care of. Especially the dogs....

Moose, so proud of himself for destroying a pillow from one of the chairs outside..

I'm looking forward to seeing the family at Thanksgiving and spending time at home with my Mom and sister. My brothers are cool, but I miss my Mom and sis the most. They are awesome!

I'll try to post more pics of Carly and Sam later. They both have some competitions coming up....until then.....much love!

Carly's band hosts the marching festival

2009-10-20T17:50:00.004-05:00

The Dutchtown Sound....Dutchtown High School Marching Band - hosts the 2009 Marching festival at their high school field and it's Carly's first experience at festival. She helped all day, picking up trash, taking care of all sorts of things and then performing at the end of the night. They did an amazing job! Here's their performance from Youtube....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04zLa49lZoc

Carly's in there somewhere...she can't even pick herself out, but I'm still proud of her!

CJ's first football game this season!

2009-10-12T15:44:00.004-05:00

CJ sports the #20 for the Allstars.....his first game was football from beginning to end! It started out muddy and the kids were playing hard, then shortly after half time, it started to rain....That's when the fun started!

CJ's coach told CJ it was football that he wasn't supposed to smile. CJ replied, "I know, Coach, but I'm having fun!"

Thumbs up for the second half! He loves football!

Samantha gets her license

2009-10-05T16:26:00.003-05:00

Today, I took Sam to the Office of Motor Vehicles to get her drivers license. We were both SO nervous. She was nervous that the instructor would be mean and she wouldn't pass the test. I was nervous that she was so nervous she was going to wreck my car! Neither of which happened and we walked, achem...I mean, drove away with an Official Drivers License.

So proud of her!

CJ spent the night with a friend. It rained the whole time, so they decided to bake a cake. His mom helped them bake two layers. CJ got one to decorate and his friend got the other. This was CJ's. It's chocolate cake with chocolate icing, sprinkles, and an umbrella. He calls it "Hawaii's natural disaster". He says the chocolate chunks on top are lava rocks! I'm proud of him, too! Watch out Ace of Cakes!

Carly's first Homecoming

2009-09-28T10:13:00.005-05:00

This weekend was a milestone for our home. Carly went to her first homecoming dance.

It took weeks to prepare, searching for the perfect dress, the perfect shoe, hair, makeup, nails....but it was well worth it. She looked amazing, her boyfriend, Philip, looked handsome and they had so much fun....

Philip picked her up here and we took pictures. They went back to his parents house and took pictures there, then went to a friend's house that was hosting a 'Pre-party' and then later an 'After-party'.

The weather was humid, but turned out perfect (considering all the rain during the week and that morning). Pictures to share...

Carly and CJ

Happy Birthday, Carly!

2009-09-07T13:43:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it, but today Carly turns 15! We have so much to be thankful for this year. This same time, last year, we were sitting in the dark with a yard full of shingles and eating a cake that my friend Paula brought back from Arkansas for Carly's birthday. All thanks to Gustav. It's been an awesome year and she's such an amazing young lady! She's a good student in school, plays clarinet in the marching band, in the Naval JROTC program at her school, active in the church and is an awesome daughter! I am so proud of her and all she has become. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for her! Love you, Carly!

Carly's first half time show

2009-09-06T13:18:00.005-05:00

A quick picture of us before she takes the field....

Carly marched her first half time show this past Friday night for her high school. She was great. She marched onto, off of and all over the field without falling. That's huge! =)

Some pictures from the night.

Dutchtown Sound enters the stadium....Carly is 2nd clarinet....Carly marching into the stadium...(sorry its blurry)Carly marching in...Carly and her boyfriend, Philip.....

Dinner out...

2009-08-27T07:11:00.002-05:00

Mike and I on the roof at Tsunami downtown. What a view....

40th Birthday....

2009-08-26T06:49:00.004-05:00

Me and Mike at PF Changs for my birthday dinner. (no, he's not drunk)

Me and CJ outside.....

Carly and Me

I celebrated my 40th birthday yesterday. It's been a crazy weekend and this week has not shown any signs of slowing down. Friday night was Carly's band preseason performance. They were amazing. Carly is the brunette, right in the center of the picture (the prettiest one there!)

This is Carly's friend, Philip - back row, second from the right (sax)Carly and Philip playing volleyball at the after party....Had a wonderful birthday weekend that ran over into Tuesday. My actual 40th birthday! I'm waaayyy too young to be 40!

CJ's new ambition...

2009-08-05T16:34:00.002-05:00

....is to be a pumpkin farmer. For ever, he's had a heart for animals. Ever since he could answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up" his answer has been, "A veternarian". Until yesterday...As we were driving and talking, CJ blurted out, "Mom, I want to be a pumpkin farmer." You all know how random he can be, so to keep his thoughts clear and the conversation going, I said, "Oh yeah? Why?"....keep up with me while I try to put down his response.....

"You see, vampires are mostly scared of pumpkins. Not just vampires, but all of the creatures of the night are scared of pumpkins. Everyone thinks they are scared of garlic, but that's not true. That's why people put out pumpkins at Halloween and not garlic! Besides, have you ever seen a vampire or even a bat in a pumpkin patch?"

hmmmmm...he's random but so convincing. CJ may very well be a pumpkin farmer.

Trip to Georgia

2009-07-30T19:57:00.010-05:00

Me and the kids (including Carly's bff, Lily) made a quick trip back to Georgia last week to see my Mom before school started back. Here are some pictures of our trip...
Carly and Lily Cathy (my sister) and me

CJ's first trip to Dairy Queen....

Mom and me

Michael (my brother) and me

The girls got bored on the drive back to Louisiana, so CJ filmed them killing time and tunes....

Part 1 of song 1

Part 2 of song 1

Take CJ to Work Day

2009-07-27T15:09:00.002-05:00

Not all of you know, but I am the new Marketing Director for our local Chick-fil-A. So, now that I've started back to work and Carly started band camp, CJ is displaced. I only work a few hours in the store, so I thought there would be no harm in bringing him in just for a few hours. I was in the office working on some different projects and when I came back through the kitchen, this is what I found. Apparently CJ had been recruited by a couple of the guys for free labor. He had already helped make the famous Chick-fil-A lemonade....I caught him helping Brad with preparing the chicken for the fryer. Hmmm.....maybe tomorrow he can go to work with Mike! =)

Mexico video

2009-07-14T07:54:00.004-05:00

As promised, I'm posting pics from our trip to Mexico. Thank you, Cathy and Paula, for such an awesome gift! It was a great early birthday!

Check this out....

2009-06-27T09:42:00.004-05:00

My bff Becky is moving to Africa! She's living the dream! I'm so excited to see what God has in store for her. It's going to be amazing.

You can see her story and follow her journey at www.wheresbecky.blogspot.com

Its going to be so sad to see her go, but so exciting to see the fruits of her labor!

Today's good...

2009-06-27T09:40:00.003-05:00

....for a cruise to Mexico! My sister and my friend Paula, got together behind my back and surprised me with a 5 day cruise to Cozumel. We leave today (in a few hours) and will be back on Thursday.

Pictures will come later.....

CJ vs. Wasp

2009-06-20T11:14:00.004-05:00

The wasps won this time....CJ was over at a friends house Saturday and they decided to swing. Somewhere on the swing set was a giant wasp nest. CJ started to swing and got smacked by at least 3 wasps, but ended up with about 6 stings. Mostly on his head and face. Three stings to his ear and 2 on his cheek. One stung him on his forearm. He's fine now and back to "normal" (whatever that is for CJ) but only after a visit to the urgent care center for a shot and the pharmacy for some steroids and benadryl. Some pics for the curious...

Alligator Bayou

2009-06-05T22:00:00.006-05:00

Last night, we visited our dear friend, Jim over at Alligator Bayou Tours. Its so sad. Iberville Parish decided to open the locks for the canal that feeds Alligator Bayou and the Spanish Lake basin and have completely drained the bayou. Its left the place a waste land. Almost completely putting Alligator Bayou tours out of business. http://www.alligatorbayou.com/

I wish there was something more we could do to help save this beautiful, natural, wildlife preserve, but it looks bleak. Of course, there are pics.....

Bayou less than 1ft deep....will not sustain life for fish much longer.CJ and Jim trying to come up with a plan to save Alligator Bayou....

Roots of the Cypress trees are exposed and fish just fight in the low water level to survive.Jim feeding Hannibal. Jim calls the gators up by name and hand feeds them, each one. So amazing to see the love they have for this place and these "dragons". Simply beautiful.

CJ learning the ropes. Hannibal is one of the largest gators in the preserve and he is no 'gentle giant'. He can move fast and is unbelievably huge. He got CJ and Jim back over the fence pretty quickly. (note the picture of CJ and Jim from the back, CJ's shirt is ripped because of his quick retreat over the fence)Love Jim, Frank and Alligator Bayou. Praying for a quick resolution and recovery.

Carly's back......

2009-06-05T18:13:00.005-05:00

Carly's passion is softball. No big secret. However, she had to sit out several seasons due to chronic knee dislocations. After several attempts with physical therapy and braces and a cast, Carly made a decision with her surgeon to undergo a major surgery that would involve cutting bone and screwing it all back together. This would leave her in a wheelchair for 6 weeks and in a full leg cast for 8. Ultimately, it worked and Carly was able to get back on the field the summer before high school. We made a "thank you" video for her surgeon and thought we'd share it with family and friends.....enjoy....

From Blog to Facebook....

2009-06-05T18:11:00.003-05:00

I must apologize to my 3 readers that have probably disowned my blog. I moved over to FB and because of my ADHD, struggle with updating both. But after taking heat from some of you, (you know who you are, Cathy, Kev...) I'll try to at least do something so you know what's going on with the Ragsdale's.

Much love to you all.......

Destination: Key West, FL

2009-03-16T07:16:00.007-05:00

For our 10yr Anniversary, Mike and I celebrated in Key West. It was awesome! Thursday morning, we left the children behind (in the more than capable hands of my bff Paula) and flew to Miami. We rented a convertible and drove the 3hrs to Key West. It was gorgeous! The weather was perfect every day. Highs in the low 80's, lows in the mid 60's. Perfect. We came home on Sunday and it was good to get back and see the kids. Next time we go, I plan to move there.....:) Pics below:

(The very small car we rented.....)The Southern most point of the US - standing here we were closer to Cuba than to Miami.Us at a restaurant waiting for the sunset....Me with some Pirates and yes, that's a REAL bird. I was mortified!

We had an awesome trip and can't wait to go back!

Oh! I almost forgot Kenny. He was there..... :)

Wonderful weekend!

2009-03-09T07:31:00.010-05:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We sure did. It was very busy, but the weather was gorgeous and we were able to get out and have fun! It started off early Saturday morning (7am). I was able to sing at this year's Mission Conference which helped connect people with the different missions our church will be taking this year. It was awesome! Then from there I got to hang out with Gracie Smith for a few hours while her Mom and Dad were busy, busy. We took Carly to softball practice where she is getting back into the swing of things! It was so good to see her back on the field. (without a cast or crutches!) Then, we had worship team practice which is always fun - about 50, 6-11 yr olds praising God, loud and proud. Then it was time for lunch. WHEW! :) Paula picked up Grace and me and the offspring headed to St. James Boat Club for the Children's Miracle Network fishing tournament. It was packed and so much fun. The weather was beautiful and Slaughter Logging and the gang served it up with OLOL and others to help the kids through CMN! Then out to Hymels in Convent, LA for some raw oysters and fried catfish. Then home to bed.....gotta be back at church at 6:45am with a time change thrown in there.
It was all good, Carly and I did slip off to the mall for a couple of hours, but then right back to church. We finished our weekend with a 9pm trip to Winn Dixie for drinks for the kids lunches and ran into some good friends and had to chat for a while. An Awesome weekend! Pics below!

Carly throwing 'em out at first!

CJ hangin' out with the current Miss Louisiana and (I think) Miss Teen Louisiana at the fishing tournament. Who would have thought that these two beauty queens were originally from Georgia. Hmmm. :)

Happy Anniversary! 10yrs today!

2009-03-06T07:24:00.003-06:00

Mardi Gras 2009

2009-02-25T12:25:00.002-06:00

Tarp-free!

2009-02-23T22:14:00.003-06:00

I know this picture probably is just of a house to some, but we are excited that our home is finally free of the infamous green tarp! Praise God! It's been quite a while and we finally reached an agreement and had our roof fixed. It's not exactly what we were looking to have done, but hey, it doesn't leak and it doesn't look too bad. We are thankful.

So I've been busy....

2009-02-07T08:19:00.005-06:00

I know that everyone is busy, but I do want to apologize for my blog getting a little "stale". I was invited to help my bff Paula "paint" her living room. That's all good, because I LOVE to paint. Mike says I paint like Helen Keller with a broom, but I love it anyway. Paula is fully aware of my skills, (or lack thereof) so she solicited my help. We started last Tuesday and are still going strong. Because we are first and foremost Mom's, we only have a few hours a day to commit to the livingroom, but we are getting there. Because the walls were dark to begin with, we had to put Kilz on it. (2 coats) then plaster, (2 coats) then paint (haven't started!). Because Paula does not like heights (she's scared!) I got the job of scraping that crappy popcorn stuff off the eaves of the vaulted ceiling. I may have asbestos poisoning, but the room looks great! :)

This is the room after the Kilz....Yes, they are still living here.....just ready to get some order back....

So, we worked Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday I had to bail because of Cj's 3rd grade field trip to the Aquarium in New Orleans. I went back on Friday and will be back today. Cj's 3rd grade class....Cj is front (red hair) and his friend James is back row-far right (on end). He's related to the famous groundhog (Puxatawney Phil)....go figure...

This whale is awesome. The kids can climb on it and every few seconds, air blows out the blow hole. Cj didn't know, so this picture was taken just before it blew. When it did, Cj jumped off and almost wet his pants! :)Carly's at Amplified (a weekend retreat for 6th-12th graders at our church) - I'm sure she'll facebook about that all weekend. I have to sing tonight, so I'll get to see her at church. Mike and CJ are rabbit hunting this morning, so my morning is quiet, but it won't be long before I am back on a ladder in Baton Rouge. Paula's good to me, though.....she feeds me....

Abel's coming home soon....

2009-01-27T07:38:00.004-06:00

I'm so excited. I have such a heart for orphans and adoption and I cannot wait until my friends bring home their new son. His name is Abel (age7) and they are in Ethiopia right now finishing up everything to bring him home. We hosted their adoption party a couple of weeks ago at our house (see Carole's post in her adoption section) and I know they are prayed up and excited to bring him home. He is just so adorable and I can't wait to meet him. Pray they have a safe flight home and that he's not scared. Check out Carole's blog for updates. She's not able to blog, but she can twitter from her phone and those updates are on her sidebar.

Fun weekend...

2009-01-26T07:19:00.005-06:00

Busy, but fun! Saturday, I had a cancellation on the schedule at church so I went to lead worship for the kids. It was a blast!Carly was also needed to make the announcements - she's awesome on stage. Not afraid to just get up and do it. I love that about her! She ain't scared. Check out Kari (front right) serving it up with a new little boy that's deaf. She jumped right in and helped him to understand our service, even though we don't understand it most of the time! :) We appreciate her and can't wait for this guy to come back to service!

After church, I was going to take Carly and her bff Lily to the movies. It had turned cold and was misting rain so it was nasty out. We got there and I let them out to get the tickets. As I was parking the car, Carly called and said to just pick them back up. The lines were too long and they didn't want to wait outside. So we tried another theater and got the same thing. Long story short - we ended up at California Pizza Kitchen. Carly and Lily - awwwwSunday, Carly really wanted to be at the Dream Center in the inner city. Since I had to sing at Highland, I asked Hope if she could drive her. She did and Carly had so much fun reconnecting with her friends down there! Thanks so much, Hope! I owe you!

Carly snapped this picture of Daniel teaching the children at the Baton Rouge Dream Center. Carly said he did an amazing job and was a natural. Daniel said he was nervous as everything. Believe me, brother! I know. Those children are awesome but very intimidating! :)

Honer Row....

2009-01-22T11:52:00.005-06:00

*Lily and Carly*

Too funny....Carly is an amazing student. Through all her surgery, 6 weeks out of school because of the wheelchair, and missed days for doctors appointments, she still has honor roll. We are so proud of her. So today, I was excited to go to her school for the special assembly they had to congratulate the students and their accomplishments.

However, once I got there, there was something strange about the school sign. I'm not sure who was asked to post the 'Honor Roll Assembly' announcement on the sign but it's a pretty safe bet it wasn't the Valedictorian!

Great Dr. visit

2009-01-21T11:48:00.005-06:00

Carly went today to followup with her Orthopedic surgeon. She has been going to physical therapy 3 times a week for the past month, so today she went back to see how things are going. Her doc is awesome! He pushed on it, bent it and told her that everything is healing really well and she should be able to start practicing for softball in February. He backed down the pt to 2 times a week and said for her to start pushing it. (this should be fun!) He added that her goal is to be able to bend it so that she can kick herself in the rear. Of course, if its necessary, I can do that for her! :)
Anyway, below is a pic of the x-ray taken today. You can see that its not completely healed, but he said its very close and looks great! Looks like he left something in there if you ask me!

Her Doc apologized for the scar. It was supposed to be about a 3in incision and it ended up about 8inches. Since Carly scars easily anyway it does look kinda creepy. But with her amazing attitude she told him, "That's ok. Scars are just like tattoos but with better stories." He loved that.....

Lolo gets the Gold...and Carly learns to park

2009-01-18T17:14:00.008-06:00

We had an awesome treat today at church. One of our church members came home to share with us while Pastor is in India. Lolo Jones wrapped things up at the end of service and she truly deserves the gold medal! You may know her from this summer's olympic games in Beijing....but to us she is family. My friends and I are in awe of how beautiful she is...you can google her to get a better pic, but she is so pretty, inside and out!
She talked today about how during her run for the gold medal, she clipped a hurdle and in the blink of an eye went from first to seventh place. It was an awesome story and she seemed so real. I can't explain how touching it was and how great it was to hear her story. Thanks HPC, for providing the platform for her to speak. She's a gold medal winner.....

Another platform that HPC provided today was their parking lot. With Carly turning 15 this year, we are getting ready for driving.....yes, driving. Carly practices going up and down the driveway, through the neighborhood (with me sitting beside her with my hand on the emergency brake, of course), but today, I drove her to the church to teach her how to park. This proved to be a little harder than I thought. Carly drives great! She's careful, she doesn't give anyone a heart attack, she really does well. Parking....not so much.....She tried, but we need more practice. Here are some pics from our day.....

Both hands on the wheel - eyes on the road. Focused.Ahh...found a space (or two) Only (1) parking cone was injured during the making of this post.

Survey....

2009-01-14T10:07:00.005-06:00

At breakfast, Mike, CJ and I discussed the likeness between CJ and Lucky - the Lucky Charms elf. I don't see it... Does anyone??? (besides Mike)

Mike's Birthday

2009-01-14T08:56:00.005-06:00

.....a success. He worked all day, so we started the party around 6pm. I had picked up Sam and she was able to surprise him and go with us to dinner. We dined at Nagoya, a sushi buffet in town. Mike loves sushi.....me, not so much, so we went to Nagoya because they also offer normal, cooked, stuff. And, of course, ice cream for CJ. Here are some pics from the evening.

CJ finishing his 3rd bowl of ice cream....first chocolate, second vanilla, and third rainbow sherbet.

Mike, Sam, Carly and CJ

Me and Mike

Sam, Carly and Me.

Cj's quote from dinner....."Did you know that hamsters and gerbils can't have babies together, but they both like lettuce?" - He is so random, but his wisdom is amazing!

Happy Birthday, Mike!

2009-01-13T07:23:00.005-06:00

Today is Mike's birthday and we have a big evening planned. He doesn't know about it, but I'm sure once he reads this he will! :)

The evening is a surprise, so I can't mention details, but if you come across my man today, wish him a Happy Birthday!

I love you, Mike!

The morning after....

2009-01-12T09:25:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we helped host an Adoption party for our friends Carole and Dean Turner. What an honor. They are an awesome couple in our circle of friends that are adding to their family by adopting a child from Ethiopia. How exciting is that? I guess, exciting for us, but nerve-racking for Carole and Dean.

Some friends and I pulled together a quick party since they leave in a couple of weeks to bring home their new addition and along with about 50 of our friends we got them ready for their trip. The food was great and the fellowship was awesome. Thanks to everyone who came and helped. It was a blast. You can probably check Carole's blog later for pics. E was running around with a camera! :)

Here are a couple of pics I took with my go-go gadget phone.

Carole and Dean opening gifts.....

The amazing cake Summer decorated! It was gorgeous!

Life on the ranch

2008-12-31T08:42:00.009-06:00

Our "after Christmas" trip to the ranch is sadly over. We love going there and spending time with everyone. It's good to see Uncle Stanley and Aunt Diane, Michael, Nicole, Christopher and Kristin. And, of course, we love the hunting. This year was a time of firsts. First year that neither of the girls were able to go with us, and Cj's first kill. He did so well and is still excited about it.

My cousin, Michael, presented me with my first deer mount. Its so cool! Not the mack daddy, but not bad for a girl. Michael caught an armadillo and drug it out of its hole for all to see. That was, achem, strange. (but a first)We were visited by what we lovingly refer to as "the Martie Party". Its a loud, crazy bunch of Moore's that love the ranch - did I mention they were loud? :) Its Martie, (my birth father), his wife Christine (which would be my birth step mother), Jason and Yesenia (my half brother and his wife), their daughter Scarlett (cutie patootie), Matthew (another half brother) and his girlfriend, Areli. They are always fun, but a little loud. (for hunting)

Scarlett - too cute!

Then, of course, just when we are packing up and getting ready to leave (so we can actually make an extra stop in San Antonio and still get home before midnight), Mike has to shoot some freak nasty that he had spotted on the deer cam the day before. Because of Cjs smack down, and Mike's ambush, it took us until 3pm to get everything cleaned and put up to even think about heading home. I voted to hang out in San Antonio Tuesday night to rest before heading home on Wednesday, but was overruled. Oh well, another road trip it is!
Thanks to Uncle Stanley and Aunt Diane for their gracious hospitality. To Martie and Ms. Chris for the use of their camper, and to south Texas for another exciting few days in the wild.

Birthday wishes....

2008-12-25T15:26:00.010-06:00

What a great day already. Sam was able to come by for a while and open gifts and spend some time with us which is always wonderful. Love you, Sam!

We sang "Happy Birthday" to CJ and had cake (sortof). It fell apart when I was getting it out of the pan, so it looks more like biscuits and gravy (with sprinkles, of course) but it tasted good which is all that matters. I'm not bitter about my lack of baking skills.

Besides, my Grandma always said that if a cake didn't fall apart, it wasn't any good. That's the hope I'm holding on to!

Then Mark came by to wish Carly (and us, but mostly Carly) a Merry Christmas and just hang out for a couple of hours til he had to get back to his fam.

All in all, we have had a very Merry Christmas. We hope you and yours did as well......

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday!

2008-12-25T09:52:00.003-06:00

Christmas is here and I hope everyone has an awesome day with family and friends! We had fun last night with the Smith's on the levee watching the bon fires. Its always a blast even though Carly couldn't actually participate. To walk up the levee wall would be just too much on that new knee she got from Santa.

Then we are up this morning and gifts are opened and now the birthday cake is in the oven. Yep, Cj's 9 today! I can't believe he's growing up so fast. So, the rest of the day will be spent with family and friends, and trying to figure out what to do with all the new stuff that we have to fit into our already crowded lives. Ahhhh, the joy of the season!

**Birthday is celebrated after lunch, so birthday pics will follow.....

Workin it!

2008-12-23T21:39:00.003-06:00

Here's Carly. Working the new knee and texting at the same time. She and I agree (along with Beck) that God loves texting. Its just a great thing.

Carly had some breakthroughs in therapy this week. She can straighten her leg completely, can make a full rotation on the stationary bike and can pick it up by herself - almost. Its the little things, but she's doing great!

Bro Wayne visited her while at therapy so he gave her his best coach pep talk. We love Bro Wayne.

Busy Thursday

2008-12-18T18:38:00.005-06:00

Today, Carly went back to school. Wow! A huge accomplishment. She's doing great! Came home a little tired, but other than that, she's great. (even though she's making a funny face!)

After getting the kids to school, I sorted through some gifts, wrapped what was not wrapped, made a list of any last minute gifts and headed to the church to serve. What an amazing site! I was asked to help sort gifts into boy/girl categories and age groups. For the past few weeks, at our services, we have been collecting toys for children in the inner city and who are less fortunate. Can I tell you, our church is a giving church! They represented! We sorted thousands of toys. Toys for boys, toys for girls, toys for babies, toys for teens.....it was crazy, but in an amazing way. I can't wait until this weekend when we get to bless a child with a toy. Its going to be so cool!

Then, CJ came home with a list of things he needs for his Class party tomorrow. (yes, tomorrow)So, we made cupcakes tonight. We made birthday cupcakes. I know its Christmas and all, but its also his birthday, so we're making birthday cupcakes.

So, some time, between sorting toys, wrapping gifts and making cupcakes, I get a picture text from Paula. She and Becky pretty much know me as good as anyone, but this one got me. The subject of the text was "Wanna go?". So I was mortified when I opened the picture, and it was this....Ever since I was a small child, I have had a horrible fear of birds. Any kind. Ducks, chickens, live ones, dead ones. Its so strange, and I'm at peace with that. Fair's are kinda creepy to me anyway, but to add birds???? ON PURPOSE???? Someone is just sick. I'm sure this would be a great time for someone, but not me! No, Paula, you are on your own with this one!

Carly's free!

2008-12-17T11:49:00.005-06:00

Our visit to the doc went better than expected! She was anticipating getting the cast off, and getting a new one on. In fact, we were prepared. What we were not prepared for was getting there and the doctor telling her its time to start walking and physical therapy! She is so excited! The leg looks great! Just needed a good bath. She was fitted for a limited range motion brace (with hinges and all)! She's just like Forrest Gump! She starts therapy today and we can't wait to see what fun things they have in store for us! A few pics from the morning.

Carly, just after they cut the cast off - waiting for x-rays....this scar drew some attention!

Carly and her doctor.

Dr. Frierson. He's the best....and looks so young...(hehe, inside joke!)

Excited about our news and ready to go home.

Carly's Night Out....

2008-12-17T07:38:00.004-06:00

Twas the night before... the next "big" dr visit and Carly's friend calls to let her know the school's band Christmas concert is tonight. Carly had mentioned she'd like to go. Unsure if she would return to school before the holiday, she wanted to hear the band and see her friends. So I loaded her up and we went. It was awesome! She was able to see some of her friends, visit with some teachers and even got a shout out from her band director. She misses being in school with her friends. She'll be back soon...... a few pics from last night.

Carly with her friends, Elizabeth, her bff Lily and Alaina

Carly with her friend, Deva (the absolute, coolest name on the planet!)

NOEL....

2008-12-16T17:39:00.003-06:00

This is something that I had to post about! This is in one of the neighbor's yards. They are so brave. They put this out every year! I mean, like clock work.....Thanksgiving is over and they are out putting up the "NOEL" in their front yard. However, it never fails.....the closer it gets to Christmas, someone, every year, just as they have put it out, has come in the night and switched the letters around to read "LEON". The neighbors don't take it down in anger or put it away in disgust. They just fix it right back and it stays out all season. That's dedication to the holiday. I don't know these neighbors, but I should. They have to be good people.

Kings or Wise Guys?

2008-12-15T15:40:00.009-06:00

Three of the amazing guys at the Baton Rouge Dream Center where we have been serving for almost a year now. These guys are the 3 Kings in our Christmas play that I'm sure Carole and I will blog about next Sunday/Monday! What a crazy day yesterday in Kids church! We had 30 kids sign in and get name tags and at the end of the day, one of our volunteers counted 60 something kids! They always have such a great time and we are gearing up for the Christmas blowout that starts this Saturday and will flood over into Sunday! WOW! It is gonna be great!

picture courtesy of Carole Turner

Snow in South LA!

2008-12-11T07:04:00.005-06:00

We woke up this morning to a little precipitation. Its really pretty to sit inside and watch it snow while sipping on my cup of hot coffee! Makes me feel like I'm back in North GA! I love watching the snow. But, I do not like having to get out in it! It's cold, wet and nasty. So far, they have not closed schools for the kids and CJ is supposed to head to Nola today for a field trip. Just waiting to see if we are still on. Here are a few pics from inside my warm house!

This picture was taken shortly after 6am....

This was about 6:45am as the sun was coming up.This is our backyard covered with snow. The little prints that cut through the middle of the picture? Yes, that's CJ's footprints. He couldn't stand it. He ran to the little tree and back - in his pjs.

No school.....

2008-12-02T10:08:00.003-06:00

Well, it seems Carly's on a temporarily permanent snow day. She is getting very bored at home and her school work is piling up. We haven't heard from her homebound teacher and its been two weeks. The school is trying to get someone set up but it has not happened yet. So our days are spent like this....

I just clean around her and help her with what school work she can do. We tried to go to school today. I drove her up there and she was ready to go to class when the Guidance Counselor told us that the school can't take her in her wheelchair. She's too much of a risk for getting bumped and injured. Oh well...we tried.

Super Saturday

2008-11-29T21:43:00.006-06:00

We are still in holiday mode since my family is still here. I love having them in our home. We have laughed and played so much its really been wonderful. Today was no exception. We started out early. Mike and Billy were up early (like, 4:30am) early to go deer hunting at the camp in Clinton. The rest of us got up at a normal hour, ate breakfast and then loaded the car with some snacks and headed up to meet them for lunch. It was a blast. The girls had not been, so it was fun to show them around. It started with a ride on the 4-wheeler. The river was so inviting, I thought it would be fun to cross it with me driving and Carly, Caitlin and Grace along for the ride. Once we hit the sand....it was all over from there. It sank. Like quick sand. So funny. Carly there in her cast, trying to jump off before we went under. Caitlin trying to help her, but sinking herself and Grace.....just held on. Never said a word. That's my Grace. Here's Mike coming to our rescue with the winch to pull us out. Everyone had gotten off when the sand was covering our feet. Thanks, Mike!

After that, we decided to stay on the road. Carly rode back to the camp with Mike. Grace walked. Caitlin was looking for trouble. She jumped right back on and she and I rode through some standing water that soaked us both. Then I got Grace back on and she and I took it down the road. We rode back into the woods a little bit and had a great time just riding. When you are with Grace your time will be quiet, but amazing. On our way back to the camp, I pulled over to let her drive. She wasn't sure because she had never driven before, but with my skills, (haha) I had her driving in seconds. Here's a picture of us just as we pulled back up at camp.

Grace, Carly and Caitlin just after being rescued.....

Mom and Carly posing by the fire pit. Mom is working the camo!We got home and I had to get a shower and head to church to sing. Mom went with me. It was nice. I led worship for my kids and Mom sat in and loved every minute. Our children's church (ages 6-11yrs) is so much fun. It's high energy, high entertainment and full on church - but on their level. We sang and had a blast and then my friend, Andrew got up to get his preach on. He's an amazing volunteer at our church that told me tonight that he leaves in a few days for somewhere I've never heard of. I don't know, somewhere in the Persian Gulf, but either way he will be missed. The kids love him and so do us adults. He will be protecting our country from the outside, so say a quick prayer for him as he lives out his dream and answers his call. Here's Andrew talking with the children....Then after church, I came into the kitchen to over hear Caitlin and CJ discussing something very important, I'm sure. Not sure what the topic of conversation was, but they were definitely up to something...Our day rounded out, yet again, with the Wii. CJ challenged Billy with another round of boxing. I'm not sure what makes grown adults think they are still in high school, but even my sister and I got in on it. CJ beat Billy and then I boxed my sister and FINALLY won. She used to beat me up when we were kids and I finally was able to come back. J/k...she's awesome and I'm so glad that she was able to come out to visit. I miss her when we are not together.On a sad note....our fish died today. Or at least that's what I thought. I'll let you be the judge. I tried to prepare CJ by telling him quietly that I needed to talk to him about the fish and as I brought him to the bowl, I calmly told him that I think the fish is dead.

Cj's reply...."Nah! He's just bored."

After Thanksgiving rush

2008-11-28T22:43:00.001-06:00

We are having a blast with my family here for the holidays. Thanksgiving day was wonderful with tons of food and fun. Besides our air conditioning going out, we've had so much fun!.

This morning, Mike and Billy got up and went shopping. Believe it or not, they headed to Cabela's at 6:30am to grab some bargains. Then we took the kids to the movies to see Bolt in 3D. Mom stayed in the theatre with the kids while I took Cathy and Billy to Hobby Lobby! That was fun. I helped a total stranger select wrapping paper and then we left. We all met back at the house and using leftovers from the previous day, I made a gumbo while Cathy and Billy made cookies and snacks for everyone. (um...still no a/c but Tony's working on it!)

Today I was able to snap a quick shot of Grace...my neice....She is so precious. Caitlin and Carly and typical teens and typically loud - they even text loud....but Grace is so quiet and her spirit is just so sweet. She's alot like me.... :) She just turned 12 the day before Thanksgiving. She is just so awesome....

They also brought their dog, who Winston hasn't figured out yet. His name is Sammy. He's really cute and sweet. He is a true lap dog, where Winston is more of a cat. Or maybe like a rabid squirrel? I'm not sure, but it works for us.

Yes, this is Winston. He's sleeping on the couch. Sammy wears him out chasing him around the house to play.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T20:33:00.004-06:00

I am thankful for so much. But not just today....everyday. Thank you to all my friends and family. Thanksgiving is actually my favorite holiday. I love all the food and usually most of my family is together to eat it. This Thanksgiving is no different.....we had my Mom....an amazing woman whom I admire, my sister - yet another amazing woman whom I also admire, her two daughters, Caitlin and Grace, who I'm sure will be amazing when they get out of their teen years, and my sisters good friend, Billy (an amazing man for driving all those girls all the way from north GA to south LA!) They drove in late yesterday (Grace's birthday) and got here just in time to celebrate before midnight. I had her a cake all ready and as soon as they got here, we sang and ate cake. The girls always like to pile up together, so Cathy brought her air mattress and they gathered in the living room to sleep. This morning, we got up and started cooking at 6am. I got the turkey and the cornbread in the oven to cook then Cathy got up and after a quick trip to the store for pie shells (yes, I forgot pie shells), we threw together a ham, some sweet potatoes, beans, cornbread dressing, pumpkin pies, chocolate pie, some mashed potatoes and gravy. Most of which is resting somewhere between my hips and my thighs. But its worth it. Paula stopped by while out visiting her family. She is so awesome....my Mom has decided to adopt her into our family since she just fits right in with us and our dysfunctional-ness. Anyway, our day is winding down with a little Texas vs. Texas A&M on tv...... I am thankful......

Mike carves the turkey.....

CJ shows Mr. Billy how to bowl on the Wii and the reining champion of Wii bowling is defeated.... :-(

Caitlin and Carly - best friends and cousins. Caitlin is 6months older, and Carly is 2 feet taller. They are awesome!

Me time....

2008-11-22T13:59:00.004-06:00

Hunting season is officially here in South Louisiana, so I'm a widow each weekend. Mike left last night to hunt in Clinton. Last night I took the kids to the mall knowing today was a little "me time".

This morning, I met with the roofers and then got ready for my "me time". A friend was having a jewelry party, so I propped Carly up on the couch and made sure CJ was ready to jump when she called and I headed to the party. It was fun. So much fun that I booked a party myself, so you ladies watch out! We're having a party!!!

On my way home, I called to make sure Carly had not fallen over (which she had not!) and with her blessing, I went on to Walmart for some groceries. While there, the strangest thing happened. I'm standing there, picking out bananas and the lights went out! Crazy! I've never been there when there were no lights. It gets dark in produce!Then, a few lights came back on and "the voice" came on the speaker and said, "Attention Walmart shoppers....if you would like to complete your purchase, you must go now to the nearest register and check out. There power is out and the battery backup that runs the registers only lasts 30 minutes!" So off to register #9 I go! Well, me and about 150 other Walmart shoppers. I made my purchases, and of course forgot some things, but that was my "me time". I guess I'll try again next weekend.

Carly's friends visit

2008-11-19T16:36:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a week and a couple of days, and we are still at home. Carly is getting around more and more each day, but its slow. She's still not in the groove with school work. Especially since once she gets started, she's worn out and falls asleep. But today, she got a special visit. Two of her best friends from school came by to see her after school. Kylie's dad dropped them off and they are getting Carly caught up on the scoop at school. You know, boys, teachers, stuff that teens talk about. They've had fun. I got a picture of them because I gotta have a picture to blog!

This is Kylie, Carly and Lily - yes, they all end in "ee". That's their bond, I guess.....

Some signatures

2008-11-17T10:00:00.003-06:00

After getting baptized with hot chocolate shortly after worship at Highland, (thanks Jeffrey!), and a quick change of clothes because of the baptisim (thanks Jeffrey!), Carly and I headed to the Baton Rouge Dream Center where we were worshipping with the children there. What a blast. Those kids are amazing. We are getting ready for their Christmas production extravaganza and it is so exciting. Of course, Carly is wheelchair bound, but she made it through. She finished out the day collecting some signatures. Several from friends that were there at the Dream Center. One from Ms. Kathy - the best seamstress known to the great state of Louisiana, and the soon to be famous, Jarrett Hardnett. Right now, he runs sound for the kids team at the Dream Center, but soon, he'll be the most talked about football player on the planet.....just wait.....see, he's so big, if he was standing up straight, he wouldn't have fit in the picture!

A Field trip and a new best friend!

2008-11-15T09:35:00.004-06:00

Carly gets better and better each day. She's gradually getting off her pain meds and can sit up for longer periods of time. She's sleeping in her own bed and can reposition herself which is good for me because it means I get some sleep, too! Kirsten brought her assignments from school for the week missed and we started working on them. (Thanks Kirsten!) One of them is her Science Fair project. We've got most of it completed but needed a few items from Walmart.....so FIELD TRIP! Our first outing to WalMart and it was a success. The wheelchair wasn't too bad and she was able to wheel herself around while I pushed the cart. She was tired when we were finished, but it makes her strong.

While at WalMart, we were able to pick up a fresh coconut. Not so odd, except that when we got it home, CJ just knew it was for him. Named it, "Mr. Coconut" and claimed it as his new best friend. I wonder about this child sometimes.....

Makes Christmas easy. We'll just get him a Ms. Pineapple and baby Kiwi's.

Road to Recovery....

2008-11-12T13:46:00.008-06:00

Surgery is over and we are home and doing well. After a very long day, and an even longer night in the hospital, I brought Carly home yesterday to start her road to recovery. We appreciate everyone's prayers throughout this and she cannot wait to get back on the softball field! For those that haven't heard, once in surgery, her surgeon found just a little more than expected. Her ligaments and tendons were so stretched and misaligned, he needed to cut part of her tibia where the tendon connects and realign it, so she now has two screws holding her tendon in place; however, he promised her that she would not beep when going through security at the airport.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy - caution - one is of her knee after they sewed her back up, so its not pretty, but kinda interesting....in a sick and twisted way.

This is Carly just before surgery.....OLOL gave her a Garfield for security. Thanks Bro Wayne for the prayers and for sitting with me and her Dad in the waiting room. We talked about everything from family to politics to the LSU Tigers just to keep me from rushing into the operating room to check on her.

This is Carly just after surgery. She's all smiles, but its mostly morphine.....This is her new knee. Check out the hardware! This was fun.....Just after surgery, Carly was visited by LSU's baseball team. They were visiting children at the hospital and they stopped by her room. While there, we had them give a few autographs on the 'ol cast. Pretty cool, huh?
Today, the doc had the cast tech cut into it so he could examine the incision. All in all, it looks pretty good (if you were Frankenstein)

This is the final result of some sweet talking with the cast techs. It went something like this.....

Doc: We will need to recast it, so you need to pick a color.

Carly: I want red and black stripes.

Doc: You only get one color, so pick just one.

Carly: Ok. Red.

Cast Tech: Did you decide on a color?

Carly: Well, I wanted red and black stripes but Doc said I could only get one color, so red.

Cast Tech: Actually, because your cast is so big, it will take two, maybe three rolls, so you can pick two colors if you'd like.

Carly: Cool....then red and black.

After they finish, in comes her doc...

Doc: Do you ALWAYS get what you want?

Carly: (just smiles)

Carly is really doing well and on her road to recovery. She has 6 long weeks in the cast and wheelchair and then she gets a different cast. Then we discuss physical therapy.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and phone calls. Thank you to those that brought food and flowers. We love and appreciate you all!

Awesome Wednesday!

2008-11-06T11:49:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was awesome....well, with a few exceptions! Started out fairly normal (which around here is anything BUT normal!). I got the kids off to school and then returned home to get some painting done. (I'm trying to get a fresh coat of paint on the baseboards....) Around 10am, Cj's school calls and he's in the office sick. So I put the paint brush down to run and get him from school. Get him home only to find out that it wasn't that he felt bad....but more that he just felt like not staying at school. Struggling not to just take him right back to school, I decided to finish out my Wednesday with church. I love Wed night services, because I have the honor of leading worship for the Kids in Action team. But last night was different. Amy Poche' was there. I have a link to her blog on my blogroll. (His Heart for Orphans) Love Amy! She is my "she-ro". She is an amazing woman in my life that along with her husband has adopted several children from several different countries and they are amazing. She spoke to the children about adoption and encouraged them to pray for each child out there that needs a forever family. It was great. It really warms my heart to know that I am a part of a church family that truly has a heart for adoption and embraces and encourages it. Amy did an outstanding job speaking to the kids.....I'm so proud of her!

Amy reading and sharing a book with the children about adoption....

Amy with three of their adopted children, Zoe, Rose and Asa.....

BRDC Family Fun Day

2008-11-02T21:46:00.004-06:00

Today was awesome. It actually started last night at Highland. Carly and I went to the Sat night service to worship with the kids and have a blast with all the excitement. Then got up this morning to head to the inner city. We love it there! Everyone is so awesome. I have some pics but they were taken with my phone, so they are kind of dark. You get the idea though.....Volunteers on Winbourne Avenue in front of the church. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but Gustav blew down the "Winbourne Avenue Baptist Church" sign in the background. I believe it was God's way of preparing the sign to say "Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge Dream Center"!

Paula holding a precious little girl that I held all during the service. Her name is Valencia and she is the sweetest thing!

One of my favorites.....Malik. His smile will melt your heart! I love this kid!
Two of my good friends working it at the popcorn machine.....how much popcorn did we give out? 5,000 bags (is what it felt like) but it was all good......kids had a blast!
Pastor Craig Boutee - cutting hair! What an awesome pastor! He can get his preach on and he cuts hair! This guy is everything! Amazing!

It was a terrific day with (according to Carole) about 600 of our closest friends in one of the worst crime areas of Baton Rouge. But today it was just God and the people of the community coming together to have fun and leave their worries behind...and everything was free! Clothes, hotdogs, snow cones, hair cuts, manicures, face painting, popcorn and church! That's Healing Place for you....that's how we roll......

Halloween

2008-11-01T08:32:00.005-05:00

Typically at Halloween, we let the kids trick or treat. Carly grew out of it a couple of years ago, but she would still take Cj, while Mike and I stayed home to hand out candy. This year, Mike was out of town, so it was just me, Carly and Cj. With Carly in a cast and the 4-wheeler with Mike, we decided to change it up a bit. I took the kids over to my bff Paula's to trick or treat through her neighborhood. Carly and Gab would stay and hand out candy, while me, Paula and Trent took the little ones out. She had other family over so it was a party and a great time! Some pics from the night.....

Cj IS Obi Wan Kenobi!
Princess Carly with her "Aunt" Paula
Trent - CEO of the "Eat mor chiken" campaign
and me.....wearing fuzzy purple hair.

Pre-op checkup......

2008-10-27T19:59:00.002-05:00

Done. We went today and my baby girl was so strong! She had to have like half of her blood drained out through a huge needle, and then sit in the doctors' office answering questions that her doctor should already know the answer to.....so we are officially ready for surgery. Well, physically, we are ready. Emotionally, we need some more prep work, but either way, November 10 is our big day......keep Carly in your prayers.....

My Life is a Sitcom....

2008-10-23T16:58:00.005-05:00

I have been told this before, and now I believe it. Been busy carting Carly to and from school and doctors appointments since her latest injury - not really anything new, but have been too busy to blog. Sorry, Shane and Kevin, but this is an update for you guys!

One day, I took the trash outside and put it in the outside garbage can. Later, Mike took Cj out to throw around the football. They heard something in the can and tipped it over. I had put the trash right on top of a little possum! (I know it starts with an "o" but this is how its spelled in GA!) - they took a picture.....

Then last week we all loaded up and headed to Georgia for my Mom's 75th birthday extravaganza! She has never had a surprise birthday party, so we pulled out all the stops! Invited 100 of her closest friends and family and got everyone together at my sister's new house to celebrate. My brother drove Mom over while we all were waiting. She drove in and saw all the cars in the driveway and on the street and thought we were having a yard sale! So funny! She also thought that my brother was taking her to eat at the Golden Corral. She was almost disappointed until we told her we had cake.....great time, and here's a picture of Mom with all the grandkids except Sam and John. From top to bottom - left to right, Daniel, Coley, Grace, Caitlin, Mikaela, Cj (trying not to do the rabbit ear thing over Nana), Carly, and Mom- aka Nana

Before the party, Mike took Cj to his first UGA football game. They had a great time and Cj even made friends with Coach Vince Dooley. He had his picture made and got autographs. Such fun!

Found out that he needs to get a little taller before he can play football at UGA. He needs to at least be able to see over the hedges!

Then it was back to Baton Rouge and back into football (gotta get ready for UGA!)

And now, tonight is Cj's best friend Alec's birthday. Its a laser tag party and Cj is so excited. I had to take his picture, because he wants to wear the hat so no one will see his red hair and shoot him with the lasers. Carly informed him if he runs fast enough it won't matter! Oh well........

Oops, She did it again.....

2008-10-14T11:25:00.007-05:00

You guessed it, Carly dislocated her knee again. This time she was hurrying to catch up with me to leave church and it just gave out on her. We tried the whole, ice, elevate and rest, but she was in a lot of pain, so this morning we went to visit her doctor. We took candy since they are always so good to us and a little bit of a bribe for the doctor. We discussed on our way the conversation that we had with him at our last visit. Its been over a year since her surgery and this is the 2nd dislocation since the surgery (6th overall), so we knew he would recommend major surgery. He had a long talk with her and gave her the choice of more of the same therapy or stop prolonging the inevitable and get this over with. A unanimous vote of surgery now and get on into shape for high school softball is the road to take. So in a few weeks, I'll be posting hospital pics and you will all get to take this journey with us. We are nervous about the surgery, but excited about pain meds (just kidding) and getting back into ball.

Wait, the doctor approved softball for her future....he didn't say anything about football.....this kid is really trying my nerves! Gotta love her, though - she's got spirit!

Escape from the flip phone....

2008-10-08T11:00:00.006-05:00

I remember my first cell phone. It was nothing like this thing I'm trying to figure out now.... If the phone were not free, I would still have the bag phone. I'm just that frugal. BUT, with the rebates and some credits I was able to get the newest phone Sprint has to offer. It's comparable to the Apple I-phone. It's great, but it does way more than Beck can explain to me that it does......I mean, I love to text (I think God loves texting) and that is my favorite way to communicate, but that's about as high tech as I get. Beck shows me all it does, but it just doesn't compute in my simple mind....This phone does so much more, and it is so much better than my old Cracker Jack phone (as Paula would say). So, I'm new, cool and hip.....or at least I will be, when I figure out how to make a phone call.......

Football practice

2008-10-01T20:56:00.005-05:00

So we are in our second week of football. Cj's excited because he finally gets to hit somebody. He loves to wear the "armour" and he's having fun tackling. Tonight I had a small "ah-ha" moment. About half way through practice, Cj told his coach he had to go to the bathroom. So his coach told him to go ahead. But before Cj could, he asked the coach to undo the belt on his pants. Which his coach did. I laughed it off because I had fastened it kind of tight, so it could have given him problems. Anyway, the "ah-ha" moment came when Cj comes running back on the field and asks his coach to "re-fasten" his belt! Is that a sign that I do too much for him? He's still little, right? Maybe?
Anyway, here are some pics from today's practice. Cj's wearing the "Chicago Bears" shirt. (navy/orange)

Cj with his favorite coach (um, and Carly's too!) - going out for a pass

Cj hitting the dummy

Cj trying to get by without getting tackled

Cj just gets by and the dude grabs with one arm - but its not enough to hold Cj back.

Love my Carly!

2008-09-25T08:35:00.002-05:00

Last night was amazing! Cj had football and typically on Wednesday nights, I lead worship for the children at our church. Contrary to popular belief, I can't be in two places at one time. So, I asked Carly to jump in and lead worship for the children while I took Cj to football. She didn't hesitate. She's so awesome and truly has a heart for worship! She loves to sing and especially on stage, with a microphone and for Jesus!!? I mean, how much better can it get? I made it back to pick her up about half way through worship and she had the house rocking! The children were all dancing and singing and having so much fun! She's a natural! I'm so proud of her! I didn't have my camera because I really thought I missed it, but I'll get one next time as I'm sure there will be a next time!

Project Time

2008-09-24T15:10:00.003-05:00

Don't you just love the time of year when your kids have projects due at school? Ok, honestly, I don't. But Cj does! He loves doing projects! Yesterday's project was to draw the jungle. They researched it at school and he had to draw it along with 4 things living and 4 things non-living thing that are in the jungle and label them. Big catch was they couldn't print pictures from the internet nor could they use real pictures. Everything had to be drawn by them. Then they had to be able to present it to the class. I went to the store and got him a plain white poster and had it on the table all ready for him to get started. Last night after dinner he stood at the table and said, "Daddy, I'm ready to work on my project. All I need is a blow torch and some peanut butter." Not sure what his thought process was, but we got him some markers and a glue stick and he made do with that. He's sure to get an A on this one.

It's football season!

2008-09-21T19:51:00.004-05:00

Today was a busy day for us. Of course, we went to church this morning. Mike and Cj went to Highland and Carly and I went to the inner city. It's all good. But Carly and I didn't get finished up until around 2pm and when we got home, we all headed right back out to get Cj fully equipped to start football practice tomorrow. He's all excited because this will be his first year of football and he gets to wear "the armor". We got home from getting him protected from head to toe (and everything in between) and had dinner. As I was walking through a few minutes ago telling each child it was time to start getting ready for bed, the picture below is what I found when I got to Cj's room. He's ready...

Debris is gone...

2008-09-19T18:00:00.003-05:00

Everyday, when we would leave the house, or look outside or do anything outside for that matter, the first thing you notice is our huge debris pile from Hurricane Gustav. A sad, torturing reminder that he was here and did so much damage to homes and lives in our area. Thankfully, today, the debris trucks were out in full force. I heard yesterday that our Parish finally agreed on a proposal from a company to conduct the cleanup, but I wasn't holding my breath. It must have been true......they picked up our street today and I was able to cut the grass and start to get our yard back to normal!

Carly and the band....

2008-09-19T08:15:00.007-05:00

No secret, Carly plays in her school band. Yesterday they had their first home game. Great game and everyone did a good job. The Panthers beat Donaldsonville Tigers 40-6. But besides that, Carly and I discovered this week that the Panther fight song is the same as the Univeristy of Michigan's fight song. My brother attended Michigan, so I filmed a little bit of it so he can reminisce.

Carly and her friend Christine

Carly looking all serious - not sure why...

Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-17T13:56:00.015-05:00

Sorry it's been a while since I posted last, but I have been a little busy. I did have time to put together a quick video with some pictures that we took before, during and after Gustav came to visit. We had no trouble from Ike. He caused trouble elsewhere. We continue to pray for those in the 'great state'. Video to enjoy....

What's this?

2008-09-17T13:56:00.011-05:00

It appears to be our air conditioning unit. What is it doing? Um....that would be a big nothing! Its just sitting there. Not even spinning or making some crazy noise! So we give our boy, Tony a call. He brings in the know-how! See, he's the a/c guy (awesome/crazy). Thank you, Tony! We love you and are so glad you didn't hesitate to come to our rescue before the heat came back to South Louisiana! You are our hero!

This is Tony (in the orange) with another great friend of ours, Rus! In fact...would like to thank Rus for the a/c hookup we got during the hurricane! You are both so awesome!

Praying for Texas

2008-09-13T08:29:00.004-05:00

The great state is getting pounded by Ike and we are praying everything turns out great for them! We just have wind and some rain. Which will stink because we are supposed to be going out to the birthday bash of the year tonight. Hopefully it will break......but, I wanted to share a photo of me and Melissa serving at the church. I forgot my camera everyday, but she's so smart! God knew....anyway, love the blue gloves!

From left to right is Jennifer, Melissa, Ginger from Seattle - flew in just to help us, and me.

Had a blast helping Cooking for Christ and hope to get back at it soon! Oh, and Ginger, when we get to Seattle, we are coming to your restaurant for soup!

Sights around town...

2008-09-12T14:17:00.004-05:00

Carly and I decided to get out this afternoon. Mike's got a cold and not feeling well, school was closed because of the threat of Hurricane Ike and our serving at church was also cancelled, for the same reasons. So, out we go to get our "out of towners" some pics from around our town. These sights are becoming all too familiar....

This is a shot of some National Guard troops hanging out at the fairgrounds

(never get tired of seeing them....they're cute!)Power Trucks....Praise God for the power dudes!

And this guy. I just thought this was funny. I'm sure the owner didn't find it funny, but I guess he knows now not to park under a tree during a hurricane!

Round Two!

2008-09-12T08:15:00.005-05:00

Here we go again. Last night we waited for about 30 mins in a line of cars to get gas. During the night our power went out, but then THANKFULLY came back on, now we wake up and our tarp has blown off. Thank you, Sir, may I have another. We are still very blessed! The kids got to get in a few days of school this week (Tues - Thurs) and were off again today due to Ike. We are expecting high winds and crazy rain with possible flooding (not particularly our house, but our parish could). So....I set up the ladder and tried to get on the roof to fix the tarp, but our ladder is too short.....will just have to wait on the professionals. Here's a picture of it now.

I have been helping serve meals to about 800 National Guard and Policemen this week. It has been awesome and yesterday I actually worked beside a lady that flew in from Seattle just to help us out. What amazing people you meet during times like these. So, its time for me to get ready to head out to serve more meals. I'll try to remember my camera today so I have pics of that to post. No worries, I'm not doing the cooking, just the serving! much love!

Happy Birthday, Carly!

2008-09-07T13:29:00.006-05:00

Today is my baby's birthday. She got one of her birthday wishes already....electricity! I was upset because the stores have been closed since the storm and I wasn't able to make her a cake on my 2-burner stove. I whined to my friend Paula who had evacuated to Arkansas and yesterday when they came home to evaluate their damages, she brought Carly a cake all the way from north Louisiana! Paula, you rock! (even though Trent is taking all the credit!) We will take her later and try to snag a gift or two, but today is her day just to chill. Cooking for Christ had hot meals at church, so she got to "eat out" - like really, outside sitting on the steps of the church and tonight we'll let her pick her favorite MRE for dinner. What a cool birthday! We love you, Carly!

We made it!

2008-09-06T20:58:00.008-05:00

We made it through Hurricane Gustav with minimal damage. Lost some shingles and the copper flashing thing to our chimney, but other than that we are good. Just got power about 15mins ago, so we officially went about 6 days without it. From Monday around 9:30am until Saturday at 8:30pm. All in all, not so bad, which is a good thing since Hurricane Ike is heading our way.....Of course, I have pics. I have more video and a list of things that I learned during our week without power.....It gets lengthy, but hey, it's been 6 days since I posted!....so here goes.....
Since the power went out I have learned....

Pop tarts, cracker jacks and milky way candy bars are the breakfast of champions...

I can refuel and crank a generator...

I can switch power from the refrigerator to the washing machine without blowing up either...

Just because it's air conditioned doesn't mean we are all going to get along while hanging out in the living room...

NOT getting along is Ok...

My husband rocks! While serving and helping complete strangers cut trees off their homes, he still manages to take care of us...

I can cook a nutritionally balanced meal on a 2-burner propane stove...

Hand washing dishes reminds me of the "good ol days", but makes me thankful its the past...

I am sure that CocaCola understands the importance of keeping Diet Coke on the shelves of every Prairieville store...for me and Beck!

Even a 14", non-plasma, non flat, plain ol tv is STILL a tv...

I someday just may become the solitaire champion of the world!....

If you cut up hot dogs and add them to beans, they are no longer hot dogs, it's a casserole!...

I learned I have good neighbors....

How to crank and use a chainsaw....

I learned some sign language by watching the de-briefings on tv...

That even though Wal-Mart and Starbucks are closed, the world did not stop turning...

That love bugs and mosquitos can live through anything.....

That the roar of a generator is also soothing....

That the gentle wind is God's way of letting us know he cares and it's going to be Ok....

I learned that I need to write a couple of books...A cookbook called "The power's out, what's for dinner?"...and a coffee table book called "Things I never thought I'd say to my kids." Such as, "Ok, ya'll help me watch and if it starts to rain, run and get your underwear out of the bushes!"

This is video during the height of the storm. Thank you to God that we are all safe on the other side of Hurricane Gustav.

Good Morning!

2008-09-01T07:46:00.005-05:00

Woke up to a little wind, but not too bad ( around 7am). Had a good night - no issues, except Mike kept getting up to check the weather along with Winston who is pretty nervous.
Took this video about 30 mins ago. (around 7:30am). It had just started to rain and the wind was blowing the trees in our front yard around in circles. Its still pretty good and we (of course) still have power. Video is about 30seconds and the noise sounds like thunder but its the wind whipping across the camera's microphone. Shortly after I shut off the camera, a large limb fell out of the tree. Just something else to clean up later! Ugh!

Storm update!

2008-08-31T18:52:00.010-05:00

Mom, Cathy, Kevin and other out-of-towners......this is preview of Hurricane (what we call "Himacane") Gustav. Some of you have been wondering about our weather. Here you go....
This is our house about an hour ago. Looks safe enough.... These are the trees in our front yard that just may give us some trouble......

These are the clouds in our back yard. Fluffy, but looks are deceiving......This is our neighbor's house. Looks like they got out of town! No kidding. They taped up the windows and ran for the hills! (we may wish we had!)

We decided not to evacuate so we are prepared to stay home. We have two generators and plenty of fuel. We have a portable air conditioner so when we lose power we can still be relatively comfortable. We have a pantry full of food and plenty of bottled water but one thing that got used before I noticed.....Diet Coke! I completely ran out of Diet Coke. Here we are in the ninth hour before a major hurricane, dubbed the hurricane of the century and I'm out of Diet Coke. So, off to the store I go......this is what I found.......my local Winn Dixie - storm doors closed!

My local Wal Mart! All boarded up!

Overpriced convenient store - boarded up, but open! Whew! And I thought this was going to be a rough week! I'm ready now......

We will probably lose power sometime during the night, but I will keep taking pics and post them as soon as possible! Much love to you all! Prayed for the best but prepared for the worst.

Melissa's Birthday!

2008-08-28T21:33:00.004-05:00

Today we had a surprise birthday party for my girl, Melissa! SURPRISE! Mine was on the 25th and hers is on the 30th.....so we are just a few days apart - oh, and a year! Ha! She's older, but wiser!

Here are a couple of pics.....

Melissa getting all surprised.....

Me and Melissa...

It's my birthday....

2008-08-25T09:03:00.003-05:00

Ok, so today is my birthday. I'm 39.... Just another day, really. Mike's off to work, kids are off to school and I'm off to the laundry room. It's all good, though. I have an amazing life. (dysfunctional, but amazing!) This past weekend, the boys (Mike and Trent) loaded up and headed to the Bristol race. So, Paula and I loaded up the kids and headed to my favorite place to visit, San Antonio, TX! We had planned for the beach, but with TS Fay coming to visit, it just didn't make sense. So, with some quick planning, we headed west. I love SA. Everything about it. The people, the river, the food (definately the food!). But it was great. I got to see my Uncle Stanley and Aunt Diane. They are awesome. I was hoping to hook up with my birth father, but he was out of town with his church. I did get to meet my new nephew, Neil. I got to go by for a quick visit that was just enough to make me want to go back again. Neil is so precious! He was quite the snuggle-bug, too. Congratulations to my brother, Kevin, and sister-in-law, Laurie. I can't wait to see you guys again!
Saturday, we took the kids to Schlitterbahn Waterpark, as Kevin puts it, "to get in touch with my German heritage". Being adopted, I'm not sure what I am sometimes. I know its good, but I'm also pretty sure its all mixed up! It was fun, but it rained almost the entire time. Its fine because we were wet anyway, but it was cold. After saving about $40 by purchasing scalped tickets from some girl in the parking lot, we played for a few hours, then headed back towards Houston. We dined at Outback Steakhouse that night for dinner. That's where the picture is from. I was craving cake, so for my birthday, the waiter brought out a huge hunk of death by chocolate. It was good and big enough to split with all six of us. So the birthday weekend was great (Thanks, Paula for treating me like the Queen for the weekend!)

Servolution 2008

2008-08-16T13:37:00.008-05:00

We attend the absolute coolest church on the planet. Today, my offspring and I, along with about 900 of our fellow church goers put on our red "Serve" t-shirts and headed out into the streets of Baton Rouge to bless the community with stuff. All kinds of stuff. Some teams went to schools to paint, or clean up. Some went to Winbourne Avenue for a huge block party with burgers and fun. Some went to the inner city and to nursing homes and just loved on people. We basically just went out and met the people where they are. Our team, dubbed the "Mean, Green, Car-washing team" headed over to Siegen Lane to Chic-fil-A. Now let me tell you, if you are going to do any kind of outreach, Chic-fil-A would have been my pick! That, or Gambino's bakery. But....anyway, we setup an "Absolutely Free Car Wash". And that it was, absolutely free. No donations, no gimmicks, just free. Almost everyone that came tried to give us something. But, no....it's free. One lady that I remember was really nice. I went to wash the back of her car and noticed something. She had this ugly GT sticker on the back window. You guessed it. This girl was a Georgia Tech graduate! OMG! I tried to scrub it off but it was stuck. I apologized to her for not being able to get it off her window and then told her that we will keep her in our prayers... :) So another precious lady and her son came up. Here is the conversation that she and I had as she was pulling in....

Nice Lady: "How much is the car wash?"

Me: "Nothing, its free.....pull on in!"

Nice Lady smiling: "Are you taking donations?"

Me (smiling back): "No. It's free."

Nice Lady: "WILL you take donations?"

Me: "No, ma'm. It's free. Free means free."

Nice Lady: "No, usually it doesn't."

Ok, she had me there.....so I said, "You're right, but today it does."

She and her son pulled in. They got out and walked to a nearby store and did some shopping. We washed their car and when she came back she came up and asked me, "will you take a tv?" Now, this lady was good. She was going to give me something! She wanted to give me her son's tv!! (it was cool though, he was getting a new flat screen!) I laughed and told her that she could contact the church office and they would be able to assist her with the tv. She was so precious and so thankful that we blessed her with something as simple as a carwash. It was an awesome day. (even when we got half way home and realized Cj had left his shoes.) Oh well.....Thanks Lisa, for taking care of his shoes. love ya! a few pics from today....

Carly and Cara (bff's)JP giving an awesome "pep talk" (Cj thinks he is what God looks like!)A new friend outside who is ready to serve! He was so cute!Carly and two friends holding a "Free Car Wash" sign - how could you say "No" to them!?

Cj helping out with the washing....playing mostly in the water! (pre-shoe disaster!)

Check out Pastor Dino's blog for updates.......craziness in Baton Rouge while serving One.

School Time!

2008-08-08T20:34:00.006-05:00

Carly trying NOT to have her pic taken. But she's my angel. I just HAD to!

Today was the big day. The kids are back in school. We have Sam in high school (a junior), Carly in middle school (8th gr) and Cj in primary school (3rd gr). All teacher introductions went well yesterday. Cj's teacher told him she really has a fondness for red hair. So this morning when I reminded him he needed to be on his best behavior, he politely reminded me that it's ok, his teacher likes red-heads. Apparently he thinks he's got this one in the bag. It's going to be a great year!

He and Carly ride the bus and both have new bus drivers. Cj's is very, um... thorough! School starts at 8:20 and she picked him up this morning at 8:30. Then she didn't get to our house to drop him off until 4:55. (he typically gets home at 4pm) I took a picture of the clock to prove it! She's going to have to pick up her pace a little bit!

Praise God they finally decided what to do with Brett Favre! Poor darling....just playing tug of war with his little soul. I was really beginning to worry!

Tonight was fun. We headed out to Pennington Biomedical Research Center for the big Hot Air Balloon championship. That started up today. We sat and watched the balloons take off and it really was beautiful. The US Army had a tent set up where you could play a video game to rescue a hostage. Cj tried. He did really well....until he shot the hostage. Needless to say, they gave him a nice departing gift and sent him on his way. All in all, a great day. (um, except for the hostage!)

Graduation

2008-08-06T07:51:00.005-05:00

Last night was graduation for the summer interns at our church. Carly didn't participate because of our already ever so busy summer but some of her friends did. We went to show them our love and how proud we are of them. There were about 120 of them, but don't worry, I don't have pictures of everyone...just a few that are extra special.

Me and my bff Paula

Fabulous feet of the evening - Gracie thought it was funny that we all had on black shoes.

Carly with Gab - such an amazing young lady that I love and am SO very proud of!

Carly and Cara - another of Carly's bff's that is just incredible!

Carly's great friend, Zoe. She is beautiful inside and out! She looks like a super model! love her!

The way to Cj's heart is through his stomach....

2008-08-02T08:15:00.007-05:00

See, Thursday evening I made a chocolate pie. Easy, pudding in a pie shell kind. Cj loved it. Said it was the best pie he'd even eaten! Last night, he and I were finishing off the last piece and we were talking. He casually mentioned for me to remember the recipe for this pie, because when he gets married, that's what he wants served. So we sit and talk and plan out his wedding. "Lord, please help the girl that falls in love with Cj!"

See, about a year ago, Cj asked if he could set up his own eHarmony account. You know, just to browse the 'net' for chicks. You never know who might be out there looking for you! Anyway, we didn't let him, but suggested he just stay within his playgroup at school and church. He still hasn't found anyone in particular (which is ok since he's only 8) but he has got the wedding planned. (at least the reception.....)

The menu consists of chocolate pudding pie, nachos, crackers with cheese and Twizzlers. The entertainment will be a nun-chuk performer who, at the end of the performance will tear off his mask and it will actually be Cj! (quite exciting). Then at the end of the evening a large man dressed in a flannel, plaid shirt and jeans, a hockey mask and carrying a chainsaw will come in and scare everyone to death so they'll leave.

His fiance' is so lucky that Cj already has it all planned out. All she has to do is show up! Love this kid!!

Sam's home!

2008-08-01T07:32:00.001-05:00

Woohoo! Sam spent 12 days touring Italy and wow! The pictures she brought back are beautiful and amazing! We all got together Thursday night to look through her pictures and hear her stories of the places she visited. She had an amazing time and can't wait to go back...her dream is to go back there to live! I can't wait to see her dreams come true! She is so awesome! Love you, Sam!

A day with Owen

2008-07-30T23:01:00.004-05:00

Ok, ok....so his name is really Reece. Long story, but I love the name Owen. If I could have another boy, I would name him Owen. Carly sits him all the time, but today, she was helping my good friend Lorri at a photo shoot for children in our state foster program awaiting adoption. I know, right? My child is such an angel. Has such a huge heart to help people of all ages but loves to love the children. So when Lorri asked for Carly's help in making the kids smile while she took each picture, Carly was there! I love that girl!

So Cj and I offered to watch Owen, achem, I mean, Reece. He is such a good boy! We had a blast. Here are some pictures from our day.

Reece taught Winston how to crawl......We went to the park!

Reece loved the swings.....

...so much that he fell asleep!

We played outside - my flowers need attention....

...and I even had time to bake a cake - that Cj attacked before I even took the picture!

Today was a good day. Thanks RJ for blessing me with Owen for the day! He's precious!

Finally....

2008-07-29T22:28:00.001-05:00

So, for several months now, I have been driving around with a light on in my car. It says "Low Tire Pressure". Go figure. I finally saw why.....got it fixed today. Just something else to deal with!

Video of Mexico

2008-07-28T17:34:00.006-05:00

This is a video that I put together detailing our mission trip.Its also to thank everyone for their prayers and support. I know I've posted some pictures and you may be tired of hearing about it, but I want to share this with you all and hope that you enjoy it. It's not chronological, but you get the idea.....

duration: approx. 9 mins

Winbourne VBS

2008-07-28T07:59:00.002-05:00

We made it. Carly and I started out with the Highland campus VBS (Vacation Bible School) singing and serving at all 9 services. Then from there, took a few days to regroup and pack for Mexico. We sang and served 3 days of VBS and 3 days (twice a day) of street ministry in Mexico and fell in love with the children and people of Acuna. Then back last Monday, to wake up Tuesday and lead and love on the children of our Baton Rouge Dream Center campus on Winbourne Avenue. What a blast! With over 200 children at that VBS, it got crazy! We sang and played and had so much fun! There is video floating around and when I get my hands on it, I'm not too proud to post it. I know I can't dance! :) But we had fun, anyway.
Now, we are in the summer home stretch. Sam returns from Italy tomorrow and we can't wait to see her and hear about her trip. Then, the kids start school August 8. Wow! We never went back that early! Such a short summer, but we got almost everything packed in. Only thing we didn't get done, was a trip to San Antonio and a trip to Georgia. Hopefully we can make SA late August and Georgia in October. We shall see...

More pictures from Mexico

2008-07-22T10:30:00.008-05:00

Downtown Acuna - Copa Cabana - we didn't go, of course, but it reminds me of a song.... :)

During the street outreach, a gentleman came up and asked for water and prayer. He had been in a fight the night before and his jaw was severely injured. We did what we could and left the rest up to God. (notice Carly, right in the middle-brown shirt- serving it up HPC style!)
Same street ministry we gave this little boy a teddy bear. The boy was precious!
Inside the church, setting up for VBS...

After a couple of rounds of the "Lawnmower song" these girls were in love with Carly!Working out some crafts during Vacation Bible School...

One thing we never thought we would do, but we had the children playing in the street (on purpose). They had sack races and a wet sponge race. They loved it and no one got run over!After VBS, Pastor Oscar's wife and her team served up some dinner for us that was amazing. No idea what it was called and probably couldn't pronounce it anyway. I just ate it and thanked God for them!

Before leaving after VBS, we prayed with Ps. Oscar and his team. We thanked them for their hospitality and allowing us to come and serve their community with them. Far right, yellow shirt is missionary, Pastor John Novara. He was wonderful!

This is us being detained and searched at the border. Gotta love border patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. We were held for a couple of hours, but then back on our way. Not so bad, as they were just doing their jobs.....

Meeting the American bus driven by Mr. Eddie - The Amazing! Thanks for a safe trip to and from Del Rio! Glad you are "on" for next year!

Mission Accomplished!

2008-07-22T08:52:00.007-05:00

We are home from Acuna, Mexico! What an amazing trip! Carly and I both left a part of our hearts there and plan to go back next year. The people were all so wonderful and the children just took our breath away! I couldn't have had a more perfect experience ministering to the people there. We sang, danced, laughed and yes, cried for three days straight and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. We have tons of pictures, but I am still in the process of downloading them. Here are a few to enjoy.

Playing ball in the street with a few local children (Carly far right, green shirt)

Carly sharing a hug with a child at one of the orphanages.

Carly with a child that she played with at the clinic. This child was so taken by Carly's love and spirit, she gave Carly her bracelet that she was wearing. Carly hasn't taken it off...

While in Acuna, we went out into the streets and invited children and families to come to our location for food and games. That really took me out of my comfort zone. I'm not a real "door to door" kind of person, but everyone was so nice. They would laugh at my southern accent trying to speak their beautiful language and hug me just for trying. The children would start talking and trying to tell me about their world, and I would just smile as I tried to understand, hopefully offering hope. We visited a medical clinic where our amazing medical team, headed up by Dr. Cheri, witnessed a miracle right in front of their eyes. An older lady who had shut her hand in a window had severed the tendon on her middle finger. She was in extreme pain and couldn't bend that finger or her wrist. Because no medication would help, Dr. Cheri offered to pray with her. As they were praying, Dr. Cheri was holding her injured hand and it started to open and close with no pain at all. Truly God working in her life. We visited two orphanages. Both of which we gave out toys to the children and stayed a few minutes and played. They mostly enjoyed our digital cameras. We would take their pictures and then show them. They loved that! A highlight of our trip was being able to go inside a prison and give medical attention to the inmates. Because our team was kind of large, the medical team attended to over 60 inmates in the two hours we were allowed in and the rest of us prayed for each inmate individually as they left. What an amazing time! Before we left, the missionary asked if we would sing with them. So I led the team in Amazing Grace and Hallelujah as some of the inmates and most of us wept. It was incredible. To thank us for visiting them and helping they blessed us with a song. We clapped along while they sang an old familiar hymn in Spanish. The language was different but the heart was the same. It was awesome! Yeah, I cried. As we left, an inmate gave Carly a drawing that he had done in his cell. It was really nice and she was thankful for the opportunity to see what not many people get to see, but what God sees everyday. After a wonderful church service with the missionary where Pastor Mike served it up, we went back to the street to the "Cardboard Village". This is an area of Acuna where the people have nothing. We set up our Cooking for Christ tents and fired up the hot dog cooker! These children started coming out of the woodwork! The mission team in Acuna set up speakers and started playing music and they rushed the streets to see the Americans. We danced in the streets with them, sang songs, performed a skit showing them the love of Christ and had a puppet show for the children. The smiles on their faces are etched in my heart! They went home fed, with a glimmer of hope and knowing the lawnmower song! I don't care who you are. That's fun!
We thank everyone for their prayers and contributions! We couldn't have done it without you and your support! I believe we made an amazing impact on the people of Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, and I know they made an amazing impact on me! God is good.

We are on our way....

2008-07-16T12:50:00.003-05:00

Sort of. We leave really early in the morning for Acuna, Mexico. What an amazing honor it is to just be going, but to be able to go with an awesome team and my daughter. I'm really humbled and really excited. The devil has tried to bust up our joy and like Ms. Judi says, "Don't let him steal it!" So, we are prayed up. Last minute errands have been run and we have some last minute things to take care of in the sound booth, but other than that, we are ready. Pray we have a safe trip getting there and back but also that our ministry reaches the children and people of Ciudad Acuna. God is good......