Delayed.... but not Dismayed!

Ok... so we didn't quite make it to Brazil as expected... But, we are definitely welcoming the REST!!! YEAH!!!

We got held up in Memphis, so we didn't make our connection to Rio. Delta only has one flight A DAY to Rio, so we are waiting until tonight to fly. They (of course) didn't let us have our luggage... but they did give us little shaving kits with a toothbrush, toothpaste, all the other basic essentials, and t-shirts! YEAH! Something to sleep in! Here is a pic of Caleb and his! He kept jumping on the bed singing "I'm an ANGEL, I'm an ANGEL!" ...that he is!... LOL!

So... As I sit in Barnes and Noble and Caleb plays with the cute wooden Thomas train set with a new friend... I thought I would update the BLOG.

YES, I KNOW... I'm way behind!!!! ;) Thanks to those who graciously reminded me! :p BUT... I do have a few reasons for not blogging April and May. Those months were really hard for us! I didn't send out any of my emails either (if you want to be added to that list, reply or email me!) ... but those were tough months. It would have been hard to be encouraging. I do TRY very hard to include mostly encouraging and happy posts... and unfortunately some would have been fabricated. On *THIS SIDE* of the events, it's much easier to find the God Moments! :) So... I will now update these posts!! :)

ALL POSTS AFTER APRIL 4TH ARE NEW!!! If you haven't been here in a while... then you can just pretend it's all NEW and I didn't get behind! :) For those of you who check this Regularly - SO SORRY! - and you can catch up now! :)

Summer Memories!!

Old Friends...







New Friends...











Family...















Fun!!!!





















It was an incredible Summer!! It was another Psychotically Busy Summer... but really awesome!! From hanging out with Nana & G-daddy, Chuck, & Brooklyn - Riding bikes, eating SOUTHERN cooking, SALSA, shooting fireworks. Fun Memories with Mimi & Jennifer, Madison & William. To our AMAZING HOME GROUP FAMILY!!! *Always There to hang with, help out, meet our needs, laugh, cry, hug, encourage, love!!! To meeting incredible

people at the NICS Pre-Field orientation - Mel & Tobin, BUNKIN' BUDDIES, Incredible SMALL

groups, New Brasilia Staff, Crazy John Richards!! Hanging with Murrell... (the list goes on!). To 'Re-connecting' with Kelly & Vaishali and my MC College buddies. Seeing our Hong Kong friends! Speaking and being encouraged by Colonial Hills and Bible Church of Cabot!! 4th of July BBQ at the Williams', swimming & TONS of fun at the

Townsends!

The Most INCREDIBLE Wedding of two of the most INCREDIBLE People (Meg & Casey) - in North Carolina!! (with some Pre-Wedding Chill time at the lake with most of the Brasilia crew & Herring family!!). Museums (Coke, Aquarium, CNN, and Smithsonian!). Staying at the Amazingly Peaceful "Chateau de Folgelsong!" Cruisin' in the Olds!... Ahhh.... A truly great summer....



































God is so good to us!! He always provides... He is always faithful! We are so blessed to be so loved!! I wish we had a month for each group of people... We know we didn't get to see everyone, and for that we are so sorry... But we felt so encouraged by so many!!


















Thank you to all of you who made our "Vacation" so special!!! :)

My Momma!

Happy Birthday to my Mother!!

What a blessing she has been to me for my entire life. She IS the Proverbs 31 woman to me! She is always prepared, rising early to work for her family, and attending all her duties without idleness.

She is always caring for others. She has stayed in the hospital with people for surgeries, she tutors anybody and everybody, she's always making quilts for those who are sick.

The Greatest Blessing, and one for which I can NEVER Re-pay, is her attention, love, care, and time when I was sick. If any of you reading this don't know... in February 1999, I was diagnosed with Cancer in the bone of my left arm. It was aggressive, so I had to also have aggressive Chemotherapy and Radical surgery. Mom put her life on hold for TWO YEARS to be with me, stay with me in the hospital, care for me. Chris and Mom had a "tag team" approach. Mom took care of me in the hospital, and Chris took care of me when they discharged me. Both had to deal with stuff you would NOT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT!! TRUST ME!!!

My Mom is an Amazing Leader, Servant, Teacher, and Pastor! The Lord has blessed my life with her!

Thank you, MOM, for ALL you have done for me. Happy Birthday!

Ahhh.... AMERICA the Beautiful!

It never ceases to amaze me of how much I love that American Flag! It brings so much joy to my heart to see them flying all over the US around the 4th. What a beautiful site. I found myself wanting to take as many pics of them as I could. I would stare at them.... especially that BIG one on Goodman Road at the Nissan Dealership. That's my favorite one.

There's another one at my Mom and Dad's house. They fly it out in the front. It has now replaced the giant Dogwood tree as our favorite Family Photo spot. Interestingly, one of my girls from BIS asked me the other day... "Is it required for everyone in America to put a Flag up?" (this was after she saw my pics from summer) At first I said "of course not, there's not that many.... well.... actually... there are... A LOT OF THEM!! In fact, most people do fly theirs all year long too! I guess we're just really patriotic!" :)

I love that!!! I love that everyone finds ways to CELEBRATE our nation... no matter the "economic downturn" or the political garbage. God is Great! He planned our Government to be rooted and based on HIM! We must praise HIM for that! Despite the issues, our country was built upon HIS promises.