Mission Indy 2011

 Mission Indy 2011
This is our group that went to Indianapolis this year.  What a great and inspiring week we had.  This year we went back to Indy to help Tony Manning and his church reach out to their community through Kids Clubs and Block Parties.  We had 3 different areas to reach.  We started the week off on Sunday having a great worship service at Hamilton Village Church.  Then we split into our groups and hit the neighborhoods to hand out flyers. 

This was our morning entertainment.  Wink and Johnny.  Johnny would get us pumped up through exercising.  Then we had the Battle of the Sexes. Wink was a great game show host.  Following our exercise and game show we would have a great worship time and a great message from Tony Manning.

On Monday we was worried about what the week would bring.  It started raining and flooded roads and the church parking lot.  This is the church parking lot.  There was a creek that ran along the side and back of the church which caused the flooding.  So the students decided that they were going to play in the water.   

 Well, the boys won the Battle of the Sexes game but we still had fun. Well lets just say even though we lost we still had fun.  We stopped by Starbucks then returned to the church to play games and had a birthday cookie cake.  Oh yeah, and the girls played a little prank on the boys nothing too bad just deflated beds and hid the air pumps.  It was good times with the girls!! 

This is Ashley with a few of the girls she met this week.  The good thing about mission trips is that you get to share the Gospel but you also get to make new friends.  But then when you have to leave it is very hard and emotional.  This was Ashley's first mission trip and when we had to leave she was crying and these 3 little girls were crying too. 
What a great experience going on a mission trip to watch students jump in and start sharing the Gospel and they are not ashamed to share.  It's a real blessing to watch your child come out of their comfort zone and see them praying with people and growing in their faith.  It was a great week not just for my kids but for me too.  My prayers is that the students will take what they learned this week and apply it here in Paragould.  What a difference they can make in our community. 

Sports Camp

What a wonderful week at Sports Camp.  This years theme was Unleash the Power.  We had average of 280 each night and 170 workers.  The children had a lot of fun participating and learning about their favorite sport.  They also had a great devotional time.  God moved this week and a few lives are changed.  What a great ministry opportunity for children. 

Great Day!

This is my mom before she got baptized this past Sunday morning.  Can you tell she is nervous?

I tried to get her to do a cannonball but she would not listen.  She was too nervous that Pastor Jason was going to drop her.  What a wonder day to know that my family and I will rejoice in Heaven together one day.  Since my sisters death the Lord has been working in my families lives.  Yes, we are sad and we miss her beyond words but then I stop and look how the Lord still uses her.  My walk with Christ has been getting stronger. Tonya turned her life around and joined church.  Melissa is going to church.  Craig has rededicated his life to Christ and going on a Mission trip this year.  My mom has finally realized she needed to make a change in her life.  God is so wonderful.  Now we will all be reunited with Teresa again in Heaven.  What a glorious day that will be.

Fishing Rodeo

Saturday morning there was a fishing rodeo at Reynolds Park.  My kids and I like fishing.  A couple of years ago my father-in-law started taking my kids to the rodeo.  This is some quality time and great memories with grandpa.

This year Nick decided not to go.  He, I think got frustrated a couple of years ago when his sister won a trophy and he didn't.  But when we went to check on Ashley and Grandpa, Nick couldn't help throwing a line in the lake and stealing his grandpa's hat. 

So, Nick has a replacement, Jorden, my nephew.  He wanted to go fishing with grandpa.  The only thing with Jorden is he is 5 years old and he doesn't understand you have to sit still and not catch all the bugs around you.  Neither one of them caught anything that morning, but they had fun.

Swimming Pool

After all the hard work of taking down the pool, leveling the dirt, and sweating alot our pool is back up and working.  It is nice to go home and take a dip in the pool or play around with the kids.  As you can see Ashley loves the pool too.  I think both of my kids would stay in the pool all day if I would let them. 

Constant Battle

Weight has always been a constant battle for me.  I find myself buying different workout videos, weights, kettleball, and whatever else I need to help in this long journey of mine.  After I had my children I really didn't care that much about my weight and the weight kept coming.  Then 2 years ago it finally hit me in the face.  Here I was going on vacation with my family, and I wasn't able to keep up with them climbing small hills.  How embarassing for them and me.  So, I decided to make a difference.  It went well, I lost 40 pounds within 6 months.  Craig came home off of deployment to a more health conscious wife.  I stopped drinking sodas and stopped going out to eat.  There was more fruit in the house.  I have been at a plateau for a few months and its frustrating but I am not going to give up.  With the support from family and friends and continual prayer, I will one day meet my goal.