Nephews

This young man is having a birthday today and I want to give him a shout out. Cam-rod I can not believe you are 10 today!!! It just seems like yesterday that I got to witness you coming into this world. I love you buddy and can't wait to throw you in the waves tomorrow at the beach!
This young man is leaving in the morning on a mission trip to Peru and we couldn't be more proud of him. He accepted Jesus as his savior 2 years ago at a youth conference and he has not stopped serving Him since. The Lord really plugged him into an awesome youth group and they are going to Peru to serve in some orphanages, to teach in a vacation bible school and to help build some homes. Michael.... YOU ROCK!!!!!!! I can't wait to see and hear all about the journey the Lord is sending you on. We are in much prayer for you and your team.

Michael and A#2.

Silly kids!

They never stop!!

A proud uncle and aunt!!!

A graduate, babies and a little friendly jousting

This is our wonderful nephew that graduated last weekend. We are so proud of him. We went for a visit to help his family celebrate the end of his high school journey, the beginning of his college life and a mission trip to Peru that the Lord is sending him on. He will be attending VCU in the fall where he has been accepted into their art program. You ROCK Michael and we know that God has mighty things in store for you!

I think I have told you before that one of my most favorite things to do is jump on a trampoline and I do believe my girls like it just as much. A#2 and A#3 jumped all weekend long.

Our nephew Cade-man mid flip.

All I heard was watch this Mommy, all weekend long.

Mommy's turn!

One of the babies that our family has been blessed with recently. Mr Noah just celebrated his first birthday on Monday. He is the sweetest thing ever! And he is a ham bone just like his Daddy!

Mr Mason and his Mommy. This little guy had a rough start but prayers were answered and he is WONDERFUL!!

We were able to spend time with some family that we don't get to see very often. Hubby and his cousin Dave grew up together and now only see each other every couple of years. They have the best time when they are together. We miss you David and are so glad we got to spend some time with you.

Oh mercy! We had so much fun on this contraption. A#2 romped on this thing all weekend. It was a combination of a bungee race, bouncy thing and jousting competition.

Hubby and Dave going at it all while hubby is singing Hail to the Redskins ( Dave is a Dallas fan).

And guess who won?

Yep!!! The Redskins baby!!!!!!

He had to rest after that one.

Then it was time for the women. Me and my SIL took on each other.

We had to pose first of course.

Let the games begin.

And for some reason.... SHE TOOK ME OUT!!!! f-shew glad that's over ;)

She had to take a break after it was over. I'm not sure who I am after in the back ground.

The next day, A#2 right back on the trampoline. I love this picture.

My MIL and all 9 of her grand babies. We are such a blessed family!

There is a story behind this picture. When my SIL and cousin were pregnant someone was taking a picture of their bellies and my BIL jump in a stuck out his belly. Naturally after the babies are born there has to be an after picture and this is it.

He was wore out!

A#3 giving goodbye hugs to Mr Noah. He liked it and had the best smile afterwards.

We had such a great weekend and hated to leave. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday A#1 and Michael were as small as these two and now they are both college students!!

Prayer requests

Prayer requests-
1. My sister has gestational diabetes an is having a difficult time. She had this with her second pregnancy but it was not as bad as it is this time. Please pray that she will figure out exactly what to do and it will not stress her out. Baby Lily will be here in July!!
2. My other sister is still having a difficult recovery from her knee surgery.Things are just not back to where they should be for such a simple procedure and they just can't figure out what to do with her. Story of her life ;)
3. My Mom and Aunt are on a plane flying to Boston to visit my cousin that is there now studying. Pray for traveling mercies for them.
4. My Dad and step-mom have some things they are dealing with now that can be very stressful. Also pray for my Dad's health. As well as my step-mom's parents health.
5. My poor hubby. He is working himself to the bone. We have been blessed that there is still work out there but he is literally about to run himself to death. He needs strength and rest and a VERY patient wife.
6. A#1 will be home this time next week. Pray that he will make it thru the rest of his finals. Also in less than 2 weeks he will begin his flying. He will have to drive back and forth 1 1/2 hours each way and then he will be at the airport for 5 hours and then drive home. Please pray for his safety thru it all. He is soooooo excited and so ready to get started.
7. Hubby and I are supposed to be taking a trip for our anniversary (yes I know you are sick of hearing about the anniversary!!) but this stupid SWINE FLU has just messed things up. That and the fact that we put everything else before our marriage.
8. Swine Flu? What the heck?!!! Pray that this will cease.
9. Our church family. We have a lot going on right now with remodels etc. God is moving and some people just don't like it (mainly Satan, the big nerd) I had a fantastic meeting with some of our ladies the other night and I was really touched at some of the things we were able to work out.

10. Faith Promise Mission Conference- We have missionaries coming from all over in the next couple of weeks and it is always such a blessing to see our God working.
11. Liberty University just lost one of it's professors in a tragic accident. Please pray for that family as well as the students and faculty.

The new addition

We finally got the pleasure of meeting our new nephew, Mason. What a blessing this little guy is. He weighs just over 7 pounds which is small for this family. I couldn't get over how small he is.

As you can see, the girls had to get their hands on him as soon as they could. A#3 just wanted to take him home and play with him.

She was just nuts over him.

A#2 was a little proud too. She held him several times over the weekend. She's at that age where she thinks she can just pick up every baby without checking first. So funny how girls just have that instinct.

You've met this little man before. We don't get to see him as much as we would like so we enjoy every minute we have with him. This is his smile for food. His Mommy had snacks for him and this is his sweet way of convincing her that she should give them to him.

Little Mason again.

We had a fantastic weekend which was busy, busy. We went to our nephew Michael's' art show. He is trying to raise money for a mission trip he is going on to Peru. If you are interested in supporting him please let me know. We went to church, had an Easter egg hunt, ate way too much and just hung out with the family. What blessings the Lord has given us.

Can you help?

This is from a fellow blog friend of mine-
Meet Ruhiyyih-

Help Me Get to AFRICA!
This summer I am going to Gulu, Uganda on a team with a local relief and development organization, World Help. I need to raise $3000, and I hope to do this by building a team of 100 supporters. I want a whole "village" of folks sending me! :) If you are interested in being on my team I can send you a support letter - just leave me a comment with how to contact you. Otherwise, please send a check written out to World Help, a sticky note attached saying " Ruhiyyih - Gulu" on it, and send to:World Helpc/o XM Gulu1148 Corporate Park DriveForest, VA 24551

If there is any way you can help her and your heart is doing it for the Lord, please do so. You can check out her blog at http://www.ruhiyyih.blogspot.com/ if you want to get to know her better and learn what an amazing christian she is. We've raised money for a mission trip before so I know what she is going thru. Dear Ruh, rest in knowing that the Lord will provide and you will receive a crown one day in eternity.

Montana

This is our mission team that went to Browning Montana this past summer. Our mission was to share the gospel with the Blackfeet Indian people. Praise the Lord there were 15 saved and many, many seeds that were planted. That's me on the end with the black pants on and that's our son in the front with the strap going across him. We were there to help Pastor Phil at Glacier View Baptist Chapel and it was such an awesome experience. I have never seen the Lord work like he did while we were here. My eyes have opened so much since this trip.

Here we are at the Glacier National Park. What a view. We think we are so blessed with the mountains here Virginia. HA!

This is a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life. #1 because he actually posed for a picture which I do beleive was the 1st miracle the Lord allowed us to see and #2 because Aaron was truly in his element while we were traveling. He was the 1st one to the water to kick off his shoes. The 1st one to pick up rocks to throw. Just watching my man child was worth the whole trip.

Here's the perfect example of what I'm talking about. If you will notice, his shoes are not completely on his feet. His would just slip them on and off at this point because we were stopping so much.

Have you ever?!!!


This is my friend Ashley Heavyrunner. I hold her so close to my heart. One thing I could not get used to while here was just the total oppression that you FEEL while on the reservation. I have never felt anything like this before. I cried like I have never cried before. Every time I would take a shower something would take over and the sobs would start. Every time! I keep a picture of Ashley in my Bible to remind me to always pray for her and her people.
I have sooo many more pctures of this trip that I hope to share in due time. This may sound funny to some of you but when things get a little yukky around here, I wish I could go back there right away. You really seem to forget all your own problems when you see what others are dealing with but more than that, when you see the power of God.