Treasure Hunting

Thanks to Paula's Blog, I found a fun activity for us to do in this heat of summer.
100 degrees and 99% humidity! So I took about $5 in change, and froze in different layers in a brownie pan. Then I let the kids loose on it with toothbrushes, and water bottles. They had a blast. So much so, that we did it again the next day. This time, I out-smarted them by putting blue food coloring in the water so it made it harder to see the money. They have had the most fun recycling the money to play in the ice!

Feed My Sheep II

God has taught me a something interesting. I wanted to share my thoughts with you. I had been meditating on the John 21 passage about feeding the sheep. I have just let this fill my heart and allow God's words to speak to me about His true calling on my life. Like a melody playing sweetly, it continued to stir it's song within my heart. And this was what I heard at the end of the song. "It is not about the pasture, but about the sheep." I just let this radiate within my soul. How loving is our God to give the time to process what He needed of me. And how very sweet of Him to speak so lovingly to my heart.

Funny tails for today

CALEB - he came over to me while I was sitting in the recliner, lifted the back of my hair, and began running his fingers through my hair. "What ya doin' Buddy?" "So when do you get them, when you become a mom, or when you become a woman?" I giggled. "Honey, I don't really have eyes in the back of my head, that is just a saying."

ABIGAIL - was sitting at the counter while I was discussing possible locations for the Hospitality House. "I don't want to go to Guam." "Why not?" "I have cute winter clothes. I want to go to Alaska."

JULIA - "Cucumber sandwiches are really good. And if you get the cut one (cookie cutter shaped) it is really good!" We had a tea party for lunch.

DAVID - "I like cooking with Dad. And cooking with the hammer and the blood is fun too." We all cooked dinner tonight for Brian, Mason, and Chad. The boys helped tenderize the beef!

ABIGAIL - after finishing the story of Little Red Riding Hood (which is a little scary), Abigail had a better idea. " I know a better story. Once upon a time this little girl wanted to take her Grandmama Jan some cookies and the tiger got Grandmama Jan and put her in the closet. But Daddy Barron used his muscles to knock the door down and Abigail, Grandmama Jan, and Daddy Barron ate all the cookies. The end."

CALEB- an oldie but goodie. He told this to Brian tonight. When Chris was teaching the boys about loving the Lord with all your strength, he asked them if they knew what it meant. Caleb ran over to the mattress, picked it up, dropped it down, and said "I Love you God!" Caleb is still proud of this story and was happy to demonstrate it to
Brian tonight!

Thoughts from my heart.

JOHN 21:15-19

"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes Lord," he said "you know I love you."
Jesus said "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered "Yes, Lord, you know I love you."
Jesus Said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

What if that follow me, meant to leave your family and friends and go to place like Guam, Japan, or Alaska. Would you be willing to put "feeding the sheep" above your own comfort? This is something every missionary has to ask themselves. Leaving your extended family can be even harder. We are especially close to our Parents, Siblings, Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, Cousins, and Friends. But we are also blessed because our family members are Christians. This does make the leaving easier, because we would all be together in heaven. We are praying right now that God would confirm in our hearts where He would have us serve with Cadence. Let me know what you think by clicking on the comment button below.

FANCY

FANCY!!!

David's new pet. A fancy dwarf hamster. Of course, it has been CRAZY getting this 1 and 1/2 inch critter settled in. Critters need stuff. So I thought it would be best if I sang her a little song before we went to bed the first night....
"Here's your one chance, Fancy don't let me down!" Couldn't help myself. David really loves her, and even though we aren't holding her he feeds her and speaks softly to her. 'Loving" her as best he can from this side of the cage. Once she is use to her habitat, we can hold her. Aunt Judy (and Amy) wanted to get this for David since he fell for them while we were in Colorado. Thank you Aunt Judy ...and Amy!

Friends from Far are near to the Heart

TEN KIDS!

We lived next door to Johnny and Sylvia when we were at Southwestern together. Sylvia and I laughed together, prayed together, moved furniture, swapped home schooling secrets, shared groceries, and truly lived life side by side. She was and still is a rock I can count on. Johnny and Chris spent time together talking over whatever it is men discuss when they eat hot wings together, walk to class, or sitting the car. Johnny and Sylvia now live in Panama City where Johnny is the youth pastor at Hyland Park Baptist Church. We were so happy they had to drive through Phenix City on the way home from a trip! It was nice catching up with them and getting to re-connect with these precious Christian friends.


Me & Sylvia and Baby Justin

Johnny and Chris

Let's have a Sleepover

When other kids ask to have a sleepover, they want to have friends over. When our kids ask to have a sleepover, they want to figure out a way to all sleep in the same room. So this time, we pushed two twin size beds together and let them PARTY! Aren't they funny!!

Come By.....

Come on over to our house, we would love to share our wealth with you.

God is a wonderful provider. Chris is still unemployed, and we have been blessed by good food. People have shared their abundance from their gardens, and God provided a huge Pear tree in our yard. We have collected over 200 so far.

Aren't they beautiful?

Today we made pear sauce, and I cooked some pears for Pear Cobbler. Enough for all of us...10 jars total. I will get back to cooking in the morning.

Things You'll see in the Country

Gardens

Barns & Cows

A Gator..or tractor

Little toes splashing in the puddles!

COUSINS - Wilkins Family Reunion

Chocolate Salami

While we were in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Raffa shared some good Italian recipes with me. Here is our new favorite

Chocolate Salami

1/2 c. & 1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 c. graham crackers (crumbled)
1/2 c. cocoa
1 stick butter
1 egg

mix sugar with butter, add egg, cocoa, and crackers. Mix well. Place in wax paper, roll, and shape like salami. Place in fridge. I chilled for 1 hour. Keep at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing.

THANKS RAFFA! WE LOVED IT!! And it was fun to freak the kids out a little!!

Fourth of July

Playing In Mrs. Becky's Pool. The kids learned to swim while we were in Colorado. So they were very happy Grandmama Jan and Daddy Barron came to visit for the holiday. We were really proud of how much Aunt Judy and the gang did to get these kids converted into little fish!

Doing Sparklers in Great Grandmother Esther's front yard.

We went down to the Chattahoochee River Walk to see the firework display. Abigail and Julia really liked the show, and talked about it for several days.

We are very thankful to be born in a free country. We are proud to be American's. And we are thankful for our Freedom in Jesus Christ, and thankful to live in the United States were we are free to worship the King of Kings!

Dwarf House

After a fun day with the Harrison's, we had to stop for dinner on the way home. And what better place than to stop than the "DWARF HOUSE". This is a full service Chick-fil-a. In other words, you get to be seated, and make selections off a menu. The kids were fascinated by the tiny door. And everyone enjoyed a hearty breakfast for dinner. Caleb and David were tickled by the breakfast buffet. And Caleb was especially thrilled to discover sausage in his gravy. So now he would love to have some gravy and biscuits.

Our Visit with the Harrison's

We were so happy that the Harrison's were nearby visiting family. So we took a little day trip up to meet them. The kids had a blast playing in the yard together. Caleb was fascinated by the garden, the yard vine, and enjoying his friends. David was just happy to get some Tyler time. I have tons of other great photos, but me and a hundred other people are posting tonight.

The never-ending flight home!

Well our flight back to Alabama was suppose to be pretty uneventful. We were scheduled to have a short lay-over in Fort Worth. However, our flight out of Denver was delayed for 4 hours. So we ended up having to sleep-over in Fort Worth. Now I must tell you how excited this made me. My best friend Amy lives in Fort Worth. her parents are like my second parents, and vice-verse. So when we knew we need a place to sleep for the night, we were happy to stay at the Wells house. Steve and Gayle have been wonderful mentors for us. Being that outside source of prayer and encouragement that was really good to hear. We ended up getting to their house around 11:30 Pm leaving around 8am. We had a great visit. I was anxious to get home to the kids and was pretty well tuckered out. So by the time we made it to Atlanta by plane and them home by car, it was 5Pm. I was so happy to put my arms around those kids. I think I pretty much couldn't focus on anything else, but getting those kids back home and loving on them. After dinner, we all put on our jammies really fast, and spent the evening snuggling. Chris fell asleep first, and then each kid wanted to be rocked to sleep, and I was more than HAPPY to indulge them. It felt good to be home!