The Race Car Driver

My very creative son Timo, as Jeff Gordon the Race car driver! Wish this picture had sound affects...hard to believe that this car isn't actually moving!

Fun memory made!

We kicked off the weekend, Friday after school by heading straight to the movies. We met Aunt Becky, P & B, and sweet Eden to see High School Musical 3! It was a blast! I have loved all 3 in the series. This one was just as enjoyable. Having all of our kids there did make for a few distractions and runs to the restroom...oh well that is to be expected and just means we will have to see it again! Loved every minute!

Tori's 4th Grade Program

This past week,the fourth grade class put on a fantastic program. Our family and Precious were able to attend. The program involved reciting poetry and singing songs, some were accompanied with sign language. It was so fun to observe Tori in this setting. Today I had the opportunity to volunteer in Timothy's class and then I ate lunch with Timothy and with Tori. It was such a great day. I am so thankful to be at this new school this year. We love the teachers and the faculty that we are coming to know. The atmosphere is so welcoming to our children and to us as parents. It is truly a blessing for our kids to be in this specific place at this time. I love knowing they are having fun, being encouraged and that they are truly valued. Those three traits in a school create a great environment for learning!

Saturday and Sunday

(We attended the wedding of my beautiful cousin Catherine Goode on Saturday, who I did not get any pictures of! That makes me sad. It was a beautiful wedding and we were all thrilled to be there to witness such a special day! Everyone was beautiful and filled with joy, especially Catherine.)

Here is my beautiful Tori all dressed up for the wedding!



Lael and Sweet baby Eden



The final collage is from the Hot Dog Banquet Sunday night. All 4 kids enjoyed participating along with Pate and Benj! Tori was privileged to interview returning missionary Sara Holland from Mexico. Pate had the chance to pray for her. Both did a fantastic job! Tori and Lael carried in a flag and Timo and Jon carried in one as well...and Pate and Benj did too. They all participated in the Hot Dog Choir! This was really fun to watch. This was our first opportunity to see all kids on a stage. They did not disappoint. Randy and I, together with some of the missionaries soon to go to Rwanda, got to share about Africa with the children. This was really special and it is always fun to have a chance to plant a seed in a child's heart that God has a great plan for their life!! It was great to hear the sweet prayers of children. We are confident that the Lord was listening and that He is answering! Harvest Time at Richland Hills is our favorite time of the year...a time to think about the world and the people that God created with love and with a purpose, and missionaries that have responded to his call to GO and share the love of Christ with people who otherwise would not hear of Him. Missionaries around the world need our prayers, our love and our faithful support. We speak from experience. It is a hard job and a rewarding one. May courage fill the hearts of those who go as the Lord dares their hearts to be brave with faith. May generosity and attentive love feel the hearts and hands of those who send!

In Recent Days

I got to go with Timothy on his first field trip to a farm. It was a great time to be with him and to get to know his class. We saw a lot of fascinating farm animals but I think we may have been most impressed with the beautiful chickens. After our recent trip to Benin and time spent chasing chickens (Timo that is), these chickens looked like they had spent time at the local spa! Timo and I both found ourselves talking about those pretty chickens all day long!

Thursday night Lael sat for 4 hours while her hair was debraided, washed, straightened and then rebraided. For the most part she was extremely cooperative. The final product was certainly worth the wait. She is irresistably cute!

Harvest Season is here!

This afternoon we had so much fun going to a local Pumpkin Farm with other young families, including our Vaughn cousins, and Nana and Papa...you can see by the pictures that we enjoyed ourselves and if you look all the way to the end of this post, you will see just how long a cow's tongue can be...we had no idea!!

Smiling Faces

I finally grabbed my camera and started taking pictures again!
Here are some of my favorite faces! Can you tell these kids are having a great time??

Listen In!

As a believer in Jesus and a proud American, I am reaching out to let you know about something coming up!! My husband, Randy and his brother Donny (the Marketing Twins) have the great opportunity to interview Stephanie Brown Trafton, 2008 Beijing Olympic
gold medalist in the Womens Track & Field Competition (Discus).

Stephanie's name is not a household one like Michael Phelps but she has an inspirational story and loves to talk about Jesus. I wanted you to be aware of this upcoming interview on October 8th in case you, or someone you know would want to listen to the interview.
Anyone is welcome to register for FREE and listen in. Required email registration permits access to the conference call dial-in # and passcode.

REGISTER: HERE

This is going to be a great interview. We will hear from someone who gave a remarkable perfomance in Beijing, bringing honor with her whole heart to God and to our country! Listen in and expect to be blessed!