Mission Trip to Alabama May 2011

Last Thursday Kyle, Tyler, Colby and I  left with a group from our church for Pleasant Grove, Alabama to help the residents there clean up their houses/yards.

 It was heartbreaking to see what kind of damage the tornadoes had done. Where I am from all we have to worry about are hurricanes, and we have plenty of warning and so we are able to pack up all of our important things and get to safety. I can't imagine having all of your belongings blown away or damaged beyond repair and having to start over from scratch. While we aren't to set our minds on earthy possessions, I know it must be hard to lose pictures, baby books, family keepsakes and sentimental things like that.

We were so blessed by all the residents we came in contact with. Everyone was so friendly. We had a lovely couple that some friends from church knew that opened their home to 10 of us, cooked dinner for us, and bought us the best ribs at Dreamland in Tuscaloosa! We had a church that was providing disaster relief and hot breakfast and lunches. We had a guy from our church (that wasn't able to come) who's mom lived in Pleasant Grove that made dinner for us one night. There were vans driving around neighborhoods giving out ice cold water and Gatorade to people that were working.

It was a great experience for the boys too. I think they learned a lot about sacrifice and being a servant. And they learned that they LOVE Alabama and want to move there when Kyle graduates : ) They just couldn't believe how "hilly" it was and wished they had been able to bring their bikes.

"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,

but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Matthew 20:28

Church Gym



A house pushed back off of its foundation

We helped clean the trees out of this yard.

Colby looking through the debris...

Getting to work!

Closet where the homeowners were during the tornado

Tornado path

Awesome ribs in Tuscaloosa! We ate with some lovely people from a church in Pleasant Grove that we attended Sunday morning.

April-May 2011

Things that happened in April-May

Tyler sliced his middle finger sharpening his pocket knife...



Had to get 5 stitches : (



Colby turned 11 and had his friends from his old class come and spend the night with him at Bic and PawPaws house.



Jackson just being Jackson!



Colby won 1st place for hula hoop-ing the longest on Field Day!



Took a field trip to Fox News with the CHESS group...got to see how they do the news!

Measuring the boys one last time before we signed the papers selling the house!



The boys at a little judo get together. They have been taking judo since February.

Yummy crawfish with garlic, sausage, corn, lemons and potatoes! We had a picnic after the judo thing.



Good times!

The boys participated in an event called "Flood the Five" this past weekend. They are going to start taking classes on how to do public speaking and also how to share our faith and the gospel. We are really excited about it!

Some of my handsome boys! Jackson was too little to take the class.

Aidan in class

Aidan with his Flood the Five class

Cutie!

This past week Kyle and I celebrated our 11th year of marriage by going to dinner and a show

at the National WWII Museums Stage Door Canteen. The show was set in the 1940's and was a "live" radio broadcast from New Orleans. They sang and told corny jokes and came and danced with the audience. It was so much fun!

All dressed up! My precious husband bought me a corsage that matched my dress!

Waiting for dinner!

The stage

The awesome cast...they all sang so beautifully!

I got called on stage to answer some trivia questions...I was so nervous my mind just blanked and I didn't know the answer to any of them, she had to show me her card!

Trying to think of the answer...

Nervous that my slip was not hanging right...

I think I finally got one! SO embarrassing but a little fun I guess!

Posh Paints

Our homeschool group had a field trip at a place called Posh Paints. The kids were able to pick out a piece of pottery, choose their colors, and paint. I wasn't sure how it was gonna go. I was sure that Aidan/Jackson + paint = giant mess. But they did really well, and everyone had a great time!

Working hard on his LSU mug

Painting his turtle

Tyler working on his Saints fleur de lis

Colbys vase!

I told Jackson to hold his up so I could take a pic and this was the pose he wanted to do...so silly!

Now we have a "hurry up mom!" smile : ) and a lovely turtle.

Not sure what this look is all about, but his mug is almost done!

All done!

The owner was so nice! She took the kids in the back and showed them the kiln.

There was a giant green T-Rex in the bottom so she picked up Jackson so he could see : )

Great field trip day!