Monday, April 16, 2012

Thailand or Bust!

This family update has been a long time coming...

On July 5th, all five of us plus three of the youth in our ministry are leaving for a month long mission trip to Thailand. We will start and end our journey briefly in Texas, where we will be meeting the rest of our team that is going, and receiving the necessary training to be the most effective we possibly can while in country.

We are all very excited about being able to travel the globe as a family, especially knowing it will all be for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Even the kids can show you where Thailand is on our little bouncy globe. We know the Lord is calling us there for many different reasons. Certainly one of the greatest reasons is because of the dire need that is found there.

For info on the trip go here: http://www.globalexpeditions.com/mission-trips/summer-trips/asia/thailand/ If you select "Quick Facts" you will see details about Thai culture and how to pray.

We have been doing fundraisers since the summer of 2011 for getting us over there, but we still have a long way to go financially. As we write this (April 16th) we have 80 days left before we leave, and we need your help to make it there. Be it through prayer and/or financial support, we want to offer you the chance to partner with us and with the Lord for what He is going to do this summer.

If you are interested in helping through prayer support, send us a private message and we will put you on our prayer team newsletter.

If you are interested in helping through financial support, you can go to Global Expeditions' website and donate directly to us there. The direct link is http://www.globalexpeditions.com/donate/ and our Group ID to donate to is 2659982, so feel free to do so as soon as possible! We need roughly $4400 per person, so any and all gifts are fully welcomed and appreciated!

If you have any questions, feel free to let us know. We will definitely be keeping you updated as we prepare to go change the world, and while we are over there too!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Yep, Blessed.

For the record: I have the most awesome family ever.

Tonight we went to dinner at Dos Hombres after work with my coworker, Laura. Tom let me know he wanted to get dessert afterward too, and the kids invited Laura to join us for that as well. I thought that was it, but snickering girls and shushing secrets made me a bit suspicious...

Then the cashier at Red Mango handed me a bag and said, "And I believe this is yours too."

At this point my girls turned into monkeys at the zoo who discovered new people to fling poo at... They were laughing and squealing and hopping and running around, obviously excited about whatever was in that bag.

We made our way through the crowded FroYo shop to a table and the girls started pulling things out of the Pier 1 bag in my hand.




A colorful new journal with a blue be-jeweled pen from Kylee. Exactly what I have been needing since I finished my last journal a few days ago and have been learning so much that I've been wanting to write out. Kylee picked it out herself and it is perfect, which means a lot coming from this picky journal-er!




An embroidered purple scarf from Chloe. This was handpicked beauty from my trendy little accessorizer. I told her I especially like that it's purple because it reminds me of her.




A necklace with many wonderful dangling doo-dads that apparently Josiah was adamant about getting for me. I'm sure he can't wait for me to wear it so he can play with all the cool things when I hold him.




A fabulous blue and turquoise cuff bracelet from my amazing husband who knows how to pick fun, artsy jewelry better than I do.




A fun bubble bead necklace that apparently is from Jesus, but Daddy got to give it to me from Him. ;)

All of these gifts were so thoughtful and beautiful. Laura was impressed and wondered if it was my birthday. I assured her it was not. Tom told us the story of how he and the kids were talking about how much they love me and wanted to do something special for me, just because. This blessed me the most. He said that the two young men behind the counter at Red Mango were pretty excited to be a part of it.

I'm so blessed to be loved so fully. I can't stop smiling! I am honored that my children and husband are so ecstatic to show me their love and affection. These may be small trinkets that didn't cost a great deal of money, but the hearts they came from and the thought that went into each gift are so precious to me.