Student Life @ Lookout Mtn.

Camp is going well this week. The Lord is really gracing Tony and using Him mightily. We are enjoying some great family time and the kids are loving being in the whole "mix" of it all. We are thoroughly enjoying time with our sweet friends Spur58 (more pictures to come). I have attached a few of my favorite photos from yesterday. We enjoyed seeing Ruby Falls and riding the steepest incline railway in the world. For those of you that know me, yes, it made me queasy! My favorite photo was of the beautiful flower you see. Is God amazing or what? I also took some shots of Christy without her knowing and I love those kinds of pictures. I just had to take a photo of my coffee station. We may "rough it" at camp, but we try not to go a day without our coffee. We have enjoyed some sweet mornings with our coffee and Jesus and gazing out at a beautiful sunrise over the mountain's edge. I will post more photos of our sunrise, all the kids, and fun stuff later, but for now, I just wanted to let you all know we are doing well! Please continue to pray for our safety, health, and usefulness for His Kingdom!

First Camp of the Summer!

We are heading to begin the first student camp of the summer in the morning. This year we kick off the summer doing Student Life. What a great camp! They really do everything "first class"! It is going to be alot of fun for our family and great for our kids to see the Holy Spirit work through their simple prayers and their Daddy as he preaches. They really enjoy being on the road with him and even though it is a ton of work, I do, too. So, while I am out of town spending the week with several thousand students, some of my dear friends will be enjoying my pool and hopefully my home! (Eat the watermelon, Amy! And, by the way, the photo on this post is just for you and Daisy!) I will miss my friends while we are gone and look forward to seeing many of you when we get home!
I will post if I have internet access, otherwise, I'll update all of you when I return next weekend. Have a great week!

Target Shopping Entertainment

Yesterday as we strolled through Target, Bradly found a plastic microphone. He carried it around and sang the same phrase over and over. Now this may not be so bad if it was Jesus Loves Me or some other pleasant song, but he was singing "Everybody Dance Now". Mind you, the only line he kept saying was "everybody dance now" followed by his little bebop sounds. It really was hilarious and the women we were passing were quite amused at the fact that he wasn't singing quietly, but rather performing for anyone who wanted to stop and listen. I was actually surprised that he wasn't getting embarrassed by the people that would look at him and smile. So, after about forty minutes, Christy, Wil, and I had heard enough, so I kindly said, "Bradly, take five. You need to rest your voice". Well, he would "rest" for about 15 seconds and then just start wailing it out again. He was having a ball! I was preoccupied trying to gather the things I was shopping for and "tuning him out" like we mothers can do in order to get a job done, but finally I heard Wil say, "Bradly, you have to stop singing I have a headache!!" To which Bradly replied, "I don't care!" I dealt with the issue at hand, took the microphone from Bradly and put it away, and explained that it was because he was inconsiderate in his response to his brother that he wasn't getting the microphone. He was upset that he wasn't going to be able to buy it, but it wasn't until we were checking out that he brought it up again. As I explained that he needs to watch his words, be kind to his brother and have a desire to do good to others and not bad. I explained that all he needed to do was stop singing for a little while so that Wil could get over his headache. He seriously responded by telling me, "Mom, my voice wasn't gone yet!" I laughed really hard and thanked God that we didn't buy the microphone since he was planning on singing until his "voice was gone": :)

Our 171 Form Has Arrived!

Can I get an "Amen"? Our 171 form arrived today!!! Now it's off to China with our Dossier! For those of you who may not know what this is, it is the official documents that are authenticated and sent to China. Once we are DTC (Dossier to China), we will get our LID (Log in Date), which is the date China enters us into their system. This is like standing in line after taking a number and waiting for your turn. There are thousands in front of us which is why the process takes so long, but we are praying that things will pick up now that China has implemented new adoption laws as of May 1st. We are just thrilled that our paperchasing is now complete, our Dossier will be heading to China, and we will start the countdown to our referral, which is the picture and information about our little girl. As a mother of three who is well aware of how fast time goes by, I know our referral will be here before we know it. God has already blown our minds at all that He has done. I wish I could tell you every detail of the journey. God has meet each of us at our deepest need throughout this process so far, He has provided for every financial need and we believe He will continue to do so because this is His perfect plan for our family. Who would have ever thought??? (ha!) What an amazing privilege this has already been for us! Thanks for your prayers, and now please join us in praying for His perfect timing, peace, and provision as we move from the paperchasing phase to the "waiting for referral" stage. May His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Thanks for following our journey to Joy!

Our Summer begins!

I just had to post and celebrate just how excited we are here in our home over the reality that we are now finished with school and have begun our summer break! I have so many projects that I would like to tackle during this break and have it on my to do list today to make my "punch list". :) I just want a day where we don't even get dressed, except maybe bathing suits to go in the backyard. We will travel some with Tony for a few camps and enjoy a few vacations, but we really are mostly looking forward to the down time in our own backyard "haven"! I hope I have a little more time to post, as well. So for now.... Happy Summer to all of you!!! Three cheers for "diving into" summer fun!!!

Fun at the Lake

We're back from the Smokey South

We went to Florida for Tony to speak and also to see all of our family. We made it through the smoke from all the fires, and it was an awesome trip! We watched the helicopters getting water from the lake at my Dad's house and then taking it to the fires that were a little too close for comfort for me. The kids loved playing with their cousin, Pierce, and they enjoyed seeing their grandparents, great grandparents, and aunts and uncles. It was a blast! For those of you wondering about the picture above, our little Bradly did love the tube by the last morning and he was actually begging to do it again. The funny thing was that he begged to get on it with everyone and then completely lost his mind. I'll try to post more fun photos later. This was the only one I had on my laptop. Anyway, we made some great family memories with everyone and I am so grateful for our family!! We are so blessed!

Everything To Me

Have you ever heard a song that you know you've heard several times before, but for whatever reason it plays and arrests your heart as if you are hearing it for the first time? That happened to me this week. As I drove down the road and listened to this song, I found myself crying and praising the Lord for all that He has done in my life. I went home and searched to find the song, rushed to the bookstore to buy the CD, and downloaded on my itunes. Needless to say, we are listening to it in the car, in the house, and humming it 24/7. I know you are wondering what song. It is by Avalon and it's called Everything To Me. I know it isn't a new song and, like I said, I had heard it before, but never before had it so resignated with my spirit. The chorus says: "He's everything to me, more than a story,more than words on a page in history. He's the air that I breath, the water I thirst for and the ground beneath my feet. He's everything to me." I don't know about you, but I have had many times in my life since coming to Christ, where this wasn't a reality in my life, but I praise God that right now, He really is everything to me. He is my dearest friend. My time with Him in the mornings is the most priceless part of my day and I long for more of Him. It amazes me that He desires a relationship with us at all and it refreshes me to find Him drawing closer to me as I seek Him each day. WOW! If you haven't heard the song, buy it NOW on itunes or go to the bookstore and buy the "Best of Avalon" CD. I pray it will bless you as it has me and if you aren't at this place in your walk with Jesus it will spur you on to allow Him to really become everything to you!

Our Fingerprinting is now Set!!!

For those of you tracking' with us, we received our final fingerprinting appointment notice today! We are scheduled to go next Wednesday! We are almost there, at least we will begin the "real waiting"! :) Thanks for all of your prayers and support! We still have a long road ahead, but it is a journey we are thrilled to be on because we have the faithful covenant keeping God with us every step of the way and it's journeys like this that He can use to draw you closer to His side and make you even more sensitive to His still small voice! Isn't it amazing that He desires to do anything for us, much less that He actually pursues an intimate relationship with us! I stand amazed and I am one extremely grateful woman for the work of Christ in my life and the sweet relationship I share with my Savior!