All for His Glory

I am so inspired by my husband and his friends. Most have gone (or are going) to the Men's Encounter and have come back "Jacked up for Jesus". They are so on fire!! I stand by and listen to the countless phone calls and text messages from this group of guys offering prayer & encouragement. They go to church and truly worship our Lord. I am envious at times because they have such a great support system and when the devil is trying to get in a 100+ guys are there to feed God's word to them and help them get through the struggle. God is truly in the center of their lives and they are witnessing and serving for the glory of God. I love hearing about all the different denominations coming together to serve and love the same God.

I was asked to be apart of a team that would give women the opportunity to rekindle their relationship with God. My prayer is that women are able to open their eyes to God's mercy, grace, peace, love, and faithfulness. I pray that they experience the Lord and choose to make Him the center of their lives and to be a faithful servant to Him. Please be in prayer as this team forms and that lives will be impacted and that it will be all for His glory.

Back to School

I can't believe school has started... or maybe I can't believe that my baby girl is in 5th grade and my baby boy has started kindergarten. Where does the time go? Mayci & Hayden have had a great first few days of school. The kids are so blessed to have wonderful teachers and good friends.

This year marked my 9th first day of school as a teacher. It is off to a great start. I have a small class (23) and they seem eager to learn.

Ryan had the opportunity to go on a deep sea fishing adventure. He had a great time with the guys and was able to bring back lots of fish.

This summer if felt like our community went through a spiritual growth spurt with many teens participating in UNiTE and several men participating in Encounter. It is so exciting to see how God is changing lives and bringing people together. I am so excited to see what God has in store for our family and our community.

God is so Good

God is so good to my family. I am amazed each day by the blessings that he pours down on me. Our newest big blessing he has given us is a new job for Ryan. Ryan has been an electrician for almost 9 years and he really likes what he does but it is hard work and not always stable. For the past year he has been working on the new power house in Springfield. This job is set to end in November and with it comes a very bleak job market for electricians. We were preparing for him to either be laid off or traveling far away from home. God had other plans. He was called in for an interview with Sho-Me Power and a week later we found out he got the job!!! It has been such a blessing. He loves the work and the people. It is his dream job! I love hearing about his day because he is so positive and upbeat. It is very inspiring.

Surprise!!!

Our Family Vacation was a little different this year. For the first time Ryan & I had planned separate trips. He wanted to go on a hunting trip and I of course wanted to go to a beach. We decided that I would take the kids because obviously the kids didn't want to go hunting. ;-) So I got busy planning. In no time our trip to Panama City Beach was booked! My mom and sister decided they would join us along with Shelia, Shara, & Ella. We were super excited and made the 13 hours journey with no problem. We arrived late Saturday night and hit the beach immediately Sunday morning. We were having a blast. The kids and I really missed Ryan. He loves being at the beach and he and Mayci love looking for crabs and sea shells together but we were making the best of it.

It was now Wednesday and the kids were ready to swim in the pool. Mom took them up and Megan and I were relaxing in our beach chairs reading our books. I was in deep reading when the guy in the beach chair next to us asked if we were having a good trip. I said, "yes" and I was thinking that that guy's voice was so similar to Ryan's voice. I sat up and looked over and it WAS Ryan!!!! He had managed to hop a flight and surprised us all! Needless to say the 2nd half of our vacation was perfect. We had so much fun enjoying ourselves and our kids.

It has been a while....

So, it was pointed out to me that I haven't updated my blog in over a year. I have good intentions but never seem to get it done... so I am going to do some catch up over our big events.

We had a wonderful summer after we returned from Disney. In the fall Mayci started 3rd grade and LOVED her class and teachers. We are so blessed that she loves school. The child does math problems for fun and gets super pumped when she does division with remainders... crazy girl! =D Hayden spend another year at 1st kids. He has a wonderful teacher and a lot of little buddies.

I had been working on my Master's Degree for a couple of years and I graduated in December!!!! It was such a big accomplishment for me being a mom and working full time. I was excited to have my babies see me graduate.

Ryan was able to travel to Brasil with a group from our church in December. He spent 10 days building housing and loving on young girls who have been abandoned or trafficked. His experience was incredible. It really proved that the love of Christ is everywhere and even without speaking the same language Christ can shine through us.

Mayci & I were able to go on a mission trip to Houston, Tx in May. We were able to share Jesus in several different situations. We got to minister to the homeless and drag queens... yes drag queens. We walked the streets of Houston and visited the bars where the drag queens frequented and were able to pray with them and for them. We also were able to have Church under a bridge, in a park, and in a parking lot. It was amazing how many homeless came to hear the Word. They were an inspiration to me. They knew that they may be homeless now but we have a home together with our Lord. My daughter was also amazing. I have never seen an 8 year old child be so brave and open. She was fearless in praying with and for these people whose lives were completely different than her own.

Mayci is on swim team for the second year. She is a fast little fish!! She will start 4th grade in the fall and is super excited to be in my building this year. My little guy will be going off to preschool! I can't believe how fast time has flown.

I am really going to try to keep this up to date... at least more than once a year ;-D. I have lots of Hayden and Mayci stories!

Disney World

We took our first Disney World Adventure... We had a BLAST!!!! We spent 6 days riding rides, watching shows, and visiting with the characters. We visited The Magic Kingdom... twice, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon... twice. Magic Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon were the favorites and we were so excited that the lines were short! The kids were amazed and exhausted by the end of each day. Mayci was so excited to eat breakfast with the Disney Princesses. She was able to meet Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Belle, Snow White, & the Fairy Godmother. Hayden's favorite meal was with Mickey Mouse and Friends. We were able to dine with Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy, & Pluto. He was jumping with excitement. We were also able to have dinner with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, The Little Einsteins, and JoJo & Golith. It was a blast and we are all... even Ryan... that we will return within the next few years.

Upper Case Living

Check out the website! There is super cute stuff & it is all very affordable.