"Children Go Where I Send Thee"....

This is one of the songs we performed for the kids. Mommy says she can't tell what I am shouting. It was fun working and playing with the kids from Houston. Though they were all high school and college kids, they included me in all their games and that was fun!

Memory Verse

"Jesus is the way, the truth and the light."
This was our memory verse for the kids for the week. They learned it in English.

Discos!!!!

This is me throwing the frisbees (or discos as they would call it) during game time. This group wanted me to do it with them every day.

Team Belize!

It is hard to believe that after 8 months of planning, the time has come for the First Presbyterian Church mission trip of 2009. Originally, I was supposed to go on this trip. But as Sam so eloquently put it, I was "providentially hindered" from doing that this year. :)

Collin though, is now old enough to go and work, to go and serve, and to go and have his life changed. He has never been out of the country and Sam and I are so excited to see how this changes him. He is a mature little guy, very thoughtful, very grounded, and getting vocal about wanting to share the news of Jesus with others.

I can not wait to read the daily blog and to computer chat every night and for them to get home so I can hear even more details!

The group left early Saturday morning, with plans to reach Belize by that afternoon. But bumped seats, canceled flights, bad weather, broken down rental cars and more delays, only allowed 4 of the team to make it on the original schedule. Sam, Collin and the rest of the team that was left made it 25 hours later.

I took a few pictures when I dropped them off at the church at 6:30 Saturday morning.
Sam was being a bit goofy in this one. Collin was excited, yet nervous. He is really gripping that packet of pop tarts!

This is Elliot. Our "youth guy." He is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary and is interning at our church and living in the manse for his school years. His wife Carrie helps with the children's ministry. We are so thankful for them!
On the bus!!
Collin is waving bye after the group prayer!
It is weird not being able to pick up a phone and call them and talk and find out all the details. They will be doing some concrete work in the mornings and a VBS in the afternoons.
As soon as I get more details and pictures I will load up the pics and stories.

Please be in prayer for the entire team, for their health and safety, for their ministry to others and for the Lord to work in their own hearts and change them.

The other 3 and I are traveling to Alabama tomorrow to see the family. That will make the time go by faster while Daddy and Collin are gone. We should all be back home together on Sunday.
You can follow their adventure through our church website at

http://www.fpcyazoo.org/belize-blog

Summer Saturday Afternoon in the Sizzlin' South

What is the kids idea of a GREAT time after a few hours of hot yard work on a Saturday afternoon?
Playing in the creek for an hour!
Knee high, but cool, they had a blast racing on their hands, having mud fights, and being chased by the dog.
Sam called it the red-neck country club!
I could not hike down the last little hill to the water, so i sat on a sand bar and took pictures, trying to keep the sweat from dripping onto the camera. Yazzi has SO much fun! Her breed is known for loving water and she sure does!

Yazzi and Kaitlynn look like they are talking about something important here.
I wish she could talk! I bet she would be saying THANKYOU-THANKYOU-THANKYOU
Both Sam and Collin each lost one shoe.They got sucked down into the sand/mud/clay and those sandals were never to be seen again.

But I think they would both say it was worth it!

Thankfulness

Many many years ago, I was a Jr. high school math and science teacher. It seems like a lifetime ago. We were living in beautiful southern California and Sam was doing his first two years of seminary. After having sworn I would never teach older children, then not even interviewing for this particular job because it was older children, out of desperation for a paying job I went and interviewed. I got the job and it ended up being the best 2 years of my teaching career. The principal and vice principal and their wives became good friends and we have kept in contact since we moved away from there in 1997.
Earlier this summer I received an email letting me know that the vice principal and his family were coming through our area on a cross country trip and asking if they could come and see us.
I am SO glad they did!
Mike and Martine have the most amazing family! We so enjoyed getting to know their 2 daughters and 4 sons and look forward to hearing about the arrival of baby #7 in a few months! They got here for supper and the kids all stayed up late and played. We finally got all 10 kids down to bed around 10pm then we stayed up and talked until after midnight.
What an encouraging conversation! There are issues I have been struggling with and praying about all summer, and I am convinced that the Lord used them to answer me. I am so thankful for being able to reconnect with them in person after all these years!

Meet Zipper. Our backdoor spider. Zipper has used the hummingbird feeder as a stabilizer for the left side of her web. Needless to say, I will NOT be changing out that food and putting new sugar water in for the birds.
I tried to get close and get some pictures and help desensitize myself from my terrible arachnid phobia, but it didn't work. She gives me the skin tingling , neck crawling creeps!
I hope she can't actually catch a hummingbird on that giant web!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We had a great time celebrating his birthday! We sent him on a scavenger hunt all through the church, the Mexican restaurant (where we had to eat dinner) and home to find his presents. Then the church showed up for a surprise cake and ice cream party. We had over 50 people in the house and it was so much fun!

Water Fun Play Date

We went over to Amanda's house this morning for a water play date, and boy did they ever have fun!

Kaebrie even somersaulted down it!





What a great way to spend a morning!

Homegrown Bob And Larry!

Sam's garden is producing!
Tomatoes every day. And our very first cucumber! Peppers and beans are about ready too!

Fourth Of July

Above is one of my new favorite pictures! We had a wonderful holiday spent with friends out at the Nott's house.
It was a

whip snapping.......
bubble blowing....



sword fighting....

sparkling....



wonderful day!

The Rest of the Disney Pics

I finally figured out a way to get these pictures from Carol's camera. Whew! Thanks Carol for taking all these pictures!

Anyway.... In one of the toy stores in Downtown Disney, they had places where the toys were opened and you could play with them at stations. They had a HUGE Mr. Potato Head station where you could play for hours and never make the same face twice.

Next to that was the My Little Pony station. And Kaebrie would have played for hours if we had let her! She brushed. She combed. She dressed. She stayed there a long time with Carol while I supervised the boys building their light sabers on the other side of the store. Kaitlynn went back and forth between the two stations.

Below, the boys with their new toys!
The ONLY ride Kaebrie was to small for was this small ridiculous dinosaur roller coaster. If she could ride Everest, why was she to small for this one? I don't make the rules, but we had to follow them. So her sweet Daddy took her on the Dinosaur flyer while I took the others to the coaster and while we were gone, she and Daddy got to meet Goofy and "Puto".
I think this was the Pirates ride. Nope. I can not remember at this moment what ride we were floating on. Now I do remember it, but I can't recall the name. O well. Here is the group. All hot and sweaty.
I am not sure whose big, hairy knee that is in the picture. EW!! But I am pretty sure this was in It's A Small World.
Thomas is an only child. Except when we vacation together every year. Then he becomes another big brother. I love seeing Kaebrie run up to grab his hand and want to spend time with him. He is so good with her.
Here is the Bowman clan! Carol, Brannon and Thomas!
The big boys!
On Monday, everyone except me and Kaebrie headed off to Hollywood. She was not feeling good as that was the first day of her ear problems. Here is the group with Prince Caspian!
Sam ended up bringing the boys home to swim around lunch time, but Kaitlynn stayed with the Bowmans for the rest of the day and late into the night! She LOVED the Tower of Terror!!!!
Posing on a Star Wars gun(?)
With Mickey!


She had a blast getting to do ALL of Disney. Every park, every ride, every show and every night time firework light show.

I know this is from Warner Brothers and not Disney....but as far as Disney pictures go.......
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!!