In Loving Memory......

What a tough week! Saturday night, I got an email telling me this precious face.....

was in a dirt bike accident and died instantly. His name is Austin Robertson and he is from Holly Pond, AL. I kept his big brother DJ in Mother's Day Out when Austin was a baby so I never knew Austin very well but I know his precious mother Angie. Please pray for Angie, David, and DJ as they mourn the loss of this child in their life. Austin wanted to be a missionary and Angie is hoping that his wishes will come true and through his death, he'll reach lost family and friends for Jesus.

Then on Tuesday, we received the horrible news about precious Shaniah Farmer who was killed in a car accident that morning, on her way to see her dad in Texas.

Isn't she beautiful?

She was just as beautiful on the inside too. She was the only 7th grade girl that I knew personally. She was the one I could go to to ask who Mason was talking to, or who had his sweatshirt on. She was my "inside source" -ha ha! And her mother is one of the sweetest people I know. She loved Shaniah and they had such a close relationship. Deanna is her mother's name and they were actually flying out to Alabama next week to spend Spring Break with friends who have a home on Lake Guntersville. Deanna was injured with a broken wrist, broken collar bone, and fractures in her back. She was released today and they are traveling back today and tomorrow. Please pray for Deanna, Ryan, Hayden, and Aubry Farmer as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

I can't imagine the pain and emptiness these two mothers are feeling right now. Please pray for them and add them to your prayer list if you can so others can pray.

I also found out that a couple we are close to are getting a divorce and tomorrow, we have to say good bye to Haven's best friend Maddie and my friend Kyle who are moving to Denver.

It's been a tough week.........I am ready to escape

Thanks for the prayers for my friends

Workings of the Holy Spirit

Back in January, a young couple came to our church who had just moved here from Galveston, Texas. In that service he dedicated his life back to the Lord. On the next Wednesday night, they came to bible study and she told Mike that she was Mormon and wanted to talk to him about salvation through faith. We also found out that they were not married but were living together. In the next couple of days, his father died and he traveled back to Texas for the funeral. While he was gone, Mike talked with her about salvation through faith and she accepted Christ as her Savior!! Praise God!

Last week, they asked to meet with Mike and told him that they felt God was telling them that they needed to get married. Wow!! No one in the church had talked to them about this but we were praying that the Holy Spirit would work in their lives and that they would let Him. And they did!!

Introducing Mr and Mrs Jamin Silva.....

They got married on Sunday (a week later) and the church ladies had fun decorating and planning them a little wedding. Joy did a fantastic job on the cake!

What was so neat was that a member had made a statement in Sunday School the week before how he couldn't see evidence of the Holy Spirit working in his or other's lives. It didn't take God long to show us that He IS at work and the evidence is seen when people obey what the Holy Spirit leads them to do. Jamin and Kaitlyn wanted their family to be there but because of the circumstances, they couldn't wait for them to come up from Texas so they plan to have another service with the family later on.

Praise God for using them to be such a wonderful example of obedience and remind us that yes, the Holy Spirit is ready and anxious to move in our own lives!

Weekend in Phoenix

So we left for Phoenix at 4 am and arrived there at lunch time. We spent the day out by the pool, soaking up the very warm sun without a glance of snow around. It was super nice! Friday night, we went to see the San Francisco Giants play the San Diego Padres in a spring training game.

The boys all had a blast and even got a few signatures on their baseball (we can't read their writing so we don't know whose they are-Ha!)

Below is Nikki on the left (whom we stayed with) and Jennifer on the right (who traveled with me)

Mason, Me, Bodie, Jennifer, and Chance at the game....

On Saturday, I met Marcee and Nelson Bennett for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (which I HIGHLY recommend!). They live in Phoenix for winter and Vallecito in summer. Then I did some shopping and joined the others for the boy's baseball game at 5:30. It was a Round Robin tournament. Our boys have only got to practice on the field a couple of times because it's been covered in snow, but we played well considering. We had the first team beat until the 5th inning and they caught up with us due to errors and we ended up losing the game. The fields we were on were neat because they were modeled after major league fields.

This picture doesn't really show it well....

We lost the second game by a team that was better than us. Then we played again (at another location) on Sunday and were winning that game until the 6th inning, when it seemed our boys just gave up because of the heat.

I loved the heat but because of it, I was actually dehydrated on Monday. We got home Sunday night around 1 am. We drove a different way home and the views were amazing.... Thousands and thousands of beautiful cacti, on uninhibited rolling hills and mountain views. God impressed me again with His handiwork. Our country is truly amazing, how different the land is from one end to the other! I wish I had taken pictures but I was driving and we were in a hurry to get home. Glad that trip is behind us!

I am loving my job and Bahamas is now a week away! Thanks for checking in on us!

The "Desert" Home

Hi! I survived the weekend road trip to Phoenix, AZ! It is an 8 hour trip down and honestly, after driving back and forth to AL, an 8 hour trip feels more like a 3 hour trip to me now. We traveled down with my friend Jennifer and her 2 sons Chance and Bodie (Chance and Mason are best friends). Jennifer has a neighbor/friend who lives down there 10 months and comes to Bayfield to live in June and July to escape the heat. Her name is Nikki and we stayed in her home while there. It was absolutely the most expensive home I have ever stayed in! Gorgeous! So I had to take a few pics to share (of course, they don't do it justice)...

Remeber, Phoenix is desert land so here is their front yard.....

And the 6 bedroom, 8 bathroom house with brick driveway.....

Mason and I stayed in the guest house which was attached to the house on the left side. This was the living room in the guest house....

Our little kitchen

And our bedroom

This shot is from the balcony of the main house, looking down into the living area and kitchen...

To me the coolest part of this house was this glass door that retracted back and opened the indoor living space up to the outdoor living space. And it felt so good while we were there!

The outdoor living area....

They are real live "cowboys" and have horses on their ranch. Both Nikki and her husband compete in rodeos. Look to the left at the artificial grass....it's too hard to maintain real grass in this area so they have fake grass

View from the back of the house....

Below if you look where that light is, underneath it is the blue basketball court. Mason loved it!

Putting green......

What a great home!! I wish I would have taken a pic of the gourmet kitchen with the large screen TV and the media room with a screen that covered the entire wall and 9 huge recliners. It was a blessing to save money on a hotel room and stay in such an exquisite place. Being in Phoenix also helped me to see what a country girl I really am!

More pics of the weekend to come in the next post......

COMING UP...

I had to change the background on here in anticipation of our upcoming BAHAMAS trip!! Can't wait! We leave in 20 days (March 25th) and I'll have to say that having snow outside our door and pulling out summer attire feels great BUT makes me so aware that I am incredibly white and too pudgy for a swimsuit! Oh well....instead of being a beach babe, I'll just be a Bahama Mama!!

So Coming Up for us in the next couple of weeks.....

1. I start a new job on Monday. I didn't remember posting about the other job I interviewed for at San Juan Basin Health Dept which I "thought" sounded perfect for me, but my sister-in-law said I did and never followed up on it. I did interview but during the interview, felt in my spirit that this job was not for me. I went in excited and came out very apprehensive. I think they picked up on that in the middle of the interview. Anyway, my prayer to God was that if it was not His will, for them not to offer me the job (so I wouldn't have to decide what to do). Well He answered my prayer and they didn't offer me the job and I was actually relieved! Phewww!

Little did I know, He had another job plan for me. I had breakfast last week with Carrie Kujath who is another pastor's wife in the area and after hearing my struggles with winter here, you could see a light bulb go off in her head! She said her boss was looking for someone to hire as a web administrator in an "as needed" position. I knew she worked at home on the computer but wasn't sure what type of job it was. Anyway, she talked to her boss who called and hired me just on her recommendation and I start training on Monday! It's a plus that the boss is a Christian too. This job kind of fell in my lap (I was not looking for a job) so I really feel it came straight from my Heavenly Father. In all my years as a stay-at-home mom, I always wondered how people got computer jobs working at home. So now I have one but I am a little nervous about understanding it all. If you are wondering what it is, the company I will work for arranges interviews between IT companies and interviewees. We then submit the interview report to the company that is hiring the IT company to supply a worker. What a blessing this will be to earn money and be at home at the same time! Thank You GOD!

2. Mason's baseball team is traveling to Phoenix, AZ, this weekend for their first travel ball tournament. Mason and I are going with our friends Jennifer and Chance. It is an 8 hour drive so I'm not looking forward to it but I am praying somehow I can be "salt and light" while there. The kids are out of school Friday so we are leaving out early Friday morning. Mike is staying behind with Haven and Landon. Our team is not prepared to play these teams because we have not had much field time due to snow coverage. But we are suppose to go down there "for fun" and hopefully get to see the Arizona Diamondbacks play a spring training game.

3. I can't remember what I've posted about the Bahamas so I'll recap that we leave on the 25th with a couple from our church, Cathy and Earl Wilkening. They have a time-share at Harborside Resort at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. WHAT A BLESSING! They told us 2 years ago that they wanted to take us. Atlantis is full of fun slides and pools, tons of sea life aquariums, and the kids are planning to swim with dolphins while there. Can't wait!

4. Brazil- Mike and 3 other church members are getting everything ready for the Brazil mission on April 5th. Mike will come back from the Bahamas on the 2nd and leave for Brazil on the 5th. As you read this, please pray for the people there that they will minister too. Pray that the Holy Spirit go before them and prepare their hearts and that many will seek and find salvation while they are there. Pray for Mr. Dan's health and endurance while there (our elderly member that is going). Pray for Nancy that is going....she has been struggling with fears and has flying phobias that Satan is using to quench her excitement. The 3 members going with Mike will come back different (they've never been on a mission trip) and I am excited to see how this trip will change them. Thank you for your prayers!

Just got to show off this cutie who got her shots for Kindergarten on Friday and didn't even cry! "Not one drop" says Haven! She is a tough kid (may have to do with having 2 older brothers!) Ever wonder what happens at our house when the kids get in trouble???..........

Just kidding! We finally invested in a crate for the dogs but Haven likes being in it more than they do! I sure wish we would have purchased one the first day we brought the dogs home. Crates are great!! Chantelle, I remember you promoting them and you were right! If you need to train an indoor dog, buy a crate!

We finally attempted a snowman this year but it was just too late. The snow was not quite right for it and wouldn't stick together well so we settled for a snow volcano!

I'm so over the snow!!

It's MARCH!!!!

I'm soooo happy it's March and I have survived a 3rd winter!!! That's cause for celebration!!! I realize we may have some more bad weather between now and June but our trip to the Bahamas is just 22 days away! We have had beautiful weather this week and for my Alabama readers, I understand you have as well. I just wanted to show you the difference in last winter and this winter....

LAST WINTER.......

And THIS WINTER......

We've only gotten about 1/4 of the snow this year and it has been so much more bearable. Now the mud from the snow melting is a headache but I'll take it because mud means spring/summer is on the way!

CONGRATS TO LANDON!

Landon was voted "Citizen of the Month for CARING" by his classmates for February!!! He was honored this morning in a breakfast with all the other recipients.....

We are proud of you Landon!!! Your character is more important than any accomplishments!!