Summer Trip- Part 3

Alright....to finish up this trip that has been drug out way too long....My birthday was Monday, July 27th and it was an awesome day! Mike and the boys left from Fayette the night before and Mike took the boys back to Cullman while he went to Georgia to play golf with his cousin Jackie and Uncle Herman. This totally left the day open for special birthday time with Mom. After some shopping in Tuscaloosa (my favorite place in the world to shop!), a visit to see my friend Cathy Bell's new gorgeous home, and a trip to Olive Garden for lunch, we went to my Aunt Terry's house and Ashley had made me this awesome cake!

Haven had a blast playing with Taylor, Riley and Ridge! She even was brave enough to go off the diving board! She learned to swim last year but because she has not gotten to play in water much this summer, she had to work her courage back up....

Mike got back from Georgia on Monday night and here's the cake from him.....

So personal, HUH! But good all the same! (In his defense, no one at Walmart could write on it at the time he went by). We left Gordo after lunch on Tuesday and went to Cullman to Bonnie and Shane's to pick the boys up. They so graciously let the kids invite some of their church friends over and we thank you Bonnie and Shane for helping make the kids visit much better. The boys on Monday spent some time with Blane and Carly Pope also, so thanks Christy for having them at your home also. We met friends Jeff and Tammy Silvey for supper and then it was off to Nashville to prepare for an early morning flight. It is so hard to leave Alabama when we come but we thank God for the short amount of time He allows us to visit. WE ENJOYED SEEING ALL OF YOU AND THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

Summer Trip- Part 2

On Thursday of our trip, we headed to Gordo to see our family......it's hard for them that they have to share their time with Cullman friends but they are very understanding (thanks Mom and Mama Kaye!!). Kaye's sister Gail and her son Brandon came up from Cuthbert, GA, to see us and stayed thru Saturday. Thanks Gail and Brandon for coming up! We love you and enjoyed getting to see you! Hope your trip home was not as bad as your trip there!

We thoroughly enjoyed the precious times we spent with our families. I love the bond of cousins and the kids have so much fun together. Here are some shots of the Owen families......

Carter, Sydney, Haven, and Landon...

Kayci, Angela, and Denise.....

Denise and Mark...

Brent and Hannah (getting married Oct. 10th)!!

Carter and Parker.....

On Friday we ate lunch out with my dad. He seems to be doing well but is having hip replacement surgery on August 10th. Please pray for him during his surgery, recovery, and pray for protection against depression (which he had after his last surgery). Saturday night, I got to visit with friends Angie and John Junkin and see their precious daughter Maggie finally!(Clint wasn't home :() I remember Angie when she was around 3 and 4 and Maggie looks so much like her mommy and uncle Eric! So adorable!

On Sunday, I joined mother at FBC at their 10:00 service to meet her new pastor and hear him preach. This is my home church and it was great to see many of the people who helped to mold me into the Jesus follower I am today. Mike preached at Emmanuel Baptist Church (his dad's church) at 11:00 so we scooted over there after FBC's service. They are such a loving little church and it was great to be with them all again. Ms. Peggy, it was great to get a hug from you and see you again!!(she's a faithful blog reader!) Thanks Emmanuel for all your prayers for us...we feel them!

After lunch with the Owen's, we went to Fayette to Kerry and Renee's who hosted a family gathering for my birthday. My brothers from Sylacauga and Caledonia, MS, met us there along with aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was a sweet time for me because I miss being with the extended family which usually only happened at Christmas and now that we've moved, I'll miss that. We feasted on shrimp and all the fixings.....Thanks to all who came out and to Kerry and Renee for hosting! It was a special time and I'm so glad I got to see everyone! Here are some pictures of the day.......

All of Mom's grandchildren...

Robby and Mom

The kids enjoyed the swimming pool..

Landon, Mason, Hallie, and Faith

Me with sister-in-laws and Mom

My brother Mike

Faith, Hallie, and Haven

Mason and Landon with Hannah

My brother Kerry with Uncle Bill

Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane with precious twins Lillie and Reagan



This is my nephew Colton who just turned 16...it's a better picture than his birthday post

Cousin Rita, Kerry, Hannah, Aunt Rose and Renee

My cousins Chastiy, her daughter Caylin, and cousin Ashley

Ashley's daughter Taylor and Reagan

My niece Chloe with Zoe (Lucee's sister)

When you don't get to see your family much, you especially cherish the time with them! There were others there that I didn't get a picture of so I apologize but thank you for coming by for a visit! We love you all and hope you know how blessed you are to have each other!

Summer Trip- Part 1

We flew out of Albuquerque at 7:00 a.m on Tuesday morning and had a lay over in Dallas. Both flights were very smooth and we landed in Nashville at 2:30. We flew into Nashville because tickets were half of what they were to fly into Birmingham. So we rented a nice van (which we would have rented anyway because none of our family has a car big enough to pick us all up at the airport) and headed to Cullman which is only 2 hours from Nashville. We went straight to Grace Community Church for dinner with our Grace family....it was fabulous! I don't know how many people were there but it was a lot and I want to thank you all for coming out. It made us feel so special and loved and we were thrilled to get to visit with so many of you on such a short trip......

There were many of you that I didn't get a picture of and I am so sorry for that. Special thanks to Bonnie and Becky for organizing the special night for us. We love you all and miss you terribly!

We spent the night with our friends Jeff and Tammy Silvey who came out in April to see us. Jeff cooked another great breakfast but sure wish we'd had some gravy!! (Just kidding Jeff!) We spent Wednesday at our house in Holly Pond.....I didn't take any pictures there because I was so ashamed of how it looked. The yard was like a jungle and the basement had major issues. We just have not had the extra money to pay someone to maintain it for us. Thank you so much Jerry, Jessica, Dawn, Bonnie, Shane, and Kevin T. for helping us out over there! We would not have been able to get it all done without you.....we owe you BIG time!!

Sorry Shane and Kevin...I didn't get your picture!! but your work was greatly appreciated!!

We then got to eat Bonnie's famous pizza for supper and then went to Grace for Wednesday night Bible study. Heather Green has been a part of our church family since we moved to Cullman in 1999. Mike performed her marriage ceramony, baptized her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law, and were there when their little Nevaeh was born. Heather was baptized when she was younger but did not truly chose to accept Christ as her Savior until years later. Because of that, she felt that her baptism was not in order so she called Mike the week before we were coming and asked him if he would baptized her . What an honor that was, so Mike performed the baptism on Wednesday for Heather!

We then spent the night with Bonnie and Shane who graciously let many of the kids friends come over to visit.

Thank you so much for your hospitality Tammy and Jeff and Shane and Bonnie!! We loved every minute of our time with you and wish it could have been longer......we love you!

For those of you who are wondering about what is going on with our house, we are still waiting for the short sale application but don't have a clue if the people who made that offer are even still wanting it. Meanwhile, while we were there on Wednesday, we got the best offer so far but it was still not enough. We countered back but they are not willing to take it. However, God is in control and all we can do is trust HIM! He has already been working this out for us and hopefully soon I will be able to share with you what He is doing for us.......I've got you curious don't I??!

We're Back!

Hi Everyone! We're back! We got home tonight around 8:00 p.m. and I have never seen 3 kids so anxious to get to their dog! Lucee was left behind at Nelson Bennett's house who, the first time he saw Lucee, offered to keep her any time we needed him to which made us feel good about leaving her. We had an awesome trip and couldn't have asked for a better one! However, I am going to have to pick up where we left off last entry with the baptism in the lake before we left since Mike said he would post some pictures. It's awful that all I could think about during the baptism is that dumb movie "O Brother Where Art Though"!!

The one being baptized was John Frederick and he is from Florida. That's his grandfather standing beside him who is an active member of our church. John came up to spend 6 weeks of summer with his grandfather and because his older sister was baptized in the lake, they wanted him to be also. John is 17, and while he has some special needs, he has been a joy to have around this summer.

We left last Monday, heading on to Albuquerque to visit the Rio Grande Zoo before our trip. It was a great zoo but ended up being a hard day as it was hot, Mason did not feel good all day, and Haven fell and hurt her knee. Landon absolutely loved every minute of it and didn't complain whatsoever except that we were leaving before it closed! He wants to be a zoo keeper one day so he soaked it all in and didn't even notice the temperature outside! Here are some pics from the day.....

The flamingos were so beautiful!

The giraffes are always my favorite but look close...there are two babies with their mom...so cute!

This little fellow came face to face with Landon (thru the glass) but it was so funny! Below, they are feeding the seals and sea lions

They had this nice wet spot to cool off at and Landon took full advantage of it! Haven had her accident at this spot so she didn't enjoy it as much. We then spent the night at a hotel near the airport, anxiously awaiting our journey to Alabama!

Ready for a Break!

Hey guys this is Mike and I am ready for a break. We have been steadily working and growing for 9 months now and Lori and I are tired. Things are going really well, with kids and young people coming to church everyday it seems like. Lori and I are doing Sunday's, I preach and she helps with Children's Church, then on Tuesday we have VBS, Wednesday we do Family Movie Night, followed by Praise Team practice and Thursday night Bible Study where I am teaching through the book of Revelation; then on Friday night we do Teen night from 7-10 that usually lasts until at least 10:30. It is all good and we are thankful for the success God has granted us, but we are ready for a week off. Looking forward to seeing you all next week. Keep praying for us that God will continue to use us here and that many will be reached for Christ. I am baptizing a young man in the lake on Sunday morning by they way, I will post some pics on Sunday afternoon. We love you all. "Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing." Eph 1:3