MLK Day 2014

Our schedule is so frenzied and out of control.  I have people tell me I should limit my kids activities but what they don’t realize is with the kids doing just one extra curricular, that’s five extra things a week to manage.  I don’t ever want pity because Dan & I did this to ourselves.  I know with God’s help, friends & family, they will all get raised even though they may miss some things every now and then because I space out.

We had one of the most memorable & enjoyable days as a family that I remember in a long time.  Typically, we only have family togetherness when we go to our family River house.  We rarely have a day all together to just play.  Play we did….We all went to the Tides View Preserve that is such a cool place.  The best part is that I only have to ride with all five kids in the car for just 5 minutes!!  Car rides together are possibly the worst.  It’s like a bunch of caged animals at times, which usually comes with vomit too.  

The Tides View Preserve is on the corner of Atlantic Boulevard and Mayport on the Intracoastal Waterway.   The kids love it so much and on a blue, sunny day, it’s breathtaking!  We usually go there a couple times a year.

 

One trip was especially memorable….in a bad way!  It was our favorite day of the year, the day you get FREE Chickfila food if you dress like a cow.  I know people scoff and mock me for parading all my little cows in for some free food (Dan doesn't particpate…) but I bet they aren’t dropping $50 every time they take the fam to eat there either.  You get really humble when you have a large family and really change your high standards of many things like a clean car, a clean house, clean laundry, glass plates & cups and yes, dressing up and looking ridiculous for some waffle fries!

On the way home from our Chick Extravaganza, the kids suggested we go to the preserve to cap off a perfect day of food!  I really gave them a thrill by taking them over that scary overpass off of Mayport! They squealed with delight!  We were happily frolicking in the woods, dressed as cows, finishing off our milkshakes when we rounded the corner and rudely woke up a homeless man sleeping on a bench.  He greeted our cowselves happily and we hurried by, out to the dock.  The panic ensued and a question arose….will or will not the homeless man be waiting to jump us, to kill/rob us when we enter the woods to get back to our vehicle.  If this conversation was videotaped and put on TV, I have no doubt it would have gotten a  #1 rating and we would be bigger and richer than Duck Dynasty!  We actually could have really used their camouflage clothing and guns.  I don’t think the cow costumes were doing the trick. 

We came up with a detailed exit strategy.  I, as the brave mother, would go first.  If I got shot, the kids would separate & run towards Mayport road and call someone to come pick them up!  Then we argued if a homeless person would have a gun and some Cow Wog said they could have jumped some other preserve-goer and stole their gun.  Annie shows us what she is going to do if the man jumps us and kicks her double-jointed leg freakishly high into the air, kicking a milkshake out of her siblings hand splattering it all over the decking.  Usually a fistfight would break out over a spilt Chick milkshake but we were dealing with bigger, life-threatening issues.  We took a different path out and walked as silently as 6 Wogs could possibly be.  We saw a cleared area that was not a designated path but we decided to loop around and try to sneak to our truck.  At one point we were all running like cow-banshees and jumped a metal gate and finally made it safely to the truck.  I gunned it and 6 Wog–cows lived to tell about it!

 

The funny thing about this is the poor homeless man was probably more scared when he opened his eyes to 6 big-eyed cows staring at him.  He probably snuck away from us!

Well, today’s visit had low drama & little excitement, thank God!  The scariest moment was when two kayakers rode by.  Annie assured us VERY loudly that she didn’t think they would kill us.  It was the most beautiful, sunny day I have seen in a very long time and I was grateful to have all my Wogs together just having fun!

Worry About Today

People ask me all the time, how I manage all that I have gotten myself into with 5 kids, their activites, housework, dog and having a job too.  In a conversation with my mom today, I told her that I have really come to realize the power and truth of Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I break out in sweat and have chest pains if I focus too much on what’s ahead….college, weddings, Olympics… :)  It steals my joy and robs me of my peace.  I think I actually quoted my version of the verse to my mom that went something like this, “Worry about today, tomorrow will have enough crap to deal with!” LOL  

I said in my last blog that Matthew 6:34, is the verse that I will try to focus on this year and I am really trying to live this way. Yes, I truly believe in planning and being productive but focusing on my schedule for just one day is truly the secret to how I haven’t run away from home!  Well, also Google calendar is a big part of it too.  I learned how to set reminders in the calendar to text me and email me all through-out the day.  I also set reminders on my phone for projects for the kids, things to get at the store, when to pick up who & where.   I do have 81 reminders but I won’t focus on that :/ If it doesn’t make it into my calendar or reminders, I am in trouble. But even when that happens, so many times, the Holy Spirit gently reminds me!  Also, I am blessed with friends and family who always are willing to help me get a Wog somewhere they need to be.  

I studied this scripture today, Philipians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I believe that we must choose peace.  At my house, it’s not an easy task.  It’s chaos central but the peace I am talking about isn’t found in a worldy way but in a supernatural way.  Peace for me comes through focusing on God and how powerful and mighty He is.  Peace comes through trusting him that he has everything in our life under control. My schedule & to do list is nothing God can't handle!  Peace comes for me through prayer!  I pray all throughout the day, by myself, with my prayer partner, and with our intercessory group at church.  My nephew comes to our prayer group. Last Wednesday, he thanked everyone and said how much the group has meant to him over the last few years.  I couldn’t agree more!  I know these people cry out to God for our requests. We have a Facebook message thread and usually communicate everyday a personal need or a need of someone that we know that is facing a challenge in their life.  My requests are usually something like, my kids are sick, my dog ran away or I have a big event that will be a disaster if God doesn’t pull it together!

So my goal is to focus on what I have to accomplish today and believing that God will strengthen me, equip me & remind me of what the heck I am suppose to be doing!  My life is a living example of HUGE dependence on a God who cares about me and who helps me live today with peace and joy! Why people try to do life without God in the mix is beyond my understanding!  I need all the help I can get raising 5 Wogs and a Dog!  JESSUUUUUSSS!

New Year's Resolution 2014

I have never really had a bunch of new years resolutions.  I think it would only cause me stress to my overloaded life.  I try to eat right, exercise regularly and have my quiet times and feel OK about those areas.  I  could probably focus more on housework & cooking though!  My only new goal for this year is to blog regularly.  I am pretty saddened that I haven't posted in months.  I have no idea why I have slacked for so long except my hectic schedule.  Now I have it in my reminders and my goal will be to post once a week.  With my wild Wogs and dog, I could blog eventful things multiple times a day.  Why do I like to blog?  I feel like it documents my life and will provide a record of my kid's lives when they are grown.  I also do provide entertainment and insight into my life to the people who care.  I have people ask me on a regular basis why I am not blogging.  It's not for a lack of material or desire for sure.

When I think about last year, it was filled with crazy, busy, awesomeness. This will be a quick update so if you despise Christmas-type letters that recap the past year, close this quick!  Here are some highlights:  Bonnie continues to make us so proud.  She is a special young lady who is very talented in ways I don't even understand.  When people say she is a lot like me, I just laugh.  I didn't have nearly her leadership skills at her age. She is much more brave than I will ever be.  She boldly does YouthQuake Live, dances & cheers with such confidence.  I am always amazed.  I couldn't do half of what she does!

Bubba had quite a year.  He STILL loves Football and spends every free moment absorbed with it, playing it, reading about it, drawing plays, wearing jerseys, playing football XBox game, coaching his siblings in the yard.  What makes me the most proud is that he was a Little Scholar again with Pop Warner, having a high GPA!  He LOVES the Miami Hurricanes and loved going to the Football camp over the summer.  We won't talk about him breaking his arm playing football :(

Maggie accomplished her goal of making the Company team for NancyDance Studios.  She is a strong, skinny little thing and dances for hours and loves ever minute of it.  Tears flooded my eyes when I saw her first Company Performance at the Tree Lighting Event.  I was never more proud!  She gets to dance with two sweet friends and has shown such dedication and hard work!  

Annie is a swimming beast.  She loves it and never complains about practice 5 days a week….even in the winter!  She made us so proud last summer when she won a high point award at the City Championships and won first place in her age group for the breaststroke!  She is calm, cool and collected.  Dan and I had never been more nervous and I actually thought I was going to pass out or vomit.  I couldn't handle the pressure obviously!  

Eddie is a wild man!  He makes me laugh constantly.  He communicates his feelings quite freely.  I was never so happy when he wrote his numbers on the back of my check book.  Being the 5th kid, he hasn't gotten the school help that he deserves!  I was like Hallelujah!!!  Then when he whipped out some addition, Dan and I fist pumped!!  We know great things are ahead for our boy and time will tell what direction he goes in!

KC the dog has started to calm down. She hasn't destroyed any prized possessions lately. She did manage to escape several times over the Christmas break and drive me a little crazy.  We sure love watching her run and hunt at the River.  We just are not able to go very often as KC would like!

We have had our challenges and exhaustion raising 5 kids and a dog.  I am honestly not sure how people raise kids without a real relationship with God. I have cried out loud, "JESSSUUUS!" a thousands times this year and I truly believe He has walked me through all my stress, fear and our schedule.  My daily time listening to God and writing down the words He says to me, have been my life line.  I constantly over-commit and over-schedule and God constantly shows up and helps me!  

I know my time having my whole family together is quickly slipping away.  I have witnessed my siblings kids slip into adulthood and I am trying hard to keep my family together as a unit as much as possible which is proving more difficult the older they get.  

Dan & I are not perfect, we make mistakes, but we desperately want our kid's to have the best life possible and we are working as hard as we can towards that goal.  My prayer is that when my kids are raised that they will look back over our time together and see our effort at creating memories, protecting them, guiding them and most important, teaching them to pray and to trust God.  My scripture I will try to focus on this year is Philippians 4:6-7 "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything!"  Lord help us all and bless 2014!

U2 by UV Brings It Again!

Last year, I saw a picture in the paper that caught my eye.  I thought it was a picture of the band U2 but when I read the caption, it was a tribute band that was performing down the street at Freebirds.  My Sis, and Bro in law went with us to check it out and we were blown away by the band U2 by UV.  We have literally been counting down the months until they returned.  We had even talked about going on a road trip to see them in South Florida! 

Last Friday, was the big day! I invited every Facebook friend that I thought would be interested and talked to everyone else about this concert!  We were pumped and could hardly wait to dance and sing to our favorite U2 songs.  I was so happy that my childhood best friend Jennifer was coming!   She and I had gone to several U2 shows together back when we were teenagers!  On U2’s last tour, we went to Tampa to see them and Jenny hooked us up with rooms in a beautiful resort! 

The thing I was so bummed about was SOOO many things were happening the same night as this concert, weddings, graduations and one of the biggest events of the year, Never Quit. I had about 20 people who had conflicts that couldn’t make it.  The main one I was upset about was my nephew William who has become a HUGE U2 fan and as he puts it “I am pretty invested in the school of the Edge!” He has mastered Edge’s style of guitar playing which is an art in itself.  I was looking forward to him meeting “The Edge” and them having an in depth guitar conversation!  I have given William some of my U2 paraphernalia through the years and even rocks from the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater where U2 recorded, “Under a Blood Red Sky!”   I am so happy I have another U2 obsessed family member who appreciates such things!!! 

Marie, Tampa 2009

I was so pleasantly surprised to run into my college best friend Michell and her boyfriend who were also going to the concert!!  It was going to be a blast!  Michelle and I went on a few U2 concert road trips through the years and she may or may not have smuggled recording devices into shows for me to bootleg the concerts!  The only person that was missing was Marie.  I met Marie in Lakeland in 1992 when we were waiting behind the venue for U2 to come do their sound check.  When Larry Mullen, Jr. pulled up on his motorcycle, the bedlam that ensued was a sight to behold.  Marie and I instantly bonded in a freakish way and from then on, shared so many concert memories together and become linked together forever in our hearts.

Finally this much anticipated night was here!  We got to Freebirds, visited with everyone we knew and even got a few pictures before we heard the beginnings of "Even Better than the Real Thing!”  All my friends who were there were pleasantly surprised at how much this band sounded exactly like U2. They don’t mess around with the arrangements of the songs but keep them as close to the original as possible, which true fans appreciate!! The lead singer not only looks and sounds just like Bono but performs just like him too, interacting with the crowd with Bono-like Charisma!  One of my favorite things about the show was my husband who danced more enthusiastically than anyone there!  He actually sat down for half of the real U2 show so I was really shocked and impressed!!  My awesome brother in law, Brett danced like a maniac too but I failed to document it in pictures!

I also so appreciated the band doing some serious classics like One Tree Hill and 40. The song 40 is the actual straight scripture from Psalms 40 and has always meant so much to me!  I had an explosion of U2 memories going on in my head and a stream of friend’s faces that I have shared special concert memories with.  I may or may not have teared up at this point!  Life is like a blur to me since I “borrowed” my brothers U2 October and War cassettes 30 years ago.  Little did I know, I would become a dedicated, life-long fan of U2!  I want to thank the band U2 by UV for their dedication and commitment in honoring U2’s music with a spirit of excellence.  The lead singer said from the stage that it means the world to them for us to be singing our hearts out and enjoying the music so much.  He said if he wasn’t with us, he would be rocking out alone to U2 music and I believe him!  They have put some serious time into giving us a real U2 experience and this mother of 5, who never gets out, greatly appreciates the effort!  So for now, it’s back to U2 on the iPod until U2 by UV returns again!

Down By the Creek Bank 2013

I am completely overwhelmed, amazed and in awe of what God has done for me.  I have lived a life of always getting in over my head.  If God doesn’t show up and bail me out, I would be sunk.  He has showed up in miraculous ways over and over again through the years. I am not sure how people that don’t have a real personal relationship with God survive this life.  People ask me how I am able to manage my family and all the other stuff I get myself into and the answer is GOD!  He answers my prayers and does above and beyond what I could ever think or ask.

This year, I have seen God bring together an incredible team of teachers for the program that I run at school.  It has been a year of my dreams coming true! We put on an end of the year program showcasing all our students!  This team collaborated and worked together seamlessly with no friction or problems.  It was a beautiful thing to behold.  They planned a show where our choir would sing while the dancers dance and weaved the storyline in with our drama team and it was awesome!

Things were going so smoothly that I was in a constant state of shock.  The only little hiccup that we were experiencing is our soundtrack didn’t come in before our first rehearsal, which didn’t bother me because we had several days until the show. We paid extra for express delivery and I had complete faith and peace that we would have the music.  My dance teacher and I both prayed and asked God to bring it to us on angels wings!  I asked many people to be in agreement with us and to be praying.

The day of the show our music did not come in the mail.  We all went into to overdrive calling manufactures, distributors, postal workers, thinking of any possible way we could get the music.  We wanted our soloist to shine on their own, without the voices on the CD.  I ran into Teresa Rogers, a school teacher at BCS and she casually mentioned that her son had been in this same play 20 years ago at Neptune Baptist Church.  I thought that was cool but didn’t think much else about it.  My sister in law, as usual, swooped in and was racking her brain for a solution, working for hours trying to solve this problem.  

She asked me if there was any way possible that a local church had the music…..ding, ding, ding and I remembered Neptune Baptist!!!  I called my dear friend Nels Gyland, who works at Neptune Baptist, and he happily put me in touch with an “angel” named Lucy who went across the street, searched their library and found a cassette tape of the accompaniment music that we so desperately needed.  I was so very blessed that she helped us!  I rushed and got the tape and another “angel” Pastor Luis, spent 2 hours after work getting the music transferred on a CD and separated all the tracks for us! 

In the meantime, ANOTHER “angel” Mrs. Abraham at the Downtown post office found our lost package!  We talked Dan into driving to the post office meeting this sweet lady in the parking lot and rushing the music back to the church in case the one Luis was working on didn’t actually work. 

The music off the cassette was a little different but our Choir/Drama teacher jumped right in with the kids and helped them make the changes.  James McDonald calmly managed our sound even though we had never practiced with the music!  It was kind of a set up for a disaster on stage but it put us in a place of faith, trusting that God didn’t want these precious children embarrassed and that He truly wanted them all to shine!  The show started and except for a minor breakdown of one of our little singers, which actually added a little extra “drama”, the show was flawless!  It was a true miracle before our eyes.  Would it have been nice to have had the music ahead of time, been completely confident in our preparation, of course!  That would have been a show that we produced in our own strength. What we experienced is God showing up and showing off that He answered our prayers and truly delivered our music on several “angels” wings!!

I am moved to tears when I think about the efforts of so many people that sweetly, sacrificially worked tirelessly to help make our show so wonderful for our families!!  I want to personally thank Tiffany Hartman, Tiffani Casey, Lisa McLatchey, Jill Stanton, Jason Trent, James McDonald, Cara Bernreuter (who did the awesome program!), Luis Montiel, Carrie Wyatt, Lisa Burdette, BC Staff and the complete strangers that out of the goodness of their hearts, helped us make it a special, miraculous night for all!!!  The scripture in Psalms 133:1 that says, “how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity” has become real to me in a whole new way and I will never forget this experience!

I Love My Church

Easter Miracle

Last night at YouthQuake Live, the theme was “I Love My Church” Bonnie was in the opening skit and did a great job.  Dan and I are amazed that at 14 years old she can stand up in front of thousands of people and perform!  Blake Bennet shared on the importance of faithfully attending church and what a difference it will make in your families life.  He shared about a time when he had been very hurt by church members and how he had to choose at 15 to not be bitter and to still follow God's call on his life. My kids are still young and I have many years left of parenting but my prayer is that all my kids will serve God! My brother and sister’s have raised outstanding Christian examples and leaders and I know it’s because of the favor of the Lord upon them from being raised to honor the Lord and to serve Him. My parents took us to church every week when I was growing up.  They began attending Beaches Chapel Church when it began in the 70’s. There have been ups and downs as a church but my parents kept us there through the good and the bad times and it kept us rooted in our Christian faith as a family. I truly believe that is the difference maker in our family. It gave my brother, sisters and I a firm foundation which helped us make good Godly choices and we have all kept that tradition of church attendance going. My parents have 15 grandchildren (19 with spouses and great grands!) who faithfully attend church and are all Christian leaders.  That is nothing short of a miracle!

Childish Church Skit at YQL

When I was a Youth Pastor, I used to get so frustrated with parents who never had their kid in church and then suddenly they seem surprised when they rebel and start getting into trouble.  God is merciful and I watched Him redeem and save whole families and do miracles!  What I would say to parents from a youth pastor perspective and from a church-attending parent perspective is, you get out, what you put in!  When you have a family, it’s not about you anymore. You need to set the example for your family and put God first.  It’s not about having a day off, or relaxing.  It’s about giving your children a firm foundation in God.  It’s about teaching them to serve and to trust God to help them in life.  You won’t always be with your child but God will!  When trouble comes, they won’t have to turn to drugs and alcohol for relief.  They will fall on their knees and cry out to God for help.  So my advice is to get up, get dressed and get your kids to church!   Whether you always like the worship songs, or the sermon, who cares?  Creating a habit for your chlld of going to church will seriously save their life and make them a stable adult.  It surrounds them with other Christian kids who will help keep them on track and out of trouble.  The world is set on destroying your child and it’s up to you to balance the world’s pull at them with spiritual input.  Going to church doesn’t necessarily stop kid’s from making mistakes but it does put the word deep inside them to draw from in times of trouble  Send them to Sunday School, Kid’s Church, Youth group, Young Life, YouthQuake Live, Youth camps, VBS….everything you can possibly do and do it quick.  Life is short and your kid’s will be grown tomorrow.

Bonnie's BFF since K5 both serving God in YQL!

God’s word tells us to be fruitful!  The way that happens, is to stay planted and allow your child to grow roots so that they can bear some spiritual fruit in their life.  Let your child build relationships and learn the word and don’t yank their spiritual roots out from under them because you get mad or offended.  Stay faithful and you will be blessed.  I have met many people who think church is a waste of time. Are their hypocrites and fakes at church, YES but that is because we are all sinful.  

It’s hard for me not to seriously “laugh out loud” when people tell me their excuses for not coming to church.  Is it convenient to faithfully to attend church? HECK NO! Come to my house on a Sunday morning and witness the chaos for yourself.  The enemy is very smart.  He makes it as difficult and stress-filled as possible.  All your kids will sleep in, they will loose their church shoes, they will fall down and get hurt, they will fight and bicker with each other.  Your hair dryer won’t work, you will spill coffee on your shirt, your dog will run away and you won’t be able to find your blasted keys……Yes this is my life on a Sunday! 

UNITY 

If I had one piece of parenting advice from what I observed, it would be to do everything in your power to be at church EVERY week.  That is how you and your children will grow spiritually and become blessed and prosperous. Our rule is we miss church only if we are sick or out of town.  It’s hard but we do it. Resist the enemy and push through and just come to church with mismatched shoes if necessary and ride your bike if you can’t find your keys.  Wouldn’t you like your children to avoid being hurt, making bad choices and having to spend years recovering?? Think about it, and make a fresh commitment to do what is right for your kids! I have seen the results in my own friends and family and it has worked!  I want to thank Blake, who spoke at YQL last night, for reminding all of us how important it is to love your church and to faithfully attend! 

 "And let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25

A Weekend to Remember!

I am still processing the past weekend!  I am feeling extremely blessed and grateful for all God has done in my life!  It’s an awesome thing to be married for 18 years!  It still doesn’t compute that it has been that long.  I think we lost a few years in childbearing exhaustion!!  Dan and I have been blessed with a peaceful, fun, fruitful and very hectic life!  I am so thankful I get to do this life with Dan.  He is so very hard working, and self-sacrificing for our family!!  He spends every waking moment, doing something for our family, working at his job, coaching a team, doing the lawn, fixing something in the house and exercising our crazy dog. We try hard to squeeze in some dinner dates with just us two every so often to maintain sanity! He has loved me well, has made me feel loved and believes in my gifts and talents like no other!  I don’t take him for granted!  I know I chose wisely! :)

I got to do several fun things this weekend!  Friday night I got to see my oldest girl, Bonnie serve the Lord through YouthQuake Live!  I love to see God using my children in other people’s lives.  It’s truly what I live for!!  On Saturday, we dropped off Bonnie and Bubba to the 30-hour Famine that they signed up for themselves!  I don’t know if I would have volunteered to fast for 30 hours for missions when I was their age!  I was very proud!  Bubba also impressed me when I mentioned him playing the X-box.  He casually told me that he gave up playing the X-box for Lent.  I was like, WHAT??  Our church has never emphasized the Lent season like other churches do so I was pretty amazed!  Apparently they talked about it at Youth Group and Bubba was moved to participate!  I was stunned and maybe somewhat convicted that I should give up something as well!

It was also special to celebrate my Aunt Doris’s birthday with her whole family in town!  It’s really wild how fast time goes by and how time with your family is such a rare thing!  Dan and I also went to Taco Lu for a nice Anniversary lunch and then out with our friends the Wyatt’s for dinner!  Having the Wyatt’s as friends has been a wonderful blessing to us! They understand us and love us like few others!  We had a blast with them minus Duke’s win over Miami that we witnessed at the restaurant! (Only low part of the weekend!)  I am still ticked that the Wyatt’s bought our dinner though….

Today marked quite a historic day at Beaches Chapel Church.  I have attended that church since I was a baby.  I have only had one Pastor that I have had a relationship with and today we prayed Pastor Howard in as our new Senior Pastor.  It was a day filled with great joy and expectation!  My brother in law said it was  “just the beginning” and I truly believe that!  Pastor Howard and I started off in ministry together and were ordained together in 1993, 20 years ago in October.  We went on mission trips together and have seen the ups and downs of ministry life.  I am so happy that I am still at Beaches Chapel Church. There have been times that I wondered if it was time to go but I never felt released.  I truly believe that our best days are ahead!  I believe it is time for all of us to reach out to the lost and hopeless and to see a great harvest of souls!  I fully believe Howard is the man for the job!  He has a humble attitude, relies on God and prays for God’s direction!  He charged us as a church to Pray, Love and Serve and I think it has motivated us in the right direction!  

Today we had a church lunch and I got to see people from my childhood who have come back to the church and also see the future generation of leaders in our youth!  It was a mind-blowing, inspiring day to say the least.  I felt like I was on the verge of tears all day, tears of joy, of hope and of gratefulness that I am able to be a part of all God is doing!!  Beaches Chapel has the distinction of being a multigenerational church.  I saw so many grandparents with their grandbabies today!  What a gift and a rare thing in this fast pace, disjointed world that we live in!

I had a very moving thing happen to me! A friend I’ve known for 20 years slipped me a piece of paper during church.  I read it and was brought to tears.  She listed three people who were born on February 24 who meant a great deal to her, my Dad, Teresa Rogers and her son Isaiah.  She bought blocks for our new Impact Center in their honor!  What an incredible idea and a gift to me that someone is still thinking about my Dad.  This is what she said about him, “He was an Elder at Beaches Chapel, provided wisdom and encouragement to countless people. He was an inspiration to many and lived as a Godly man. His legacy is still so evident here, his beautiful wife Barbara, his children, their children and now even their children.  He was loved by so many and still missed in a very real and tangible way to all who knew him.”  It still makes me cry!

We ended our anniversary weekend with a fabulous dinner by Dan!  I was upstairs and all 5 kids came running up and said, “Dad wants you to come downstairs now!”  I went down and he was frying some crab cakes!  I was so excited!  I ran upstairs while he finished cooking to wash Eddie up real fast.”  Bonnie and Bubba stopped me on the stairs and said, “Go back down!  We got this!”  They bathed Eddie and put him to bed for me!  That was a gift!!  I also enjoyed a perfectly cooked steak, potatoes and Alaskan King Crab legs!  I went to bed very full in my stomach and full in my heart, very grateful for all God has done for me and expectant about the next 18 years!!