Scary....

Ok, so you already saw most of the fair pictures but I had to post these 3 in a totally separate post! Andrew wanted me to go on this ride with him and most rides don't scare me so I am always up for trying a new ride. This "free-fall" ride is crazy and I think my belly still flutters at the thought. Dave is not a huge picture taker but I certainly have to give him props for getting these :) Enjoy, I think our faces say it all!

Heading up

A little higher

Yes, this is the pic of our faces on the way down and yes, if you must know, I screamed ;)

Fun at the Fair...

Every year we are so excited when the Coastal Carolina Fair comes to town. I know this is not everyone's thing but boy do we love it! What is even greater is that since we don't do Halloween, it is a great place to go that day and allow the kids to enjoy some good fun and usually the lines are low since most kids trick or treat!! We had such a great time on all the rides, watching the sea lion show, and petting all the animals!! To top it off we finished off the fun-filled kids night at CiCi's pizza - yes a true favorite and rare treat for our kids :)

Petting the animals
The Sea Lion showThis is what we do to Andrew when he is bad!
My girl and I on the merry-go-round
On the Ferris WheelView from the top of the Ferris Wheel
Cute kids

Prayer....

What a blessing it is to pray to the one true God of this world!! It is an honor and privilege to go before the Lord on behalf of those in need and now you have the opportunity to join us and other staff members at GFA each Tuesday night as well as on the first Friday night of the month and pray for the lost in Asia!! You will be blessed as you hear stories of missionaries forsaking all for the sake of following Christ and the miracles and work God is doing. Please head over to GFA's website at www.gfa.org/prayer/ to learn more.
James 5:16b -- The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

As promised...

Here are the pictures of Andrew's artwork from the fair. We are so proud of him for getting chosen to have his artwork displayed at the fair. It was truly an incredible honor!

So excited...

I had to post this as I am one proud momma. Andrew came home yesterday telling me he had a surprise for me. You never know what you're going to get when Andrew says he has a surprise for you. It could be a kiss, a gigantic rib-crushing bear hug, or whatever else he feels like doing. I was prepared to receive either of the former but much to my surprise, he hands me a paper that states his artwork would be on display at the Coastal Carolina Fair - I was so super-excited! I have always thought he may have a talent for drawing but I am a mom and we all know how we can be when it comes to our own children ;). Well this time, I just may be right so if you are heading out to the fair in the next week or so, stop by the area behind the gazebo and take a look. (btw, he has no idea what artwork was chosen -- silly boy).

It's the little things...

And yes, I know my husband is not going to like this post since he never likes me to post pictures of him or write much about him but it truly is one of the reasons I love him so much!! A couple of days ago before school, Kira was "acting up" and just not behaving. Well, Dave kinda got angry (as all us parents do at times) and yelled at her, probably more than he should have. What is the awesome part is having a husband that is sensitive to God and admits his mistakes. I was on the phone with him when the kids got home from school and he apologized to Kira for getting so angry, not that he was wrong in being upset at her disobedience but that he "lost his cool" with her. She said "it's ok daddy, I love you". Ahh, such music to my ears, a father apologizing and admitting when he's wrong and a little girl that just loves her daddy. I would have been so ok with just that but here is the icing on the cake -- Dave comes home with a bouquet of flowers for Kira -- does that just not melt your heart? She was sooooooo excited - she kept saying "I got flowers momma, I got flowers, aren't they beautiful?" Yes, of course I had to take a quick picture - not the best, but still super cute of my girl and her flowers :)

Blessed once again...

Words cannot begin to describe the love we have for our GFA family. These people truly exhibit the love of God in such amazing ways including blessing our family. As many (or maybe not that many - lol) who view this blog know, the last couple of months have been "dry" as far as our support-raising goes. It is certainly not for lack of trying - we call many churches every week and seem to hear a lot of the same answer - "the economy has really hit us hard". There are definite times of discouragement but Dave and I realize that God is teaching us many things through this process, especially since we are going to have to do this for the rest of our lives. Anyway, I digress...
Last night we received a phone call from Dave Chupp - this is the man who will be "Dave's boss" at GFA. He wanted to just let us know him and his family have been praying for us and they want to see us there very soon!! I just broke down crying - good thing Dave was the one talking on the phone. People we have met for one week last November have become such a huge part of our lives and we just love them so much. I think for a number of reasons. One, we have a like-mindedness with them in wanting to reach the lost for Jesus. Two, they are so down to earth and just love the fellowship of others. And three, they are funny and even the leaders at GFA don't think of themselves highly, they are just humble people used by God and are willing to share their individual struggles with you -- wow, what if the whole business world (or for that matter world) was like this??????
It made us want to get to GFA that much quicker. Please pray for us as we continue to seek out God to where He will lead us to raise support and please if you know of any church, or anyone that loves the Lord and would love to meet with us, let us know.
We are praying for God to do a miracle and send us QUICKLY!!!

Joshua 4:24 -- so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."