Our Friend John

A close family friend of ours, John, has been in Mexico for about three years now helping in an orphanage. When he first visited that orphanage, three little boys worked their way right into his heart. He has felt a bond with those three boys, Marcos, Sergio and Alfredo. The bond has been so strong that for a couple of years now, Andy and his wife Betsy (John's brother and wife) have been trying to adopt the boys to make them a part of the family. It has been a long, confusing, drawn out process with a lot of ups and downs along the way.

About three weeks ago, the orphanage was shut down because of some accusations made against the director. This meant that all the children there were taken away from the orphanage and distributed to many different places. This has been a very trying time for John as he's had to stay around there and try to pick up the pieces and provide answers that he wasn't even sure of himself. He has remained faithful through it all but would sure appreciate prayers for wisdom, peace and patience as all of this is being investigated and hopefully resolved over the next few weeks.

Please join with us in prayer that:
*First of all God would be glorified!
*That HIS will would be done.
*That the two families (Andy & Betsy, Todd & Lillian) that are trying to adopt would be granted favor from the Mexican government
*That these families would be able to bring these four sweet boys out of the danger and uncertainty of the environments they are in now to live with their new loving parents.
*That He would guard the hearts of those involved.

Thank you. We know that the only way these adoptions will go through is if God would intervene. We know He is able...we are praying that He will.

Happy Birthday John!!!

Daddy is home safe!

Our family is safe and all home together! Daddy had a great week in Mexico with other people from our church. The team had the chance to preach the Gospel to over 1000 people throughout the week. Curtis got the experience of speaking with an interpreter. The team also provided food - flour, rice, beans, oil - to many families in the villages they visited. At one village the team provided all of the children with PBC Music Camp (like VBS) t-shirts. Curtis' mom also gave the team over 100 Beanie Babies to give away to the children. Thank you for your prayers.

Mom also had the chance to be away for a few days at The Pampered Chef National Conference in Chicago. I just promoted to the position of Director with The Pampered Chef. At National Conference I was recognized in front of 3000 other consultants for my achievement (plus the 99 other consultants who promoted to Director). It was a wonderful experience, and I am now looking forward to leading my own team of consultants to success. And I will definately enjoy all the perks of the Director position - free products every March and June, a bigger pay check, and so so much more!!









While Daddy and Mommy were gone, Grandma Glenna and Grandpa Bill came to stay. They took care of Cade, and kept our household running. Thanks for your help!









Also, my friend from my youth, Megan, came to visit a couple of days while Curtis was gone. Cade warmed up to her right away, and he really enjoyed playing with her. We went to see Wall-E together in the theater. Cade made it for a good hour, but not quite the whole time. It was a good first for him! Thanks for coming to visit Megan.









My cousin Joan is doing much better. She was very close to death in the hospital with the complications of ecoli and then a rare blood disease. In one day she received 14 bags of plasma (10 people donating fills 1 bag) to get her recharged. She had a number of treatments of plasma in her 13 day stay. Not fun at all. Thank you for your prayers! Here we are at Pampered Chef National Conference together!

Daddy is safe in Mexico!

Curtis left for Mexico on Thursday night/Friday morning at 2am. The group's flight was to leave at 6am, but it was delayed. The delay would not allow them to meet their connection in Atlanta, so they had to rearrange everything. The team was able to make a direct flight to Monterrey at 2:30pm. They arrived in Monterrey, but did not arrive at the town where they were going until midnight. So 22 hours later they arrived . . . they could have driven it. Crazy!! The team slept in late on Saturday and then gathered food for the week. Their week is packed with many ministry opportunities. Please pray for Curtis as he will have many opportunities to "preach" throughout the week.

Meanwhile, we are trying to keep life happy here at home. Cade continues to ask where Daddy is. I then ask him that question back and he replies with "Airplane" and I say where did the airplane go, "Mexico." Though he doesn't understand where Mexico is, he knows that he is not here. We have spent time going to garage sales (Cade got a new suitcase), to the park, on the bike, at Pop and Grandma Bev's, as well as many moments of trucks and trains at home.







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Cade's new thing has been playing soccer at the "soccer field." These were our 5 minutes playing soccer. A few dribbles, shots, and kicks; but we also enjoyed blowing dandelions and picking clover flowers!

Inspiring Story

Everytime I hear this story I tear up. It is so inspiring and a great example of God's Love for His children! So amazing . . . giving of yourself!



A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'
The father who, despite having a heart condition, said 'Yes'.

They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on
to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of
going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'
To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, The Ironman Triathlon is the toughest triathlon ever.

The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer)
ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending
with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

God Bless You!

Happy 4th of July!

We have had an exciting weekend with my brother and his family visiting us. They drove their RV and are "camping" in our yard for the weekend. It has worked out great! We have really enjoyed having them at our home. Our days have been filled with a July Fourth Fun Fair, fishing, catching lightning bugs, riding bikes, a trip to DQ, and just time to relax. Catch a few pictures of our adventures together below!!

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Thanks for coming Jeremy, Katie, Sage, Brody, Julia, and Corbin!

A Family Evening!

Tonight we found ourselves outside playing a bit of basketball tonight. We could not decide if it was going to rain or not, so we got a few shots in before the rain started. Cade's favorite shot is to go up through the rim, but slowly he is getting the concept to shoot it through the top. And he actually makes a few (about 1 out of 4)!!
Curtis also wanted a picture of Mommy and Cade, so in case you have missed seeing Mommy, here I am! After bathtime we had a little bit of family movie time. We decided to watch Cars. Cade likes about the first hour of the movie, so it worked out perfect because the Cubs played an hour into the movie, perfect! But during the movie Curtis decided to get some Cinnamon Toast Crunch for an evening snack . . . and when Cade found it he was all over it! He and Daddy enjoyed sharing a bowl of cereal!