Here's a response from my DS 2 regarding his trip:

Hey Melli and others that are curious, The Mission organization that we worked with is called Open Hearts Ministries and they have been working in the dump for around 8 years now. When they first arrived their goal was to one-by-one take these people out of the dump and set them up with a job and food on their table. A few years back they attempted to do this with a family. They took them out of the dump and got them a house and a job. This lasted all of 2 months and the family CHOSE to go back to the dump. Now, this sounds crazy. Why would anyone CHOOSE to go back to the dump? Well, there is a great sense of community there and that is what they know.

Since this, the mission organization has changed their goals a bit. The government has since decided to move the people of the dump out and to a new area of government housing. The only problem with this government housing is that they will have to pay for utilities. These people don't know how to live in anything else but the dump, so we are hoping and praying that the transition lasts and the people of the dump decide to learn how to be a working member of society.The mission organization is praying about where they fit in to this move. They are just asking God to show them where He wants them.

Like I said in my blog, there is a school in the dump that the mission group runs, but the government does not want to move the school; just the people. So, one thought is they would build another school where ever the government moves these people, but that costs money, so they are giving it to God. A lot of uncertainty about the future of the mission group is up in the air right now. They asked us to all continue to pray about where God wants them in the future as we got back to the states.

As for now, they will continue to love of these kids and build the relationships with them and their families. In the school they will continue to share the story of God and show light to these kids in a very dark place. They also have a sponsorship program with the kids in the dump. Many of the kids are sponsored, but there are still a few that are not. If you want to find out more information you can either ask me or their website is www.ohearts.org.I hope that helps!

M.

A Mission to Remember: Blog 3

This is part three of a guest blog by my DS 3. He and 21 other college students just spent their Spring Break in Nicaragua on a mission trip. This trip was certainly life-changing for them. These are his words and his account of the experience they had there.

On Thursday morning we went back to the school to say our goodbyes to the kids of La Chureca (the dump). This was full of mixed emotions. Obviously we were sad to leave the kids, but we were so happy to have had the opportunity to show these kids some joy and love. Many of the kids wrote us letters and drew us pictures as a goodbye gift.

I played soccer with my buddies that I had made throughout the past week, and we gave out the soccer balls that we brought. As we drove away from the dump for the last time, I saw it much differently as when we first arrived. I didn’t see the smoke or the cardboard houses. I didn’t see the kids with no shoes to wear or the parents sniffing glue. I saw a beautiful display of God’s Kingdom!

La Chureca is a beautiful place, and God is present there. He is doing some awesome things in the cardboard village. The dump taught us a lot about how backwards America is. Here in the states we have EVERYTHING, but lack so much in our hearts. In La Chureca, they have nothing, yet the joy is evident in their hearts! As Americans we saw that they had nothing and our hearts broke for them. We wanted to buy them gifts and give them our hats and bracelets. God really showed us that all we need on this side of heaven is Him! God will provide for all our needs if we trust in him. Not all our wants, but our needs. We quickly realized that these people don’t want gifts, they want love! And, it was awesome to shower them with love for the few days that we were there!

As our bus pulled away, we were told that we were heading to Ms. Ruby’s house. Now Ms. Ruby always prayed over every group that came to La Chureca. She prayed individually for each person in the group, and her prayers were always spot on for what each person was struggling with. They say that she “had a direct connection to God.” Unfortunately, Ms. Ruby passed away two months ago, but since then, her sister has turned the top floor of her house into a prayer room. Now, groups come up there and get prayed over by the leaders of the mission organization down there.

When we arrived and were all seated up there, they asked if anyone played guitar and could lead worship. I raised my hand, but I didn’t have my guitar with me. It was back at the compound where we were staying. As I said earlier though, God is a provider, and it just so happened that Ms. Ruby played guitar! They pulled out her bright blue guitar and handed it to me. When I held her guitar I felt an electricity coursing through my body. I started to shake and I didn’t know if I could do it. I had never led worship before, but about two months ago I began to learn to play the guitar.

I said a prayer silently while I began to strum just asking God to help me with this, and to give it all to Him. The next THREE hours are a blur to me! I just kept playing and we kept worshiping and praying over one another. It was the most amazing three hours of my life! God was with me every strum, and though my fingers were bleeding from playing so long, nothing was going to stop us from praising His name! Ms. Ruby was definitely with us in that room as I played her guitar and we prayed just as she did a few months earlier!

We began our last day by taking the kids from the orphanage on a hike. The mission group that we were working with is in the process of buying a 400 acre farm to expand their ministry. This farm is not a normal American farm. This is the most rugged terrain I have ever seen on a farm. What I thought was going to be a nice fun hike turned into carrying these young kids and attempting not to fall as I climb this mountain! Despite it being 98 degrees, we had a lot of fun hiking and eating wild fruit, and the kids loved showing us the way!

As our final day was coming to a close, we took a very scenic drive out to the beach. This was most of our first times on a Pacific beach, as well as a black sand beach. The beach was deserted and it seemed to go on forever. After taking it in for a few minutes, I grabbed the surf board and began to paddle out. The waves are much bigger than here in Florida. About 25 minutes later I met my buddy out there and we had a blast. The waves weren’t perfect, but they were a lot of fun! As the sun went down, our group took our last group photo and headed back home. God painted such a beautiful sunset for us to see that night.


As I was writing this all the feelings, sounds, smells and tastes came back to me. It was cool to re-live my week in Nicaragua. Now there are many more stories that I could tell, but this will give you guys a good idea of what we did and a few stories to go along with it. I look forward to telling stories of Nicaragua for many years to come. Nicaragua definitely has a piece of my heart. I learned so many things while I was over there, and I pray that God gives me the opportunities to share my stories back in the states. We went there with the mindset that we were there to bless them, but I believe that we came back just as blessed. La Chureca is a beautiful place and I thank God for giving us the opportunity to go to Nicaragua and bring joy to his beautiful little angels!

Guest Blog: A Mission to Remember Post 2

Our group continued doing this same routine for the first three days. The only thing that changed was in the afternoon we took a group of kids on a field trip. These kids rarely leave the dump, let alone the city, so it was awesome to see these kids in awe of the simple things that we take for granted like tall buildings and fast food buildings. The first day we took the second graders to a lookout with a breath taking view of a volcano! We let the kids take a horseback ride down the mountain which cost us about 25 cents each kid!


One of the little girls in the second grade named Alix heard the live music playing not too far away and asked if she could go dance. I of course said yes, so I walked her over and watched her dance for a minute. I quickly noticed what dance she was doing. The Meringue! I then asked her if I could dance with her, and she said yes. That was really something to dance with this beautiful girl from the dump!

The second day we took the third graders on a field trip to Granada. This was the furthest we took any of the groups. It was just under a two hour BUMPY bus ride away! But, again, the kids enjoyed getting out of the dump for a few hours. In Granada we took the kids on an hour boat tour around the 200 islands that formed from the volcano many years ago. The sights on that tour were breath taking. We came up to one island to get a closer look at the monkeys that were on the island. Little did I know that “closer look” meant that we hold food out for these monkeys and they come onto the boat! It was very neat and the kids loved the monos (monkeys)! On the third day, we took the fourth grade class to the zoo. Now, this was no zoo like you might be imagining. This zoo had a cage for squirrels and a cage for a raccoon! It was amusing to see some of our everyday animals on display, but they also had lions and tigers (and bears oh my)! Before we were let loose with the kids, we were instructed to keep the kids close to us because they could get bit. I didn’t quite know what they meant by this because I assumed these animals weren’t just roaming the place. I assumed they were in cages…big mistake! Many of the animals run wild through the “zoo.” So I would call it more of a walk through the jungle with a few animals in some cages! And, the animals that were in cages were within arm’s reach. I could easily have touched a lion right on the nose! Luckily, no kids, or college students, got hurt!

Guest Blog: A Mission to Remember

Following is excerpt one from my DS 2's recent mission trip to Nicaragua with his church in Gainesville. When I asked him to guest blog, he agreed quickly. When he wrote his words, he said he just wrote and wrote and before he knew it, he was at 2500 words! I've decided to break it up into several segments.

Here's the first one:

On Saturday, March 6th, our group arrived in Nicaragua around 10:30pm. Although it was dark, we could tell that the place that we were staying was very nice. We called it the Garden of Eden. It had a ton of hammocks and palm trees and a monkey. This was a place that people would pay to come on their honeymoon. Our college pastor told us that this place was a lot nicer than he normally takes groups to, but the conditions that we were about to work in were a lot worse than he usually takes groups to. Now, I have been on previous mission trips, but nothing that I had seen or heard could have prepared me for what I was about to see. I knew that we were going to work with the people who lived in the dump, but I had no clue what that meant. I though it meant that people lived around the dump and used the dump as their resources. Boy was I wrong!

These groups of nearly 1000 people, who live in La Chureca, or the city dump, live smack in the center of the dump. These families thrive off of what they find in the city landfill. These people literally run after the dump trucks as they come into the dump and they fight over the trash that is dumped. Each of these families needs to survive and they do so by finding leftover food in the dump and selling bottles that are brought in by the dump trucks.

On the first day of the trip we went to a church that was in the city of Managua, Nicaragua. This church was very different than your normal American church, but it was neat to see how they worshiped. No one was holding back or worried about how their friends viewed them. Everyone was very authentic and worshiped as they pleased.

After the church service we went to the dump for the first time. We were instructed to be silent as we toured the dump and to just take it in silently. This was very difficult for our group. We had never seen anything like this. We had never seen such poverty and despair.

These people literally lived in cardboard houses (shown on the right in the photo above). Raw sewage was running right through the middle of the place we were walking. Many of us were filled with guilt and did not know how we could do anything that would impact these children and families. I mean how are we supposed to tell these kids about a heavenly father who loves them when their earthly father sold them for the rights to an area of trash to dig through? This kind of stuff happens daily in this area. Girls are sold every day for the rights to a piece of the dump.

When we got back to the compound where we were staying, I took my guitar up to the third deck look out and began to play Chris Tomlin’s “God of this City.” This song has never spoken to me as much as it did that night. As I was singing the lyrics I had a peace come over me because I knew that He was not just the God of my city, but He is the God of La Chureca too!

The second day we realized that we are supposed to be the seed that God can water and grow for his kingdom. We were not called to Nicaragua to save these kids and bring them back to the US. We were called to plant the seed and let God do the rest.

We arrived at the school in the dump on Monday and all of our plans went down the drain. We had plans to do a VBS sort of thing, but our plans were thrown down the drain. We began to improvise and just play with the kids. I picked up a soccer ball and began a soccer game in the school yard. I thank God for our plans not working! We had an amazing time just building relationships with these children, and showing them God’s love.

In the afternoon the girls of our group put on a spa day for the girls in the dump.

They painted their fingernails and toenails, and did some face painting as well. While the girls did this, I was in charge of running a soccer camp for the boys of the dump. Now, let me describe the scenery for a second. Remember we are still IN the dump.

The smoke from the burning trash is so thick it is very difficult to breathe or even open your eyes all the way. The smell never goes away, and because it has not rained for FOUR months and won’t rain again until MAY, the dust is very dry and blows in your face constantly! This “field” that we were playing on was a very hard surface with tons of dust and dirt on top. Even though we could barely open our eyes and we were slipping all over the place, we had a great time playing with the kids. I love how soccer is a universal language. I didn’t know everything they were saying because they spoke Spanish, but we didn’t have to. I set the ball down, blew the whistle, and we played!

From Susan: If you have specific questions or comments for DS 2, let me know. He says he could go "on and on" telling stories. I'm sure he'd be happy to expand and/or expound on any portion of their trip or his blog about it. And a big thanks to the girls on the team who took these photos!

Who's Got Talent?

This Guy's Got Talent…
A few months back, DS 3 (who is the Sophomore Class President) was brainstorming a fundraising project for his class. He mentioned that he’d like to try a take-off on America’s Got Talent and make it named after his high school “R’s Got Talent”. He took the idea to the student boards and was met with a little bit of resistance from other classes. They basically didn’t believe that Sophomores could “pull off” such an event. In essence, they threw the gauntlet. DS 3 was determined and began working on pulling his officers together for this event.

They recruited 12 acts. He created tickets and fliers and banners to hang around the school. He found judges (including the youth pastor from our church and one of the leaders). He created a Facebook invite and started inviting students from the school to attend. He had the Principal help him create a phone message that was delivered to all 2400 student homes inviting them to come on out. I helped him create a rubric for the judges to use to give feedback to the acts. DS 3 even talked his Dad into being a “corporate sponsor” and sponsoring the ability to “text vote” for the winner!

Monday night, however, he was a bit discouraged. They had only sold 15 tickets! He felt good about all the logistics except how many people would be in the audience! Just like most things that are well-planned, though, it all worked out. By lunchtime on Tuesday (the day of the show), they had sold 127 tickets—which was enough for them to break even financially.

He was feeling better by the time DS 4, LG and I arrived for the show Tuesday night. DS 3 was running around in Producer/Director mode…and maintained his laser focus throughout the event. It wasn’t long until people began streaming in through the doors to come see if, in fact, RHS and the Sophomore Board has talent. The event was quite well attended. The judges were funny—as they worked on being a little like Simon, Pierce, David, Paula, Sharon, Kara and, at times, Randy. The acts were enjoyable. And the kids had fun watching their peers perform. It was an incredible event and the Sophomore class ended up making more than $1000 on it!

Yep, I’d say DS 3 has talent! And, for that matter, so does DS 4…

After the show, I was talking to DH on the phone and waiting on DS 3 to be ready to go home. I looked across the auditorium and there is my 11yo, DS 4, with about 8 – 10 high school girls around him. Several of them had their cell phones up and were video taping DS 4 singing to them! People have been telling DS 4 that he looks like Justin Bieber (see pic below left) lately and he’s eating it up. He was having a ball entertaining these strangers! (Of course, as I relayed it to DH via the phone he said, “Yeah! That’s my boy!”
One thing is for certain, there is NEVER. EVER. One dull moment in our house! Gotta' love 'em!

Random Dozen: St. Patty's Version

Every week, Linda over at 2nd Cup of Coffee hosts the Random Dozen meme. This is a list of 12 random questions for everyone to answer. It's a great way to meet other bloggers and have a little fun. Click on over to Linda's for the code and sign the "Mr. Linky" once you've posted.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how superstitious are you, honestly? If you mean, by superstitious, do I worry when I am tempted to walk under a ladder...then usually almost nothing (like a 1). I have to tell you, though, when I see a black cat go across my path, I stop, think twice, then rationalize that it's NUTS to even let something as trivial as that bother you---so black cats get a 4. I blame it on my mother....sorry Mom!

2. Julius Caesar is quoted as saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Which circumstance or experience of yours does this saying best describe? This is a hard one for me. I want to say that I faced a fear and overcame it...I suppose when I took my float plane trip with DH in Alaska. I HATE flying and especially in small planes. But I wouldn't have missed seeing those sights for any fear....so there ya' have it. And here's my proof:
3. If I peeked in on your day like a mischievous little leprechaun, at what time would I most likely find you blogging? Usually I blog first thing in the morning. Sometimes it's over my lunch break. It's whenever I can steal away a minute or two to "get 'er done"!

4. Re springing forward for Daylight Saving Time, is there anything you've ever been really early or really late for? Well, I know I've been late for stuff...but nothing that sticks out in my mind. I've gone to concerts really early to get a good seat. I've tried to be the first in line for Black Friday sales...other than those, probably not so much.

5. What are you most looking forward to concerning Spring? The week we are about to have off!

6. Shamrocks are the national flower of Ireland and are picked on St. Patrick's Day and worn on the lapel or shoulder. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? Usually I do, but today I'm in yellow. I have a green lanyard with my badge on it, so I figured I'm OK. It's bad cause I'm even part Irish and I just wasn't that "into it" today.

7. One of Caesar's assassins, Casca, said, "But, for my own part, it was Greek to me," which of course means he didn't understand something. Probably his own lines in the play. Anyway, what is something that is "Greek to you," something incomprehensible or indecipherable?
Technical manuals are often Greek to me. I've been known to hand my DH an article or directions and ask him to read it and report back to me. He's much better at this sort of reading than I am.

8. Is March behaving more like a lion or a lamb where you live? It's weird, cause when I think about the rest of you, and your winter weather, I feel a little guilty saying "like a lion". But it is. It's been a very chilly March so far...we've had a lot of rain and wind. I am still wearing long sleeves. And that's just not typical for this time of year.

9. "An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." -Winston Churchill. If you had one extra hour per day every day, what would you do with it? Find a peaceful spot and READ. Whatever I want. Whenever I want. Or I might just bask in the quiet and solitude. It's not something I get to do very often and I do love it at times.

10. Legend says that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold hidden deep in the Irish countryside. Aside from real gold or money, what material item would be in your dream pot of gold? A swimming pool with a lanai. See question #9 about quiet and solitude. I would LOVE to have a place to relax in the water when it's HOT in FL.

11. "The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." Robert Louis Stevenson. Look around you right now and tell us about something essential or beautiful very near you that you take for granted every day. This is not a good question from where I'm sitting right now, but I see a book that belongs to DS 4, and LG's "logbook" that I am keeping and I know that I take my family for granted. I know that they are so beautiful and essential to my life and I forget to tell them just how much they mean to me.

12. Just for a bit o' fun, click here html://www.blogthings.com/irishnamegenerator/ and then report your Irish name. Linda's is "Zoe O'Sullivan." Mine is Jade Doyle! I'm loving that one, too!


If you play, be sure to let me know so I can come read your answers!!

Last week, during one particularly stress-filled time, someone shared a little science with me. As she listened to my dilemma, she drew a little diagram on a piece of paper. She said, "Let me show you something about how the brain works." In my mind, I thought "Yeah, yeah, I know I've heard all about the brain...I AM a teacher, after all." But, when she turned the clipboard around and expose her rough sketch, I knew I was seeing something I've never thought about before:

She showed me a sketch that looked a little like the one above and said, "When the emotions/feelings get BIG, the brain gets really small and the ears fall off." I let it sink in and really thought about it.

It's true. It's ageless. It happens to kids. It happens to adults. When we let our emotions take control, our ability to think and reason (that amazing brain) shrinks and we often lose the skills we need to listen. The key, she went on, is to achieve balance. It's not that we want to be emotionless...we just want to have a balance between reasoning and emotion which allows us to really listen.

It's a lesson I needed to hear that day. It's something I am trying to remember as I navigate the waters I'm in lately. And it's something that I am remembering when dealing with kids (my own or others).

This morning, my prayer was, "Help me balancee, Lord. Make my emotions the size they SHOULD be without taking over everything else. Help me to reason when I need to do so. And most of all, may my ears stay attached so I can hear what I need to hear."

Spring Forward..

Spring came forward during this "spring-forward" time change weekend--finally! It was a gorgeous two days and one of those times I really LOVE living here.

DS 1 was with us most of the week last week as he was on Spring Break. It was hard for me not seeing him as much as I'd like, but nice to have him around still. He had to do a "drill weekend" for his Guard unit, so he left on Saturday evening.

I know it's wishful thinking, but I do hope that the boys settle somewhere near us when they are finished with schooling. Even if they can't do that, I hope we are somehow able to see them regularly, cause I sure miss them when they are gone!

DS 2 came home from his mission trip Saturday afternoon. I have only talked with him briefly and am excited to hear about his trip to Nicaragua. He has agreed to do a guest blog...so hopefully you'll get to read about it soon as well. The pictures are gorgeous and heartbreaking all at once. When I said, "I can't wait to hear all about it!" He said, "There's SO MUCH to tell!" That's where we left it. I cannot tell you how much it warms my heart to know that my guys love being out helping people so much!

I don't know if I mentioned that DS 3 is in the midst of track season once again. He is pole vaulting again this year. If you've read this blog for more than a year, then you might remember that last year he "no heighted" the season. (This means he didn't make it over the pole.) Still he stuck with it to my amazement and awe! Now here we are in a new season and he is clearing 8 ft! Anyway, we went to see him the other day for just a bit and I was once again reminded just how much I admire his focus and drive.

Another thing DS 3 has discovered is just how much he likes biking. He took a long bike ride this weekend to our local national park and hiked back there a bit. He loves just being out there and discovering new things.

Speaking of bike rides, DS 4, LG, and I left Saturday to ride around a bit. She made it about 2 feet ok 2 blocks before something happened and she decided she didn't want to do it anymore. She is really still learning and it's quite a chore for her to get started. DS 4 and I took her home and we continued our own ride. It was fun to ride with him. We went about 12 miles total. I could tell you I payed dearly later, but I'll spare you the details.

Sunday was another gorgeous day. DS 3 and I walked downtown a bit and had lunch down there. Then I took DS 4 to the skate park for a little bit while I did my homework for small group. So nice to sit outside, soak up the sun, and read a bit.

DH and I had small group last night. This is always an interesting time. I have to say we got the nicest compliment last night about the kids. They generally stay in their rooms during our small group so they don't interfere. One of the participants said, "I have to say you really have good kids! As many times as we've been here, we've never heard them during our time." Our sermons at church recently have been about having "reference points" that help give us a picture of reality. I needed that reference point! I am very PROUD of my kids for MANY reasons. This reference point reminded me again that I need to say it more often!

There ya' go...our weekend in a nutshell!

PLINK (or pink) and LINK: Random Dozen

So at first glance of the Random Dozen today, I thought Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee had written "Pink and Link". I found myself asking "What's pink got to do with March 10th?" Then I actually clicked to her page and realized it was just another one of my "duh" moments! Anyway, this is great fun so plink up and link up and play along!

And just for fun, I think I'll do mine in PINK!

From Linda:
So, are you ready to play Plinko? Definition of plink: "Plinking refers to informal target shooting done at non-traditional targets such as tin cans, glass bottles, and balloons filled with water." Plinko is also a carnival game we play at Oneighty, but pot-luck shots fits this meme better, I think.So here are your random plinko questions lined up in a row just like tin cans:

1. How old is the oldest pair of shoes in your closet? Hmmm...not sure. I have to go look and even then I'm not sure. Probably about 8 years old.

2. Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? If so, what variety? I steered clear and didn't buy ONE box!

3. Do you know how to ballroom dance? If not, would you like to? No. And only slightly. I'm a bit of a klutz when dancing that close to someone else.

4. Were you a responsible child/teenager? I think I was. Although those were the days before microwaves thawed stuff out so easily--heck it was somewhat before microwaves. Anyway, my Mom would call us and tell us to put something out for supper and I would "forget" and that would leave us in a pinch for dinner. So most of the time, yes...but occasionally (like most teens I know) not so much.

5. How many of this year's Oscar-nominated movies did you see? I'd have to know which movies were Oscar-nominated to be able to answer this question. I don't. I don't have time to Google right now. So I will have to skip it. And, for that matter, since I really haven't seen anything but kids movies in the past three months...probably none.

6. If you're going to have a medical procedure done, such as having blood drawn, is it easier for you to watch someone else having the procedure done or have it done yourself? Watching someone else is MUCH easier!

7. What is your favorite day of the week and why? I love Saturdays usually because it's a day when we can get a lot done and still enjoy some relaxation and fun.

8. Do you miss anyone right now? Miss, as in, wish they were here? Yes, I wish DS 2 were here. He is in Nicaragua on a mission trip for this week. Miss, as in "they have passed on" and I wish I could see them again? My Grandpa and my Uncle.

9. Do hospitals make you queasy? Not usually.

10. At which store would you like to max-out your credit card. Not that you ever would, you responsible person, you. Right now? Pottery Barn.

11. Are you true to the brand names of products/items? Sometimes. I love only Jif peanut butter and Heinz ketchup. Generally, though, I am open to other labels.

12. Which is more difficult: looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when he/she is telling you how he/she feels? Ewwww...that's a tie for me!

OK ... ready, aim, PLINK (or pink) and LINK!

Music with a Message

I needed this yesterday when I heard it on the radio. And now I need it again this morning, so I'm sharing it with you. It's another one of those "right songs at the right time".

Shine on Me Sunshine!

I think it's finally going to start warming up here in Southwest Florida! I have to say that we are used to sweatbeads rolling down our foreheads in the mid to late afternoons by now. This year, we're still in long sleeves and jackets! It's nuts.

We had a busy weekend at our house. I know, you're suprised, right? Those of you who read this blog regularly know that's pretty much the MO of our lives. Here's an update:

Friday night I went on a sunset boatride in honor of a colleague who died in the Fall. She really wanted people to have a party and celebrate her life, so that's what they did. It was a nice tribute to her. But, I have to say, it was COLD on the water! I kept telling myself that I weathered several scenic boat tours in Alaska in much colder weather. Still, I was thankful for the bottom floor of the boat (which was enclosed). There were about 50 of us there. I am so thankful for the "family-like" atmosphere in which I work! It is a very special group of people who truly care about one another.

Also Friday night was the funeral for our friend who died last week. I did not get to go, but they webcasted it, so I was able to watch it on Saturday. What an amazing turnout for her celebration of life! There were more than 1000 people there. I know it may sound strange, but I often wonder if these people with large funeral attendance really knew the impact their life had on the world. My guess is that very few of them would guess that so many people would turn out at their funeral and in many cases, they'd never be able to predict the kind words or special rememberances that are given as people talk about a life well-lived.

Saturday, DS 2 left for Nicaragua. He is there this week with a team of college students on a mission project. They are working in a dump, doing a VBS, and playing with kids in an orphanage there. Please be praying for their mission and trip in general. It is so exciting to watch your children catch that fire and desire to get out and help others!

Saturday afternoon DH and I threw a picnic for LG's family--including her siblings, an aunt, their grandmother, and other foster parents. It was LG's older brother's birthday, so it was quite special. He is such a great young man. He's the one that started my affinity for this family. I taught him in 2nd grade and mentored him throughout his remaining elementary school years.

The pictures above show some of the kids enjoying each other's company. It was a special time for LG. I asked her to name her favorite part when we were done and she said, "EVERYTHING!"

DS 1 is coming home this week for Spring Break. I am excited to have him around for a few days. We finally went and bought a futon so he would have a place to sleep at the house! DH and DS 3 helped put it together yesterday. I had to laugh because LG was picking music from DS 3's iPod to entertain them while putting it all together. I heard many songs flowing out of that room, but my favorite still has to be the themesong from Cheers...when they started singing at the top of their lungs:

Sometimes you wanna go....

Where everybody knows your na-ame!

And they're always glad you ca-ame!...

Cracked me UP!

In the midst of futon assembly, DS 4 came running from the backyard demanding everyone stop and come see what was there. Remember when I told you last week that I don't spend enough time there? Well, just LOOK at what he wanted us to see...

This giant little guy is about 3 and a half feet long. He was sunning right at the edge of our backyard and the pond! Of course, I am praying that this is all the further he comes...but I WILL be watching before I just up and go enjoy the beauty that is back there!

So that's an update from our neck of the woods! I hope you all have a fabulous week!

1. Do you prefer even or odd numbers? Any particular reason? I like even numbers. I don't know why. They just seem more...well...even. When DH and I got married and talked about having kids, I always said I wanted to have an even number because I didn't want a "middle child"...so we had four for the longest time and now here I am with FIVE! So funny how life works that way!

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being "not at all" and 10 being Carly Simon-worthy, how vain are you? Wow, that's an interesting question. I don't think of myself as vain. BUT I do know that there have been times in my life when I was more focused on ME than anything else. I suppose we all have "vain moments". Probably a 4.

3. Among these Irish stereotypes, with which do you identify most closely? Talkative, Proud, Inquisitive, Love to party, Hot-tempered Funny, I am part Irish and didn't know these were even Irish stereotypes. I am inquisitve to a degree and occasionally "hot-tempered"...although I'm not generally a "fighting hot-tempered"...just a "worked-up hot tempered".

4. How lucky do you consider yourself? It sounds Christian cliche' to say I don't believe in luck...but I don't. This is because I think very little happens in life by chance. Although I have seen many many blessings in my life that I'm sure some would call "luck".

5. What is the subject of your favorite post that you've written? I perused these questions yesterday and I am totally STUCK on this one! I have no idea what my favorite post is. I may have to put this one off and figure out later. If you've been around here at all, then maybe YOU have a favorite post I've written. Oops....this vain moment has been brought to you by question #2!

6. Describe March weather where you live in three words. Usually warm to hot and quite sunny. But today it's only going to be in the 50's so it's plain old weird!

7. How apt are you at detecting blarney when you hear it? (Smooth talk, flattery) Pretty apt...or adept.

8. How "green" are you, environmentally speaking? I recycle. I try and reuse. I use my green bags a the grocery store most of the time (if I don't forget them).

9. What is your favorite song this week? Hmmm....I love the one I wrote about a few weeks ago by Kutlass "What Faith Can Do".

10. You are walking along and see a coin on the ground. What denomination does it have to be before you will stop to pick it up? I pretty much will pick up any coin I see.

11. Complete the sentence: "Every time I look outside my window ...." I realize that I don't fully take advantage of the beautiful scenery that is there...Here's my backyard and I should sit out there more often:

12. What was the #1 song on the day you were born? See this site to find out. I did this on my Facebook a few weeks ago and was surprised to find out it was "A Hard Days Night" by the Beatles.