{Daily Blessing ~ March 2}

Blessing #2 was so much fun!!! One of the Camp Hope ladies is graduating and getting married...starting a new chapter of her life clean and sober. I had the privilege of hosting her Bachelorette Party. Lizabeth and I planned a scavenger hunt for the girls and refreshments that didn't include alcohol. It was so much fun to show these girls that Christians have fun too :)

A few scenes from the evening

{Daily Blessing ~ March 1}

Yay for March!! It's my birthday month and so I thought that I would do something different this year....instead of concentrating on all the things that I want, I am going to focus on blessing others. Each day in March, I'm going to be on the lookout for opportunities to bless someone else and help to foster the attitude of service and gratitude in my own life.

A simple card of thanks to our Youth Pastor, Josh Jordan

He has a tough job...one that is often thankless...& I just wanted to encourage him to keep on keepin' on because he is making a difference in these kids lives.

{Nicaragua 2011 ~ Day 1}

Finally, the day I had been waiting for came. Almost a year of preparations....many of you have prayed for this mission trip and some of you gave financially...all to make this possible. There is so much to share, but I'm going to try and start from the beginning and not get ahead of myself!

The trip actually started on Thursday at the church...weighing our luggage. We were allowed 50 pounds each. I was so nervous, but miraculously I was under by 15 pounds! Hallelujah!! I can add my hairdryer :) I went home and had dinner with my family and tried to soak up every moment, knowing it would be a long week without them. Quentin got up with me and drove me to the church at 2am. It was a foggy morning and once loaded on the bus and headed to Memphis, we realized that the bus defroster doesn't work very well...or at all. Charles was the human defroster, constantly wiping the glass so Billy could see the road. Made for a very long trip to the airport. Billy did a marvelous job...and we only had one scare when he missed the turn and we had to back up so we wouldn't end up in a ditch. We arrived at the airport around 4am...got checked in and waited for our flight. I'm a nervous wreck.

Me & Lizabeth Robinson (my boss) at Atlanta Airport
We landed in Atlanta around 8am and had enough time to kill to grab a little airport breakfast. I survived the flight and my nerves were starting to settle a little. Atlanta International is a huge airport with a tram to take you from gate to gate....when the little speaker comes on and says this train is leaving and you should hold on...they mean it!

I seen several soldiers at Atlanta...catching flights home...and it brought back a flood of memories. I stopped to shake several of their hands and just to thank them for their sacrifice. I don't think you can thank them enough and I know for some of them, they were seeing their families for the first time in months...others were leaving their families to finish tours. I know how that feels and it is always humbling for me to see soldiers & their families in airports.

JR & Brittany Lawrence and Erin Gammill...grabbing some airport breakfast...yum...yum!

Inside view of our hotel, The Best Western, in Managua, Nicaragua (*note this is NOT where we stayed for our mission trip...just the first night while waiting on the rest of our team to arrive)

I got a little nervous when we started flying into Managua...ok...I got ALOT nervous! I was thinking where in the world are they going to land this plane? I couldn't see anything that resembled an airport...all I see was water and buildings. Well, there just happened to be a little...and I do mean little...stretch of a field in the midst of those buildings and that would be where the landing strip was. Wow! As soon as we touched down the pilot immediately applied the breaks...that's how short the runway was. We went through customs & immigration, paid our $10.00, found our luggage and headed to the hotel across the street. If the landing of the plane didn't scare ya, the crossing the street definitely would! Just picture a real live human form of Frogger...these cars weren't stopping for nothing and there was no end in sight, so the best course of action?? RUN!!! (and now I know why you don't want more than 50 pounds of luggage). We checked in and got our room assignments...I would be rooming with Lizabeth and Brandi Parkinson. The rooms were small with 3 twin size beds, but clean...I'll take it.

Me & Brandi Parkinson sporting our Mission Team tees :)

We walked around taking pictures of all the gorgeous vegetation around the hotel. Everything is so green and alive! They had banana trees, palm trees, and even a mango tree!

One example of the beautiful vegetation surrounding the hotel...and just happened to be a "ginger plant". Of course I had to have a picture. You will notice my backpack...it became a permanent fixture to my back during this week.

Me & Kristin Summers at dinner.

After scoping out the hotel, we all decided we were starving...it had been a long day of flights with not much time for eating. We didn't have a translator this first day and the hotel staff could speak some English, but not much, so ordering our food was challenging to say the least. Lizabeth tried using Google Translator on her iPhone, but that proved to be not such a great idea....LOL..She tried to ask "do you have dessert" and ended up translating "are you dessert?"....apparently Google needs to go back to school. The food was wonderful, but we never did get that dessert!

This was my receipt for my meal....the US dollar total is circled with the Cordova total above it...so glad they're doing the exchange for me. I stink at math without a calculator!

JR & Brittany enjoying the music of a party that was going on right outside our rooms. The music was entertaining at first, but around midnight, we were just ready for them to shut it down, so we could get some shut eye.

Passing the time with a 2-deck game of Spades.
The rest of our group (the ones that flew out of Little Rock) weren't due to arrive till 8pm, so we had to stay up for a team meeting. Luckily, I had brought a couple decks of cards in case we had some long layovers at the airports.

The Little Rock group finally arrived (they had a very eventful day of flying including arguing about the extra baggage that had ALL OF OUR SUPPLIES IN IT...and one of the little girls having to carry her little suitcase as a carry on.) They were tired and wore out. We had a quick meeting before bed. Day One complete.

I can't wait to share with you the rest of our week!!

{A New Year}

I have so much to blog about....and so little time to do it in....(and blogger won't upload my pictures).

I took a little bloggy break in December to get ready for the holidays and for my first ever mission trip to Nicaragua. I have so much to share & show about that trip....I wrote in my journal every day until my hand cramped and took over 800 pictures while I was gone for those 8 days. I'm hoping over the next few weeks to share with you what God is doing in Nicaragua, how He used me to be a small part of that, and how what I experienced changed my life. I don't know if I'm going to blog every day about the trip until I get the story told or maybe devote a post a week to it, but one way or another....I'm telling the story :)

Christmas came and went. It was a much different experience for me this year after just coming home from a 3rd world country and definitely deserves its own post.

In other news....we are T-5 weeks from Little Miss Olivia making her grand entrance into the world. We are all getting anxious...but none of us are as ready as Mallorye. She's had a couple of wonderful showers and has her last one this Sunday.

So....I have plenty to blog about and if blogger will cooperate, then I think I'm ready to tell some stories! Stay tuned.

{30 Days of Thanksgiving-Day 29-30}

Well...we've reached the end of November. I've loved the intentional reminder of thanksgiving and pray that this attitude remains in my heart...and not just one month out of the year....

...now...the final two...

Day 29: I am thankful for Blake and his attitude on the basketball court.

So many athletes become filled with ego or let their tempers get the better of them, but Blake has learned to keep both of these things in check (for the most part). He wants to be a team player. He wants to see his team succeed. He takes it pretty seriously and tends to get a little frustrated when people want to goof off in the locker room or not practice like its game time.

Day 30: I am thankful for Mallorye reaching her 30th week of pregnancy.

I can't believe she is getting so close to bringing Miss Olivia into the world, and for the most part, Mal has had a really good pregnancy. She's had a few bumps and bruises, mainly her thyroid levels being unstable. She had her first shower last week on Matt's side of the family and got some things she needed, a bouncy seat, a darling little white dress, and enough money to get a crib mattress! Tomorrow is her shower on our side of the family, including friends. Just 10 more weeks!!

{30 Days of Thanksgiving...Day 25-28}

Whew...almost there! What an eye opening challenge....

Day 25: I am thankful for Olive Garden; a welcome reprieve from hospital food.

After being in the hospital with Quentin's mom for several days, going to lunch with Matt & Mallorye was just what the doctor ordered up for the caretakers :) Just getting away for a few hours renewed our strength so that we could continue on...and the food was yummy!!

Day 26: I am thankful for sleep.

Ok, last night I got zero hours of sleep....ZERO! I was so tired and cranky, but Quentin let me sleep today while he got up and down with his mom. So ready for my own bed, but blessed beyond measure that I get to be here in this moment with Frances & Quentin.

Day 27: I am thankful for going home!!

After 5 days in the hospital at UAMS, Frances was released and we are headed back to Northeast Arkansas. She is doing great and I know once home, her recovery will just be that much quicker.

Day 28: I am thankful for the first snowfall.

Unusual for this area, but we got our first snowfall of the season. Typically, we don't see the white stuff until January or February, but God sent down a little delight for the senses today.

{30 Days of Thanksgiving ... Day 22-24}

Day 22: I am thankful for my ability to adapt.

Life continually throws curveballs my way, but God has blessed me with an ability to just "roll with the punches." I don't always initially respond well, but it doesn't take me long to get my bearings and figure out what I need to do and do it. I recognize that not all people adapt to challenges in that way, which is why I choose to be thankful for it.

Day 23: I am extremely thankful that my mother-in-law, Frances, made it through surgery with the best possible outcome.

Dr. Laryea did a fabulous job and although he said that he believes that we are dealing with cancer, after removing the colon mass, he was able to reattach and Frances did not have to have a colostomy...or a feeding tube. Both great outcomes! Let the healing begin :)

Day 24: I am thankful for a caring hospital staff at UAMS.

They have been wonderful to us and everyone has wished us a happy thanksgiving and are trying to make the fact that we're in the hospital over the holidays a little less gloomy.