Favorite Foto Friday

Here's one of my favorite pictures from my mission trip to Ambato, Ecuador last October. My face is all red from crying, because these little kiddos just broke my heart. On this day, we were bringing supplies to volcano victims. These poor people had lost crops and farm animals (including goats and guinea pigs) due to the volcano Tungurahua. The little boys and girls all had red cheeks from the wind that were now covered in gray soot of volcano ash. They were so poor. One little boy had on two different colored boots and he was having the time of his life kicking around an empty water bottle like it was a ball. I kept thinking of all Luke had in his closet that this little boy needed. All the toys he had at home that I would have loved to have given him. The Lord has blessed us so much and yet we continue to take it for granted.

I met so many wonderful people there. They were so friendly and interested to know more about what we had to share about Jesus. When some people found out we were from Estados Unidos, they would say, "Please take me back to your country. Take my daughter!". Incredible!

I can still remember the sky, the hills, the people's faces and the smells. I miss it!

Amy

Psalm 121:1-2 says:
I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

No Training Wheels!

Sunday afternoon, Eric and I took Luke over to the empty parking lot behind our house. After much encouragement and only a few tiny crashes, he rode all by himself! He has the personality that we always have to convince him to try new things. Once he does it, he loves it! We'll have to practice some more this weekend.

Favorite Foto Friday

We have a program on our computer that distorts your images. Luke loves this so much and every time we have people over, we have to take a mini photo shoot.

Luke actually looks cute with a giant forehead. Me? Not so cute! This is a very humbling photo to select for Favorite Foto Friday. Whenever I get to thinking I look pretty cute, all I have to do is look at this...ha!

Climbing Pinnacle Mountain

Last Saturday, we decided to do something adventurous. So the three of us jumped in the car and took off for Pinnacle Mountain (before I could change my mind). Eric had not climbed since we were dating-in the fall of '90. Needless to say, we were moving a little bit slower. I'm sure it had something to do with our older joints, lazy 6-year-old son and my outbreak of heat rash! Ha!

When we were about three quarters of the way up, Luke decided he had had enough and wanted to go back down the mountain. Other hikers (are we hikers now?!?) laughed as they heard him pleading, "Please, Mama, let's go back down. I think we are going to die!" We kept urging him on while we had to take numerous breaks so I could catch my breath.

But it was all worth it when we got to the top. It was so pretty! You know we were right up there with the clouds, weren't we Eric? :)

Reminds me of one of my favorite verses. This was my key verse while I was in Ecuador last fall.
Psalm 121:1-2 says,
I lift my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Thank you, Lord, for being my help in every situation.
I love you.

Skating Rink

Luke's school had the brilliant idea to reward good behavior to all the 4K, Kindergarten and 1st graders by taking them all to the local skating rink. About 5% of the kiddos could skate and the rest ended up on the floor or hanging on to the wall like Luke and his friends. Ha!

The most amazing thing (and the grossest) is that I think Luke was wearing the same pair of skates that I once wore-back in 1982! YIKES!

Happy 10th Birthday, Ty!

Well Ty, you finally made it to double digits! 10 years old! I'm so proud of my nephews. They are such a huge part of my life and I'm glad we are so close.

Here are my 10 favorite things about Ty:
1. His confidence
2. His gentle heart
3. His knowledge of the Bible
4. His ability to make Luke laugh
5. His special bond with his brother, Harlan
6. The way he is nice to his friends
7. The way he always wants to eavesdrop on my conversations with April (even though that is VERY annoying at times!!!). Ha!
8. His love of the outdoors
9. His hair
10. Oh yeah...don't forget this one: His coolness!

I love you, Ty!
Amy

Favorite Foto Friday

I TOTALLY stole this idea from my friend, Shannon. She's a much better blogger than I am and adds so much to her blog. Anyway, hope you don't mind, girl!

This picture was taken of Luke in June 2004. He was almost 3 years old. In the background you can see our little cat, Donnie. We still miss him so bad! I miss this age a lot.

Happy Birthday, Pop!

Happy Birthday, Pop! September 30th is Eric's dad's birthday. We went down the day before to help him and his wife, Scarlet, celebrate. She made yummy lasagna and strawberry cake. Luke always has the best time. He started asking us 5 days before, "Is it almost time to go to Pop's house?" He loves fishing in the pond, playing with their dogs Zoey and Newt, riding in the golf cart and hanging out in the wildlife room. Notice how Luke is soaking in all of Pop's words-they had a little bonding time hanging out on the back deck. Happy Birthday, Pop!

Riding Bikes at the Park

Ty and Harlan have their own bikes at our house. One day after school, we rode (actually they rode and I drove along beside them-I'm such a freak I won't let them go by themselves...maybe when they are teenagers). Anyway-I took a book to read, but ended up reading the same paragraph maybe thirteen times before abandoning it to push them in the swings and tried my best to keep them out of the ditch. Kinda hard when they kept finding frogs to chase. I know these are the kind of days I will miss when they are too cool for Aunt Amy.

Luke tried his best to keep up with the big boys. Not the easiest to do with the dadgum training wheels. We have GOT to teach him to ride without those. Now that it's only 80 degrees instead of 115 I guess we can. We all had fun anyway.

Luke's First Limo Ride!

Due to all my hard work selling items for Luke's fundraiser, he won a limo ride to Cici's Pizza. When I excitedly told him, "Luke, you get to ride in a limo!" he said, "Cool! Uh...Mom, what's a limo?"

While we were there Luke had 4 pieces of pizza, 3 slices of cinnamon dessert pizza and 2 cokes! He's never eaten so much in his entire life. He's a growing boy!

3rd Annual Girls' Getaway with LaDonna

LaDonna and I took our third weekend trip September 6-8. We went to downtown Hot Springs, did some shopping and ate lunch at an Italian place. We stayed at a really cool Bed & Breakfast on Lake Hamilton called Lookout Point Inn. They had hammocks right on the water, a labyrinth and yummy food. Before we left Hot Springs we visited one of the 2007 Southern Living Idea Homes. It was very fancy and neat to look at. We also took in a part of Garvin Woodland Gardens. It's a botanical garden that would be very fun to visit when it's not 100 degrees outside. Overall, we had a great time of relaxation, laughter, fun and a retreat for the soul. I'm very blessed to have such a friend as LaDonna.

Hedge of Protection

On Wednesday, September 5th, Luke and I were involved in a car wreck. We got hit from behind on a rainy morning by a girl with no car insurance. Later, Luke was telling someone about the wreck and he said,
"Mama and I were on our way to school. Mama had just prayed for our day and that I would be safe at school. She prayed for a hedge of protection to be put around me. Right after that, that lady's car hit our car and pushed us all the way into the other lane. Her car was destroyed and our car only had a few little scratches. Now THAT's what I call a hedge of protection!"

Out of the mouths of babes. We give all the honor and glory to the Lord for keeping us safe in what could have been a terrible accident.

Labor Day

For Labor Day this year we went to my Uncle Roger and Aunt Robin's house. We ate lunch and the kids always love swimming at Uncle Roger's! This was our last swim of the year. Only 9 more months and Wild River Country will open...

Meet Tulip!

Meet our replacement guinea pig-Tulip! She is so tiny. Luke has nicknamed her "Tu-Tu". She looks like a hampster and her hair feels like a little bunny. We are really enjoying them a lot (except for Eric-ha!). All except cleaning the cage...