The Start

My mind wanted to start blogging our trip as soon as we got back but my schedule and my body just wouldn't allow me! If I sat down, I fell asleep and we have had a lot going on this week but I think we are getting a little more back to "normal". I have so much to share and of course lots of pics so I am going to break this up into sections of time. So, this post will cover the first few days of our trip. I journaled every day so I want to document (at least most of that) here.

Monday, July 26th: Leaving the girls was MUCH harder than I had anticipated. I had dreaded it but I did not know I would feel quite like I was feeling. I felt like I had made the wrong decision to go. I felt like a terrible mother. A and I always enjoy our time alone but even that was really strange. I wouldn't talk. It was just strange! I had prayed and had asked for prayers that I would not allow missing the girls to consume me but it was consuming me at this point. We flew from Birmingham to Atlanta. We were to meet the rest of our team in Atlanta. As soon as we landed in Atlanta we received a call that our team was unable to leave Dallas due to weather and would not be there. 1st realization of the trip that we are not in control! A and I had to catch our flight so we head to Joburg. The flight was around 17 hours and we moved forward 7 hours. Of course we had no idea when the others would join us and we were prepared to start changing their travel arrangements as soon as we arrived in Joburg.

Tuesday, July 27th: LONG FLIGHT!!! I have to admit this was the most challenging part. I was still down over leaving the girls and that is a long time to fly. We arrived on Tues nt and discovered that our team could not fly out until that night so they should join on Thurs nt. There was a lot of confusion in changing all their arrangements but we had LOTS of people praying for us and it all worked out (eventually!) We spent the night in a hotel in Joburg. There is just something about first being in another country that makes you uneasy (well me at least!) The driver called someone on the way to the hotel and said "we will be there in about 10 min" as he heads into what appears to be a residential area. I thought, great, where is he taking us? What are "they" going to do to us!? I was tired and apparently losing it!!! We make it to our hotel safely and crash (for a little while).

Wed, July 28th: Wake up at 1 AM (their time) and there is no going back to sleep. By 4 AM A and I were sitting in bed dipping Milanos in coffee. That was a first for us! It was also our first bonding time on this trip because I had been so out of it from missing the girls. We head to the airport shortly. I was still down and missing the girls like crazy and extremely tired.

A in the airport in Joburg with 2 phones in his hands! Bless him he was still trying to take care of revising travel arrangements.

We arrive in Windhoek and have no driver. I just sit down and think we are never all going to make it there (ye of little faith!) We tried all the #s we had and could not get in touch with anyone. Thankfully we had a phone # for a missionary couple who lives in Windhoek and we got in touch with them. They sent someone to get us and bring us to their home. We had a good visit with them and she prepared a quick lunch for us before they took us to another airport. Being in their home was the turn of our trip for me. We were able to spend some time talking with the wife about what God is doing in their area and it was very encouraging. We were now off to our next destination by plane.

This is the plane we took! 16 seater and I did not like it but I slept and that made it easier!

We arrived in Odangwu and this is the airport there! Our guides Richard and Skip were there to pick us up for our drive to Outapi.

As we made the 1.5 hour drive and I saw the many donkeys and cows and everything else roaming everywhere and the children roaming everywhere it was a very surreal time for me and reality really set in. Once again, I began to think I can not do this! There is no way I can minister here. There are no missionaries in the area of Outapi but there is a missionary couple who is responsible for that area so they came to spend a few days with us to see what was going on with our ministry there. They were at the hotel when we arrived. We had dinner with them and we discussed our goals for the trip, etc. We had a great nights sleep (despite the mosquito nets!)

Thursday, July 29th: After breakfast we were able to talk some with the some of the ladies who work at the hotel. Our teams have been staying here for over a year now and have developed a relationship with some of the staff and have led some of them to Christ. You quickly learn that some want to know more about what you are about and some just want what we have (even if it is a Bible). We met with Erastus who is a Christian man who lives in Outapi and has really taken a lead with the Bible Study that they are currently having in the city. We had a wonderful meeting and were very encouraged by him and all that the group there is doing. Our goal is to have a church there who can be there every day to reach their people and what they have is a great start. After our meeting Erastus took us to the site where the group has been meeting.

This is the location... A is meeting David for the first time who owns the building.

The left end WAS a disco but they disco was closed and they use that space to meet. The right end is a bar. I can not begin to tell you how many bars there are in this city. I have NEVER seen anything like it. They are everywhere. Obviousely for us, a bible study in a building with a bar is not ideal but we knew they were meeting where they could.

I took this picture while we were standing outside of the meeting area/former disco/bar. This is seen everywhere. The women carry A LOT on their heads.

This is inside the meeting area/former disco. David is talking to A and The Lynch's (missionary couple) about his decision to use this area as a meeting place for their group and the changes in his life. This was very touching. Standing in this former disco seeing this city change, even if in a small way it is all a step in the right direction. David and Erastus

This was taken at the Bao bab tree. It is massive!
We spent the afternoon doing some surveying of the city. There has been a lot of growth there. This is a typical housing area. Can you imagine how hot these houses become in the summer?
and again... As I watched my husband observe everything and come up with what he thought was the best plan for doing evangelism in the city, I have never loved him more.

While we were driving around we discovered these tents just outside the hospital. These are pregnant ladies from the bush who have come into the city to stay until they deliver. We went up to them and tried to talk to them but we could not find anyone in the group who spoke English. There were also what appeared to be some sick children there. Not sure if they were there for treatment or if they just happened to be there with their mothers. I think this might have been the most humbling experience of my life up to this point. I am very thankful of all we have as Americans BUT we have way too much. That night we met with the Bible Study group (which was smaller than normal this night). As we talked with them before we began, David said, "Like you have come to us, we must go to tell others" YES! That's it! We all must go to tell others! Whether that means next door or on another continent! Also, we learned that they think all Americans are rich and live like what they see on TV. We assured them we were not rich and that we did not live like people in Hollywood. This was sad to me. It breaks my heart that as Christians we do not have more of an impact on the way we are viewed as Americans. What can we do to portray a different side of America? I want others to see Jesus NOT worldly celebrities. However, we often strive to be like celebrities instead of Jesus... As Christians, we need to look different! A taught from Phil. 3 "Rejoice in the Lord". I immediately thought of the women in the tents. They seemed content and most of them probably did not know our Lord in a personal way. I am HIS yet am I content? Do I rejoice in the Lord? I should be completely content in the fact that I belong to Him yet I always seem to find something to complain about. Very convicting! We spent some time talking with them about being careful to not be swayed by others with beliefs that were not Biblical and to study God's word to ensure they could stand firm. What about us? Do we study God's word adequately in order to stand firm? Erastus gave the example of a baby first having to start out on baby milk and then progressing toward solids. As baby Christians we have to start with the basics and then progress as we can absorb it. However, we always need to be nourished! ALWAYS! There is always more for us to learn...

This picture of Christian brothers and sisters from different parts of the world with very different lives gathering together in the name of the ONE who died for us ALL makes me very happy!!!

After getting back to the hotel the rest of our team joined us! Praise the Lord that all the travel confusion was over and we were all together and ready to work! I was psyched! The prayers for me to not be consumed with missing the girls were working! I missed them but I was not consumed and I knew I would return as a different person (including a different mother)!!!

MUCH MORE TO COME!!!

REMEMBER

I have tons to do over the next 2 days to get us ready to go so I wanted to take a minute tonight to do a quick post before we leave.

I admit the closer this gets the more nervous I get! I am really having to fight Satan right now!

As I have said before, I know God has told me to go on this trip but that doesn't make it easy. I have to be honest and say this is way out of my comfort zone but I know HE wants us to be uncomfortable. I know that I have to do what He tells me to do, no matter what! SO, I go and I fight all that Satan throws at me!

I took this picture of the girls for several reasons. The dolls are the dolls that the ladies in our church make and we take to the kids in Africa. We have these 2 at our house to pray for the children who will receive them. So, I wanted a picture of these dolls with our girls for memory purposes but I also wanted to put it on here so that while we are gone you can look at the blog and REMEMBER to pray. REMEMBER to pray for our sweet girls. Pray specifically that the days will pass quickly for them and that they will be at peace that we will be home soon.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we prepare to leave them. Pray that we will say all that we need to say to them and they will be well prepared for us to leave them.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we are away from them. I have never been a way from Lizzie and Millie longer than 1 night so I know it is not going to be easy. After I knew that I was supposed to go to Africa I did a lot of wrestling with God about how I just "could not" leave the girls for that long but as I said before I finally knew I just had to do what He told me to do and He would take care of the rest. So, I ask that you pray that I continue to remember that while I am away. I know we will miss them but I do not want that to consume us and get in the way of doing what we are supposed to do. Pray that we are able to get good internet connections so that we can talk to them at least a few times.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we travel. Pray that we have smooth travels and that despite the long hours of being on a plane we are ready to work when we get there.

REMEMBER to pray for us as we minister to the people of Namibia. We will be doing some street evangelism, we will be doing Bible studies each night (pray for me as I lead 2 of those and that makes me really nervous-have no idea why but it does not make me that way here but the thought of doing that there once again is out of my comfort zone), we hope to go into the schools, working with a couple of natives there who have shown potential as leaders for a congregation there and training them for future leadership, and possibly working on negotiations to purchase land there for a future church.

REMEMBER to pray that we are sensitive to His spirit while we are there and that we do what He has us to do even if it is not what we have planned.

REMEMBER to pray that our hearts are broken for these people and that we want them to know Jesus so badly that we allow Him to work through us and accomplish things we could never accomplish on our own.

REMEMBER to pray that the people we share our Saviour with are never the same because of HIM!

REMEMBER to pray that we are never the same...

Never Underestimate

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

Sallie Hall!

This is a short video of a few of the things Sallie has learned. We are currently doing a mixture of signs along with encouraging her to be vocal along with the signs. The main goal is not only to get her to do the signs but to understand the meaning of them and to use them at the appropriate times. This takes a lot of work and concentration on our part. It is easy for us to get busy and not take the time to incorporate these signs along with words. It is true as we have always thought that she would rely on signs once she was introduced to them. So we have to be adimant that she use "words" along with the signs. The words may not pronounced correctly (because she does not hear all of the sounds) and/or have the ability to pronounce them we would but one huge step is that she is able to hear the number of sounds and repeat. You will notice in the video when we say thank you she repeats 2 "words" over and over. The you does sound similar to you but just the fact that she is hearing what we want her to say/sign and is attempting to say 2 words is big for us! Because listening does not come natural to her we have to constantly prompt her to listen. You will notice in the video when I change to more it takes a minute for her to process that I have changed words and then she changes signs and you will hear her say more which she says pretty well. Last week she took Elleigh some clothes to her and she looked at Elleigh and told her (signed) you tell me thank you! That was great! Making that connection is just what we are wanting! She LOVES her therapist and LOVES to go. The BAHA has been the best thing we have had so far so we are anxious to see where we go with it.

On Thursday she will have and ultrasound and VCUG of her kidney and urinary tract. The test is not a big deal but it is for her. They do a cathetar and then fill the bladder which they say is a little uncomfortable but the big thing with her is she is just so scared of what they are going to do to her. I would rather taking a beating than have to put her through it. The sensitive side of this mama just wants to say no, we aren't going to do it but the take care of business side of this mama knows that this is just part of maintanence with her and that we do have to keep a check on things. So, please pray for her comfort and peace on Thursday morning. I pray for a peace that can only come from God.

(please overlook her not having pants on-I thought you couldn't see!)

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

Gravel on the face:

Poor Millie took a spill face first into gravel and then slid. It busted her lip and then you can see her nose. It got her on her forehead at her hair line as well but you can't see that too well in this pic. We were at a couple's in the church and Millie is so shy and she had just opened up and was playing with the kids and she had her little accident. Before this, Sallie touched a glass door that had been cracked by a rock (we did not do that!) and it shaddered when she touched it. Thankfully, it did not cut her. It could have been bad! Always something when we are around!!!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

How quickly children grow up!

Elleigh is in OK this week on a mission trip with our old church. She went a day early to spend the night with a friend. Her friend took these great pics of her! I love them! However, I find myself just looking at them and wondering WHERE DID MY LITTLE GIRL GO??? I just can't explain it. I mean I have always thought they grew up too fast but there is just something about your little girl suddenly becoming a woman that is humbling...

One thing hasn't changed-when she was a little girl I would look at her and think she is precious and now I still look at her and think wow, what a beautiful young woman!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE...

The power of prayer!

Many of you have prayed for our friends the Thomas'. This is a link to a feature on Jeramy:

http://www.rmhdallas.org/our-families/a-long-journey-of-hope/

4th Full of Food, Fellowship, and Fireworks

It was a rainy 4th here. We had a celebration that night at church. A grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and we had hoped to eat outside but because of the rain we ate inside and it rained while we were inside and then it stopped and we were able to do our fireworks (without worrying about catching the grass on fire!). It gets dark so late here so we had to wait a while for it to get dark enough to do the fireworks which made for a late night but we had a lot of fun!

I decorated a little in our fellowship hall to make it feel more festive!
The girls outside with A cooking

My grillin' man (with one of my good dish towels on his waist)!Everybody loves sparklers. They make me nervous when all the kids are slinging them around! Lizzie's arm got burned (but not bad at all)"Brother Aaron" assisting with the sparklersToo many little hands wanting sparklers!Sweet!Sall looks like it has been a long day (and it had!)The PRISS! Can you tell by her hair how humid it was?

Despite a few setbacks it was overall a great 4th! Hard to believe we are already into July!

In the Meantime...

I have some cute pics to share and I know that is what many of you want but you will have to wait! The memory card with said cute pics is missing. I just saw it this afternoon and now it is nowhere to be found. It has to be in this house! That is my most famous saying when searching for something!!! So, in the meantime no pics, just my rambling!

We have been back in "sick mode" (as I not so affectionately call it). Maybe there is something about moving. When we moved to FW we were the sickest we have ever been for months and now we are on child #3 being sick since we moved here. Elleigh has been congested now for several weeks and this past weekend it got worse. By Sat she was really tired and just generally not feeling well. She woke up Sun morning with a high fever, backache, really bad sore throat, muscle aches, and neck pain. The neck pain really concerned me. Ell hates going to the Dr so when she begged me to take her, I knew she was sick! I knew where the Urgent Care was in the nearest city of size (1 hr away) so I got everyone else off to church and we headed to Urgent Care. Upon arrival, we discover it is closed! Yes, URGENT Care is apparently NOT SO URGENT (I DO hope all the staff was in church)! So, we turn around and come back home. She continued to get worse and worse and woke up during the night with ear pain so we took her first thing Monday morning to our new pediatrician (who we really like so far). Turns out she has a kidney infection (had no idea because she did not have some of the common symptoms) and an ear infection. I have never seen her this sick with the exception of the her having the flu several years ago. She seems maybe a little better tonight after 2 doses of meds. We are to go back for a kidney ultrasound toward the end of the week if she is not much better by then. Please pray she will be better. One of these alone is not good but the combination is really not good. Plus, her cold and congestion is really bad so that alone is dragging her down. I am thinking we may have to see an allergist for her soon. Well actually if things don't change they may all have to take some type of maintanence drug. Maybe soon they will adjust to everything here but it has been rough.

Millie was sitting in my lap tonight and I said, "Mill will you stay little?" She said (with much vigor!), "NO, I will be 3 on my next birthday and I will be BIG!!!" Not sure she will be BIG by then but I am afraid she will not stay LITTLE!

Speaking of b-days, Lizzie and Millie talk every day about their birthdays! These girls LOVE a birthday party!!!

A married another couple this past weekend. This was his 4th wedding. Wonderful story-he discovered in pre-marital counseling with this couple that the groom was not a Christian and during their session he accepted Christ!!! Praise the Lord!

Speaking of the Lord, A has been doing a series on Wed nts on worship and it really has been thought prevoking (for me at least). It has made me think a lot about how we worship and how we do not worship. Sometimes we get so caught up in what worship should look like that we forget what we are really doing. Do I really worship? Do I prepare myself for worship? I am there but is my mind focused on worship? Isn't HE worthy of all of this? We talked about corporate worship and the importance of corporate worship. Why do so many people claim to be Christians and never come to church or only come on special occasions? No, coming to church DOES NOT make anyone a Christian nor does not coming to church make anyone not a Christian if they are truly saved. But, in thinking about worship, I got to thinking about how difficult it is for me to understand how someone can call themselves a Christian yet not desire to worship. If we are truly walking with Him, we can't help but desire worship of Him. I feel that if a person calls themself a Christian yet has no desire for corporate worship then there has to be something wrong in their relationship with the Lord. A does visitation each Tues nt and boy does he come home with some stories! People really have some crazy excuses for not coming to church! What about parents who call themselves Christians yet do not take their kids to church? It would be one thing if I felt like they were sharing Christ with them at home, but I doubt it. How can we belong to Him, yet not do everything we can to ensure our children know Him? How can we not be concerned about the way in which our children will deal with life as adults? Let me say here that I do know that coming to church nor being a Christian means we make all the right decisions BUT I want to be able to say I have done everything I could. I surely don't want to be in a position of wishing I had taught my kids everything I could about Him. I am also not saying we are terrible people if we miss church occasionally but what is our priority? Are we teaching our kids about Christ at home or are we too busy with activities (nothing wrong with activities but once again, what is our priority)? Do we miss church more than we go? Do we go 1/2 the time? Do we go when we have nothing more fun to do? I facebook and I have noticed lately the majority of the statuses are something to do with baseball or softball, vacations, or Eclipse. There is nothing wrong with any of these things (in moderation) but how often do you see status (me included) that read, "on the way to worship God who saved me from burning in Hell!" or "on the way to church where my kids will learn the most important truths ever." (There are some uplifting status updates) What if we as Christians got excited about God? What is we put the time, energy, and money doing the things He has called us to do? We might make a difference in this world! We expect our kids to be bold on the ball field, to dance to their highest potential, or whatever but when it comes to spiritual matters we tend to think those things are too deep for them. Do we teach them to be bold for Him? Do we teach them that they can do anything they put their minds to and work hard enough for when it comes to their spiritual growth. Do we encourage them to take part in church activities (not just the "fun" ones) as much as we do other activities? I guess the bottom line is, if we believe that Jesus died for us so that we can live eternally (which will not compare to this life) then why does He not seem worthy of our time? If we believe this, then do we not see HE has given us the greatest gift we could ever receive? Why do we not show our kids He is far more worthy of our time than ANYTHING else? Why does it not appear HE is important to us? Do we just think well we are saved and that is all that matters? Yes, that is top priority BUT I still have to think if we are truly living for Him, others will know. After all, we are called to be His witnesses! Note: I am in no way saying those of us who go to church have it all together. This whole thought on worship has been very convicting for me. Sure, I am at church! I mean, I am the preacher's wife BUT do I truly worship? I am most often completely aggitated with the girls I am trying to teach to sit in church. Is it more important that they do everything just like I want them to or that they see their mother worship our Lord and Saviour? Very convicting! Do I sing the songs and truly think about the meaning of the words I am singing? Do I ask Him to speak to me? Am I sensitive to His spirit? Do I take the words I hear and apply them to my life for His glory? Do I truly worship HIM???

Our church has voted to begin AWANA on Wed nts. So, we are busy preparing for that as we will begin at the beginning of the school year. It is a lot of work and takes a lot of workers but we know this is what God wants us to do right now and we are very excited to see what HE does with this! We appreciate your prayers for our church as we step out on faith to take this on. I am currently praying about my role in the program but not completely sure where He wants me.

We are having a 4th of July celebration Sun nt after church. We will grill and have homeade ice cream and fireworks. The forecast says 70% chance of rain... Around here "rain is a good thing!" but I really hope it holds off until after our fellowship or a nice rain before to cool things off would be great! I am planning on doing some decorating and it will not be cute wet!

Ell leaves next Fri for a mission trip to OK with our old church in FW. She will be gone until the next Saturday, come home for a few days, then we leave for AL for a few days before A and I leave for Africa! After we return we will only have a short time before school begins! Where did June go???

So, until I find my memory card or take more pics on another memory card, I leave you with the latest happenings in the life of the Hall's and the latest deep thoughts from Cam!

Taking a little stroll

Down memory lane...

How did this little girl who was headed to GA camp just 3 yrs ago
become this young woman so quickly (with a staff lanyard on and little girls looking up to her like she was wonderful!)She had a great week but I will allow her to give you the details on that on her blog post: http://hisgirlfirst.blogspot.com/2010/06/acteen.html

Before I dropped her off for camp, she had to take a little stroll down memory lane and get her some Starbuck's! Don't have a picture but she also had to have Chick-fil-A. We are 2.5 hours away from the nearest CFA! That is really insane! I can't believe we forgot to ask about the proximity of Chick-Fil-A when we were interviewing!!!

I always attempt to get a picture of the girls with A on Father's Day and me on Mother's Day. Looking at this year's really takes me down memory lane. Never thought this pic would have 4 girls in it (SO glad it does!) and all the girls have changed so much this year. Sallie has hit her biggest growth spurt ever, Elleigh is a woman, Lizzie is quickly leaving the toddler stage, and Millie is not a baby anymore (well she will always be the baby but she is not a baby!) Notice the dresses Lizzie and Millie are wearing-all 4 girls have now worn those dresses. Smocked dresses are never out of style and I love them and each time they are worn I take a stroll down memory lane by remembering the times when their older sisters wore them. I give away most of the girl's clothes once they have worn them but I keep most of these in hopes that one day my granddaughters can wear them and I will take a stroll down memory lane and remember their mother's wearing them (if I can remember by then!)

Pics from a few weeks ago of Lizzie and Millie wearing more hand me downs from their sisters. No idea why Millie squints like this! Great pic of Lizzie. Seriously though, she is maturing so much. Makes me sad!

They love each other so much! They fight but it is all in love!!! Speaking of memory lane, these are my favorite bows with the vintage brooch centers. My little Mill is so full of life! I tell her all the time that "I could eat her with a spoon" and she says, "NO, NO, don't eat me!" As usual God knew what he was doing when he sent us Mill Mill! If we had all the control (thankfully we do not!), we probably would not have had our little Millie but He knew we needed a daily dose of Mill Mill and THANK YOU LORD!!! HE also knew this precious girl needed to feel in control and so HE gave her a little sister to boss! Of course she attempts to boss us all but it satisfies her to boss Millie! It just would not have been right for her to be the baby!!!

Nothing is wrong!

Just when I thought I was on a blogging roll, I get behind again! A friend emailed today and the subject was what's wrong! I assured her blogging was on my agenda and nothing is wrong!

A few highlights since I last blogged:

VBS registration in 2 different locations on the Sat before VBS

A spent part of a day and night experiencing wheat harvest which is a huge part of the lives of the people in this area (more detailed post on that later)

Many hours spent decorating for VBS

Getting ready each day for VBS each night. We had a great VBS. I taught 4th-6th grades, A did the preacher thing, and Ell helped teach 1st-3rd. VBS is SO much work but beyond rewarding! Post soon with pics. I was too busy to take pics during the week and Sallie started throwing up as we were getting dressed for family night so she and I had to stay home. Ell took as many as she could while trying to help A with the girls. I will get a copy of the pics the director has and post some of them.

A and a couple of guys from church hauled hay while Ell drove the truck for them. Brave man to allow her to drive his truck! They said she was driving a little fast so she kept them hopping! HA! She has been practicing more since we moved here and she is driving much better. The first time we let her drive she scared us really bad and Lizzie still will not ride with her. We will let her drive a lot to and from the church and someone has to walk with Lizzie because she screams about riding with Ell! Makes Ell mad!!!

A killed a snake in the carport! Knew it was bound to happen... It was a bull snake so non-poisonous but I don't like any snake! About 4 feet long! SO glad he was here and saw it!

Ell picked me a good bit of peaches the day she was the hay hauling driver so that gave me a job but I sure will enjoy having those peaches to use later!

Made blackberry jelly

The wheat harvest has really gotten to us. Elleigh and Sallie have been really sick.

Discovered true country livin' is hard work! Yes, I grew up in the country but I think I forgot and I was not an adult with a husband and 4 kids!

Got Ell all ready and took her to camp yesterday. This is the week she serves as Acteen Staffer at GA camp. We miss her and can't wait to hear about her week when she gets home Friday night!

Still working on house stuff in the midst of everything else. I knew it would be much harder to accomplish tasks around here once we moved in and I was right! Really hard to do house projects while living in it.

Tickets for our Africa trip were purchased. There will be 6 of us going. I am excited but I admit nervous and extremely anxious about being away from the girls for that long. I am also very clostrophobic (sp?) so the thought of being in a plane that long makes me cringe BUT I know God will take care of all my fears. Prayers please!

I am sure there are some things I am missing but that is all I can remember!

Because I am feeling a little random!

I feel the urge for a random post of this and that and I have shopped all day with all the girls and they sucked the creativity right out of me!

Ell is really settling into her new life. She has been going to the ball field some (you know that is your entertainment in small towns!). It has been great for her to get to know some people. We hear she is the "talk of the town"! Of course, some of that "talk" is from the opposite sex and well Daddy does not like that!!! We met this week with the principal at the Junior High School and she goes 2 days next week for some testing. Please pray for her. She is anxious about the testing. If you live in TX you know the importance and emphasis placed on TAKS testing and so she is rightly nervous about the content being TAKS centered which we have not focused on at all. The small school atmosphere really felt like the school I grew up in. As with most small schools, athletics are important and everyone looks at Elleigh's height and immediately begins asking about her playing basketball. She does plan to play but is a little nervous about that as well because they are so serious! We are really proud of her for being outgoing and putting herself out there to meet new people. She really is more reserved but she has really come out of her comfort zone to get to know people. Sneak peak of she and Sallie's room and an adorable pic!

Sometimes on Sat mornings A and the little girls will cook breakfast while I am in bed. I am not sleeping because well when they are up, no one is sleeping (except Elleigh who can sleep through anything!) but it is a nice time for me to relax. Last Saturday they cooked pancakes and sausage and this was what I saw when I came into the kitchen. PRECIOUS!!! They love their aprons! Speaking of cooking, I have had to find some new recipes lately. I am loving cooking in my new kitchen! This week we tried this recipe for Sauteed Fresh Corn: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/sauteed-fresh-corn-recipe/index.html It is super easy and so good we are cooking it again tomorrow night for guests we are having over. We also made these potatoes: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/perfect-potatoes-au-gratin/ They were really good as well. Make sure your potatoes are the tenderness you like them before adding the cheese. I was timing them and did not check the tenderness and the potatoes were a little firm. You know some potatoes just take longer to cook than others. They are garlicy but we love garlic so we really liked them.

The house is still coming along. With A's finger and this being a crazy busy week we have not gotten much done this week around here and we have busy weeks ahead BUT it will all be done one day! That's what I keep telling myself anyway!

The TX heat is in full force so to be outside you quickly have to be in water to be able to stand it so the girls are enjoying their pool. When they went to bed tonight they said they wanted to play in their pool all day tomorrow so I anticipate being woken up by little girls in swimsuits demanding I get them some breakfast so they can head out!

SILLY!

Look at Sall with some meat on her bones!!! She has gone through the biggest growth spurt for her ever! We began therapy this week and we are very excited! The therapist seems really good with Sallie and Sallie seems comfortable and had a good time. Mrs. Trish (therapist) seems like she really sees this as a challenge and is ready for it! PRAY, PRAY, and PRAY some more, PLEASE! I think one major advantage here will be that this is a private practice and there is more flexibility to change things up to meet Sallie's needs. Trish said today that she had never had anyone in the exact situation as Sallie before. You know we never fit the mold but THAT IS OK!!! I really have a great feeling about this and I pray that I am having that feeling because I am supposed to have that feeling. I am a little tired of riding that emotional rollercoaster. Just thought about that I have not said anymore about the BAHA. She is wearing a trial BAHA and if in fact she does get significantly more benefit from it vs. aids then we will move forward with a permanent BAHA. Of course, we would have the insurance battle, etc but we will fight that battle when we get there and I really think we are going to get there. She is doing really well with it and we can tell a difference in her responses. It doesn't seem to bother her either like they had thought it might (in the sense that it has to be turned up so high to vibrate at the level she needs it). She does not seem to mind it! PRAISE YOU LORD! PRISSY!

A few recent Hall girl convos:

Forgot to add on last post about A's finger that Mill told at church that her daddy cut his finger on a "butta (aka butter) knife"! That must have been one mean butta knife! She and Lizzie say that butta knives will kill you! I have no idea!

Last night Lizzie heard me say something about therapy and she said, "Tell me Sallie does not have therapy again tomorrow!" I said, "yes she does and you are going" Her response, "I do not want to do all that mess!" So sorry to inconvenience YOU Queen Lizzie!

Last night at prayer meeting Millie was sitting in my lap and we were praying and I opened my eyes to check on them and her eyes were wide open right in my face and she said "close you eyes!" We all got tickled!

Today we had some shopping to do after Sallie's therapy. I had bought the girls a pack of Silly Bands. Lizzie said, "Why did you only buy us one pack?" I said, "Lizzie, you need to be thankful and say, mama thank you for buying me silly bands" She says, "Thank you mama for buying me silly bands. Why did you only buy one pack?" That girl!!!

We are busy getting prepared for VBS next week. We are doing it a little early to try and beat the TX heat but I think it has already beat us! Elleigh will be gone the next week to camp to be an Acteen staffer so busier weeks ahead but we are looking forward to what God is going to do in both of these.

Have a great weekend!