I'm Soooooooo Sorry!!!

I have intended--I mean REALLY INTENDED--to blog for days and days and days and days. I just can't seem to pull it off! Things are bonkers busy right now and I just can't seem to get caught up. And I have NO business being on the computer right now. We've got staff meeting in about two hours, then it's off to Family Camp--for which I am still not packed, not to mention the condition of my house. And with all of the crazy businesses we've been working through, I have spent exactly ONE DAY upstairs working on the house. :-/ That is not according to schedule! There is sooooo much to do and we're sooooo running out of time! Right now we're just trying to keep our heads above water. I'm really, really trying to keep priorities straight (God first, then family--though I must admit they get neglected on occasion!--then all of the other things, things, things), trusting... no, KNOWING that God will help everything to fall into place at the right time. Still, I can't help but feel the rush of adrenaline most days when I look at the to-do list!

Anyway, I'm really just here to apologize for not being here the past three weeks and to apologize in advance for not being here for the rest of this week--at least. Maybe beyond. We get back from Camp Sunday, I've got VLB service on Tuesday, then we've got two and a half weeks until State Convention. James will need help with a few things for that, but the BIGGEST thing (as far as my responsibility) is our hope of having the upstairs finished (enough), carpet laid, and beds and dressers moved in (at least) so we can provide housing for some church folks over the weekend. There are also some computerish-type responsibilities that HAVE to be completed before Convention. (Don't worry, Mr. BLT -- I haven't forgotten! I plan to be a remodeler by day and a graphic designer by night. We'll see how that goes.) Life is super crazy right now, but it's a good crazy. And I know we're not the only ones in the world who are drowning in responsibilities. It's that time of the year and there are a whole lot of people feeling the Camp-Convention-Assembly+other things in life crunch. God will help us all! And in the midst of it, we're looking forward to and expecting a FANTASTIC Camp this week (as of last night I'm officially EXCITED!), followed by a glorious Convention, IYC, and General Assembly. Busy or not, I love this time of the year!!! Except the weather. I could really do without the weather right now. I'm going to go spend a week out IN it, then retreat to my house and try real hard not to leave air conditioning at all for at least three weeks. :-)

Please pray for God to bless our Camp, our directors, deans and other staff--and especially our evangelist, Amy Anders--as well as all of the campers. We plan on having a fabulous time and we are expecting great things from God there!

I'll be back.

Someday...

BTI Babysitting, Day Ten: Wednesday

On Wednesday morning all of the parents were good enough to get up early and get their kids ready so that we could all (for my sake) go in for morning devotions. The theme for the day was divine healing and I was so blessed by what Brother Dustin shared, though he had to skip most of what he had prepared due to the time. We often declare that divine revelation can come from God alone and would scoff at the idea that any man could help impart it to us. We should have the same confidence in declaring that divine healing can come from God alone, rather than Him having to “use doctors” to heal people, thus the term “divine.” And we often forget that when Jesus established the Church they were told three things and given the power to do them: preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out devils. We unashamedly preach the gospel, but sometimes we back off a little bit when addressing the others. We sometimes weakly preach and practice divine healing, failing to hold firmly to the truth that the very same blood that saved our souls from sin can and will heal our bodies from all sickness and disease. What a glorious truth it is! Brother Dustin also mentioned how that Peter is often criticized for his weakness when he was walking on water and became fearful, but what about his strength? Aside from Jesus he is the only one who ever walked on water! If we desire to see and experience divine healing in our lives, we’re going to have to get out of the boat.

NOTE: All of the above thoughts are what I came away from the devotion with and not necessarily what or how Brother Dustin presented it. I would hate to misquote something and have somebody hold it against him—he can get into enough trouble on his own, without my assistance. ;-)

After devotions I loaded up the magnificent seven, came home, loaded up five giant bags of trash, and took them to the dump. There have been 17 people living in this house these past 12 days (plus Mom & Dad out in the trailer) and it’s AMAZING how much trash accumulates, even when most folks are gone all day. And I can only imagine the water bill, especially with (get this) those crazy teenage boys who take FOREVER in the shower!!! Ha! (Isn’t it supposed to be girls who spend too long in the bathroom?! Nuh-uh!) It’s been quite humorous to watch 6 guys (four single, two married) share one bathroom. Brother Clarkson often sits around with a pile of clothes and soap and toothbrush in his lap for the longest time, waiting for his turn. It seems like it’s an hour or more sometimes before the door finally opens—usually after he’s gone and pounded on the door multiple times. “Are you awake in there???” Ha!

It was a beautiful day on Wednesday. The kids spent most of the day riding scooters and running hither and yon outside. The boys were all excited (upset, not happy) to see a big blue heron. My Dad had told them that it’s illegal to kill them, but if they ever saw one to throw rocks at it and scare it off before it eats all of the big fish from his pond. The boys enjoyed that mission.

We had used up the bottle of tester strips for the hot tub, so I couldn’t check the PH and Chlorine levels, but I went ahead and let the kids get in. It had been okay the day before, right? Mom came home a little while later and found a new bottle of tester strips. The strip registered NO Chlorine. It takes 8 to 24 hours for hot tub rash to appear so we don’t know affirmatively, but I’m assuming this means I have effectively re-speckled the children. I am so cool.

I emptied out the refrigerator and made all of the kids eat left-overs for lunch. We emptied several things and I threw away several others. We spent some time cleaning the house up, then I let the kids watch Facing the Giants for quiet time. We only had one or two sleepers today. Most of them stayed awake for the movie.

Then it was time to start showering children. They stink, of course, especially the boys. Ah, yes—BOYS STINK. Not just mine—all of them, even the big boys. The two Baldwin boys, Aaron, and Kody are all staying up in Mom’s office. The other day I had to go up there for something while they were gone. I only made it about half way up the stairs before I could SMELL “boys,” strongly! It’s amazing. None of those guys are gross or dirty, but somehow boys’ rooms always just reek of “BOYS.” The Brothers Baldwin (!) especially just look squeaky clean all the time, but it doesn’t seem to matter. They are still boys. And to be clear, the BOYS don’t stink (that I’ve noticed, anyway—ha!), just their room. Three or four years ago we were at a friend’s house and all of the girls were playing in one room, all of the boys in another. The girls’ room smelled perfectly normal, like the rest of the house. The boys room just about knocked you over when you approached the door! And it was LITTLE kids—the oldest one was about 8 years old. It’s a phenomenon, for sure.

ANYWAY, the kids (especially the boys) needed to be showered before church, and nails had to be clipped in anticipation of the feetwashing service. :-)

My kids and I went to Steak ~n~ Shake with the Hays before service. YUM. The kid waiter we had (he looked about 14 years old!) took me seriously when I asked him to be generous with the Frisco sauce. Oh, happy day! Cathy Horton had given Katie $5 the other day for whenever she was able to beg me into taking her to Steak ~n~ Shake, so she ordered one of those HUGE milkshakes. Crazy girl. The O’Dells and Williams showed up while we were there and Bad Jimmy came over long enough to mess up my hair. I returned the favor as we were leaving. Creep-o. ;-)

I enjoyed the Communion and Feetwashing service that night, but I was very tired and had a hard time focusing. Still, it was a blessing. I’m ALWAYS blessed by that service.

We came straight home that night and tried to go straight to bed. I think it was almost midnight before I actually got there, but I sure tried!

No great pictures from today. Actually, they're pretty good I think, just nothing new. My boys with more fish. :-)

BTI Babysitting, Days Eight & Nine: Monday & Tuesday

But first, I have to mention the Sunday night service. The Lord blessed wonderfully through the worship and through Sister Connie Wilson's message. I'm so thankful for how God worked in hearts through all of it. That night I was feeling heavily burdened over some things and just so needed to get to the altar. I can't describe what God did for me there and how He helped me! I have been praying about some things for some time now, knowing that we really, really needed God to intervene in some situations. I know that God always hears us, but that night I felt like I was able to get my prayers all the way through. I felt like all of the things I've been praying these past several weeks just sort of piled up together and like I was able to reach heaven with them. It felt like God RECEIVED my prayers and gave such a sweet and solid confirmation that He has HEARD them and will ANSWER. I feel peace and rest in my soul, and renewed CONFIDENCE that we WILL find God's grace and help in the situations we're facing. And I feel Him already at work. I can't thank Him enough!!!

Monday morning started off with a bang when Sam discovered a big, dead snapping turtle on the far side of the pond. The kids were all sooooo excited. It had a hole through it's shell, so it's no doubt the one my Dad shot a few days ago. I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not. Joe was fishing one morning when Dad was leaving for BTI. He said Dad stopped the car, rolled his window down, and out came his pearl handled Colt. I love it. :-) Anyway, the kids thought finding the turtle was the coolest thing ever. The turtle is on the ground between Lillie and Sam.

The rest of the day consisted of laundry and house cleaning. After lunch Katie went down for a MUCH NEEDED nap since she'd failed to get one the day before. That girl just cannot handle lack of sleep. Her eyes had big dark circles under them and little red specks, too, and she was just super edgy and way, way, way too emotional. (Can't imagine where she gets that from... jerk. Ha!) The other girls got in the hot tub, then the boys.

There had been some question as to what to do with the turtle, but in the end it was decided to throw it into the pond. When the Hays got home that night Brother Dustin hurled it out there for us.

We hadn't given it any real thought ahead of time but, of course, the turtle floated.

So it seemed right to grab the bb gun and have some fun.


It was Aleah’s birthday that day so when her folks got home the fun began. She opened her gifts, then we all went to the garage to watch all of the kids club the pinata. I took several video clips but none of them turned out very good. Unfortunately the few pictures I took weren't any good either, but here are a couple. Here's Sara taking her turn.



And the kids gathering up their booty.



Then it was time to sing and have cupcakes. Those wonderful, fantabulous cupcakes that only Sam's Club can make. :-) Look at that smile...



The weather was super nice that night, so we enjoyed the great outdoors for a while. Some of the guys raced scooters up and down the hill but none of them took an impressive spill like Matt Barnes did last year so it hardly seemed worth posting any pictures or videos of it. ;-) I'm not sure what these fellas are looking at, but I do recall a few of us watching and laughing heartily at a video clip that night of one of the most memorable BTI moments ever. It was GREAT. And not at all what we expected. :-)



Dad was studying the turtle still afloat in the pond and got to wondering if perhaps a few extra holes in it would help it sink. :-) Several of us took a shot, but only two people actually hit the thing. I can't remember which two though! Anyway, here are a few shots... literally. :-)

Brother Clarkson...

Jamey had to be talked into it, but finally gave it a go.
And here are "The Brothers Baldwin," as I hear they were introduced the other day. Ha! This is Zack...

And Micah.

Later on that night we ended up in the den having another great and memorable night, mostly due to Brother Clarkson. :-) The following was soooooo funny in person. Apparently Chris Thompson has this particular song on his cell phone and uses it for his wake-up call each morning. Chris Clarkson therefore wakes up to it, too, each and every morning since the two of them are sharing a room here. Brother Chris played it on his phone for everybody else to hear and Brother Clarkson couldn't help himself--had to find a hat and guitar and enact it for us. :-)



There is a "Part Two" (that was at least as good as Part One), but unfortunately I didn't get it on my camera. If I can secure a copy of it I'll be sure to post it. :-)

Tuesday morning we woke up to rain. Lots and lots of rain. The girls had discovered the little play “kitchen,” and drug it downstairs. They've been having a blast with it ever since. After a few minutes I went looking for the boys and found Sam & Isaac digging a mudhole out in the rain. They were doing it "for Granddad," insisting that they were creating a drainage ditch for all the rainwater.

I spent about an hour that morning cleaning out and sorting the game cabinet. It was a WRECK and things like that drive me CRAZY!!! It felt good to get it nice and neat and clean with everything in its proper place again. I threatened the children severely about even opening the cabinet door without asking. Ha!

Kate took the girls and made homemade Snickerdoodles with them while boys played Davey Crockett in the hot tub. The boys were out and dressed in time for "The Bad-Doers Gang" to show up to swipe hot cookies from the cookie sheet, causing Katie no little frustration. (She really needs to be sanctified!) Then the boys went to ride scooters while girls hot tubbed it. The girls had their own make-believe game going on in the hot tub today -- and they weren't playing Davey Crockett and the Indians. :-) Katie was the mom (naturally) Lillie was her fifteen year old daughter, Sara was eleven, and Aleah was four year old Patty. It cracks me up how girls and boys just so naturally—without anybody teaching or telling them—play soooooo differently! Boys are built to conquer in one way or another. They have some battle to win, some bad guy to defeat, or some obstacle to overcome. Girls are built to nurture. They care for, tend to, and instruct. Even as little kids they just naturally do those things.

Since we had done the hot tub thing in the morning the afternoon was all clear. It was the perfect opportunity to declare it CLEAN UP THE HOUSE DAY! :-) Things get pretty nasty with this many people (and so many little people) living in one house. Joe cleaned up the bedroom, I helped Sam & Isaac gather and clean up the trash in the garage, then sweep the floor out there. Katie and Aleah did the dishes and worked on the kitchen floor while Sarah and Lillie worked on getting the den all cleaned. The Isaac vacuumed upstairs while Sam & Joe vacuumed downstairs. It felt sooooo much better to get all of that stuff done!

I had started some more laundry that morning, but when I went to rotate the loads I discovered several small brown slimy masses, as well as brown, gooey smudges on lots of the cloths. I finally discovered what it was. One of the kids had a pocket full of Tootsie Rolls that made it past inspection and made it into the washing machine. ~sigh~ Let’s wash them yet again, shall we? It was Sam, by the way. I could tell by the guilty look when I asked... and the corner of his lip twitching when I showed him the slimy little tootsie remnants in my hand. Creep-o.

Because of our afternoon cleaning spree we had a very, very late quiet time, but it was glorious nonetheless. I had already been seeing pictures and little blips throughout the day and couldn't wait for the crowd to get home and tell me about the glorious day they had at BTI. Apparently the 2nd Term class started out the day in prayer and the Lord started moving mightily in there. It lasted all through the morning and lunch break with folks from other classes joining them and getting involved as the day went on. In the end, the prayer meeting lasted for over 7 hours and affected the whole school. Three people received the Holy Ghost. They let out just in time to go to the afternoon prayer session. :-) I LOVE BTI. I was sooooo blessed just seeing the pictures and hearing all of the excitement and gratefulness for what God had done there. There is just nothing in this entire world that can compare to BTI. God sooooooooo abundantly pours out His blessings on those who make the sacrifices to get here. Things take place at BTI that will last a lifetime. It changes hearts and lives. Praise the Lord!!!

That night was the Tennessee, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, East Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana banquet at Golden Corral. I'm not from any of those places, but there is NO WAY I was going to stay home alone while everybody else was there together! So I loaded up the kids and crashed their banquet. :-)

When we got home that night I spent quiet a while looking through old photo albums, discovering some neat old pictures. We found one particular picture that everybody was appalled at, but got some good laughs out of. Brother Dustin whipped his camera out and took a picture of it so he can take it home and ask my brother about it. Wish I could be there for that one. :-)

That night everybody else went to bed and Jamey and I ended up staying up (too) late talking. I needed it! God has blessed me with wonderful friends. I'm so blessed to hear that other people and other moms actually face the same things I do! Ha! God loves us and He helps us. I was blessed and encouraged after talking with Jamey. I love that girl. :-)

BTI Babysitting, Days Five, Six & Seven: Friday - Sunday

On Friday morning we started vinegar treatments at 8:30 sharp for the Great Speckled Children. Canada is just three weeks away for the Hays kids—no time to waste. Ha! I locked the boys outside and let the girls watch Veggie Tales while lying on the floor of the den with vinegar compresses on whatever part of their body was most covered in spots. Some of the kids are REALLY bad. Hot Tub Rash breaks out worst underneath whatever clothing you are wearing, so since our children get in the hot tub in nearly fully clothed they are pert-near covered over. I told Brother Dustin he shouldn’t have any trouble getting his kids across the border if he dresses them appropriately. I would suggest snow suits and ski masks. Hahahahaha! So far Lillie is the only one who has any spots on her face. I noticed a couple on her cheek that morning. The rash is worst on most of the kids on their torso and upper legs—and some have it real bad. And just think, even after the rash goes away they will maintain hyperpigmented lesions… for months. That, of course, is unless God heals them. We’ve had so many laughs about this crazy stuff (and it was great ammo for Brother Dustin—though he is WAY over exaggerating my involvement in the matter; after all, MOM is the one with the contaminated hot tub! Ha!) and with as much as we’ve joked about it I hadn’t even seriously thought about praying for the kids until that day. "I suppose we ought to." :-)

While the girls were receiving their vinegar treatments I heard a crash come from the back porch. Uh-oh. I fully expected to find three wide-eyed and guilty looking boys. Nope, just the neighbors’ new dog Gracie. She’s adorable, but still soooooo puppy. And big puppies (she’s a boxer) can be super destructive. Gracie was on the back deck, wandering around and looking for some company and attention. The screen from the kitchen window was lying on the floor broken and bent. The larger part of me was relieved that Gracie was the only one in sight. That's the part that’s adding up the damages accrued here at Mom & Dad’s house and imagining the bill we’ll receive from them at the end of these two weeks. The other part of me was a little disappointed. That's the part that was hoping Isaac was the culprit because I need the pendulum will swing full force the other direction in the Hays/Horne feud. I’m at a small disadvantage right now after having endowed their kids with a long lingering rash. It would help me out a lot if the tables would turn a little bit. HA!

Once I finished up with the girls I locked all of them outside and treated the boys. Sam and Isaac enjoyed the whole thing a little too much, I think. Ha! Crazy boys.

I was feeling really rough that day with a dull headache some serious sweaty chills. I swung back and forth from wishing I was wearing a parka to wanting to strip down to a t-shirt. And I felt sooooo groggy and unfocused. But I remembered that I was supposed to get the annual care package to HQ for the Alabama students. I sooooo did not feel up to it, but decided that since I had to load all of the kids up to go buy more vinegar anyway (!) I'd go ahead and take them to Headquarters for lunch and do the Alabama thing. Due to some miscommunication one of the Alabama folk didn't show up for the great opening and blew the whole thing. HA! No, it really was just a misunderstanding of when and where we were meeting. I took the kids and headed home, stopping for gas and the much needed vinegar. By the time we made it back to the house I was feeling HORRIBLE. I called an immediate and desperately needed quiet time so I could crash! I slept off and on for about an hour. I felt as bad or worse when I got up, but everything seemed to ease up a bit when I got to moving around again. Jamey had been sick all day that day, too, but far, far worse than me, with more symptoms and WAY more severe! She managed to make it through all of her classes, but I'm not sure how. As soon as they were over she came home and fell into bed and we didn't see her for 6 or 7 hours. She didn't even make it to evening service and that is sooooo not like her. I felt so bad for her! God was good to both of us though and we woke up feeling much, much better the next morning. Thank the Lord!

Backing up a bit, we did have two shoe incidents on Friday night. Sam was by the pond that afternoon and apparently saw a spider on his shoe. In his kicking and flailing in an attempt to remove it he managed to hurl the shoe off his foot and out into the pond. Katie was good enough to retrieve it for him via paddle boat. I made him wash the pond scum off of it, then set it in the sun to dry.

Just before service that night I grabbed Joe's dress shoes and painted them black with some shoe polish. The shoes were in really rough shape, but I thought it would help out to darken them a bit. We were going to be leaving in just a few minutes, so I set them in the sun to dry too. When we went to load up one of the shoes was gone, no doubt stolen by Gracie!!! There was no time to go try to find it, so I hopped in the van and rushed to a shoe store to buy some new ones. Joe needed them anyway and I was thankful we had left early enough to have time to do that.

I got there in time for our newly scheduled Alabama meeting at 6:30. I wasn't in any condition to try to make things much fun, so I just handed the bag to Sister Washburn and asked her to read the notes attached. It certainly wasn't the side-splitting good time we had last year ;-) but everybody seemed to enjoy their gifts, or at least pretend to be amused by them. Ha! For the record, here are the people and their gifts.

Kody Ridlespurge -- I can't quote it exactly, but the note instructed him to hide his new rubber snake in Sister Smith's desk drawer. He did that just today (Monday) with a fairly amusing scream (the reaction was captured by the camera Kody had hid in the tree in her office--ha!), but it certainly wasn't one of her better scares.

Jeremy Wallace -- A police set (to keep order as the Doctrine and Policy Police)

Brother Grimes -- A trophy awarded to "Most Likely to Compose a Song for Each of the Auxiliaries and Theme Music for Every Headquarters Employee." :-)

Kimmie Keel -- A giant eraser that said "For BIG Mistakes." I'll refrain from sharing what the note said. ;-)

Tammy Washburn -- A puppy coloring book and crayons, because puppies are so therapeutic and we all know she has some issues... with puppies. Ha!

Mike Washburn -- A wrist wrap for old and arthritic people.

I enjoyed service that night, but not as much as I would have if I hadn't been feeling so poorly. Brother Clarkson is the 3rd Term president and I loved hearing him moderate the service. I loved having him for my pastor for that one year and it was great to see him behind the pulpit again. Brother Werkheiser’s message was a blessing. I struggle to remember it all now (!), but I remember he talked about Naaman and his expectations when he went to see Elisha. Sometimes we have expectations just like that about how God should move in our service or in our lives and we totally miss what God really wants to do.

After service one of Jimmy & Vicki Williams' sons came up to me and said, “Would you please introduce me to your daughter?” This was a first for us and I was a little stunned (!) so I asked him to repeat himself. He said it again and I still just stared at him for a moment before answering, "Mmmmm... no." To which he replied, “Will you please tell me her name?” "Mmmmm... no." He said okay and kind of laughed. I told him to come back in about 22 years and we'd talk. ;-) As I was leaving the church that night he raced out the door to catch me. “You say to come back in twenty-two years?" he said. Then he opened his eyes real wide and said in a somewhat crazed manner, "I WILL!!!" Hahahahahaha! What a nut! Brother Jimmy had put him up to the initial question and stood back to watch my reaction (he'll get his), but the follow up was all his own.

After church that night we scrounged at the house for something to eat. I stayed up way too late. I really tried to go to bed as soon as I finished my dinner but I was constrained by the whole "What if I miss something???" thing that always tugs at me. ;-) The sweaty-chills were REALLY bad by that time. I found the heaviest blankets I could, piled them on the bed and still shivered for several minutes before falling asleep and sweating the rest of the night. Woke up feeling great, just in need of a shower. :-) Aside from being weak and a little shaky, I felt GREAT. Thank the Lord!!!

Saturday morning we got up and took all of the kids to Zion Hill for BTI morning devotions!!! Wa-Hooo! Devotions didn’t start until 9:00 that day (it's usually 8:00), so it was very doable. Then the kids and I hung around while everybody else went to take their mid-terms. I visited with Jimmy Williams (of "Jimmy & Georgia" Williams, not "Jimmy & Vicki") and then Chris Wright and Brandon Keel who had come up for the weekend. I walked around and counted children (got to get to seven) every so often for a few hours until tests were done, then went to Pizza Hut with the Hays, Kody, Mom & Dad, and Chelsei. We hit a couple of shoe stores then the kids and I came home. I talked to James on the phone for quite a while that afternoon. Before church that night the boys got all brave and wondered over to the neighbors' house. They have LOTS of dogs, most of whom are very friendly, but there is this one big bulldog who doesn't act much like he wants to be friends. They located Joe's stolen dress shoe and Sam raced to nab it while Joe and Isaac hid in the bushes. Hahahaha! Sam is always the gutsy one around our house.

We had another good service, this one moderated by 2nd Term President Dustin Hays. :-) I was blessed by the special songs that night (Anita Clay and Mary Shelton sang), but I missed most of Brother Crumley's message. I hated that! I really, really, really like Brother Crumley, but I've never heard him preach before. I was so sorry to have missed out. The altar call was such a blessing. Josh & Brittney Anders had come up for the weekend and it was so beautiful watching her seek for the Holy Ghost. It was just as beautiful to see the entire congregation "invested" (I think that's the word that was used to describe it) in it as dozens of people gathered around the pew where she was praying and helped pray and worship for the longest time.

At church that night the Williams' boy, Jackson, came up to me again and said, "One day down... one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven to go!" Or something like that. Hahahahahahaha! His math was a little off, but it was amusing anyway. What a character!

After service that night we came home and made cheese dip (yum!) and had another great night of fun and fellowship. ~sigh~ I love it here. :-)

Yesterday (Sunday) morning after all of the BTI folks left I got up and got seven kids ready for Sunday School. It's nothin' at this age. Everybody can pretty well take care of themselves, so it was a breeze. I just had to fix hair for four girls, all of whom requested pigtails. I'm not very good with pigtails, but they don't know it. ;-) We got to church with a few minutes to spare, so that's good. Brother Anders preached a GREAT message about SATURATING SITUATIONS WITH PRAYER. Lord, teach me more and more to do just that! I was so blessed and inspired by it. I feel so refreshed!

After service we stayed and had lunch in the fellowship all with the crowd. I sat with the Keels and the O’Dells, so it was a good time, naturally. :-) Before I gathered the children to take them back home Aleah managed to burst into the 2nd Term class and say, “Daddy, I need you!!!” Ha! She technically wasn't under my care again (I go off the clock as soon as the Mom or Dad are out of class--ha!), so I can't be blamed. ;-) Then Lillie opened somebody else’s van door and crawled in. To her credit, the van was almost the same color as mine and she thought we were leaving. :-)

All of the kids were cranky on the way home. They were just bickering a little bit and tattling over silly stuff. QUIET TIME, here we come! :-) Even when they’re cranky this group of kids is far better than most. I haven’t a single complaint about their behavior this past week. They’ve all listened and responded very well and been really good to try to get along and be nice to each other. We’ll see what Week #2 holds. ;-)

When we got home I cleaned up our bedroom and vacuumed the floor. ~Aaaaahhhh~ It felt so good to have the room under control again. I had the kids grab their pillows and books and head to the den. ALL of them fell asleep except for Katie and Sara! I couldn't believe it, but I was so glad! Ha! I know they are worn out and were in desperate need of a little extra rest. Since five-sevenths of the children fell asleep I was really trusting that it would assist in the overall mood of the group! I think it did, but boy was Katie a crab that night and the next morning! She had to have a good, long nap on Monday. She'd been crabby and she had great big dark circles under her eyes. She looked and acted so much better after being forced to GO TO SLEEP for a couple of hours!

Anyway, I'll have to write about the Sunday night service next time. It's late Monday night (early Tuesday morning, to be exact) as I write and I've got to call it quits and get some sleep. I'm sorry I fell a few days behind. I know how much I look forward to pictures and info about BTI when I'm not able to be here! I will try to stay on top of things a little better. Here are two random pictures from the weekend before I go.

Chris Thompson and Sam have been wrestling up a storm. Brother Chris finally got his 30' Velcro strap and hogtied him. :-)

And this is where we found Aleah the other day. I assume she'd gone upstairs to get her pillow to bring down and rest in the den. She just couldn't make it that far I guess!