We Are FamiLEE

So we always thought that motto for our high school was so cheesy, but this week it has taken over a whole new meaning. The bus wreck on I-565 was a bus from our precious Lee High School (which my little sister still attends) is like a nightmare. I still can't believe it. It was literally half a mile away from my house. When I first got a call from Naomi about the wreck, all I could think about was - where is Kala? I didn't know if maybe she had a field trip that day or any of the details of the wreck. Luckily, as soon as I heard a news report I found out it was a bus going to the tech school, which she doesn't go to.

I've gotten the inside scoop from Kala about what school was like that day and these days after. I couldn't help but tear up when she told me about all the praying going on at school, how it's brought them all together, and how helpful and caring the whole city has been. Let's face it, Lee has never been Huntsville's pride and joy. Another high school is even selling blue ribbons (our school color) for .50 to raise money for the families involved. My heart is broken for the victims and their families. I can't imagine being Kala, and the rest of the student body...and have actually known the kids involved. I can't believe anybody even walked away from the crash. Kala talked to a boy at school who, as the bus was teeter-tottering off the interstate, found his way to the middle. He walked away with out any scratches. One of the girls that died was pregnant, and had already survived being shot in the face two years ago. She had only come back to school this semester, because she wanted to attend school her senior year. It's just so tragic, this time it hit so close to home. I will pass by the site on the way home tomorrow. My heart goes out to the bus driver and the driver of that orange celica. I can't imagine what they are going to have to live with.

As hard as it is to comprehend, God had a reason for all of this. He was on that bus when it happened. Kala said she's already seen the school unite like never before. It has definately brought everyone together. It's definately a reminder of how precious life is. I've heard the story behind each of the students involved. So what story will I leave behind one day?

Here is prayer that has been circulating on myspace from one of the students, I found it uplifting and touching:
"Lord I come to you as humble as I know how!!!! Lord I know that there is a reason for everything, so I ask God that you let your will be done! God you have called some away from this earth Lord and we ask that you have mercy on their souls God. Lord, as for the ones in the hospital now, we ask that you help them in their fight for life! Jesus help us to realize that life is too short to put you second, Life is too short to waste it on foolish things, Life is too short to hold on to grudges, and life is too short to do the things that we know are wrong. Father I ask that you help the families at this time! Let them know that weeping may endure for a night, but joy is going to come in the morning. God please touch every friend and family member and let them know that only your will, willl be done! They need you now more than ever. They have a pain that only Dr. Jesus can heal. Please heal them Lord, and bring them close to you. Lord I love you, and I thank you for letting me live through another day. That could've been me, and you gave me another chance at life! God I thank you, and I will praise your holy name always! AMEN"

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate..

"Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it." - Mean Girls

Haha, I love that quote. It's so true. Too bad I opted not to dress up this year. I'm always too lazy to think of a good costume. I think the last good costume I had was when I was Miss. Piggy in like first grade! That was awesome. Although me, Lauren and Naomi did make some hot Power Puff Girls senior year of high school. Maybe next time I should get some ideas from kids. The kids at the daycare had plenty of ideas today.

"Miss Lindsey you should be a earring."
"No, you should be a princess....or a castle!"
"I know, you can be Spiderman!"
"You could be a birfday cake!"
"Be a huntin' man!"
"You wanna be a unicorn?"

I'm gonna miss those crazy kids. I decided I should just be a doughnut, cause everytime I wear my Krispy Kreme shirt (it has a girl doughnut, and a boy doughnut holding hands on it)...they say "Miss Lindsey, dat's you on your tee-shirt? I like your high heels on dat shirt. Who is dat udder doughnut? Dat your friend? No silly, it's miz lindsey too!" So apparently I look like a doughnut. That's hot!

Yeah We Divas, But We Ride Like Big Boys Do

Well I think the stress from knowing that I have a 40 page industry analysis (dont worry, it's a group project) due Tuesday that I (nor anyone in my group) have yet to start is making me crazy...

This is gonna sound stupid, but hey, yall asked for an update so you're gonna get one. Last night in the library, I got stuck on the second floor. And my mind (after studying for a huge test in the same class the paper is due in) just felt like mush and I wandered around aimlessly not knowing what to do. See, one of the elevators got stuck on the second floor and the door was wide open and all the buttons were pushed but it was just chillin. So I kept pushing the button for the other elevator, and I could hear it going past my floor but it wouldn't stop because the other elevator was stopped on my floor. No big deal, fatty will just have to take the stairs. Well the door to the stairs was locked because of all the construction work. But then I remembered that there was another set of stairs on the adjacent wall. So I flipped and flopped all the way to those stairs. Well there was a big sign that said "under construction, please use the staircase on the southside of the building". So I be-bopped on to the southside. There I found a sign that said "Do not open door, alarm will sound". So yep, I was stuck with no way to get off the second floor. I couldn't even think of what to do...find a way to get to the third floor?...and the only person around to ask was a japanese kid with headphones on playing a game on the computer. So I just sat there dumbfounded and in a daze cause by this time it was really late and my brain was shut down. Eventually (okay it was like 5 minutes) someone on the elevator had to get off on the second floor and I was free!!

Then when I finally fell into bed at about 2:30 am, my lights were all out, and my covers were perfect and I was all snuggled up comfortably in my bed. Right when I almost drifted off to sleep...I heard a scratching noise. It was coming from the floor and sounded like it was against my bed. I thought it was just my imagination, and was really too tired to move or care so I tried to doze off. Well it started again and it kept on, and kept on, and I just kept thinking about a rat or something and I got scared. So I grabbed my pillow and was headed to Lauren's room to jump in the bed with her. When I turned on my lamp, low and behold there it was, a huge rat! So I screamed! Sorry if I woke you Megan, I know Lauren's sleepin self didn't hear a thing. Then once I calmed down and got brave enough to examine the situation, I realized it was that dang rat I bought to scare Naomi from the $1 spot at Target. Guess it backfired on me. That filthy rat that Jason and Naomi entertained themselves with for hours upon hours by throwing it into the ceiling fan and letting it wall at high speeds. I originally said it was the best $1 I've ever spent since it proved to be so amusing, but I was wrong! That sucker is getting packed up and shipped to Nashville to surprise Jason. Oh well, I'm still not sure what the scratching was, I just hope it doesn't resume tonight. I'm headin that way now. Sorry bout the pointless update, but thats what ya get when your brain is full of mush (from school and twenty 3 and 4 year olds working your every nerve). I'm an idiot and crazy in the head. Goodnight!

My Heart Is Like A Marching Band

Well today is my little sister's birthday (well it was when I started this entry, it might not be once it is posted)! She is 15 now. I can't believe it! I dont know if she even reads this anymore, but I would like to take advantage of this day to brag on her a little. I am so, so proud of the young woman she has become. God got a hold of her a few years ago, and she hasn't been the same since. She is on fire for the Lord and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. I think she is awesome and I'm so proud to have her as a sister. I love you Kala!

I am so putting off finishing a presentation for tomorrow. Yep, I already have to give one. Three more to go! Woohoo, it's gonna be a fun semester. But hey, it's my last one (until grad school?? maybe??), so I think I can deal with it.

"The Well" started back last night. Let me tell ya, I needed it bad! I dont think I have ever been more excited to be there. I think it's gonna be an awesome semester for "The Well". Ed Newton is an awesome speaker, and Shane Baker is leading worship now, I liked it alot. I think God is going to reveal himself there in a big way this semester. Well, this is random and I am obviously procrastinating...so I'll get back to my school work now.

Oh, But first! I read this during my quiet time today. It has stuck with me all day.
"For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7

Things Are Sweeter in Tennessee

Well as the brilliant Billy Madison once sang:

"Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school. Well, here goes nothing."

Yep, it's that time of year again. I just got out of my auditing class. I dont think it's gonna be bad as I was expecting. Business Policy tomorrow may be a different story though. I have a really good schedule as far as having to attend class. There's only 3 I have to go to, and then I am taking 2 online.

Last weekend I got to visit Jason in Nashville! You see, I love Megan so much that I took her to catch her flight to Michigan from Nashville. So, I stayed in Nashville til Sunday when she got back. How convenient. :) Jason and I had alot of fun. Friday I met him downtown for lunch, and then I went shopping while he went back to work. I helped my mom out by buying me alot of stuff for Christmas. How nice of me. ;) Friday night, we ate at Demo's downtown. I've tried to eat their several times before, but the wait has always been too long. This time it was fine. It was sooo good! Who knew spaghetti and steak were such a good combination? We walked around downtown for a bit then we went to the Opryland Hotel. We walked around all the gardens until our feet hurt so bad I could barely make it back to the car. Saturday we went shopping at the mall in Green Hills. This mall is super nice, it has a Louis Vuitton and Betsey Johnson and all kinds of cool stores I can't afford. Needless to say, we did alot more looking than we did shopping. Saturday night we cooked dinner at Jason's then we went to Centennial Park. Every Saturday night in the summer, they have a band and people can come ballroom dance in the park. We had so much fun! We missed the lesson beforehand, but luckily we took ballroom dancing lessons last spring, so we still kinda knew what we were doing. We weren't half bad!! We got to do swing, rhumba, waltz, and salsa...because we already knew those. We even attempted the polka!! That was quite funny!! After that we walked around the Parthenon and headed back downtown. We went to a karaoke place for awhile, it was alright. Then we went to Coyote Ugly. We all loved that movie in high school, so you know I had to check it out! It was fun, but not as exciting as the movie. Sunday I picked Megan up at the airport and headed back to Flo.

This week we've tried to hit up some Welcome Week activities. It's just not that exciting anymore. I guess cause I'm leaving in December, I dont want to make the effort and get attached to new people. Is that sad? Probably so. Oh well, I'm off to spend a small fortune on books and make the hike back to my car that is parked a mile away. Gotta love the first day of school!!

Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture

Sisterly love. I've got some hot racoon eyes going on, thanks to my sunglasses.As my dad put it: "All the honey's on the boat". haha

Megan, Lauren, Kala, Harmony and Naomi Me and Megan
Joanna and Dorothy catchin' some rays.
Me and Megan again.

Yay. It finally worked. I'm just sitting here patiently waiting for "So You Think You Can Dance" to come on. Jessica is coming over to watch it. Travis better freakin win. She's pulling for Benji, but Travis is obviously the better choice! He's so cute, and he is much better technical dancer. Benji is just all show, cause he's a good performer. I like him too though, Travis just deserves to win. There is no genre he can't do! My girl, Allison, got kicked off a few weeks ago, so i dont really care about the girls anymore.

I have to go to work early at the daycare tomorrow. Boo! But they needed extra help, so Lauren is gonna take my usual shift. So we will get to work together, that should be funny!!

I need to get my hair cut. It is getting disgustingly long. ohhh. I think I am going to see "Talledega Nights" tonight. Yay!! I hope it's as funny as it looks like it is. I'm afraid it may be one of those movies that just has all the funny parts in the preview. But I've heard good things about it. Well that's it for now. We helped Amy move stuff in all day, so I think I'm gonna go relax before Jessica gets here.

Snap Yo Fingers

I feel like it is pointless to update this thing since Megan is home now and will pretty much know my every move. I'm sure my mom will still read it though. The last few weeks have been fun. I've gotten alot of girl time in since Jason is in the process of moving. I was worried about not having anyone to hang out with since he's gone, and Lauren works every night, and no one is really in town, but I've had plenty of stuff to do. It's been great! Well not great that he is gone, but ya know. ;)

This weekend was fun. The girlies from high school (plus Megan) came to the river. Man I love them. I'm sure we bored Megan to death with all our high school gossip and reminising. Sorry!! It happens everytime we are all together. Then we went back to Huntsville. Call me crazy, but I miss Huntsville! Live in Florence for awhile, you will learn to appreciate it. Sunday we watched "High School Musical" with Kala. It was so cute!! I really want the soundtrack. Then me, Lauren, Joanna, and Harmony went and watched "The Devil Wears Prada". It was cute too.

A verse we studied in Sunday School this week really stuck out to me.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. - Colossians 3:23

Thats a good one, huh? Yep. I think I would do things a whole lot differently everyday, if I constantly kept that verse in my head. Well, I just tried to load pictures on here and once again it wouldn't work. Maybe tomorrow. Amy J moved into our apt. complex today. So now I'm off to help Amy J organize her apartment and maybe paint some too!

Spittin That Booty Chedda

Well Megan is definately outdoing me on the updates. I dont have much to update on...right now I'm sitting here waiting for "So You Think You Can Dance" to come on. My Wednesday and Thursday nights definately revolve around this show. This week is Handy Fest - the only time Florence comes alive. I think that should be their motto. We went and saw Leigh dance with her hip-hop class. It was pretty hot (the dance, not the temperature, although it was extremely hot that night too)! There was a group from Huntsville's Boys and Girls Club that danced too. They were awesome! I could've watched them ALL night. H-town representin' at it's finest. haha Last night we went and saw 17th Floor at Texas Roadhouse. They had a street party. 17th Floor is always a good time! Later tonight Naomi and I might try to catch Gary Nichols at Sidepockets. Then tomorrow night is Ugli Stick at Big Ed's. Megan, if you were here, we could go hear "Off The Chain", haha, remember when we all went to the westside last year to find them and then left cause we were definately, ummm...out of place.

Justin Timberlake's new song is out now. I must say I had set my expectations too high. It's okay, it'll still be fun to dance to. The more I hear it, the more I like it. His voice is all digital sounding and stuff. His voice is too good to be messing it up like that.

The sermon at church on Sunday was really good. It made me realize how selfish I am. I'm always so concerned about my own problems and whether or not I'm in God's will, and all the usual - good stuff to be focused on of course....but I forget about everyone else. So God really opened my eyes and pointed out people in my life, even that I associate with everyday, that I should be ministering to, and showing His love to. I'm gonna work on that.

ohhh. I finally saw "Dead Man's Chest". Probably not as good as the first, but I'm no movie guru (let's face it, I'm doing real good to stay awake through any movie, so if I manage to stay awake, it's good). It was entertaining enough. It's not as good as "Superman Returns" though. I loved that movie! I also saw "Madea's Family Reunion". It was so funny. Anything by Tyler Perry is hilarious! He has a book out now that I think I'm gonna buy. Well, Rick's and "So You Think You Can Dance" are callin my name. Holla atcha girl!

Inside Peanut Butta, Outside Jelly

This weekend I went to the mountains with Jason and his family. You know you are from Alabama when you say the "the mountains" and everyone automatically knows you mean Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Anyways, it was lots of fun. I've been like 10 times, but probably atleast 8 of those times was with a church group so I got to see alot of things this weekend that we were never able to see. We left as soon as I got off work Friday and got there about midnight Friday night.

Then Saturday morning, me, Jason and his mom went to the outlets and shopped. I didn't buy anything because I am a poor kid now. Then Saturday night we all went to the Dixie Stampede, which is something I have always wanted to do. It was cool. They give you all kinds of food and you can only eat it with your hands. Everyone sits in a big arena and a show is going on throughout the meal. There is a north side and and a south side, and the whole time there is a rivalry between the two. Unfortunately we had to sit on the north side. There were ostrich races, pig races, barrel races, and all kinds of dancing and magic tricks and all that sorta thing. It made me wanna go to a rodeo. Then we road the trolley up to Gatlinburg and walked down the main strip. Me and Jason did a pretty cool mirror maze. Then it was back to the cabin.

On Sunday, we had a picnic at a creek on the way up the mountain. Then we drove to the top of the mountain to look at the view. It's also where the Appalacian Trail comes through. Then we went to Ober Gatlinburg. We road the chair lifts all the way to the top. The view was so pretty. Then we road the alpine slides a few times and went to dinner. After that we were exhausted, it was so hot up there! I've only been one other time in the summer, we usually go in the winter. I wasn't expecting it to be so hot. So we woke up early Monday morning and drove back to Flotown so I could get to work by 2:30. That was my weekend, it was fun! I just tried to post pictures and it's not working. So tomorrow I will probably post a few pictures.

This coming up weekend, Lauren and I have to do a little presentation about missions to a bunch of GAs from a church here in Florence. They are having a retreat out in Cloverdale, so me and Lauren are going out there and doing a little missions time with them. I'm kind of nervous, cause we haven't prepared anything yet. So pray for us, hopefully it will go well.

Oh, and also...in case no one's figured it out...all the links on the right side work now. So there is a link to all my photo albums on facebook for the non-facebookers.

Quatro de Julio

So we had a very nice past few days at the river. It was very much needed after working 43 hours at the daycare last week. I dont mind working that many hours...it was just the shifts I had to work sucked! I had to work from 6:30am to 12:00 then 2:30-5:30 everyday. By the time I got home I was exhausted and ready to go to bed so I could get up at the crack of dawn the next morning. Fortunately, I should only have to work my regular 15 hours from here on out.

Friday night me and Jason headed to Birmingham so we would be ready Saturday morning to pick Lauren up in Oxford, AL. We got her Saturday morning and headed straight to the river. All kinds of people came out to play throughout the four days we were there: Jason, Amy J, Allison Hall, Leigh, Sarah, Naomi, Crystal, Kim, Caleb. We had lots of fun! Dad let us take the boat out by ourselves and everything. I guess he figures since we've been doing it the past 22 years, he could trust us to do it by ourselves. On the fourth, ALL of the family came out. I loved it. I love our family so much, they are crazy and completely retarded. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I think I have the cutest little (well most of them are not so little anymore) cousins around!! We had our firework show Tuesday night. It wasn't as much as usual, but atleast the guys didn't waste their money on crappy bottle rockets and roman candles. They only bought the big stuff this year. So it was still good! It was really sad to leave, we are hardly around Mom, Dad, and Kala for more than a day or two at a time anymore. So being with them for four days was really nice. I just love being at the river too. It's so nice to have absolutely nothing to do, no school work to be done weighing in the back of my mind. I could just lay out on a float or in the hammock all day! We used to take being out there for granted so much when we were younger. We just saw it as a place we HAD to go to every weekend, and as time away from hanging out with our friends in Huntsville. It's so nice to have that place to go to now, and get away from everything else. There's just something about the water. I have to live near water for the rest of my life I think. Whether it be a river, or the ocean (that'd be sweet!) or just a town with a river running through it would be good enough. Oh well, this is incredibly boring for everyone I'm sure, so I will end it with that!

Put Your Mind To It, Go For It, Get Down and Break a Sweat...

Rumor has it that Nick is here visiting Gary Baker. I am going to the Helen Keller Festival to find him!!

Nick baby, I'm right here, you don't have to look any further..I'll take what's left of you! ;)

In other news, the infamous caffeine pill episode of Saved By the Bell came on today!
"I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so..so.. scared!"
So now I am definately feeling a music video remake of their song by the end of the summer! Who is down for it?

Home Sweet Home

Yay! We are home now. It was so sad leaving, but it definately feels good to be home. Well 4 of my kids accepted Christ during camp!! Woohoo! It definately made all the preparation worth it. In all of camp, I think there was a total of 31 decisions made to follow Christ. Good Stuff! That was the highlight of the last week I guess. Kayla Sanders stopped by Friday night cause her and her family were down there! It was nice to see our other mom for a little while. I cant really think of anything else extremely exciting to write about. I definately left part of my heart down there though. It's so crazy how out of all the places, God sends us to serve him at a location that's already so close to my heart and full of so many memories. It's a place where we've taken family vacations, trips with friends, and my first visit to the emergency room! I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love it down there. I think the part I enjoyed the most was getting to know the people in the church. They are mostly all retired, but they each have so many interesting stories about their lives and experiences. It's been cool to hear alot of them. It makes me feel better about getting old. I'm going to be cool like them! Well I guess I will post just a few pictures from camp.

This is my baby daddy Derrick, me, and our baby D.J.:

This is my third grade class and my helper Meagan:

This is the closest to a group picture we took. There's still alot of people missing though:

Me and Abby. She was the sweetest!!

Me, Amber, and Lauren on the beach one night:

I guess that's enough pictures for now. As soon as we got back to Florence, we went to Beef and Shelley's wedding. It was so pretty. Very much them. Her dress was perfect! I cried through all 15 minutes of the ceremony. (It was really short)! I really dont think I have ever been more genuinely happy for a couple, as I am for them. I'm so happy for them!! Then on Sunday we went to Huntsville to see dad for Father's Day. Oh and Mom had her surgery last Thursday. So keep her in your prayers. The recovery will be a long one!

This could be a long one...

Well there are 3 more days of camp left. So far, so good. My third grade class is great, and I've been having no problem filling the 85 minutes up. My track time has been cool too. Every kid comes through so I get to know every kid at camp. I think it's safe to say that we now have the task of making sugar cookies down to a fine art. This week on the menu for our cafe is: snowflake tortillas (kinda like sophapillas), and snow cream! Last week was lots of fun. We went tubing with the coolest 73 year old man in the world!! He threw me off the tube twice. We went in the bay so that was cool and scary. We got to see sooooo many dolphins. One of the girls here, Maegan, got to touch one! Then he took us out to eat at DeSotos. We ran into one of our other partners (Stephanie) from last year at Wal-mart. It was so random but very exciting! She's the only one that didn't get to come back down this summer, except for Amy Yopp (she is in India). Heath Butler was in town for a few days. He went out to eat with all of us one night, and we got some hot-tubbing and some pool time in at his condo. So that was great! Saturday the music minister, Bro. Paul, had us all over for some awesome food and more boating. I got to show out a little on the kneeboard and ride in quite possibly the nicest pontoon boat I've ever been on (it had a little room that pops up in the back that you could change clothes in!). Jeremiah Castille preached at church on Sunday. He played football for Alabama under Bear Bryant and then played professionally, and is now the chaplain for Alabama's football team. Wow, he was amazing, and so hilarious! Megan you would have loved him, he talks just like Brian Fellows!! I could not quit laughing! Last night a man from the church took all 25 of us out to eat at the Shrimp Basket. This church is so welcoming and encouraging. I love it here. I've never felt so much a part of a church body. There is constantly someone offering their pool, boat, food, etc. to us. I get like a million thank yous a day for being here. So many people have offered to find me accounting jobs so I can move down here when I graduate. That would rock so hard! Oh and Bro. Eddy is down here vacationing too. We got a second to go by and see him today. I love that man, oh how I will miss him and his crazy self. This whole post is totally stream of conciousness, so I apoligize if it doesn't make sense. I am in a hurry. You see, today we were informed that we will have no free time until Saturday (the day we are leaving!). Me, Lauren, Laura and Stephanie are now in charge of cooking for 300 people for family night tomorrow night!! We are just boiling hot dogs, so its not a huge deal. But we have to cook, serve and be available in our classrooms to meet all the families, all at the same time. I haven't figured out how that's going to work yet. So today during our few moments of free time we had to go shopping for all the food we have to prepare tomorrow. Then we had dinner, right now all the summer missionaries are in a meeting, then we have bible studay at 9, and then we have a new curfew (as of today) that is 10:45. It kinda sucks that this is how our last few days are going to be spent. There's so much we haven't gotten to do yet!! We are not even going to be able to go to the beach again. I haven't eaten at the Oyster House yet either. Oh but be sure to keep two of my kids in your prayers. Their names are Breanna and Bonner. Both of them decided they wanted to accept Christ this week. I'm still talking with them and making sure they realize what they are doing, and that it's the right time. I want to make sure the spirit is calling them, and they aren't just doing it because it's a good idea, or because their other friends are doing it. I dont want it to be a decision that they question the validity of on down the road. I know that there is so much more that I'm forgetting. I will probably update soon with everything I forgot to mention, but that's all I got time for now. Hope this one didn't bore everyone too much! :)

That's What's Up!

Well I know my admiring fans (mom) have been waiting on an update, so they will know what I have been doing this past week. It's been crazy. We worked way too late everynight. But we did get Friday and Saturday off, so of course it was spent at the beach and shopping at the outlets!! We did manage to squeeze in a movie though. We went and saw "Over The Hedge" at the new Rave theater. It was really funny. It pretty much just joked on Americans and suburbia. It was so cute, and the soundtrack was good cause every song was done by Ben Folds. That was kind of surprising. This week I also became a wife and mother, to Mr. Derrick Fields, a 330 lb football player from Mississippi College! To some, our son D.J. (Derrick Junior) might appear to be a forgotten about VBS room with some crooked logs and a crappy decorating job...But he is our baby and our pride of joy! Well O.B. Outfitters starts tomorrow, and I must say I'm getting nervous. I still have a lot of work to do tonight to make sure everything is set to go at 8:00 am. Try shopping for ingredients to make sugar cookies from scratch for 100 kids at a Wal-mart full of vacationers. Not fun!! This last week has been frustrating, I dont think we all agree on the importance of decorations. I'm all for decorations, dont get me wrong. But sometimes it just seems too big of an emphasis has been put on that. I guess it's just discouraging that we have been here for two full weeks yet, and haven't ministered to any kids. Which is the real reason we are here! But hey, we knew what we were getting ourselves into (sort of). Plus, we are building relationships with alot of awesome college students! The Illinois group got here today and their youth minister is going to be leading a bible discussion every night for all of the college kids that are here. That should be a good time and a good way to get to know everyone better and everyone's opinions on different topics. All 3 of you who read this, be sure to keep camp in your prayers for the next two weeks. Pray that we all keep our spirits high and that the kids will be able to see Christ in us. I'll end with the motto for OB Outfitters this year.

Joshua 1:9 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Vamos A La Playa!!

So we finally hit up the beach yesterday and today!! It was about time! We had to cut the beach time short yesterday since we had to come back and work from 3 - 7! But we got a whole lot done. We might possibly get Friday off now. I'll post pictures up soon so everyone can admire our hard work :) . All week long we've been "thinking snow" (the theme this year is arctic edge) which is rather difficult when you are less than 5 minutes away from the beach. That's one thing that is different from last summer too. Last summer we were doing beach reaches 2 or 3 times a week, so we constantly saw the beach. This summer we can only go at night or on the weekends. Bummer. So here's a good story. There's this new place opening up here called "the wharf". It's got a rave theater, an ampitheatre, shops, a ferris wheel, etc. Well Wednesday night a lady in the church gave us tickets to ride the ferris wheel for free on the grand opening (Thursday night @ 5). But all along we kept hearing that it was free to the public the first night, so we just assumed it was just a ticket to get in, no big deal. Well we ended up working until like 9 or 10 Thursday night and never really thought much about it. Well at dinner Bro. John walked in and asked why we weren't there. Turns out, our tickets were $250 tickets to ride the very first ride of the ferris wheel ever! Its the biggest ferris wheel in the southeast and they had been auctioning off tickets and it was a really big deal. A lady at the church had bought enough tickets for one gondala and spent $2,500 on all 10 seats! And we had 5 of them and didn't show up!! Needless to say, we felt horrible and were really sad we missed out!! Sad day. But on Friday all the rest of the summer missionaries arrived. There are 9 girls now and 5 guys. They are great, and they are going to have an awesome summer together!! It really makes me miss the girls in our group last year. Kala left today with the rest of our family (excluding mom and dad) to go to Destin for our annual family vacation. I'm sad we're missing out this year. It's always so much fun. Well I guess thats about it for now, I'm sure these entries are all really boring to everyone except for maybe my mom. I'm making her read this so she will know what we are doing, since our phones dont work very good down here.

I am so over large sizes of bulletin paper!!

Well the last few days have been very busy to put it mildly. Our days are consumed with miles of bulletin paper, scissors and paint!! Plus we managed to squeeze in a few cookouts. I dont know how often I will get a chance to update this thing. We are so tired by the end of the day, I have been going to bed by 10:30....if you know me, you know that NEVER happens. Luckily, right now I have time in the office. We are all taking shifts in the office to answer the phone, register kids for camp, etc. Things are a little different around here this year. Instead of the normal 2 interns, there are 4...me, Lauren, Laura Casey, and Stephanie Wallace. It's been really nice having two other people here that we already knew, eventhough the living quarters are a little cramped! Speaking of cramped...its only going to get worse. Last year we were summer missionaries, (and we also lived here at the church) but there were 6 of us total. This year, there are like 14!! They haven't all arrived yet, so I'm not exactly sure. Another difference is that there are guy summer missionaries this year. So it has been nice having some testosterone around. It's also nice to have them to blame when things go wrong! ;) Just kidding. Sorta. There is still so much work to do! We are responsible for fully decorating 11 rooms. This includes a full mural on one wall, and turning the other 3 walls into a log cabin. Plus we are in the process of making an ice cave in the missions room. We have to have all this done this week! Next week, there is even more to get done. It probably doesn't sound like a whole lot, but trust me, it is! Plus, my curriculum isn't in for the class I'm going to be teaching. So I'm really getting scared about preparing all those lessons. I got the chance to look at one of the guy's (he is also teaching third grade) book, and much to my dismay, there is not nearly enough material to have 10 - 90 minute lessons. I'm going to have to do a lot of digging around for more activities and materials. This adds a lot more stress to my planning. But, I am really excited about camp actually starting. Its gonna be so much fun. Last night, at the Wednesday night service at church, we had to introduce ourselves to the church, tell why we are here, how we got here, all that jazz. Then the boys each gave a short devotion. It was really cool to hear how each of them are so different, and have such different testimonies, but all have the same call to the ministry. At the end of the service Bro. John had us each kneel at the alter and the church came and layed hands on us and prayed over us. There is something so powerful about physically feeling their hands supporting us and hearing the prayers voiced for us. It was very encouraging! It also makes me feel so unworthy to be in this position. But God's love knows no bounds, and he is going to use all of us (as unworthy as we may be) to plant some seeds for him this summer. I'm really excited to see the amazing things that can happen!

Well Megan told me to get one of these...so apparently I listen to everything she says! I swore I'd never be a "blogger", but here I go. I figure it will atleast be a good way to keep up with what everyone is doing over the summer. Right? Right! Plus she said this way we wont have to talk to each other...whew what a relief!! (Megan you know I'm kidding...call us soon!) So...the most exciting thing so far this summer was the Road Trip! From Florence, Al to Los Angeles, CA. 4 girls, 4 guys, 3 cars, 10 states, 6 days, 6 ipods, 225 sour punch straws, and a theme song for every state (well, 6 or 7 for California!). We got to see the Grand Canyon, and stay in Las Vegas and LA! We also saw approximately 7 fanny packs, and some black sheep (right Jason?), and probably every gas station west of the Mississippi. Anyways, we are now settled safely in Orange Beach where we will be for 4 weeks. We are interning for First Baptist Orange Beach. By we, I mean me and Lauren of course. These first two weeks we are setting up for Camp OB Outfitters. As it is referred to around here, it is vacation bible school on steroids. Instead of the usual schedule it is 2 weeks, 8 hours a day. I was told yesterday that I will be responsible for a class of third graders in the morning. I'm a little bit nervous about that, because it is a 85 minute lesson every day for 2 weeks, and I haven't even gotten my curriculum yet. Mrs. Wanda (the pastor's wife, she is basically our boss) told us to spend 2 hours a day planning the lessons until camp starts. Thats more than I study for school!! On top of that, me and Laura Casey are doing a Cafe type track time in the afternoons. We have to come up with food for the kids to bake and be crafty with for 10 days, 3 or 4 big groups a day!! If you know me or Laura, you know that is quite funny! So needless to say, I'm a bit overwhelmed. Its alot more work than I remembered. But more on that later. We are about to run to Wal-Mart and get some supplies.