Memories From Home

I really should take more pictures when we go home, especially since we aren't there too often. Instead, I get so caught up in the happiness of just being there that I forget. I should've taken pictures of the people and places we miss the most, but I didn't. We were too busy making memories instead of capturing them on camera.

If I could go back I would take pictures of every single friend and family member we got to see on this trip. I would take a picture of Zesto, our favorite place for hot dogs and vanilla milkshakes. I would take a picture of my mom's living room and my granny's old house. Really, I'd take pictures of the living rooms of lots of people since that's where we spend most of our time. I'd take a picture of the church where Derek and I met and fell in love, both with each other and with Jesus. I would take a picture of Gayle's Jewelers, where I worked during my senior year and all through college. I'd take a picture of Derek's old green Chevy truck, which seems to fall apart more every time we're home =)

These are just a few of the things that are familiar to us when we're home and even though we don't have pictures of them, we do have memories, and we wouldn't trade those for anything! So instead, here are a few of the pictures I did take...


Guess what time of year it is?? We spotted this Mardi Gras tree in the airport.


I don't think I really have to say much about what this means to me...


It has been way too long...


My Dad had gotten us not one, but TWO king cakes! Yum!!


I got to meet my newest cousin Jaxton, only 7 weeks old, and even got to watch him and his big brother Jakeob while their mom, Brittney had dental surgery. Don't you just want to grab those cheeks? They are quite kissable =)


I got to have lunch with my sweet friend Caroline. I first met Caroline when she was in 5th grade (and I was her baby-sitter) and now she's a freshman in college at USM, just as sweet and beautiful as ever. I'm so glad she hasn't outgrown me and could meet me for lunch. =)


Enjoyed watching Zack "play" basketball...or at least watch him watch everyone else play.


He did touch the ball a couple of times =)

Then I had a surprise when we got home. The first time Derek bought me flowers, he bought "Crazy Daisies" from Winn-Dixie. They were neon colored daisies that I just loved. Well, he wanted to get them for me again so he picked these up and packed them in his suitcase. These flowers flew over 2,000 miles and I was so surprised when he unpacked them. I'm a lucky girl to have such a sweet, thoughtful husband. Thank you sweetie, I love you!

It's Good to be LOST!!

Don't freak out...I'm only talking about a tv show =)



Derek and I have not always been lost fans. In fact, my Dad used to watch the show and I would occasionally make my way into the living room to watch with him and boy, was I confused! Then we met Eric, Justine, and Stephanie...

I think we have talked about LOST with Eric and Justine since we moved to Washington. Justine tried her very hardest at every Bible study to convince us to start watching her favorite show. So this summer, we decided to play catch up and finally dive into the LOST world (we were 5 season behind!) It only took the first episode to hook us. We stayed up ridiculously late having our LOST marathons because we couldn't go to sleep without knowing what was going to happen next!

Then we met fellow LOST fans Kevin and LeAnn. Next, Eric and Justine met Kevin and LeAnn. Before we knew it, we were a group of Losties! With Season 6 (The Final Season) coming up, Justine decided that we should all get together for a LOST party! I invited her to our house to watch it but she had something else in mind...she wanted to invade Kyle and Terry's house...even though Kyle and Terry have never seen an episode of LOST, they agreed to let us host our party in their home. And here is how it went...


We had yummy cake..


...and Dharma Food, including Peanut Butter Cookies in honor of Claire


Justine made some delicious "Polar Bear" Stew


We played LOST games (on commercial breaks only!)
This game was Guess the Character.


LOST Trivia and LOST Bingo, aka "LOSTO"


Just look at these happy LOST fans! Notice Kyle and Terry are MIA. That's because they were watching their favorite NCIS upstairs while we invaded their downstairs.

Thanks everyone for a fun night of LOST memories! Can't wait for our finale party!


One more thing...

This is my favorite Juliet!! We were left hanging last season not knowing if she was alive or not. I was seriously hoping for some closure in the season six opener. Well, I got my closure. Juliet was alive....for about 10 minutes...then she was gone and I was so sad. But just like a soap opera, no one is ever really gone in LOST. Besides, Hurley sees dead people and Miles can hear them so who knows, maybe I'll get to see Juliet again...

Gym Church Gatherings

So, I don't have alot of information for you about what the grown-ups are doing in Life Church the last couple of gatherings...

...but I can tell you what the little ones have been up to!

Our January 3rd gathering was a record attendance in "Gym Church." We were thrilled to meet Emmy and have her two boys, C & P join us! We also had friends inviting friends, which led to 3 more new faces! We had a total of 11 kiddos in Gym Church! And boy, did they keep us busy...


We were busy playing!!


And bouncing!!


And learning about The Armor of God (even though this picture reminds me of David and Goliath!)

We learned alot from our January 3rd gathering...alot of what works...and alot of what doesn't. So we made some extra preparations for the next time the kiddos came on January 31st. This time we had 9 sweet faces!



We learned that having Play Dough ready for the kids when they first arrive is a miracle worker!


We learned that Little Deb's Mr. Potato Heads were a hit!


We learned that reading the Bible story BEFORE distributing coloring sheets works much better than trying to do both at the same time.


And we also learned that using a baby gate on both sides lessens the chaos and at the very least, keeps it contained! But just looks at this picture...there isn't a bit of chaos! And we also learned that the best place for the bouncing balls is on the shelf =)

Even though I can hardly move today, I had a great time in Gym Church and I am so very very very thankful for our Gym Church helpers, two of whom stepped in at the last minute to fill in the gaps. Life Church for the adults couldn't happen without Gym Church for kiddos.

Our next gathering is March 7 and will be the last monthly gathering before we launch weekly gatherings in April. On that note, we're super excited that the owner of Forza, Mark, has happily agreed to let us stay in Forza for our weekly services! And we're also very excited that God has added another family to our church planting team. Arin J. his wife Kristy, and their 4 children are moving to Washington to join the team! Arin was in town for the January 3rd gathering to lead in worship and explore the area...and as always, once you get a taste of the Northwest, it's hard not get a burden for it and we're so excited that Arin and family will be joining us! We have so much to be thankful for...God continues to blow us away!!

Flat Stanley Returns!

It has been quite a while...since last April...since we had a Flat Stanley in town for a visit. In case you don't remember who Flat Stanley is, let me remind you...

Flat Stanley is a children's book character who is just what his name says...a flat paper boy named Stanley. Every year in 1st/2nd/3rd grade classrooms across the country, kids read about Flat Stanley and make their very own to send to whomever they choose. If you ever receive a Flat Stanley, you are supposed to show him a good time, taking him around your city and mailing him back with pictures and little momentos of where you live.

This time our Flat Stanley came all the way from Mrs. Matute's 3rd grade class in Carriere, Mississippi. Here's a bit of Stanley's adventure..


A Visit to Pike Place Market


Home of the Flying Fish Place


Getting up close and personal with the seafood


A quick stop at the very first Starbucks


Of course we had to show Stanley around Steilacoom!


And finally, a cloudy day on the Puget Sound.

We had other adventures planned for Stanley, however, the weather was quite uncooperative (imagine that!) so we packed him up along with some post cards of the things we didn't get to see and he is now on his way back to Mississippi. Thanks so much 3rd graders for sending Flat Stanley to visit!