Texas Bound!

It's 9:35 Monday night and Keith and Lauren are headed home! Can't wait... Their flight was to leave at 7:30 Eastern time, but they sat on the plane for over an hour and a half, waiting to take off. Keith was not happy and Lauren fell asleep!

We've felt very lost without you guys! Can't wait to see you.

Keith - I was sure hoping to see you on our anniversary, but it looks like I may not, since your flight was delayed. I'm sure glad we were married 18 years ago today. It's been a fun time with you, raising our girls. You're such a fine, Christian man and I'm so glad that God chose for us to be together. Looking forward to many more!

Keith and Lauren Back in the US

Last night (Saturday), Keith and Lauren arrived back in the United States from Africa. They said the plane ride was OK, which is great news from Keith since he and plane rides are not the best of friends!

They spent last night in Times Square and were amazed at the amount of people they saw! Today, I got a call before we left for church and Lauren wanted me to guess where they were...they were at the Statue of Liberty! The rest of their day was spent WALKING a lot, seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway, which they said was fantastic and taking a bus tour around the town.

Keith called tonight and said that Lauren fell asleep early...jet lag has set in! We miss them tons and can't wait until Monday night to see them.

Keith and Lauren Arrive in Ghana

Keith and Lauren arrived in Ghana, Africa today after a 15+ hour plane ride through New York - pretty difficult for anyone, much less a 6'5" man! We're already missing them, hating to be separated as a family, especially because Lauren is not feeling well...ALREADY! I knew it would happen, but didn't anticipate it quite this quickly. Keith said it was either the spicy meal (everything there is seasoned with strange spices) or the bumpy car ride (she gets carsick easily!) Either way, her stomach is not agreeing with her. It's 7:35 pm there and they were already heading to bed - don't blame them one bit. I'll be sure to update the blog often on their church work and evangelism.

Lauren in Gods house

This week my sister, Lauren went to Camp Gamp which is church camp with the 3rd - 6th grade. I bet she is having so much fun there. If all of you could keep my sister in prayers that would be great!

Money Raised for Lauren's Africa Trip - God is GOOD!

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Today it's official...Lauren has enough money to make the trip to Africa! She's thrilled.

Lauren and Keith have been preparing for months for a mission trip to Africa July 30-August 10. This will be Keith's third trip and Lauren's first. Lauren has had a heart for this trip since she was 7 - the year that Keith and Hannah made the trip to Ghana. Now is her time!...

She and Keith will join Bud and Brayden Jones and Nathan and Isaac Green on the 10 day trip to Ghana. She's been doing a lot to prepare for the trip. She's made and sold more pies than we can count, she sent out approximately 50 sponsor letters to friends and family, and our funnest fundraiser involved flamingos!

We got the idea from my sister-in-law, Kris, who received a yard-full of flamingos herself. The idea is to place an enormous amount of pink, plastic flamingos in the yard of a family friend with a letter attached explaining the fundraiser. To remove the pretty flamingos, the family must pay $10.00. For $15.00, the family can also have the flamingos placed in another yard of their choice and for $20.00 the family can also have "Flamingo Insurance" so they won't be "flamingoed" again! It's been really fun to deliver the flamingos "in secret!"

With these fundraisers, Lauren has raised the $2,800 needed for the trip. Also, with the 5 shots needed behind her, now she waits for the packing....

Proud of your effort, Lanie and we can't wait to see how God will use your sweet spirit in serving Him in Africa.

I'm Going to Dream About Pies!

Lauren and I made 11 pies tonight to prepare for her Africa fundraiser at FoxFest tomorrow. We're both pros at baking but oh my......will I dream about chocolate, cherry or apple? Hope to raise good money tomorrow...the Lord ALWAYS provides when we're following His will.

I'm A Blogger!

This is Lauren - Mom included me as an author on our family blog, so now I'll be updating you on happenings with our family. Stay tuned....

Lauren and TAKS

I've been meaning for months now to post on this blog about family happenings...don't know why I haven't. Today is the perfect day to kick it off. GREAT news about my Lauren. She got the results from her Math TAKS and found out that she got a perfect score! Didn't miss ANY! So proud of her...and I feel so fortunate that God allowed us to raise girls that are smart and care about their studies! Thank you, Lord and thanks Lauren for all of your hard work!