*Written by my husband*

First Baptist of Bolivar before we started working


Debris we cleaned out of the church

I recently returned from a trip to Bolivar Peninsula (near Galveston, TX). This trip was an amazing adventure for me on several different levels. First, this trip was a major breakthrough for me. I was always saying I would like to go on a mission trip yet I always had a reason I couldn't go. God compelled me in the words of James 1:22 to "prove myself a doer of the word and not merely a hearer of the word."
The second breakthrough for me was two-fold. I took my son with me and on this trip I saw him become a man, a servant of God, equal with me. The 2nd part of this breakthrough was personal. I did not meet my biological father until I was 21 years old and I didn't have a DAD until I was 10 years old. Personally, I struggled with raising a son because I didn't have a man to raise me in my early years. God broke down the walls between me and my son on this trip. I can now begin to build a new legacy that I can leave for my son.
The last thing that God has done in my life through this trip is to open my eyes to the never ending hurt and devastation that people go through here on earth. We accomplished amazing things while down there, but there's so much more that needs to be done. I will be going back and we could use many more volunteers. If you can swing a hammer or use a shovel, we can use you. If you would like to be a part of a future trip to Bolivar, please contact me or Thirst No More ministries (http://www.thirstnomore.org/). Consider being a doer and not just a hearer and see what God will do in your life!

Some of the destruction





Before and after pictures of the church

Hello Big Tex!

Last week the kids and I went to the State Fair of Texas with my dad. We get in free with our homeschool tickets and he gets in free on Thursdays for senior citizen day...all we pay for is parking and food. It's kinda become an annual tradition for us. This year the King Tut exhibit is in Dallas and they had this really cool sand sculpture for it-


Mikayla likes to try weird food at the fair so this year she tried fried alligator. It was gray! ICK! She liked it and that's all that matters.

My girl and me


Hatley likes the car show. He would rather sit in sports cars all day than ride the rides on the Midway. Crazy boy.

Overwhelmed and Amazed

The past week has been sooo busy for me. My husband and son are heading out tomorrow on their first mission trip together. They will be helping clean up the mess left by hurricane Ike. Since they are working in an area still without electricity, they must take food that doesn't need to be refrigerated or cooked. We don't buy alot of packaged foods, so that was a new shopping experience for me. I can't believe what all you can buy in a can! Is it just me, or does meat in a can seem gross to anyone else? I know we have all eaten tuna out of a can, but anything else just seems nasty to me. Anyway, I have been all over town (meaning every suburb of Dallas) trying to find rubber boots, work boots, gloves, hardhats, masks, jeans, socks, etc. I thought I could just run to Walmart and get most supplies...wrong. They don't carry hardhats or rubber gloves or more than 2 pkgs of N95 masks per location. sigh. Home Depot was my next destination and while they had most of what I needed, they did not have everything. Did ya'll know that boots in a men's size 7 1/2 are nearly impossible to find? Not kidding. My son wears an 8 in tennis shoes, but needed a smaller size in boots. Kid sizes generally stop at 6 or 7 and men's start at 8. WHAT?? What about the poor pre-teen who needs a stinkin' 7 1/2??? Someone needs to do some more detailed market research on shoe sizes. Wanna hire me? I can tell you EXACTLY what stores don't carry this in-between kid and grown-up size. (HELLO, Target, old friend, you failed me) I did finally find him some boots yesterday at Walmart. Had I looked at Walmart before yesterday? Why yes, yes I did. The Walmart I went to first did not carry his size in a boot that was reasonably priced. I found them at our local Walmart for what I thought was a fair price considering he will have them totally trashed by the time he gets home.
Several times this week God has amazed us. Why are we always amazed when He blesses us? Especially in times we are being obedient? Shouldn't we EXPECT everything to work out for our good? Well, I didn't. I got caught up in worrying about how we will pay the bills with Jeff being off work for a week, how will we pay for all of these supplies, will I find everything they need??? Of course I not only found all they need, we had TONS of supplies donated from our home school group, church (we are just visitors and they helped!), and friends & family. I am talking about enough for them to share with others. Jeff and I were discussing finances a few nights ago and were pondering where the money will come from for gas, food, etc. We recently committed to not using the credit card AT ALL now that we have no debt. We prayed, decided it was going to work out fine, and went to bed. The next morning, the first call I received was a family member saying they are sending a check! I then took my son to math class and a friend gave me a Walmart gift card for the trip! The total of these two gifts was more than we needed!! God is amazing. We are not worthy. Again, why do I worry?
I have learned several lessons through this experience. 1) I need to trust God because He is trustworthy even when (especially when) I have no idea how He's going to pull it off. 2) I am not the "behind the scenes, quiet servant" I have always thought I was...I was u-p-s-e-t that no one (read- husband) thanked me for working so hard and organizing so much...I am a B-R-A-T. Plain and simple. It's ugly and I don't like it. 3) I am proud of my guys for doing something I would not do. This will be dirty, hard work and they are excited about it. Who am I kidding? Wouldn't all boys like getting dirty and possibly seeing snakes and alligators while serving the Lord?
Please pray for our family this week. For the boys while they are working hard and for us girls as we stay home. (slumber party Wed. night..woo hoo!) We are under attack and several battles have been lost already in preparing for this trip. We don't want to lose any more...we want to be joyful and victorious!

Ultimate Lasagna

2 pound dried lasagna noodles (if you don't have a DEEP pan, use 1 lb

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds ground beef

2 pound ground Italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, sliced

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped

oregano leaves

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups red wine

2 (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano)

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 quarts ricotta cheese

(2 containers) 2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound mozzarella cheese

shredded Grated Parmesan and mozzarella, for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly and coat with olive oil to keep them moist and easy to work with.
Coat a large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, an oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with the ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon.
In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesan. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper.
To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a deep 13 by 9-inch pan with olive oil. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheeses. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Why I haven't blogged lately

I am really bummed because I had several posts swarming around in my head and the photos on my camera, but my photo software won't import them! I am thinking of deleting the program and reinstalling it...do ya'll(all 2 who read my blog) know if doing this will delete photos already on my computer?? Somebody HELP!