Things I love about Fall....

Kids in costume.....




Beautiful Trees....




Fat waddling pumpkins....




Hot apple cider....




What's your favorite thing about Fall?

Great Blog-

Today I found a great blog written by MK Kandra Robertson-

She is an excellent writer!

If you get a chance go over there and check it out- It is worth the read. She has wisdom far beyond her years!

Happy Wednesday Bloggers it is raining (shock) and 74 out.

I got the best package from my sister-in-law Penny. Little Halloween Goodie bags from Mrs. Fields cookies! Do I have the best family or what???

Sometimes.....

I get so frustrated with myself for being frustrated with others......

I can get short, out of patience, and even hurtful sometimes with those that are around me.

Why does that happen?

The ones that I am to nurture
The ones that were given for my care
The ones that I would die to protect

I can harm with my tongue?

Yesterday was one of those days. I was told by Emma's teacher that she needed to start reading allowed to strengthen her reading. The whole process is similar to going to the dentist- but it seems to last longer and is done without the aid of numbing Novocaine.

She will stop in the middle of reading and want to talk, sing, comment, chat about what I am currently doing, and frankly find any way to just plain ignore reading. Yesterday I told her that every time she stopped I was going to add 2 minutes to the timer. That made her flustered. She then kept asking me to tell her every word that she did not know. She did not want to learn them herself, or sound the words out. She just wanted the answer.

I stopped her and said- This is your reading time. You have to learn to sound these words out. You have to do this- this is not my reading time. You are not going to be a stronger reader until you apply yourself.

She burst into tears. I said why don't you take five minutes and we will go from there. She ran into her room and cried. I felt immediately felt horrible.

What I was saying was actually the truth. It was her reading time- I was accurate in everything that I communicated to her but I was not doing it with love. I was doing it in frustration. The words had leapt out of my mouth, taken on the form of darts, and were piercing her one by one. The point that I was trying to convey was lost by my harmful delivery.

She was crying so hard I could hear her gasping for breath. You know what I mean- the hiccuping sound that you and I make when we are crying. The sound that comes out when you want to talk but you jerk each word to the point of nonrecognition. I knocked on her door and asked her if I could come in.

I put her in my lap and talked to her. I said Emma- I am sorry for the way I was talking to you. I really meant what I said but I said it the wrong way. I did not mean to hurt you. We talked some more and I asked her to forgive me for my shortness. Later on that night she finished the best 10 minutes in her reading history. I think she only asked for help on two words. She beamed when the timer went off. I noticed that I had not been holding my breath during the 10 minute reading time. What was the difference? The feeling of love, acceptance, knowing that someone was in your corner, and that her nest had been re-feathered.

How many times have I hurt someone with my words and have not even known it? I might have been too busy to stop and really listen to someone, or help them. Maybe a MK called with a need and I was trying to get the girls in bed, or was busy running around doing several things at once.

Last night I was on the phone with an MK who was in need. I stopped everything that I was doing and gave him 100% of my attention. After he talked for about 35 minutes he said- I am sorry for taking time away from you family. He then went on to say that he could get a hold of his Mom today and just needed to know that everything would be okay. He hung up by saying thanks for really listening and loving all of us.

After I hung up the phone I had to go find a quiet place to just steal away and pray. Lord help me to not quickly forget the lessons that I learned. Guard my tongue, open up my heart to share you love, your words, and your thoughts and not my own. Help me to pour confidence and value into others. Make me acceptable in your sight.

Does this mean that I have "conquered" this? Absolutly not. I am sure down the road it will happen again. I pray it is none to soon, and that I will hold my tongue, listen, and love.

It's not everyday that I have the right words to say

so I will simply borrow these lyrics from Kari Jobe today-

Here, before Your altar,
I am letting go of all I've held
of every motive, every burden,
everything that's of myself.
and I just wanna wait on You my God
I just wanna dwell on who You are.

beautiful, beautiful oh I am lost for more to say
beautiful, beautiful oh Lord, You're beautiful to me

oh beautiful

here in Your presence,
I am not afraid of brokenness
to wash Your feet with humble tears
oh I would be poured out till nothing's left.
and I just wanna wait on You my God

Just to make your Monday- Real Classifieds!

What you missed over the weekend

Our Church had a Hillbilly Camping weekend. Everyone that has tents and campers head out to a campsite in west Little Rock for the weekend. This year the theme was Hillbilly Camping. There was a contest for best camper, best hillbilly outfit, best hillbilly tent etc. Had a hillbilly fashion show and games. It was great fun.

Friday Night there was a bring your own hillbilly dinner. John, the girls and I went. The girls got to roast marshmallows, hot dogs and get toasty by the fire. They loved it. John was not fortunate in that he jammed his knee somehow and did not realize it until Saturday morning when he tried to get out of bed.

Saturday John and I were to help with the hillbilly games- but he could not go.

Hillbilly Games included:

1. Spitting Contest- Spitting Brussel Sprouts.
2. Hillbilly Horseshoes- Using Toilet Rings.
3. Cricket eating contest- had to see who could eat 5 the fastest.
4. Ladies Frying Pan throw.
5. Men's log throw.
6. Corn Cob Eating Contest.
7. Egg Throw.

They won various prizes like- Golden frying pan, Washer and Dryer (washer and clothespin), Hillbilly briefcase (men's briefs with handle), Hillbilly Jacuzzi (can of baked beans), golden throne (gold toilet seat for the hillbilly horseshoes), and money for the eating contest.

Saturday night was a hillbilly fashion show. It was all great fun.

Sunday we had only one Am Service (we usually have a 9 and 11). The 9 AM met at 10 at the campsite and the 11 at church.

Yesterday I tried to do laundry and clean the house. We also were still dog-sitting. The girls love Bella and were so sad to say goodbye to her this morning.

Here are some of Emma's funny outtakes from the weekend-

-She decided to make me oatmeal last night as a treat (yep I was missing the treat part of it as well). She poured the water and oats into the bowl added brown sugar and brought it into me. I said that is so sweet- is it already cooked? She said- I knew I forgot to do something.

-She asked me if there was anyway to turn her roasted marshmallow inside out so that she could eat the soft part first.

-We rented a movie for them last night - She did not like the ending- she said I hate that when it just kind of hangs you leaving :)

-This week was report cards for both of the girls. Seanna has her Dad's gene pool and got all A's. Emma has her mothers. She got all A's and B's. I always hold my breath when I go to her teacher conferences.

Happy Monday to all!

Can you help me? I ran out of GAS!!

Yesterday I went to meet a friend for lunch at PANERA - first PANERA trip since leaving NC!! Yahoo. I then picked up her dog that we are dog-sitting and drove home. While sitting in traffic on the WAY to meet my friend I noticed the red light- YOU NEED GAS- light come one. Oh well I thought I have plenty of time. Really?

I was about 10 miles from home- just got off of the interstate and onto the highway and my engine dies. Yep. Just like that. I quickly turned on my hazards, put it into neutral and prayed I could make it to the Exxon that I could see ahead. I think my angels must have gotten their robes dirty and help push me to the parking lot. I literally landed about 40 feet away from the pumps. Oh best part of the story that I am missing is that it is POURING down rain. I see a truckload of guys (truckload=4) and say to them- Excuse me- Can you help me? I ran out of gas.

They look at each other shrug and start pulling out change. The one guy says I have 75 Cents, the next pulls out a wadded up dollar, and the third has a handful of pennies, nickels, and dimes. I looked at them confused and said- NO I don't want your money- I need you to help me push it to the pump. Again- it is in the rain. They push the back, I am standing next to the steering wheel pushing, and we get it to the pump. The one guy in the back is yelling that I am angling it too far. I am thinking look buddy this is as much as this Honda Pilot will turn with no power steering. I thanked them and asked if I could buy them a coffee. They all looked at me like I was a weirdo.

$52.07 later my car started like a charm. I still am laughing that they probably thought I was like a druggie looking for my next fix while sitting 40 feet from the pump.

I called John to tell him what happened. He said- do you realize that this makes four times now since we have been married that you have done this? The only funnier time was when I was 8 months pregnant and was along the 6 lane highway. I saw the tractor lawnmower man and ran after him (I also forgot my cell phone that morning). He thought I was going into labor and was freaking out. He wanted me to stop, sit in the grass and he was going to call 911. I said- no- I just need your phone to call my husband- I ran out of gas.

So four times in 11 1/2 years of marriage is not too bad. How many times spiritually in the past 11 1/2 years have I ran out of gas?

How many times have I passed my prayer closet when my need fuel light has come on? How many times have I been too busy when I felt the nudge of the Holy Ghost calling me to stop and bask in his presence?

May my spiritual life be more sensitive to that beckoning- than my natural eye is to that gas light. I have a new appreciation for that little amber light on my dash. From now on- I think I am going to obey it- especially on rainy days.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.

Col. 4:2

Some things that you might have missed during this week of non- blogging

- The girls had to get their hair done at church on Sunday since I was running late (shocking I know). When we were done- Seanna put the can of hairspray in my purse. I had to praise sing etc. I returned to my seat right before the preaching. I opened up my purse and about passed out from the fumes. The aerosol can of hairspray had been pressed and an entire (new) can of hairspray was now puddling in the bottom of my purse. Things were floating. I quickly grabbed my bag and went to a room. I tried to clean all of the sticky mess off of my epi-pen, wallet, cosmetic bags, credit card holder etc. The workroom was filled with a berry goodness smell. My friends kept walking by asking me if I had any hairspray they could borrow :)

-I was at the drive through for a McDonald's breakfast the other day. While I was waiting in line to pay a guy on the side of the drive through line was yelling out his order to the cashier. I was looking at him like what? He looks at me and says- hey it's a free country if I want to do the drive through like this I can. Do you have a problem with that? He then walks up to the cashier and pays for his food and walks to the next window to pick it up. I guess his system worked.

-While driving down the road yesterday I saw a guy that had no hood, two doors missing, and his trunk was flapping in the breeze. Wouldn't you know it I was on the phone and couldn't get a quick picture of it.

-Saturday we went to the Arkansas State fair- which really deserves a blog on it's own. I will summarize it to say Emma was obsessed by the pigs. We had to go one by one and look at all of them. She found one sow that was for sale. It was about two feet taller than me and probably three times my size. The gentleman came over to her and told her that it was for sale. She quickly with pleading eyes said- can we get it Mommy? The man said you can even littler box train them. I glared at him and said we don't have anywhere to put it. She said- it can live in my bedroom while I am at school and then at night sleep with me. The man enthused thought that would be perfect. I told him that I didn't know if our home owners association allowed animals with cloven hooves. Emma was devastated. I later laughed at the thought of that huge pig getting its hind-end in a litter box. Go figure.

-We late had to watch the pig races. Lindsey Lo-Ham was running against Miley Sow-rus, and Britney Squeals. Lindsey won. Probably the first time ever- but she won. Emma was delighted!

-So that is a glimpse into my last seven days. I hope you and staying warm, dry, and your days have been filled with laughter and the grace of God.

-Someone (no one will confess) has taken the remaining hairspray of the house and put water in it. I found this out yesterday while trying to spray my curls. They immediatly drooped and my head was filled with frizz. I though wow- this house must be really humid. Then tonight I was spraying Seanna's hair and it went from curly to flat in 5 seconds. It also had strange while bubbles all over it. I guess the invisible person also put hand soap in it. Hmmm I wonder who could have done that.

-The other night Emma asked to get out her mermaid tub set. She could not get the suction cups to release after she was done so she left it set up in the tub. At about 12:30 in the morning (while I was sound asleep) it falls into the tub. It was a double bang. I was so scared I fell out of bed. I did not tell John (he still doesn't know and does not read my blog) Shhh. I said in my sleep John sounds like some soda's fell in the fridge. Where did that come from? I did not know that is what I told him. I kept telling him to go and check to make sure the girls were okay. He said- they are fine-go back to sleep.


-So that is a glimpse into my last seven days. I hope you and staying warm, dry, and flu free. I hope your days have been filled with laughter and the grace of God.



-So that is a glimpse into my last seven days. I hope you and staying warm, dry, and your days have been filled with laughter and the grace of God.


CMN

Drumroll................

The winners are.....

- Christopher Brainos- He was the first with the correct answer-

Diet Coke Box

Random MK that commented winner is -

Meghan Willoughby

How was this chosen? There were 10 people that commented. I wrote the list from 1 to 10 and had John give me a number- he chose number 2- which was Meghan-

Congrats you two- I emailed you the codes for your $10.00 I-tunes card today.

Good Night you all- Crazy week- I will update you all tomorrow-

CMN

MK Contest- What is this????

We have two (count them - one, two) I-Tune $10.00 gift cards left from the MK Pizza Bash. Sooooooooooooooo here is the deal! What is this picture of?

1.The first MK that gives the correct answer will get the I-Tune card code emailed to them
2. I will randomly choose one name from all of the MKs that comment for the second I-Tunes card. This will be done on Wednesday!

Good Luck!!

This might be pretty hard- do you need a hint?

Someone has had too much time on their hands

Tonight while dinner was in the oven I had two little girls that were determined to get me into the kitchen right away. They kept telling me that they wanted celery. I knew that they were up to something.

Here is what they were up to you can click on the picture to see it larger:



Seanna had taken her Pixo Doll head that had fallen off and I guess they were trying to scare me. They both were laughing so hard at their little "project". I told them that they had WAYYYY to much time on their hands :)

Emma told Seanna as I walked away- See I told you she would not be scared.

Here is another of Ella the headless Pixo Girl if you weren't scared enough the first time:

Chubby Jack Cheese and Listening

Last night John stayed in with Seanna (who we now know has type A flu) so that I could go to the grocery store. We have been living off of bread, Vienna sausages, and buffalo strips. Yum - aren't you anxious to come to dinner?

So while there I walked by the deli section. Emma asked if we could get some Chubby Jack Cheese since we were there. This being interpreted is Colby Jack Cheese. I turned around to see a fellow deli attendee turning around as well so he would not laugh.

While we were waiting a gentleman with a hearing aid came to the area. It was the type that was implanted by surgery and attached to his head. Another man asked if he minded explaining to him how that worked.

He said- I hear but I don't hear. I hear what you hear but it is all noise to me. This helps me focus on the noise and listen to the right voice.

I about started crying there at the deli. Isn't that exactly what the Lord had been dealing with me about as of late? I am hearing all of the voices but not focusing on the right voice? His.

I came home unpacked a bazillion groceries and went to prayer. I have got to be in contact with him. I have to have his touch, his anointing, his voice or I am nothing. Nothing else matters but being able to distinguish that voice from the others that are floating through my head.

How about you? Are you listening to that voice when it tells you-

I have called and chosen you.
I love you.
I have a work for you to do
Do not Fear.
I have equipped you.
I will go with you.
You are in the right place, the right time, and I WILL open the doors.
You are mine.
I am upholding you with my right hand.
I am your healer.
I am your deliverer.
I am your redeemer.

Really- when you think about it out of all of the sound in our life- his voice is the only one that matters.

John 10:27- My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

Psalm 46:10- Be Still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all of the earth.

I Kings 19:12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

The mystery is solved....

Do you remember a few blogs ago I mentioned that Emma had cleaned her room by putting her dolls over her mounds of dirty clothes and things that needed to be cleaned? When I asked her about it yesterday she had a great reason for doing this!

One of her dolls- Samantha is from a very poor orphanage where the children have to sit and also sleep on dirty clothes. Emma was just trying to make her feel comfortable in our house. While I admire her sensitivity in the situation- it is just not going to work. It does however solve the mystery.

I told her that we were not an orphanage that allowed children to sit on dirty clothes. I reminded her that she HAD to clean it up!

Seanna is on day four of her fever. I have an appointment for her to go to the Dr tomorrow in the AM. I don't know about you but I don't do well with my kids being sick. I set up little beds for them in the living room, have vicks smeared on their upper lip, their nose, their feet, and they stop me when I want to rub it on their chest. I surround them with Kleenex, trash bags, and cough drops. I make them check their temperature about every 1/2 hour. Seanna today when seeing me write down her temperature told me I needed help. Yep, I am pretty freaked out when they get sick.

Today she took a shower and when she came out of it she felt faint and was really pale. I went into her room and started praying for her. Emma ran in and began to pray loudly and cry. She kept saying Jesus she is too young to go. I later told her that probably was not the faith building prayer that Seanna needed to hear.

Tonight her fever was down to 99.7- the lowest it has been since Sunday. She was more energetic and was being her sweet silly self.

I dread going to the Dr. tomorrow. I don't know if I have enough Purell to fit into our lawn sprayer. I can't find the hazmat suits, and the latex onesies must still be at the cleaners. I will pray that she doesn't catch anything else as we walk into germ-ville.

My husband always ask how I can be a missionary kid when I am such a germ freak. He does not believe stories of me playing in the dirt all day, coming in with clumps of soil from head to toe. I guess living in the states will change you- and having kids- well that is a whole other blog.

As for me it's 11:33 PM and I need to go to bed. I have three others that are quietly sleeping in my house. That does not include the two gerbils who are currently chewing on the cage and taking turns on the exercise wheel.

Good night dear friends!

PS This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my blog- but it IS colorful and strange and I AM tired :)

Um.....The Real General Conference Blog

It is with a heavy and bashful heart I write the tale of the real General Conference event that took place in my heart this week.

Wednesday Night I went to the musical/drama with my parents. My parents were with my but I stopped to talk to John on the phone (he was speaking at our home church that night). I was late and saw a lady that looked familiar to me. I stopped and said- "Hey how are you doing?" She looked at me and said, "Are you talking to me?" I said "Yes, it has been forever." She again said "Do you remember me? No one remembers me. They only remember the important people from school."

I stopped and talked to her and told her that she was just as special and awesome as anyone else that stepped foot inside of IBC. I met her two daughters, left her with a quick hug and wave. I must say that I found my seat with a heavy heart.

No one remembers me she had said.

That is our whole fear isn't it? That is why when we are having a great conversation with someone at general conference we are frantically trying to look around for someone else to recognize us. We walk into the lobbies of our hotels just trying to have eye contact and recognition from anyone, all the while stepping past the Pastor's wife of 50 years that is the true heroine in the story.

This realization slapped me in the face when I saw my face placed right in the middle of this scenario. I went to the Minister's wives breakfast with my Mom. It's our thing. She doesn't like to go alone, and I try to be a good daughter once a year. Sister Hopkins is so gracious as to let us sit with the Central America, Caribbean, Mexico section. This is reserved for the missionary wives and leaders from that region.

This year that table was in the second row. We were right behind the table that was guest of the leadership of the breakfast. In one of my friends pictures I noticed that she and a group of ladies from that table were being photographed. Much to my chagrin I was sitting behind that table and my head the size of a turnip was between two ladies. I had this weird wallflower look on my face. It makes me shiver to see the picture in my mind's eye. What was that look? It was the same look that I used to have in High School when the cheerleaders walked by and I knew that I was lucky to be in drama club.

This was further engraved in my heart when my friend Rachel Coltharp was speaking during the breakfast. At the table behind me two ladies were talking. The first lady asked the second one- "Who is this speaking?" The other lady responded, "Rachel something or another, never heard of her." The first lady then questioned. "Hmm, I wonder how she got chosen to speak."

At this point I about went Karate Krazy on both of them to tell them to #1 Shut UP, #2 Listen she is annointed AND funny - that's why she is speaking, and #3 No One asked YOU TO SPEAK so stop being bitter. I then reattached the Holy Ghost Saline Drip into my arm and kept my mouth shut.

I made up my mind after those two experiences that I was going to be on a mission. Every person that I met from then on would be handled with grace, love, care, and be the most important person while they were talking to me. I would really listen to their stories, I determined that even though it was hard to do- I would not wave at the ones that walked past me or grab and hold them to talk to them in a second.

Do you know what? IT WAS amazing. ALL of God's people matter. Not just the cool ladies that have on their matching Coach boots, bags, and bows. Not just the ministers that have the D&G glasses, but the well worn ones that could pray a saint out of hell are just as amazing.

I thanked every elder that I could find. I was asked to sit with a district superintendant and his wife for dinner one night with my Mom. I listened to this 66 year old man tell of the great ups and downs of his life and his walk with God. No, I did not get to add my little funny quips or showcase my sarcastic humor but I did make a new friend. I saw them a couple of times after that and they made it a point to come over and check on my both times. He later thanked me for really listening to his stories. He said do you know what I noticed about you? You did not glaze over when I was telling you about my heart problems, about the six saints that recently died in my church, and about how I still know that I can do something for God. I said glaze over? You all are amazing. And do you know what? They are.

God help us as a generation if we can not see what really matters. Don't get me wrong. I am all for meeting new people, for looking good, and for being your best. But I am not going to trample my way over people to get there. Even if I can't recognize someones name I am determined all the more to give them my full attention.

I am sure that this does not apply to you. If you are not an outgoing people person this might not even apply but thank you for being gracious enough to listen to me.

My heart feels lighter. I pray I remember this lesson. Below is a LONG scripture I know but it is amazing!

I Corinthians 12:12-31 The Message

12-13You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive.

14-18I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.

19-24But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, "Get lost; I don't need you"? Or, Head telling Foot, "You're fired; your job has been phased out"? As a matter of fact, in practice it works the other way—the "lower" the part, the more basic, and therefore necessary. You can live without an eye, for instance, but not without a stomach. When it's a part of your own body you are concerned with, it makes no difference whether the part is visible or clothed, higher or lower. You give it dignity and honor just as it is, without comparisons. If anything, you have more concern for the lower parts than the higher. If you had to choose, wouldn't you prefer good digestion to full-bodied hair?

25-26The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.

27-31You are Christ's body—that's who you are! You must never forget this.

The Arkansas Tornado

I did not realize that a tornado went through Arkansas while I was gone. Actually- it looks like it only went through my house. Isn't that amazing? It mainly hit in the girls rooms, their bathroom, and the kitchen. It was the Seanna and Emma tornado.

Since we have been back Seanna has been sick. She has a fever of 101.3 for three days. Emma on the other hand has been fine. I have asked her over and over to clean her room. She has told me that it is clean.

Today I was taking out the trash and I finally found her stash of stuff. She had all of her dirty clothes and things that needed to be put away stuffed in the corner of her room. On top of that pile she had arranged her American Girl dolls in a little display. They were all dressed nice and she had even done all of their hair. She had arranged them in such a way that you would have to really look to see that she had all of her junk under it. She also had the closet door opened to the point that this was usually hidden when I walked in the room.

I wondered if God was sending me a visual diagram of my heart. How many times have we looked "normal" on the outside and yet there are things that are hidden within.

It is imperative that we keep our hearts clean. I have had times when others think that things are fine with me- yet there are huge things in my heart I have been covering up. It is SO important to cleanse our hearts daily in him. Don't let seeds of doubt, bitterness, hatred, envy take root. You can keep them hidden for months- but they are destroying your soul.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:2

As to the Arkansas Tornado that went through. I think when a certain little someone comes home from school today the winds will be dying down!

If I may- I am borrowing the term- General Conference Hangover

I read the quote of an MK - who said that she was suffering from a General Conference Hangover. I might concur with that remark! It was an amazing week~ but I am glad to be home.

I also want to start out by explaining my lack of blogging while I was in St. Louis. It has to do with four numbers- ready for them? 14.95. Yes,that was the daily cost for Internet at my hotel. I love you all but can't validate spending that when I had my phone for Internet "emergencies".

The week flew by- (Warning Alarm- this next bit is boring free to skip to next paragraph)
Monday arrival, getting last minute details ready for meetings.
Tuesday- meeting with Foreign Missions Directors of each state.
Wednesday- Booth Set up, MKM Team meeting,attended the Drama with my parents.
Thursday- 9am till 11 PM- Booth.
Friday 10-12 Ministers wife breakfast with my Mom. Booth 1-4, set up for the Pizza Bash. John and girls arrived at about 6 PM. John was sick and stayed in the room all weekend. He drove sick- and wanted to turn around but was a great Dad and brought his daughters to General Conference.
Friday Night 10-12 PM Pizza Bash.
Saturday 9 am till 11 PM Booth.
Sunday 9 Am till 3 PM booth.

We had a great turn out at the Pizza Bash. We think about 225 MKs. The OMT Team was there, most of the Regional Directors, and several of the Foreign Missions Board attended this year. It was amazing.

We had an 11 question Multi Media quiz based on old pictures of our MKM team and other FMD leaders. The winning team received $10.00 I-tunes card for each person at their table.

The Spammies (similar to a Grammy but consist of a can of spam signed by the MKM team) were given out again this year. The first one went out to to Alaiyna Turner- for being the newest MK. She and her family were just appointed this year to the country of Turkey. Joy Tracy- received the second Spammie for attending a function after she had been asked several times. The final Spammie was based on audience participation- voting on the best bald head. The Spammie went to Andrew Flowers!

We had prayer- and when I tell you we had prayer- the LORD SWEPT into that meeting room. Lives were changed, hearts were mended, direction was given, God stepped in and took over.

The Mini-Dell went to Amy Votaw Hartmon. We of course could not make it too easy on her. We called her up- gave her a jar of Mini-Dills and said you didn't think it was a computer did you? She walked all the way back to her seat and we called her back for her real prize!

Thank you to the Robertson Girls who did an amazing job in decorating the room. It was beautiful in black, white, and hot pink.

MK Ministries has a great team- it is able to accomplish what it does because of those who have led before. Thank you to Rob Rodenbush, Rob Harris, Robert Johnson, Loretta Scism, and others who have set a solid foundation for this ministry.

The Lord blessed us with more partner in missions, and many first time MKs connecting this year.

Today I am trying not to do a thing. I am doing pretty good at it so far :). John is doing much better and is at work today. Seanna, however, is at home sick with a fever. She is so worried about missing school. I can't imagine being 10 and being worried about missing school. That must have been something passed down in John's genetic side of the family!

Thank You to my gracious friends who waited until 11 PM for me to have dinner with them. They know who they are- and that is what true GC memories are made of.

Thank You to Mark Hattabaugh, Carla Burton, Kaylah Robertson, Tessa Robertson, Chvana Robertson, Laurissa Wolfram, and Jon Cantrell who helped at the booth. Huge Hugs and I hope you have a week of unmerited favor!

Happy Monday Gang.

PS- I am making headway. I was longing for home when leaving General Conference and knew that home was in Arkansas. I was not mentally dreading the 13 hour trip to North Carolina but embracing the 7 1/2 hours to Little Rock. Life is good!