Here we go!!!

Tonight's the night...we take off @ 12:30 am and will be in NC by 10 ish tomorrow! We'll be in Boone until Sunday... then Daddy heads to Rockbridge and the rest of us to Winston. We are so excited to see everyone! If we haven't gotten to talk to you yet and you'll be in one of those two places- please call Daddy's cell phone so we can cross paths at some point. Can't wait to see everyone!!!! Yaayy for cousins!!! Yaay for grandparents!!! Yaaay for friends!!!
In the meantime... the action will continue in our absence around here! We'll be praying for a group of girls this week in the cabin "Buckskin Charley"- they're from Salem OR. Their leaders are Krista, Emilie, and Lyndsay- and the girls are Jade, Michelle, Hailey, Katie, Zoya, Hollie, Galene, Alex, Ali, Amber, Erica, Chelsea, Mckenna, and Maria. Their leaders will be walking by their sides this week... experiencing new physical challenges, laughing hysterically, being goofier than any highschooler would ever be in her hometown, and listening to the gospel of Christ presented to them in small (yet big) pieces each day. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes to the gift of God... eternal life in Christ Jesus and that they'll know so deeply that it's by grace we are saved... freed... made brand new!
Whenever we fly on a plane or even talk about it, I ask mommy if we'll be going to heaven... it is somewhere way up there, right? She always says "not today"... but then stops in her path and thinks for a second and says something like... "well, I guess we might be going today but we never really know when He's going to come get us! We better be ready!" My question is always a great reminder for her. Today I told her "Yeah... Jesus is just up there now moving some furniture around." She looked a little confused... but then she remembered one of my favorite Steve Greene songs... giggled... and asked if that was what I was talking about... so I sang it for her... it's straight from Jesus' lips... he promised that... "In my Father's house are many mansions... so I go to prepare a place for you!" So if you don't know Jesus already, please know that he loves you so much that he's moving furniture around for you up there even as you read this... and you can't get there on a plane or a trian or a boat or even with your own two feet... for just as we hope our highschool friends will see this week... it's a free gift (one we can't ever earn and don't even deserve) that we're saved through telling Jesus we need him... accepting His gift, believing in Him... who died for our sins but came back to life so we can have a new life too! He's the only way! We' ll keep telling you more about this amazing gift throughout the summer as we get to share stories and pictures.
We love you all and can't wait to see quite a few of you we've been missing way out here!!!

We love him to the moon....

and back!

prom, pizza & the persistent widow

So we went to our first prom... the first annual WFR Prom. I didn't win prom queen... but I was the 'Bell' of the ball. Here's us getting ready to go... I wish we had some pics of the actual event but the camera accidently went home with Daddy and Lincoln when he started crying five minutes after we got there. Babies and loud music apparently don't mix, who knew? Though, we're still not certain we should call Lincoln a baby... toddler may be the more appropriate term... just look at him next to Henry!

This next movie is rated G... that stands for Grandparents... meaning it may only interest those who hold that title. However, the amount of times that it will be viewed by at least one titleholder I know of ( i love you Mimi) will make it truly worthwhile to post. Here's tonights dinner... kids definetely love it:)

And finally.... the campers are coming!!! Week One of the summer camping season! This is why we are here... to see campers come to know Jesus and get to enjoy and live forever with Him! Daddy's been sooo busy (but when he should be running low on energy, it seems he just gets more and more pumped!) The rest of us won't have as much direct contact with campers but we will be praying and supporting Daddy with whatever he needs. Will you pray with us? Mrs. Wagner recently reminded us that the fruit of our labor may not be known till eternity... but we do know that the faithful prayers of a righteous man (or woman) avail much. (James 5:16) Also, we know our labor is not in vain (I Cor 15:58). Will you labor with us this summer in prayer... we can be like that persistent widow woman, now she's got it figured out... I should know- if I ask Mommy at least 20 times for another cookie she usually caves (and she's no softy either). ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018:1-8;&version=31; ) As a family, we'll be specifically praying for one cabin of campers and their leaders each week throughout the summer. We'll keep you posted on these cabins and all the happenings around here. Things are getting exciting! Can't wait to share more!

In Training

Well... it happened.... things have gotten a little rocky around here.... Rocky Balboa, that is. Mommy and Daddy have never been so excited to put us to bed ever since someone left a freebie box with the entire collection of 'Rocky' VHS's at Daddy's office. They've been "knockin'" them out one by one every night this week. They seem a little more motivated to exercise and they keep humming the same tune over and over. So, since there isn't much else to report, here are a few brief clips of our week. (please be sure to read the final credits)

Quotable Lu 2

Daddy walks in the door for lunch today...

Daddy: "Hey Lucy, can I have a big hug?!"
Lucy (pushing a shopping cart and toting no less than five bags full of various items):
" I can't right now... I'm full of hands."
Daddy: You mean your hands are full?" :)
Lucy: Oh, yes.

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Our friend Sloppy Joe

Mommy likes to freeze big batches of food in advance b/c cooking and cleaning up aren't her favorite things to do every evening. Sometimes she makes a months worth of a recipe before we ever even try it (some day she'll learn). A while back she decided she loved Sloppy Joes. Into the freezer goes a months worth.

1st Sloppy Joe Dinner :
Me and Henry work on finishing our first plate at each meal until dinner the next night, with a few brief moments of gagging (it apparently isn't our favorite)

a week passes...

2nd Sloppy Joe Dinner, renamed "Irish Joes":
It's St. Patricks day... Mommy defrosts a batch, but this time makes green rolls to go with it. Me and Henry gobble it up and go for seconds!

a week or so passes....

3rd Sloppy Joe Dinner:
(Daddy's out of town)
Mommy: "Tonight we're having Irish Joes again"
Me and Henry: "Yaaayyy!
Mommy: "I don't have any green buns tonight though so we'll just use plain buns, ok?"
Me and Henry: "ok, Yaayy Irish Joes!! (Then we gobble it up and go for seconds)

another week or so later...

4th Sloppy Joe Dinner:
Daddy makes dinner and announces: "Let's eat... it's Sloppy Joes for dinner tonight!" (Oh no, he let the S word slip!)

an hour passes at the table (or what it felt like at least)

Daddy: What's wrong, I thought you all loved Sloppy Joes?
Lucy: No Daddy, We love IRISH Joes.

5th Sloppy Joe dinner...
We'll see how it goes tonight- Daddy's learned his lesson, though, so we should be able to finish off the Freezer Joes as long as He specifies their nationality first!

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Our friends came to see us this weekend!! Mr. Chris came all the way from NC to play with us for a few days... and Mr. Brandon and Mrs. Alaina came from Seattle to work on the bike trails but we got to play with them some too! Despite Mrs. Alaina being slightly lactose intolerant, we've shared a few great ice cream moments over the years:

Flashback to Nov. 2006:

Present day, May 2009:

Henry in his "cowboy" shirt... anything plaid is "cowboy" to him these days... and that's all he ever wants to wear.

a tough decision

The pool's been open the last few days and Mommy's trying to get us there as much as possible so she can start strategizing a plan for this summer. Her theory is that it's got to get easier the more we go, right? Didn't seem hard to me though. I love gliding through the cool water with every muscle in every limb clenched around Mommy's body. Henry, however, took his usual laid back approach and enjoyed bobbing and kicking with his floaties the whole time. Mommy's end goal is for me to learn how to swim... for Henry not to bob too far into the deep end by himself, and for Lincoln to learn to love his little red sun tent that Mrs. Sherrell loaned us for the summer... which has already proven to fit at least 5 toddlers in it- unfortunately all on top of him. Kids love tents. Today mommy tried walking to the pool, thinking the stroller would lull Lincoln into a deep sleep so she could focus on me and Henry in the water... that didn't work as well as she planned. But there was a little lulling on the way home. Here's Henry in the backpack struggling to make a tough decision... lolipop or sleep... both soooo appealing after after a good hour of bobbing.

... and here's some bonus footage of Henry chasing a small red dot at the Pratt's.... don't know if Henry or Rufus enjoyed it more. Kids love lasers.

interpretive dancing

Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Becky... Mommy told me that you two would appreciate the fact that she's raising up a new generation of interpretive dancers... more videos to come.