Leaving on the Pre-teen Mission Trip

Tomorrow morning Scott and I will be traveling with our oldest son, Joshua, to the intercity of Nashville, TN. We are going with our children's Pastor, Julie, and 8 other adults. We are taking 32 5th and 6th graders with us. Please pray that God will help prepare all of our hearts for this trip. I know that we will be seeing things we are not used to . I hear there is a lot of drugs in this neighborhood too. Also, please pray for our safety. We have some kids that are going that have been through a lot in their personal lives this past year. I'm praying this will help them grow closer to God during their rough lives. Last I heard, I will have a certain child in my car that is related to fellow bloggers! My last list contained the name Drew Englund! I was teasing him all last week during VBS that he was going to be my best friend after this trip, since we will have spent 2 whole weeks together by the end! (I taught his VBS class) I'm not sure how excited he was, but I will have pictures upon my return!
On a personal note, please pray for my dad and my other 3 boys while we are gone. My dad is so wonderful and took a weeks vacation to keep them for us. I trust my dad 100%, but I know this is going to be difficult. Aaron is always into things and on the go. My sister is in Florida visiting her biological dad for the next 2 weeks, so he will be alone with the boys. I pray for protection and peace for the them while we are away.
Well, I need to do lots of things so I can leave town in the morning! Thanks for your prayers and we return the evening of July 1st. I'll have pictures then.

On a side note, I weighed myself this a.m. I weighed 227.2. In 3 weeks I'm down 10 pounds!!!!

VBS and the Weekend

It has been one exhausting week! Of course, just about all of them are anymore! I must be getting old! Anyway, my cousin Paul convinced Scott to join a softball team with him. Scott used to love to play ball, and I told him he ought to go for it. It's good exercise, and we would go cheer him on. This is Scott up to bat. One of these days I'll post an actual picture of him that you can see his face! This is my cousin, Paul, up to bat. The team lost 13-2, but it was their first game. Hopefully, they will get some better.
This morning we had our VBS program. We had a total of 375 kids signed up, with our highest night of attendance being Wed. with 309. I taught the 5th grade and had 25-32 kids each night. Some of those nights were very rough. Attitudes are running high in that age group! On Thurs. one boy, who was a visitor, asked Jesus into his heart! It was very exciting and makes all the rough part worth it! This is Aaron singing. Sorry the pics are dark, I just got a new camera and I'm trying to work with it still.
This is a pic of just one side of the church! There were so many kids there today! It was great!

My Weight

>Ok, I don't know how to turn pictures. I'm just trying to see how crazy people have to bend to look at this! This is actually an awful pic of me, but the point is my body, not face. I'm doing this for prayer and support. I've struggled with my weight most of my life. I had those few "glory years" in high school. The sad part is I thought I was fat then! A few years ago I lost 63 pounds. We had a lot of family trauma occur and I gained it all back. I am a stress eater. I use food to cope with feelings. When I lost the weight before, Troy (Martha's husband) told me I was an inspiration. Those words now haunt me. I know they weren't meant to, but it reminds me of what I failed at. I thought if I use this blog as a prayer support group and for accountability, it will help me so much. I am learning I need to use different things to cope. Mainly, I need to give it all to God. It seems so simple, but when I'm having a really bad day with the kids (attitudes and fighting are constant anymore) it seems easier to shove food in my mouth. This is my starting photo. I joined Curves too. I started June 4th and weighed 238.4. I plan on posting weekly weights to stay accountable. I figure if I put my numbers out there for the blogger world to see, it will help me stay focused. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

This is me, my dad and my sister Meaghan. I just wanted to quickly say a very happy Father's Day to my dad. I know that he regrets not raising me in the ways of God (he did have awesome parents that did that) but he did teach me so many things. He is a wonderful christian example now! He is raising my 17 year old sister on his own and I know that hasn't been easy. He is always willing to keep my boys at any time I need help. He actually keeps them every Saturday night. (I know some of you are jealous) We meet him at church on Sunday mornings. This man took a week's vacation to keep my 3 younger boys, so that Scott and I can both go on the pre-teen mission trip with Joshua. He is completely unselfish and willing to help anyone. I love you Dad!!!

A Recap of the Last Few Weeks

The last day of school for the boys was on May 31st. I'm just a little behind!! This is Aaron getting on his van (Don the driver-couldn't ask for a better man for this job) for his last day of kindergarten! I can't believe it's over already! Andrew and Dillon (my friend's son that I put on the bus so she can get to work) waiting for the bus the last day. They are the same age. Dillon is average size for 9, Andrew is just huge! I am finding it really hard to believe he will be in the 4th grade. He received awards for highest honors all 4 quarters, and a gold medal for reading. He earned extra reading points (on computer tests they take) for the entire year. I am very bad and don't have a pic of Joshua on the last day. He leaves early in the morning and I wasn't awake enough to remember the camera! Joshua earned a band medal for having a A+ for 3 quarters (would have had 4 if he turned in his practice time that he did do), received a Social Studies award, Math award (doesn't get that from me) and honor roll. I'm still in total denial that he will be in 6th grade!!!

We took one day and went to Kings Island. Some friends from church went with us also. We took a picnic to eat at the park. This is Naomi, Stephen and Joshua.

We visited with Blue. Dillon went with us this day also. He calls me aunt Leslie, I've known his mom since the 4th grade. The older boys still enjoy getting their pictures with the characters.

My dad has a christian friend he works with who owns horses. He's been wanting my dad to bring the boys to see him. He's especially interested in Aaron, because he would eventually like to do a special needs program. Horse back riding is a big thing for special needs kids. It is used for a lot of theraputic reasons. This is Jared enjoying his ride.

Aaron did love it. I couldn't go that day since one of the boys was sick. Scott said Aaron was so excited and wanted to ride every horse he saw!

Well, this is a quick recap of our last few weeks!

First Day Out Of School

Well, it is the first day of summer break for the kids. I was up at 3 a.m. with Andrew throwing up! This is not the way to start summer break! Please pray for the other kids not to get sick too. Especially Aaron, he had ended up in the hospital numerous times since he dehydrates at a quicker rate. Also with his low muscle tone, he chokes easily. It is not fun! I'm off to clean my bathroom. I was scheduled to clean someone else's house today, and that is not going to happen now!