Dragon Boat Race

Each year the local hospital holds the Dragon Boat Festival, a fundraiser for the future children's hospital. This is a HUGE event in Johnson City. I didn't realize how big until I saw it this year. Well, Boys to Men had a boat in the race this year and we WON!! May not seem like a big deal, but this was the first year we have done this and we beat out 60 other teams. This was my first time ever to be in a "rowing" race and I LOVED it. It was a ton of fun and great publicity for our work at BTM!

The final race...we're boat #2. It was an exciting and close race. We won by a tenth of a second!

That's Hope and I in the water after we won the final race. We got so excited we just had to jump in!

The winning team! Yeah!!!!

(You can see more pics from the day right here.)

a little behind on life...

life is crazy and busy right now. i've gotten a little behind on the blog....here come a few posts to try and play catch up.....

i wish....

....i could afford a great lawyer to get custody of three amazing kids

....the system wasn't broken

....DCS would actually do something to protect children

....people who had children understood what it means to have children before they make the decision to do so

....i was married so i could adopt those three amazing kids

....the judicial system took child abuse and neglect as seriously as they do meth abuse

....all the kids i work with will understand God's incredible love for them

....i could wish all their troubles away.....

but, instead of wishing, i should pray. pray long and hard for these things to be truth and not just wishes.

summer fun

well, the summer has been BUSY! a lot of fun and a lot of difficult work. God has been so gracious in giving me fun adventures to help ease some of the pain that i've been dealing with concerning some really hard circumstances with several of our families. i have really enjoyed some great time at the beach, well several beaches. had some fun visits with friends and family. here are a few pics from some of my adventures....you can see the rest at Kelly's Shots. i am excited to say that i have one more fun trip coming up this weekend before reality really sets in with the start of the school year. if you will, please pray for one of our families. i'll call them the T family for the sake of confidentiality. the five children of this family have endured horrible circumstances this summer and DCS can't seem to see the need to get these children in a safe environment. please pray for God's gracious hand to protect their precious lives and to move on their behalf.

A visit to Miami and the Keys....

beautiful bougainvillea....i love this stuff!!

enjoying a fun visit in Key West with Jewels...thanks for a great trip, girl!

leslie and i enjoying the beautiful waters and incredible life under the sea on a snorkeling adventure

Only 90 Miles from Cuba!

On to Garden City Beach, SC....

some of our Girlfriends enjoying the beach for the first time!

sailboats

On to Savannah for fun with the family!

mom, debbie, paula deen and sharon

Mom and I enjoying Savannah

tornado

the last couple of weeks have been like a tornado. i feel like i have been standing still while a tornado has been spinning madly about me. all of our students have finished the school year, so there have been lots of end of the year activites and we just returned from a trip to Washington DC with our junior high and high school girls. it was such a neat opportunity to see these girls experience Washington DC for the first time. we had a great trip! i am definitely exhausted, but it was well worth it. we were blessed with AMAZING weather and some fun experiences. we got to see the Rolling Thunder motorcycle ride, which was really cool. AND i got to go up into the Washington Monument for the first time out of all my many trips to DC.

our crew outside the national archives

kierra (my mentee) and i outside the capitol

me, isis, leslie and francis waitng to get tickets for the monument at 7am

the world war II memorial at night....it's my new favorite spot in DC

where's the whoop?

ok, so i've said it before, but i've been attending either a baby shower, wedding shower or a wedding every weekend for past couple of months. kind of crazy, i know, but so fun to celebrate these blessed times in friend's lives. so, being the aggie that i am, i can't help but notice the very clear absence of the celebratory "WHOOP" when the preacher announces, "You may now kiss your bride". for the first time in my life i have experienced this phenonmenon living outside of the usual aggie realm and i must say that it's just not the same without that "WHOOP". so, this weekend at tracey's wedding, i gave a good whoop when the groom kissed the bride and it was great and totally appropriate for tracey! i feel better! a few pics from the wedding...

me and tracey

kierra, tracey, latonya, latesha

several of the ladies from work

on another note, i would like to introduce you to my wednesday group. i spend each wednesday afternoon at northside elementary school with a beautiful group of girls. i must say that they are my most energetic group and i never know what i'm going to get each week! i absolutely love it! i love this school, this group of girls and the time i get to spend with them. i know you're not supposed to have favorites, but this group, without a doubt will be greatly missed from my summer as we take a break from school!

emani, tytiania, mashanda

courtney & tenecia

my wonderful wednesdays!

a glimpse into my work...

i spend my days working with kiddos and facilitating ways for volunteers to do the same. a.k.a. mentoring. we have many volunteer mentors who are sharing Christ with many children who are in need of His love and grace in their lives! i personally mentor one-on-one, but mostly in group settings. each day of the week i work with a different group of students. on thursdays, i travel up to mountain city to work with a group of girl's from mountain city elementary. last week we had our princess and manner's celebration at this fabulous restaurant, Suba's. they absolutely, without question, have the BEST desserts that i've ever put in my mouth! our Girlfriend's group received what i thought was the best compliment they could have received....our server told them that they behaved better and had better manners than the high school students who dine there for prom in their fancy dresses and tuxes. i love this group of girls and am thankful for God allowing me this season in their lives. here are a few pics of our crew....

beth, haley, ms. paula, destiny, brandy, & katie

keiley, samantha, alisha, eden & kirsty

Ms. Paula & I, my mtn. city partner in crime

spring fever

I have Spring fever! All I want to do these days is play outside, sleep late and eat popsicles! For one summer, I wish that I could revert back to childhood. I would love for that to happen this summer. You know, when you stay outside all day....sleep in, watch cartoons, eat a popsicle, play outside, eat a popsicle, swim, eat a popsicle, play on the swing set, eat a popsicle, chase your pets around the yard, eat a popsicle, help your mom pick veggies from the garden, eat a pospsicle, play outside some more, eat a popsicle, hope you don't have to go inside to eat dinner and take a bath. You finally give into your mom's urging you to get in the house to eat dinner and take a bath. So, you drag in and eat dinner. Ask if you can have popsicle so you can prolong not taking a bath. Then finally you get in the bath tub and then you don't want to get out because you know you'll have to go to bed. Maybe you can manage one more popsicle before bed time. If only I could have a summer like that!! That will probably never happen again in my life, but a girl can dream can't she? For now, I will settle for as many trips to the beach that I can get and a diet full of popsicles :)

it's back...

winter has reared it's head again. i hope not for long. it's been cold and rainy/snowy for the past two days. i hope that it doesn't kill all these beautiful spring flowers God has given us to enjoy. i've been thinking these last two days how this quick return of winter is a great physical representation of how quickly Satan can come in and rip away the beauty that God has restored in our lives. the past couple of weeks i've been struggling to stand in His grace and in the beauty that He has put in me. the enemy is trying to snatch that away and some days i feel like i'm barely hanging on. but, each day His grace is sufficient and I must place my faith in this truth! the enemy will not take what my Jesus has given me!!!

a few pics from the last week:

leslie and i at the Well banquet

myself, tracey and debbie at tracey's bridal shower

Emma Kate Priban. Born 4-8-2008. She is too precious!!! There's a lot of celebrating going on these days. Especially with the arrival of this little one.

spring has sprung, well kinda...

we have been so blessed the past two days with glorious weather! upper 60's, low 70's with bright blue, sunny skies! those kind of days that make you feel like a kid again and dread the sun going down. on sunday, i thoroughly enjoyed my flowers that are blooming (i'll so you a few pictures so you can enjoy them, too), which i planted back in october, planting some herbs...cilantro, rosmary and lavendar to be exact; took lex for a long walk, washed the car; and had some great time with Jesus while enjoying the beauty He had blessed me with. if only i didn't have to get back to reality today....

it was the stereotypical monday, which, by the way i've never really gotten this whole "monday's are horrible" thing, but today, I GOT IT!!! nothing would work right. my computer wouldn't do anything i needed and that just put my whole day in a spin. at one point, i thought i might become a member of "The Christian Women's Cussing Club". I refrained, but i was FRUSTRATED!!! oh, well, monday work day is nearly over and i get to watch Kansas beat the mess out of memphis...let's hope :)

seems like i've been showering a lot these days....baby, wedding, anticipating the arrival of these babies and celebrating the gift of marriage at weddings....

my sweet friend Ashley who is expecting her first child. a few friends gathered to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Emma Kate.

tracey and i enjoying ourselves at hope and joe's wedding....

kajanae, thoroughly enjoying some yummy strawberries at the reception.

i'm hoping that when i get to the office tomorrow my computer will have magically fixed itself, and that the weathermen are seriously mistaken by the fact that is supposed to SNOW this weekend on into the beginning of next week. yes, that's right, i said SNOW. WHY???

return to blogger land

ok, so i've done this before. gone awol from the blog and decided to come back. well, let's just say i failed at that, but this time i'm really going to try! so, here goes. monday has been set as my official day to blog. so, get excited to add something to your calendars on Monday!

last week i went into the gym and it was cold and the sun was shining and when i came out, i was only in there for 1 hour, this is what i saw. i was so reminded of how creative God is and how truly glorious He is in all things! i am typically annoyed by the snow and cold weather here in east tn (what can i say, i'm a texan and i love the muggy, texas heat!), but this time I was in awe of what I saw and was filled with joy! so i took a few pics and thought i would share them with you!

"I'll Be Somewhere Down in Texas....

...if you're looking for me." Home sweet home for awhile.....beautiful sky, lots of stars, I can see forever, BLUE BELL, my family, all the shopping a girl could want, I can actually watch the Aggies and the Cowboys on tv, and not so cold weather......I LOVE the Lone Star State.

"i had a vacation.?.?.?."

......this is what I have been thinking in the back of mind for the last two weeks. A friend and I went away to Charleston, SC and the beach for a little r&r for a few days. It was a wonderful time....we camped beneath the stars, ate lots of smores, layed out on the beach, enjoyed the southern charm of Charleston and my taste buds were greatly entertained with a variety of crab! But, today, as I calculated my hours for this past month on my time sheet, I was thinking "when did I take vacation?".....work has been nuts!!! Melissa warned me that after she took her camping trip last fall that it was the calm before the storm...oh, how true that has been for me. If you think about it, you can pray that I will learn to delegate, not be a perfectionist, and truly have God's wisdom for what He desires for me to do each day. For now, I will reflect on the blessing of the time away and pray that I will lean on Him to get me through until the next little break at Thanksgiving.

A few pics from the trip...see the rest here.

the coolest

it's official, Laura Stiller, is the coolest blog reader. not only did she read and respond to my ridiculous questions and knew the quote from my favorite game show, but she herself, has a super-cool blog! check it out sometime, she's a great writer!!! love ya, girl!

"and the survey says...."

you get extra cool points if you know where that quote came from!

I'm taking a poll....

Would you rather....

Hillary or Obama?

Beach or Mountains?

Go without a shower for 3 days or go without food for 3 days?

let me know what you think!

the adventures of summer...

Like I said before, there's a lot to catch up on....so here's a few highlights....

the summer was busy and full of adventure....

Took Leslie, my roomie, to her first rodeo...that was fun....I do LOVE a good rodeo!

then began the rennovation of Boys to Men new facility "the Refuge"....this was such an incredible week....to see the body of Christ come together and work so hard for kids and families they don't know and may never know! God has done some amazing things in the provision of this building....so much time, money, and stuff has been donated....it's been incredible!! There will be more on this later.

We spent several weeks with kids at various camps.....KAA, U KNOW!

Then, it was off to Texas for a visit with friends and family and a dear friend's, julie weber's, wedding.

a beautiful Texas sunset....a treasure....it's flat, no mountains!

Off to Atlanta for my birthday treat from my sweet roomie, Leslie. An Astro's game....that went into way too many extra innings, and the 'Stros came out on top, some great shopping and an overnight stay in the shadiest motel I've ever stayed in....what an adventure!

My family made the LONG drive from Texas to visit east tennessee for a week. It was such a blessing to have them here. I really enjoyed spending time with them in what is now my "home" and having them see what I do and where I work meant a lot to me.

Then it was time to move to our new facility. That has been a process...but a great one! It has been such a blessing to have our own facility for our students and an office and desk to work at!!

We are getting more and more settled each day and I'm adjusting to a different work schedule and am learning a lot about appropriate boundaries!

I'll leave you with that for now.

you can check out other pics from the summer at Kelly's Shots.