New York Mission Trip 2011 - Friday - last day.

We stayed on Staten Island this year. The Ferry is a great 28 minute ride every morning but today we got on at 6:15 a.m. You can see that we all look fresh but very tired. We are on our way to see the "Today Show" and a concert in the Plaza. Our commute consist of a bus ride to the Ferry to a subway then our feet!


Alex, Rachel and Luke looking like New Yorkers. I like how the boys automatically flanked the pretty girl instead of sitting with their Moms!

Corrie and I are really tired but we were determined to pack as much as possible into this trip for our boys. This was Friday and the camp we worked with the kids ended Thursday. We had half a day to play. We saw Hoda Kotb when we got to Rockefeller Plaza. She was really nice but we were too tired to remember to ask for a picture.



The "Today Show." This is Al Roker doing a check on the weather. We had a great time but it was already really hot and it was only 8:00 a.m. Below is Matt Lauer and the other people from the show. I'm not good with personalities.



This year I conquered China Town. Well, at least I bought stuff. I hated it last year when I had Jacqulin with me. I had just read a murder mystery about human trafficing in China town and I had my gorgeous daughter with me. I don't like people in my space and lets face it, China Town smells really bad. This year I didn't have to worry about her being kidnapped.





Goodbye Manhattan, goodbye Lady Liberty.... goodbye Luke... we could have left him there and he wouldn't have known the difference. We are all worn out!!

New York Mission Trip 2011 - Saturday - First Day!

We arrived a couple of hours early because the bus driver didn't have to maneuver through Manhattan traffic because we stayed on Staten Island this year. Luke was amazed that there was grass in New York. This is the courtyard to our apartments for the week. The weather was pleasant and the boys had fun throwing a ball around. They were glad to be off that bus.



Luke and Alex and Me and Corrie riding the bus to catch the ferry. We have that fresh ready-for-an-adventure look on our faces. This would turn out to be the hard part of the week. The Bus to the ferry to the subway to get anywhere gets old.

Luke's first trip on the Staten Island Ferry. It was fine but added about an hour every morning and night. Luke made a game out of it and asked the "Staten Island Ferry Question of the day" to one of the Seamen. He now holds great knowledge of the ferry system.



This is the Freedom Tower that is being built in place of the Twin Towers. It is really amazing and will be one story taller than the original to prove that we can. We were able to tour the World Trade Center Museum...moving, amazing, sad and incredible. New Yorkers and Americans are amazing people.

This is the Fire Station across from the World Trade Center. My intention was to get the boys to get their picture taken with a real New York City Hero. Well, when we saw how cute he was Corrie and I decided we should have our picture taken instead.


Welcome to Times Square. In the background you can see the 2011 ball that dropped New Years Eve.

Are you a Game Changer?

God is preparing Jacqulin to be a "Game Changer" for him. We dropped her off at 7:00 a.m. this morning to get on a van heading to FCA camp. She has been asked to be the President of FCA for Freedom Middle School next year. Yeah, we're proud!

This was at about 6:00 a.m. She wanted to get one more look at Facebook. She is giving up Facebook for a week in exchange to pray for friends on mission trips. It's neat to see her shaping into a responsible big person - I refuse to say adult just yet.


The camp is in Dayton, TN at Fort Bluff Camp, it's a leadership camp called "Game Changer... Make a play."
The verse they are using this week is "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:36 Pray for Jacqulin when you think about her.

Luke ALWAYS wants to practice drums!!

This is best case scenario for a parent... a kid who WANTS to practice an instrument or anything else for that matter.



Well, it's difficult when your instrument sounds like a shotgun going off. We have a great little practice room for him to use but all the neighbors can hear it too. The middle school band teacher lives down the street and told me one day he could hear Luke playing when he was walking one day. Another neighbor stopped me in the grocery store and told me how much he enjoyed hearing Luke practice. He said his Mom had allowed him to practice and he realized what a sacrifice that was for our family (& the neighbors). We had the windows open this Spring and heard another neighbor complain about the constant drum noise that comes from our house. I guess her mom didn't let her practice anything fun. Ha!
So, I took him to the practice field at the high school. I walked the track while he played til his heart was content.

Lazy Hazy Dazys of Summer 2011

Luke went to play kickball with the high school youth group from church.
Jacqulin and I decided to try a painting class. Wow! She did an amazing job and her cupcake is now proudly displyed in her room.



We had a great time. These places are amazing and does wonders for a teenage girls confidence in a couple of hours.
The finished products.

Jacqulin sings with the Middle school worship band... for the last time.

This has been a great experience for her. They led worship Wednesday night, June 29, 2011 for the last time until school starts back. However, Jacqulin has realized that she has too much on her plate and will not be able to sing in the band next year.





I think she really will miss singing but I'm very proud of her for evaluating her schedule and being aware that she has to have some time to rest. They really did sound great.

Sweet kids home from church camp.

Both kids left for the same camp on Monday, June 20,2011 at 5:30 a.m. and got home Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. Bert and Deborah stayed home and found out that they still love each other madly and will be fine with an empty nest... as long as the kids come to visit on occasion.