Office Takeover

A glimpse of the Merida whirlwind moving through the church office (stopping by to say hi :-)...

Entertained, as well as the Entertainment... :)

We so appreciate all the pastors and staff! :-)

Storytelling with Stephanie - Part II

Storytelling with Stephanie - Part I

Fun With Friends...

Monday we were blessed with a visit from special New Orleans friends... 3/4's of the Screen family. :) What was initially just a trip to record some violin tracks for a CD project we're working on, became a whole day of fun! The girls were enamored with Ms. Stephanie...

First, it was storytime with the violin... then all things girlie... hair and later tea party... ran out of time for nail painting...

Victoria, showing off a hat she made at school, danced with joy (her middle name - ha ha)...

When I returned home from taking James to soccer practice and facilitating our Women on Mission leadership meeting, we found our mailbox dismantled on the ground...

It quickly became an opportunity for the men to display their manhood (thereby escaping all the girliness inside - ha)...

Ms. Chris took over the kitchen and cooked us up a nice meal... (extra blessing for me whose Mondays are a race from start to finish :)...

We all gathered for the feast... what fun!

Afterwards, while the kids put their pj's on and laid out clothes for school, we quickly transitioned the kitchen table for a tea party... which comically ended with a few rounds of the game, "Rock, Paper, Scissors"... ha.

We are so grateful for friends like the Screens, such a blessing... We shared much laughter in reflecting on shared experiences together and where God has brought us... One funny story in particular, was the time we "moved in with them" following Hurricane Katrina when we'd found ourselves homeless... the story of the "crazy lady"...

Our first day back in the city with a church full of disaster relief workers from Arkansas camping out, Pastor Tony (a.k.a. my husband) directed a woman in need to Stephanie and my care at the Screen's house (I believe Mr. & Mrs. Screen were out to get some Red Cross meals for the night)... Tony had called beforehand to make sure it was ok that he direct this woman to come use the shower... She had gone to the church office (one of only a few operating facilities around) after a day of cleaning out what she could from her unlivable apartment... She showed up in a roach infested car and gathered some items to go and wash up... Everything seemed normal... After a few minutes of being in the bathroom, she called me over to get something out of her car for her. When I returned with the item, she graciously took it and then looked down at the Screen's dog 'Cinnamon' and said, "I'll talk to you later," then closed the door. That moment was when things started to get weird...

About an hour later, after tending to the smoke alarm (which had never gone off in the Screen's home in the many years they had lived there) the woman departed the smoky, steamy bathroom... She then began to talk about the need to get to an uncle in California... Mr. Screen who had returned in time to deal with the smoke alarm, was able to get in touch with the uncle who was quite confused about her desire to go there when she had 60+ relatives living much closer... Long story much shorter - Tony and I decided to escort her back to the church for a place to stay. When we arrived and offered accommodations for her to "crash for the night"... (Tony, meanwhile, had connected with our friend, Landon, in Baton Rouge working with emergency shelters, but she didn't want to go there)... she began to talk about her inability to stay at the church because of "the children"... While we attempted to counsel her away from that the 8 PM curfew was at hand... We ended up giving her some money and directing her to the National Guard station around the corner, entrusting her to God's care and praying she would get the help she needed... So goes the abbreviated version of our "crazy lady with the Screen's" story... Hope you enjoyed...

On a completely different note, Victoria enjoyed her first birthday party experience at a friend from school's house - Princess Emily... :)

She had a blast jumping in the bouncy bin, getting her face painted and hitting the pinata...

Oh, what fun with friends...

It's Official...

We have begun the process of adopting a little boy in Ethiopia! There will be more details to come shortly. Our kids have been praying daily for their little brother. James, especially, is excited to have more boy power in the house, as he often says, "Too many girls!" (ha ha) We covet your prayers as always...

We have set up one means of fundraising through Just Love Coffee... every little bit helps... and this is a wonderful organization who cares for orphans for the glory of God... Please visit our site: https://www.justlovecoffee.com/themeridas

My baby lost one of her baby teeth... :)

Victoria came running down the stairs this afternoon saying, "Mama, my tooth come out!" She was so excited! She had me bag it up to take for "show & share" at school tomorrow...

For the Ladies...

Sometime last year, I got connected with a very practical ministry called "One for You, One for Her". Please take a moment to read their mission statement (by clicking on the link above) and learn about this practical way of ministering to orphans across the world. You can do something about this issue for as little as $2.50! Check it out...

Call + Response Rockumentary

CALL + RESPONSE is coming to Hattiesburg!!! Make plans to attend Tuesday evening (April 6th) at 7:00 PM at the Saenger Theater.

New Orleans Trip...

We enjoyed slipping away for a couple days to visit our ol' stomping ground...

We stayed on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary...

And saw several friends...

Fun was had by all...

Friday morning, we headed to the Audobon Zoo...

The flamingos were a big hit...

As were the elephants... and really, every animal for that matter... the kids were giggly all the way... (with the exception of James who was running a little fever, poor guy... but a trooper)....

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

We ran into several friends at the zoo...

It was great to visit briefly with Rob & AnnaBeth Wilton who pastor at Vintage Church in New Orleans...

The kids LOVED the petting zoo... especially the pooping goats... hilarious...

We took a break for Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches - yum! (Not to mention 'the economical way to do it'!)...

BELOW: Back at the seminary campus...

James enjoyed some roller blading (after a little nap)...

While the girls enjoyed some fun in the giant sandbox (i.e. sand volley ball court - ha)...

with Ms. Stephanie...

Who had them captivated

Great retreat... we need to do this more... :)

Now we prepare for our home study update... looking forward to visiting with our fabulous social worker, Kenisha Saturday afternoon...