Beirut Or Bust!

Okay, so I've had some very exciting news for a few days, but was waiting for my mom to post it on her blog before I broke the news. My Mom and Dad are heading for Beirut, Lebanon in March for a ten day missions trip to help with a children's camp. This has been a long time coming for my mom, who has dreamed of going on a missions trip for years! They are very excited, and trying to get all their ducks in a row before the big trip. There has been talk of my sister coming to stay with us while my parents are gone, so I'm really hoping that works out. I am so proud of my parents, and hope that they have a fantastic life-changing experience over there. How exciting! As you know Beirut is not always the safest place. Please pray that they will be safe, and that the bombing will stop. If there is any bombing close to where they are going, the trip will have to be canceled. What a blessing to have the opportunity to spread the gospel to foreign lands! My mom posted on her blog about it if you would like to read it: http://mckaysoftenn.blogspot.com/. Congratulations! We love you!

Funnies

Nothing too exciting going on today. Caitlyn's birthday is tomorrow, so she's really excited. Here are a couple funnies I've received recently via email. I thought you might enjoy them!

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THE REPUBLICAN FISHERMAN

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her
altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me,
can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I
don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above
sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100
degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."
She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."
"I am," replied the ma n. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still
lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat."
"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you're
going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air.
You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect
me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were
in before we met, but, somehow, now it's my fault."

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New Seat Belt law


This becomes effective
January 1, 2008, in ALL states.

The National Highway Safety Council has done
extensive testing on a newly Designed seat belt.
Results show that accidents can be reduced by
as much as 45% when the belt is properly installed.
Correct Installation is illustrated below.......


Please pass on to family and friends.
THIS MAY HELP SAVE A LIFE!

Hectic Monday

Jeremy is out of town on a business trip, and Kylie's friend Morgan has spent the last two nights at our house. Jeremy should be back tomorrow night, but I am missing him terribly. Yesterday, I took all the kids to the Playroom for most of the day. Then we ate at Chick-Fil-A, and headed off to Tae Kwon Do. Next week is Kylie's last class. Then we ran to the grocery store. By the time we got home, we all were plum wore out!! Today we aren't going anywhere except to take Morgan home when her mom gets off work. Here's a few pictures of the John and Caitlyn at the Playroom yesterday. John was excited about this dragon costume, and insisted I take a picture so you could see his tail. Caitlyn got to play on their all new velcro wall. She was so excited! It was really funny to watch her jump up and stick on the wall! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.

VBS Benefit Concert

I have spent the last few months organizing a Benefit Dinner and Concert to raise money for our church's Vacation Bible School Fund. I am the VBS Director, and have really enjoyed this the last few years. Our church buses children in, and we regularly run from 100-120 kids each night of VBS. This requires some money of course, and I thought it would be fun to organize a fund raiser this year to help get the money we need for this year's VBS. Last night was our spaghetti dinner and concert. We made over $500 after we paid for supplies! There were about 80 people who attended, and the night was a success! I was so thrilled to see it turn out so well, and my prayers answered. The food was fabulous (Thank you Susan!), and the music was great too, if I do say so myself. We had a fantastic time, and raised some money for a great cause: reaching children for Christ! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.

Kylie: Girl of Steel

Today, Kylie had a checkup with the allergist concerning her allergies and eczema. She has improved greatly over the last week, and the allergist said that we will not have to put her on antibiotics. She has to wear wet wraps every night, but she has gotten used to them. A wet wrap is a tube that we cut off of a knee sock, soak it in warm water, then wring it out. Then we put hydrocortisone cream on the insides of her elbows and backs of her knees, lather on vaseline, and slide the sock tube things on her elbows and knees. I know it sounds crazy, but with the wet wraps, her allergy medicine, and nightly bath soaks (soap free), she has really gotten so much better, and the itching has greatly improved. The allergist decided to run some blood work to see if we can get an idea of what she is allergic too, pretty much the same thing they did with Corey. When the nurse took Kylie's blood, she watched her put the needle in! She didn't flinch, whine, or cry, and showed absolutely no fear at all. The nurse was amazed, and couldn't believe it. Kylie has pretty much always been like that. Even as an infant, she almost never cried when she got shots. She went through a phase around two years old where she freaked out at needles, but she got over it quickly. Kylie is such a fighter. I knew that the moment she was born! The doctors said that she would need help breathing, and that there might be all these things wrong with her, but she had other plans. She came out screaming, yelling, and kicking 6 weeks early! She amazes me constantly! On a completely different topic, we drove by FoodLion today on our way to the doctor's office. Corey got all excited and said, "Look John! It's Lion Food!" I thought it was funny! Love you all and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.

Two-Headed Monster

I thought you all might like this picture. John David and Jeremy were playing around the other night. John kept saying, "Look Mama! We got two heads!" We don't have much on the books for today. Jeremy and I are getting a night out alone tonight, thanks to our babysitter, Amber. I am definitely looking forward to that! :) I've been craving O'Charley's like crazy, but I told Jeremy he could pick since I just went to O'Charley's with some friends last week. I don't know what it is, but just thinking about their potato soup makes my mouth water! Love you all, and thank you to God Almighty who has for now blessed us with one more.

My Amazing Sister

My sister Andrea works with Mint and Sage Photographers as an intern. She has been working with them for awhile now, and I always check their blog to see the latest pictures. Thier blog is listed in my favorite blogs on our blog home page. Last Friday's posting (1/18/08) was an eye opener for me. It was about Andrea, and it had five questions that her boss Krystal asked her and her answers. I knew nothing about this, and I even talked to her just last night! Most of the answers I of course already knew, but the last one blew me away. Check out the post at http://mintandsage.blogspot.com/! It goes to show you never know who is watching you, or who you might mean the world to. Our relationship has grown and changed dramatically over the past few years. She amazes me and I am so proud of her! I love you too Lil' Mac!!