Business Trip With Dad

 A few weeks ago my dad had a day business trip in Edmund, Oklahoma so the whole family decided to go along with him.  I am so glad we did because we had a very enjoyable day.  We had Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then headed to downtown to see the Oklahoma City bombing memorial.  I was younger when it happened and do not have very many memories of it, but I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go to the memorial.  There is a hush about the memorial that you only feel in such places. 

 Across the street from the memorial is this statue of Jesus.  Where it stands is where a church once stood that was destroyed in the bombing.  The story behind the statue is that when the bombing happened it was such a horrible thing that Jesus had to turn away from it and and wept.  While this is not an accurate picture ("For God shall never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6) the statue is very moving.

 

 At the base of the statue is inscribed "And Jesus Wept." 

 This is the entrance to the memorial from where the Jesus statue stands.  Inscribed above the entrance are the words,  "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever.  May all who live here know the impact of violence.  May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."  

 When we crossed the street, on either side of the entrance were chain link fences in which people had placed pictures and mementos of those who had died.  It was so sad, it was not unusual to see a picture of a child, a child's toy or a mother or father who had died in a picture with their families.  As you looked at all of the pieces that had once been a part of a persons life, someone like you and me, the people who died were no longer just a number in statistics, they were real people who's lives had ended abruptly in an act of cruel violence.  They had faces and lives.  While I had always known this, seeing all of these pieces that had once been part of their lives, you felt like you knew a little about them and you now shared in their loss.  It made you cry.

 Once you enter inside you see numbers inscribed on the other entrance.  It is the time one minute before the bombing happened, and on the other entrance is the time one minute after the bombing was over.  In between the entrances was this reflection pond.  If you look closely you can see the water is slowly flowing towards the time the bombing was over.  It represents the short amount of time in which the bombing took place and lives were changed forever.

 To the left you can see a building that was damaged by the bombing but still remains standing.

 To the right are these chairs.  There is a chair for every person who lost their lives that day.  There are larger ones for the adults who died and little ones for the children who lost their lives.  It was so sad to see those little chairs mixed in among the larger ones.

 Here you can see where only a portion of a building remains. 

 Here is a piece of a wall where a building once stood.

 Here you can see the survivor elm.  It somehow survived the bombing and has since become an emblem of hope.

 Here in the next few pictures are maps of what the area was before and what it is now.  It gives you a more clear picture of how everything is placed.

 Right after the bombing the firemen from Team 5 spray painted this on one of the walls and it is still there.

 The Survivor Elm

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to visit the memorial.  It was so sad though to see all of the devastation, it is hard to understand how a person could do such a thing.

 After visiting the memorial we went shopping for awhile and then came back to pick up my dad.  When we arrived we found this adorable little kitten and well..... lets just say we did not leave anytime soon after we met sweet little Max!

 Here I am with Max, he was sooooooooooo cute!!!!

We had so much fun playing with him, as can be evidenced in the video below, but, I mean, who DOESN'T love a fun, playful, loveable little kitten!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and hopefully I can get up a post about my students piano recital later this week!  Also, I have a really big surprise coming soon, I can't wait to share it with all of you and I hope you will be excited about it too!  I have been wanting to do this project, or something like it, for some time now and  I am really excited about it finally becoming a reality!
Have a blessed week,
Michelle

Adventures in Character.... Homeschool Convention

Hey everyone!  Can you believe that this is my fourth post in four days????  While I normally do not post this close together, so much has been happening lately that I really want to try to catch the blog up with everything.  This post takes place back on the first weekend of June.  For the past seven years I have enjoyed teaching in the children's program, Adventures in Character (AIC for short), at the local homeschool convention.  I love working with kids so it was always a time of year I have looked forward to.  Last year though, as I was teaching I felt the Lord telling me that it was my last year to teach in AIC.  While I was a little sad at the thought, I was thankful God had prepared me ahead of time and I just enjoyed treasuring all of the lasts that were taking place.  This past December the staff of AIC contacted me and asked me to come on staff as the student workbook designer.  I was quite surprised, but agreed to pray about it.  After spending several weeks in prayer I agreed to join staff, and I am glad I did.  I really enjoyed designing the student workbooks.  I had never done a project like this before and found it to be quite enjoyable.

Every Thursday for the month of May there are teacher training sessions everyone attends.  It was at the first session I met a girl around fifteen.  I really enjoyed getting to know her, and it was so neat because God gave me the opportunity to share with her what He has done in my life.  I have really been praying lately that God would give me opportunities to share what He has done in my life with others in a way that can be used to help or encourage them.  This was one of those opportunities and I really enjoyed it.  Talking with her has actually inspired me for a future blog series I hope to do.

The Thursday before the convention I went up early in the morning to help set up the area that would be used for the convention.  Mom and Jacqueline were so sweet and came up to bring me a snack and some supplies I had left at home.  After all of the work, the convention began the next day.

In my uniform ready to leave for the convention hall.

The first day of the convention was fun, but I quickly began finding myself missing the constant interaction with the kids.  However,  the time was not wasted as it was the perfect opportunity to go over James from The Challenge.  Mom came up for lunch and we had fun having a picnic with the friend I had made and her family.  We really enjoyed talking and were almost late getting back because we had lost track of time!

Over dinner break I had fun going shopping and found my favorite booth, the YWAM booth.  This has always been my favorite booth, in fact, it is at this booth where I spend most of my time when shopping at the convention.  I love their missionary books and have read them so many times.  This time though I enjoyed getting in a conversation with the man who ran the booth and discovered that he knew the missionary from one of favorite book, Totally Surrounded!!!  I was so excited to discover this and greatly enjoyed getting to learn more about her from him, this became one of the highlights of my weekend.

Come the second day though, it was getting harder to watch everyone else work with the kids while I did not have the interaction with them that the teachers were having.  God already had plans to help with this though.  :-)  On Thursday while setting up I had met a little girl named Amirah that had been my little helper.  I had not really seen her on Friday, but she came and found me on Saturday and I enjoyed getting to take care of her the whole day!  Her parents had not enrolled her in AIC so I had fun playing with her and letting her help me.  She helped me so much since I had been missing the interaction with the kids so badly. 

Amirah with me.  :-)

I really enjoyed AIC this year, even though it was a different set up.  While I missed teaching, I really enjoyed getting to spend one on one time with Amirah.  God had worked out the details so that I still got to be involved in a child's life, just in a different way than in the past.  It was also so exciting to learn more about a missionary whom I greatly respect and look up to.
Have a blessed week everyone!
Michelle

Happy Father's Day Dad

Happy Father's Day to my dad, my best friend.  I am so thankful that twenty something years ago God chose to bless me with the best earthly father in the world.  You have played such an important role in my life, I would not be who I am without you.  :-)  Throughout this post I want to share some of what you are to me.

My baby dedication

I am so thankful that you are the spiritual leader of our family.  Not only have you always lead our family in a way that is pleasing to God, anytime I have had questions, I always knew I could go to you and you would answer them to the best of your ability.  Whether the question had to do with suddenly noticing something not necessarily relevant, but still curious, or something of true spiritual relevance, you have always listened to my questions and answered them with patience.  (Which could not have always been easy since my curiosity is not easily satisfied. :-P ) 

From the time I was a little girl, all I ever wanted to be was a princess.  Thanks to you, anytime you were near I felt like one.  For as long as I can remember one of your nicknames for me has been princess, and as a little girl, I knew that I was a princess, your princess.  Thank you for letting me live that little girl dream of being a princess by being yours, for I am your princess and you are my buddy-boy.  :-) 

While many men I know want a son so badly, all you ever cared about that each of us kids as we came along was healthy.  Whether we were a girl or boy, that did not matter to you, and I am so glad it did not since we were all girls!  Thank you for loving each of us girls for who we are and never once wishing we were boys.  It couldn't of always been easy living in a "girl's dormitory," but you have been the best sport. 

From a young age I always have been a daddy's girl.  I have the fondest memories of following you around the house as you were fixing things pretending that I was fixing them also with a play tool box set.  I loved "helping" you and spending special father/ daughter time together.

You also helped cultivate my great love for antiques.  I learned from an early age that my sisters did not enjoy antique shopping, but if I came along, it was guaranteed time with you.  Now, I truly love antique shopping because of the antiques, but the experience is so much more fun if you are along.  As a matter of fact, you are my most favorite shopping partner no matter what kind of shopping it is.  We have the same viewpoint of shopping, instead of being on a mission for one item and one item only, we enjoy the experience getting side tracked along the way.  Both of us are notorious for turning what could have been five or ten minute shopping trips into nice long affairs.  More often than not returning home with an extra item or two.  (Ice cream anyone????)

Thank you for placing such an importance upon family.  Family is so important to you and mom and you have passed that on to us.  You have been a wonderful example of placing God first, family second, others next and yourself last.  Thank you for teaching me these important priorities and creating a family environment that makes hanging out with the family one of the most enjoyable things I do.

Thank you so much for the sacrifices you make for me.  Over the years I have watched you selflessly give up something in order to take care of my mom, my sisters and me.  Thank you for always providing for us and being a living example of what it is to live sacrificially.  I have never had to go without a need because you always found a way to make the needs be met. 

Thank you for being my best friend.  Mom has always called me her "Tim with a wig" and we truly are so much alike it is scary at times.  Our being so much alike though has greatly contributed to the special bond we share.  You understand me more than I understand myself sometimes.  I just have to barely begin on a train of thought and more often than not you are able to finish my sentences because you already understand where I am headed and have caught onto my vision.  Thank you for always listening and talking with me.  I cannot imagine my life without you!

Thank you for encouraging my love of reading.  When I was little and running out of books to read, you introduced me to my childhood favorites: The Chronicles of Narnia and In His Steps. You helped cultivate my love of reading and did not complain when I I eventually wore the cover off of In His Steps from reading it so many times.  Thank you also for always being such a wonderful listener when I had just read something exciting or funny and I was dying to share it with someone.  You always gave the appropriate reactions and would laugh along with me on a part that I thought was so funny! (You still do!)

As alike as we are it is not surprising that we also share a love for music.  I love when you call me over to your office to show me some song you have discovered or for me to listen to an oldie-but-goodie that has come on the radio.  I love of how once we get started we tend to go off on rabbit trails moving from one song to the next, talking the whole time or just sitting and enjoying the music.  I can always count on you to know when I need to talk or just when I need someone with me.  Whenever I am going through a hard time in my life, I know I can count on you to hold me.  You do not necessarily try to make me laugh, you just make me feel loved, which is what I need.

As with mom, we had our fair share of driving experiences, all of which started in Worlds of Fun.  I am sure you remember it as vividly as I do.  I had greatly been protesting getting my permit and as a way to prove I was not ready to learn how to drive, well, lets say that our ride in the antique cars was not the smoothest.  It was a little bit, weeeeelllllllll, shall we say...... rough?  Thank you for being so great about it and just laughing it off.  :-)

Then when we went on vacation to Kansas City, we discovered this coffee mug.  We both fell in love with it.  While meant as a joke, the top is true, father really does know best. 

I am so thankful to have your support in all that I do.  Thank you for always believing in me and cheering me on.  You have always believed in me, even when I have not.

Thank you so much dad for always being here for me.  My whole life I have been able to depend on you and have never once had to wonder if you love me.  It has been a knowledge I have grown up with.  Your love has been evident my whole life and it means more to me than you can ever truly comprehend.  Whether it has been holding me as I cried when our cat died, just spending time shopping with me, helping me fix up antiques for my bedroom, sneaking with me out of the house when I was little to go on walks, or just letting me hang out with you, these have been some of the best moments in my life.  I love just being with you dad, my buddy-boy as I love to call you.  I am so thankful that when I go to Kenya this November, I will not be going alone, but you will be with me as I go overseas for the first time.  I am also so glad that you will be there with me as I experience the mission field for the first time!  I cannot imagine my life without you in it, you bring so much laughter, joy and love into my life.  You have helped me become the person I am.  Words can never describe how important you are to me or how much I love you, but I hope that this post gives you just a little glimpse.  I love you so much and just want you to know, no matter how old I am or how far God may lead me, I will always, ALWAYS, be your little girl, your princess, and you will always be my dad. My buddy-boy.  I love you daddy, happy Father's Day!!!!!!!!
Love, Michelle <3

Joplin.... RestoreFest

Hi everyone!  We went to Joplin, MO back at the end of May for the RestoreFest.  There was a christian concert with some of our favorite singers!  We headed out early Saturday morning and checked into our hotel at lunch.  After we had gotten settled in we headed out to find some lunch and then made our way to the park where the concerts were going to be. We were all very excited to arrive and could hardly wait for our favorite singers to come on stage.  Sadly, they were not until the end of the day so we had a long time to wait.  In the mean time though we enjoyed listening to the other singers and tried to find ways to stay cool.  (It was very hot that day, somewhere in the mid to upper nineties I think.)

In this picture you can see what the grounds for the concert looked like!

Here is a view of the stage from our seats:)

One of the highlights for us was meeting one of the Anthem Lights members, Caleb Grimm's, family!  We always enjoy meeting the families of singers we know.  A persons family plays a big role in forming someone into the person they are, and meeting their family is truly meeting an extension of them.  We had such a wonderful time getting to know them outside of twitter.  They were so sweet and the love of Jesus shown from them.  They were all so sweet and let us take pictures with them.  Sadly, we did not realize it until it was to late that we did not get a picture with Rob, but at least we got some with Darla and Charis.  :-)

Mom with Darla

Jacqueline and I with Darla, she was so nice!  After meeting her and Rob you can understand why their children are the Godly people they are. 

Christina and Rebekah with Darla

We really enjoyed talking with Charis

All of us with Charis.  :-)

It was so great seeing Anthem Lights again, they even remembered us!  This was also our first time to meet the newest member, Joey.  He was so nice and we really enjoyed getting to meet him.

We also really enjoyed Mandisa's concert, she was wonderful!  I love her energy on stage, she is so full of life and joy for Jesus. 

After Mandisa we got to go see Anthem Lights again and had fun taking pictures with them.  We went and saw them a first time and took our pictures with them, but sadly they were on the phone and turned out quite dark.  The guys were so great when we asked them if we could take them again and we got some that looked much better.  I posted two of Jacqueline's at her request because in the one with the better lighting, Joey had just taken a bite of some food and was not smiling.  I fixed up the lighting on the second one to the best of my ability, so that you can see it.  :-)

Jacqueline with Anthem Lights

Christina with Anthem Lights

Rebekah with Anthem Lights

Me with Anthem Lights

We also had the privilege of meeting Mandisa!  She was so nice and we really enjoyed the opportunity.

Christina with Mandisa

Rebekah with Mandisa

Jacqueline with Mandisa

Me with Mandisa

Sadly we did not get to meet Jeremy Camp, but we really enjoyed his portion of the evening.  He has such a wonderful heart for God and really knows how to lead worship.

I am also adding a picture of Jacqueline in her Anthem Lights t-shirt she bought.  She looked so cute in it I just had to share.  :-) 

Have a blessed weekend everyone!
Michelle