Goodbye Summer....Hello Fall!

So, where did summer go? I blinked and it was gone! It is so hard for me to believe that it is September! Wow! The weather here has even started to change....This morning as I was leaving to go to the gym my thermometer said it was 58 degrees! Today was so cool and I kept my windows up! It was wonderful! The coolness is bringing to mind of the FALL! I love the fall! The leaves changing colors, pumpkin farms, mums, pumpkins, Harvest Parties! It is especially beautiful where I am because we live in the mountains. On crisp mornings when the sky is clear it is extremely peaceful and serene here. God is a beautiful Creator...He created so many beautiful things for us to look at here on Earth and recognize His Magnificent Ways!
Next week, my kids will start school. This my oldest's last year and then it's off to middle school! It's hard for me to believe. So I leave you with a little pic of one last swim for summer!

Revelation

Here recently God has been really dealing with me and how I can reach others. I came over to the blog world just really has a casual fun thing to do. But I have been so inspired by many other bloggers to really use this not only to help family and friends know what we are up to....But also to use this as a tool for Him. So I would like to try to introduce to you on Thursdays a new devotional, or Bible verse or some nugget of wisdom that God has revealed to me. I also would like to use this for anyone who would like a prayer request or praise. I am also hoping that more ladies from Bethel who I have not had the full opportunity yet to really get to know will travel over here and get to know the pastor and his family better!
I am hoping that this blog will be an uplifting and Spirit filled, Inspired By God blog! The more I become involved in ministry the more I realize that there are so many folks out there hurting emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Wow! It amazes me how many people we may pass by each day and not realize the pain they are tormented with. And you know, sometimes if we take the moment to let them know we care for them and even talk to them about Jesus, that could be a life changing event for some. You never know who you might touch!
I love to encourage people and I will be honest.... I love it when people encourage me. It makes you feel good that someone cares.
Here are a few of my favorite ideas that I have done in the past. Leave a comment to let me know some of the things you may have done to help others.
1. If you are a drive thru at a fast food restaurant, pay for the person 's mealin the car behind you.
2. Let a mom with young children ahead of you in line....ok, quick change of subject....I don't mean to go on a soap box, but that is a little pet peeve of mine at different events. If you see a young mom, especially if she is by herself, let her in line first or better HELP HER!!!!!! They would appreciate it!
3. When you have someone to deliver great customer service to you, call the manager and let them know. They get enough negativity.
4. Send you mother in law a card on your husband/wife's birthday and thank them for raising their spouse.
5. Let a church leader in your church know you are praying for them and love them. By the way, Pastor Appreciation Month is in October. Now I know I am married to a pastor, so don't think that I am reminding you so we will get gifts! LOL! Seriously, the best gift you could give your pastor is to encourage him, and also show your devotion and love for Christ. I know it pleases my husband so much when he sees others working for the Lord and doing what God has called them to do. We enjoy the eternal things, and not the material things!
6. Send someone who is sick a card or email letting them know how much you love them!

A couple of things I want to ask prayer for:
1. Our church, Bethel Baptist as we are going through the new transition....we are starting two services in a couple of weeks. We are growing and need more room.
2. For us to become more mission focused and that we as a church reach out to our community to help with needs. I am excited by some of the opportunities.
4. For my husband, who needs prayer in getting everything he needs to get done with the ministry here in Salem. We love it here, but at times the work can be overwhelming! For those of you who know him, he really truly wants to be there for everyone and he tries hard! He takes it hard when he can't be at two surgeries or something at once. I don't mean to brag but he really has a compassionate heart for people and loves them.
And for the other pastor's on staff and their families....our Worship pastor Gregg and Jessica Randolph and son, Dawson, Our youth pastor Chris and Sheilia Clowser and daughter, Sam and son, Cameron, Pastory of Care Ivey Adams and his wife, and for David and our Preschool Director Kelley Reese and son, Gavin. Especially loft up our preschool... we are now a 5 day a week school and they are trying to get everything done before we go back in Sept!
5. For several families, the Rowe family who lost a newborn, the Holmquist family who's 3 year old was in a accident at her home and is in serious condition and fighting for her life,for the Ramey family whose twins drowned....
6. Our sponsor child, Ana Elisabeth/
Thank you for taking the time to pray and also for reading my blog!
God bless!
For anyone interested....our church website is: www.bethelbaptistva.com

A Rare Moment!

What in the world?? Know there is nothing wrong with your eyes! For those of you who know the Jeffreys girls sisters you know that there is definetly some sibling rivalry going on......ALL THE TIME! But, I just so happened to have my camera out at a rare moment, and SNAP I took a picture.

They were laughing and carrying on, and it made me so happy they were showing love to one another. Kaitlyn is such a big sister and I was thankful she was getting Kyndal ready, for whatever...who knows in Kyndal's life. She is always getting ready for something. She is a diva!

I love how Kaitlyn is trying to tell Kyndal in this picture to pucker her lips out so she can apply lipstick!

My prayer is that they will always be close!

***Big Boy***

My baby is all grown up!!!!! Where has the time gone! We are officially a diaper free family! That's right, Caleb has graduated to underwear. Lightning McQueen to be exact. We are so proud of him for being so smart about pottying.

I have a confession.... I was dreading potty training him. He is a little on the strong will side...but he was very submissive to potty training. We didn't even use but a few pull ups, and he now sleeps with underwear.

What a big boy!!!!

I have a cute story to go along with this though. For a couple of weeks, he would only "pee pee" sitting down. This past week though, everytime he has to go potty he says, "I wanna pee pee wike Daddy!" Now it may not sound funny to you all reading this, but when you have a whole room full of people and he says this you can't help but laugh a little!

It's amazing to me how much he has changed in the past year.

I am asking for all of my prayer warrior friends to say a little prayer for him though. We are still continuing our Duke immunotherapy for his peanut allergy. His first year is almosy up and in November we will start reviewing his results. It's hard to believe it has been a year. We go back in two weeks to up his dose! I will post more on this later!

Caleb and daddy!

A World Vision!

As a follower of Christ, I always have a desire to want to go out and do ministry and help others. My personality strives to help those who are hurting and are in need of help. It breaks my heart when I hear of precious souls who are starving, in need of clothes, or a place to sleep. Especially when it comes to sweet little children. I have gone to sleep many times crying over hearing about a child who has been hurt, or is starving, or in just a terrible situation. It makes me hold my children a little closer and give them an extra hug or kiss. I remind myself that God knows the needs and has His hands and plan over the lives of those who are suffering. He is an awesome God, and though we don't always see the "full" picture we don't understand why people have to go through horrific ordeals. My hubby explains it best. Long before we met, when he lived in High Point, NC he worked for a Oriental rug store. They were well known for their rug making and years later as a pastor he was able to relate God to the art of rugmaking.

In a particular sermon he preached about how we don't always understand why we go through trials and tribulations. (I will try to get this out right!) He said we don't always see the "full" picture like God does. He knows the plans he has for us! Jer 29:11 is one of my favorite verses, by the way. Hilton said it is kind of like rug making. He had the opportunity to watch the men that he worked for repair a very nice expensive rug one day that had this huge hole in it. He said that the men had all the material all pulled up and it was chaotic and very messy looking. He was thinking how in the world can this rug be fixed. It is an ugly mess. The men cut and rethreaded, cut, mended, cut, and etc....He later returned to what he thought was still going to be a twisted knotted up MESS only to find that the rug had been restored back to a beautiful and wonderful rug again! Wow! That's how God works. Sometimes we don't understand why in the world people are hurting and suffering, or why we go through horrific situations ourselves. But, my faith tells me that God is up to making something beautiful out of the situation. Even when I go through a trial, there are times that I don't feel like praising Him, but He is still faithful.

Which brings me to my point about A World Vision! You see we love kids...if I could I would have a house of about 10! Ok, maybe...but anyway, back in May, we attended a Casting Crowns concert, and Mark Hall, the band leader, talked about World Vision....ok, so for those of you who don't know what World Vision is....Well. let me quote them.... "World Vision works in nearly 100 countries around the world in partnership with children, families, and communities in need to address the causes of poverty. We help people obtain sustainable acess to clean water, nourishing food, basic health care, educational opportunities, and economic development assistance as and expression of our faith and our desire to model the unconditional love of Jesus." Well my heart just immediately knew we were to sponsor a child. We really felt God was leading us to do this. We are sponsoring a little girl who is 10 that lives in Chile named Ana Elisabeth! She is beautiful. We give $30 a month and we automatically have it drafted form the account so I don't forget to send a monthly check. You see, when we are helping her, we are also helping the community she lives in. 87% of the money that is given to World Vision goes to benefit the children and families in need. Only 8% is is used for fundraising and 5% for management. The really neat thing is tha we have received a letter from our sweet Ana. We also have written her and we can send small little gifts to her. Another thing that we hope to do one day is we have the opportunity to go and visit her...of course, we have to get clearance and be approved from World Vision to make sure the children are protected. You know, to our family $35 is like going out to a restaurant and eating a meal. That is not a big deal to us. But to Ana and other children it makes a world of difference. In their chaotic mess that a lot of these children live in, God is doing wonderful things! People are getting their needs met, and children are able to be healed from disease and have clean water, and attend school, and they are meeting for the first time OUR SAVIOR, JESUS!I am very excited to be a part of this Kingdom Work....
So, if any of you are interested in learning more about World Vision, just let me know. I have been blessed in so many ways already by giving! P.S. I don't even miss the $30! We hope to be able to sponsor another child one day soon...we would like to sponsor one from Africa....hopefully maybe Capetown...that is where Hilton went last year and he has such a heart for the people there! I can tell he misses them....
I leave you with this verse: "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5

Precious Memories

Family

Nana and the girls

My parents and grandparents/this is my dad's parents

Gran-gran and me

My grandparents country house

Caleb and gran-gran

Kyndal and gran-gran

I posted this one because this is what I did when I was little! Everyone says she is the spitting image of me! I couldn't find the pic of me in time to post, but it definetly looks like me!

Holding my nana's hand!

Isn't it amazing how things can just trigger a memory? A smell, or a song, even a photgraph can all of a sudden make your brain process a memory that was at one time hidden in that complex organ. This past weekend Hilton and I made a quick trip home to mom and dad's. For one reason, my parents kept the three kids for a week and we came home to get them and spend a little time with our family. Secondly, my grandparents, aka, Gran-Gran and Nana are not in the best of health. It saddens me so much because I remember how active they were not too long ago. They worked in their huge garden, traveled to the beach, went on church trips, etc. Now it is a huge task for them to just go from one room to another or to get out of a chair. Nana is on oxygen and my gran-gran's heart, well, not very much of it works well anymore.




I know, I know, that this is life....unfortunatley. It just saddens me...but I am thankful to know that they do love the Lord and that one day they will no longer suffer when they are present with the Lord. I know that we must all go through the valley of the shadow of death, and we must suffer in this world, and God will provide us comfort when we mourn for our loved ones. But...it has always been very difficult for me to watch a loved one slowly pass.




My grandparents, (who are the ones by the way that caused my addiction to coffee)were the ones who spoiled me ROTTEN!!! I was the first grandchild to be born onmy dad's side and we lived beside them for a while/ I could do no wrong! I traveled with them and went to the beach all the time in the camper with them. Almost every Friday night I was with them.




Well we visited with them this weekend as I don't live as close anymore to just "hop in the car" and go see them. We are now about four hours away now. Well I immediately had memories flooding back....and I shared them with my kids and oh, how my heart was filled with joy of all the memories, but sad with grief that things are so different. For instance, I told my girls that on the fron porch of the house is where I would play games with my cousins and then daydream who I was going to marry. I showed them different things that I remembered about the house and things we would do. Like we would play church in the front room and I would always be the PREACHER!!!! I was the oldest so that's how I got to be the pastor! LOL!... I chuckled as I was telling this one because that must be how I met and married a pastor! God was even preparing me back then! :) Eating Raisin Bran every night as a snack with gran-gran, shelling butterbeans and peas, helping in the garden, playing school and waitress in the back of the house, doing chores with nana, and loving the smell of peach preserves on buttered toast and coffee percolating in the morning, riding home on Friday nights with my gran-gran as when he got off work at Rightmeyer and riding in his red truck. Oh, and going to Winn Dixie and buying eggs on Saturday morning visits to town. They live out in Aurelian Springs...most of you have probaly bever heard of it. It's about 15 minutes from Roanoke Rapids and you only went to town once a week! LOL! Oh I could go on and on!!!!




I really enjoyed sharing these memories and taking lots of pics to start new memories with my kids. I don't know how much longer I will have them but I want to cherish each moment I am able to have. i enocurage you all to cherish everyone in your family and take the time to go see family...especially if you haven't seen them in a long time. It will warm your soul and you will receive such a blessing by taking the time. Life is too short and time flies quickly! So enjoy!

A Sweet Wedding

This is Megghan Lawrence. (Now Megghan Jones.) Anyway, she just recently got married and the girls and I had the honor of being in it! I was a bridesmaid, (the oldes one, I might add,hee) and Kaitlyn and Kyndal were flower girls. It was a sweet ceremony. The sweet bride and groom sang to each other! Megghan is like a little sister to me. She sings on the praise team with me and also plays on the Bethel softball team. As I said she should have been my little sister. We have a lot of likes....purses, bows, zebra print, singing, loving God,love softball....oh, the list could go on!



Well, as all of you know I cry at the drop of a hat....well this wedding definetly had plenty of puddles of tears. They are a precious couple....Oh, I forgot to mention the groom!!!! Zack Jones....he is a dear heart and you can tell he loves his bride. He also sings and plays the guitar and plays softball for the Bethel men.


It's going to be wonderful to see this couple grow in their love and faith in God!


Enjoy some of the pics I could snap....If I could have hid my camera behind my flowers during the ceremony I would have....but it was not possible!!!

The Beautiful Bride

Kyndal was very excited. Isn't she just beautiful?

Oh my....a beautiful young lady! It hit me hard that Kaitlyn is growing up too fast!

Me and the girls! Whew, the dress fit! LOL!

The happy couple!

Mr. and Mrs. Zack Jones!

Behind!!!1

I know, I know!!!!! I haven't written in a while! It's been crazy around here! Sorry! I promise to be better! HA! Please look soon for more posts!!!!

Kelley's Party

Here are a few pics from a birtday party that some of us did for Kelley! She never had a surprise party, so some of us decided to give her one! I can't believe we pulled it off! ha! Here are just a few pics that we took. And there were lots of giggles! Kelley really had no idea....She actually thought I was meeting with her because I needed to talk to her about something! Joke's on her!

We had a great time.

For those of you who don't know who Kelley is she is the preschool director at our church. She loves on the babies and kids in the hall. She was also a great help to us when we moved to Salem, because I had no idea where we were! I didn't even know where Walmart was....now that is bad! She is a great friend and I appreciate all the things that she does!

Lisa, Heather, me
Amber, Kelley, Teresa

The Birthday girl!

Some of the Randolph family

This is not such a good pic of my son! He ate cake and I took this before I was able to clean his face! HA! If you know Caleb it is hard to get him to be still for a camera!

Anyway, this is Jessica and her husband Gregg is our Worship Pastor at Bethel. They just came to minister to the Bethel family in February. We have been very blessed by the many things that Gregg is doing with our choir, and Praise Team. Jessica is a nurse and she also plays the flute! She has a servant's heart and a vey humble spirit. I am so excited to have them here. They have a son named Dawson and he is a great kid! He is one and very precious! I unfortunately didn't get a pic of Gregg. He was also taking pics where we were at and I never got the chance to take one! Until I am able to, you can just come worship with us and see him leading worship! LOL!

We have been blessed beyond measure by all the staff at Bethel and their families.

Caleb and Jess...sorry about the messy face!

Dawson

A wedding....

In September, my brother is getting married to Tammy Boyd. She went to highschool with me and we were in the band together. She also played the flute. This is a pic that I took of them at a cookout that we went to while we were visiting my family in NC. The kids instantly fell in love with her and she seems to have bonded well with my parents and of course Richard. The important thing most of all is that she really loves my nephews Tre' andBraiden. I pray that they will have a great wedding and marriage... I will get to be a bridesmaid and Kaitlyn is a jr. bridesmaid and Kyndal is a flower girl! Can't wait to see them in their dresses.

Quick trip to NC!

I got to go home to North Carolina for a few days back in May! Me and the kids had so much fun seeing our sweet friends from Scotland Neck! Kaitlyn's friend Olivia was having a birthday party when we went home so we got to play outside and fellowship. Here are a few pics of some of the kiddos that we love back in good 'ol NC! We went home to also see my family and went to a cookout for my brother and his future bride Tammy! I will post something about that soon! While I was in NC, some of my sweet girlfriends and sisters in Christ went out to eat and catch up on life! It was so much fun! We went to TGIFridays, and then to Dunkin Donuts! And yes we had coupons! ha! I loved catching up! The next morning we were able to visit Dawson Church and hug on our sweet Dawson family. It was great to visit and spend some time with my BFF Charlene!Below are just some pics of the kids! Aren't they precious!

Caleb...bubbles! He said, " Wook mommy! "
My bestfriends child, Emma Kate! She is hilarious!

My sweet friend, Sugar's child! His name is Luke and he is a sweet baby!

Madelyn and Kyndal on the trampoline! Madelyn is Charlene's middle girl and she is a doll! Madelyn is Kyndal's Idol! She talks about Madelyn all the time!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

Kyndal Grace was in her second dance recital! She really loves dancing and doing ballet! I love watching her too! If you know my Kyndal you know singing and dancing is her thing! She is graceful for her age and she gets into her positions and makes sharp moves! We are so proud of her! Of course, I cried when I saw her! I hope this is something that she will continue to do throughout highschool!

Kyndal dancing on stage

Three friends who dance with Kyndal!

The princess!

I love this pic of her showing she has no teeth!

Kyndal Grace

Anniversary weekend in Charlottesville

Mark Hall

Casting Crowns!!!

Michie's Tavern

Inside the Tavern




The food was excellent!!!!

Almost a month ago Hilton and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary! I know! Wow! It's hard to belive! I still love him and I enjoy being right beside him all the way in our ministry. While at times it can be demanding ministry is so wonderful and I can't imagine doing anything else! So anyway, We hardly ever go anywhere with out the kids and we went away for night to Charlottesville, Va! Ok... our actual anniversary is April 5....but we were so busy plus I got Hilton a really awesome present! We got to go see Casting Crowns in concert! That is one of our favorite groups! Now....they were not at all about putting on a performance.... it was a worship service!!!! That group is so REAL! I felt like I could just walk right up to them and start a conversation. They didn't even try to "sell" their tshirts and CDS! (Which is a major turnoff to me, when you have a commercial in the middle of your concert to sell something) Anyway, I didn't know this but the band leader, Mark Hall is still a full time youth pastor in GA! wow! In fact, everyone in the band is in youth ministry! Most of the songs that the group sings has a story behind them. Mark told us a few and it puts a whole new meaning to the song. The only thing that the Mark did talk about was how he and his family give money to World Vision. World Vision is a ministry that gives money to help kids in other countries. It is a legit ministry and most of the money that you donate to your child goes to them! Check it out! Our family has a little girl and we send money to the ministry to help her family. We have the kids involved in it and everything. Anyway that is another whole post! After the concert that night if you turned in your World Vision stuff then you got a "free" book that Mark wrote! It is about his testimony and also about the reasons behind some of those songs they sing! I have cried at everyone I have read so far! You should get the book!

Anyway, it was a much needed trip! We went down the day before the trip and went sight seeing and ate at a place called Michies Tavern! It was the best food! See pics! It was near Monticello and sat back in those Colonial Times. Then we went to downtown Charlottesville... it is a pretty neat city! We can't wait to go back! Here are a few pics!

Summer Break is almost here!
So I am trying to make a calendar for the kids and was wondering what are you doing with the kids? Please leave comments! I am wondering what sort of maybe "cheap" or "free things" you are doing!

FREE BOWLING IN ROANOKE!

Not sure about this bowling alley but all summer long AMF Hilltop in Roanoke on Williamson Road is having a kids bow free event! Go to www.kidsbowlfree.com.

Calling Target Shoppers!

So as you all know that I am becoming just a little too "obsessed" with the coupon thing! I can't helpit! My husband just laughed at me tonight when I came home from Target and took a picture to share with all of my friends! But it was such an awesome deal! First off, if you bought 5 boxes of Poptarts you got a target gift card for $5! Then I had coupons for all 5 boxes...which totaled them out to be only .83 cents a box! Woohoo! Then I bought diapers (didn't have a coupon but they were marked down to 6.99 a box, 3 samples of sunscreen that were all free after coupons, 2 men's body wash(free after coupons) and 4 boxes of cereal that only cost .99 cents each after coupons, and a box of velvetta mac and cheese that was .52 cents after couponsand lastly 2 bags of the Hershey's chocolate Bliss candies that after coupons were .99 cents a box!(They are normally $2.99 a bag!!!! Total cost.....drum roll.... after using the gift card it totaled to be $15.28! Not bad considering my diapers were almost 7 bucks alone!

Monticello

This is a picture of Monticello! I was able to go with the Kaitlyn's 4th grade class to tour Monticello and Ash-Lawn Highland as well! It was a pretty fun trip. I really learned a lot about Thomas Jefferson that I didn't know. The kids also had a great time. I have posted a few pics for you all to enjoy. In the picture with my Kaitlyn is her friend Morgan from school.The next week Hilton and I went back to Charlottesville for our anniversary and to see Casting Crowns in concert. Those pics will be posted soon! Anyway, Charlottesville is a pretty awesome place to go for a day trip or overnight stay

y

COUPONS, COUPONS, COUPONS!!!!!
I must tell you all that I am into this coupon thing! I love coupons! I am saving so much money by learning the grocery game. It is so worth taking the time to find great deals and matching them with coupons! For example, In the past month I have gotten FREE Kraft BBQ Sauce, and Salad Dressing! Woo hoo! It is so much fun to go to the grocery store now and do this! Hopefully I will be able to continue on my journey to becoming the FRUGAL MOMMy I have always desired to be! hee!

What makes a home!

My babies are growing up way too fast! This is out Easter pics! I can't believe that we actually got everyone smiling in this one! hee hee!

2nd attempt to blog!!!!

So I am going to try the blog again! I am hoping that I can keep up with it better this summer. I look at other bloggers pages and think it is great to keep up with what everyone is doing.
Well Summer is upon us and I am looking for some free and fun things for the kids to do! If you have any ideas let me know! I am so glad summer is around the corner! Well I will post more soon!