Paintball

The guys played paintball. I'm so glad they got to, since they have been talking about playing since last October. Here are Aaron and Josiah preparing for the attack.

Dad looks sooooooo handsome (I refrained from my usual "cute" =D) in camo.

Josiah attacking!

The object of the game was to capture the barn. As you can see, it has been used for paintball many times. =D

My army guy! By the end of the game he had a green glob of paint in his hair, but he won that game. Whatever Russell does he puts all his heart into. That's one of the things I love about him--his no-quit attitude.

The heroes returning from war.

And there's Dad with his arm raised in victory. Having enough pain without looking for it, I guess I never will understand the thrill of playing a game that leaves you bruised and hurting (it must be a guy thing)...but I'm glad they enjoyed it anyway. =D

We went to Red Elephant for dinner.

Fun with Family & Friends

It’s been so long since I last wrote a post that I’ve almost forgotten how. =D

Russell & I got engaged on a Friday night, and on Saturday morning I woke up sick…and I’ve been sick for the last 3 weeks. I can’t remember the last time I had such a severe flu. This thing just refuses to give up. I teasingly asked Russell if he thinks I might get healthy again if we got un-engaged. (chuckle) Just kidding!!!

Truth Baptist Church had its first camp meeting on Oct. 26-30th. There were 3 preachers in the morning and 2 at night. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to all the preaching because I was sick. The Lord really spoke to my heart on Thursday; that was such a blessing. It was also great to get some pointers during Bro. Keenan’s preaching on marriage, etc. Clay, Lydia, Russell & I--the “croaking quartet”--sang on Friday night. (I will upload the video one of these years.) I love singing with the boys; they make us sound good. It’s amazing what bass and all that stuff can do. The meeting was a preparation for what the Lord was about to do…

The two cute sound men. Hey, I can say that cause they are my brothers!

Sunday, November 1, 2009, dawned with a clear, cloudless blue sky. After a 6-month battle with cancer, little Silas Blackburn went Home to be with Jesus. As the church gathered for Sunday school, folks began hearing the news. We all made our way to the Blackburn home. Silas lay curled up in his tiny bed, and what a sweet expression radiated from his glowing face! He looked as though he was having a wonderful dream and at any minute he would throw back the covers and sit up laughing. It was evident from his relaxed face that he was relieved of all pain and was seeing something pleasant and lovely just before he died. Perhaps it was the angel who was about to carry him away to the loving arms of the Savior. Please keep the Blackburn family in your prayers. Though we are all relieved that the little guy isn’t suffering anymore, the full impart of his absence is just hitting the family who loved him so well. If I never believed in Heaven previously, I sure do after seeing the peace on Silas’s small face. There is life after death. This world of woe is not the end. There is so much more to come… Are you prepared?

On November 3-10th my family flew up to NY to visit family for a week. Russell joined us on Friday. The flu started spreading. Clay and Aaron got sick. Then Lydia and Josiah joined them. I had a relapse once we got up to NY. Lydia and I were in bed for two days straight with high fevers. My “medicine” arrived on Friday morning when Russell flew in. He does something for me that nobody else can do. Anyway, our schedule got messed up because we hadn’t planned to be sick. We ended up going over to Aunt Erica’s house several nights for dinner, because we had already “contaminated” their family. It was nice to get to spend more time with them than we otherwise would have. Aunt Erica really made our trip enjoyable.

Look at that RED tree! New York has some awesome colors!

FRIDAY

Eating Aunt Erica's homemade pizza. It was good! I'm so disappointed; I left two pieces of my special (tomato sauce-free) pizza in the fridge! =( =D

Two of my favorite guys ~ Russell, me, and Jason.

After dinner we played games...

Russell was having a good time. (chuckle) I love it when he laughs...which is often.

SATURDAY

On Saturday night Aunt Erica and Uncle Vito invited the rest of the family over for a desert party, which was also kind of an engagement party for Russell and me.

That was the best chicken ever!

Me and Holly! Holly is going to be one of my bridesmaids.

Josiah and Holly! They get to walk down the aisle together in our wedding.

Russell, Aunt Erica, and me.

Engagement party! Russell & me! Those were our wedding cake cupcakes.

The trial wedding cupcakes! Aren't they cute? Aunt Erica is an excellent cake baker, and she said she would make Russell's and my wedding cake! Yay!

Aunt Erica wrote our names on plastic cups. See our names?

The three sisters ~ Mom, Aunt Erica, and Aunt Coby.

Aunt Coby and me.

Jason and me. Jason has been my life-long buddy. We had a lot of fun during our growing up years.

Russell and Mom. Russell loves my family and my family loves him; that makes me so glad!!!

Almost all the cousins playing Pit.

SUNDAY

At Southeast. It was nice to see some familiar folks. Boy, when I see Lydia's and my profiles I can understand why people think we are twins.

Dad sang and preached on Sunday night. Unfortunately I was sick and in bed; I ate pancakes for lunch, forgetting about the yeast and sugar they put in the mix. =( I love hearing Dad preach.

This is the teen room at our home church ~ Southeast Bible Baptist Church.

The pastor's family took us out for dinner after the evening service at church. The Dressners' youngest son took a fancy to me and me to him. Paul and I had fun together. I noticed that his shoelace was untied as we exited the restaurant. I bend down to tie his laces and then turned around to find Russell holding out his shoe to me with his laces untied. Russell is still jealous of Paul...or at least the attention I gave him. (giggle) Poor, poor Russell!!!

MONDAY

We didn’t find any flowers or material that looked promising in FL, so on Monday (the day before we flew back to FL) Aunt Erica and Mom and I went shopping for wedding stuff. Talk about last minute! The Lord blessed, and after going from store to store, we did find the things we needed. It was a blessing to have Aunt Erica along. I am so excited to start sewing the dresses! Then we stopped at David’s Bridal on the way to the airport on Tuesday evening and bought something else. It’s SO pretty! (squeal)

Here we are getting my wedding dress fabric cut. I can't wait to see how the dress turns out!

This is my Oma. She is in Heaven now. She was such a pretty lady...and when I say lady, I mean lady!!! I wish she could have met Russell; she would have loved him.

TUESDAY

The four girl cousins ~ Lydia and Holly, Emma and me.

Mom and Aunt Erica.

Russell & me behind Papa's house, where we stayed during our visit.

Isn't that a cute picture? I love it!!!

Beautiful Holly. Can you guess who I was talking to? Hmm... Yup! It was Russell. We were heading to the airport and back to FL.

YES! Russell has brought me into the 21st century! I have a phone…and I actually know how to use it! (applause) =D

Joe, Aaron, and Lydia. Triple trouble! =D

I can hardly believe that tomorrow will be a week since we got back to FL and two weeks until we go home. Time is going fast now. I really thought I would have more time to do journal posts. Now I understand by experience just how busy it is on this property. Russell runs errands a lot, so I run with him and that’s how we spend time together. I’ve had fun making him breakfast in the mornings, and he and his brothers stop by our trailer frequently. I can’t wait to be Russell’s wife!

Relaxing at the Maynard house.

There is going to be a wedding shower for Russell & me at Big Daddy and Mrs. Faye’s house (Russell’s grandparents) on Nov. 28th. Since we got back from NY, Russell & I have registered at Target and Wal-Mart. Russell has had a blast taking over the “gun” and “shooting” the bar codes on household items. He is such a kid. (chuckle) To be honest, I had fun…and am still having fun; we’re not quite done yet. 5 months seems like a long time at this point. It has been wonderful to spend time with Russell. I’m going to miss him terribly when we go back to Holland.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I miss all of you in Holland. I’m looking forward to getting back home and seeing everyone at church. Love you all, and Lord bless! =)

We're in Florida!

Well, as you can see from the title of this post, we have safely arrived in Florida. Our trip was quite smooth and uneventful. Mr. Kamps brought us to the airport. The sunset was too beautiful for words as we drove over the big bridge. No painter could paint something to match that beauty! How lovely are God’s paintings! I’m so glad He chose to use the vast sky as the canvas for His masterpieces. We get a free art show every time we stop to admire the sunrise and sunset! We got breakfast at McDonald’s after checking in at the airport, and I found a gift for Russell. I was glad when we were finally on the airplane and on our way.

The flight to England was only 55 min. As we flew higher and higher and the earth grew smaller and smaller, I stood in awe as I considered these thoughts: It’s just like Satan told Eve when she lusted after the forbidden fruit and then ate it. We are gods in our own eyes. We live in our own little world, have our own priorities, our pomp and prestige… We are gods in our own eyes, thinking the world in its entirety revolves around us. And then, when you get in an airplane and see vehicles as tiny ants and lakes like little rain puddles…well, suddenly you realize what a nothing you are! The earth, our lives and all that we are, is in the hands of a mighty God. I am nothing…and still the Lord chooses to acknowledge my existence, take notice of my needs, and answer my prayers. A few tears trickled down my face with this realization. It was also because, as I saw us leaving the Dutch shoreline, I realized this is the last time I will ever take a pleasure trip away from Holland and the last time I’ll be leaving without leaving my family behind.

As we flew over England I spied a beautiful English castle. It was lovely! I want to look it up on Google Earth. We had a few hours layover in England. There was lots of security points all along the way. It’s so interesting trying to be wonder woman--give your liquids in a bag, jacket, shoes, belt, unpack your laptop, and then set your luggage on the conveyor belt, then hurriedly collect it all once again upon reaching the other end of the line. Dad had a shaving razor in his carry-on, and security saw it and weren’t worried about it. But, they ended up taking our PB and salmon pate...that dangerous peanut butter!!! =D To make a long story short, Mom’s carry-on was too big for British Air regulations, so she had to grab some of her stuff and put it in a paper bag. She was just saying that she really needed a stronger bag when a woman came up to her and gave her a brand new bag that perfectly fit her things. The Lord is so good to meet all our needs! We also met a nice, super friendly Texan. He asked Dad if we are Mennonites because, he said, he noticed that Dad’s ladies were dressed so conservatively. The guy said he appreciates that and ended up being saved as well. He and Dad talked for about an hour as we settled down in seats and waited for our gate info to come up. That meeting was God-ordained and lifted our spirits tremendously.

Russell picked us up in Atlanta, Georgia at the very end of a long and tiring day. It was so nice to see him again! This has been our 3rd visit, but our first as a courting couple. Russell had a cute little teddy bear waiting for me at the hotel. We drove down south the next day after getting a refreshing night’s rest and ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel, which was heavenly! I ordered the Old Timer’s breakfast--grits, biscuits and gravy, eggs, turkey sausage, and hash browns, and tea. Yum! After we ate we looked around the Cracker Barrel shop. They have such cute stuff there! Russell calls it a woman’s heaven. He’s right, too! (chuckle) And I found a birthday present for Lydia! I love secrets, especially when I know them! =D

Lyd took one picture...

...then I took another.

I am so glad Lydia, Josiah, and Russell get along so well.

During the drive home Russell stopped by this neat little town with very old, quaint houses. One of them looked like a replica of the White House. Very stately! I just loved all the houses with porches and the fancy wood work. What is it about a porch that makes a house look so homey? Russell parked the suburban and we walked around for a while. It was nice to stretch our legs after 10 hours of flying and several hours of driving to boot. We arrived in Panama City by mid afternoon. I felt sorry for Russell; he was tired himself, having just gotten back from a trip to Arizona. We greeted the rest of the Maynard clan and met several folks on the property. Then we got settled in our place. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but the Maynards and several of the workers at the boys’ home and their families live in houses around the log cabin where the boys stay. It really is like a camp ground, and you feel like you’re far away even though you’re located close to town. I love the beautiful nature, although I don’t much care for the introduction to cockroaches and other bugs. (cringe) Lydia is having lots of fun (NOT!). =D For dinner we went to Olive Garden with the Maynards and then went straight to bed.

I thought this house was so cute with the blue stars under the windows.

On Thursday Lydia got to ride Aaron’s horse, Oreo. She had fun. Meanwhile, Russell, Mom, and I went grocery shopping, which was also fun…and I don’t like grocery shopping! I guess just about anything, even a doctor appointment, can be enjoyable when you’re with your best friend. Before going to bed that night the three Maynard boys came over to our little house and we played several games of Pit. It was fun…almost like old times.

Russell gave me this bear and surprised me with a vanilla candle after we left Cracker Barrel. He bought his mom one too. He's so sweet!

On Friday Russell drove Mom, Mrs. Chris, and me to visit the doctor. It was a long drive and took about all day. We met Bro. Bob and Mrs. Robyn for lunch. That was enjoyable. And that evening held a surprise for me…