Update 2

Howdy, y'all! As ya kin maybe till, I've been down south!! :-) On Friday, April 15th, I left with some friends for North Carolina, where they went to visit their sister/daughter, and I went to visit my aunt and uncle (I surprised my uncle for his birthday)!! I have lots of exciting stories and pictures from the trip . . . and they will be coming soon! I am working on editing the pictures and then I hope to put them up on a web album, since there are so many. :-)

I hope y'all had a blessed Easter!

Update

Hello, blog readers! I wanted to give a quick update and let you all know I'm sorry I couldn't get the below pictures to work (hopefully I'll be able to fix that later) . . . and also, things are super busy around here the next couple weeks, so you may not hear from me for a little while! :-)

I hope you all have a very blessed Easter remembering our Saviour's death, burial, and resurrection!

Trinity Bible College Reunion

NOTE: The pictures would not come through right, and I tried to upload them again, but that didn't work either, so I will have to post a couple pictures from our weekend in Ellendale another time! I apologize! I'll just leave the words below, even though they may be hard to understand without pictures . . . . hopefully blogger will be working later when I have some time to work on this! :-)

This past weekend our family took an overnight trip to Ellendale, ND, for a Trinity Bible College reunion! My parents met there 26 years ago - Dad went there two years, and mom went there one and received her MRS degree. :-)

Of course us kids had no clue who was who, but we enjoyed meeting some of mom and dad's old friends! They knew some really great people. They both enjoyed going to TBC so much! And just think, if the Lord wouldn't have led them each to attend there, I wouldn't be here!!!!! :-)

Mr. Kapelle (below) came with his wife and youngest daughter Kalli (above, with Lydia and Ethan). The two lumps on the left picture is Lydia and Kalli enjoying the warmth under the blanket!! :-)

Dad enjoyed practicing some basketball for an alumni game, and it was great for him to see people he hadn't seen in 15 years!

Mom and Mrs. Kapelle enjoyed just relaxing and visiting. :-)

Here I am, taking the picture below this one . . .

 . . . of Ethan and his new friend!!

You'll never guess who was the mascot . . . yep, it was Ethan's new friend! :-) Ethan was so excited to find out who was actually in the lion!! lol :-)

Saturday afternoon, there was a girls' alumni basketball game. Mom was a cheerleader back in the days, but no, she didn't do any cheerleading at this reunion. :-)

Dad probably wouldn't admit it, but he was a STAR basketball player when he attended Trinity (and we still have the trophies to prove it)!!! He really enjoyed playing the alumni men's game! A lot of my pictures turned out blurry, but here are a few of him enjoying the game (and practice beforehand).

Awww . . . aren't they sweet?! They'll be celebrating 25 years of marriage on October 4th this year!

 

Mr. Bob Tatum was dad's basketball and football coach 27 years ago (dad only played two football games as quarterback because he was sacked by a huge guy and broke his arm)! He played a big part in dad's life, and it was great for the two of them to see each other again.  

That evening there was a wonderful banquet with a Qudoba buffet, games for the kids, and a nice ceremony. Below is mom and dad with the Kapelles.

In this picture, I told Daniel to lean forward and Ethan to lean backwards . . . and I guess that's what they did! (brothers!!)

Three people (including Mr. Tatum, below with Mrs. Tatum) were inducted into the TBC Hall of Fame. It was a touching evening!

Mr. Tatum with some football players he had coached.

All because two people fell in love at Trinity Bible College . . . . . .

Unreached Peoples

This video (which I found on my friends Rachel's site under statistics)  really spoke to me, so I wanted to share it!! :-) Yes, I've thought of this issue a lot before, but what have I DONE about it? I pray that the Lord will help me to be courageous and take action in sharing the Gospel with the lost around me!

Lydia's 13th Birthday!

Lydia Ruthanne Marie turned 13 on March 20th!! Just a few days before, she had a huge change in her life . . . well, on her teeth to be exact. :-) 

SHE GOT BRACES!!!!!!

Doesn't she look grown up? On her special day, we each gave her a homemade card and some gifts!

 

 

There was also a picture taken of Lydia and I together on her birthday . . . but as I was in my pajamas still, I'll just post this one of us together. :-)

I just love looking at old pictures . . . although it makes me sad thinking of times long past, and how I need to remember that each present moment is precious!

YUMMY!!! Lemon cake and homemade vanilla ice cream!!!

There were a couple funny "kid quotes" that happened recently during devotions, so I thought I'd share those with you.

Dad: The Bible says we can't serve God and mammon. What does mammon mean, Lydia?

Mom: Here's a clue: it's something that starts with an M, and you got it for your birthday . . . . .

Lydia: Mustard?

Ha! Ha!! :-) But I guess it's true that it would be hard to serve God and mustard!!

Here's another one:

Dad was reading a story book to us, and Ethan wasn't totally paying attention. Dad got to the part that said, " . . . for the fire they had to pick up dried buffalo chips . . ." And Ethan, who LOVES corn chips, perked up and yelled, "Chips!! Yum! I want to eat them!" We all just BURST out laughing!! :-)

So HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY to my FAVORTIE SISTER!!!!!! We love you Lydia!!

Japan Disaster Blog Updates

Please visit this blog to read updates by my uncle and family in Japan! Thanks for your prayers!

http://march2011japanearthquaketsunami.blogspot.com/

Prayer for Japan

(photo from Samaritan's Purse)

As I'm sure most of you know, there was a terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11th. My uncle and aunt and their children have been missionaries there for many years, and we are thankful they are all safe! However, many in Japan are dead, many are missing, and the survivors are struggling with the basic necessity's of life - food, water, electricity, gas, and shelter. My uncle is leading the volunteer coordinators' team of CRASH (Christian Relief, Assistance, Support and Hope) in Tokyo, so prayers for him and those involved with relief efforts would be appreciated! Also, if the Lord leads you to donate any money, there are many Christian organizations you can do that through, including CRASH (follow above link) or Samaratin's Purse, or World Vision and probably others as well! So please keep the nation of Japan in your prayers, and ask God to comfort those who have lost loved ones, and to open their hearts to the Gospel. Thank you!