BLESSED ARE.....

.....THOSE WHO THIRST AND HUNGER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY WILL BE FILLED. (Matt. 5:6)

Meet my friend Kim and her daughter, Ashley. Kim is a few years younger than myself and Ashley is exactly 6 days younger than Katie. They, and their family, are invaluable friends to us. Recently, their house has seen this hunger and thirsting for righteousness, and I'm here to tell you: They have been filled!!!! Their church in King, NC baptized 18 yesterday, and the two of them decided that they wanted to get in on the action and publicly acknowledge what God is doing in their lives. The photos below are so sweet and you can see His presence all over their faces.

This is Ashley. Her daddy is on the right.

This is Kim. Her husband and head of their home is on the right, holding their 4th child and Ben's best friend, Olivia. What a joy Randy experienced in helping to baptize his wife and daughter!

VBS AT CORNERSTONE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP IN SPARTA, NC

And, as for us, our church also baptized 18 yesterday. Many were from VBS this past week, but several were from recent salvations. It is so refreshing to see God moving and people responding to His call. Below are a few photos from our Vacation Bible School (courtesy of KT!).

This is my brother-in-law and pastor, Brian. And yes, he DOES look like that quite a lot!!!

Here is Jackie, enjoying some good praise and worship.

Every night the girls and boys had a contest to see who could be the loudest on "Hallelujah! Praise Ye the Lord". KT got a good shot of the girls who won in a final championship on the last night!

And, saving the best for last, meet Allie. She is a friend of Jackie's and she gave her heart to the Lord on the last night. I don't think that there could ever be anything more beautiful.

The older three kids are all off at camps this week. Jackie and Joe are in Roanoke, VA at music camp and having the times of their lives (I know, because I called--yes, I was a little concerned about Joe going off for the first time without his Mommy--and he was like, "Mama, do you need something, because I've got to go. My friends are waiting on me....). Katie is in Elon at NBC Basketball Camp (http://www.nbccamps.com/). Ben and I dropped her off today. I can't wait to hear about that one as one of the coaches informed us parents today that they would be in the gym at 7:15 a.m. --before breakfast!!--each morning for ball handling! So, it's just me and Ben this week as Barry will be as work most of the rest of the week. I hope to post each day so that the older ones can get a glimpse of what went on at the house while they were gone.

A GOOD TIME

Meet the Scott Family.

I met them at their "vacation" home in Independence, VA a few days ago to have a family portrait session. What a sweet family they are. They truly seem to enjoy each other (plus the dog, Dolly). Thanks, Doug, for getting in touch with me and letting me be a part of your time together.

Katie is in Roanoke at church camp this week. Barry and I are very proud of her as she has raised her own money this summer to attend two select camps of her choice. It was quite a chore as she needed about $600 total. In a few weeks she will attend National Basketball Camp in Elon.

Jackie and Joseph are still working on raising their money as well. They leave for music camp the same week that Katie will be at basketball camp. They are busy this week catching up on some school work and Jackie can't seem to keep out of the blackberries. She has trained Benjamin to pick only the black ones, but I think that he eats way more than he brings to the kitchen. Joseph is still swinging from every rope and performing stunts with his horse whip as he practices his Indiana Jones moves.

Benjamin is into cutting paper all to pieces these days as he has figured out how to use scissors. It's funny, I guess....... Thirteen years ago I wouldn't dare have let KT "play" with scissors (yes, Daddy, they ARE safety scissors!!!). But, I have found out that the more kids I have in the house, the more I let them explore and don't orchestrate every move they make.

SOMETHING NEW

Check out the box below. It's a slideshow of all the photos I've posted thus far. It's from picasa, and I'm just starting to learn..... Let's see if it works!

The Real Answer.....

..............to the question, "Where have you been?" Well, everyone claims that a picture is worth a thousand words, so take a gander and see what has kept me from posting as oft as I should.

THE VERY BEAUTIFUL WEDDING OF GARY AND AMANDA

THE GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL OF MY SWEET NIECE, ELISABETH

HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOOT THE FESTIVITIES AT PINEY CREEK'S 8TH GRADE COMMENCEMENT

GETTING TO REMEMBER MY TEENAGE YEARS BY SHOOTING AN UNBELIEVABLE PROM

AND TODAY......

THE FREEING OF SOME VERY BLESSED HAMSTERS!

BOY!!! Jackie is probably gonna have my head for posting this silly picture of her for all the world to see, but......
Yes, it is true..... After having 17 hamsters in the house and only finding homes for 6 of them, Jackie finally came to the conclusion that some would enjoy reverting back to their primitive state and scavenging for food on their own. We set loose 5 males today. And yes, of course they were named: Malachi, Peter, James, Methusaleh, and Ramses (we ended up keeping "Moses"--because Jackie rescued him from the elements). So, now there are only 4 hamsters in Jackie's room, 1 in KT's room (just f.y.i.: "Merlin"), and 1 next to Joe's school desk ("Peter" -the 1st--after Peter Parker in Spiderman). Now, as for the location of our drop off, that's privy information. However, if you email me, I might just pass along our secret!

So, now that you are all caught up on what's been going on in my life, how about sending a few comments to let me know what's been up in yours?

I'll try to stay a little better organized on this thing--it's all still so new to me! Tomorrow is a trip to Raleigh to pick up an elderly couple and bring them home to the mountains for a few days, so time may be limited. I'll try to remember to pack the camera in case of spontaneous photographing.

Role of Producer???

I spent a good deal of time today putting this little video together for a contest that KT has entered. As most of you know, she is an avid reader (although her younger 3 siblings are trying to catch up with her!!!!!). So, it was no surprise when she decided to enter a contest in which the grand prize was a free copy of every book the author publishes for the rest of his life PLUS a role as a character in a new series. The author? Bryan Davis. The book? "Beyond the Reflection's Edge". Today is the announcing of the winners. I'll post a little later to let you know how KT faired. Until then, check out http://www.dragonsinourmidst.blogspot.com/.

Also, I'll post a few pics of what I've been up to lately. I know that I haven't been updating my blog and I have friends and family breathing down my neck to get on with it! Check again tomorrow.......

HA-HA!

Did you read the title of my last post???? It simply says "Gone". Well, it was not originially intended to be the pun it ended up being. I meant to type "Gone Again" as the title and then type what had been happening the last few weeks, but I hit the wrong button and it sent it on as a formal post. Then when I saw it, I cracked up b/c so many of you have been wondering why I haven't been posting. Anyway, guess you had to be there.......

I have full intentions on posting pictures VERY SOON, it's just that my life has been so full lately that I haven't had much time to edit for the blog. The kids have been running rampant bell-ringing, I have been editing and ordering pictures like crazy, we have traveled with my in-laws to my brother-in-law's cabin in Madison County, my youngest son just celebrated a birthday, Barry's schedule (need I say more about that one?), and basically just living have all kept me seriously busy. I know, I know..... I am the one who harps about not being "BUSY", but "fruitful". So, yes, I am trying to make sure that He is number one in all of my running around.

I have a good friend who is due with number-5-baby just any minute (see www.galyeansgallery.com for pics of her!!!). When she goes into labor with Adeline, I am the official baby-sitter of the younger 2. So, I guess Adeline will be dictating when I post some pictures depending on her arrival.

Gone