july update

i just realized that it has been over a month since i have blogged. explanation: the summer is busy-time for our family. we have gone camping, taken a trip to mexico for missions and done several home improvement projects in the month of july.

here are a couple of pics from our camping trip with our houston buddies.

we had a great time! it is always so relaxing and fun when we get together with these old friends.

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we just recently returned from a week long mission trip to dr. arroyo, mexico. there were 23 of us from our church that went down into the villages of mexico and played games, sang songs, acted out Bible stories, did crafts and attempted to share the love of Jesus with the mexican people. while we were doing all of these things, my life changed in the process. it was my priveledge to witness several things on this trip...true worship...a servant attitude...thankfulness...people of different cultures communicating and loving each other (sometimes without words)...hospitality in the midst of poverty...what it means to be needy...and generosity.
as far as reflections go...the thing that has been slapping me in the face is that, as americans...we are fat. we indulge in every food, drink, clothing item, toy or latest fad. then three months later we are over it and ready to dispose of it, moving on to the next latest and greatest "thing." we deny ourselves almost nothing, using the excuse "we deserve it." i am not preaching...i am talking about myself!
seeing the joy on the faces of the mexican women after making their home-made necklaces really impacted me. the villages had so little material possessions and basic, home-grown meals, but were so happy and thankful for what they had.

the following pictures fall short of capturing the life-changing experiences of the trip, but give you a glimpse of what we saw.

these kids were wonderful! they really impressed me by embracing the culture, trying new things, learning spanish phrases and making new amigos.

this is the village of pompeya. a very poor, but beautiful place.

this is a dust storm in pompeya. the families had not washed clothes in almost two months because the dust storms were so bad that the clothes would immediately get dirty on the line.

i love this pic! this is bryan and jackson outside the market in matahuala.

the sunsets in dr. arroyo were gorgeous and a perfect daily reminder of God's faithfulness!

daddy's helper

we are working on a home improvement project in our house and jackson cannot seem to stay out of the room. he is fascinated with watching his daddy work. here he is putting on his safety glasses. there is nothing like a man in safety glasses to make a girls heart flutter.

not too shabby

the recession has inspired me to see if i can grow my own veggies. my first experiment...bell peppers!

here is the result.

yeah me!

first haircut

jackson had his first haircut today! he was so excited to sit in the yellow car.

then the barber put the hair apron around his neck and it was all downhill from there.

he hated it. he cried the whole time. i tried to get him to smile afterwards, but this was all he could muster up.