Uganda Bound!!

Amazima Ministries

Well, it's done. Deposit sent....passport being renewed ( hadn't used that sucker in ten years!)....shots needed (gulp)....and a very, very, very settled Flo. I had been unsettled for the past six months. I knew I wanted to go, but for some reason couldn't commit. I finally said yes, and it feels like a burden has been lifted. It'll be hard to leave my girls for 12 days, but I can't wait to have an experience to share with them......and hopefully take them there one day.

We are headed to Amazima Ministries in Jinja, Uganda. Amazima operates a sponsorship program for orphans to receive food, care, education, and Bible study/fellowship. It also offers a feeding program that provides a hot meal to over 1,200 people daily.....all started by a 20-something year old girl named Katie. (And here I thought I was too young to make a difference.)

I'm traveling with a group of young women I know, as well as, others I have yet to meet. Honestly? My fellow Uganda bound friend, Jenna, said, "I'm more worried about re-entry than anything else." Re-entry back into our lives. Where there's plenty of food to go 'round. Where I can blow $100 at (fill in the blank) on things I don't need. I guess I can't concern myself with that now. I'm concerned mostly with getting paperwork settled, getting my funds together, and my heart prepared for this mission.

If anyone so wishes to be a part of this mission, your tax-deductible donation will help not just cover costs, but help fill my suitcase with items such as Tylenol/Motrin, lice shampoo, soap, etc. to leave with Amazima Ministries. If you can't go, your $ will be blessed!

To donate:

https://www.visitingorphans.org/donations/donate.aspx

Designate a Team Member: Florence Ferrell
Trip: Uganda July22-Aug 2

Thank you! God bless!

Her Cup Runneth Over

It had become very apparent that Grace was needing some "alone time". Two years of being big sissy was wearing thin. Her cup needed some fillin'. So fill he did. Daddy stepped in with a Daddy/Daughter camping trip. One night. One tent. One child.

She did a little runnin'
And some jumpin'...

And some climbin'....

They treated Mother Nature to a Clean Up....

.....and her cup was full again.

I don't blame her. Being a big sis is kind of hard sometimes *(so I've heard!)

kid riting

i luv kid riting. its so kewt. Grace luvs to rit lists for me win i go grosere shoping. She wil rite thangs lik alppol joos, sireol, and cuchup. Defunetly a mommy in traning.

Grace & friends doing "Big Girl" homework.

Sophie...not so much.

So-Pee's Birthday!

January birthdays are a little challenging. Grace's May birthday is easy - great weather, everyone's ready to be outside, they've been a breeze to plan. So far, both Sophie's birthdays have been at home, inside, with just family. I'm glad she's still too young to realize swimming parties and picnics outside aren't gonna happen without some relocation!

It didn't matter though. As soon as she saw her cake, she yelled, "Happy!". That made momma happy. I was glad this sweet snowy cake could make her smile.

Cousin party goers

About to Blow!

She had no trouble feeding herself this year - sniff....

We love you very much, So-pees!

To Build a Fire

One of my favorite short stories is To Build A Fire by Jack London. Today, we did build a fire. Not for survival. Not out of neccessity. But simply because....it was cold and we wanted to hear the embers crack and the flames simmer. It's our first fire in this house.

It's been a long day. Norah Jones wrote her song strictly about my day today. Birthdays, family, workout.....all of which I'm going to post, but just not now.

On tap right now? Me. My "uniform" (pj's, sweatshirt, and thick socks). My hubby. A glass of vino. Maybe a dvd. But definitely some fireside time. Sounds perrrrrfffeccct.

Two Years

How can two years fly by so fast? It seems like I was just looking at your sweet profile on my sonogram the other day. You had the sweetest face. We picked out the name "Sophie" so quick. It wasn't a name I had ever thought about, but somehow, we just knew it would fit. Carrying you was easy. You would roll in my stomach. Wait, scratch that. Not roll like a gentle wave. More like tumble, like a budding gymnast. I knew you would be very different from your sister......she tossed and turned in even, smooth motions. You are feisty. You are sweet. You are quick to give a kiss, but only to those you really love. When you cry, we all cry. It's so hard to see that face in tears - sissy hates it. And talk.....you talk. I can figure out most of it, but not all. I just know it's very real to you... and listening to you sing in your bed at night. The highlight of my evening....

You love your sissy. Your blanky. Your bed. Your sleep.

And we love you. Happy Birthday (tomorrow!) Sweet, Sweet Sophie Girl!

Not My Story To Tell....

...but since my father-in-law doesn't have a blog to share it, I'm certain he won't mind me hijacking his story. It paints a perfect picture of how God IS into the small things. We often....okay, I often....cast Him aside until I "really" need Him. Something is wrong. Someone's sick. I need direction, and so on.

But it's clear....and gettting clearer everyday....that God masterminds the tiniest details. The smallest note. He gives us glimpses of His perfect sonnet with stories such as this:

My husband hadn't been hunting with his dad in several years. It was a tradition of theirs to travel together down to Sonora, where I've heard, the stars are so luminous at night you can't even fathom you're still in Texas. Their trips began when he was eight, and the trips down were as memorable as the actual hunt. In Sonora, Boog's dad had over time found a collection of arrowheads....big, small, perfect, imperfect.....so much so, that they now fill about four large drawers in their house. They're beautiful. But Boog had never found one. Not one in all their hunting years. And my husband is a spotter. He sees everything.

Finally in Sonora together after a few missed years, they were each in a different location on this five thousand acre ranch. My father-in-law said he was by himself, and prayed to God that his son would find an arrowhead that day. That alone floors me. Simple prayers.

That same day (and they figured afterward around the same time) Boog stepped out of his stand, looked down, and right in front of him perched on top of a rock....so clear he couldn't believe he had missed it climbing into the stand....was a beautiful, perfect arrowhead. His first in over two decades of hunting down there.

I have no doubt that God enjoyed hearing the simple, sweet prayer of one of his own. Like I enjoy hearing Grace's innocent prayers. And He graciously bestowed a blessing....as little as it may have seemed. In my mind, I picture God making it all happen with a smile, too. Delighted to give simple joy.


I love this story. I'll always remember it.....