May I introduce.....

Jubilee and Julius Smith!

Our babies from Ghana are officially ours! We still have some waiting to do and paper work has to go through, but in Ghana Julius and Jubilee belong to the Travis Smith family.

They are ours. The truth still hasn't sunk in....

Thank you all for your prayers.

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom power and love
our God is an awesome God

~ Michael W. Smith

Reminiscing.......

November is a beautiful month. It has me in mind of Thanksgiving, a time where we gather with our precious family and give thanks to God for all the great blessings He has given us. I love how the leaves change, the wind becomes crisp and the hickory nuts begin to fall; autumn is here!

I found some photos of last year's Thanksgiving weekend and thought I would share them. They brought back great memories; they made me smile. I hope you enjoy them as well.









Thank you God for the beautiful leaves, the amazing sunsets and the cool winds. Thank you for family and friends; laughter and good food! Please bring all of us together again this Thanksgiving. Be with those who are suffering from illness; if it is Your will please heal them and allow them to fellowship with us this year. Your blessings are amazing. Thank you God for saving me, a sinner. I love You.

Andrew Trimble: Modern Day Eric Liddell

In a magazine published by Billy Graham my sisters and I ran across an article about Andrew Trimble and his amazing testimony for Christ. See, Andrew is an very talented Rugby player for Ireland yet in the midst of all the fame and privilege that one man could hope for he declares that there is nothing more "excitin" then talking about Jesus. In the video below Trimble makes a reference to Eric Liddell, a missionary to China and an amazing Olympic runner who gave all glory to God. It is obvious that Trimble has learned from Liddell's example and is proclaiming his faith just as boldly. I was so excited to see a man who has such influence in his country shine his light for Christ without hesitation and with all sincerity. I hope you enjoy the video :)

My Sisters

Don't they look like twins? We love and miss you Noel!

Two of my best friends.

Look who just turned 15! Isn't she gorgeous?

Who are these characters I'm associating with you might ask?
Well, it seems my sisters got into the spirit of our Fall Festival which invited everyone to come dressed as their best impersonation of a hick. LJ's choice of character was Daddy!
MG chose to powder her hair, don an apron and wield a gun, impersonating none other then Granny Clampett. WF and I chose a more subtle approach :)

Thank you Dear Jesus for blessing me with five supportive, hilarious, and loving sisters. Please be with my sixth sister in Ghana; please comfort her with the knowledge that someone loves her and is waiting anxiously to hold her in their arms; let there be someone to kiss her goodnight and tell her good morning. Bless Noel as she goes about her day; give her strength and patience. Be with MG as she goes to college and lets her light shine bright; let her be an influence on a lost generation. Strengthen LJ as she works so diligently on her school work; thank you for the joy that she has brought into my life. WF is turning into a young lady of wisdom, knowledge and insight; please guide her steps and bless her hunger for learning.

Thank you God for sisters.

Freedom Isn't Free

We had a great week with Noel but alas this past Saturday we had to take her to the airport for her flight back to Jacksonville. It was hard to watch her go because we couldn't go past security with her, we just had to let her go. We waited around until she gave us a call saying she was in her terminal and everything was good. As we waited we observed that there were several small groups of men in their Army fatigues walking to different terminals. As we were leaving Mama went up to a group of three soldiers sitting in our waiting area and asked if they would mind telling her where they were headed. She was hoping they would say somewhere like Michigan or Wisconsin. She hoped they were headed home. Without flinching the (seemingly) oldest of the group said "back to Iraq Ma'am." My heart sunk. Without even thinking Mama gave them all hugs. My sisters and I shook their hands and thanked them for their service. The third man was no older than Noel. He looked frightened. Going out the door of the airport we were all speechless. All of a sudden telling my sister good bye and knowing she was headed a mere four hundred miles away to be received and welcomed by a man who loved her didn't seem so bad after all. I didn't cry when I watched my sister walk through security but after looking those three men in the eyes and seeing their courage and commitment I was brought to tears.

May we never forget the sacrifices made for us daily so that we might be free.

Tonight, three mothers are thinking about their boys. They're wondering if they are all right, worried about their safety....

God, please bless America.

Fireproof

Guess what my favorite movie is now? I saw Fireproof last night and was amazed at it's awesome message. Fireproof is produced by the makers of "Facing The Giants", which I love, but this one is significantly better. Go see it, bring your friends, your family and your Kleenex!

Noel's Visit

I know, I'm always the last one to blog about anything but better late then never right? The weekend with Noel and Darell and his family was awesome. Too short, but awesome.

He got to meet our wonderful, crazy family :)

As Noel told the news she got some interesting reactions.
This one was my favorite.

Noel got to recount the entire story to her best friend.
How beautiful they both are.

We hated to see you go Noel and we miss you very much

A goofy one for old time's sake.

Thank you God for the blessings you have poured down on my family. Thank you for Darell and his commitment to my sister. Both Noel and Darell have waited on You and because of their patience You have rewarded them with a joy that is indescribable. Thank You for their joy, thank you for their love for each other.