Category: Blessings

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Haiti Trip

A Facebook post from my daughter…May we all find a way to ‘turn the blessings around’ in 2013!
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‎2012 has been my year of blessings. There are so, so many things I am thankful for.
 An always-loving God gave me a trip to Haiti over the summer, my first year of horse shows, friends who I love and a riding trainer who took me under her wing and is giving me more than she knows she is.
In 2013, I’m going to turn that around.
 This will be the year I give unconditionally, to people I know and to people I don’t.
 Because of God’s abounding blessings, it’s now my responsibility to give back everything I’ve gotten.
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High School

I went to open house at the high school last night.  I had such a nostalgic feeling as I walked through the halls and smelled the science lab and the gym.  Do you remember the smell of the gym?  That floor wax smell?  It hasn’t changed a bit.

There are all kinds of new gadgets and gizmos that weren’t around 30 years ago when I was in high school, but basically, kids are the same.  They’re trying to find their place.  They’re trying not to stand out or be different.  Well, most of them anyway.

I got a little excited as I walked from class to class to meet the teachers.  What was my teacher (my daughter’s teacher) going to be like?  Should I sit in the front or the back?  I found myself sending my daughter a text when I found out that she was having two tests today.  “You’re having a Spanish test!  Are you studying?”

And another text, “Oh, my goodness, sweetie!  You’re having a vocab test in English!  Are you studying?”

The reply:  “Mom.  Yes.”

If I had to go back and ‘do’ high school all over again, with the wisdom I have gained through the years, I would tell myself to branch out some.  I wouldn’t be so afraid of the ‘potheads’ or the kids who smoked outside.  I would get to know more people.

I would most definitely put a little more effort into my work.  I made good grades, but I could have made better.  I could have pushed myself more.

I would tell myself to not worry so much about fashion or style or where my friends bought their clothes.

But, all that stuff was important then and it’s still important now to teenagers.  It may take them 30 years to realize that what really mattered was how they treated people.  That’s what they will remember.

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Pictures from Haiti

I’m still trying to get my busy teenager, Hannah, to sit down and write a blog about her mission trip to Haiti.  Last week, she was at a horse show in Shelbyville and this week, she’s taking some riding lessons and preparing for the 4-H Livestock Show.  She was on the radio yesterday morning promoting the show and I was so proud of her. She wasn’t nervous at all!
So, for now, I will share some of the photos.  Her stories are so sweet and touching and I can’t wait for her to share some of them with you.
The ShowHope group.  If anyone is thinking about doing a Haiti mission trip next year, I would highly recommend this group.  The leaders were so kind and Christlike.  The facility was very well run and I was so impressed with the stories Hannah told me about how the orphanage is operated.
The Hands and Feet facility.  Hannah and the group painted one of the buildings one day as part of their ministry.
My Hannah.  They spent a lot of the time just loving on the kids.
This is the aquaduct where their water comes down the hill into the town.  They were taking a hike up the mountain.
The top of the mountain.  Look at that view!
Taking the kids swimming in the beautiful, clear Carribbean!  They also had a beach-side church service.