Alaska - Day 1

Well, the day finally arrived for Livvi to head to Alaska.  The bigger delegation of 40 goes next month, but there was a smaller delegation from Cincinnati that was to go today.  That group went from about eight (five boys, two girls, and one adult leader) down to just three.

The flight took off on time and the weather was perfectly clear.

At the time of this writing, they have already landed in Dallas for a four hour layover until their flight to Anchorage.  We got Liv a phone for the trip and just got the following text:

We landed in dallas and are deciding where to eat. Miss you

They won't be landing in Alaska until after 11:00 p.m. (our time).  Poor girl is going to be tired!  Hopefully, she gets some good sleep as the fun starts tomorrow!

We all prayed together before bed last night.  We prayed for safe travel, fabulous times, and reminded ourselves that Livvi belongs to our Lord and not to us.  We are to trust Him in ALL things.

This has been pretty hard on us all.  Heather is being very strong for all of us.  While at (many) times I cry missing my oldest girl, I feel silly as I get her back in less than two weeks.  There are many families who don't get that.

So excited to hear reports from our Livvi on her new adventures.

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UPDATE:  They landed in Anchorage about 10:45 p.m. our time!  Now they have a welcome dinner with the other ambassadors that made it. About 20 other kids got stuck in Houston and won't arrive until tomorrow.

Sending Their Love

I was at the Cincinnati Commandos playoff game last night and didn't get home until a little after 11:00 p.m. I texted Heather I was on my way and Livvi hijacked the phone to text me she wanted to show me something when I got home. She actually fell asleep before I got home, but Heather told me what happened:

About 9:45 p.m. last night, there was a knock at the front door. Wondering who in the world would be visiting at that hour, Heather answered the door, expecting to see one of the neighborhood kids. Instead, it was a few folks from church, more specifically, from the Vacation Bible School Livvi was in prior to the accident. Livvi came down wearing my t-shirt as a night gown (big arm holes). They gave her a big card they made wishing her well, telling her they are praying for her, and sending their love. Livvi had a huge smile on her face and twinkling eyes. Heather could tell she felt very special, almost like a superstar. It nearly brought me to tears to know how much our church family and friends love our Livvi. If you are one of those folks and are reading this, THANK YOU! We love you, too! God is good indeed!

Livvi is doing much better and has an appointment to see the doctor again on Wednesday.

New Life

On New Year's Eve, we went to church for a night of games, eating, visiting with friends, etc. We stayed much later than we had originally planned and didn't leave until about 11:15 p.m. Upon arriving home, we quickly got the kids ready for bed. By the time I got in to see Livvi, it was just past midnight. As I kissed her goodnight, her legs and feet were really fidgety (more than normal). I asked her what she as doing and she timidly said she apologized to God. I said "For what?". She said, "For my sins". WOW! It about made me speechless. I told her we'd talk more about it in the morning, but that I was very happy and God was, too!

I told Heather and the next day (technically later that same day), we asked her what happened that made her want to do that. She couldn't pinpoint anything or any person that said something to her. It was just something that has been on her mind/heart for more than a year. She is a hungry little girl, often wanting a Bible story before bed. She followed Jesus' command and example by being baptized on January 24.

A parent's primary responsibility, outside of devoting one's life to Christ, is making sure your kids get the same opportunity. I want to thank Jesus for saving my little girl (now my sister as well), for her junior church teacher (Gary), for Heather for her example and making many situations teachable ones, and for all who pray for our kids on a regular basis!

Prayer

In the van on Sunday morning, we could hear Joie saying something. We realized she was praying! She prayed:

"God, Jesus, Hug me, Amen!"

This reminded us of when Livvi was about Joie's age and, again in the car, we heard her praying:

"God, Ampaw, boo boo, Amen!"

Ampaw (my dad) had burned his leg on the lawn mower and Livvi wanted God to make Ampaw feel better.

It really warms your heart to hear your kids praying!

Just OK

Last Tuesday was my latest business trip (and hopefully the last of the year). This time to Oklahoma City. However, the week didn't start well. I started feeling a little under-the-weather on Sunday night. Monday night, I didn't sleep well at all and woke up soaking wet! Tuesday morning, I was sweating at the Cincinnati airport, but my boss said he was, too, so I didn't think much of it. We land in OKC and when we arrived at the meeting, I felt as if the room was VERY hot when we first began. Fortunately, I got more comfortable as the meeting went on. By the end of the hour-hour and a half, I was OK. My boss was not hot this time, so I was still wondering what my deal was. While lunch was great, it was a miserable flight back only because I didn't feel well. I got home, spent a little time with my family then went right to bed. Much of the week was the same way. Long story short, my doctor on Saturday said I have bronchitis. Lovely.

One place we visited in OKC was where the bombing took place 14 years ago. If anyone doubts evil exists in the world (and perhaps fell asleep around 9/11/2001), they need to visit some place like this. Innocent people and children were killed because someone had issue with the federal government. You have to be kidding me?! Who doesn't have a problem with the federal government?! These kinds of acts, though just sicken me! As you can see from the pictures, there are chairs for each person that was killed. It just broke my heart to see the little chairs, that represented the children that were murdered. I took one picture of a child's chair and one of an adult chair that beared the name of a mother and baby. God help us! We all truly need Jesus!

In the Beginning...

There has been much hoopla and controversy over the last few years surrounding The Creation Museum. We finally had the opportunity to visit on Tuesday morning. I can see why there was so much controversy. It is a Biblically-based ministry telling the truth about how we all got here and that we need a Savior. Satan will do whatever he can to suppress the spread of the Word of God.

We were really impressed with what we saw. We've heard all our lives God created everything and believe it wholeheartedly. It was truly incredible to hear it again with scientific evidence to support it and fantastic displays and video presentations. The only "show" I saw was in the planetarium. It put into perspective for me how insignificant we really seem to be when it comes to the entire universe! When you feel that insignificance, then realize God sent his Son to earth to die for you and rose again to prepare a SIGNIFICANT place in Heaven for the supposed insignificant ones. So much for insignificant! Thank you, Jesus!

Our visit was cut short as sleet and rain were falling from the sky freezing us as we headed to the petting zoo and garden outside the museum that afternoon. That, and the kids (Joie and her cousin Gigi) could have used a nap. We made a mad dash for the car to escape the elements and head home. We highly recommend a visit to the Museum and plan to go back again. You can't see it all in one day (unless you don't have small children with you).