Memorial Weekend!

We headed out to the lake house on Thursday and didn't make it back home till Sunday night. I was so worried that the babies would be HOT and Miserable but they were so good. We had a really good time. Casey and the guys had one to because they caught 140 lbs of fish!!!

Waiting to have a picture taken in the outfits mother bought them!

Patient Paige

Always putting on a show Cash

Mr. Brayden Brasher (nephew)

Cash taking a nap

Paige trying out her swimsuit (thanks Wendy!!)

Cowboy Cash Pouting about something!


Cowgirl Paige

Cash swinging!

Poppie and grandkids

sleeping all the way home!

Mother's Day ~ Baby Dedication

What a wonderful day to have a baby dedication. Growing up sitting at church you always think ONE DAY I will be a mother and I can stand up and get a carnation or whatever gift the church gives to the mothers-grandmothers etc. Last year it was getting closer because I had just found out that I was preggo and then this year we had two perfect healthy children to take to church and I was proud to stand up with them.

It was somewhat sad because my dad always makes such a big deal about holidays. He thinks about what to give people for months and always gives the best THOUGHTFUL gifts. ( I didn't think this in high school because it was always something I NEEDED but not necessarily WANTED :) This year he was out of the country with Gideons and it was my first mothers day so he went and ordered my gift before he left so I would have it. Cristi from Pickles called and I went and picked up flowers that he had bought me. Mexican Sage I think . They are really pretty and he had heard me talking that I needed a plant to plant by the entrance.

Then on the way to church mother calls and tells me to look in her car before I come into church. I was like mother we are running late I will get it later and she was persistent that I needed to get it before church so I was thinking a new jacket or something for the babies. (SHE BUYS THEM MORE THAN ME ALL THE TIME:)... But instead I find a new bible. I was still using my Ashley Brasher bible and this new one says ASHLEY POWELL. Not only that it is a slim bible so I can carry it in my diaper bag !!! So I am crying before I ever get into church. She got a bible from dad when Brandon and I were small and she has used it all these years and that bible has been through thick and thin with her and I know this new one of mine will do the same!!!

SO here are some pictures from the Baby Dedication!! Thanks Kristin for taking such good pictures! Thanks Alison, Karen, DeeDee for coming to such a special time in our children's lives!

Baby food ...... STINKS !!!

Well we went to the doctor last week and he told us to go ahead and start baby food. Well if you have ever been around me a lot I have a nose on me :) (yeah I know its big too!). But really I can smell anything. When I was preggo it was really bad and I thought it would go away but I still can smell something a mile away. Diapers almost KILL me. Needless to say Baby food STINKS! There are only a couple of things that are #1. Which means the first things to start with. So we started with PRUNES. I hate prunes but my kiddos were having some tummy issues so I thought hummmm prunes will help :) Here are the pictures from the big adventure. We have done it every night for almost a week and they really have the hang out if now!!

Gideon trip coming to a close!

This is the latest of emails that my dad have sent. He only has 3 nights left but you can tell from his email that it seems as though he has gained more knowledge in these past 2 weeks than he could have in a lifetime here in Jasper.


Un Ragolo, Gratis, para usted. (a gift, free, for you).

These words are etched in stone in my mind. I have said it so many times that I can not see a bible without thinking of them. I got home early this evening and sat at the meeting table and heard stories from everyone. I now hate missing these stories each day by staying out late with the local Gideons.

I can truly say I will never be the same when thinking about working for the Lord. I did not fully realize the bond that can be built between men is a few short days. The team I am working with is some men that I would work with in any situation. We now have 2 x-cops that now work in the jails, one man who was in prison for ten years because of the government suppression, and one who belongs to the chicken mafia. Every where we go he has family who owns a chicken restaurant.

We went to one mans home last night for desert and it was a rice pudding that I had to eat before leaving and this was right after eating a few chickens, beans, and pan (bread). One of the chicken mafia demanded that I pray for his wife to become pregnant; I explained that we had prayed for Casey and Ashley and they had twins. He asked for only half a prayer which he got!

The schools are what we would call under lockdown. You have to let in and the gates are locked when leaving. They are something I want to explain in detail when I show the pictures. Many stories are coming out about the violence in the area we are now working. One of the x-cops is never out of touch with me. They will not let me do anything out of sight and I demanded to catch a taxi back to the hotel today because we never get home in time for the evening meeting. The new friend put me in the taxi along with the interpreter and we made it ok.

One school had a policeman with me for every step. The world looks so innocent but we are blind to the ways of the street. I have always felt confident in anywhere we go but now the truth is setting in. We are living in a sheltered world. Even the way I pull out my wallet and count the money before paying is wrong, the way I jerk my camera out to get a picture is wrong, the way you know who is around you all the time is important. Sad but true is the fact that we take people to be just like us and trust everyone is wrong. I hope most of these feelings go away but my eyes are seeing the world as a really bad place now. I can check kjas and kfdm and nothing but the same.

After saying all of this I will never forget the eyes that are looking back at me from every class and the way they just want to say something to me. The children are really just like the kids in Jasper except they are courteous, respectful, and polite. Every school I leave makes me think of our grand children and what they will face in the years to come. We have no time to relax in making them a good home.

Will one bible at a time make a difference? I do not know except it is what is making me feel good for now. I can only hope the effort works for the time being. I will leave a little different than I came.

If I emptied my mind and you had the time to read it all, you might be able to grasp the thoughts and feelings that you have helped me attain. I have been on the mountain top many times and then it would slowly fade away to the every day valleys that we live in. This trip is one that I hope to use to better myself for many days to come.

I left one young man last night who prayed the prayer of salvation with me and he shared his whole life with me. It all sounded like a 17 year old from Jasper who ended up with Robin and the All Mighty and was able change from a young man with no future to being someone who might be able encourage someone to keep trying. The young mans name is Luis Carlos Rodas Navajos, the young 17 year old from Jasper is garyB. This memory helped me get up today knowing the work was worthwhile.

I will close now but only because you all might get tired of reading; I have much more to say and I am not sure you could grasp how I really feel. I know you would not laugh but if I was to see you right now you might leave with un ragalo, gratis, para usted. La Biblia!!!!!

Gary, dad, popie

First night at Hideaway Hill (the Lake House) !

Casey, Cash, Paige, my mother, my uncle Clark, Andy Morgan and I all went to the lake house for the night. We had never brought the babies before because its such a hassle to pack everything but now since they are somewhat older we thought it was time. 2 pack and plays, a swing, lots of bottles and toys later we were there.

They fell asleep and had a quick nap outside before we came in for the night.

Uncle Pop rocking Cash to sleep!!!


Precious Paige hanging out in the stroller!

The fish were really biting so Andy and Casey stayed out till 3:30 in the morning fishing and then got back up the next morning and went back. I wish I loved fishing that much!!!

PooDee Bottle

A friend of my sister in law told her about this bottle with a straw. I didn't understand what in the world they were talking about. So I started searching and I found it !!! I just now let them really start using it because I know now they wont choke. Well I say that and then low and behold next time they will choke! I got it on justmultiples.com I think. I only bought one but now I have heard that you can buy just the attachment to make a regular bottle work. Just thought I would share with yall!

People when they see them say its like one of those hats that holds two cans on each side with a straw. That you see those CRAZY peple at ballgames and such wearing. Another lady said it was like a bong :(

Family Time

Today was one of the best days around Powell Town :) It didn't start off that good. Casey had his wisdom teeth cut out yesterday so he was still in a lot of pain but it eased up throughout the day. We went to town and I ran into Pickle's and picked up our garden materials. We came home and Casey rested for a bit and got some pain meds and then the FUN started. We got outside and tilled up the ground practically by hand. All we had was a garden rake and hoe and we didn't want to ask anybody for anything such as a TILLER OR DISK. Let me rephrase that Casey didn't, I was all for it ! But we got busy and two hours later the ground was ready. We planted squash, more tomatoes, watermelons, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers. So we shall see if we are going to be able TO LIVE OFF THE LAND.

I know you all have seen the obnoxious annoying commercial on TV with the upside down tomato tree, well lets just say I got one the other day. They are a lot cheaper @ Bed Bath and Beyond.

Also here are some pictures of our helpers (ROCKY, SHELBY, and JJ). Oh yeah they had dug up our Apple tree when we got up this morning. Lets just say they wont do that again!!!

My Dad is the most amazing person! GIDEONS !!!

Here is why I make the statement MY DAD IS AMAZING!! He is in Columbia for 14 days with the Gideons. He says everything better in his words so I will cut and paste some of his emails ...........................

Friday when he got there they told him that .....
The goal has been raised! ONE MILLION Bibles are here. This would break the 970,000 record if we were able to distribute all of them. Sat will be only church Services and meetings, one Church is 20,000 members and all of us are going to that one.


Saturday when he emailed us this is what he had to say...
First meeting is over and I will update later. We are all going to two churches today. We have received our church assignments for tomorrow and I have 5 services at the same church starting at 6AM. We will be leaving the hotel at 5AM and I have 10 minutes for each service. The goal for Bogotá City is 504,000. The drivers will be picking us up at 6AM each morning and we are mandated to be back at the hotel NO LATER than 5PM. No one on the team can leave the hotel after 5PM with no exceptions. Soldiers are at ever entrance and exit along with an AK47. The streets in down town area will be vacant after dark. The hotel is guaranteed safety but on the area streets it aint nice.

Monday ...
I am mentally and physically drained. I will call tomorrow night. 27 teams and we distributed 92,400 bibles. I still cannot believe how many people can be at one University that I was at. It rained twice during the day.
All went well.

I was able to lead Juan Carlos Lara, a 25 year old to the Lord and it made my day.I would like to tell you all the news but unable to think straight. I went to the hotel restaurant for a bowl of soup and now straight to bed.We will meet at 0445 and leave the hotel at 0600 to get to the next site. The travel time is tremendous to go anywhere here.Please update me on the swine flue. All TV channels are Spanish.

Thursday.....
Today was a day that I will never forget. I got home late and I was the only team member out after the curfew. They thought I was kidnapped but we had worked late and found a place to eat fried chicken and they called the local Gideon’s cell phone and stopped the search.

I worked in three different schools where we went to class by class.
We were able to distribute 4,625 bibles into grades ranging from 3-12 grades. In one class 29 Students prayed the prayer of Salvation. Out of the 29 there were 5 deaf students. The signer was given a bible and his picture was taken with the 29 that accepted the Lord. The signer was a Jehovah’s Witness.

This one class of students has changed my life. I will want tot tell the story to each of you; so get ready.

After getting to the hotel I found out the total bibles distributed so far is around 423,000.

I can truly say that the Lord is working through this effort and I have been woke up to the work at hand. Please keep praying.

Jumper

My mother had this jumper for Brayden (my nephew) and he loved it. We thought that the twins were too small for it but they brought it up anyways. I put Cash in it a few weeks ago and he wasn't so sure but now HE LOVES IT ! Paige its taking a little longer for her to warm up to it, she is so much smaller so it doesn't fit her as well!

Trees

Here are the trees that I got so filthy, tired, and HOT planting yesterday. We planted them on Cinco De Mayo so we could remember always how old they are. We had ordered 40 Live Oak trees to plant along the driveway but they weren't ready till it was too hot so that has to wait till next year. Although after planting just these yesterday I think I can wait another year! I loved getting out though and doing it so I think I am going to start a garden this weekend! Something small though!

FIRST TIME

Well this is the first time that I have ever BLOGGED. I feel somewhat nervous. Although I think I have no time these days somehow I have made time to start this thing. I am on facebook and I have to say I love it because I am able to keep up with everybody else. This however is almost like I can keep up with myself :) Some days I feel I never know what I do and this way I can write about it and then weeks to pass I can come back and TA-DA it tells me what went on around CRAZY P FARMS !! I guess I will just start with what happened today. For people that don't really know me you will just have to imagine how I got to where I am today :) In a nut shell I HAVE A CRAZY LIFE!

I was very rudely awakened this morning by an ALMOST 5 month son talking up a storm. I have no idea what he had to say so early in the morning but I left him in his bed for about 20 minutes and just was amazed at how much he had to say. Finally, he got pissed off that his mother or father were not listening and giving him all the attention in the world. So we picked him up and put him in the bed with us (all about 6 this morning). He talked some more and tossed and turned and kicked and acted plum crazy enough that I went ahead and got up and fixed HIM a bottle. In the mean time my precious perfect other ALMOST 5 month old daughter sleeps so calmly and quite in her bed. I have to eventually wake her to TRY making her eat breakfast. She is somewhat stubborn these days and feels as though she doesn't have to eat anything. She slurps down a bottle when she gets ready but besides that she doesn't want to be bothered !!

We all get ready go to town to meet Casey after his eye appt and I have to feed them because they wake up while we are waiting and GUESS WHAT............ I have left the tops to the bottles at home. This would be easy to run home if I lived in town but I don't I live at least 15 minutes out of town. So I run home and get the bottles but both children are back to snoozing at this point.

We head to Beaumont for Casey's dentist appt (having wisdom teeth cut out tomorrow) and mess around some in Beaumont and then on the way home we decide we are going to be Suzy homemaker and farmer brown and plant trees. So we finally get home about 4 and start planting trees (apple, pear, nectarine, lemon, and peach). Oh yeah I also planted an upside down tomato...... I think if I start selling all this produce I wont ever have to go back to work :) A garden is next !!!

Dark thirty rolls around we come in get baths and put the kids down, Casey goes to bed and here I am telling y'all what happened in my day !!! This is somewhat relaxing a little to vent on here ! I know this is not all grammatically correct like my friends NESHA's but I try. I have to say I AM NOT SMARTER THAN A 5Th GRADER !!!