Take my Son.....

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art..
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, There was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.. He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.' The father Opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'
There was silence...
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'
But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'
Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!'
But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
'We have $10, who will bid $20?'
'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'
A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'
The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'
'What about the paintings?'
'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE

Deputy Do Right & Miss Sunshine 2010

2010 has already been quite a year! Revival with Bro Zach and Sis Tiffaney Wells, and Caitrin =), our car getting fixed, my good friend coming back home and his beautiful wife getting the Holy Ghost, and us becoming the new Xtreme Team Directors. The Lord gives and takes away, but BLESSED be HIS NAME!!!!

The gift of LOVE!-How often do we overlook such a priceless opportunity

The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her Five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive Gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and she became even More upset when the child used the gold paper to Decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to Her mother the next morning and then said, 'This is for You, Momma.' The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, But her anger flared again when she opened the box and Found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh Manner. 'Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a Present there's supposed to be something inside the Package?' She had tears in her eyes and said, 'Oh, Momma, it's not Empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full.' The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put Her arms around her little girl, and she begged her Forgiveness for her thoughtless anger. An accident took the life of the child only a short time Later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box By her bed for all the years of her life. Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems She would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss And remember the love of the child who had put it there.

Sometimes it pays to be sick =)

Joey bought me these beautiful flowers when I wasn't feeling well this weekend. When I woke up, there they were on the bed. What a great, thoughtful, the most precious husband ever. I love you babe.

Why there were no gyms in the 50s and 60s!

Who needed 24 hour fitness with this kind of excersise!

Come on Pentecostals, we can't let them out dance us!!!!

Our sweet little home!

Below are a few of the before and after photos of our little home!

Thank you to all who made it possible to look so beautiful!

Kitchen Before
After

Master Before

After

Living Room Before

After

Mindy, Anna, Mum (Tina), Angie, Marm, Grandma, and all those who had their hands in decorating and rearranging: Had to move the couch around so that there was an access to the front door, but I loved what you did!

Cookie Night @ Angel's!!!

These girls are crazy!!! We had a wonderful time, last night making sugar cookies! You would assume from the photos that there is more flour and laughter flying through the air than the smell of cookies, that assumption would be correct! Oh and did I mention they were rocking out to Christmas music??!!

This is the first time these girls have ever made cookies, aren't they the cutest?!

AH Lexi, having fun??!!


COOKIES!!!!

Tam n Lexi

Lexi n Dakota

A family wedding portrait

May 21st, 2009, My dream come true~

I haven't posted in so long, life has been so busy, and I don't have a computer ( working on that though) I'll try and post more photos in the near future. Miss everyone so much!

The Wedding

This video is very large, please allow to load.

Hint: Go to 34 mins to see ceremony.

Life, Love, and laughter

Yesterday was my last and final day of Optical School!!!!! I took my final and passed first try!!! Yee Haw! Joey had been in training for the last week and had taken his final and got off early and was already at home and showered when I got there. My teacher had let me leave early, which was nice since they were just watching a movie, and we decided to do something fun and out of the norm. We have been so wrapped up on trying to act like adults and get things done like responsible people, and its been work, work and no play for awhile and it was showing!! We have been up tight and boring to put it simply....Jo had me close my eyes and let him drive, which was so nice....we pulled up to Miwalk Park and I guessed first try =) We had such a blast!! We swung on the swings, ran through the tunnels and slide down ropes, did a few monkey bars which proved more than we wanted to know, and got great shock on the slides we actually fit down! Then after all the excitement we went for a beautiful walk by a small stream and just enjoyed each others company and the excellent weather! It was so nice to just walk and talk with my best friend and make yet another wonderful memory!