Halloween pictures

Greg and Annie on the hay ride.

Greg and the kids on Halloween. Don't you just love their costumes? Just kidding! Greg isn't quite that creative. He won't even dress up as a Mexican let alone a storm trooper! Just to clarify, Jerod was a hobo, Alex was of course a football player and Annie was Mini Mouse.

Cutest mouse ever!

Jerod playing carnival games.

Alex getting stuck!

This little Mexicana was adorable! She was a kitty and my was she cute!

Annie was really confused about this trunk or treat thing. She didn't understand it at all!!

This is where my parents stayed! Just kidding!!

Annie was definitely curious about everything. Not scared at all, just curious.

So, maybe we need to feed him a little more.

This has been Annie's favorite house to drive by all month long. We had to visit it and tell them just how much she liked it. They were giving out chips, pop and Hershey's Candy bars!

Our last stop was Annie's teacher's house.

My parents were sweet enough to make the trip to see us again for this special occasion. It meant a lot to us all to have them with us!

We started out our Halloween night with a fall festival at a nearby church. They had lots of carnival games, a hay ride, a devotion and then they did trunk or treat. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a great way to spend our Halloween. Then we wanted to allow them the experience of door to door trick or treating since Annie really didn't know what this meant. So we went to a few homes on Main Street here in Wake Forest and she now understands what exactly this means. It is still strange to her, but she understands it! So we had a great time and it was wonderful having Mama Say and Honey (my parents) here for the event. Thanks for all of your continued support to our family!! Please read the post below because our people really need your prayers today! Love, Missy

Pray for our friends today

Hi friends! Pictures are coming of our first Halloween in the states! It was so fun and Annie thought it was really cool that people just gave you candy just because you asked! She also thought it was cool that it was OK to ask! We must confuse our kids so much telling them it is rude to ask people for candy and telling them not to talk to strangers and then having one day when that is all we do! :o}

Great reunion and fun time since then!

Me and Beth in front of the infamous Southmeck rock!


Me and Beth (best friend in high school) at the football game on Friday night.

My best friend in high school, Beth Tracy Whitehead

My friends, Beth and Mary

I would have failed computer class without this sweet lady's help! Her name is Ericka.

This is a guy named Robin who I got to know better at the reunion than I did while I was in high school! He was really nice!

This is my friend Katie. She is wonderful! She was my taxi service and drove me down for the reunion a day early since we only have one car and Greg couldn't come until Saturday. True friend!! Thanks Katie!!

Me and the best looking guy at the reunion, hands down!

My buddy in high school, Mike Taylor. Sweetest guy in high school, and still just as sweet!

This is my friend Jana, it was awesome to reconnect with her! I found out a lot about her life and we actually spent the majority of the night together. She lives in Flat Rock and goes to Flat Rock Baptist which gave us an instant connection. We have both changed quite a bit from back in the day! Praise God!

My precious family! The day after.

My Mama and Honey were so kind to be on babysitter duty the whole weekend so that I could enjoy my time and catch up with old friends. Thanks Mama and Honey!

Of course without this sweet man, it would have been a bomb of a weekend. He really is the most precious man to me! I love him so much!

Honey and Annie spent some quality time together that they both enjoyed immensely! He and Mama Say bought her, her first cross. You can barely see it in this picture but she was so proud of it!

Then there was Papa. This is my 92, yep 92 year old grandfather who came to church with us on Sunday. He is still driving around and doing super. The apple of my eye, I must say! Annie is named after both of her grandmothers. Annie and Catherine. Annie was his wife, so I think there is a definite bond there.

Off to school today. Annie wanted to wear something special today. She wanted to dress like a jaguar. This is the best I could do given 5 minutes notice. She was happy! She is dressing as Mini Mouse for Halloween, but she is a jaguar today.

She should be a model. No one taught her to stand like that, she just does it! Thanks to 3 of my good friends Annie has more clothes than a child's clothing store! She loves it!

So, I had a great time at my reunion. It was a little sad seeing how many of them were obviously living like they were still 18, but I am praying for many of them specifically now. It kinda broke my heart on many occasions. The response to what I did for a living was quite shocking. Too shocking to mention on here. Just use your imagination and think how a very poor mouthed 18 year old would and that about sums it up. It was interesting to say the least. Well, I wish all of you were there so I could catch up with you! I think it would have been much more uplifting! Please continue to pray for our dear friends in the village. I will be telling a story about one of them this week. We are calling them all tonight. Pray we hear good things! Pray also for Marnie the 5 year old I have mentioned that has cancer, and for my friend's marriage. Thank you!! Love, Missy

20 year reunion

So, here we go. 10 to 20 years have passed since I have seen most of the people I went to school with. As you can see, I have changed just a little. I did attend my 10 year reunion, however many of my friends did not. I hope we have a good time. I really was a NOBODY, so it should be interesting to see if I know people now. Just thought I would give you all some laughs. These were the only pictures I had, mine are all at my parent's home in Rock Hill. Hope you are all doing well and have a great weekend! Pray my boys do well in their play-off game on Saturday. Annie and I won't be there to see it, we are leaving today for Rock Hill, SC / Charlotte. :o( Greg and the boys will drive down for part of the reunion on Saturday night. Love you all! Missy

PRAY!!

Our friends need your prayers. If you think you know who I am talking about, you are probably wrong. We actually have about 4 different friends whose marriage needs your prayers today! So, if you think about it, please pray for marriages in general today, I think they are crumbling all over the United States and it makes me very sad. I know it makes Jesus even sadder. Today will be the day when many decisions are made in the lives of many of our friends so I am asking you to PLEASE pray! Love, Missy

TOUCH DOWN!!

Alex watching from the sidelines.


Jerod taking a break after his big touch down!


The boys coming off the field after they had flipped.

Coin toss for the kick off. We lost that, but won the game!!

Saturday was a little hard for Alex but he was tough! Everyone was extremely kind to him and he and Jerod were the team captains for that game and got to do the coin toss to see who would kick off. Alex was a good encourager to the team throughout the game and Jerod definitely made him proud! We were playing a team that is a little smaller and less experienced so the coach decided to give our players a chance at playing different positions. Well, this was great for Jerod! He scored his first touch down! He was on cloud nine!! Of course I was so mad because I wasn't ready for it and didn't get the picture! ;o( I was jumping up and down on the sidelines screaming, "That's my son, that's my son!" Alex informed me that I looked like an idiot! Oh well! ;o} We are now 7-0! Thanks for praying for us! We love you!! Missy

We had a THIRD Day!!

J and A in front of the Third Day stage. Doesn't Alex look cool? (sorry, my battery was dying so these pictures are really pewey!!)


After the concert Jerod and Alex had to leave their mark.

Me and my boys! Alex really was happy, but with 5 stitches, it's hard to smile!

There are no words for this picture.

This was Alex really getting into it!

Jerod and Greg jumping!

Waiting for the concert to start, Jerod looks sleepy, but he really wasn't!

Heading into the concert, they were excited! Can't you tell from their faces?

So yesterday, wasn't so great, today was MUCH better! We went to see one of our FAVORITE bands, Third Day, in concert. It was awesome!! We had so much fun and just felt happy to be alive! Five years ago before we left for Mexico, Greg and I went to a Third Day concert and felt so moved and so motivated because we knew we were exactly where God wanted us. We were stepping out on faith and scared to death all at the same time. Almost all of their songs spoke to us and we just felt so encouraged.

So, we have now come full circle and we are experiencing the concert with different eyes and a different spirit. Now their songs mean even more to us because we hung onto many of their songs when we were met with a crisis in our village or when we were discouraged or sad or homesick. When someone asks me what I believe, I just want to sing their song, Creed. That is what I believe. Now you all have to google the words to that song to find out exactly what I believe! :o) So, it was a great night, a true refreshment to my/our soul! If you haven't ever been to a Third Day concert, you just have to go, it's AWESOME!! Once we return to Mexico, I will be able to reflect on this night and hold it as a great memory that we made while home for our year!Love you all! Pray for Alex tomorrow as he sits on the sidelines and watches the football game played without him! Oh, I forgot to mention that Annie had a great time with her babysitter playing about 20 board games and watching a movie. That is her kind of fun! She isn't a Third Day fan, YET!