Branson and Basketball

Dad, Andy, Abby, and Isaac took a weekend trip to Branson earlier this July. Andy had a sort of "all-star" tournament down there (for basketball), as well as several baseball games on the way. They went to a magic show, and did go-karts, which thrilled Isaac!

Birthdays Galore!

Zeke and Elizabeth both celebrate July birthdays -- Elizabeth on the 5th and Zeke on the 14th. For Elizabeth, we had a cake that Abby made (and it was beautiful!) and brought out to TREX. We also celebrated with a cookie cake and presents when we got to Grandma's house in Illinois.

At TREX
At Grandma's House. . .

Zeke's Cake (unfortunately we didn't get the camera out during his party, but it was quite fun. We had about 10 young men here, and I think they all were on the trampoline at once!)

The Carnival and Six Flags

When Andy and I were at TREX, the carnival was in town and Dad and Mum took all the other kids. Apparently Isaac and Elizabeth were the only ones being cute, because the only photos we have from that evening are of them. :) I suspect that the other kids quite enjoyed themselves as well.

Our cousins from Dubai have been visiting this summer, and everyone in our family except Dad and me, went to Six Flags with them several weeks ago.

Happy Camper

On some water ride

Here we go! Front row: Nicholas and Noelle

Back Row: Benjamin and Zeke

Trip to St. Louis

About a week ago, Abby, Mum, and I were fortunate enough to get to go to St. Louis and see a small drama group (much like Fine Linen Drama) put on "Little Women". It was quite fun, and our company in the car was wonderful.

Jenny and Rachel

Sarah - such a beautiful young lady

In the theater

The Town Band

Some dear friends of our are involved in the Rolla Town Band, and our whole family (minus Andy) went to listen to them perform last week. It was such a beautiful evening, and they played magnificently!

Summer Fun

Here are a few photos from this June, when Andy and I helped out with haying at a friend's farm.

So strong. :)

Riding down to the field. Those boys sure worked hard!

Our lovely host Alyssa, and Kristen

Corrie, Me, and Suzanne

Ashley, Corrie, and I

Photos coming. . . .

I know, I know, I'm due for posting some photos of my beautiful family. :) I will probably be working on that either this afternoon or tomorrow. However, if I don't get it done before we leave this Saturday, I apologize in advance. I will try to do it as soon as is humanly possible.

Becky

What now?

This was an optional assignment in my Driver's Education program:

"Stand a baseball bat on the ground in front of you. Place your forehead on the flat part of the handle and spin around the bat 10 times. Now try to ride a tricycle around your block. How is your reaction time? Are you a safe driver in that condition? How does that relate to drinking and driving?"

The Importance of Prayer

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
~Hebrews 4:15-16

"And pray in the Spirit on all ocassions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

~Ephesians 6:18

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
~James 5:13, 15-16

"Do not be anxious in anything, but in everything,by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. "
~Philippians 4:6

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. "
~Romans 8:26

(For the whole TREX story and photos, start at the bottom with the post titled "TREX '08, and work your way up the page!)

More photos

Sam and Roger



Hannah Sue!

Natalie

Hannah Sue . . . without safety goggles??

Emily

Roger, the T-rex

Ben, Colin, and Nathan

Natalie

Joel

Sara and Andy

Sam

Colin

Nathan

Joel and Sam

Andy and Ben

TREX '08, Saturday

Saturday we packed up and left! The whole family came to pick up Andy and me, because we went straight to Illinois from there. It was somewhat sad saying goodbye, but we signed each others books so we would be able to forever remember all the fun we had. ;)

I learned so much this week. Aside from all the extreme things we did, and the fun of getting to know new people, God really was present in everything we did. Each morning, we had personal devotion time on a select passage of scripture. We looked at I Corinthians 9:18-27, Philippians 3:12-4:1, and Hebrews 11:1-3, 23-32, and 12:1-3. Each one stressed "going for the gold" and perservering in our walk with Christ, being totally dedicated to Him in each and every aspect of life. After breakfast we always had worship and a lesson, and then one in the evening after dinner as well. Pastor Greg from West Virginia was the speaker all week, and he was terrific. Our morning sessions were a series on "How to be a Stupid Teen". . . the topics were things like "surround yourself with idiots", "love the world", and "allow your heart to become a garbage dump". He had just the right balance of funny stories and serious concepts. Then our evening sessions were on the scripture passage of the day. . . the one I remember most was "Paul's Strategy for Outreach". It was really encouraging each and every day, to be with so many teens who were also sincere about their faith. My counselor, Emily, was amazing. She did an evening devotion with us just before "lights out" every night, and challenged us in a different way each night.

So all in all, I am so glad the guys made me go. :) It was a memorable experience, that is for sure!

~Becky Boo

P.S. The credit for all these photos goes to other people. . .I took a camera and didn't get it out until the last day! But Hannah Sue, Mark, Sam, Allison, and several other people were taking pictures and have kindly shared them with everyone. Thanks guys!

Juan, the camp director

The boys taking down the Christmas lights they had strung around the snack shop.

Good morning Ian. . .

Joel and Colin

Ben, Dad, Joel, and Nathan

Signing books

The Arkansawrians' car

Most of the boys -- Ian, Joel, Mark, Andy, Colin, Nathan, Ben, and Sam

And the girls -- Allison, me, Hannah Sue, Abbie, Hannah B. Julie, Sara, and Natalie

TREX '08, Friday

Friday, we swapped events. . . the other group "got" to go caving, and we stayed at camp. The first thing we did was a strange game of sorts. They had a large PVC pipe frame, with metal rings coming out of all four sides. We had the girls on one side and the guys on the other. Then we hooked bungee cords on the rings, and stretched them all across until we had made a web like structure. Our goal was fairly simple - to get everyone through the web onto the other side. However, no one could touch any part of the web - not the people going through or the people passing them through. Also, three people on each side started out blind-folded, and others were blind-folded whenever we touched or went out of the boundaries. I woke up with a tremendous headache that day, so once I was passed through (blind-folded. . .it was quite interesting), I curled up and took a nap. Next thing I knew it was lunch time! Then after lunch we went up to the paintballing course. I was the nurse's assistant, and camera babysitter. :D The girls painted their hair with the paint (they painted some of the guys too, come to think of it) and everyone enjoiyed comparing welts. That evening was the last night we were there. It was the best night yet . . . we had a campfire, and sang and shared what we had learned throughout the week. Those of you who know we will be shocked to hear that I actually shared something! It was so cool to hear all those other teens, so serious about their faith and about growing in their walk with God.

Another foggy morning. . .

This is that strange game we played. . .you can see Ben with his purple blind-fold in the back, and one side of the web.

Julie, going through blind-folded

Oh my I had forgotten about this! The last night, we did wrestling in our cabin. It was absolutely insane. The girls were all screaming so loudly, my ears were ringing! What a fun time. . . This is Stephanie, the camp nurse. . .

. . . and our counselor, Sharon.

Here they are wrestling! I think they ended up in a draw. They both got pretty tired.

One of the guys making their TREX shirt. Andy made those stencils and everyone was amazed at his mad skills.

Basketball

Watching them play. . . Michael, Andrew, two of the girls on the staff who I didn't meet, Katie, another girl on the staff, Ian, and Jonathon.

Mark playing for worship the last night