"Nothing paralyzes our lives like the attitude that things can never change. We need to remind ourselves that God can change things...outlook determines outcome. If we see only the problems, we will be defeated; but if we see the possibilities in the problems, we can have victory." - Warren W. Wiersbe
KB

Love Is An Action

Today was one of the most rewarding days of my life. Life Church organized a Block Party in the heart of Downtown OKC. The day started early...we met at Life Church at 8am. We carpooled with our Life Group...they are SO awesome. On the way downtown, we stopped at WalMart to pick up some hair clippers. Once we arrived, there were hundreds of people from all the Life Campuses wearing blue shirts that read - Love Is An Action - Block Party 2007. We met in a field, prayed, read scripture and then we each received a bracelet to give to a homeless person to let them know someone loves them and is thinking of them. We all walked together to the block party location. It was incredible. A man named Tim,purchased an old crack house and decided he wanted to make a difference. Let me tell you, today, Life Church made a difference in a lot of lives. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced. We unloaded semi-trucks full of clothes, blankets, toys, water and almost everything you can think of. People donated and purchased these items...it was amazing. The homeless lined up inside for haircuts, food and there was even an area set up for photos. Someone brought a backdrop and took photos of families. I overheard one woman say she had never had a family photo taken before. At one point, Brett and I were sitting on a pew inside the building and one of the guys (the brother of our Life Group Leader) started praying, passionately with this man. Come to find out, this homeless man (probably in his 30's) told him he was on his way to commit suicide. They hugged afterward and you could tell, the man just needed someone to care. As the day went on, we served lunch, helped people pick out clothes and personal items and listened to one of the Life Church bands sing praise songs. I think the thing that touched me the most, were the children. There were tons of children, of all ages. We took three garbage sacks full of Sierra's clothes and toys. We saw one little girl walking across the street with Sierra's backpack. They were so happy to get anything. But most of all, to have people love them. I don't think I've cried as much as I did today. Brett was amazing...he is one of the most generous, giving people I have ever met. He walked up to men sitting on curbs and talked to them. He put his arms around people and told them he loved them. I'm a very lucky person to have Brett in my life.

Today was just the start of more to come. We've made a commitment to do this more often. Not to wait until someone else organizes it, but to take the initiative to go downtown ourselves and let people know they are loved.

KB

Happy Birthday!

We had three family birthdays last week and I apologize for being so late with this post. First, Brandon had a birthday on Oct. 3rd and then both Mary's (grandmother & mom) had a birthday on October 4th. Hope everyone had a great birthday! Speaking of birthdays, Sierra is turning 8 on October 14. We pick them up on Friday and are planning a bowling party on Saturday. She is so excited!

We had a very eventful week. First, I came down with bronchitis while Brett was in California. I had all three kids (Sierra, Pierce and Hudson) and lost my voice. Unfortunately, a few days later, Hudson came down with bronchitis. I am better (three prescriptions later), but Hudson is still coughing and congested...poor baby. He is growing so fast! Megan took him to the doctor for his four month check-up and he is 18 lbs, and 27" long. Hard to believe he was a preemie. He is already wearing 6-9 months clothes and won't be long until he outgrows those.

Everything else is going well. Sierra and Pierce both love school and we are getting fewer and fewer notes sent home regarding Pierce, so that's always a plus :) He has such a personality, but he loves to test his boundaries. I picked him up from pre-k one day last week and asked if he had a good day. He said he did. I then asked if he got into trouble at all. He said no, then stopped and thought for a second and said, yes, yes I did. Then he looked at me and said, "Mom, this is the funniest story, you are going to love it". He proceeded to tell me he had found a cricket on the playground that day when he arrived at school. He said he really wanted to keep it, but his teacher told him he had to leave it outside. So, as you can imagine, he decided to put it in his pocket. The problem was, he told some of the other kids and they told the teacher. She made him take it out of his pocket and put it back outside. Gotta love him!

KB

JB's First Day of Pre-K

JB went to "Big School" for the first time today and had a good day. He was a little upset that the toys were not big enough on the playground, that he did not get his turn making cake and that he got really sweaty and messed up his nice clothes. Other than that, I think it was a good day for him. Let's put it this way: the building was still standing and he didn't have the teacher tied up when I got there to pick him up. I consider that a victory!:) Here are some pics for memories...

BRB

Sierra's First Day of Second Grade

Click here to see more pics of Sierra going to her first day of school in the second grade on Monday. Side note - she already had all of her homework done before she got home and is very adamant about doing all of her work and her reading at night. I personally (Brett) am not used to that because that is NOT how I was with schoolwork. She also got new glasses and now acts like she wasn't able to see anything before at all! (Her prescription is not very strong). But none the less, she is excited and we are very proud parents...

B and K