New Orleans Reunion!!!

Ok.... finally an update about my last wkend for you who have been bugging me!;) Just to let you know it was a completely, totally awesome time!! There's just nothing like cousins and friends who you can be entirely cool and relaxed with! So props to the New Orleans crew and all the rest who made everything fabulous! .......Well we had been expecting them around 7 Friday night, but................. due to Al's overload of work and putting the rest off 3 times they didn't leave till 7 , and didn't get here till bout 11 for a very late supper..... but of course no one was ready to settle down that early...so we all headed to sarah's basement and played pool n ping-pong n looked @pics just hung out till about 1:30 A.m! Saturday was broomsock in the barn:) and vball in Whitney Point where we finally managed to find a gym.... then McDonalds, then singing and listening to my cousin play keyboard at home till after midnight.... all in all it was a great weekend and i'm still recovering from sleep loss!! So here's a few pics...
My cousin Hoyt.....(The coolest guy around!)

Me....

The crew.... playing broomsock in the haymow (for all you non-culture folks, thats an Amish version of paintball!!;) That was such a party!!

Making our weapons with the trusty baler twine...

The guys admiring Ivan's Scout .... one of his projects!!(He does plan to get it on the road!)

Paul and Joe fighting..............

Vball.... *sigh* we had such awesome games!!

Jamie up for the serve...

Al and Paul up...

The guys cleaning up the Filthy floor.... Al with his "little" broom!

Twila n I.... i miss you girl!!!

The cousins with my mom.....

Joe reading to the young 'uns on Sunday

Kenley(a girl Sarah babysits) in her Sunday dress..... she is one of the cutest li'l girls out there!! Well i gotta run...... Love to all and God Bless Us Everyone, Always~Es

"To be or not to be- that is the question."

so...... anyone????? You have any idear who that is??:) Come on........ well let me tell you... its Shakespeare.... Hamlet...... and just to clue you in, i read it in a devotional..... trust me-i'm not that educated!!! In poor melancholy Hamlet's situation, he was contemplating committing suicide. No, i'm not where he was(Thankfully!)... but i really do like that phrase- Its plain down black and white... It applies to every bump in the road. ....Will i be thankful on this problematic day?? .....will i be responsible enough?? will i cooperate when things don't go my way?? will i remember to take everything to God in Prayer?? Will i talk when i should SHUT UP?? ........ well you get the picture! The last week has been very interesting for me.... a learning experience. Sometimes i just cant do everything that i had planned.... i had to choose what is more important..... and i know i failed in at least one area. Its been good for me!! Well right now i need to choose to either please Ivan by getting to chores on time.... or procrastinating longer!!:) well me thinks i'm gonna run!! ;-) As Aways~Me

Life

Well this is just a quick update to say that i'm still living:) My life has consisted of work and more work the last 3 wks....I'm working 4 days a wk now, so that keeps me hopping....and precious sparetime consists of trying to catch up on sleep and clean house and fix my life and other things i'm not telling you............
And now i'm packing up to go to Ontario to hang out at my sis's till Tuesday. so that'll be great!!
Life is good~God is Awesome~ I remain Blessed~
Always-Es

Eventually, Finally, Totally..........

Wow this is gonna be looong!! Please bear with me folks cuz its been awhile n i don't know where to stop with pictures!! I HAD AN AMAZINGLY AWESOME trip to the sunny southernland!!!!!;) Definately one of the best wks of my life so far! God was sooo good to us.... and everything was a success.... n we had a total knockout of a blast. Since there were only a few of us, everyone was comfortable..... and those that didn't know each other became acquainted pretty quickly. Ivan n i came home from Pa sun nite around 8:30.....

Ok... i will try to run an informative timeline along with these pics....
This is our group that drove down.... from left to right...: my bro Ivan, Joe Stoltzfus, Vernon King, Amos Smucker,Marvin King, Alvin Stotzfus, Glen Stoltzfus, Ivan (Hoyt) Huyard, Twila Weaver, Me, n Paul King These are the best peoples!;)

Us cousins... Ivan, Hoyt, me n Amos

Ok this was crazy n interesting...we hit ice going down in Tenesee at 2:00 am!! Only God's hand saved us from having an accident.... The road was like a literal skating rink! dead serious!! Trucks had blocked off the road and traffic was a a standstill with cars in the ditch all over the place. So we all climbed out and skidded around.... guys falling on their behinds!:) then joe decides that we don't just wanna sit there till morn... so he climbs in n try to back up the van w/ 8 ft trailer so we can drive down the median.........

well as you can see, the guys tried to help by pushing.....

......but they only slid backwards like 10 ft!! They guys could literally slide the trailer from side to side, thats how bad it was!! well finally they got it off to the side and we drove halfways on the median n halfways on the rumble strip for like 10 miles till we came out of it! Amos was freaking out sittting by the door claiming he was gonna hop out as we passed by bridges! You know, i had hoped something weird would happen that would make memories.... and i got my wish to full and overflowing!!

We played many a game of rook to pass the time..... and with many stories, jokes, hassles, pit stops, snores, deep conversations, lotsa vee bicht duh(joe's name for coffee), food, our own church service, and endless laughter..... there was never a dull moment on the 20 hr drive! Twila n i got so entertained!! we certainly heard about and witnessed guys perspective! (oh yeah, btw..... guys have there own style of giggling!!;)

So we got to the base... Sun afternoon... this is the Church and gym CAM uses down there.... its right across from a lake where we could climb up on the levee....

how many guys does it take to change a flat tire??;)

Me... up on the levee

gorgeous sunset on the lake

Oh, yea.... palm trees!!!

This is the guys carrying on in the moring b4 we leave for work.... we had breakfast at 6:30! and you were'nt supposed to be late!

Al n Joe racing across the road and up the levee b4 headin off to work

Me with the lunch n drink cooler for our crew

Twila n i cavorting!! That day it was soooo warm i got sunburnt!! 75 degrees!! I did not want to come home to cold!!

ever the artist...... not.

;-)

that was Twila's doing!

joe flooring a room that we had painted.

Me on stilts... that was soooooooooo cool!!

twila busy painting. yeah we did actually get some work done!!:) Twila n i painted almost the whole wk.... i almost feel like a professional!

Me n my friend the lizard!! (yo twila!!;)

Luke in the middle!
Ok.... this was the most hilarious eve in the lounge ever!!! the guys decided to be the best pyramid.... with 15 guys...... it took them prolly like 6 trys!

Wow!! They held it for a split second!! I have never geard guys grunt n grown like i did then.... twas hysterical!!

Sweet victory!!

Ivan, Daniel, n Al doing something weird!!

Amos
They got lotsa entertainment outa one broom handle till they broke it!!

Hoyt n Glen ;)

Hoyt..... he was the best!! props to my cuz!!

Paul....

yoww.... oops, ouch!! :)

Phil (base coordinator) n Raymond (the chaplain)

A typical house down there...
This was thurs afternoon we went to pass out cd's and Bibles....

Al n Vernon

Twila n i on the bank of the Mississippi

Joe bein weird with 2 name tags!

Luke laughing his head off with Joe n Al

My awesome cuz Hoyt

Hoyt n i

Katelyn, Chantel n i ( children at the base)

Chantel, Ivan n Brendon

We had seafood nite!! That was delicious!! Whole crayfish!! And a bunch of us dared each other to eat eyeballs!!

Paul going up for the spike...

Al n Marlin after it....

Ivan n Al pulling Hoyt's ears cuz he turned 22 on the trip!

Well....... i must run.... i hope i've given you a little peek at my experience.... cuz trust me, thats all thats possible!! ;) thanks for your prayers as we traveled, n thanks for being my friends!!
Always~Me

hi ya'll...

Well i don't have much to say about the last week of my life other then it has been at times exceedingly enjoyable...and at times painfully frustrating.... So i just say Thank You Awesome God for loving me, humbling me, and carrying me!! And thank you totally cool friends- for your kindly love and support!!
Oh, on the 17th My bro Ivan n I leave for New Orleans with a van load of cousins and friends from Pa, to work with Christian Aid....So i'll be gone for 2 wkends. Please pray for us as you think about it, as it is an 18-20 hr drive. I'm totally looking 4ward to this(yay twila!:) and i will post with lotsa pics when i get back! ladidadida......(; As always~Me

How did you die?

Did you tackle that trouble that came you way,

With a resolute heart and cheerful?

Or hide your face from the light of day,

With a craven soul and fearful?

A trouble's a ton or a trouble's an ounce,

Or a trouble is what you make it

And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,

But only how did you take it?

You are beaten to earth; well, well what's that?

Come up with a smiling face

Its nothing against you to fall down flat,

But to lie there; thats disgrace!

The harder you're thrown, why the higher you'll bounce,

Be proud of your blackened eye

It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts,

But how did you fight, and why?

And if you be done to the death, what then?

If you battled the best you could

You played your part in the world of men,

Why the critic would call it good

Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,

And whether He's slow or spry

It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,

But only how did you die?

-Edmund Vance Cooke

You may say this is a non-christian poem, and a carnal outlook

on life.... but its an awesome inspiration to me.... to try my bestest

in every situation, every day.  And i know there's a blessing in 

fighting  for what i believe in......  How can i not fight for God,

after all he's given me? 

I fight for Truth! I fight to always be positive! I wanna go down kickin'!;-)

k, so those were my tho'ts of the day!:) Hope all my sweetest friends are

doin' splendidly! Always~Me