The Rescue isn't OVER

Chicago is still waiting to be rescued! They are waiting for Oprah, President Obama or the First Lady to rescue them! I would do anything to be there!!! I even looked tonight to figure out how much airplane tickets would be... here's a video/musical piece they put together trying to get Oprah to rescue them (meaning she would come out and speak for a few minutes and offer support for the cause of the Invisible Children)..... it's a REVOLUTION... don't sleep through it!

Happy Birthday Sweet Piper Jane!!

Piper Jane turned one year old today! Hard to believe that it's been a year already. Piper has brought sunshine and joy to our home! She's been such a wonderful baby. She's just now learning to walk. This afternoon she walked almost the entire length of the kitchen. We all stood and clapped. Her brothers adore her!! We love you so much Piper Jane! I pray that God will grow you into a strong woman of faith.

Here are her 1 year pictures we took this weekend!

Andrew and Parker were afraid a train was going to get them;).

Here's a sweet picture of the proud brothers:).

The RESCUE

This past Saturday was The RESCUE. It was amazing! It's hard to even describe the event. This is the third year I've done this and this was by far the most moving event we've ever had. It was sort like a Revolution/Youth Revival all in one. I definitely consider myself privileged to have been in the company of those students. They were SO passionate about DOING something to change the situation in Uganda. They got IT. How exciting is that? They really got IT. I am so proud of them. Senator Gilbert Baker came to speak and "rescue" us. The Log Cabin covered it in Sunday's paper.
After Senator Baker spoke, the kids were given an opportunity to say something if they wanted. Probably 95% of the students stood up and spoke from their hearts about the children of Uganda. They spoke about how blessed we are and how much we take for granted. I was beaming with pride! Before walking back to our abduction site, we circled up and prayed for the kids in Uganda for about 45 minutes. It was AMAZING!! I pray we continue to fight UNTIL THEY ARE RESCUED!

Webslinger

Andrew drew Spiderman slinging from building to building. hehehe.. how sweet!

Only about a week left until I get to wear a different shirt! It's kind of hard wearing only 2 shirts for one whole month. I try to wash them after every second wear. Today I just decided to wear the same pants from yesterday, too... yogurt stains and all;). I'm starting to feel like a slob.. it would probably help if I washed my hair. For those who don't know... we're wearing the same two Invisible Children shirts ALL month long to raise awareness for the kids in Uganda.

You MUST...

go listen to Focus on the Family from today and tomorrow. John Rosemond was the guest. He's a wonderful "commonsense" parenting expert.

My new favorite spot...

especially on days like today. We got a SUPER deal on all of this patio furniture. We bought some on Craigslist and the other at an auction. We bought some fabric 1/2 off and my mom recovered it for us. Doesn't it look great and comfy?

Playing in the yard

I got some SUPER fun pics of the kiddos today while we were out playing in the yard. Piper loved picking at the grass. It was so sweet to watch her. She also loves to swing outside. I can't believe she's almost 1. Time has flown by. We've thoroughly enjoyed every moment with this sweet little ball of sunshine! Enjoy the pics... they're EXTRA cute if I do say so myself;).

The Rescue

Won't you join us? We're (me and about 100 Jr. High kids) are being abducted Saturday night April 25th to raise awareness for the abductions that happen all too often in Uganda. These children are abducted to fight in a war that they want NO part of. These children are young. Very young! In the past, entire Kindergarten classes have been abducted and forced to train as child soldiers. What about the girl students? Forced to become sex slaves... these babies need someone to stand up for them! Join us Saturday night at the Panther Pavilion at the Greenbrier High School. We will be abducted and walk in a single file line to our LRA Camp at the Jr. High. We will then WAIT to be RESCUED! We can only be rescued by our politicians and media. Please come and support us and give these children a voice. Can't make it... you can still help. Shoot an email to some local politicians and media outlets to ask for their support. Encourage them to show up to rescue us and help us tell the story of the Invisible Children of Uganda.
*The event will begin at 4:00 at the Greenbrier High School and end around 10:00ish.*
Here's a short video detailing The Rescue!

You gotta be kidding me!!

To begin... I lost my debit card at the beginning of the week. Lost probably isn't the best word, I know it's gotta be in my car. I used it at Sonic and then couldn't find it an hour later. Fast forward to the end of the week. Tonight Cam and I decided to take advantage of my mom having the boys AND take advantage of a coupon for buy one get one free at Ruby Tuesday. Yea, it can be a little embarrassing sitting at a table with a big fat coupon glaring at the waitress.. you know she's thinking, "I bet they're big tippers". To add to the embarrassment I did have an extra coupon in my purse and we saw some friends so I just had to pull it out and share the wealth. THEN we go to pay and I CAN'T find my credit card anywhere! HOW does this happen? I've only lost a debit card or credit card once in my whole life and now I've lost 2 in the same week! I took everything out of my purse and then went to the car and looked for a LONG time! The waitress had told us we couldn't write a check so I was starting to sweat! You Conway pals better be lucky I didn't call and ask for you to drive over and float us a loan.... Then all of the sudden out of nowhere (well, under the seat actually) there sat my debit card. I was SO relieved. I proudly march it in and gave it the waitress and we all giggled about how funny it all was. I was so ready to get out of there and then I see the waitress come back with a grin on her face... she said, "it's EXPIRED". WHAT? How could that be? Well, remember I told you I had lost one other debit card in my life and it was several months back. Apparently, I found IT and IT had expired 16 days ago. Uggghhhh.. I was sick! She let us write a check, thankfully. To add insult to injury the guy behind us started talking trash about how we were holding up her table and not letting her get business. AS IF.... uggghhhhh! I won't be showing my face in Ruby Tuesday for a while... well, not at least until I can dig up another buy one get one free coupon out of our recycling bin at work;)

Embarrassing BUT pretty entertaining..

So I promised to try to upload the debut of the Testalicious Rock Stars and here it is. My coworkers will probably hire a hit man to take me out sometime soon but enjoy while you can:)

Piper takes her first steps:)

Here's a video of Piper walking like Frankenstein:). She's SO sweet! The first video is of her walking and the second is of her pointing to her ear and dancing! She seriously dances EVERY time there's a beat! It's SO funny!

Our responsibility...

This week has been FULL but good. God has blessed me SO much! Who knew that sending little ole me to Rwanda Africa 7 years ago would eventually enable me to touch so many. God has given me such a platform to give students an opportunity to GROW. Sometimes school can be SO much about academics but fail to teach the "child". This week I've been able to share with some 5th graders the story of the Invisible Children. Who are the Invisible Children you ask... They're kids in Uganda that are being kidnapped and FORCED to fight in a war that is destroying their country. They are forced to walk miles every night to try to avoid being kidnapped and sleep away from their families in guarded abandoned buildings. EVERY night!! What if they have a bellyache or their throat hurts... EVERY night! It's their life. Seeing video footage of them sleeping on the floor, practically on top of each other makes me feel as if I'm looking at animals. Honestly, it's easier to think of them as that. It makes us as Americans more comfortable viewing them as animals instead of as EQUAL... God's children. Another thing I sometimes have a hard time grasping is that their Mommies love them just like I LOVE Andrew, Parker and Piper. I tell my students that they are JUST like us! They were just born in Uganda. They have NO voice. Well, my 5th graders have really been inspired. I haven't been able to speak to them all but I've heard over the last couple of days that they're becoming little activist! They have all sorts of ideas brewing! It blesses my soul! They GET it!! I spoke to some grad students at UCA tonight and encouraged them to GIVE students an opportunity to GROW.
I believe strongly that God has blessed us so that we will bless others! I will never forget walking over the threshold of the Genocide memorial in Rwanda, knowing that I would be changed forever viewing those lifeless bodies, those babies who never had a chance at life. Thank you God for letting me see my responsibility to Your children who are in need. Lord, protect the children of Uganda.

Sooo much to do....

Too little time to do it! I've had tons to blog about but haven't had the time to sit down and do it:(
Here are just a few things I would've blogged about if I had the time:
-the boys Easter egg hunting
-I would upload that video of the Testalicious rockstars... still hoping to get to that one sometime
-Parker's visit to the ER:(.. he got something stuck in his eye and scratched his wittle cornea... sad, sad day!
-Piper dancing constantly! She is a hoot!
-Parker not wanting to go to the ER and saying he hoped they were closed.... so sweet!

I'm sure there's more but I don't even have time now to think about what I don't have time to blog about... make sense?

Anyway, this week is going to be crazy! I would love to have your prayers as I allow God to use me this week/month to bring awareness to the Invisible Children (IC) of Uganda. Tomorrow I speak to the 5th graders. I'm a little nervous because I've never shared this with an audience as young as they are. Wednesday night I speak to a class at UCA of future principals. Later this month I'm going to be abducted with countless Jr. High kids to help raise awareness of what happens daily in Uganda.

AND... if you see me this month and you're asking yourself, "didn't she have that shirt on last time I saw her?" Chances are you're right. We're all wearing only 2 shirts for the month of April to raise awareness for the IC. I'll wash them (and use lots of perfume;).

Testalicious Rockstars!

Oh the joy of teaching in an elementary school;).... this morning was the debut of the Testalicious Rockstars. I'm a little nervous this band may end up frequenting Wooster Elementary. I'm going to try to post a youtube that will NOT disappoint. Let's just say we were pretty serious about getting our rock on! and YES, I did crimp my hair;')