First Installment of Italy pics

Just thought I would get some pictures up from our Italy trip... There will be more to come, this one is just a preview. Tuscany was absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time with the whole family. Andreas' parents, his brother Johan and his family and the three of us all went. Mom and dad gave the trip to us for their 40th anniversary and mom's 60th birthday. We are very appreciative for there kindness and really enjoyed being with the family. There will be more to come in the next days...... so stay tuned.

Laurie

Andreas took this pic. Found it interesting that you could buy any god you wanted in San Gimignano. Not to mention art scultpures that happen to be in France. I guess if it sells it will be there.

The first day we were there, Sunday we went into the old stone city that we could see from the backyard of the house. This is a picture of one of the nine towers in San Gimignano.

Samuel adores his cousin Viktor!

This is the house that mom and dad rented for the week, Casa Renio. We had the first floor and the owners lived on the second floor. I would highly recommend this house, it was beautiful with an amazing view and a wonderful pool. It was about 40 minutes outside of Florence, but a great location to do day trips to many cities.

A pool with a view and a little boy that became a fish that week. Samuel has been taking swimming lessons for two terms now. In Italy, he finally took off his waterwings and swam by himself. By the end of the week he was swimming the whole length of the pool, jumping and diving (belly flopping) in and trying to sit on the bottom of the shallow end. This was the best part of the vacation for Sam.
More to come!

13 Years and Counting

(just pretend there is a huge drumrole before you read this).... Yesterday was our 13th anniversary!!!! I can't believe it has been that long. Of course over the years we have changed, but all of it has been there to deepen our relationship with Christ and each other. I thank God for this man and look forward to many more years of this adventure we call marriage and family.

I wish I had a recent picture of the two of us to share, but it always ends up being one of us with Sam. Even all the pics I have from Italy are only one of us in each pic. Hopefully the family have some of us together. Yes, you read that right, I have been to Tuscany and loved it. I will begin sharing those pictures soon. I took over 800 pictures, but don't worry I won't share them all.

Recently I was asked how Andreas and I met, so I will share a short version. In January of 1996 I was beginning the last semester of my college career and Andreas was coming to the States to experience an American college. He ended up (the very last minute, literally) in my Volleyball and Soccer class (the last P.E. credit I needed). We flirted, well he flirted with all the girls.... but we initially became friends. He would actually talk to me about the other girls he liked. However, he would also talk to me about Christ. Even though he had grown up in the church he had never experienced a commitment to Christ.

One night Jesus put him on my heart. So I prayed for him. The next day in class I told him that

I had been praying for him the night before. He was quite surprise and asked me how I knew. I was quite confused by the question, but he later explained that it was the first night that he had actually felt the presence of Christ with him at a dorm prayer meeting.

We continued to hang out as friends and talk about Christ. One evening in March after we had gone to Nicholasville to eat, I was driving back into Wilmore when he asked if we could go somewhere quite and dark. My answer, "absolutely not!" Quite surprised at my answer he tried to explain why he asked that. He wanted to give his life to Christ. At that request I drove to the parking lot of the then Wilmore elementary school (now the early learning village). It was a beautiful evening as he prayed to Jesus and gave his life to him.

We continued to hang out as friends and I took him to my Junior/Senior banquet where he embarrassed me greatly by giving a toast in my honor (but it was really sweet). We of course had the conversation of "let's just stay friends" because we lived in different countries and I was leaving for Jamaica after graduation. However, in the end of April we started dating and the rest in history. On June 16, 1997 I became his wife. (of course there are a lot more details, but a little hard to write them all here). In all of our dating time we were apart for 3/4 of it. I think I will tell Sam we dated for years before getting married....just kidding. It is not recommended, but we knew that Lord had given us each a gift with the other.

In a time when so many marriages are struggling, we pray that you all hold fast. Marriage is worth holding onto!

Blessings,

Laurie

Helping Fishermen Families

This entry was sent to me by a very good friend and I can vouch for the genuinous of this! The oil spill is not only ruining the ocean and land, but many families and lives that survivied off of the ocean and coastline. Please pray about helping some of these families and continue to pray for the end to this disaster.

Blessings,

Laurie

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

We need you to help feed a fisherman's family!

My Big Blue Planet is asking that YOU donate non-perishable food items and backpacks. Our volunteers are filling backpacks with food items for these families.

The U.S. government has not declared the Gulf Coast a disaster area. Therefore, Federal Aid is not available to these families. These families are hurting financially and emotionally. They need your help. Won't you help feed the fishermen's children?

TO DROP OFF:

To drop off food items, please contact Kim Haney at 662-871-0085.

WHO CAN RECEIVE THE BACKPACKS OF FOOD?

To receive items you must show two things. One is a tax form showing occupation as a fishing related career (shrimper, deckhand, charter boat captain, etc) and second is you must show proof of residency in a coastal county in AL, MS, or LA.

TO BECOME A DROP OFF LOCATION: Please contact Kim Haney at 662-871-0085.

Please forward this email to everyone you can. We need to help our neighbors and today is the day!

Thank you and May God Bless You,

Kim M Haney

Ordination pictures

Ok, these are some pictures from Andreas's ordination ceremony. In short, this means that he is now an ordained elder in the worldwide United Methodist church, licensed to preach, teach and serve.

First off is the historical test, a series of vows written down by John Wesley, Methodism's founder some approx. 300 years ago. Every Methodist pastor in history (more or less) has answered these questions and deeply pondered their impact on their lives.

This is the second ceremony, or the actual ordination. The ordination service was a joint service with two other denominations, i.e. the guys and gals in black. Andreas is the guy in white and the bishop is asking him in he believes that God has called him to being a pastor.

This is the moment of ordination. The bishop places his hands on Andreas, along with superintendents and a sponsor/another elder, and prays for God's wisdom and power to enable him to do his task of spreading God's kingdom on earth.

"The gang" - everybody is ordained and turned around to meet the 3000 people's applause and approval. A very special moment!