Hope You Enjoy Your Weather

As I woke up this morning, there was a lot of bright-white fluffy stuff falling from the sky and covering everything in its way. Actually, since December there has been a little bit of the white stuff on the ground, but for the past couple of weeks it had turned into a nasty brown/black mixture that became very slushy and gross. However, this week God decided to shower Chemnitz with a brand new layer of the white stuff.

I then began thinking and wondering what kind of weather you all are experiencing and after my research was complete, I knew I had been correct in thinking that most of you haven't experienced anything close to this in a while.

I hope you enjoy your 60 degree weather in San Antonio and Houston, April and Amy...and your 50-60 degree weather in Lubbock, Monica...and your 40-50 degree weather to all of you Okies! I will try to enjoy this beautiful snow, even though it feels as cold as 20 degrees right now. It still is nice to look out my window and see this beautiful sight. I just don't ever want to drive in it or have to walk around in it for hours! God is good and he has created all the amazing things in the world... including snowflakes! They do bring about wonder to the world, don't they?

I hope you are all finding the wonders God has created around you!

"How to Get What You Want... and Want What You Get!"

I have been reading a very excellent book by Willard Tate. It's contents outline: "12 Steps to Christian Living at Its Best." I want to share a couple of excerpts that I particularly enjoyed.

"The Disciple's Charge"

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I am finished. I'm done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, or dwarf goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, platitudes, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my God reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, meander in the maze of mediocrity!

I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me--my colors will be clear!
--(Author unknown)

What a great message that is! I pray we can all have that determination for Jesus! Here is another great story I want to share...

"A Request of Mr. Lincoln"

During the Civil War, despite his busy schedule, Abraham Lincoln would occasionally take time to visit hospitals and cheer up the wounded soldiers. One time he came to the bed of a young soldier who was near death, and Lincoln said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The soldier, not realizing whom he was talking to, said, "Yes, there is. Would you please write a letter to my mother?"

So Lincoln sat down and wrote as the young man dictated. The letter read, "Dearest Mom, I was badly hurt while doing my duty, and I'll not recover. Don't sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and father. Please kiss Mary and John for me."

At that point the soldier grew so weak that he couldn't continue or even sign his name, so Lincoln finished the letter with this: "Written for your son at his request by Abraham Lincoln." And as he was going to put it in the envelope, the young man recovered enough to say, "May I see the letter? I'd like to read it once before you send it." When he got to the bottom and saw Lincoln's name, he was shocked. "Are you really the President?" he said.

Lincoln smiled and said simply, "Yes, I am. Is there anything more I can do for you?"

The soldier answered feebly, "Yes, Mr. President, would you mind holding my hand and seeing me through to the end?"

And so Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States and certainly one of the greatest ever, took the soldier's hand and held it all through the night until finally, as the dawn began to break, the young man's grip weakened and he died.

As we go through life, and then as we draw near to those chilling waters of death, Jesus will be there beside us, and He'll say, "Is there anything I can do for you?" And if we'll just ask, we'll get the best He has to offer, including His hand on ours as we finally cross over to heaven.

What great comfort Jesus is in our lives! I would like to share some quotes that I found really great...

"...Enjoying life--getting the most out of it you can--is not the most important thing. What is? Being rightly related to God through a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ in accordance with the Scriptures."

Chapter 1: Decide What You Want

"The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In a sense, you see, it doesn't matter who Jesus is if we don't want Him. If we choose a life of independence from God, knowing the truth about Him won't help us."

A Mission for Life

"Yes, you can get a lot of money if that's what you really want and you're willing to pay the price. But in deciding what you want in life, make sure your choice is one worthy of your efforts, one that will bring you true happiness and no bitterness with it. I'm not saying you can't be well off and happy, but make sure money and things and ambition don't possess you. By themselves, they won't ever produce a satisfying life."

Golden Goals

"God made us to be goal-seeking creatures."

"...Life's mission around which all of our goals must revolve is to glorify God if we are to enjoy a fulfilled, abundant life."

Reaching Your Goals

"Whatever our goals, as Christians we want to commit them to God and pray for His wisdom and power so that, when achieved, they will help us to honor and glorify Him."

" I was like the old boy who said, "I had never seen an English teacher, and now I are one!"-- Ha! That one is just funny!

Chapter 2: Be Willing to Pay the Price

"Nothing of a worthwhile, durable nature in the world has been produced without sweat."
- Herbert Lockyer

Willing to Work

"The tougher we are on ourselves, the easier life becomes. The easier we are on ourselves, the tougher life becomes."

The Value of Work

"If you never do more than you get paid for, you will never get paid for more than you do."

Chapter 3: Ask for It

"If you are reluctant to ask the way, you will be lost."
- Malay proverb

Truths About Asking

"Receiving begins by asking."

Why We Don't Ask

"...You've got to learn to fail in order to succeed."

"You usually get what you expect."

"...It's the wise person who asks for help, not the weak person. When help is available and we need it and we refuse to ask for it, that's not strong but stupid. ...Such thinking is just plain un-Christian, because faith is based on admitting we're weak and sinful and in need of a Savior."

Chapter 4: Get Excited

"The simplest man, fired with enthusiasm, is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it."
-Rochefoucauld

"Without realizing it, many of us have got the brakes on our lives today. We may have some ambitions that put one foot on the accelerator, but we've got the other foot jammed on the brake of our emotions and enthusiasm."

"Make up your mind that nobody's going to hand you an exciting career, an exciting marriage, or an exciting life. If you want those things, you have to generate and maintain some enthusiasm yourself."

The Excitement Boomerang

"Whatever you get excited about--gets excited about you."

Staying Excited

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Chapter 5: Expect to Get It

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow."
- O.S. Marden

"Whatever the mind harbors, the body manifests."

The Power of Choice

"It is not the things that happen to us that make or break us. It is our mental reaction to those things that counts."

A Living Hope

"If we have hope, all things are possible, no matter what our circumstances."

"We who belong to Christ need never be without hope."

Chapter 6: Don't Demand

"The Christian understanding of power is that it is found most often in weakness."
- Charles Colson

Why We Do It

"Don't confuse privileges with rights."

No Way to Be Happy

"When you demand what you want, you're not going to be happy, even if you get it."

The Futility of Trying to Control

"The fact is that even when your needs are legitimate, people will disappoint and hurt you. Trying to control them is a sure route to unhappiness."

"Some will accept you, and some will reject you. You just can't depend on people every time, even when you have real needs. So trying to control them is a futile way to try to be happy. A better way is to realize that we can depend on God and His love."

Antidotes to Demanding

"As soon as we turn our preferences into needs, happiness walks out the front door."

"If there's no joy in your life, what appeal is there to a nonbeliever?"

"It's a good idea, too, to make a list of all the things you have to be thankful for, then carry the list around with you and review it every once in a while. Make a special point of looking it over whenever you start to feel down about some unfulfilled desire."

Jesus' Example

"...The most important approach to overcoming the tendency to demand is to adopt the submissive attitude modeled by Jesus Christ."

"...A life of submissiveness is the way you get the most that's gettable and enjoy what you're getting. Demanding what you want isn't the way."

"There's a quiet power in living a Christlike life. The French emperor Napoleon observed that he, Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Charlemagne had all founded empires based on force. Jesus, however, founded His kingdom on love and humility. Today there are millions who have committed their lives to Jesus and would probably die for Him. How many would die for Napoleon or Caesar? So which is the great power?"

"...If we understand who we are--children of God who will one day go to spend eternity with Him--what our great purpose is--to take as many others as possible with us to heaven--and that we have different standard--the words and example of our Savior--we'll be ready to live as He lived and we will overflow with joy."

Another Prayer Request

I have another prayer request. Recently, I received several e-mails from a friend whose son was in a very serious car accident. I would really appreciate your prayers for Jay, who will be going through months of recovery. God has already been at work by saving his life and by helping him with a positive attitude. Praise God! Please continue to pray for him and his friend who was also injured in the accident. I know he and his family would really appreciate the prayers.

Prayer Requests

I have two important prayer requests. The first one is the nephew of a friend of mine in the church in Chemnitz. His name is Kevin and he is 4 years old. He has been struggling with brain tumors now for several months. I am not sure exactly when he was diagnosed, but I know it all came on very suddenly. They have just discovered that he has more tumors in between his vertebrae. There have been many prayers said on his behalf and I think many people may not know exactly what to pray for. But I just ask that we pray now for the family. Let us pray that God will comfort all those who love Kevin and may there be some way that God's love is shown to them.

I also want to ask that you pray for Jan, an 11 year old boy here in Chemnitz. On Sunday morning he collapsed in the church building and was taken to the hospital. We are not really sure what happened or what is wrong, but please pray for the doctors, that they can treat him and help him with whatever is going on. Please also pray for his family at this time.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. God really is listening and I know he will answer!

Baby Shower Fun

So I decided that I need to write a real blog so that some of you stop wondering why I even have one. :)

Today was a busy day. This morning we had our Frauenfrühstück (Women's breakfast). We have tried to meet once a month and enjoy fellowship, singing and a short devotional thought with all the women in the church and any friends who are interested in coming. It it always a really nice time to get to talk to all the women and I must say the food isn't half bad either! :) I have had the opportunity to lead singing at this breakfast and I enjoy doing it since I love singing.

Also this afternoon was a baby shower held for Annette Rössel from Dresden. She is due in February and the ladies in Dresden planned a baby shower for her and I must say they planned a really great party! I'm sure Annette was very pleased with the way it turned out. We played several really fun games (with prizes, I might add). We also had some really great food too! Those Dresden girls sure are creative not only with their party planning, but their decorating and food creations! Good job girls!

In reference to the games that we played, I have a funny story to tell. One of the first games that was explained was the fact that pregnant women can't cross their legs very easily so we were all told that we were not allowed to cross our legs for the entirety of the party. Every woman had a ribbon pinned on their shirt and any time we caught another person crossing her legs we could take their ribbon. The person that ended the party with the most ribbons, won a prize. Well, to the dismay of Pam Sullivan, I won! :) (Sorry Pam!) We were just teasing each other the entire time and competing against each other. The funny thing was that I beat her at another game that had to do with ribbons. We were able to cut a strip of ribbon which we had to guess how big around Annette was and then measure it around her. I was the closest to her real size and therefore won another prize. For some reason Pam and I have just had a lot of competition with each other lately... ;)

All in all, it was a good day, but lots of activities. Hope you enjoyed hearing about some of it... and if you didn't... well then you don't have to read my blog! :) Just kidding...

Sweet Christmas Angels

Sweet Christmas Angels
Originally uploaded by Clint & April.

These are my two precious nieces, Claire (with her cute little tongue sticking out) and Ashlyn. They looked so sweet with their matching Christmas dresses! I miss them sooo much! I am, however, the proudest aunt no matter how far away I may live. :)

Our Christmas "Card"

Our Christmas "Card"
Originally uploaded by Clint & April.

Clint and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless you in 2006!

Wir wünschen euch alle ein Frohes Fest und ein Schönes Neues Jahr! Gottes Segen in das neues Jahr!

Mit Liebe,
Clint und April Everhart

Our Trip to Nürnberg and Rothenburg

Self portrait of HIMers
Originally uploaded by Clint & April.

This week Clint, Amy, Allison and I went to Nürnberg and Rothenburg for a couple of days to have a short HIM trip. We thought it would be a good time of year to see the Christmas markets and also some cities we haven't seen before. We had a really great time seeing some beautiful cities, doing some shopping, eating great food, and having really good conversations about our HIM experiences thus far. I know we were all really glad to get to take this trip.

Kitchen

Here is our lovely, but little kitchen. We are now decorating it with a strawberry theme... "Oh wie süss ist daß denn!" :)

Bathroom

I'm sure you are really wanting to know what our bathroom looks like...

Hallway

Here is our lovely hallway and front door.

Our Apartment

I have been intending to post pictures of our first apartment! It is small, but good for us.

Here, you can see our living room. I have to admit that the apartment has come a long way since I moved in... No offense, Clint. :) Anyone who knows Clint understands what I'm saying. He's a sweet, sweet husband... however, we have completely different opinions about what is organized/clean. :) However, he has been incredibly understanding to my ideas and has helped me clean and organize. What a great husband!

The empty cabinet that you see is being saved for our set of pottery that we are hoping to buy in Poland soon. We are using some of the money we were given as wedding gifts to buy a complete set of Polish pottery in a design that we really like.

Here you can see our lovely windows (before curtains were installed). These windows really have been a form of entertainment for us because we can watch all the people over at the Mini Mal across the street. A lot of times there are big groups of teenagers hanging out there. Sometimes they can be loud and annoying but thankfully we haven't seen them as often lately.

Work on the Church Building

This fall several of the men (and some of the women) have helped do some work on the church building. The main reason it began was because there was a leak in the roof and a stain was discovered on the carpet inside. After checking out the damage it was determined that there must be a new roof installed. Larry, Ed, Clint, and several other people worked hard day after day to get the new roof put on. I even tried to help out one day picking up all the old shingles and throwing them in a big trash dumpster and Courtney and Conny helped out doing the same type of work. While the scaffolding was still up around the church, it was a good opportunity to repaint the outside. Many helped in this area and the result was very nice! Here are the pictures of the work up until now. I believe there are still windows to be painted and installed, which Clint is working on now. I think eventually we will also paint the other building to match as well.

Church Choices

The following is an article written by a church leader. I will not say where or who it is, but it causes me great concern for the future of this particular congregation.

In the following comments, I am not speaking to anything specific, but this is something that's always good to file away back in the soul someplace. The unity of God's church is crucial to the goals of the kingdom of God. Much can challenge the church's unity. For example, the church will always face crossroads of decisions. Many will have strong opinions in various directions. How we handle those choices may have far-reaching consequences. In Acts 15, the church met over the potentially explosive issue of whether the Gentile converts had to be circumcised or not. James uttered the meeting's verdict:

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood (19,20).

It's easy to overlook that James was a leader of the elders of the church where the circumcision group worshipped (Acts 12:17; 21:18; Gal. 2:9). If anyone were sympathetic to the circumcision group, James was. But whatever sympathies he may have had, James surrendered them in favor presenting a united front. Neither James nor any of the Jews stood up and said, "Well! If that's the way this church is going, I'm gonna quit coming!" or "I'll start my own church" or "I'll withhold my weekly contribution!" James did not view the meeting as a time to jockey for position or play one side against the other or get his way, but to hear the mind of the Spirit. May his tribe increase!

Three men in a boat far from shore began arguing about their individual space in the boat. Each claimed he was not getting his share. Finally they drew lines and divided the boat into three equal sections. Then one of the men began to drill a hole in his section, arguing that he could do whatever he wanted with his section. The other two protested, "But we're all in the same boat!"

If at any time the church's decision is not what you wanted, please don't draw lines and make "your section." If you dissent, make sure no one else knows it. Don't drill your hole. Vow to accept those decisions and not work against them. Because if you cannot listen to your brother or the church, are you really able to listen to the Holy Spirit? The church is, after all, the Holy Spirit's temple.

Does this sound scary to anyone else besides me??? Especially in the last paragraph where it basically says that if you don't like the decisions that the church makes, then be quiet and don't say anything. I believe this is a direct disregard for God's word. We're all human... we all make mistakes and Satan is always at work to influence our decisions. What makes church leaders immune from this? We all have to be sure that we keep God's word as our main source of all our decision making. We should always be sure that all the teaching we hear is in line with what God teaches us through His word.

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26

So should we sit aside quietly and let decisions be made in the church that are disagreeable with the Bible? Absolutely not! I'm not saying we should cause problems in the church and cause disagreements, but like it says in 2 Timothy we should be kind and gently instruct when we are faced with things that are not in accordance with God's word.

I hope that I have made my point here... I don't like having disagreements in the church, and I always want there to be unity. We should all agree that God's word is the final authority in every decision we make in the church.

New Background

So I got tired of the all black background and went the exact opposite... to white. What do you think about the new look? Right now I am in a strawberry phase. It actually started when Courtney gave me a painting of strawberries with my name on a cutting board for my birthday. Since then I have slowly collected other strawberry things to decorate the kitchen with. It is looking really cute!

Speaking of New Babies...

Speaking of new babies...

Mom sent me an e-mail with several pictures attached of Claire. As I looked through them I came to this picture. I was shocked to see that my new niece looked amazingly like a huge bass... hmmmm. :)

Ashlyn is 6 months old! 

Wedding Photos...Finally!

You can view our wedding photos online.

1. Go to http://www.finephotosbyann.com
2. Click the View An Event Button.
3. Enter the username and password shown below.
4. Enter your email address and enjoy the photos!

Fill in the following name and password information:

User Name: Everhart
Password: 4871

7 Things

April Stephens requested that I make this list of 7 Things a long time ago... and what can I say... I have been a bit behind on my response.

7 Things I Want To Do Before I Die...

• Be a mommy!
• Be fluent in German
• Lead a short term mission campaign to Germany
• Travel the world... there's still so much to be seen!
• Celebrate many wonderful years of marriage with my sweet husband
• Be the humble servant God wants me to be
• Realize that the things in life aren't important, but being with God in heaven is what is important

7 Things I Can Do...

• Speak German (just not fluently)
• Sing
• Read music
• Teach people about God
• Ice skate
• Whistle like a bird
• More than I can ever imagine... if I only have faith in God

7 Things I Can't Do...

• Drive a standard car... I should probably add that to my list of things to do
• The splits... ouch!
• Look at my husband without smiling and thanking God for such a wonderful blessing
• Not cry when I'm hurting
• Forget what Jesus did
• Save myself from my own sinful ways
• Tell God enough how much I love Him!

7 Things That Attract Me To My Husband...

• His sweet smile
• His generous spirit
• His humor
• His loving, compassionate manner
• His dedication to helping others
• The way he shows me how to always refocus on what is important
• The way he shows me sympathy and love through all situations

7 Things I Say Most Often...

• "Your Mom"
• "Oh my goodness"
• "________ down" --Fill in the blank with anything such as... "chip down"
• "Baby" to my husband
• "I love you" to my husband
• "Schatzi" to my husband
• "Ya know what I mean?"

7 Reasons Why I Love Germany...

• My wonderful friends
• German is fun to speak
• It is a beautiful country
• The Amiecke... i.e. all of the Chemnitz missionaries: Ed and Courtney, Karen, and Larry and Pam
• The Churches in Saxony and all of Germany for that matter
• German food
• It's hard to explain, but I believe God led me here so it's in my heart

7 People That I Want To Pray For...

• Betty Wooldridge (Mama)
• Wayne Stephens
• Kevin
• My new niece Claire and her wonderful new parents: Jonathan and Lana
• Ed's family
• The leaders in the Church all around the world
• John Sullivan
  

The proud parents 

Claire 

My new niece!

Announcing
CLAIRE JULIANNA
WOOLDRIDGE
BORN:
OCTOBER 12, 2005
3:12 AM
6 LBS. 13 OZ.
18 ½ "
PROUD PARENTS:
JONATHAN & LANA WOOLDRIDGE

Pictures to come soon...

Maennerfreizeit

Maennerfreizeit

I finally just emptied our digital photo cards and was looking through the photos. I am just trying to update you on the things that have happened recently which I have neglected to tell you about.

The week before I went to Austria, Clint went with a group of men to Dorfweil, Germany which is near Frankfurt. It was a men's retreat similar to the women's retreat I attended. It was all in German and he was equally excited to get to practice his German. He had a good time there. I was very glad to have him back home after the week was over though. :)

Unser Kaffeetrinken

Unser Kaffeetrinken

Back in September we had a reception at the church in Chemnitz. It was a really fun time to share our special day with our friends over here. We drank coffee and ate delicious cake which Pam made. Isn't it beautiful??!! We were able to bring a T.V. to show our slideshow and photos from the wedding.

Family Updates

I just want to give a quick update about my family that I previously requested prayers for.

1. Mama was moved to a nursing home for a few days to begin therapy to regain her strength but has not been eating or drinking. She has had some rough days and was put back in the hospital. She is not doing well at all. Please keep her in your prayers.

2. Amy, Doug and Ashlyn are doing fine. They ended up staying in Houston during the hurricane but they had no damage. Thank God for that!

3. My aunt and uncle were able to evacuate and thankfully had little to no damage as well.

4. Robin and James are safe but their home and city had some damage. I know that they were sleeping at the fire station where James works with their daughter for a while. I haven't heard any updates on that though.

5. Jonathan and Lana are still waiting for their precious little angel to come. It is getting closer and closer to time though!

6. Clint and I fly tomorrow morning out of Dresden to Ohio. We will be there for 9 days for Clint's friend's wedding. Please pray for our safety.

Felt Moss, Austria

Filzmoos (Felt moss), Austria

I just got back from an amazing Ladies Retreat in an amazing little town in the Alps. It was so beautiful and I still hold to my opinion that it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, which is now in the running with Maui. However, they are both beautiful in such different ways. If you ever get a chance to go to the Alps, all I can say is... DO IT!!!

Interesting decoration

Interesting decoration

I had a good time walking around and seeing all the good sites there. However, the best part of the week was the wonderful fellowship with all the Christian women from German speaking Europe. This year I was able to understand so much more and it was great to get to have conversations with people!

Bauern Herbst

Austrian Cows

The week we were in Filzmoos was Bauern Herbst which basically is the next season of the year, fall farming season, as far as I understand. They had a big celebration in the town and drove the cows down the mountain. The poor things were dressed for the occasion.

Please Pray

Hello everyone,
I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping this very updated, but I guess I have been very busy since I've been back in Germany. There just seems to be so many things going on right now and it only seems appropriate to pray because there is nothing else we can really do. I will try to remember everyone and every situation that I can that I really want you to pray for and think about. Thank you for your prayers! God hears them!

1. My grandma (Mama) is back in the hospital for the second time in 2 weeks or so. She has been having many problems. Please pray for her and for my whole family. My parents are driving to Texas today to see her and to try to do anything they can to help. Her name is Betty Wooldridge

2. My sister Amy, niece Ashlyn and brother-in-law Doug are evacuating from Houston because of Hurricane Rita. They are not so worried about damage and flooding because they are in North Houston, but still pray for their safety and all the people in that area. I'm not sure if Doug is leaving with them or staying, but please pray for all of them.

3. My aunt and uncle and cousin are in Port Lavaca, Texas- right on the gulf coast. They must also evacuate. Please pray for Karen, Rickey and Eric's safety.

4. My cousin Robin, her husband James and their daughter Katy are also in Houston. They are in the South part and must evacuate. James is a volunteer fire fighter and was asked to stay to help with rescues.

5. We can continue to pray for all the hurricane Katrina refugees and those affected by the entire disaster.

6. Kevin, a 3 year old boy here in Germany is the nephew of some of my friends from church. They have just diagnosed him with a malignant brain tumor. He will begin Chemo treatments soon. Please pray for this whole family.

7. My brother and sister-in-law will soon be having their baby girl! Lana is going to the Dr. on Tuesday and basically anytime after that she could go into labor. They are trying some natural ways to get her labor started because she has gestational diabetes and they don't want the baby to get too big. I could have a new niece within the next couple of weeks! Pray that everything goes well with Lana and the baby! Pray for Jonathan too!

8. Larry's brother is having some serious kidney problems and they are not sure what can be done yet. He is diabetic so this adds to the problem. Please pray for John.

These are the things that I have had on my heart and mind a lot lately and there are probably many many more that I could name, but I wanted to just share them with you so you can pray! Thanks again!

Bridal Portraits

You can view my bridal portraits online.

1. Go to http://www.finephotosbyann.com
2. Click the View An Event Button.
3. Enter the username and password shown below.
4. Enter your email address and enjoy the photos!

Fill in the following name and password information:
User Name: April
Password: 4871

Maui!!

Maui sunset

Here is a my favorite picture from our honeymoon! This was the night of the luau and we had our picture taken on the beach in front of a beautiful sunset! We love Maui!!!

Trying to drink the punch

Trying to drink the punch

Right after this is when "the incident" happened.

"The punch incident"

Pouring the punch (in the glass)

The funny story behind this scene is what happened soon after we took a drink out of these glasses. The photographer (seen right) told us to kiss so she could get a picture. We kissed and pretty soon it was obvious that Clint was not going to let go very quickly. In fact, he put his glass on the table and tried to put his arms around me. Instead, he knocked the glass off the table which spilled raspberry punch on my dress! I reacted by screaming and then immediately hitting him, which by the way will probably be on the video. All that matters is that we are married now and I can't be mad about it. It is a funny memory that we will have forever. I think Clint still feels guilty about it though because every time I tell the story he gets defensive. :) He's so cute!

We're married!

The bride and groom

Yay, we're married!!!!!

Chemnitz picture

Chemnitz picture

This is a group picture of everyone at the wedding that has ever been to Chemnitz. Most of them are past campaigners and amazingly enough, I think I can say that I have been in Chemnitz with almost every single person in this group at one time or another. This just shows how much people love Chemnitz and how blessed we are in Chemnitz to always have visitors! There are even a couple of residents (or past residents) of Chemnitz in this picture. The most obvious are Clint and I... but also Pam and Kendra Sullivan, Janine Theilicke, Ed and Courtney Cantrell, Lydia Kraemer, and of course Jennifer Alexander did the HIM program in 2003. I just thought that it was so cool to see so many people there that have been to Chemnitz!