Updates and Prayers

I am sorry that I havent posted on our week at Church Camp yet. I have been busy trying to get laundry caught up and food for our meals going again and my vegetable garden (albeit small) was taken over with weeds in the past week. My flower bed (which hasnt produced any flowers from the seeds we planted but is still pretty to look at. ) is filled with weeds also so I am spending the late evenings outside with my plants.

I also have been staying up late trying to catch up on some reading and grading of Jacks school work...which I am not having any luck on because by the time I get done with cleaning house all day and working outside in the evening, plus corraling three kids, I am zonked.

Paul found out last week that his job is going to go to two days a week, (he is self employed but this company has been really good about letting him contract work 50 hours a week for the past two years....now we are going to maybe twenty hours if we are lucky...) So we have been praying about this and seeing where the Lord will lead us. We will be okay though I know we will....as Paul says to anyone who ask how we can be so calm right now....."God made the World...I know He can take care of Litlle ole me if I let him..."

We were offered the opportunity to go to Lorenzo, Tx. for a weeklong meeting there with a church and lots of friends that we love dearly. But we got our electric bill in and with the increase in fuel cost adjustment, our electric bill went from 126. last month to a whopping 256. this month. We didnt do anything different than last summer, it is just the fuel increase, I checked with the Electric company when I went in to pay it. They said they are offering hardship help to some but we dont qualify yet... So with our electric bill being that high, we are not going to be able to afford to go to the meeting. I would love to go but maybe we can visit sometime later on when we are better financially situated. I LOVE YOU GUYS THOUGH! WE WILL MISS YOU VERY MUCH!

I just got our gas bill in the mail for this past month and it is only 12.00 so that is very good. It has been about 20 but we are trying to not use it as much.

Now on to Church Camp. We had an okay week. Alaina got sick Wednesday morning with a bug that was going around. She ran a 104 fever and threw up twice. She was okay wednesday night so we still made it to services. Then thursday night, Jason made it all the way through sevices and then go sick on me right after. He was sick all night Thursday night (just fever no more throwing up) and he ran some fever Friday and Saturday but that was it. We didnt get to see my sister and her kids much because her kids were sick also. But overall, we had a pretty good camp. Just tiring as usual and nobody wants it to end. We all wish that Church camp could go on for ever. But of course it cant so we will look forward to next year. I know I will because even with my kids sick, I enjoyed getting to visit with alot of people and the sermons every night were very good and helped alot.

I have been extremely tired since returning home, yesterday was the first day I had any energy at all. Paul went on a trip with his Mom and Dad and his sister...(Thanks Mom for my shirt I love it...and thanks Cheryl for helping Paul pick out my other gift) so I had my nieces over for the day. I managed to get my house picked up and clothes folded and put away and Cheryl had made enchildas and sent over for lunch so we had those and chips and salsa. Miranda vacuumed for me and KK helped with the laundry and with the girls room. Then yesterday evening, we stopped by the park for a little fun...we got a .98 loaf of bread at Wal Mart and fed the ducks and geese. After the girls went home, my kids went outside to play, Jason took a nap, Jack mowed the yard, and I weeded gardens (still not finished). Then we all came in and enjoyed homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade bread for supper.

I am trying to get around and visit more blogs but am not having much success with everything else going on. I need to update our school blog with our tentative schedule. I will try to do that sometime this weekend. We have a Campout at our Church this Saturday night....one of our Sisters in Christ and her husband and their two kids are in from Japan..he is stationed over there. Please pray that they have a safe journey back home and one other request for them...they have found out that their little boy is autistic (possibly) so they are trying to get stationed back in the states for his benefit. So please pray that they will have the wisdom to see Gods will for them and that whatever it is, they will be able to accomplish it without much trouble.

I found out yesterday that one of my other Sisters in Christ is going in for a hysterectomy on July 4th. She is only 29 and is having a hard time with this. Please pray that she will have peace as she goes in. Please pray for Gods swift healing on her body that she may not be in pain long and that he may give her an understanding of why she is having to go through this at such a young age.

Please pray that Paul and I will continue to seek Gods guidance with our lives and that Paul may keep his determination to leave it all in Gods hands. Please pray for me that I may have patience and understanding and lots of Love during this time and always but especially through this trial.

Please pray for my sister Julie that she may continue to have a healthy pregnancy and that she may be blessed with an easy labor when the time comes.

Please pray for all the expectant mothers that they may deliver healthy babies at the end of untrying pregnancies and that if they have a trying pregnancy, that they may have the strength to make it through.

Love and prayers
Crystal