Brad and his birthday

Yesterday our son, Brad, turned 23! And I didn't have a chance, yesterday, to blog about it. Counting our in-laws, we have five kids between the ages of 20 and 25! Wow! What a blessing!

So, let me tell you a bit about Brad. He's our middle child. So, sometimes, he suffers in this role. Add to that the fact the Jeri is our first-born and our only daughter and Joey is our baby ... well, it could be "bad for brad"! But, he rallies -- as always. He is a rally-er! He is our first son, after all. And he is the first of our crazy boys! And the guy is special ... I'm telling you ... honestly (I wish I could write the inflections that are used with those two expressions here in Nigeria -- the emphasis is on the middle so it's "I'm TELL-ING you" and "hon-EST-ly!" said verrrrrrrrry slowly).

Brad is this amazing guy who has an amazing wife, Karissa. Together, they are this amazing team. They've left the comforts of "home" in Alaska to head to further training in Australia at Hillsong. Brad's birthday was spent trying to get the "new" car that they just bought to run properly -- hiking to a shop only to discover that all parts had to be ordered ...

Brad is an anointed musician and songwriter and worship leader. And he's great with people, with teens, with everyone. It will be so exciting to see where God takes Brad and Karissa in the years ahead. I know it will have high Kingdom-impact for certain!

And you could call Brad the surfing fisherman -- he's equally passionate about both!

So, here are a few shots of Brad ... he's one unique and cherished fellow!

My Mom!

My mother is one amazing woman! Here she is with Jeri -- two beautiful women! She's in that age bracket when a woman begins to tell her age -- she's 74. She lives with constant pain from a blend of diseases and injuries. She had a shot to reduce some pain in her back before she flew to Thailand for Jeri's wedding.

Actually, she and my sister, Kathleen, were quite the pair. Kath has put up with amazing pain from a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis and requires regular injections to slow the pace of the damage. But, they both stepped off the plane in Ubon and hobbled towards us with huge smiles and no complaints!

So, more on Mom... She counts three consecutive hours of sleep during one night as a good night! Truly, it's God's strength that carries her along and allows her to have such a great attitude! Her great attitude includes being able to laugh at herself and join in when her grandkids are teasing her!

She was a huge help with the wedding -- 'took over the entire cake decorating project and all. 'helped with many other projects as well.

But, above all, I want to tell you about her spirit of adventure. She's always willing to try new things. With her age and her valid excuses, she could easily decide to take up residence in one of her many rockers and just skip anything new. But, we're all so blessed because she doesn't!

On this trip, she faced the culture shock of a developing country head on and enjoyed getting to know the people even while she was taken aback by their poverty. She tried new foods (the food the local Thais eat is quite different from that in western Thai restaurants!! -- that's for certain!). And, after the wedding, her adventures really took off!

I only have pictures of one of her adventures. But her adventures included elephant rides, sitting on an elephant's trunk, paddle boating in a river, sea kayaking in and out of caves and coves (and getting stuck in one until the guide let some air out of the kayak -- must have been a very low tide!), snorkeling with the fishes, and ... getting jabbed about 10 times by one fish that caused her to come out of the water with both legs bleeding! (The guide said it could have been some unknown black fish or, more than likely, a baby shark!)

You go, Momma! We love you and we're proud of you!

Wedding Report!

Greetings from Thailand!

These photos were taken by Kara Pennington -- a long-time friend from AK who now is a wedding photographer in Florida. If anyone wants information on her availability for weddings, let me know -- she did fabulous work!

We are rejoicing over a terrific wedding experience for Boy and Jeri! It was beautiful!














The few days since the wedding have brought us opportunities to hang out with our family -- my mom, my sister, and our kids. Things are now winding down and Jim and I will soon leave for a couple of days of vacation on the beach before heading back to Nigeria.

We've had a great time in Thailand -- visiting with Boy's family (the term "visiting" is used lightly as we usually just sat and smiled at each other due to language barriers!) and doing a few tourist things, too!

It has been a blessed time to see Mom and Kathleen, Brad and Karissa, Joey, and Boy and Jeri!