Back on the Road Again! :)

 

Mom & Pab took me to Falls to meet up with the team.

We went Wednesday night for church, and were scheduled

to leave at 4am, but ended up leaving after church so that we

could avoid the big snow storm that was supposed to hit.

We avoided it, and traveled all night and the rest of the next day

to make it to South Carolina where we stayed overnight on Thursday.

Quite the drive to make it all the way to Florida for our first meeting..

but, it was well worth it!  Florida is a nice place to go, especially in January!

Here's a picture (above) of the bench outside Culver's.  

Of course, we had to go there for supper one last time before I left. :)

 

Of course, had to get a pic with Summer before I left too!

I wish she could've come.. but it'll be fun to have Carly,

her sister, on the team with us for a couple weeks! :)

 On the way down we stayed entertained with Mad Gab! :)

It was hilariously fun!  Great idea to bring it, Amanda!

 A gorgeous sunset!  I guess there are some perks to

traveling through the night.. ;)

 We stopped at Northside Baptist Church in North Charleston,

South Carolina for the night.  We girls got to stay in the coveted

prophet's chamber that is there!  Sorry, Nicole! ;)

Here's Amanda eating ice cream.. I guess she likes to be exact

with her amounts.. ;)  Actually, Mrs. Van just gave it to her like this. :)

 On the way to Florida on Friday, we stopped at an outlet mall

to do some shopping!  Of course, I had to get a pic on this little toy..

just for you, Tab! :)

 Here are the three of us girls on the team for the

start of this spring semester of War of Special Forces..

Me, of course, Carly Smith, and Amanda Ackeret.

Carly will be with us for only a couple weeks, and

then she'll fly back home and Nicole will join us!

I LOVE all the palm trees!!!

And plenty more to come.. :)

Back to WI

 Mary, David, Grams, and I left early Monday morning and

took the Mega Bus to WI.. we had a really fun trip! :-)

 Dave made a smashin' entrance by making a mess with shaving cream!

 We enjoyed playing games all together.. and Mary & I

enjoyed writing on each other! ;-)  Guess we got a bit bored at times!

Love you, Mar!  I'm so glad to have you as my lil' sis! :-)

 Mom & Pab were showered with gifts from people at home..

It meant a lot to both of them!  Thanks to all who sent gifts!

 Even my Grandma can be a kid at times.. :-)

We were walking out to the car and Grams stopped to

write on the car!  I just laughed & had to get a pic! :-)

 We enjoyed going bowling.. for FREE!

 Grams giving her bowling tips!

She was a great bowler in her day! :-)

 Mom with her "little" boys! ;-)

 It was so cute to see Dave holding Levi.. they had a lot of fun together!

 "Whatcha takin' a picture of?!"

 Go, Pab!!! :-)

 Grandma & Great Grandma with some of their grand kids!

They look pretty happy, don't they?! ;-)

 Looks like Dopey here.. poor guy!  We were havin' some fun with him! ;-)

 Brooklyn loves her Aunt Mary.. can't you tell?! :-)

 So cute!!!  For now, at least.. ;-)

 A character in a Dr. Suess book?! :-)

 Of course, we enjoyed some shopping, too!

Mary with a nursing scrub!  I think she's pretty excited

to be training to be a nurse!  She'll make a great one, I'm sure! :-)

Levi will miss his Uncle "Day".. 

Dave, Mary, and Grams left on Saturday to go back to A2.

I stayed in WI because I had to leave to travel again with the 

Minutemen team the next week.. we're actually planning to leave 

4 AM tomorrow morning!  Pray for us as we travel to South Carolina

and then on to Florida as our final destination for several weeks.

It'll be tough, of course, but someone has to do the job! ;-)

Looking forward to being back with my girls and the team again!

Back in A2

 

I've had a long break from traveling with the Minutemen team,

but, as you can see, I haven't stopped traveling.. even on my break! :-)

I guess it's just my lot in life! ;-)

I enjoyed going back "home" in Ann Arbor!

It was great to see my family, cousins, and church family again!

I had to keep back the tears when I saw Dave again.. 

I guess I've missed him! ;-)  Love you, Dave!

 Dad surprised me with some cupcakes (from Meijer, of course)! :-)

It was so great to be back at Ann Arbor Baptist Church, my home church!

 

A warm, cozy fire is a definite necessity during the cold winters!

(Thanks to Abby J. for the great photography skills! ;-))

 

And it gets pretty cold!!

 Home just wouldn't be the same without a "little" snowfall, of course! ;-)

 I got to enjoy going to my cousin's 

basketball game while I was home as well.

 They game was pretty close..

 We enjoyed a little half-time show by Abby! ;-)

John enjoyed a little water break.. Jeremy and he played hard!

 The final score.. they played tough but ended up losing :-(

 We were at a gas station and someone was cleaning off

the windshield, cause, as you can see, it's pretty bad!

They cleaned off one side and Abby, who was with us

in the car, came up with a great illustration because of it! 

I think she thinks a bit too deeply.. ;-)

I ended my visit with a trip to Red Robin with the gang!

It was great to be home again! I miss all these crazy people! ;-)

Surprise Trip to Tennessee! :)

The Tuesday after Christmas, Anna, Emily, and I took a road trip

together down to Tennessee to visit Deborah and Rebekah, who

live there at the Bill Rice Ranch, and also Joanna and Tabitha who

were visiting for the week!  It was a long trip, but well worth it to

see the surprised looks on Jo & Tab's faces when I walked in the door! :)

Of course, where would we just have to stop on the way?! ;)

Gotta love this TN weather!!!

 

We made it safely!

 

Of course, on a ranch, you have to visit the horses! :)

While we were there, Rebekah left to travel in Florida with 

Dr. Bill and Mary Rice.  I'm so happy for her to be able to

have the opportunity to travel on an evangelism team.. and

in Florida, too! :)  Who ever thought that both her and

I would be traveling with evangelists?!  

We're hoping to meet up sometime in Florida, too! :) 

 

Tab, Jo, and I "hit the town" on Thursday night!

Actually, we were supposed to go to a football game

but that didn't really work out!  But we still enjoyed

the time to tour downtown Nashville and get a carriage ride!

On the bridge walking to downtown from the football stadium.

The carriage ride to view downtown was awesome!

 

Fun with Friends! :)

 

While we were downtown, we stopped at a

Panera Bread for a bite to eat.  While we were

there, I noticed a girl who had the cutest, shorter

haircut!  I pointed it out to Tab, and we actually

ended up talking to the girl about it and getting 

pictures of the cute cut! :)  She was very nice!

Well, so we went home and Tab cut mine that night..

I guess I am daring when it comes to hair!

Okay.. and maybe a few other things, too.. :)

 I guess Tab deserves to relax.. :)

I took this picture because I thought she looked

like quite the spoiled princess! :)

I guess sometimes looks are deceiving..

and sometimes they're not! ;)

Just kidding, Tab!  You know I love you! :)

Great cut, too, by the way!  I love it!

Tab & Jo enjoyed relaxin' in bed with a good book.. :)

Just preparing for the future, aren't you girls?! ;)

 

It was so funny!  We were driving along one day and we

were talking about looking out of the "rear view mirror".

All the sudden Tab died laughing!  She said that all this time

she had thought that it was called a "vroom view mirror"!

She tried to explain, "You know, because the car goes 'vroom'!"

Needless to say, we all had a pretty good laugh about that one! :)

On Friday night, Anna, Emily, Jo, Tab, and I went to the

"Opry Conference and Convention Center".

All the lights and fountains were beautiful!!!

Anna said she'd never seen a "24 mph" speed limit sign..

why not "25 mph"??? :)

Behind us is a "sledding hill"..  I guess they have to create

snow in TN!  I think our "sledding hills" would be like

mountains compared to their "sledding hills"! :)

Girls, do you remember the significance that

our order has in this picture?! ;)

Emily made the perfect little model! ;)

The convention and conference center is also a hotel!

Horse-drawn carriage rides.. right up my alley! ;)

A break to text.. :)

I might as well get a little nap in too as I wait! ;)

Now THIS is what I call a FIREPLACE!

People can even rent out the inside to have weddings!

It was a pretty romantic atmosphere, I'd say! :)

We enjoyed a fountain show as we were there, too!

I could stand seeing one again! ;)

 

Emily enjoyed a close up view of the show!

 

I love you, Tab!  I'm SO glad you're my cousin.. and friend! :)

How would you like to stay in one of these hotel rooms?!

How about a dive into the river below?!  Oh, and did I 

mention that there was a river going through the inside

and boat rides, too?!

There's little shops throughout.. and a magic act in one spot!

Tired of pictures, Tab?! :)

Now we start to get a bit crazy when

we're "pictured out"! :)

Okay.. so maybe not ONLY when

we're "pictured out"! ;)

Emily found her man! ;)

Just leaving..

Stopped to warm by the fire..

And take a little rest before taking the trek back to the car..

They had a really awesome manger scene 

in the front of the hotel!

Along with a big Bible on which the Christmas story was written.

It was electronically being read out loud as people came and saw

the manger scene!

Havin' a little fun on the way back to the car! :)

 

I guess Jo was hungry?! ;)

Nah!  Just being crazy! :)

 

There were some cute pictures to take while driving, too! ;)

We'll never forget this.. will we girls?! :)

When we got back to Deborah's apartment, Sarah and Gloria

were there waiting for the party to begin! :)  New Year.. here it comes! :)

We played Cranium as we waited to welcome in the New Year!

Candid shots!  I loved the acting out ones! :)

And Tab was a great partner!  We had loads of fun!! :)

It is a challenging game.. at least for some.. ;)

Emily wasn't in quite the crazy, fun mood as we all were!

Can you guess the word they're trying to act out?!

Nice sculptures, Deb and Sarah! :)

Trying to figure out what to do.. :)

Sarah Thomason and Deborah

Mmm.. what's this one?!

You'll never guess this! ;)

We were having a great time!  Can't you tell?! :)

This would be Tabitha trying to show that she's a 

Bald Eagle with her "razor-sharp eyes"!

(the cookie cutters are supposed to represent glasses.. :))

Nice hair-do, girls!  Quite.. snazzy! :)

Classic, Jo! :)

 

Time for a little winter fun! :)

Tabitha gave us each a "firework" to welcome in the New Year! :)

 

Cheers, I guess?! ;)

HAPPY 2011!!!

On Sunday, we celebrated Deborah & Joanna's birthdays!

Tab and I decorated for lunch as the girls "patiently waited"! :)

Joanna's birthday was that day (2nd of Jan.) and Deborah's 

was approaching quickly on the 15th!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

After enjoying a delicious meal of Candy Chicken, 

corn, mashed potatoes, and rolls, we opened presents!

 

Will we ever forget our "M & M Challenge"?! :)

 We all left EARLY Monday morning to go to the airport..

Jo & Debz flew to New York where they ministered with

the BRR team in "prayer stations" in the subways.  Their

plane left quite a bit earlier than Tab & mine, so we enjoyed

hanging out in the airport, waiting for our flights to leave for 

Ann Arbor! :)  You can see so much & so many different

people in airports, but I think this is the first time I saw a 

leopard piano.. :)  I took a picture because it matched my

leopard scarf! :)  We had a good trip and I'm SO glad it

worked out for me to go to TN for a surprise visit! :)