Congratulations Addie!!

WOO HOO! Addie has graduated from Nursing School with a 4.0!! She was Valedictorian of her class and gave a great speech! The Pinning & Capping ceremony was so nice. I wish you all could have been here! We then celebrated at Cold Stone of course! Keep her in your prayers! For the next month she will be studying for her State Boards, then trying to find a job, preferrably in OB/GYN. We are so excited for her and proud of her accomplishment!

It's been a tough year Addie, but we KNEW you could do it!! We're so proud of you!

Hey It's FRANKLIN!!

Comin to our house....you have the tune in your head I know!! One afternoon we discovered a very large hole dug under our porch! Not sure what kind of creature was moving in,we kept our eyes open in hopes of seeing whatever it was coming in or out! Much to our surprise it turned out to be...FRANKLIN! Comin to our house! He's not a bit afraid of us! He showed up after the Hurricane came through and flooded the Pond and much of the wetlands behind us. He apparently has relocated himself or herself under our front porch. Maybe "she" has laid eggs under there...time will tell. This is the first time I have posted a video..hope its not so long you get bored...but it could happen!

POTTY TRAINING

I have to share this...

CHRISTIAN IS FINALLY POTTY TRAINED!! YEAH!!!

Long story... but he thinks the shots he got at the Dr's office did it! ;-) One to learn to pee pee in the potty and the other one was to learn to poo poo in the potty! That started as just a comment, but he bought it, so I'm not sayin anything different! So far so good!! ;-)

bad gramma!!?? ;-) After the big "gift" he left in front of the fireplace last week, (one of THOSE days!) I told him that I might have to ask his Dr. for a shot to help him learn how to use the potty like a big boy! He had an appt. for shots that afternoon! That began his "quest". He's been dry ever since! Too funny! We are not above bribing for dry pants either and have since added a reward can of
playdough!

We still do the nighttime diaper, but that will come soon too. YEAH, WOO HOO, LETS CELEBRATE!! Can you make a dinosaur with playdough!!!

;-)

COUPONS

ok...I have got it bad! I am a coupon addict! But its soo much fun!! In case you haven't heard yet, K-Mart is doing double coupons this week, well at least here in Jacksonville Florida they are!! Check your K-Mart out!!

Woo hoo!! I went shopping!! I ended up with lots of good stuff, mostly for under 1.00 each!! Things like TylenolPM, Tylenol Extra strength, Pert Shampoos, Suave hairspray, airborne, carpet fresh,deodorants, dawn foam dish detergent & a huge refill! shampoos, tums, immodiums (for those Haiti trips) hair color...yep as long as there is such s thing! ;-) Gum and of course more toothpaste!! :-) I got 122.99 in merchandise for 42.00!! I LOVE COUPONS! CVS was good to me this week too!
I am having too much fun here in coupon land!!

HAITI TRIP

The dates for the next mission trip will be November 10-15. The cost will be approximately $925.00 depending on where you are flying from. This will include everything but lunches and we will carry items to prepare our own.

The gatehouse at the new school needs to be completed to accommodate mission groups. Some of the needs are for maintenance, painting, tile, plumbing, working with the ladies, and helping teachers. If you have an ability, they have a need. One of the two missionaries takes in small children who are sick or malnourished and she is in desperate need of baby beds. We need a carpenter who can make them. We also need a mechanic who could work on Sherrie's vehicles.

If there is something you might be interested in but have questions, call Jim at
(904)704-8715.

Haiti Update

I wanted to share with you about our latest trip to Haiti. We hit the ground running and pretty much ran all week. It is one of the few trips where we were able to do everything on our agenda. The small MAF plane that flew us all over Haiti to our mission bases was the same plane that Debbie and I flew in many times in the jungle. It was not the one we crashed in, that one is still in the bottom of the Padamo River. This one was part of the Venezuela MAF program. When the Venezuela program shut down, this plane was relocated to Haiti. I felt right at home! One of our board members, Dr. McCarthy, was there with her medical team and saw patients from all over, but most important they saw 49 precious souls receive Christ. Another board member, Mark Cleland, and his daughter Casey along with my sister Donna were on our team. I was honored to preach a little and we were able to help some with the feeding program, the school staff and medical program; but our goal was to get to know better and encourage our wonderful missionaries that struggle day in and day out all over Haiti.

I think the most touching time to me was when a small boy brought his infant brother to the medical team asking for help. He had been taking the little fellow to the voodoo witchdoctor for a while but the baby was no better. When the doctor looked at the baby she realized that he probably had only hours to live. He was blind with gonorrhea in his eyes and his mother had just died from aids so he probably had it also. He was also very dehydrated. The last we heard about little Lavinsky was the family decided to leave him with the missionary and he was improving. (Lavinsky is the baby pictured.) It made me realize once again how fortunate we are here in the states and how needy people are all over the world.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support as we work to take the love of Christ to the utter most parts of the world.

For more information about a mission trip to Haiti,
please contact Jim Hambrick at (904) 704-8715, or
Email: Jim@christianlightfoundation.com
Mark your calendars! Our next scheduled trip is November 10-15.

If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution to our ministry,
you may mail your checks to:

Christian Light Foundation
P.O. Box 23881
Jacksonville, Florida 32241-3881
Indicate on your check: For Jim & Debbie Hambrick

You may also give ONLINE at:

Christianlightfoundation.com
Follow Link for Online Giving.
Indicate on Ministry Line: Jim & Debbie Hambrick

How many saturdays do you have left?

Worth the Read!

This is really something to keep in mind as you wish for each weekend to hurry and get here...

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other.

What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say

'Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. ;'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.

''You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.''Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.''Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.''It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.. 'C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast.' 'What brought this on?' she asked with a smile. 'Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.

A friend sent this to me, so I to you, my friend.

And so, as one smart bear once said...'If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you.' - Winnie the Pooh.

Well I don't know about you, but the grass seems greener on MY side of the fence!!! Yes!! My side! Only because I have to mow it! Wow that stuff is growing like I used Miracle grow or something! It needs it more than twice a week, (although that is all it gets... providing there is no rain...) and to that I add.... I think this is our rainy season!! Every day for the last 2 weeks we have had heavy rain in the early afternoon to evening hours. I love those downpours, but it sure does make that green stuff tall! Today we are going to try to beat the rain and swim early! We have missed that window of opportunity all week. I do love the sound of rain on the tin roof. We have a screened in porch out front and I go out there during those downpours just to listen. Of course then the frogs all start singing too, I think they love it more than I do! It's in those moments of enjoying God's creation that I can refocus and thank Him for all the blessings in my life. Wow, God is so AWESOME!! Guess I better get these little ones in their swim suits, before its too late! Have a Blessed Day!

I just thought of something you all might like to know about! This will fall right in there with all the coupon clipping, money saving ideas! For those of you that like to plant flowers in the yard, did you know that Lowe's marks down their plants when they lose their blooms or don't get watered....sometimes they look pretty sad, but you would be amazed what a little water will do! Most of my yard this year has come from the mark down shelf...it is actually rather addicting! I bought petunias, rose moss, rose bushes, dahlias, gerber daisies and my latest greatest find....Azealeas!! They had them marked down to $1.00 per bush!! These were the 8.98 bushes!!! They have set on the shelf there and grown without any "TLC"....so some look kinda scraggly (is that a word), but after a little trim and some good soil to stretch their roots out in, they will be beautiful!! I have made a friend in that department, I gave her my cell number in case they had anything she thought I might want. She saw me looking at the azaleas the other day and they were just marked to half price...as I left, I told her that I would wait til they marked them again....she called to tell me they were down to 1.00!! I headed over there to find that she had picked out a buggy of the best ones for me! How sweet!! So I got seven nice size bushes for 7.00!! woo hoo!! One of my other great deals was those cool topiaries, the one I found was normally 59.00. I would never, never do that....but when it was marked to 9.00 I broke down! I already had a huge pot and he now sits on my front deck happy as can be! I could go on and on about this...as you can probably tell...but I won't, I think you get the idea!! Check out Lowe's and remember too, they carry a 1 year plant guarantee! You need your receipt so make a file, if the plant dies, they will replace it! This is only for perennials. Not sure about the "special deals" you probably just get your money back on those. Walmart also carries a 1 year guarantee!

Have fun!! but I warn you...it is addictive if you love gardening!!

Wow, my second day of VBS...and I am still here...not awake...but here! We had a blast! Today we had Pony Rides, Snow Cones, the Bubble blowing train ride, learned a new song in Music, "I've Got Good News", made flower vases, talked about missions, and learned that Jesus is the son of God! It's such a blessing to see all these little 5 year old's singing and learning Bible Truths. All our little Wave Riders probably needed a nap today when they got home...I know I did!!

Pray that God will touch their little hearts this week and that they will come to know Him as their Savior! Also for traveling mercies as we all go back and forth to church this week.
I will post pictures later this week.

For those of you that may need to take something wonderful to Sunday School this Sunday, here's one they will be begging for the recipe! You might want to print some up and take along. You can make it the day/night before, its really better once it is cold all the way through.

ECLAIR DESSERT

Ingredients:

1 Cup water
1/2 Cup butter or margarine
1 C flour
4 Eggs
1 Large box vanilla instant pudding
3 Cup milk
8 oz. cream cheese (at room temperature)
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 Squeeze bottle of chocolate syrup

Directions:

• Bring water and butter to a boil. Remove from heat.
• Slowly add flour and stir until smooth. Cool a few minutes.
• Add one egg at a time, stirring well between each.
• Spread on a greased 11 x 16 cookie sheet with sides.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Mix pudding, milk, cream cheese and beat until smooth.
• Spread on cooled crust. (you may need to push down the air bubbles when you first take it out of the oven)
• Top with Cool Whip. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Use your imagination for design, criss-cross looks really pretty!

You will use all the ingredients except the chocolate syrup. Refrigerate for at least one hour prior to serving. Cut into 2 inch squares and enjoy!

I have made this "diet friendly" by using the sugar free/fat free pudding, light or sugar free Cool Whip, light or fat free cream cheese, sugar free syrup, light margarine....if you are used to the "diet" products your taste buds will not be offended and you will like it, if not, well...maybe not so much! If you don't tell...most will not even notice its so yummy!!!

Do You Love the Olive Garden?

Well, I still have not figured out how to do the things I want to do on this blog...it takes us grammas a little longer to figure I guess... so I will post this and see what happens. I have a recipe for you! Olive Garden House Dressing! Yep!! It's perfect!! Here's all you need...you are gonna LOVE this!!

Ingredients:

8 ounces Paul Newmans, Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (you can use the garlic already minced in jars to)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

3 packages Splenda or 1 TBS sugar

Directions:

Put ingredients into the bottle of dressing and shake well. Refrigerate 24 hours prior to using.

It is sooo good! Enjoy!!

For those of you that know me well, you know that I love flowers! For so many years I was not able to have a garden because we lived in the jungle and the bugs were far too many for me to play outside for long, and....the bugs not only liked to bite people, but they also ate anything you planted!! Since we have moved to Florida, I have the best of both worlds! The tropics and a yard with no man eating bugs!! I have played in the yard since February. (FL winters are almost non existant! I love it!) We purchased a home in October and the landscaping was already in place. I did not know what some of the plants and trees were, so this year has been an exciting one. Waiting with great anticipation to see what was going to bloom and what the colors were, how long they lasted, did they smell good, etc etc. The Lord has been so good to me! Most of my favorite flowers are here!! The latest new treat bloomed while J & J were here! I do get too excited, but I can't help myself! I have no idea what it is called, if any of you know please tell me. I was waiting for amarillas to bloom, I thought that was what they were, but no....not like any I have seen anyways....check out the pic and tell me what you think. They smelled so good! Another one of my GREAT surprises was a HUGE Gardenia it was covered in blooms and I was intoxicated by the aroma! The picture really does not do it justice. I wish it were next to my bedroom window!! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Happy Fourth of July!

Wow! We just spent the BEST 4th of July EVER! We had everyone together here in sunny Florida! Jeremiah & Jenn, and Addie & Don, and all their kids, Ella & Ezra & Aliya & Christian, That's 4 grandchildren under the age of 5! What fun was had by all!! We spent one day at the beach, one at the zoo, and the last day we hung out at the house and played in the pool. We ate WAY too much food! We set off our own fireworks in the front yard. They left a little to be desired...ok... alot to be desired from the adults, but the kids thought it was the Greatest, especially the sparklers! The mosquitoes gave us a little sting of excitement too so we didn't last long! Saturday evening came way too soon and they headed home. I can't wait for our next get together, it has to be SOON!!! I am already having the gramma DT's!! Here are some pics of all our fun!