Progress in Zambia!!

Blu is halfway through his 2 week trip to Zambia and he and his brother Cloud have gotten so much accomplished!!! Things that shouldn't be happening fast are happening fast! Blu said it's like God has paved the way for us. Here are some things they've accomplished!

1) Vehicle! We have a truck--purchased, registered, and ready to drive when we get in Zambia in January! Blu has been driving it while he's there.

2) Visas! We got all of our forms submitted and we had almost everything we needed!! We were able to quickly run background checks and get those in, so now all documents are in and we should have final approval for our visas in 14 days!

3) NGO Status! We have submitted our application to the proper people and are now just waiting their approval.

4) Housing! Blu met a missionary who lives in the area we are moving to and they are going on furlough in December. They are looking for someone to rent our house--US! Blu said it is a very nice house, with wireless internet, and will be completely furnished! When they get back after a year, they will be selling some of their furnishings, hopefully to us! Security wise, there is a huge wall around it with 4 feet of electric fence at the top! YAY!! I am so relieved to have a place to stay with the kids and feel safe while Blu is out in the bush building!

5) Land! Ok, we thought we had 130 acres of land, but it turns out there is just 40. That's ok! 40 acres is plenty and less overwhelming! Blu said the land looks great and has already been all cleared for us.

6) Electricity! Blu met with the electric company and we have to submit to them architectural plans pretty detailed so that they can see how much power they will need to get out to the land. Estimates are that we will have power by next July and should roughly cost $15,000.

7) Other things! We have a cell phone and a p.o. box. That means when we get into the country (roughly Jan 21), we will have a car to drive, a house to live in, and a way to contact our families back home. God is so good!!

That's all I know for now--I'll update more later! Thanks for praying!

Trip to College Station

This past weekend, we drove down to College Station to speak at Parkway Baptist Church. When we got married, we lived in the apartments across the street from the church, so after being married 8 days, we walked over. We loved the small atmosphere and the friendliness of the people. We soon plugged in and got involved with the youth group and music ministry. It was at Parkway that God really begin to call us into a life of obedience to Him. Our kids misbehaved ALL weekend long, but we still had a good trip!
We drove halfway on Friday night to Mom and Dad's. Mama Dee and Caedmon enjoyed some reading time together!

Just because she's cute.. :)

Blu, making a strange face, and Baby Case

We got to visit with the Duncans, our good friends who had Baby #5 four days prior!! Their backyard was a kids' paradise!

My friend Amanda

The Three Stooges - Blu with Pastor Chris and Bro. Bob

The Vacation Bible School raised $1,500 for the orphanage in June!

Our sweet friends, Tom and Ann Foster

So innocent looking.. ha.

Amazing Blu..

From bunkbeds to porch swings, if it's made out of wood, Blu can build it!! :)

First Day!!

Today was Caedmon and Cambree's first day of Mother's Day Out at FBC Brownwood! With new backpacks, lunch boxes, nap mats, and blankets they were ready to finally start this day that we had been talking about for so long! I was surprised when we got there that 4 year old Caedmon was the one who freaked out and cried and clung to me! Cambree marched into her classroom like she owned the place!! They both had a great day though and Caedmon even came home with a library book he had checked out that we all read together! I sure am gonna love Tuesdays and Thursdays! :)

Trip to West Texas

We have officially begun our speaking assignments at churches! Our first church was Second Baptist Church in Lamesa, TX, so we got to spend the weekend with some of our closest friends, the Phipps Family, and also Blu's great-aunt and uncle! It was a whirlwind weekend but we had tons of fun!
Plains, Texas is known for its delicious watermelon--Cambree could eat a whole watermelon all by herself!

The kids got to go to the farm and ride Uncle Jim's tractor!

This December is 20 years that me and Whit have been "together." :) I love this pic of her and Matt!

Had to stop for ice cream on the way home...

Baby Cason has discovered Dairy Queen!

So precious :)

Caedmon and Hannah playing dress up

9 months old!

The highlight of Cason's weekend was his ride on Andrew's belly!

We had an amazing time and God really blessed the orphanage through Second Baptist in Lamesa! Can't wait to see what next weekend holds for us!

High Tech World...

Blu has a tradition where each night he tells the kids an elaborate bedtime story. They help him come up with the story, and it usually involves dinosaurs, BB & Joanna, a key, a tent, a rope, a rocketship, and bodily functions. The other night, Blu had started his story and 4 year old Caedmon realized that he didn't have his blanket. He ran out of the room yelling "I forgot my blanket!! Pause it, Daddy!!!"

COLORADO!

When Big Maw said she wanted to keep all of her grandkids at the same time for a week this summer, it wasn't hard for the rest of us to figure out that this would be a great time for a sibling vacation! So me and Blu, Cloud and Samantha, and Shade and Caity took a road trip to Breckenridge, Colorado! We laughed so much and all bonded in more ways than we thought possible ;) Here's some pics from our trip...
The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (my 3rd time to visit this--I refuse to go ever again!! :) No, really it was neat because Shade was in the Air Force so it was cool to see things from his point of view. He was shocked when the recruiter told him that at age 26, he's "too old" to enter the Academy!)

We had a VERY nice meal at the Blue River Bistro

Proof that Blu does know how to do the dishes!! Each couple cooked one night for everyone else! We had homemade pizza, grilled chicken, and green enchiladas!

Those handsome Tidwell boys :)

Our cabin was supernice, except that the hot tub was broken. :( It was at 11,000 feet and we all had trouble breathing after a game of ping pong or walking up the stairs!

Air Force Academy Chapel

Cloud and Sammy at Blue River Bistro

Fishing at the Reservoir - we were skeptical as to whether or not there were really fish in there!

The view from our cabin's balcony

My Blu :)

This hike was completely straight down, and me and Sammy had on flip-flops!

Post-hike..we were laughing so hard!

Cloud and Sammy bought us all massages at this spa in Breckenridge!

Shade and Caity (expecting baby #2!)

A random snowman..

"The Bangs House"

Well, our journey to Zambia is underway, in a sense. We completed our last Sunday as youth pastor at our home church and spent the last week moving and getting our "new" house in order. We are living in an old house in Bangs, Texas built in the 1930s that Blu's dad has been renovating. It is such a cute house with lots of character...I had to share some pics!!
The Gingerbread House

My Coca-Cola Bedroom




Living Room


Apple Kitchen


Cute entryway from living room into dining room

Dining room

Cambree's girly room



Boys' Room


My Texas bathroom



The house also has an upstairs carpeted space with low ceilings and dormer windows--too cute!! God has definitely blessed us by providing us with this neat home to live in while we prepare to head overseas!