We met Mr. & Mrs. Boyer (Authors of “Are They All Yours?” among many other books)- they are parents to 14 children!! They have been home schooling for over 30 years. Next year will be their last year to home school. It was a blessing to talk with them.

Standing at a historical sight in front of the city.

What was SO neat, was that I (and the girls) did not get to meet Mr. Alexander. However, the Lord was extra good to us and the next day when we were in the foyer of the Marriott eating lunch, almost the entire Alexander came strolling by with their children. They are such a sweet family and the wife and I hit it right off! Shaun Alexander has 8 children!

Brother Alex Kendrick did not have a time for book-signing, or meet & greet…..unless you had paid for a special dinner with him – which we could not afford….smile. So, again – God was SOOO Good to us and allowed us to have a short window of opportunity as he was coming from the Marriott into the Convention Center into the “Ball Room”. We were hanging out by the entrance to the Ball Room and we rushed up to Bro. Kendrick. He was SO kind and gracious towards our family.

It was neat for David (a Redskins fan) to meet a former Redskins NFL player – Shaun Alexandar.

“Don’t touch me!” I exclaimed.

Love

This was Lisa’s first time to see our newest addition – Sofia.

We did not get to our next destination until 4:30 am. We were EXHAUSTED beyond words! We collapsed into bed to get some much needed sleep and then arose and got ready to at least make it the the church’s Sunday evening service. We also went to their Memorial Day picnic the next day. David is standing here with Pastor Leathley (on the left) at the picnic. Pictured above is Kaylee with a girl from the church.

Right outside the mill, was a historic covered bridge – called the “kissing bridge”. We thought we’d do a bit of that in front of it! We enjoyed this trip immensely and enjoyed working on always keeping our marriage strong. Thanks, My Love (David), for giving me that lovely time!! I miss it!!

Oh…….if only these walls could talk.

Our next mtg. (scheduled at Pastor Rick Drummond’s church) got cancelled due to the missionary speaker cancelling and Bro. Drummond getting knee surgery. Well, we were already packed up in our RV and had some spare time. David & I felt that we really needed some “marriage” time……….so, we headed to PA, near my sister – Angie’s house- and dropped off our oldest 11 children for Angie to “keep an eye” on. Then, David and I proceeded to a serene campground in Strasburg, PA (Amish Country). Little Sofia was with us due to her still nursing. It was a lovely time!!

We are standing in front of the “Sight & Sound Theater” here. We went and saw – “Samson”. SO GOOD!……as always!!

We started out our over 2 week trip at Pastor Cowgill’s church- Bible Believers Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Ohio for a camp meeting. It went from a Sunday morning all the way to the following Sunday night with services every evening.

Aaron (age 22) is in college right now studying to become an occupational therapist. He embraced our family and children and went out and bought balls, toys, etc. and came (amongst his busy schedule with work and college) to spend time “playing” with our children. They enjoyed his fellowship. Thank you, Aaron!!

Henry, congratulations on your salvation!! It is the BEST decision you will EVER make in your lifetime! We are so happy for you and we love you!

David trying to scoot out of the photo – gotcha!!

The most exciting thing of this whole week was that this man named Henry, accepted the Lord as his Saviour!! He had been attending the church for close to a year, and finally got saved at the camp mtg.! Hallelujah!!!

This was the special speaker for most of the tent meeting – Pastor Claude Spurlock. He is a Pastor at a church here in West Virginia.

Thank you, Jordan & Angie, for being willing to have a total (with your 6 and our 11) of 17 children in your house while David & I took that trip! You are SO sweet & we love you! Angie is holding her youngest – Azalea- who is now almost 17 months old. She is about 6 months older than our youngest – Sofia – but they are very close in size.

A dear friend of old – Diana Long.

SPECIAL!! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!

My DEAR Uncle Jon & Aunt Brenda (my dad’s sister) came to see us also!

This is David’s brother- Daniel. It was so good to see him our last Sunday there. It is really ironic that about 20 years ago, Daniel was in a car accident & had to have surgery- rendering him a paraplegic. On Sunday, we were talking of my sister Amy and Daniel began to weep in sorrow for my sister. I knelt down next to him and wept with him. Never before I have I been so KEENLY aware of Daniel’s suffering – that with shame I admit I have perhaps been unknowingly indifferent. It is amazing how when you see (or feel) suffering on a personal basis, it makes you more compassionate towards others sufferings. So, David has a brother in a wheelchair and I have a sister in a wheelchair. We look forward to seeing our siblings walk again on streets of gold again someday in Heaven!!!

Our children glad to see “Grandma Drake”…….David’s Mom.

We went out to eat at the Olive Garden………..ymm!!

Amy is still trying to heal from 2 VERY stubborn stage 4 bed-sores. Due to that, she is normally bed-ridden. SOOO, I told her – “Enough of laying in that bed! We need to make some new memories!! I’m taking you shopping!!” So, Kevin showed me how to operate their handicapped accessible van and we loaded up (along with some of our girls) and headed out for a fun day! This is us in the store ready to shop!!

We had SO much fun! It was only Amy’s second time to really go “joy shopping” since the accident. She melted my heart as she tried SO hard to sift through the clothing racks………all done with a smile on her face! Amy has had to learn SO much patience as she has to wait on so many other people to do small menial tasks for her. I see her sweet spirit through it all and it inspires me to tears!! I LOVE YOU, sweet Amy!!

Another!!

We went from Old Paths to dear friends – the Andersons and to their cozy little farm! We enjoyed spending a few days with them. Jaime, I love you.

David is thankful for Justin Anderson’s friendship. These people have proven to be true friends to us through the “thick & thin” of life…….smile.

Mrs. Cammillerri (Pastor’s wife) in the green & black top and her daughter in the yellow and black top and Tina Pinzone in the blue top. These are all precious ladies and we go WAY back in our friendships!

We went to Pastor Jack Young’s Church and to our surprise, these 2 precious ladies came all the way from Canada (over 2 hrs. away) to meet our family! What precious people they were!!

Visiting relatives along the way. This is the VanDyke Family! We love you and enjoyed getting to see you & visit with you!!

This is “Uncle John” – Jennifer’s Dad. Boy, is he awesome on the saxophone!! We enjoyed playing & singing music together in their lovely farm house on their working, beautiful farm!!

This is “Aunt” Mary – Jennifer’s Mom. Love you, Aunt Mary and thank you for your hospitality towards our family!!

“Cousins” ~ Jennifer & Jill – Good to get together and reminisce of sweet days past and also to make NEW memories!!

Couldn’t resist adding this one……..Sofia ready in her “red” outfit (we color coordinate our outfits as we travel). Isn’t the bow on her head cute?!! It’s almost bigger than her head! My sister Angie made it for her and has tried to make one for every color of our outfits. SO CUTE!!

Great men of God!! Pastor Cammillerri in the blue shirt, his son-in-law in the striped blue tie, and Mr. Pinzone in the brown suit. David is thankful for these godly men’s friendships!

3 generations of men that fear God!

Timothy turning 16 years old!!

Sadie kissing Sofia

Some of the Philbrick boys. We had such an enjoyable evening playing games and catching up! The meal was delicious, Tammy!

Mark & Tammy Philbrick (parents of 8 boys) were so kind in inviting our family over for dinner one evening!

Special cousin time.

Renee Crystine [holding Sofia]

Kaylee Arlissa [holding Sofia]

14 children altogether!!

Jill & Sofia with Mrs. Suzette Keller. She is such a sweet sister in Christ and I GREATLY enjoyed her fellowship!

David and Mr. Mike Keller really enjoyed talking Bible prophecy, etc. We are thankful for Mr. Keller’s thirst for the Word of God and for his passion for spreading its amazing truths and promises through his amazing books!

Our new CD cover picture by the beach.

Our beautiful Kaylee. She is SUCH a helper with our babies and a wonderful blessing in our home!

Rock wall climbing at Pensacola Christian College. I did absolutely horrible. I expected to climb to right to the top, but when I got on the wall, it was MUCH harder than it looked and I am afraid of heights! It was a fun experience though.

David took me on a beautiful date night to a restaurant right on the ocean! It was truly breathtaking!

David took me to see the St. Augustine (oldest city in America) Fort. It was so interesting.

Fun at the beach! (We try to find a more remote spot that is not filled with people with virtually no clothes on.)……… Sad

I have SO much fun playing with the children in the water!

What a beautiful couple……….inside and out.

Amy, looking beautiful for the special night!

Sofia Amy Julianne