Sunday in Rio

We had another amazing day in Rio...church service was wonderful. Their choir learned "O Happy Day" in English and sounded better than we did singing our "English" hymn! Our daily journal and pictures are at the Westwood site. Page, our professional writer is doing an outstanding job of writing our daily journal! Tomorrow our clinic starts. The church has great facilities and we are praying for a large crowd tomorrow and good weather.

Saturday at the Leprosy Colony

What an emotional day we had today. The trip to the leprosy colony was life changing. We met a lady who has been there for 67 years. She was a nurse. She was 22 when she was diagnosed with leprosy. She brought her 6 month old baby girl with her, but they took her child away, but was later reunited with her. She has cared for the people at the colony during this time. She has never been out of this area in those 67 years.

She said that she didn't have a bank account, money, or a home. She had Jesus and He was the joy of her life. She prayed blessings upon us and said that we were treats that only God could have sent. What an inspiration she was to all of us. We sang "Great is thy Faithfulness" with her before we left. She told us that was her favorite hymn. She thanked God daily for the life He had given her!

Another lady we met had a display of clay pots she had painted. Many of us purchased one. They are beautifully painted and the touching part is she had no hands or feet!


We are so blessed, and we need to share Christ with everyone we meet. Keep praying for the week is just starting & God has big things in store!

shopping and rio

Had a fun, long day shopping in and around Rio. We had a driver, Max who was wonderful, even when we showed up 1 hour later than we said(after mall shopping)! We went to a stone factory, the largest mall in SA and then to the Harley Davidson shop, grocery store, and a porcelain shop. We left at 9 am and got back at 7 pm. It was a rainy day and a perfect day for shopping. Our team is ready to leave Atlanta tonight. We are praying for safe flights and ease through customs!

Rio "The Marvelous City"

Sharon, Debbie Mc. B. and I arrived safe and sound this morning. Only 1 hr. late considering we left Atlanta 2 hours late. It is always a beautiful city to return to and exciting to be here. Going to the Hippie Feta (street market) tonight and turning in early after flying all night last night. Here are some pictures from my bedroom window! The team will be here Friday morning!

Blog and Facebook!

Yes, I've given up blogging for Facebook! My girls are to blame...they signed me up and yes it's addicting. You get to connect for so many old friends. It's very interesting to see what's going on with new and old acquaintances! I'm posting the link for our mission trip for those who are interested. The team leaves Thursday August 20th and we return on August 29th. Daily updates will be posted at Westwood Baptist Church's website. Page Hughes writes our daily journal with all the expertise of a pro! Coincidentally she IS a published author and a professional speaker! Thank you all for praying for our trip! God Bless!

Allison's Birthday!

Twenty Eight years ago, our baby girl was born today! Now she has her own baby boy! My how times flies! We love you Allison and are very proud of you! Here are some of her many looks!

More of Florida and the boys

What a full day we've had....painting on the sidewalk, playing with the water hose, picnicking, hiking, bath, nap, another walk and ended the day with s'mores!

I've tried SO hard to get a picture of all three of the boys together. Do you know how hard that is with a 5 1/2 yr. old whose really dislikes having his picture made and a 2 3/4 yr old who would rather show you his backside than his face? Camden who is 8 mo. old is actually the best of the bunch and smiles all the time!

"all three...not good!"

"all three..somewhat better"

"happy camden"

"warren painting on my sidewalk"

We went to DeSoto National Monument and had our hike and picnic. Camden loved being strolled everywhere and entertained by the boys running all over the place. Oh to have their energy!

"nannie and camden"

"boys will be boys"

"nannie and her 3 great-grandboys"

"over looking where the Manatee river flows between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico"

"s'mores"

"sunset looking out my back door"

Florida and my 3 Boys

Nannie (my mom) and I flew to Florida yesterday. We had a picnic today, after Ben got out of school, at a local playground. Camden loved swinging. Warren flew in the swing "fast, fast, fast" like Buzz Lightyear! Ben just loves it all! We hope Mamaw (Greg's mom) gets out of the hospital and feels better real soon!

"warren wants to help"

"camden"

"warren saying cheese"

"ben and his cici"

"camden loving the swing"

"camden and warren 'flying like buzz' "

"camden loving a banana treat"

Ben's Lego Creations

Ben came to Tennessee

Ben and his dad came to Tennessee for the week-end. Ben is just getting into Legos. I told him his Aunt Allison loved legos, so we began to dig them out! We found just a few and as you can tell Ben is ready to get started building!

Greg's Surprise Birthday Dinner

david and joyce

chad and kim

nancy, me and lynn

jerry and greg

I surprised Greg with a few of our close friends on Saturday evening at Margot Cafe, our favorite restaurant in Nashville. Thank you all for coming! It was great fun! If you live in Nashville and are looking for a great restaurant check out Margot's. The menu changes daily and we love the bistro type food!

Long Time....no posts!

Yes, I've slacked big time....but it's easy to let things slide when you get busy! We had a great holiday season and enjoyed good family times together. The next four posts will be of some of our adventures since the first of 2009.

Greg's (aka Poppie) 60th Birthday!

This is the "big" year of birthdays for us! Greg is 60 today! ( I'm waiting until May for my biggie!) Unfortunately he has to work today, but were did celebrate this week-end in Florida with friends and family. We flew to FL on Thursday the 26th. We were met by Ashley and the boys and went to one of our favorite casual restaurants in St. Pete, Red Mesa.

"ben, poppie and warren"


"in front of red mesa"

Friday, Greg went fishing with Tyler and some other friends on the Manatee River. It was great fun! Friday night we went to another favorite restaurant in Tampa, Roy's. We spent a delightful dinner with friends, Randy and Amy Buckspan. (we met in Rio on a mission trip!)

Saturday we took the boys and went to Desoto National Memorial in Bradenton. It was not only beautiful but educational.

"ben being a typical boy"

"warren the little poser"








"warren and the Spaniard hat"


"ben and the Spaniard hat"


"beautiful grounds"

On Sunday, Allison, David and Camden came over from Orlando for a visit and dinner. It was a fun time with everyone here! Greg flew back Sunday evening to Sparta. :( and I am staying here until Thursday!

"ashley, warren and camden"


"warren REALLY loving camden"


"ready to take off"



"what a cutie"