Well, Spring Break for the MSU and OTC students has come and gone. They had an awesome trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where they met students at Laramie County Community College, They helped the Warehouse Church which had construction needs and Frontier Baptist Church with some survey work. Billy told me he got to see his first black widow spider, and when we asked him if he killed it, he said "yes...it was in the room I was SLEEPING IN!! ARGGHH!! It gave me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. Although they were a day late getting back due to a problem with the lights on the trailer they were pulling, they met some really nice people in Russell, KS who helped them out and even provided lodging and a big lunch before heading out again.

However, Spring Break for our public schools is this week, which means our son Christopher is out of school. But he will be out and about scouting for work and will hopefully find something. I don't get a 'Spring Break' so it's work as usual for me!!

The BSU will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a get-together for all alumni on Saturday.

Our new music minister's first Sunday was yesterday; he likes to dress 'casually', but I wonder just how many "Hawaiian" shirts he owns?!?!? I think he did a great job, and the congregation seemed to enjoy the service as well. Looking forward to seeing what he has planned for not only the choir, but also for others interested in using their musical talents.

That's about it for now....hopefully we'll have pictures to post soon of past events!!

25th Anniversary

Our "vow renewal" service was great; it was so good to see our family and friends there to share it with us. And although I was able to get a hold of my maid of honor, we did not have information on Billy's best man, Donny . But because Donny's mother frequents the Wal-Mart where one of Billy's sister's works, she found out and then told him about it. So we were pleasantly surprised to see him there! We found out he was still living in town, and is married. I don't think we had seen or talked to him in at least 20yrs!

We then spent Thursday and Friday in Branson going to the outlet malls, Branson Landing and we also had a nice dinner at Red Lobster. Unfortunately that dinner didn't agree with Billy's stomach too much, so we didn't make it to Silver Dollar City. But we still plan on going at another time.

Christopher participated in the public High School's annual "Music Festival Contest" this past Saturday; that's where students play in front of judges and receive 'ratings' for how well they played. The best is "1" with the worse being a "4". If you get a "1" rating, you move on to the State contest which is held in Columbia, MO sometime in April. He played in a brass sextet and also played a trombone solo. Last year the ensemble he played in received a "1" and they went to State. (It is very difficult to receive a "1" at the State level, however.) Unfortunately this year they did not make the rating needed to go to State. It's still a good experience for him nonetheless.

Billy left on Saturday morning for Wyoming with a group of college students; they will return on Friday. He asked that we for pray for Aaron & Melanie; they are the campus ministers at LCCC where the group is working.

That's about it for now; hopefully we will have pictures of our vow renewal service uploaded soon, and Billy might even be able to send me some while he's in Wyoming.

Busy Time Ahead

It seems like only yesterday that we were in the middle of an ice storm huddled in a house powered by a lonely generator to give us some heat from our furnace and light from a lamp. This week's weather has been pleasantly spring-like, with sunny skies and highs around 70 degrees.

Which means Spring Break can't be far away!!! The Spring Breaks for the colleges start March 17th, while the public schools have their break the week of the 25th. Billy is taking a group of students from Missouri State and Ozark Technical Community College to Cheyenne, Wyoming where they will be helping the BSU at the community college. They are partnering with the campus there in the hopes of building connections between the BSU and the campus, local Churches and community.

But before I let him 'get away' for a week, he has to marry me first!! WHAT??? Aren't we married already? Yes, we are legally married....but this will be year number 25, so we decided a few years back to renew our wedding vows on that anniversary. So when Billy got with our Pastor and discussed it, they decided to make it a "Marriage Enrichment" night and also invite other couples to participate with us. Friends and family are invited to attend and once again witness us pledging our vows to one another. (I've decided to add a few things to the list....JUST KIDDING SWEETHEART!!)

And since Billy will have to leave on that next Saturday, we are taking a couple of days off and heading to Branson to goof off. Our big 'anniversary trip' will be in April. We are traveling back to Central Asia to visit some good friends and have some fun.

Billy is back in the "Show-Me-State", but had to make a flight-change to connect in Dallas/Ft Worth so he could miss the 'fun' weather in Chicago; but his luggage was still on the Chicago flight!!

It did come in this morning, so he got his luggage back safe and sound. In ALL the years he has been flying, this is the FIRST time his luggage didn't make it on the same plane he did. Now THAT'S a miracle!!

We would like to thank the Bodiford's for opening their home to Billy while he was in Tifton, GA. Also, a special thanks to Craig Nalls for his leadership in putting together the conference.



Billy is really busy trying to work out final details for the Spring Break trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming in a couple of weeks, and a trip to Central Asia and one to Eastern Asia this summer. The OTC students should be commended for taking the lead while he was gone. They took care of the Monday lunch, The Way, as well as their studies for the week. Same for the International Students and their Sunday night study. You would almost think that if Billy keeps working in that direction, he will work himself out of a job!


I just have to post another picture of our granddaughter because she IS the cutest toddler in the world!!