Saturday at the Baby Conference

This morning we attended a session on adoption and Haiti. Several families spoke about their experiences with adopiton. It was a very moving part of the conference for me personally. I had to wipe a few tears as David Birdy and Doug Phillips shared about Rescue Haiti's Children. Afterwards I went up to speak with David Birdy. My desire was to see if he had any ideas on how to get our girls home, as he has just brought three girls home from Haiti. Sadly his circumstances were/are very different than ours. He was not able to offer any help but did get a group of people together to pray over me that the Lord would be with Hannah and Hosanna and bring them home safely and quickly.

After the morning session we spent quite a while talking with other families about adoption. I had the priviledge of encouraging other families who are just thinking about caring for orphans in a new way. We then decided to walk into town and grab an early lunch. While at lunch we met another family and visited with them for some time. Then it was back to the convention center for a 1:30 session.

We chose to hear Geoff Botkin and family at 1:30. Geoff spoke on "How to Practice Biblical Discipline in the Home". This session was a highlight for Andrew and I. Not only did Geof do a great job at laying out the Biblical reasons for discipline, his children spoke of how discipline looked in their home. All seven children rose up and blessed Mrs. Botkin for the job she has done in raising and disciplining them! Very convicting. Also a great look at why so many of the so called Christian methods of discipline are not Biblical.

At 4:00 Doug Phillips and many of the speakers from the week offered a few closing comments. There was also a time of testimony given for fathers. Many testified to God's grace in their lives. Several had vasectomy reversals, many had learned the Biblical view on the family. We were all sad that the conference had to come to an end.

Our family stayed around for hours visiting with many old and new friends. We have been invited to many homes...Texas, SOuth Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana...We will be attending another conference in San Antonio in October, at which time we will reconnect with many of these families.

Dinner was wonderful. We went to the Mexican Restaurant we visited yesterday. The waiter we had tonight came to our table to tell us in ten years he has never waited on a nicer family with more respectful children. As we were leaving at 9:30 group of Vision Forum employees came in to eat.

Well it is now midnight again...good news is we don't have to be at the convention center early. We are attending a church service for all the are still in town at 10:30 tomorrow morning. After church we will do a little sightseeing and relax. By the way San Antonio has good Mexican food but the city is not a great place to be. We were walking to our vehicle tonight after dinner and the children watched a drug deal happen, as well as the dress or lack there of is much worse than in Georgia. Well off to bed!

Friday at the Baby Conference

Today was a wonderful day.

Our first session was at 8:30 am. Doug Phillips lead a panel of couples who all had large families in a question and ansrew time. THe Allens, Valentis, Carpenters, Chanceys, Botkins and Phillips spoke about what life looks like in their homes on a day to day basis .

OUr second session was by Geoff Botkin. Geoff spoke on the 50 year anniversary of the pill. He shared the history of Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood and how the pill has killed millions of babies over the past 50 years.

At 11:30 the girls and I went to a luncheon/tea with Michelle Duggar. Michelle spoke about her family, her new little daughter Josie, as well as many practical thoughts on raising children.

At lunch the girls and I sat with some old friends and many new ones. After lunch we walked down the Riverwalk to find the boys eating at Subway.

Andrew spent the afternoon chatting with men from around the country. He and the children rested for awhile, walked through the vending hall to speak with many vendors like Heritage Fund, a new legal organization designed to help families in a time of legal battle. They also spoke with Hope for Orphans, Samaritian Ministries, and more.

Rebekah and I went to hear Beall Phillips interview Michelle Duggar. It was very enjoyable. Michelle is such a Godly example to mothers! I was sooo encouraged.

Around 4:00 pm our whole family went to a session on BioMedical Ethics. Wow was that challenging. Do you know what your church teaches and believes about In Vitro, surigacy, H+, artificial wombs? Many of the new technologies are downright scary. Andrew and I are still working through what we believe the Bible teaches in some of these areas. Thankfully we have Godly men who are thinking through them with us to encourage us.

For dinner we ate at a local Mexican Restaurant located on the Riverwalk. Our table was on the water. We ate too much chips, salsa and cheese dip but oh was it good!

After dinner we headed back to the convention center for our evening session. The session was incredible. Michelle Duggar received an award for 2010 Mother of the Year. Michelle is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. She is humble, gentle and incredibly wise. The Lord has greatly blessed Jim Bob and Michelle with a family that speaks volumes about what they believe the Bible proclaims about children.

We stayed around talking at the convention center with some friends of ours that live in San Antonio. We are planning to visit at their home in October. On the way back to our KOA we stopped to pick up ice at around midnight at a gas station in yucky town.There were three stray dogs living in the parking lot of this gas station that just ate the trash.

pics

Tonights Message

First of all I have been trying to post pictures for over 24 hours and can't get them to load.....internet too slow. So they will be on as soon as I can.

Tonight Doug Phillips spoke about children being a blessing. He also talked about how the pill has been used to kill more than 700 million babies, far more than abortion.

Becky Morecraft sung for us, which is always a treat. She told my little ones, who love her CDs, she sings with her sister Judy Rogers, to promote her music and she will make more for them. Abigail especially loves Judy and Becky's songs. www.judyrogers.com

Geoff Botkin spoke on embryology. It was incredible! He used clay to demonstrate how the Lord forms us and how the baby develops in the first 57 days, going from one cell to 1 million cells! I learned a few things that I will share tomorrow.

Now it is after midnight and I am ready for bed. Tomorrow we start again at 8:30!

Oh by the way we have connected with soooo many families that we know and have met over the years. We are tired tonight but having a great time.

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Good Morning from Louisiana

We all slept great last night! We pulled into the KOA a little after 9:30 pm. James, Noah, Gideon, Abigail and Eden were already asleep on the bunk beds in the back. When we arrived Jordan and Josiah showered in the motorhome, while Jonathan, Rachel and Rebekah went to shower in the KOA bathrooms.

When we finally settled in to bed it wasn't five minutes later and Abigail rolled off the bottom bunk bed with a thump! She slept with Andrew and I all night. Eden slept all night in her bed on the floor.

I set the alarm for 6:30 am but realized this morning when it went off that my blackberry does not change times zones on its own. So....we were up at 5:30 am Louisiana time. Andrew and I showered and were on the road pretty quickly.

The grass is so very green in Louisiana. Off to Texas....

Pictures of our Travels

We are on the road

Wednesday:

6:30 am - rise and shine! Today we finally head to Texas to the Baby Conference! We have been waiting for this trip for months.

7:30 am - We are leaving to go pick up the motorhome! Children are all eating breakfast and tidying their rooms.

8:30 am - arrive to pick up motorhome. Eddie was still getting a few last minute things repaired. Eddie is a neat Christian man and father of five. Andrew and Eddie had a great time chatting.

10:30 am - finally got everything finished. Andrew and I stop at McDonalds and grab a bite to take on the road, as neither of us took time to eat breakfast.

11:45 am - home to load everything into motorhome. Twelve people, clothes for seven days, food for fifteen meals, a double stroller, cameras, laptops, stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, sheets, towels, etc.

12:30 pm - on the road, gassed up and driving!

2:00 pm - beds made, everything put away in cupboards, little ones napping, older ones watching Roy Rogers on DVD.

5:30 pm - stop for gas and eat pulled pork sandwiches and pasta salad in the motorhome. Back on the road....

9:00 pm - stop for gas, cup of coffee for Andrew and a Dr. Pepper for me! Call KOA in Denham Springs to make a reservation. Will be nice to take a shower, plug in for water and electric. Motorhome has done great except the step won't retract when we close the door; boys will fix it tomorrow. Little ones are in bed and the big ones are watching Facing the Giants with me...I love that movie:)