Quito, Part 2

I arrived safely in Quito Friday evening and survived an adventurous van ride to the posh Swissotel. The rest of the Alabama teamed arrived (without luggage) two hours later.
This morning was spent in meetings (4 hours). They were long, but very exciting and encouraging. God is already at work here in Ecuador and it is very exciting to be where He is moving...available...willing...WOW!
I am praying that the Lord would fill me with the Spirit, that HE would move through the Spirit despite my many short-comings (Acts 1:8).
I am also praying for the safety of my family. I love you, Angie, Hamp and Emma and can hardly wait to be home with you. It is only because of God I am able to stand our separation.
I love you!

Quito, Part 1

Today is our travel day. I am traveling via Delta, separate from the rest of the group due to the generous dontation of a friend's frequent flyer miles.
Angie and the kids headed to see the Hampton's after they dropped me off at the airport. I miss you guys already! I love you and can't wait to see you very soon. I pray God's blessings will be upon both myself and my family as we are apart doing the Lord's work. May he prepare good works for us all to do during our time apart and may we all feel His presence during our absence from one another.
I love you! I'll write again soon.

Alabama Adventure!

Angie, Juliana, Hamp, Emma and I went to Alabama Adventure yesterday afternoon to soak in the sun and get some swimming in. Everybody had a BLAST swimming and sliding all afernoon. From the lazy river to the toilet bowl and the "big water" dump to the "dark tunnels," we had a great time yesterday. Here are a few pictures.

Hampton always enjoys the slides. And this summer, as an official big boy, he enoyed the park even more, trying things he never did last year. He was able to walk around the kid area all by himself and try new rides that weren't available last year. He can even spin around in "Dorry" down the lazy river, float underneath BIG waterfalls and walk through rain tunnels. He and I went down a "dark tunnel" slide, too. He didn't want to do that again, though. Maybe next year!

Yee Haw!!!

We have been fortunate enough to have our niece, Juliana, over this week. It has been fun having her visiting with us. Earlier this week, Angie, Hamp, Emma and Juliana went over to the George's home to ride the ponies and horses. Here are some fun pictures from their trip.

Emma was a big hit with the pony. The horse inched closer and closer to Emma. Angie said she was enjoying it right until the Horse got right in Emma's face. At that point she lost it and they had to move the horse away.

Then again, who could blame the poor guy. Emma is very cute!Who could blame him for not being able to resist those cute cheeks!

Juliana got her turn on the horse, too. She looks like a real pro sitting upon her trusty horse.

She enjoyed guiding the horses around as much as riding them. Juliana was sweet enough to lead Hampton's horse a while so that he could ride.




Hampton rode like a real cowpoke. Nevermind the fact that his faithful stead was named Tinkerbell!

Yee Haw!

We're "Behind" You, Papa

Papa Sam is working on a missions project right now. He is helping fit Bolivian nationals with eye glasses donated by individuals in the States and using that opportunity to share the Good News.

Hamp and the rest of the family want Papa and all of "our people" to know that we are fully "behind" you! We love you and are praying for you daily.

Sew the seed!

Fun in the Sun

We spent Independence Day with Memaw & Paw, and Will, Tammy, Juliana & Hunter. What fun we had at Point Mallard, swimming in the pool, and at Chuck E. Cheese celebrating the birth of our great country and our favorite nephew and enjoying some time with family.

At Point Mallard Hamp enjoyed some inflatables and raced to pick up a ping pong ball dropped from a Decatur Police helicopter. How cool is that! He picked up the No. 4 ball and earned a gift bag for doing so. Hamp and Emma really enjoyed time in the pool with Memaw, Angie and me. Paw watched over us all very carefully with his Wasp and Hornet spray. Emma is getting very comfy in the water as you can tell.

Hunter turned 8 years old this week and we all celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday. All of us tried our hands at the fun games and worked hard to earn some cool prizes for Hamp, Hunter and Juliana. Later Thursday night, Hunter and his All-Star team won their divisional tournament. What a great birthday present. Way to go pal!!!

The McWane Center

The McWane Center is one of our favorite places to visit. There is so much for Hampton to do and learn; and since Emma can crawl now, there are even things she can do, too. Papa is going to be traveling to Bolivia with E3 soon, so we went with them this time. They had never been before.Grammy got to lie on a bed of nails. OUCHH!

Hampton had a go at lifting Papa using a pulley system. Way to go Superman!

Emma and Mama played in the "Just Mice Size" section. See the movie in the previous post.

Hamp and I shot tennis balls at the ceiling. Very educational!

Good times!!!

Look at Me!!!

Emma is growing up fast...crawling, pulling up, eating big girl food, babbling, even saying Mama and Dadda sometimes.

You better not blink or you might just miss out!

Here is a picture of our cutey. She had just finished her bath and was so proud that she could stand up all by herself (Someday she'll hate us for sharing this one!)

Here is a video of her crawling and discovering a toy in the mailbox. She is so curious and very eager to explore.

Look Who is Singing?

We had VBS commencement at our church this morning and guess who sang? HAMPTON

Such a momentous occassion, fortunately, was recorded for all time both on video and photographs. He was so proud of himself...not to mention how proud Mamma and Daddy were, too. You should have seen how he had such a serious face during the verses and then lit up a BIG smile when the lyrics said "smile."

Priceless!

Hamp is Three Years Old!

Yesterday was "June the thirtief" and Hamp's 3rd Birthday. All of "his peoples" were there and we had a wonderful time. Thanks so much to all of you who made the trip to come to his party. It means so much to all of us to have his family and friends there to celebrate his birth. I hope you got to see his face when the group sang "Happy Birthday." He has been talking about that moment for weeks...when everybody would sing "Happy Birfday" to him.

We love you all!