Babies!!!

Here's to you Brett, my faithful blog checker...

Aren't they beautiful! Meet Ellia May Gibson




She is SO beautiful!


Aren't they cute?!

I had some pictures of Hannah Whitlark I wanted to put up here too... but they have temporarily disappeared? I'll work on finding those...

OKLAHOMA...

where the wind comes sweeping o'er the plains? Is that it? I've actually never seen that musical or even heard the whole song. But here are some pictures from Oklahoma a couple weeks ago:


This is in the grandparent's backyard. My parents wedding reception was back here.


well... this would have been a good one. This is at Murphy's home of the hot hamburger!


This is at the Kiddie Park - where the last train ride is always free (instead of 50 cents)


This was at the OK Mozart concert - Stephen used to play one of those horns and Elyse... well there's just no good reason for that.


Bartlesville night life errrr - or something like that.

I'm back...

Hello Friends! Well, I'm back at work and in America ... I thought I was really ready to come home but the more time that passes the more I look forward to the future and what God has called me to. Don't get me wrong, I love having endless amounts of electricity whenever I want it and eating good food and drinking non-parasitic water, these are all good things, not to mention my family and loved ones that are here. So, I'm glad that I have some more months here before I move to the Middle East. However, what I find myself missing is the urgency, the power, the purpose, the sense that life isn't all about me and doing whatever I want. The more time I spend overseas the more I am convinced that God is the hardest to find in America - at least for me. Life is HARD over there. Not in a complaining, pitying kind of way, but in a way I had never experienced first hand before it is just difficult and undesirable - speaking from the flesh. I was reading the other night and God gave me something to hold on to about what life will be like to live there every day:
'Count it joy, Erin, when you encounter trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.' James 1:2-4

I really think that at the end of my time in Iraq I will have found that I am more complete than I would have been if I had not chosen to go there. All that to say that as I've struggled with what to tell people about my experiences there this is the conclusion I've come to. It won't be easy, it will be pretty hard, but Jesus us undoubtedly worth it and has promised his perfect provision in the midst of hardships. That's all I got... and here are some more pictures from the trip:


this is a picture of statue in the city that I think is such a picture of what Jesus wants to do there.


It was GREAT getting to spend time with my team. I am very thankful for them and their commitment to me and for their own personal devotion to Jesus that has changed me.

That's all I got for now. Thanks for your prayers and let me know if you want to see more pictures - I got em.