Got a little footage of Oliver eating cake at his 1st birthday party. Face first – gotta’ love it! Take note of the awesome birthday cake that Katie made for O.
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I’m a real estate tycoon. Ha…not really. It has come to Katie’s and my attention that a house that we both love that’s in our neighborhood is going to be sold for much, much less than it’s worth. Not that we don’t love our home – because we absolutely do!
For the heck of it, we thought we’d go for the longshot and put our house up for sale (by owner) and see what happens. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a great new home in Hardin Valley, feel free to give them our information.
I’ve built a blog that has all of the specifics about our house, so feel free to pass it along to anyone and everyone.
Click the following link to learn more:
If you want to see her in person, come on by – we’re in Reagan’s Landing neighborhood…2808 Macy Blair Rd., 37931, to be more specific. Or, just shoot me an email – cjessen79@gmail.com.
We’ll leave the light on for ya’.
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It’s hard to believe, but yesterday our little man turned 1! The amount of joy and laughter that Ollie has brought into our home and lives is beyond what I could describe in words. And, yes, it makes standing over the toilet cleaning out very full cloth diapers all worth it!
Here are some of our favorite pics over this past year (click below):
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So…it’s been rumored that Michael Jackson has over 100 unreleased songs that will slowly trickle to the public over the next several years. I stumbled across this on YouTube the other day and can’t seem to get it out of my head. For now, we only have 25 seconds of this masterpiece. Can’t wait for the rest!
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Tried to convert and ran into the same problem you had. Hope you guys get better web access soon. Be safe…we’re praying for you guys.
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Good evening everyone! Another great day in West Virginia!! ALL of the projects were completed today. Some took a little longer than expected (think porch) but everything was finished. To everyone who went this week - for all of the sweat, blisters, sunburn, broken bones and just plain hard work
Tonight was a really powerful worship service. Shep started off the week challenging the students to think about why God brought them to West Virginia this week and what He might be wanting to show them and how He might want to use them. Tonight he began with Psalm 34 –
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
Let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
Let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
Their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
And he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
For those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
But those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
And desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
And his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
But the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
Not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
The foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems his servants;
No one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
Clay played while the students reflected. The students then shared what they had learned this week and how God had worked in them. The overriding theme was how much they took things for granted – not just material things but their families as well. They realized how much they loved their families. Everyone was very much aware of not only the physical poverty but the relational poverty and the broken families and lack of community. The students shared how they realized how self-centered and selfish they themselves really are. They were humbled and broken this week and are returning with a real sense of gratitude. One student said he thought they would be bringing God to these people but he realized that God was already there and working and that just broadened his idea of God’s bigness.
Chris challenged them to continue to choose to be different. They were different this week in that they chose to spend money to go sleep in a school in not exactly great conditions in order to work hard all week. That was different than most of their friends who were home sleeping late and playing all week. When they get back home, they can still choose to be different from their friends in serving God and others.
It was an awesome end to an awesome week. Your little darlings were great!!! Be proud parents.
A huge thank you to:
- Charlie Slagle for all the hard work in planning and executing this trip and all the pictures he uploaded on a really slow Internet connection.
- The leaders who gave up a week of vacation to serve the people of West Virginia and your kids. I know you appreciate them.
- A special thank you to Uncle Mike and Chris Busby and their continued support of our summer mission trips (and much needed expertise!).
- You parents for allowing, encouraging and/or forcing your kiddo to go.
- Last but not least, our fearless leader Chris Jessen.
They are getting up at 5:30 in the morning and plan on being at the church by noon. Please be at the church by noon or after second service to pick up your student.
Pray for traveling safety and thank the LORD for all He did this week and how He will continue to use this in the lives of not only your student, but in the lives of the people they touched in West Virginia.
In Him,
Lisa
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Good morning all. I got this email from Charlie this morning and just wanted to pass it on to you. I think it says a LOT!
Morning,
Looks like a cool (dry) start to our last day. Yea!!!
I have put up a few more pics this morning if you would like to let
Everyone know. I was just thinking this morning what all these
Students have done over the week and the list is pretty amazing.
They have:
Roofed a two houses
Sided a house
Put in a garden
Pressure washed the school
Weeded around the whole school
Roofed another school
Built a lean to roof over a basement entrance
Wired a house for electricity
Rebuilt the floor in a trailer (3 times 
)
)Built a huge deck and ramp
Held VBS in a neighborhood
Striped, primed, fixed up and painted a big house
Not bad for a bunch of high schoolers.
If you think about it, between Guatemala and WV student ministries has
Sent out almost 100 students and leaders out this summer to serve
Others. They didn’t stay in the nicest places, or have all the
Comforts of home, but they served our Father in heaven, and showed His
Love to 100’s of people, without much complaning. I’m pretty dang
Proud of these kids.
I’ll put up some final pictures this afternoon.
Talk to you tonight.
Have a great day!
In Him,
Lisa
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Good evening all! They had another great day in West Virginia – rain and all!
Shep and his crew left a little after 6:00 this morning apparently before the thunderstorm hit where they are staying. They worked for about 20 minutes before it started raining. It only rained for a little bit and they got back at it again. The tar they are using for the roof doesn’t like water at all so they had to squeegee the roof and use driers to get it dry enough to work. They got one side done and it rained again! Thankfully the sun came out after that rain and with the sun and squeegees they got it ready and were able to finish the total roof!! They didn’t make it back to where they are staying until after 7:00. That was one long day for that crew. Shep could not say enough good about their attitudes and how hard they worked. So for not giving up and working hard, Shep and roofing crew – thumbs up.
Chris Haire and her crew of roofers got 3/4 of their roof done. They should be finished about noon tomorrow. There was some hard work going on on that roof too!!
Charlie’s crew was also working hard. Now about that floor, Charlie explained it this morning in an email and I got permission to share that explanation with you:
“It’s a really big floor. No really, it took half a day the fist day to just get the junk out, then we finished 1 side. The next day we started on the other side and I started fussing. I hate trailers because they are so cheaply built. Trying to fix one is like trying to reuse a paper napkin after you wash it out. No, we had to do a lot of creative cutting and bracing. So yesterday we really did finish all the floor. ”
I know they said WV Charlie’s house was the hardest but I’m thinkin’ this trailer might have been. Originally, they were going to add a handicap ramp. Then they were going to do a handicap ramp and a small deck. Now, they are adding a handicap ramp and a 36′ x 14′ deck!!! That is over 500 square feet!! I asked if they were doing one of the Extreme Makeovers like they do on TV. Wow. The got it all framed in and they will be nailing the boards down tomorrow – a lot of boards. The lean-to just needs a little caulking and that will be complete. They should be finished around noon tomorrow. This group has done a tremendous job! (I think Shep is bringing his roofing crew to work over there tomorrow.)
VBS had five kids today. ( I did it again – started typing “only”…). Apparently a couple of the kids were sick. Pray that more kids come tomorrow. They will be the last group finishing up tomorrow at 2:00.
Tonight the church that this ministry partners with had a family night of worship and sharing and our kids joined in with them then off to bed. They have another big day tomorrow. Even though they will be finished on their sites early, they are cleaning up the school they are staying in and packing up for the ride home on Sunday. The plan is to be home between 12:00 and 12:30 PM. They are going to stop on Lovell Road to wash all the cars and hopefully that won’t take too long. They should be close anyway.
Charlie hasn’t had a chance to upload any new pictures this evening. He did upload some this morning in case you missed the earlier email. Go to
Continue to pray for safety and attitudes. They are on the home stretch now and we want them to finish well!!!
In Him,
Lisa
PS – Today has been a huge day for Sequoyah!! She is in a regular room with no trach!! Read the latest Caring Bridge update at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sequoyahsmith/journal THANK YOU LORD!!!!
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