WHAT A WEEK!

Lauren has broken the sleeping in record in the Rogers' home! We woke her up at noon today - this is the longest any Rogers has stayed in bed EVER- by a couple of hours! She needed her sleep! This past week was wonderful but also wonderfully exhausting!

On the very first day- having my quiet time I realized the hesitancy I had in going to Arlington had a lot to do with me getting out of my comfort zone - not so much with Ryan's hurt foot. I had a memory in my conscience about sleeping on the floor. I had a feeling about sharing a bathroom with teenagers and showering in a public -like bathroom before daylight for privacy. I didn't want to deal with these inconveniences. I confessed my selfishness and was able to work in joy! God does give you a satisfying joyful feeling when you do His work - no matter how hard or dirty!

Speaking of Ryan - he was such a trooper. He volunteered for child care duty - a sit down job- for two mornings - keeping crying, snotty nosed, fussy babies while their mothers shopped in the Mission Arlington stores. This was not an easy job! There were sometimes 12 babies and 3 youth! He found a way to serve and not one day did I hear him complain about the walking and I know his armpits were killing him from those crutches! By the last day, he had ditched his crutches and was carefully walking on his boot. PTL!

Watching Lauren was a huge learning curve for me! I wasn't in charge of the trip, the sleeping arrangements, the lights out time, the working day....and it was hard not to want to parent my little girl. She proved herself to be a strong worker and we all rejoice as she led a boy to Christ on Wednesday. Becky took a great picture of this moment, she just happened to be there at the right time, and I want to post it when she sends it to me. It made me choke up to see it.

Erin and Sheridan blended in to the trip seamlessly. Erin was very mature and not a bothersome 5th grader - she pitched in for all the work and yet honored me with obeying and not fussing when I had her stay with us instead of the youth. I was so thankful. Sheridan got a little grumpy because she was really short on her typical sleep- but we worked through it!

I'm so thankful for my husband. A little known fact, Richard is a great BINGO caller! On the last day we worked at the Austin Street Mission and played BINGO with homeless people for prizes like clothes, blankets, toiletries. My husband made BINGO sound like the most fun game ever invented as he called out those numbers! He was so funny! He visited with the gentlemen at his table like they were his best buddies, he led clapping for all the winners, he led the group in laughter and service. I was so thankful for him!

His reward was...you guessed it...ICE CREAM!

The man is happy here in his new DALLAS COWBOY t-shirt and ICE CREAM. It was kind of the last treat as we were back in the gym this morning and off of the sweets.

Here's two little Rogers girls enjoying ice cream like their daddy! This was at the Grapevine Mall - we spent Friday afternoon playing and shopping here before we headed home.

Today we all rested and unpacked. Richard and I have been turning laundry since 7am and have gone shopping to restock the kitchen for the following week. We have sorted through the mail, taken a nap, played with the dogs, cleaned out the van and Erin even had a friend over. It's good to be home. We have MUCH to be thankful for. GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME. We are looking forward to worshiping with our church family tomorrow and looking for those in our own town to love on!