Ushering in July

Wow. June is at its end and finally finally we are ushering in July. Life has been a little bit of a whirlwind here at the Mansell home. We are finally getting settled from having Mom, Nathan, Maddie, Lawson, and myself out for the week of camp and having VBS at church, and having the splendid visit with our good friends the Bloemsma's. The end of June signifies to us the end of rushing around- which is a welcomed sight. Of course- we could never be completely "done" so Dentist appointments and such have invaded our planned quiet month of July. But all is still at rest and good.

A few things that are top news here at home are:

1. Nathan leaves Thursday for South Africa!! Let the rushed packing begin!
2. A few thrift store furniture purchases are slowly turning our house into a home (at last :) )
3. The grand beginning of schooling began today- and did it ever start with a bang! Good work mom! Many props to ya!

Running the race along with you- the Mansell family sends their (ALL THEIR) cheerful greetings!

~jillian

The parents are gone!!

Hello dear family and friends. I have heard so many times how you wish we updated this more, so while I was thinking about it, I thought I would jot down a quick update on what is going on in the Mansell home.

Dad, Mom, and Nathan just left for Tennessee. They are hoping to get 1/2 a cow as well as another milking goat. That will be a pleasant car ride, don't you think?

But with them gone, the kids and I are going to sit by the door, refuse to eat, and yearn for there return....


.... ha ha.... NOT!

We have some fun planned and will have a blast. Your prayers should probably be with mom more than us. Pray that she doesn't have a nervous breakdown from being gone and that maybe she can enjoy her time enough that she won't call every hour. :)

[I am thinking she is going to laugh when she reads this and say "I am not like that"... To which I respond, what mother is not like that?]

They will return Friday night, and Saturday will be Eska's birthday!! It's her big double digit birthday. The big 1-0. She is very excited.

Sunday (I hope you all are remembering) is Father's day!!! We are rather excited about our gift... And yes, we actually thought ahead of late Saturday night Dad!

and then Monday, Mom, Nathan, Maddie, Lawson, Hilary, and myself are leaving for a camp called the FLOW, held by our church (Community Bible Church) for a week. It will also be my birthday! Finally 17. I don't know if everyone felt this way, but mom and I feel like I have been 16 for forever. Which isn't all bad- its been a great year! BUT, that means for my birthday I will have a nice long crowded bus ride... but it will still be all good, because I will be with friends and family (although not all my family :( )

wow...this is a lot longer than I had planned on, but we all hope everything is going well with y'all!
Please leave a comment! I know a lot more of you read this than those who comment! :)
Much love,

~jillian

Acacia Village Video

Here is a video (Staring beautiful Maddie) about the Acacia Village project in Ethiopia. We would ask that you would take the time to watch it. It is a beautiful picture of the needs of God's children, that we are very capable of providing. Grab your tissuse as you click on the following link:
Acacia Village Video

6 girls + 1 dance recital + many family and friends = A LOT of flowers

{and a rather large dinner party afterwards. :) }

Thanks everyone!

12 years today,
my mother and father said "I do"
little did they know that they were really saying "I do" to!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you!

Another Birthday

Yordy Bud Mansell

June 2nd 2008

Five-Years-Old

For little Yordy's birthday, he got to take a special trip to the beach with Jillian and some friends, where he was truly the center of attention...

I love his face in this one.

He wanted to be burried SO BAD!

:) Yes...i know: "AWE!"

and Yordy being a...boy. :)

Sadly, I do not have pictures of the cake and presents at the moment. All our cameras were out of order, so our amazing neighbor took pictures for us. But, for now I hope these will suffice!