it’s been a few weeks since i last updated - partly b/c of a lack of time and partly b/c of a lack of things to say. two significant things have happened though on which i would like to share my thoughts.

the first is the cabc prison trip that we went on 10 days ago. last year was my first year and i had these comments: freedom in prison (march 8, 2006). b-hood has already left her thoughts on her blog: prison trip reflections (march 9, 2007).

i really enjoy these trips, especially doing the grunt work since i don’t sing. (well, technically i do sing, just from the back row. back there i’m free to do choreography and sing with emotion, or just take it all in.) a lot of work goes into planning and carrying out these trips (kudos to b-hood for doing it), and it really is a lot of trouble that the prisons go through to make it happen. BUT, the offenders really appreciate it and the ministry goes both ways as they indirectly minister to us.

i love the camaraderie that the group has while we ride busses, set up equipment, eat, etc. we rotate busses each day, so the group is never really the same. it’s really the way fellowship in the church should be.

it blows me away to think about all the offenders in the state of Texas. there are people of all color, all ages, and all sort of situations. you look at them and wonder what they could have done to be there. you talk to them and many have been in prison longer than they were free. i talked to one guy who easily was under 40 who had been in jail for 18 years. i saw old men with walkers and young men in wheelchairs. you see people filled with the Spirit and you see others who make you wonder if they are just filling their free time.

just being in the building as a visitor makes me glad to be free and reinforces the fact that i don’t want to ever be in there.

now, moving on to the most special time. the Sunday that we were on the prison trip dana received the news that her granddad in north carolina had passed away. it was expected and a blessing in a way b/c he had been going downhill for some time. it is still a loss. the situation made it so that she would travel to the funeral and i would stay home with the girls. i was actually quite excited about the challenge, though a little nervous, too. she decided the morning of her flight to take kaitlyn with her, which turned out to be a good thing for dana and even better for me. the upshot was that i got the awesome chance to spend 3 days one-on-one with hannah.

i love both my girls and try to spend as much time with them as i can. obviously working takes away much of their awake time. but three whole days with hannah was awesome for both of us. she got my undivided attention and i got her love in return. we mostly played outside since last week was so pretty. we ate at her favorite places, went to the ranch to hike, drive the tractor and throw rocks, we watched he movies, we read, and we played games. i pretty much wore her out each day and she did the same for me.

dana taking kaitlyn was a Godsend, as she was able to bond more with her and kaitlyn provided some major joy and stress relief. of course, she didn’t mind showing her off to family and friends, either!

there you have my two significant recent events. enjoy!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 13th, 2007 at 2:38 pm and is filed under hannah, religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.