Driven to Encourage Newsletter

ThDRIVEN TO ENCOURAGE-ERIC HELMS

What an amazing Savior! We are overwhelmed at His goodness. What a sacrifice He made to humble Himself and come to earth for us! We are so proud to serve Him. Did you know that there are over 200 middle and high schools in a 50 mile radius of our home? Eric has had the privileged of speaking at 18 of them since September of this year. 148 youth have indicated that they prayed to receive Christ. Praise the Lord!! We want to reach all of them! The door is open in public schools....that truly is a God thing! The platforms to share Jesus that are right here under our noses are endless. Since September 35 players, cheerleaders, and coaches prayed to receive Christ through the Crown Athletic Program!!! I was reading in the book of Romans this week and I was reminded of Paul's many missionary journeys. Not only was Paul willing to go but others were willing to send him. Romans 15:22-33 Paul needed others praying, encouraging, giving and joining him in the work God called him to. You all have been that for us! We continually need you all in this journey! We are overjoyed at Gods blessing. Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you for standing with us! Below is a list of things we are trusting and believing God for. Please join us in faith and prayer. We would love to pray for you as well. Please email us with any of your prayer requests! Merry Christmas, Eric, Michele, Lindsey, Marshall, Emily, Benjamin, and Luke *Pray that those who became Christians would grow! *Pray that the Helms family would grow deeper and deeper in love with Jesus. *Pray for upcoming speaking opportunities and for softened hearts of those who attend. Specific things we are trusting God for: *New interactive web site.....$1500 *Funds for mission trip opportunities to share the gospel.....$7000 *Provisions for part time office help....$12,000 *We give every new believer a 90 day devotion to get them started studying Gods word...we need to order more..Praise God!......$300 *Funds to have Bibles and study helps available to those in need........$750 *50% deficit the ministry budget. While we do not spend what we do not have, the shortfall means two things....#1... There are ministry opportunities we can't participate in. #2....There are household things that need to be fixed. *Our home church FBC Woodstock filmed and is putting together an amazing DVD for Eric. We are not sure where or how these need to be distributed but the Lord does! We love you all and we will let you know how the Lord meets these needs.

Christmas Blessings

Oh how I love Christmas!!! We are so very excited around here. I wanted to share with you a real blessing for our family. We received an anonymous package in the mail the other day and it contained $50 gift cards for our entire family to our favorite places and even some fun entertainment cards. What a fun blessing! We of course started brainstorming about who it could be??? We have so many generous friends in our lives but only a few of those who would know where to buy the gift cards specifically. The last 2 years have been amazing ministry wise but they have been full of major sacrifices especially for the kids..it was fun to see their excitement!

Here is where my hearts delight came.....we have taken 3 of the children out to use their cards and all three used their cards to buy for others??? They were so excited to have their "own money" to spend on buying presents. I was very overwhelmed! So to whoever sent the cards...Thanks from the kids and thanks for allowing them to bless others!!!

Sweet Boy

Benjamin went to a party and there was someone there making fun balloon swords and animals for the kids. He asked if they could make a flower for him to give his mama. So sweet...he gave up his chance for a cool sword for me! AAHH these are the things that warm a mama's heart!

Family

Merry Christmas!!!! I hope that you are enjoying this season! Take your babies in your arms tell them how much you love them and tell them how much Jesus loves them. He loves us so much that He left heaven to come here and show us the Way!!

Dave Ramsey

Do you listen to Dave Ramsey? Love him!!!! Eric and I have been married for 20 years and boy would we do things differently, financially, if we could turn back the hands of time!!! We hope our children will have a better financial future!! While we have never had car payments and credit cards were used for emergencies.....we could have handled money better and we would be in a better place as far as our mortgage is concerned. We owe 87,000 or there abouts...sounds like a lot in one way but we are excited to see how fast we can get it paid off and be debt free!!!!! My hope is that my children will not even have to have debt!!! Possible??? I think so!! What about you?

Traditions

I don't remember if I have already written about this or not??? I have so many things swirling around in my head......I am always thinking..I'll write about that.....then I can't remember if I actually wrote or just thought about it???? Nuts..... I know :)

Think back to your childhood.....think quick about 10 of the best gifts that you received as a kid. Most of us could probably do that if given some time....but not quickly.......usually only a few actually stand out. But if asked to quickly name the things that you associate with Christmas....that is easy....for me it would be something like this......Grandma's house, cousins, driving looking at Christmas lights, hilarious party we always attended with cheap gag gifts, baking and decorating cookies, Christmas Pageant we put on at the Smith's house, lots of food, Candle light service at church, Reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve from a very large family Bible, caroling, helping a needy family. (now that I am older I know that WE were needy but my parents were so generous they took on more)

My point....your kids will not remember most of the gifts that you buy for them but they will remember and cherish the traditions! Make memories with your kids, show them a generous spirit, establish traditions and don't let them forget the awesomeness of the fact that Jesus came to save the world!!!!

Perfect hamburgers

I love homemade hamburgers but I do not like getting the meat under my nails and around my ring. Then my hands are really greasy and if you have to make a whole bunch it takes a while?? Until I came up with this little trick!! You will need wax paper a spoon and 2 salad plates. Put a piece of wax paper down on the plate and spoon a scoop of meat onto the paper.
Next put another piece of wax paper down and then the second plate and push down until the desired thickness.
Look a perfect patty and no goop under my nails!!!
I stack them like this.....you can even freeze them like this in a plastic bag if you have extra.

Then to the grill.....just a tip on grilling hamburger meat......leave them on the first side until the juice...aka the blood...yes I know that makes some of you squeamish.....just keep your eye on the prize baby!! Where was I...Oh yes...the juice....when it comes to the top like the burger at the bottom of the above picture....then it is ready to flip. After flipping...do not press....but look for the juice to run clear. then you will have the perfect burger! I used the Aldi ground sirloin....a little salt and pepper and then YUMMY Goodness!!!!!

Office wallpaper?

Yes, this is my sweeties office....really it is just a glorified closet......it's a walk in closet sized room minus the shelving. Eric loves "post-it" sticky notes. We writes scripture and quotes that speak to him and puts them on his wall. Crazy as it sounds...he knows where they are on his wall???? It is a huge topic of conversation for anyone who comes over?? I would love to hear people as they leave....is it " Wow that was neat" or is it "Wow , he is a little off" Well I think it is great! I love it more that words can express that my man loves Gods word so much and wants to apply it to his life!!!

The desires of our hearts!!!

You do know that the Lord does give us the desires of our hearts...according to His purpose....we forget that last part sometimes!!!! I think that means that as we grow closer to Him....our desires begin to reflect a sincere desire to serve Him!

Anyway...I have told you that Marshall is a great swimmer......with seemingly great potential. He really wants to swim year round.....very expensive...especially when you are in ministry living completely by faith.....no steady paycheck! We were told last night that Marshall would get a 50% scholarship!!!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!! Marshall will still have to come up with $90 a month...that's a lot of raking and mowing!!!! but it is doable. God is so good! Marsh has been praying for this and now he will get to trust the Lord for work to get the other $90.00 a month...that will be exciting for him and grow his faith!!

Let you kids know what it is like to trust the Lord for something!

New camera

Lindsey asked for money for her 16th birthday and combined it with her own babysitting money and bought a really nice camera. She loves to take pictures and she has a really good eye for the unusual shots. Above is Emily being very patient while Lindsey takes pictures in the bathroom...I love the last picture. I hope Lindsey can work on this talent and use it in someway since she loves it so much.

What is your "go to" food

Do you have a "go to" food? You know that one thing that always sounds good. Mine is something that is so abnormal...grits..yep you read it right. I just finished a bowl of warm creamy grits. I eat 1 packet of instant grits about 5 times a week. Crazy??

Here I am.

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was very nice. We usually have a blow out with many, many families at my mama's but this year but this year because of mama's surgery we had a lovely dinner at Eric's parents house.

Mom had colon cancer 4 years ago and she just had to have her 3rd hernia repair 2 days before Thanksgiving. She had been told 3 days in the hospital.......ended up being 9???? She was open for 7 hours???? They had to completely rebuild her abdominal wall. Someone had to be with her 24/7 while she was in the hospital, so my sisters and I rotated with daddy. When daddy and one of mys sisters had to return to work then Katherine and I rotated. She is home and tonight will be the 2nd night that she and my dad are alone. What an ordeal for her! I hope that this is the last of all surgeries!!!That is the reason I haven't been here! Schooling, ministry and mama kept me way too busy.

Dreams

What are your dreams? I have all kinds of dreams....Dreams for my kids.....Dreams for our future....Dreams for the ministry......Dreams for our church......sometimes there is so much floating around in my head I can hardly shut it off. Are dreams wrong??? Certainly I believe that we can get materialistic even in our dreams and desires but I think it is also the way that the Lord casts a vision. I will share one of mine with you......from the moment we bought this house....12 years ago...we knew it wasn't ours....we really do view everything that we have as the Lords...but even beyond that....Eric and I have always had a "dream" that this house was supposed to be given to our church. We live directly across the street from FBC Woodstock and our church has an amazing ministry for missionaries that give their lives to serve Him in another country. When they come back to the States we have homes for them to stay in. Someone fills the pantry and cupboards with all the family favorites and the church pays all housing expenses while they are home on furlough. We love this program and because of this dream of ours....we know in our hearts that this house is supposed to be used for that purpose! Will that be when we die??? Maybe???

Now to the dream.....there is land near our house....87 acres....oh so very beautiful......my dream....give this house to the church....buy the 87 acres......invite a few families to join us.......enjoy!... serve!..... Our daughter is gifted with animals but specifically with horses.....it has been her dream to do horse therapy for physically and mentally challenged children....wow what a dream....she is only 12 but she is passionate about it.....in my dream that would be a reality for her! In my dream there would be a home for a hurting family to come and stay for a little while so we could encourage and love on them...in my dream this would all be debt free!!!!

SO now I have bored you with my crazy dream!!! What is your dream?

Saving Money!

It is NUTS......just how much you can save using coupons when items are at their lowest prices! I bought all of the items you see here.....327.00 for 87.23.....Yes you saw that correctly...that is a savings of $239......I love it!!!! It frees up so much money for us....actually it just helps us live on the very small amount that comes in for the ministry. I feel like it is a great contribution that I can make for my family! We are living on a really small amount of money but I am able to feed my family like we are making so much more all because of coupons!

My Swimming boy

Marshall is a wonderful swimmer....like if he continues.....college scholarship good. Best of all he LOVES it! We are so thrilled that he can swim for Crown Athletics....Eric helps to coach so that he can swim for free but he really desires to swim on a year round team...this is very expensive but we also know that if the Lord wants this to happen...it will!! The team just had their first meet in South Ga. Marsh did a great job and loved it. We try to help each of our kids to grow "in their bend" this is sometimes difficult when you have so many but we do not feel that they should be "cookie cutter" kids. They are so very different and have so many amazing talents...it is very time consuming to raise kids!!!

Sweet 16

AAAGGGGG!!!! Where did the time go??? My oldest baby is 16! She actually turned 16 in September but we had the flu at our house so we had her party this past weekend. She is such a delight! Seriously I couldn't ask for a sweeter more determined godly young lady! She has amazing friends who spent the afternoon eating and playing games. She is saving all her birthday money for a snazzy camera that she has her eye on. She is a wonderful photographer and I think she will use that talent in some way in her life!

20 Years!!!!

Oh my do we look so young!

I can hardly believe that 20 years ago I married the most amazing man! We had a beautiful wedding...my mom made my dress...and they gave me a wonderful day that I will never forget. As amazing as that day was...I am so very glad that I am not just going back to that day to think about my wonderful marriage. I am so much more in love with Eric today than I was then. We have laughed, cried and yes, argued together. We have 5 beautiful babies and 2 babies waiting for us with Jesus. I am so blessed to have a man who loves me, our children and most of all Jesus!

We are shipping our children out for a few days and locking ourselves in....which includes turning off the phones and the computers and enjoying a few days of down time together. Our board of directors gave us a wonderful gift for our anniversary so we will hit a few nice restaurants for dinner....with the rest of the money I think we will put tires on my car. I know..I know...that isn't very romantic.......but those of you who know me know how practical I am.....I can't enjoy a trip away knowing that my tires are bald...it just isn't right. I do promise to totally enjoy my few days together!!!

Bill Stafford

We love Bill Stafford! He has been a family friend for more than 20 years. He is a faithful man of God and he means more to me and to Eric than I can express. He was in town last week and he met with Eric and I for an hour...what a sweet encouraging time. We prayed, laughed and were richly blessed. After the last month of waiting on the Lord that meeting was like a breath of fresh air!

Aldi

I wanted to pass along a little tip to you guys. Do you have an Aldi nearby? If you have one anywhere near your travels or your husbands, it is well worth stopping in for certain items....like fresh veggies, milk, and frozen items. Actually I buy lots of things there like the blue corn chips above....yummy...my family loves these! And the price is wonderful!

I am REALLY picky about where I buy my meat......some things I can let slide but not meat. Last Thanksgiving my friend Jennifer at "Smelling Coffee" wrote about buying a spiral sliced ham and how wonderful it was....so I tried it...wonderful. So a few weeks ago I really stepped out and bought 90/10 hamburger meat??? I prepared it with a back-up plan in mind....seriously that is how goofy I am about meat. Oh my goodness it was wonderful and cheaper than anything I have seen around here! I was sure it was a fluke and I did not want to pass along anything to you until I tried it again....last night was our 3rd round of using it...bought at 3 different times. It is so good! I haven't tried any steaks or chicken but I will be! I have tried their frozen fish...great!

I am so sorry to those of you who do not have an Aldi near you??? Back to sick babies!!

Sick Babies

No one really likes to be sick but if you have to be sick....this is the place for it. I have two sick children today. They are propped up in my bed watching TV, drinking Sprite, and eating soup, crackers and Jello. Why is this good.....They all love my bed...they are sure that it is the coziest bed in the whole house.....and while it is a good mattress.....given to us by Eric's parents...I really think it is psychological! It's mama's bed!!!!! Then we have the Sprite....we do not keep soft drinks in our house.....occasionally for a birthday party.......and of course we make a QT run on Friday and they get a fountain drink or a frozen coffee....but other than that I do not buy them. So getting the opportunity to drink them all day from a straw in a large cup right by MY bed....WOOHOO!!! And to top it all off...a TV in the room!!! Another thing we rarely do except for the weekends( a little bit) is watch TV....and certainly not for hours on end! But when you are sick.....hours of TV and food in MY bed at your beckoned call between naps! I should get sick!!! :) Love those Babies!!!

multi tasking

Today was productive! The day started early and went very well. Yesterday I make a huge batch of homemede spaghetti sauce which we had for dinner last night. Today I made 2 large batches of lasagna. I didn't cook them...I just put them together and froze them. It always makes me feel good to know there is a meal ready for another day.... a crazy day! And it really didn't take much time.

Last week I bought a huge bag of apples. We prefer a really crisp sweet apple...Gala or Fuji.....these were very tart and softer than we like to eat but......perfect for baking! Emily and I worked together to peel and slice the 20 pound bag. It didn't take very long and of course we had a great time together. I bought one of these handy dandy apple peelers...which is a great alternative to the expensive kind. We found it on clearance for $3.oo a few years ago and it works great. It doesn't slice them for you but it peels very well....and the kids love to crank it!

We put them in large bowls....sprinkled with a little sugar, cinnamon and a few pats of butter. We threw them in the microwave for 5 min......took them out stirred them and then another 5 min. We had 2 large batches of these....we let them cool and put them in freezer bags to use later for apple crisp.

Yes ,I know that my pictures are all out of whack!!! Our PC is going crazy and I am having to use Eric's lap top.....I can't make it work???? I do not have time to continue to fiddle with it:)

Blessing pictures

I wrote about how we do a special celebration for our kids when they turn 13...my parents also do a special outing with them as well. My daddy arranged a trip to Ft. Benning in south GA where the Army Ranger school is located. We told Marshall that he could choose 1 friend to go with him and he chose his other grandfather! How awesome is that....he wanted to spend time with both of them! So we let him choose another friend and he chose Evan Apon. He loves to spend time with Evan and his father died 10 years ago......Marshall said "all my friends have dads to take them...I think Evan will have the most fun with us." Below is a picture of all of them. Eric's dad, Marshall, Evan, my daddy After watching an amazing show of all the fire power..including tanks....they actually got to shoot the weapons...with real ammo! This is Marshall with a machine gun.

They had a blast! What amazing memories! Thanks Tom and Daddy for taking off work and making this amazing memory with my boy....young man that is!

Hard things!

Above: Eric always has the football players join around players who are new believers and pray for them.
Above: Eric in the gym with some of the guys he mentors...they work out....pray.....do Bible studies...and build relationships!
Above: Eric encouraging a young man after he prayed to receive Christ.
Above: Eric spoke to 80 kids at a local public high school...there are the 19 that raised their hands saying that they wanted to give their hearts to Jesus!


God is moving and so much as Eric speaks! We are so amazed, honored, overwhelmed, excited(I could go on and on with the adjectives) that the Lord has chosen to use us! Many doors are still being opened for Eric to speak and share...especially in public schools...crazy!!!!.....but we have to feed our family! For those of you who do not know me personally.....we have not overextended ourselves financially.....we live in a small home....especially for 7 people....drive "paid for" need repair cars....we are thrifty.....not poor.....just really thrifty!!! We have tried to be in a place financially that would allow us to serve without that burden. And still we do have to have money.

Eric is looking at the possibility of moving into a bi-vocational position......which is fine....he is an amazingly hard worker....but it also means going part time in ministry work! So here are my struggles in no specific order :) ....................Which ministry opportunities do we cut? If God is opening these doors(and we believe that He is) why isn't He supplying for the finances? Are we missing Him somewhere? Is He trying to grow our faith? How much more do we need? Should I get a job?...that is a paying job :) Why can't a wealthy business man just underwrite the whole ministry??? Now that would be an easy fix!! That usually isn't how the Lord works....now we are back t the growing our faith question?? :)

You know...I really do not think it is a faith issue...it is a "knowing" issue. I'll explain...If miraculously....Jesus could come for dinner tonight,,,you know in person....and we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt..."You are right where I want you! Trust me! When you need it it will be there...and not a moment before you need it" I really could walk there! We have been walking there! I can wait expectantly to see how He will provide for every need. It is that nagging doubt......"Does He want us to do something different" "Something more" "Is there a different way????"

This is where I struggle! Does this make me weak in the faith? Feels like it! Does it mean we are growing? Maybe. So I am asking my blog friends to pray for us! Pray for wisdom!!!

Questions 2

What made you decide to home school your children? My motivation for schooling my kids is very different today than it was 12 years ago when Lindsey was 4. Lindsey's birthday is September 24 so she was going to have to wait a year to enter school. I usually tell parents that it is best to wait especially with boys....and I have with some of my other kids.....but Lindsey was so mature for her age....I couldn't imagine having her wait. We decided to home school so that she could start school when we thought it was the right time. I am so glad that we made that decision all those years ago...the fruits are immeasurable!

Who taught you to cook? My mama!!!! She is an amazing cook. She hardly ever uses are a recipe and she makes wonderful home cooked meals all the time. Because she gave me the confidence by giving me a good base....I have learned to throw all sorts of things together. I enjoy cooking very simple meals.....lots of fresh vegetables and fruit with a good grilled, baked or broiled meat!

Do your sisters like to cook? Both of my sisters are good cooks. One enjoys cooking but as a single, working, homeschooling mom......she is really busy. My other sister..HATES to cook! She does it because she has to but she can't stand to be in the kitchen. I seriously do not understand this!!!

Blessings

When our children turn 13 we give them a "Blessing" party. We teach our children from the time that they are old enough to learn about the importance of purity not just sexual but also purity in thought and action. We teach them about the importance of personal integrity and most of all we teach them about how important it is to have an intimate relationship with Jesus! A Blessing party is a symbolic time of putting away childish things and moving into young adulthood. We try to pour wisdom and encouragement into them in a special night.

When Lindsey turned 13 we had her friends and their mothers, along with grand mothers over for a special dinner. Each girl wrote Lindsey a beautiful letter and each mother spoke encouragement and wisdom into her life. Then Lindsey and I took a trip...just the two of us and enjoyed great mother daughter time!

Marshall turned 13 in June and I came across the pictures from it today and I thought I would share it with you. He had a great time and the men who attended were such a blessing to him. He and Eric are going to go this Fall on a hunting trip....pray for Eric...remember the camping trip in the back yard?????

Questions Part 1

I am always open for questions....I love to ask questions!!! You learn a great deal from asking the right questions! I am super transparent and I have sometimes put myself in bad situations because I asked a question that I wished I could take back. Have you ever been there? But over all I am glad I am so curious because I have asked questions that others want to know but would never ask!!! Anyway.....I am asked the most random questions by people sometimes they are thoughtful sometimes they are funny. I am surprised by the number of you guys who email me with questions but do not ask them here! I thought I would answer some over the next few blogging times. I will not attach any names of those who have emailed me a question or asked it in person but feel free to ask a question here if you want to ....I do not promise to know the answer but I will attempt one anyway!!

1) How did you potty train your kids? First......Don't stress!! The short answer is they were naked A LOT!!!! They ran around naked or only in their undies a great deal of the time....It is just easier! We had lots of rewards and claps and showing daddy...He always made a BIG deal but I am sure he was less than thrilled to come home from a long day at work to have to get excited about poop that had been waiting in the potty for him!!!! But he is a great daddy so he played along!!! Some of mine were super easy....some not so easy. A couple of them started going pee quickly but it was a good 6 mos later for the poop. Honestly, there isn't a magic age or time. If you try to push this you will be frustrated about something that will eventually happen.

2) What is the craziest thing you have ever tried raising your kids? Well there are many of these but in light of the first question I will give you this one!! When I was a new first time mother....16 years ago I read an article about potty training an infant. This seems to be a big deal today for some as it is all over the web. I tried doing this very diligently for about a week and then I started asking myself......And why am I doing this?? I think I just wanted to be able to say that I had trained my baby to pee on the potty before she could even hold her head up good???!!!! Nuts! Well if you want to do this go for it and if you did do this....awesome!! However for me it was definitely up there in the "what was I thinking category!" By the way this is not my child...although I must confess that I do have a picture of her! 3) Do you spank? Yes!! Absolutely! We have spanked all of our children although some more than others....some much more than others! Always for direct disobedience and we certainly used other forms of discipline. Just for clarification...this is NOT a beating.....this is not hitting, slapping, humiliating! Do they hurt...of course but they were not beatings. I had a parent tell me that she couldn't very well tell her child not to hit and then turn around and hit them. To which I turned to my then 8 year old son who was playing near by and asked him the question...."Has Mommy or Daddy ever hit you? Ever? Ever?" His answer..."No way" To which I replied to the woman...."I spanked him this morning" You see he did not equate it the same in his head....not in our house anyway. A spanking was controlled and given as a consequence not a reaction to the child in anger. I can't tell you an exact age that we stopped spanking them but I will say around 9 -10......why? Well, because the major direct disobedience things were under control by then! We punish differently for things as they get older. I'll leave that for another question time!

Love those babies!

My New Brother!!

My youngest...Luke has been asking for some time about "asking Jesus into his heart," and he was wonderfully saved over a week ago!! He loves to say...your my mom and my sister!

At our house.....we teach our kids about how much Jesus loves them from the first time we lay eyes on them....we pray for their salvation from the time we know we are pregnant. I can remember holding my babies in my arms when they were hours old and telling them...."I love you so much but Jesus loves you more and He laid His life down for you" Of course I do not think they know what in the world I was talking about, but I wanted to start their time with me out by sharing about Jesus. So we are always talking about Jesus and how much He loves us and how He wants a personal relationship with each of us but we do not ask our children if they want to ask Jesus into their heart...why??? I'm glad you asked! :)

I you ask most 2 year-olds who have heard a Bible story....if they want Jesus to live in their hearts they will tell you yes... so we wait for them to start asking questions. It has been the same with all five of our kids.....at different ages (4,5,6,6,&7) they have started asking more personal questions. We love that process!! For our children...that process has lasted from 3 to 8 months, and it is so amazing to watch as the Holy Spirit begins to draw them. They ask more personal questions...more thoughtful questions. Sometime I will have to write about each of them and what a blessing that process was with them. It was interesting how they came with such different questions and a different thought process. YOu know the Lord tells us to bring up our children in the way they should go...or in their bend.....and I believe that He deals with us in the same manner. My kids had such different questions it was evident that He was working on their hearts in "their bend"......the Lord is so amazing!

So he is my "son and my brother"!!!!

Yep..I'm still here!

My sister invited us to join her at the beach. What a blessing! A free stay at the beach!!! WooHoo!! I took the youngest three and enjoyed 5 days right on the ocean! Here are a few pictures from the fun!
Emily....little sweetie!

Luke....little funny man!
This is a castle that Benjamin and I built...it was much more impressive in person!

The beach and a private pool.... a girl could get spoiled!