Easter Baskets For Sale

Hey Friends-
I have started a little shop on ETSY this link will take you to my shop:
My Easter Baskets are so fun you can pick a basket color: Purple, Lime, or Blue, then pick the design with lots of colors to choose from. I can pretty much customize anything you like!

CHECK IT OUT: www.lateedadesignsshop.etsy.com

One Fish Two Fish Three Fish Ten Fish

Thursday I had such a bad day at work so Derric and I decided to go do something fun together to take my mind off of things! Boy did we ever, we went fishing on the lake and we caught a ton of fish in a little over an hour. I caught 6 catfish 2 perch and let 1 more catfish eat my hook and break the line! Derric caught 5 catfish 4 catfish and a turtle. I always catch more because he has to take the fish off the hook and put them on the stringer by the time he does this I already have another fish on his pole! Haha! We had so much fun!!



So this is how the story went... the fishing are biting like crazy as soon as I put the chicken liver in the water on my hook I am getting bites so... since I don't do anything but bait my line and catch them......

Derric then has to take them off the line because I don't even know how... and do not want to get stung!! Ouch! In the mean while I have managed to grab his rod and reel and catch another one!

Then he has to put them on the stringer in the water because I am catching sooo many we might as well have a fish fry... right!?


I am just seriously reeling them in one after another, and by this time I am thinking it might not even be my pink rod and reel that is so lucky, maybe I am just that good (haha)!



By this point I am kissing the little perch and throwing them back by myself, big step to even touch them at this point!!

Derric caught a few here in there when he wasn't busy working.. he caught a turtle!!



We had sooo much fun, what a great way to get over a bad day!

A Little Love at the Bergeron House

We had so much fun Sunday night at the Bergeron House! It was long overdue to spend time with all of our friends. We played a little Cranium and Catch Phrase... and had a wonderful potluck dinner action that everyone contributed to.


I made my famous Sopapilla Cheesecake which is always a hit.....

Ingredients
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1 stick margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions
1. Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan.
2. Flatten.
3. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract.
4. Spread over the crescent rolls.
5. Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
6. Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.




We played guys against girls and the girls won Cranium with a little help from Whitney Dunn(left).


Troy and Rachel brought their sweet baby boy Noah.


Derric tried to play daddy he did good.


And you can't leave the Bergeron house without a little lovin from my boyfriend BLAKE (he was our ring bearer).


Julie also announce she's pregnant..... YEA JULIE, we are soooo excited for your family.

The Sweetest Wedding Ever

Derric and I went to Trudi and Lance Skinner's wedding today! They had the sweetest ceremony we have ever been to, I actually cried. After Trudi walked down the aisle, Lance had her sit in a chair as the pastor read the story in the bible of the meaning of feet washing. Back in the day when someone would wash someone else feet is was a symbol of humility and love. Not only was it the lowest thing you could do, it was a symbol of putting someone before yourself. After Lance was done with Trudi, he sat in the chair and she washed his feet. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed. Awwwwwwww! I will post pictures from the wedding soon.

Rain Rain Go Away

Levi was so sad about the rain yesterday that I decided he needed to prance around in his little rain slicker! He hates to go out in the rain and get his paws wet. I really need to find him some wellies!! If you know of any that would match, let me know...

Little Blessings and Clay Walker too!

Derric and I have been praying for some friends close in Montgomery around our age. So, in Sunday School this super cute couple walk in and I sat by them , Derric was at home with the Flu, so after class I invited them to our small group and they came. But.... I wasn't able to make it, so I found their number through the leader and left them a message to try to get together with them. After our first small group that we both attended we stayed outside and talked well over an hour. After talking to them we found out that they not only do they live in the next neighborhood from us but...we have sooooo much in common and we even knew several of the same people. They are such a blessing and are so close by our home, we look forward to a great friendship with them. Last Thursday night they invited us to go see Clay Walker,and of course we found shopping while we were there! Also we had them over for dinner this week, Derric made a mean steak and zuchinni and squash on the pit and I did the sweets. I made spring time sugar cookies and a sopapilla cheesecake! Beth and Robert helped us decorate the cookies. Can you pick out which one Derric made?

We also played Partini Derric and my new favorite group game!

D NOW

Okay so this is a little late.... but a few weeks back Derric and I helped out with Discipleship Now Weekend at church. We had a wonderful time with the youth kids. We met lots of new faces and got to know some that we knew even better than before! It was a super weekend the theme was TRANSFORMED. It was so neat to see all the needs of these youth, they need are prayers in a big way. The things that they have to go through and the temptations they have are faced with are completly differnet since I went to school. We had a wonderful time meeting as a group and then playing super fun games with all the other teams!

Derric was the leader for 9th grade boys and I was the leader for the 10th grade girls. But we were both on the yellow team which was awesome becuase we got to play all the games together!


The girls got really decked out for the game day, I had no idea it was such a big deal or I would have brought a ton of stuff. I was relayed my info about buying a yellow shirt from a boy go figure. So all I bring is a lightweight zip up hoodie these girls have spent days making t shirts and the whole nine yards, they have face paint and car chalk, boas and smiley face bubbles, these girls were so serious!



Since I had sooo many girls, they put Suzanne and I together to lead the girls, she is a doll and a future bride of Josh Bramlett the Junior High Youth Pastor. They are getting married this fall, so sweet!



As soon as we got to the fields the girls bust out in a circle and start to stretch, I am just trying to keep up thinking "what the crap did I get myself signed up for", I mean this must be super intense huh?



So I am felling pretty old here so being in yellow spirit and all I bust out with a yellow Vitamin Water with energy because at this point we are going to need it.



Derric on the other hand is in BEAST MODE, he is going crazy, jumping all around, all over the place. Yelling crazy stuff about the yellow team riding a bus to china town. I have no clue what element he was in but it was not quite the same as mine. Don't get me wrong I totally lead the bus of the yellow team chanting "We don't need no money honey all we need is is pride.. so get on the yellow bus and ride, ride ride." So Derric come up with ride the bus down town to china town? I was like what where did that come from? He was having a blast!



Example of what I am talking about, everyone is calm but Derric is jumping up and down with pudding mustache from the realy race he just played, and he doesn't even plan on taking it off! He is a mess.



Relay race action.... Heidi and Amy



Laura goes nuts on some pudding using her hands as a spoon!



This guy was really going fast!



Smashball was a lot of fun. It is a game in a pit where you can't let hte ball hit anywhere below your knee or you are out. You also would get out if the ball wsa hit outside of the pit. Derric had a blast with this game. I persoanlly like the Ulitmate Fandango game!

It was all so much fun we were totally blessed by the speaker and AfterEdmund the band. That is where we got connected with Compassion International. We are so excited about that. Overall super great weekend!

A Chance to Touch Lives

I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to share an amazing opportunity that Derric and I were given this weekend. We helped out with our church youth group's Discipleship Now weekend where we had a ton of fun playing games, getting into His word, and worshiping with After Edmund a band from Georgia. (I know this email is long but please read what I have to say it's important).

At the concert they had a table of pictures of precious little children from all over the world that need sponsors. Many have horrible means of drinking water and have sores all over their bodies due to the contamination of this water. Many live in areas with great crime and are abused, many live in HIV/AIDS infected areas. I will have to be honest here.... I have seen these commercials on TV and thought that money is not going to those kids well... it is read below.

We watched a video (at the bottom of the page) and after it was over a 16 year old girl from our youth group asked if she could speak, she got up on stage and told us how life changing this was for her. Last year she was at a similar event where Compassion International was there and she talked about how she felt lead to adopt a child. She had no job and was not even old enough to get one, but she felt like she was supposed to do this. So she adopted a little girl and made a means to save her money from her parents that she got for the weekends and stayed home one weekend a month to afford her sponsorship. It is 32.00 a month, which was for her dinner and a movie. This provides a child clean water, food, and christian schooling so that they can learn to read, write and learn about Jesus. She said as soon as she adopted this child she received a letter thanking her for the adoption and how much this meant to the entire family, this brought tears to her eyes knowing what she had done had made such an impact. The letters kept coming... she would also receive pictures the little girl drew for her and they both wrote to each other all the time. This 16 year old girl plans to visit her when she turns 18, she says it has been the best investment she has ever made and is truly rewarding.
That touched me in such a way, how often do we spend thirty-two dollars and have nothing to show for it? Literally how much does 32.00 get you here in the United States?

We were so moved by this we decided to sponsor a child, she is a little girl from Rwanda Africa, she lives in an HIV/AIDS infected area. She is eight years old and her name is Irakoze Uwamurera (her picture is above). Her birthday is Oct 27, 2001, she makes her home with her mother. Carrying water and helping her mother in the kitchen are her household duties. Her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. Uwamurera has two other siblings that live with them. She enjoys playing dolls, jumping rope, and playing ball games. In Kindergarten she was an average student and she likes to attend church. Most of the homes in the area consist of dirt floors, mud walls, and tin roofs. The primary ethnic group is Banyarwanda and the commonly spoken language is Kinyarwanda. They typically eat maize, beans, bananas, cassava, beef, rice and potatoes. Common health problem in the area is malaria and worms. Most adults are unemployed but some work making approx, 5.00 per month (wow). This community needs affordable secondary education. The Compassion sponsorship allows the staff of Restortations Taba Student Center to provide bible teaching, health screening nutritious food, hygiene and nutrition education, games, and more.

We are so excited to write her the first letter, and send to her a bible. Please pray for Uwamurera your love and prayers will help her to receive the assistance she needs to grow and develop.I didn't write this to be showy or boastful, I did it so that I could share with you how something so small can make a difference in somone else's life. What a little bit is to us is so much more than we could imagine to them. I encourage you to sponsor a child today and touch a child's life there are thousands to be sponsored. You can go online at http://www.compassion.com/ you can find a child with the same birthday as you or your child or maybe find a child who has similar interest as you. Each child's information is very informative. The bible says ....and whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. Matthew 18:5

This is the video we saw that completley touched our hearts, please watch it. It is on my sidebar
I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to share an amazing opportunity that Derric and I were given this weekend. We helped out with our church youth group's Discipleship Now weekend where we had a ton of fun playing games, getting into His word, and worshiping with After Edmund a band from Georgia. (I know this email is long but please read what I have to say it's important). At the concert they had a table of pictures of precious little children from all over the world that need sponsors. Many have horrible means of drinking water and have sores all over their bodies due to the contamination of this water. Many live in areas with great crime and are abused, many live in HIV/AIDS infected areas. I will have to be honest here.... I have seen these commercials on TV and thought that money is not going to those kids well... it is read below. We watched a video (the link is listed at the bottom of the page) and after it was over a 16 year old girl from our youth group asked if she could speak, she got up on stage and told us how life changing this was for her. Last year she was at a similar event where Compassion International was there and she talked about how she felt lead to adopt a child. She had no job and was not even old enough to get one, but she felt like she was supposed to do this. So she adopted a little girl and made a means to save her money from her parents that she got for the weekends and stayed home one weekend a month to afford her sponsorship. It is 32.00 a month, which was for her dinner and a movie. This provides a child clean water, food, and christian schooling so that they can learn to read, write and learn about Jesus. She said as soon as she adopted this child she received a letter thanking her for the adoption and how much this meant to the entire family, this brought tears to her eyes knowing what she had done had made such an impact. The letters kept coming... she would also receive pictures the little girl drew for her and they both wrote to each other all the time. This 16 year old girl plans to visit her when she turns 18, she says it has been the best investment she has ever made and is truly rewarding.
That touched me in such a way, how often do we spend thirty-two dollars and have nothing to show for it? Literally how much does 32.00 get you here in the United States? We were so moved by this we decided to sponsor a child, she is a little girl from Rwanda Africa, she lives in an HIV/AIDS infected area. She is eight years old and her name is Irakoze Uwamurera (her picture is attached). Her birthday is Oct 27, 2001, she makes her home with her mother. Carrying water and helping her mother in the kitchen are her household duties. Her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. Uwamurera has two other siblings that live with them. She enjoys playing dolls, jumping rope, and playing ball games. In Kindergarten she was an average student and she likes to attend church. Most of the homes in the area consist of dirt floors, mud walls, and tin roofs. The primary ethnic group is Banyarwanda and the commonly spoken language is Kinyarwanda. They typically eat maize, beans, bananas, cassava, beef, rice and potatoes. Common health problem in the area is malaria and worms. Most adults are unemployed but some work making approx, 5.00 per month (wow). This community needs affordable secondary education. The Compassion sponsorship allows the staff of Restortations Taba Student Center to provide bible teaching, health screening nutritious food, hygiene and nutrition education, games, and more. We are so excited to write her the first letter, and send to her a bible. Please pray for Uwamurera your love and prayers will help her to receive the assistance she needs to grow and develop.

I didn't write this email to be showy or boastful, I did it so that I could share with you how something so small can make a difference in somone else's life. What a little bit is to us is so much more than we could imagine to them. I encourage you to sponsor a child today and touch a child's life there are thousands to be sponsored. You can go online at www.compassion.com you can find a child with the same birthday as you or your child or maybe find a child who has similar interest as you. Each child's information is very informative.

The bible says ....and whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me. Matthew 18:5

This is the video we saw that completley touched our hearts, please watch it.

A Sweet Story....

Derric and I just sponsered a child this weekend (will post all info later)at D-NOW, so I was browsing around the Compassion website and found this story that touched my heart..... This is from another family who sponsered a Compassion child.




When I was in India last month, I met the boy I sponsor, Sarath. I had been hoping and praying to meet him, and I just happened to be taking a work trip to India.

I was a bit nervous. Don’t tell, but I’m not great with kids. I know I work at Compassion, but I’m a writer–more natural with a keyboard than with real, live people, let alone children who can smell fear. So I wasn’t sure how this was going to go.

The day I visited his village outside Chennai was Pongal, a festival in the state of Tamil Nadu. Along the way, we saw bright sand drawings outside every doorway and cows adorned with flower garlands for the holiday. I had put on my nicest salwar kameez, vainly worrying he would think I was some weird-looking old white lady.

We arrived in Sarath’s neighbhorhood, and I was so happy to see that it was a relatively nice, pleasant place. There was space between the homes, his family had their own bathroom and even a little courtyard to play in and wash dishes.

Sarath was waiting outside. I’d like to say we rushed toward each other and hugged and cried. We didn’t. (I learned on my trip that Indian children don’t seem to be as into hugging as other cultures are.)

We shook hands and he whispered something in my ear. He was very sweet. He was so shy that during the entirety of my visit, he only whispered a couple of short phrases in my ear, so quietly I couldn’t tell if they were in English or Tamil.

We stepped inside and I met his mother, two lovely sisters, aunt, and cousin, who all share the same little room for their home.




On their shelf was a picture of my husband and I. His mother told me that he likes to call us “Mommy” and “Daddy,” even though the project taught him to call us Auntie and Uncle. Sarath tells his mom that even if she dies, he knows he’ll be OK because there’s someone else who cares about him.

Sarath’s mom and aunt inherited their parents’ home, and they proudly showed me their home, the floor all six of them sleep on, where they cook in a tiny side room, and the wall they built to keep out the rain with a family gift we had sent. (Who knew a small family gift could build a wall?)

We asked all the kids what they wanted to do when they were older. Sarath’s adorable little cousin said she wanted to be a doctor, and the family all laughed at her pluck. She’s sponsored too, but her sponsors have never written. She feels bad each time Sarath gets a letter or gift from us. Sarath’s sisters stole my heart. Their eyes were eager and bright, even though they were so shy and quiet.

I gave Sarath his backpack with candy, a shirt, a soccer ball, and frisbee in it, and we began to speak the international language of sports, playing frisbee in the courtyard. We couldn’t share any words, but we’d laugh as one of us would miss it, or as I’d get accidentaly tangled in my Indian shawl.

After several hours of asking questions, playing frisbee, and taking pictures, it was time to go. We walked back through the alleys and gathered a crew of curious young boys and a cow on our way. Before getting on the van, I gave Sarath an awkward little side hug (that I hoped was appropriate for India). He asked me through whispered translation to pray for him every day. He repeated his request several times. Sarath promised he would be praying for us.

Seeing Sarath and hugging him (kind of) and listening to his whispered sentences showed me how real our relationship is. The letters and pictures I send off to a faraway land end up in a real home, propped on a real shelf. The words are read and believed by a young boy who knows that someone cares about him and is secure in that. And that’s what I learned in India.