Old Baker Farm-Harpersville, AL

On Saturday we joined the Larson family at Old Baker Farm. For those who don't know the Larson's-John is the worship pastor at our church. Additionally, he grew up in Colorado Springs with Todd and has known the Helzer's for many years.  The rest of the family includes his wife Debbie and three kids; Garrett, Selah, and Josiah. John was the pastor who did our per-marital counseling, and Debbie has become my mentor. We love this family, and enjoyed spending a day with them on the farm! It's been tradition for them to go to the farm every Fall. The farm is open to the public on weekends. The farm includes cotton, corn, and pumpkins fields. In addition, they have a barn where kids can pet the animals, hay rides out to the pumpkin field where you can pick out your pumpkin, live bluegrass/country music, haystack and corn maze, and lastly, a Civil War reenactment! There was plenty to do, and we all had a good time!

Our pumpkins!

The cotton fields

Todd & John climbing the haystacks with the kids!

Garrett, Selah, & Josiah in the middle (two blonds and brunette)

Selah & Todd- Selah asked the whole time to be on Todd's back!

Live bluegrass band

Civil War reenactment

4th of July in Heiberger, AL

Heiberger is a small country town where our friend Mark Pettus has a rich family history.  His ancestors opened the first Post Office in Heiberger, shortly after 1776.  The house next to the Post Office has been standing over 150 years and has always been owned by his family.  It's tradition that every 4th of July his extended family and dear friends celebrate at the house. The day kicks off with a potluck at high noon, which includes many gallons of sweet tea! After lunch everyone gathers together on the porch to have a singin'.  Right after that there is a softball game with kids and adults...its tradition that the kids never get out.  Then everyone packs into the back of a pickup and drives down to the river to swim and hangout.

We had so much fun and are going back next year! It was the most patriotic 4th I've ever had. There was so much history and tradition that surrounded us all day. ENJOY THE PICTURES from the day!!!

Heiberger House

The front porch

Our dear friends Tracie & Lori

Tradition to tap holes in the cap of the coke

All the songs for the singin'

singin'

singin'

Softball game

Todd hit it!

Milo's Sweet Tea!

The Post Office just down the road

Going on country roads to the river

Riding in the back of the pickup...so much fun!

The Cahaba River

Todd opened up a fresh water mussel!

MOTION TOUR ENGLAND 2011

Cheers!

We are back in the USA!  We've been catching up on sleep, and continue to readjust to the time difference. Todd and I have been going to bed around 8pm and waking up at 5am.  By the end of the week we are hoping our sleep schedules will be back to "normal."

England was incredible! Our hearts were changed for the better, and God stretched us to great lengths. It was my first time leading on missions, but with God's strength he worked everything out even though there were stressful moments.

Our team: Team Taimes (named by the students) were awesome! We had a great group of students who did an amazing job serving the whole trip. We were busy everyday delivering fliers, bagging groceries, doing lawn work, and car washes to receive donations for Betel of Britain. The girls lived with the women of Betel in their house, and the men at the men's house. Being in their homes gave us the chance develop relationships and hear testimonies of what God has done in their lives. The people of Betel have been transformed by God. Many have been healed from addictions, and are being discipled as they grow in their new relationship with the Lord.  It was hard to say goodbye to them, but thankful we will see them again one day :)

During our time in Englad we had a team day where we went to tour Warwick Castle, and Stratford upon Avon where Shakespeare's house is. We really enjoyed these places, they were beautiful and full of history. On our last day we toured London. We took the Underground into the city and visited Big Ben, Thames River, The London Eye, Westminster Abby, and Buckingham Palace. In addition, Todd went with some of our team to Abbey Road where the Beatles recorded, and where the famous crosswalk picture was taken.

Here are the links to our pictures: (copy and paste to browser)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.748056786462.2253030.42108074&l=e79b7706a5

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.748577068812.2253239.42108074&l=6a65f3f0c2

Thank you for praying and supporting us!

AL Tornadoes 4.27.11

Last Wednesday, Alabama was hit by 11 tornadoes.  After the enormous storm system passed through, it then made its way into Georgia up into North Carolina.  Alabama saw the worst of it. There are many neighborhoods and cities left with only debris. It is devastating, but in the midst of it all God is proving himself to be provider, Prince of Peace, and love everlasting. The community here is strong, and our church is serving in great capacities. Today, Todd and I had the privilege to go and help, pray, and love on the people of Concord, AL.  When we first arrived we were greeted by the National Guard and had to pass a checkpoint before entering.  It felt as if we were in a foreign country.  Its incomprehensible the power of the storm. Here are pictures of the neighborhoods we were in...

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CRUISE

WOW!!! What an incredible vacation & 1 year anniversary celebration! We are so glad we could share our first cruise experience with Brad and Rachel Helzer.

Carnival was the cruise line and Liberty was the name of our ship. We departed out of The Port of Miami after a 13 hour drive from Birmingham.  For Brad & Rachel about 36 hours total since they drove all the way from CO. We all were astonished at the size of the ship...truly a city on the sea. The ship was well kept and the staff were very kind.  We dined each night in the Silver Olympian dining room. The serving staff were very fun and entertaining. They sang and danced on a couple different occasions.  Most of the crew including the captain were from different countries. We only saw one crew member from the states (Louisiana). Everyone else we saw were from Indonesia, India, Peru, Croatia, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and Romania.

We missed our first port of call in the Bahamas because a young lady died on the ship (reason unknown to us). The captain made the decision to turn the ship back to Miami to drop off the woman and her family.  We were then at sea for two days until we arrived at St. Thomas- what was planned to be our 2nd port of call. 

St. Thomas was where Brad and Rachel spent their honeymoon almost 3 years ago. It was special for them to be back...lots of memories ;)  Todd and I were in awe of the islands beauty. This was our first tropical encounter...I squealed in happiness when I caught my first glimpse of the water.  We rented scooters and spent the day exploring the whole island!  Our first stop was Coki Beach. Here Todd and I snorkeled for the first time. Todd was a little hesitant at first, but he ended up loving it and being out in the water longer than all of us. Our next stop was Magens Bay-voted in the top 10 beaches. It was breathtaking indeed! However, more touristy than Coki Beach. We finished the day with dinner at a local grill that Brad & Rachel ate at during their honeymoon. It was sad to leave the island. St. Thomas was definitely our favorite for touring and the beaches were the most beautiful. We hope to return one day!

San Juan, Puerto Rico was our next stop. This was my least favorite of our three ports. simply beacause I would have rather been on beach. However, I did appreciate the rich history of Puerto Rico's capital, and the architecture of the buildings and cobblestone roads. There was a lot of beauty in the city and the San Cristobal Fort we toured.  The history of San Cristobal was incredible. It had endured many enemies since the 1500's. In both World Wars the United States used it as a lookout for the enemy. Our time in San Juan was short, but enough time in my opinion :)

Grand Turk was our final port. Grand Turk is a flat small island. You can easily see from one end to the other. The beach was nice, but crowded. Shopping was good. I ended up getting the perfume: Burberry Brit (no tax!).  We went on a catamaran & snorkeling excursion to end our time on the island. The excursion was so much fun! We snorkeled off the boat in 30 ft. deep water right above the Grand Turk coral reef. On the opposite side of the coral reef the water dropped about 6,000 ft. Here we saw many colorful fish, and the water was the most incredible blue. One of the guides scuba dove and filmed us from below. Soon we will be receiving the video in the mail! Grand Turk was our favorite island for snorkeling!

I posted all our PICTURES on my facebook. You can go to this link to check them out!

 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2240788&id=42108074&l=5fd159f265


We are thankful for the opportunity we had to visit these islands.  It was a much needed vacation and we look forward to planning our next...we are thinking snorkeling/scuba may have to be incorporated! For now its back to reality...

Love and miss you all,

Todd & Amy

Flower Bed

This week my own personal project was to revamp our flower bed.  Originally, the bed was filled with half dead bushes and the soil had rocks and debris throughout.   I had a lot of fun choosing perennials and ground cover at Home Depot.  I may have turned into a little bit of a green thumb :-) I enjoyed the time outside and the outcome!

Springtime has officially begun in AL. Flowers are blooming and trees and grass are turning green again. The weather has been 65-70 most days for the past two weeks.  I love it! This does however mean we are getting closer to 90 degree weather with 90% humidity sooner than later :(

Homemade Headboard

Last week we were inspired by our friend Evan. She had the great idea to create a headboard. Over the weekend we got all the materials and built one!...Well actually, Todd did the building and I assisted. I also had fun choosing the fabric and buttons.  Like all our projects - this one took much longer than we projected, but it's done now and we have the pleasure of resting against it at this very moment :-)

Poker Night

Todd ordered the "real deal" in poker chips, and they came in just a few days ago. So,  last night he had a handful of friends over to play poker, of course! Included in the bunch was Christian & Mandy and there kids Shawn, and baby Victoria. Shawn (2 yrs. old) got in on the game, and loved watching the big boys play.  You will be delighted to know that the winner for the evening was...Mr. Todd Helzer!!!

SNOW

Today we woke up to snow! This winter in Alabama we've experienced snow on four accounts, including a white Christmas. Natives here instantly become anxious and excited when they hear that snow is in the forecast. Businesses shut down with just the inkling of flurries, and schools have even closed for 2-3 days with less than 1'' on the ground. We just laugh and think "Alabama grow a pair!" Never the less, snow is beautiful no matter how much. These pictures were taken with my iphone on my drive to work.

The Civil Wars

We were excited to see them live for the second time. Our first dance was to "Poison & Wine"...sounds like a terrible title, BUT the meaning is about always choosing to love each other even in the difficult times. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you THE CIVIL WARS: