God's fingerprints in my life.

I am so blessed by each one of these precious students. God has used them to make a difference in my life...to teach me and to bring joy into my life right now! Each of them make a fingerprint into my path...the path God's laid before me. Thank you so much for every prayer. The students are so wonderful, but also go through a whole lot everyday. Here's a few pictures of our Fall time together:

If they have 5 good days in a row, they get a High Five Award!!!
We have a section for compliments. They can write compliments for each other or me, and I can write compliments to them :)
All of my beautiful and silly kiddos :0) It was picture day, so we thought it was the perfect time for a class picture!

Fall Fun Facts!! Everyone wrote a Fun Fact that they've learned the first 6 weeks of school.

Thanks for you prayers and encouragement! This has been the most exciting and unpredictable first year of teaching...I could have never dreamed of this, but I think that's exactly why God gave it to me :)

Love, Rebekah

P.S. What ever happened to bringing your teacher an apple???!!! This is a "gift" from one of the students!

October Happenings :)

So many blessings have come this month. A huge blessing came October 20th at 3pm when we welcomed a beautiful little niece into the world! We are so happy that baby Caroline and Erin are doing well and already home :)

Here are some photos of what's been happening here!
We spent the whole day Saturday working outside...it was too beautiful of a day to waste :) We are now ready for the trick-or-treaters :0)
After a fun hayride we went to the pumpkin patch and picked the best one there!! We named him "Marvin" :0)

We celebrated out 11 months with a nice dinner with our China and Crystal from the wedding. We fall more in love everyday and are so grateful for God's example of true love through his son Jesus Christ.
NO, I didn't give him a bruise :) This is a picture from a mock exercise that the men did a week ago. They each got different fake "accidents" to play out during the exercise. I was not expecting this when he got home, so needless to say, I was pretty surprised!!

We love you all so much and hope you are enjoying this wonderful Season!!
Love, R & J

Decorating for Fall is so much fun!! Kira was my 'big helper'. It's even more exciting when it actually FEELS like Fall! The past week it's been in the 50's-70's and we're loving it!! Autumn is such a beautiful way to see God's creation! This Fall is an important time for us, as Justin begins Pilot Training, Rebekah gets her ESL (English as a Second Language) Teaching Certification, and we welcome another precious niece!!

Love you all,
J & R (and Kira)

Cardboard Testimony

Our home church back in South Carolina recently had an amazing service where they did something called Cardboard Testimonies. The idea is to simply think of the state of your life before Christ and your life after you found Christ. It was such a touching experience for Justin and me, while we watched it on video. I attached the link to the video. Please take 8 minutes to watch this video that Glorifies God!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9wittDy_UI

Rebekah's Cardboard testimony:
Was running for 2 years from where God wanted me to be. Now, am finding complete joy in HIS will, while teaching in Del Rio and happily married with my soulmate, and learning to be a military wife.

Justin's Cardboard testimony:
Told by many that I couldn't do it and wouldn't accomplish much. Now, through Christ and the love of my wife, accomplishing more than I ever thought was possible.

So thankful that our God never gives up! He gave us family, friends, and each other...all people who have been used as instruments in our lives to show us different attributes of our loving father. Please feel free to post your cardboard testimony to this story :) It's so neat to see how LIVING and ACTIVE our God is!!!

Love you all!
J & R

San Antonio was AWESOME :)

We enjoyed a wonderful visit to San Antonio!! We have to admit, it was nice to get away for a while from Del Rio :) Here's some fun pictures!
The Zoo was HUGE!! We were there for more than 4hours! It was really neat...we love animals :)
We spent the rest of the day at the river walk and ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. It's one of the neatest restaurants we've ever been to!


We had a great tour of the Alamo and of course got some genuine cowboy boots :0)

One positive about Military life is all the new places we'll get to see and explore together!

Love you all!
R & J

P.S. Thanks for all the sweet Birthday wishes, cards, and gifts :) Rebekah had a wonderful day!

My Soul is Smiling :)

A real genuine smile has to be one of the best feelings in the world. Not a fake one, but one that comes from a soul that is overflowing from Joy that is coming from somewhere greater than ourselves. It's a gift that God gives us and some days it comes unexpectedly and I just stop and think "Where is this coming from?" Today as I was coming home I heard a song that just put words to the feelings I'm describing. Natalie Grant is one of my favorite artists and I love her new song! Anyway, I hope this finds you in a moment where you can stop and listen to the song attached. Our God is just too Loving to not talk about!! Some days are deserts and some days are mountain tops, but today I thank God for the gift of a Mountain Top experience :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRG9BSYng0A

P.S. Please take a minute to pray for one of my students who was taken to a shelter last week with his 5 siblings. It has been horribly difficult for the Grandmother to deal with and I met with her today and her heart is completely broken. Thankfully she's a believer in the power of prayer! Thanks for joining us in this battle. It was truly a mistake that I hope the State will correct for her and for these 6 precious children.

Thank you!!! And I pray God will bless you all with a WONDERFUL weekend as the Fall season approaches! I can hardly contain the excitement...I just love this season :)

Love, Rebekah (and Justin)

Our new addition :)

Introducing sweet Kira, our new lab/German Shepard Dogie!