Uganda and my heart....

Last Sunday, I walked through "Step into Africa" with my sunday school class. It was an exhibit hosted at SMU by WorldVision. Check it out here: WorldVisionExperience

I had already signed up to volunteer at it the following weekend (today), but was excited to get to experience it early. You basically go through the life a child in Africa. It is a real child and you have an audio player that talks you through it all. It is heart breaking and really opens your eyes to the needs in your world. At the end you get a chance to "adopt" a child through Worldvision. I left that day with a new "daughter"... meet Grace....

Grace is 9 years old and lives in Uganda. Her birthday is the day before mine! She is adorable. I make a monthly payment that helps to make sure Grace has food, shelter, education, and medical needs. WorldVision is an amazing organization. So many of us are blessed with so much, and there are so many out there who need our help. If you are interested in adopting a child, visit WorldVision. Your donation will go so far!

After going through the experience last Sunday and "adopting" Grace, my heart just felt like it was in Uganda. Then on Monday I stumbled across this girl's blog: Katie. Katie is a girl who is from Tennessee, but moved to Uganda a few years ago. She is close to my age and has been there working for God ever since. She has adopted 14 girls and helped hundreds of others. Her story is so unique, and it captured my heart. Go read her blog- it will be worth every minute.

Now, I'm at a point where a part of my heart is in Africa. I've never even been to Uganda, but I want to be there. It will be hard work and draining work and depressing work- but I want to go. God wants me to go. I dont know when the opportunity will arise. I only ask that you pray for me- that God will open a door for me to go and that when that time comes, I will still be willing to go. And until then... pray for the children of Uganda. They face more heartache and pain everyday then most of us will ever come close to experiencing in our lifetimes.

God is good!

So.... there is some really exciting news to share (not mine, but a friend's), but I've been sworn to secrecy! BUT... for those of you who are doubters.... GOD STILL ANSWERS PRAYERS! And I can't wait to share the story in a few weeks!!! :) God is so good!

Spring Break 2KX

What a crazy spring break! I spent most of the week from a beach chair looking at this....

It was so nice to get away to Florida for a week! It was nice to be a complete beach bum and lay around (in the heat!) for an entire week. It was exactly what I needed! I loved seeing my family and spending time with friends.

Sarah joined the Harwood clan on the trip, and she fit in rather nicely! We had so much fun! I am so blessed to have met Sarah and become friends with her. PCB will never be the same now that we've been there together! ha...

I also got to see some other dear friends while at the beach. For starters, I got to see my dear friend Christopher! He was staying in Destin but came over to PCB for a day to hang with us. The 6th floor kept us entertained (hahaha!) and I was so glad to get to see him! I also got to spend an evening with my dear friend Haley, but unfortunately we didn't take a picture together. I also got to grab dinner with one of my best friends from highschool, Pair! It was so great to see her. It blesses me in so many ways when we get to catch up! I was so thankful to get to see some old friends!

And I ended the week looking at this....

Yes, that's right. It snowed AGAIN in Dallas. Who would have thought that I'd move to Texas and experience more snow in one year than I ever did in Alabama? It was beautiful this morning, but I'm SO tired of being COLD! I want to go back to the beach where it was WARM! Is it summer yet???

(answer: no! 10 more weeks until that! :) )

TAKS for 5th grade is in 11 school days. While I'm not ready to go back tomorrow (literally- I haven't done my lesson plans or anything!), I am ready to get these next three weeks over and done with! Dad and Chase are coming to Austin for Easter, so I look forward to spending family time then. I'm going to end with a picture of what Julio did all of break, and what we are about to end this break with together!

(And NO... that is not my Texas blanket. This was taken when Ashley and Patrick were dog sitting this week! :) )

Spring Break Down in Panama...

In five days I will be headed to the beautiful sunny shores of Florida with Holly and Sarah. We will be meeting our dad, brother, and cousin for a few days in the SUN! (hopefully!) I have purchased bathing suits, skirts, and dresses and just keeping my fingers crossed that it will be warm enough to actually wear them! I could not be more excited about this week of break! I am also excited because I will get to see some 'bama friends who will also be spending their spring break there! I get to see Haley, Chris, Cindy, and who knows who else. I am so excited... this is a much needed break! This spring break will be nowhere near as crazy as last spring break, but still tons of fun! I CANT WAIT!