Haiti Update

It has been a long couple of days, but we are happily exhausted after learning that Brent and Mike were able to transport all the babies from the orphanage to a safe location. They have some supplies (one of the staffers crawled back into the Creche and retrieved some food supplies and a matress for the little ones to sleep on) and have shelter for the first time in a couple of days.

Mike has posted his thoughts on their adoption website at: www.mikeandmissy.wordpress.com

The Lord continues to do a great work in the midst of chaos and destruction. He used our ministry - and ABC News - to bring peace and joy to a family from Oregon who are adopting some of the children from the Creche. ABC was able to Skype Brent and the children to the family in Oregon, so they could see them and know they were alive and well. We were thrilled to see Brent. Here's the story:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=9567433

We were able to actually skype for a few minutes with Katie and Tia as well. There were smiles all around the office.

Thank you to all the organizations who are lending assistance to this ravaged country. We are still accepting donations of medical supplies, etc. to be shipped down there. You can find a list of items we are collecting by going to the website: http://www.brentgambrell.com/

You can also make donations through any Regions Bank. Simply ask to donate to the BGM Haiti Relief Fund. Be assured that 100 percent of every dime received will be going to relief efforts. BGM will not keep a dime for itself!!

There are a couple of bloggers out there who are helping raise awareness and funds in their own special ways. Let me encourage you to head over to The Pioneer Woman's website at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ as well as Savory Sweet Life at http://www.savorysweetlife.com/

Thank you again! Now... let's keep them covered and bathed in prayer and get them the help they need!

The Pioneer Woman in NashVegas!!

So, my friend Mary and I pre-determined that we would attend the booksigning when Ree Drummond came to Nashville on her book tour for The Pioneer Woman Cooks. We went to Davis-Kidd Bookstore with a few hundred of our closest friends (that we've never met). Having read past accounts of the amount of wait time, we planned ahead and were prepared.

Comfy shoes? Check.

Early arrival? Check.

Turkey and cheese sandwiches? Check.

We had it all!

We pre-purchased the book and were located in Group 8. There were tickets that were given out and they were bunched in groups of 25 people. We knew we would have quite the wait. But, that was okay. It gave Mary and I a chance to catch up, so that was a wonderful blessing.

We covered a wide range of topics before the hum of hundreds of voices around us grew. Then we were instructed to get in line.

We made new friends around us. Martha was a lovely lady who was just a bright and cheerful mother. She looks GREAT in purple too! Her husband was wandering around the mall and would check in with her every so often. He was a nice fella.

There was a guy in line with us who wins Best Brother Award hands down. His sister is a big fan, but lives in North Carolina. The brother stood in line with us for a couple of hours to get a book for his sister. We're thinking she's gonna owe him big time for a while!

There was another lady there who was passing out free fabric bags as part of a study and to encourage people to use the bags instead of plastic or paper. So, I got a bag out of the deal, and I think its rather pretty.

Finally, PW appeared and spoke a few brief words to the crowd, and then the signing began. Here are a few pictures of the evening:

Here's the Pioneer Woman addressing the crowd. See that lady in the background with the camera? That is Betsy, Pioneer Woman's sister. She was snapping pictures... and so I got one of her!!

Here is a closer picture of Betsy and Hyacinth, good friend of PW... and bearer of a great name.

I took this picture because I was secretly coveting PW's boots. (I was secretly coveting her camera too... but I thought I would expound only on one vice at a time). I wanted to wear my boots, but I knew they did not fall into the comfy shoe category.

Look! We're getting closer!

This girl was cute. She had a shirt on that said "Look Mom! It's PW" with an arrow pointing to Ree. Fun!

Here's the recipient of the Best Brother Award:

Here is a picture of sweet Martha:

Finally... it was out turn. Here's me:

Here's Mary.

Thanks Mary! It was a great time and the sandwiches hit the spot at just the right time!

The line started off a little slow, but we really only had to stand for two hours... so that wasn't too bad.

Merry Christmas!

Here are the Pictures that go with my last Post

Remember how I told you about my aunt and uncle going to get a cookbook for me from the Pioneer Woman when she did a book signing in Little Rock Arkansas? Well... they took some pictures and I thought I would post them here:

This is my uncle. I don't know why the picture is smaller. We'll have to ask KatyBell(all one word)

My aunt and uncle stood in line for four hours to get this book signed for me. Cause they loved me that much and I'm their favorite niece.

Okay... I'm their ONLY niece. But that has nothing to do with it!

And Marlboro Man was there too! As a matter of fact, he signed my book in two places. One on the picture of his face... but then my uncle made him sign the picture of his booty on the last page.

I might blush if I meet MM in person in Nashville... cuz he told my uncle that he had not signed across the booty for anyone before.

Oh well. It wasn't my fault, but I'm not complaining! :)

BUSTED!!!

I should lay the blame for spending as much time as I do on the Pioneer Woman’s blogsite at the feet of my friend Mary. Mary has a blogsite too.

http://www.kelsofamily.net/blogs/index.php/Mary/

Mary is one of three people who read my blog and typically leaves me a message.

I love Mary.

I don’t know how Mary found the Pioneer Woman, but she passed me the website address and after about five minutes, I was HOOKED. It is a great site. It is funny and pretty and there are WONDERFUL photographs (and I had just purchased my Big Girl Camera) so it is very informative.

And she gives stuff away too.

I haven’t won anything yet, but I’m still trying.

At any rate… I read PW’s website daily. If she is late posting a blog for the day, I will check it a few times to see when it is updated. I will at least smile over something she has written and sometimes I will laugh right out loud.

The Pioneer Woman has now published her first cookbook. How fun! How exciting! I stopped by my local bookstore the other day to pick one up and couldn’t find it.

Hmm. How strange.

So, the next time I was in the location of a bookstore, I stopped over to see if the book was there. Nothing. I was starting to think we were in some sort of parallel-planed universe here in middle Tennessee. I was at a third bookstore (wasting time on my lunch hour) and thought to look there. Didn’t find it. I actually asked one of the college students who worked there if they had the book and she said, “I think we have one left. Don’t you just LOVE her blog?!” I was happy to talk with her and she explained that she told the store managers when their shipment came in, that it would not be nearly enough. She was right. Management was wrong. They have placed their second order with the publisher.

Finally, I located the LAST copy at the B&N at The Avenue in Murfreesboro where I was meeting my college project partner for a study time. I went ahead and made my purchase and then found out PW had added a book signing date in Little Rock, where I have family.

So… I texted my cousin and aunt and told them they should go. They were busy and they are not as interested as I am. But they indulge me anyway.

So, you can only imagine my SURPRISE when I was looking at the PW website this morning and Lo and Behold… there’s a PICTURE of my Aunt standing in line for the book signing. A closer look shows my Uncle with her (but he is blocked) I laughed WAY out loud and picked up the phone.

My aunt is in the jogging outfit wearing the glasses behind the two girls getting their picture made. http://thepioneerwoman.com/confessions/

My sweet Aunt and Uncle stood in line for FOUR HOURS to get this book signed by Ree Drummond AND her husband (Marlboro Man) to give ME as a Christmas gift! They thought it was hysterical that they made the website and told Marlboro Man, who was taking the pictures, that if they were posted, they’d be BUSTED! And they were.

They were even famous enough to make it onto another blog site:

http://www.nonsensicalgibberish.com/?p=265


Goodness but I love my family!