Have a Coke (or Dr. Pepper!) and a smile!

As many of you know, Joey started his new career with Coca-Cola Enterprises in December of 2008. Things are going GREAT! It is a little stressful learning all the products, but he is really enjoying the job. He is the Bulk Account Manager in the Carterville, GA territory. This means his customers are places like Wal-Mart, Kroger, K-Mart, Target, Publix, etc. Recently, Dr. Pepper introduced a new product...Cherry Dr. Pepper and Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper! YUMMY! Joey convinced the manager at Wal-Mart to allow him to build a massive Dr. Pepper display in the middle of the grocery section of the store. The display was made to resemble an actual 20-ounce Dr. Pepper bottle. It was created with over 130 20-ounce bottles! It was really cool!!

FUN, FUN, FUN IN THE SUN!

Oh, man! I am sure telling this will not be quite as funny (or frustrating) as living it! We left Rome with a 32-passenger bus full of middle schoolers on Friday. About 1 to 1-1/2 hours into the trip, we realized the air conditioning was going out on the bus (rear unit blowing hot air). After MANY phone calls to our new best friend Corey, who we rented the bus from, it was determined there was nothing they could do until we got back to Rome. So, we continued on to PCB, arriving around 3:00 pm, unloaded the bus, took a quick trip to the sand and water (just to say we'd been there, right?), and Joey, Emma, and I got back on the bus and headed back to Rome. We dropped the bus off to be worked on over the weekend and got home around midnight. Fast forward to Monday...Joey, Emma, and I picked the bus up Monday morning for our return trip to PCB to pick up our precious middle schoolers. Corey (remember, our new best friend) assured us the bus was fixed, air was working, and all was right with the world. Well, again, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours into the trip, GUESS WHAT....yup, hot air out of the back unit!! We stopped around I-20 in Bremen, called Corey, and waited to see if he had a replacement bus. He called back 35 minutes later and said he didn't but we could take the bus to "someone who warranties the air conditioners" in Carrollton. After driving around Carrollton, we found the place. it was at the end of a cul-de-sac in sort of an industrial area. It was a metal building enclosed in a rusty 8-foot-high fence with a rollaway gate. We pulled in and, after 45 minutes of head scratching, the guys at the shop determined there was nothing they could do for us. Miraculously, the rear air had started blowing cold again, so we decided to be on our way. In the meantime, Corey had talked to Todd (our youth minister) and they had decided we could deal with a smaller bus. So, we were to meet the replacement bus at a fast-food restaurant in Carrollton. WELL...as we were backing the bus out of the gate, the serpentine belt SHREDDED, stopping the bus in its tracks! About 1-1/2 hours later, when the replacement bus arrived, we were finally on our way in air conditioned comfort!! But, you know, God IS always in control...He knew that belt was going to break, so he had us safely at the end of that cul-de-sac instead of travelling down a 2-lane road at 65-70 mph when it happened!! The rest of the trip down to pick up the kids and back on Tuesday was pretty uneventful. Greatest news of the weekend...out of our 14 kids, 4 were saved and 10 re-dedicated their lives to Christ! Hallelujah, Praise God!

PANAMA CITY BEACH...HERE WE COME!

Have you ever driven to Panama City Beach, just to turn around and drive home again? That's what we'll be doing tomorrow when we pull out of the parking lot of WRBC at 7:00am SHARP (right Todd?) headed to SOULED OUT! Joey is driving the bus full of middle schoolers down to Laguna Beach Christian Resort for 5 days of fun, sun, fellowship, and worship! We will drop them off and then head back to Rome, all in the same day! Please pray for travel safety and also pray for the kids - that lives would be changed, relationships would be built, and that they would meet Jesus face-to-face. More to come on Souled Out when Caleb gets home next Tuesday....