Summer is quickly approaching!

What a great month it has been! I hope that all of you have had an awesome month just as Ryan and I. For most of the month of May, I have been home just playing because my class had ended and I do not start until June. So, that has been great! Ryan is soon to be coming to a close during the first few weeks of June with his classes also. But, just as I will, he too will have to go back in a few short weeks.

I am still steadily taking care of my plants and flowers. I've added a flower bed to the font of the house full of gerbera daisies, petunias (purple and pink), and some alyssum. I've also got a fushia plant in a hanging basket in the front of the house. My tomatoe plants still have no fruit, but they are growing and have not yet died on me! Look at me! I'm talking about my flowers! Ahh, yes, I'm definitely a married woman.

Ryan did try out for the band at Apex on May 7th. Even though he trusted God's will to be done in this, he still had the jitters about getting up and singing in front of the music minister and a few others that were in the room. He told me "I'd rather sing in front of the entire church than have to sing in front of just a few people!" But once he got over his minor case of stage fright, he was himself and just got up on the stage to sing to the Lord. That's all it was about and he did fine. We still do not know if he made the band or not. Phil, the music man, called him back for an interview, but we are still waiting to hear the news of whether he will be with the praise band or not. I will keep you updated, as always.

I'm sure you have heard me mention our friends Dave and Jenny. We met them last year when we first started going to Apex. Recently, Dave has joined the staff there at Apex. So, now that he has an office, his wife, Jenny, thought she would spruce it up a bit. Being the artistic person that she is, she thought of a clever pattern and texture for the wall. I volunteered my help since I love to paint. Needless to say, the wall didn't quite turn out as we had planned, but it still looked good. Both Ryan and I have become good friends with Dave and Jenny and we appreciate their friendship. They are so much fun to be with!

Ryan and I have joined the "Xanga community." For those of you who do not know what it is, it is pretty much a personal webpage. However, you only have that one page to work with. It's a really good way of keeping in touch with others. I'm happy to say that many of our friends and family have joined the community and we now talk on a regular basis. It's great. If you would like to check out mine and Ryan's Xanga sites, go to:

Amy's site: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=topostforbrian

Ryan's site: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=amysplasticman

If you are interested in getting your own Xanga account and need help, just email me. Or if you already have a Xanga account, leave us a post so we can keep in touch with you.

Bridget Hatcher

Eddie Woods

Latisha Bramlett

Amy Blythe

Happy Birthday!!

During this month we had our friends Gary and Meg over. Along with them, they brought their twins, Gavin and Mikayla and Meg's sister Courtney. We grilled some hamburgers and sat out on our "patio" in the back with our makeshift patio table made of tv trays and lawn chairs.

After we ate, Meg, Courtney, and I sat around and watched the guys throw the frisbee. I got my camera out to catch them in action. Here are a few shots.

We really enjoyed visiting with Gary, Meg, Courtney and, of course, the twins. We're so thankful to have such good friends here with us in Ohio.

February 19, 1919- May 25, 2005

I got the call from my Momma that informed me that my Geat Grandmother Brand (holding me in the picture above) passed away. She was 86 years old. She lived in California most of my life, so I didn't get to see her that much. However, there were those few visits and phone calls that God did bless me and my brother with. She never forgot our birthdays and was always sure to send a big box of gifts at Christmas. She sure did love us. When she came to stay with us during the summer one year, I was at first kind of uneasy about it. Since she did live so far away, I wasn't that close to her. However, as soon as she got there, it was like we had never been apart. She fit right in with our family. Sharp as a tack and oh so funny with her yankee accent. I can remember her teaching me how to bake a cake that was so good for my belly. My Great Grandma loved us. And we loved her too.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

                    We will one day meet again.

When we had Gary and Meg over at our house for the cook-out, they informed us that they were going to the Dayton Dragons game the following weekend. For that game only, Air Force people got a discount on their ticket. Unfortantely, we missed out on that discount, but were able to get tickets just the same.

So, we met "the Air Force crowd" at the game, Ryan, Melissa, Gary, Meg and the twins, and Courtney. We had lawn seats, so they saved us a spot and we just laid out on a blanket on the ground.

The game was alot of fun. I'd never been to a "minor league" sort of game before. Throughout the game, they had people play little games and they'd play music for people to dance to.

Going to the game was a fun idea. After the game, a few of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings for some BBQ wings. And that's always a good idea!