Spring 2007 Greetings!

As we enjoy this beautiful spring and reflect over the happenings of 2006 and 2007, we again see the faithfulness of the Lord in our lives. Every morning the sun rose and in the evening it set. Our hearts keep pumping, never missing a beat. We have eyesight, hearing, mobility. The list goes on and on of things that happen only because of God! It is of His mercies that we aren’t consumed. Great is His faithfulness!

Throughout this past year, our family has been spiritually encouraged as we continued to work with the ministry, Prison to Purpose. We had the opportunity to spend several days in the McPherson Women’s Prison in Newport, Arkansas, on three different occasions during this year. We also helped with weekend conferences held quarterly in various Arkansas locations. It has been an invaluable education to us to sit under the biblical teaching of Chaplain Dewitt and former inmate, Stacey Smith, while they teach women in prison and also those who are paroled. Not only have we learned how to help those with addictions and behavioral problems by applying the truths from the Word of God, but we ourselves have been challenged tremendously in our own walk with the Lord.

Nathan and Chiree’s videography clients have kept them busy, along with their traveling jobs for the business. They invited us to go along on many of their productions this past year, so we had several short family vacations and made some great memories. It was different having our children pay for our food and lodging, but we didn’t complain at all! Besides doing the Arkansas productions for all of the Prison to Purpose conferences, they had nine weddings to video during 2006. Two of them were in Texas and one in Ohio; the rest were throughout the state of Missouri. (August 6, 2006, Weddings)

We joined them for all of the weddings, along with their production of the a 90^th birthday celebration of our Bible college president, Dr. A. Ray Stanford in Athens, Georgia, in September. What a memorable time Jimmy and I had fellowshipping with friends from 35 years ago and being encouraged seeing so many who have continued to faithfully share a clear gospel message wherever God has led them!

Nathan did several other out-of-state productions in the fall and had the opportunity to travel with Franklin Springs Family Media for the shooting of a DVD documentary of Stonewall Jackson that will be released in the summer. For this production the team traveled to Virgina Military Institute when the trees were at their peak of beauty. We joined him for the 3-day production of the Eden String Quartet/Miller Family in Oakland, Illinois. We so enjoyed meeting this dear family and seeing their dedication to raising a family for God's glory.

(Visit www.franklinsprings.com to view the trailers for both the Eden String Quartet and the Stonewall Jackson documentary.)

Jimmy enjoyed watching the deer in our pasture throughout October and November as he eagerly awaited rifle hunting season. Early one morning after the season opened, just around the hollow of our hill, he shot his deer. This year he processed it himself and we were grateful to have the meat for our freezer for some great eating this past winter.

Holidays were spent with Grandma Mitchell, Granny and Papa Bollinger and several of the aunts, uncles and cousins. We treasure the times we have with our very dear extended family and are so thankful for the blessings that they are to our lives.

January of this new year brought a big surprise. When an ice storm arrived on the 12th, many Missourians found themselves faced with no power anywhere from 4-14 days during this bitter cold spell. We were without power for 11 days, which not only meant no heat but also no water, since our well is run by electricity. Carrying water from the city for drinking and allowing us to flush the toilets once each day gave us a new appreciation for running water!!! We were glad for our wood burning stove we had in the unfinished part of our basement, which became our “family room” for those eleven days. As you can imagine, Jimmy has kept busy with extra electrical work from the storm. Neosho looked like (and in many places still looks like) a war zone. We are grateful for the National Guard and the many volunteers from various organizations and churches in our nation that helped with the clean-up. May the Lord bless them for their servant's spirit.

At the end of January I was joined by my sister and her husband to take Mother to San Antonio. It was an emotional time for us as daughters to go back with Mother to the places we lived while growing up and the many special memories we had as a family, only this time Daddy wasn’t with us. Mother was blessed seeing friends she loved, many of them now widows, too. We stayed in the facility for military dependents and retirees, which happened to be the place where families now stay when soldiers are being treated from injuries due to the war. It was across the street from the huge Brooks Army Medical Center and the new Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation center for amputees. It was a very touching time for us to be with these families and also with some of the injured soldiers that we met. I came away with a new awareness of how better to pray for those who are serving our nation overseas and for their families back home.

While we were in San Antonio, Nathan and Chiree worked in Oklahoma City for Novo Ministries doing a promotional video for After-School Bible Clubs. What an effective ministry going into the inner city and the government housing to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ. The mission field truly is right in our own back yards!

At the end of February we experienced something new to our family. Nathan moved to Franklin, Tennessee, in order to work full-time at Franklin Springs Family Media for a year. We are excited for his opportunity to work in a business that has a vision for producing quality family media. The thing we knew we would miss the most with him being gone was dinner time each night since eating together has been a special time for us for the past 26 years. It has worked out well, though, as Nathan calls us during the dinner hour and we set the speaker phone on the table and talk just like we used to, sharing the happenings of the day. It is fun, too, comparing menus, and frankly, some nights we like what he is eating more than what we are! As for his business here with Bollinger Productions, Chiree is continuing to run it with their established clients and ministries. Nathan has taught and trained her well, so now she has her own new adventure.

Many have asked when Jimmy and I are having some more Labradoodles to sell. Well, last fall we decided to retire Polly and us from the puppy business. We had her neutered, but Polly’s motherly instincts are still there as she continues to nurse our kittens, even when they are old enough and big enough to be called cats! It is quite a sight! Maybe we will raise puppies again someday, but in the meantime, we will just enjoy Polly and her kittens. (For those of you interested in seeing some darling puppies, visit our sister-in-law’s website: www.pomacres.com Kathy and her husband, Kenny, raise Pomeranians and also a new breed that has no shedding, Havanese puppies. ).

Thanks for letting us share with you our year in review. It is always fun to reminisce, though, we realize how very quickly time does fly and how we want to treasure every moment. May we all be found faithful as we use that which has been given to us for God’s glory!

Yummy Hot Fudge Ice Cream Bar Dessert

• 1 (8-ounce) hot fudge syrup
• 10 ice cream sandwiches
• 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 crushed candy bars (Butter Finger or Heath Bar)

Directions:

1. Pour the hot fudge syrup into a medium microwave safe bowl and microwave 1 to 2 minutes on high. Do not allow to boil.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with a layer of ice cream sandwiches. Spread whipped topping over the sandwiches. Drizzle hot fudge mixture over that. Top with crushed candy bars.
3. Cover and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.

Note: Ingredients can be doubled and this dessert can be layered by repeating the directions but only using the candy bars on the final layer.