Where do I start????

We had such a great time in West Texas...although we were happy to be home and in our own bed Tuesday night!

I planned to document the entire trip with pictures but got caught up in visiting everyone that I didn't take any until our last night. My Nana got to see every one of her grandkids in one weekend, which doesn't happen very often! All of us other than my cousin Rani who lives in Dallas had dinner on Monday night and I had to get a picture!! Here are a few:

Tamisha, Lindsey, and Angela stopped by to visit!
I LOVE that Angela and Mike act like siblings...LOL

We got back just in time to take the youth to a Corpus Christi Hooks game (same league as the Midland Rockhounds). We had a great time but were ready for bed when we got home!

West Texas, here we come!!

In less than 72 hours, we'll be home!!!

We are both SOOOOO excited to get to take a trip back to West Texas for several days. It has been a while since we were home. Things here have been super busy! VBS is over but Mike has lots of activities for the youth! Monday nights he has an open gym for those that enjoy playing basketball, dodgeball, etc...needless to say, I am sitting that out! Friday afternoons, he has Fridays with Mike...this is a time of crazy games, movies, or just hanging out. Last week, they played water games against another youth group in the area. I heard it was a lot of fun...I stayed dry at work! LOL... July is just around the corner and it is jammed packed with youth activities! CAMP! MISSION TRIP!

Other than youth stuff, Mike and I have enjoyed spending time together in our house...with the change of seasons, we are reminded that we are home owners...we're reminded of the joys that come with that, as well as the responsibilities. Mike has a pretty good system of keeping up with the yard, although it is dying as we speak. We need another good rain to come along! We have gotten to swim a few times this summer! Some members of our church that we've become friends with have a pool they don't use very much. They've told us anytime we want to use it, we are welcome to it! We are SO THANKFUL to them!!

I hope summer is treating everyone well! I'll have tons of pictures to share next week of our trip home! Stay tuned...

Slime, slime, and more slime!

VBS has come to an end!

It was such a great week and a great time

for Mike and I to get to know some of the kids

and other adults that we never get a chance to be around.

Tuesday night he wore a Skidmore shirt (Skidmore is about 15 miles from Beeville and we have some kids that attend school there.) This was the only purple picture we got!

Wednesday night he wore a Pettus shirt (same as Skidmore but in a different direction)

Last night, he went back to the basics with his VBS shirt!

and the multi-colored hair.

The question of the day everyday was "What color is Mike's hair??"

Just talking...

Pre-Slime...Coach Bryant vs. Professor Wordsmart

The kids brought money each night to go towards a project that is hoping to provide a New Testament for every person in the state of Texas by 2010. The girls money went towards sliming Coach Bryant and the boys went towards sliming Prof. Wordsmart. Overall, the kids raised over $800.00!!! We were all so impressed and blessed!

Nancy got slimed first but they couldn't leave Mike nice and clean!!

Just a side note: Our Pastor (Greg) slimed Mike and my boss (Todd) slimed Nancy!

They were both such good sports!

We wanted a picture but I didn't want to get slimed...

He tried getting me slimy and I told him if I was getting slime on me, I was getting a kiss out of it!

Orange day of VBS

I can't remember what color his socks were this day...LOL

The kids LOVE his changing hair color.

Last night it was purple!

The VBS theme this year is Studio Go!

It is centered around a game show and the regular contestants are:
Coach Bryant and Professor Wordsmart

aka Mike and Nancy (pastor's wife)

These pics are from Sunday night. I'll get some from last night (Monday) soon. Each day, some stuff is different. Last night's service project did not go as smoothly as the first one (see previous post) but it was still a great time! The kids made trail mix to take to someone who takes risks for God. We talked about how taking a risk doesn't always mean doing something dangerous, just something that may scare you. Risking being teased by not making fun of someone when your friends do...praying for your lunch at school when no one else does...etc.

VBS

VBS started last night and it is going to be a great week! A friend (Meaghan) and I are in charge of the Service room where the kids learn about service projects. Each night we have a different project for them that enables them to serve others. Last night, we washed car windows for the VBS workers. I was so impressed with the kids' attitudes! They were so excited to get to go clean the windows! I didn't hear one complaint or negative comment! And the youth helpers were great too!!

Mike has been transformed into Coach Bryant for the opening and closing sessions! I hope to have a picture for you soon...I can't find my camera cord. Plus, my camera died before the closing session which is when he gets to take the stage the most, but Todd said he'd get some pictures of him. We got him all dressed for the part: tube socks, t-shirt tucked into his shorts, sweat band, whistle...we even spray painted his hair green last night (with hair paint of course). The kids loved it! Even the youth were calling him Coach and commenting on his green hair!

Exciting news! We have a new music minister! Bob Grainger was voted on yesterday during the morning service and will be joining the staff the beginning of July. We are excited for the church to have a full staff. The last music minister left last May so it has been a year without a full time worship leader.

Up

We went with some of the youth to see the new Disney/Pixar movie Up on Sunday night and it is such a good movie! I think it hits home more with adults than kids, but it is definitely cute and funny enough for kids/youth to enjoy it also! It had such a great message of living your life now! And the wilderness kid (Russell) was SOOOOOOOOOOO cute! You just want to hug him, and squeeze him, and take him home! (If you couldn't tell, I suggest seeing it!)