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!)

Wish I had a green thumb

My mom has been wanting a picture of the bush in front of our porch for a while. I finally took one as I was leaving work one day. These flowers only bloom in the morning and are closed up by the time I get home. I wish they were open all day. They really add a lot to our porch area.

I've tried to be better about having plants around. I love having plants but tend to kill them. Mike has helped me remember to water but we have to revive them every so often. I have 3 indoor plants, one outdoor pot of flowers, and this bush. We have a lot of greenery and other plants around outside but they don't require much attention.

One of our youth brought over one of those 5-in-1 game sets with volleyball, bad mitten (no idea how to spell), etc. that he will not be using. We plan to set it up in the backyard and start doing things outside with the youth when they are over. We have a good size yard and need to take advantage of it.

If you want to see what we've been up to, visit the Grounded Student Ministries blog (link to your right). We've been busy with World Changers Mission Team Training and other activities. We played water balloon baseball last Wednesday in honor of the last week of school. It was a lot of fun...and yes, I got wet!! It wasn't too bad until we gave them a free for all at the end. I got an ice chest of water poured on me!! Good times...

We had to bypass a storm on our way to Corpus Saturday. We were traveling and saw the black clouds, things swirling ahead, and just nastiness...so, we turned around and went another direction. I caught a a few pictures of the clouds. I am fascinated by the grandness of God through storms.

Friday...

5 years ago Friday Mike and I spent the day preparing to be married.

We had no idea what the Lord had in store for us during the first years of our marriage.

We knew we loved each other.

We knew God created us for each other.

We knew we were ready to begin our journey as husband and wife.

*

I love remembering when Mike and I first met, started dating, got engaged, became husband and wife, and all the other things we've shared together. As we celebrate with friends who expereince those things, I think back to that point in my life.

*

Brad Paisley has a new song and it has such a great lyrics for remembering those times!

*

I Thought I Loved You Then

Brad Paisley

*

I remember trying not to stare the night that I first met you

You had me mesmerized

3 weeks later in the front porch light taking 45 min to kiss you goodnight

I hadn’t told you yet but I thought I loved you then

*

Now you’re my whole life

now you’re my whole world

I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl

Like a river meets the sea

Stronger than it’s ever been

We’ve come so far since that day

And I thought I loved you then.

*

I remember taking you back to right where I first met you

You were so surprised

There were people around But I didn’t care

I got down on one knee right there

And once again I thought I loved you then

*

Now you’re my whole life

now you’re my whole world

I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl

Like a river meets the sea

Stronger than it’s ever been

We’ve come so far since that day

And I thought I loved you then.

*

I can just see you with a baby on the way

I can just see you when your hair is turning gray

What I can’t see is how I’m ever gonna love you more

But I’ve said that before.

*

Now you’re my whole life

now you’re my whole world

I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl

Well look back some day at this moment that we’re in

And I'll look at you and say I thought I loved you then

And I thought I loved you then...

I wanted to share some pictures from my office.

I work in the middle of the country and it is so pretty out here!

Also, there is always exciting stuff going on!

I get to watch/listen to the sprinkler almost everyday...

There's nothing like a sprinkler and green grass to make you

feel like a kid again and daydream about playing in the water!

These are the 3 new horses to the Children's Home.

Heather and I took a quick trip out to the stables with Jake one day to check them out.

Heather is very much a city girl so it is fun to see her around horses.

We had a little friend on our porch today!

This racoon was either sick or trying to find a place to die.

It kept walking around really lethargic. We stayed away! lol

I took this a month or so ago when we got a HEAVY downpour!

It was so nice to stand on the porch and watch the rain.

In West Texas, the wind blows so much when it storms that you get pelted if you step outside!

Have a blessed day!!

Check it out...

Just a few quick notes!!

Check out the Specs and Wings blog (listed to the right under "Good Stuff") for a fun option for your summer! Molly will be having online summer art classes...and let me tell ya, her creations are awesome! I am very excited about these classes...I'm thinking of them more like little workshops...because I've been trying to use my creativity more. Gina and I began to use our creativity but it soon fizzled. Maybe this will spruce it up! and...the topics are right where I need to be! So, check it out and I hope some of you will be blessed by this!

Check out the Grounded Student Ministries blog to see our amazing new logos. (Courtesy of Kate!!) She did an amazing job and the youth that have seen the logos are so excited about them!!

Mike and I are going on a double-date tonight to see The Sound of Music!! I'm so excited! I'm sure some of you are wondering how I convinced him to go...but I didn't have to work very hard! One of our youth plays Liesl...the girl that sings "Sixteen Going on Seventeen"!!! I am so excited!!

Mom, Hunter, kitties, and more!

Here are some pictures I haven't posted from the past few months

My mom visted during March. I think this is the only picture we got of us!

We had a youth event at our house the beginning of April. Here are a few of the adults that were there. I don't post any pictures of youth on our personal site but you are welcome to check them out at http://www.groundedstudentministries.blogspot.com/. Robert had a meeting prior which explains the tie! He and his wife Heather (next to him) are our neighbors and I work with both of them. They are great friends to have in Beeville! Stacy (on the other side of me) is the mother of one of our youth. We are SO excited to have Stacy helping out with the youth. Her daughter began her journey with God about a month or two ago and it has been such a blessing to see her blossom as a young woman of God!!

LOL....This isn't a great picture but while we were at a conference in DFW, we got to see my cousin Hunter and his new place. Here, he is showing us the new Cowboys stadium. He lives only blocks away! I'm so proud of him and his new beginning in Arlington!

AWWW.....Anyone from West Texas knows how refreshing it is to enjoy Rosa's!! There was one a few blocks from our hotel in Ft. Worth so we decided to take advantage and eat there...TWICE! Anyone judging us right now doesn't understand what the withdrawls are like!! LOL

This was from the Youth Ministry Lab Conference in Ft. Worth. It was a great weekend to hear amazing speakers share what God has laid on their hearts regarding youth ministry and youth leaders. I was so excited to get to go with Mike to a conference...they even had breakout sessions specifically for youth pastor's wives and some regarding girls ministry!

OK...I am giving everyone the chance to close this window....

If you don't care to see pictures of our kitties, you can close now and no hard feelings...

Seriously...I don't want anyone to say that they were forced to see pictures of the cats...

Our parents all love animals, and most of them are especially drawn to cats. They are so cute...they ask us often how the grandcats are doing!! I guess when you don't give them grandkids, they'll take what they can get! LOL Instead of sending many pictures, I've posted them for our parents but do not want anyone to get tired of seeing pics of the cats so you can go on about your business now....

Rascal stretching in the sunlight!

LOL...Rowdie isn't really as fat as he looks although Heather asked if I was feeding him lasagna! I promise it is the angle...(he's in my lap)

No, he's not drunk...

One of them LOVES to play with the scratching post...and pull the fuzz off the top....guess who....
Rowdie is the guilty one!!!

Rascal has found several places he LOVES to rest...he doesn't lay on the mantle often but we've found him there a few times. He really likes the pop up tent we got them. We think he thinks he is invisible when he gets in the tent...LOL He hides there when the youth are over.

He also likes laying by the back door and looking out, a specific window seal, and our back couch. If I can't find him in any of those places, we're in trouble!