Thursday, April 27, 2006

Africa




Todd received a letter in the mail the other day.

http://amahoro-eastafrica.info/

It's an "Emergent Conversation" between post-modern and post-colonial culutres. If you don't understand what I'm talking about, check out the site. I'm not good at explaining, especially when I'm all giddy. He was personally invited to the conversation and is going. When he was trying to decide whether to accept or not I was flabbergasted. "Are you kidding? Say yes! We'll work out the details later."

I am so amazingly proud of him. He was one of the first 60 to be invited from the states. I keep telling you how great he is. You think I'm just biased. ;-D

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Yes,

I do live in Texas. I live in what they call "Old Town Keller", which is the original town center. 4 blocks from my house is the field where this fella and some of his buddies occasionally reside. How fun is that? Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 23, 2006

As weekends go.....

this one was fairly insane, but in a good way.

First.....














was the youth group retreat just outside of Tyler. The half we stayed for was really fun. The boys and I (and Todd when he actually slept that first night) were in one of the "cabin" rooms that had bunks built in all round the walls. It was just us so the boys got to play monkey quite a bit. We went to the sessions with the "big kids" and played pickle ball and tether ball ,blew bubbles and played with our dog...who wasn't nearly as thrilled about being there as we were. My kids had a blast and I'm pretty sure the Jr. and Sr. High kids were lovin' it too.

Next...



















was our nephew's birthday party in Ennis. We drove from camp to Ennis (I don't even remember how long it took but it was more than an hour, that's for sure) for the best 4 year old birthday party I have ever witnessed. My Sister-in-Law is a party genius, let me just tell you that much. What you see in the photo is Dora, Boots and Swiper....the stars of the party (also friends and relatives of the birthday boy-the one in the middle is his sister). We went on an adventure through the park that was just a hoot. Ike had a blast and Josiah was in Dora heaven. Even Hunter had fun.
By the time it was over, however, we all felt like we'd been beat with a stick. Everyone had a long weekend for various reasons and the kids were all starting to break down and poor Granny was on the verge of falling over. Needless to say, the boys and I opted out of staying in Ennis for the night.
We headed home and finally made it to bed after 10...well, 11 for some of us. This morning as we were getting ready for church Josiah announced that he was sick. I made sympathetic noises and continued ironing my dress until he said it again. Sure enough, he had a fever. I should have known when he didn't eat his pancakes. He hasn't eaten much all day and still had a low fever before his last dose of Ibuprophen a few hours ago. We'll see how it is in the morning. Now Hunter says he feels sick too but that's a harder one to call, since he always feels sick on school nights. Poor baby :-( Isaac also has a weird mark on his neck that he's really complaining about. It looks like a long, thin burn but he hasn't been around anything hot. It may be just a good scrape from all the "brotherly love" that goes on around here. We'll be watching that as well.
Todd made it home this evening but is in pretty rough shape. Those long weekend retreats start hitting harder and harder as we age, eh? Of course, the sinus migrain doesn't help one bit.
I, myself, however feel great!!! Lots of energy all day, no aches or pains (not counting my kids). I'm starting to feel out of place here. Maybe I should go drop something on my foot. O.K. Maybe not.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend and we should all be recovered by Wednesday or so. Posted by Picasa

Friday, April 21, 2006

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

What we did for Ike's birthday.

 Posted by Picasa

Karyn's Blog

I read Karyn's blog today and it was beautiful. Sometimes her blogs inspire me like that, sometimes they confuse me, they always make me think....which is why I like reading Karyn's blog.
Karyn is the daughter of a dear friend and I think of her as a friend too. I wonder sometimes if that's just weird for her. I remember my mom's friends when I was growing up. They knew all about me, my boyfriends' names, my achievements, my failures, but I hardly knew them. So occasionally a near stranger would ask me questions about my life and I would be taken aback. Is it like that for Karyn? or Ellen for that matter? Regardless....
I like Karyn's blog (and Ellen's too. She's in France.) This morning she (Karyn) wrote about how we are all just bits of the people around us and in the midst of it wondered what it was like when there was only one person. That's what made me think. If we are made up of the people we experience life with, and God was Adam's only companion, what was he like? Did everything he see remind him of God? And, if so, how did he manage to screw it up so badly? For that matter, how does a nation that stares at the glory of God all day and night, with nothing around them but wilderness and God, manage to screw it up so badly? And, knowing we're all like that, why is it that God likes us that way?
I think it's pretty cool. I like that my kids aren't perfect too. Maybe that's because I'm made in His image. Maybe.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Into the Swing

Looks like Todd's getting back into the swing of ministry, eh?

Ministers' retreat . . . . yeah right! :-) Actually they got a lot done and had a good time too.

Todd's loving his new job. He may even have totally ended his bad fishing streak. Only time will tell. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Here's that info.




 
Here's the info. on Project Spectrum I promised. It's just a fun little bit of inspiration for your projects.



Here's what the originator of this idea has to say about it:

The idea of Project Spectrum is simply a celebration of the colors around us, and taking the time to notice them. Each month over a six month span will be devoted to a color group - participants can knit, dye, crochet, weave, spin, stitch, paint, scrapbook, sew, quilt, cook, grow, photograph, bake, or bead items in that color group (of course all arts and crafts not mentioned here also count!).

It is really about expressing yourself creatively - making something beautiful, and creating something unique with your hands. It is also about thinking outside of the box - perhaps taking up a new hobby, or a long neglected one, or finally dabbling in design.

Here's the plan:
March - Red and Pink

April - Orange and Yellow
May - Green
June - Blue
July - Violet / Purple
August - Neutrals / Black & White

...and perhaps the most important part: this is a no-pressure project. The months are each assigned a color group, but you do not have to work on a project in that color group every month. If you have a project already going, please do not feel that you have to set it aside only to participate. You can work on more than one project (of different colors) at a time - that is what I will be doing!

The color of the month is merely a suggestion - you can choose to make one thing out of that color the whole month - or twenty things - or nothing at all. Don't have any desire to make anything yellow? You don't have to! Go ahead and plan for the green month. Or you can simply make a photo essay - you carry around your camera with you and post pictures of the color objects you see throughout your daily travels.
If you are interested in participating, I encourage you to think ahead and plan your projects - I am doing the same! Some plans of my own: stashbusting my yarns, painting my bathroom, taking up crochet and sewing, more paper arts, and refashioning and recycling thrift store finds.

Projects can be big or small - whether you plan to tile your kitchen or photograph a blooming tree in your backyard - it is not a race, it is just about sharing your creative work to inspire others.


I tried to make that "button" up top a link to the site but, let's face it, I have no clue about html and how it works. Someday I'll buy the book. Meanwhile, here's the link:
http://www.lollygirl.com/blog/index.php?op=ViewArticle&articleId=414&blogId=1#comments


Thursday, April 06, 2006

And I quote:

"I am pleased to inform you that your application for Artists in Action at the 2006 Flimp Festival has been accepted."

So, it's official. We will be headed to Montgomery the first weekend in May. We'll leave right after school on Thursday, spend a night in Monroe, arrive Friday afternoon, spend the day at Flimp, worship Sunday at GP and then head back to Monroe that afternoon. We'll get back home Monday afternoon. It'll be a whirlwind adventure! I even get to go to Heather's 30th birthday party Friday night!!! How neat is that? (sorry 'bout announcing your age there, babe.)

Now all I have to do is paint like the wind!!!....and finish up Heather's gift...crochet like the wind!!!!

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Why?

Because it's Spring...and I really dig Spring. And because I haven't posted in a few days. And because I was supposed to post something pink in March and forgot. I'll find out what April's color is and do it as soon as I can so I won't forget this time.....and I'll find the web address so you'll know what I'm talking about.
Don't you love vague blogs? Posted by Picasa

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Now....

So here's the deal. You know Southlake's been looking for a minister for a while now. They are also trying to restructure themselves to be more geared toward missional outlook and spiritual development of their members. A few weeks ago the youth minister went to the elders and told them he thought he should take a roll of leadership in spiritual development and then eventually suggested that they consider Todd for youth minister there. He was already in the final 5 for pulpit so the elders all knew who he was and all about us. It's actually a bit complicated but long and short of it is that as of this morning, Todd is the new youth minister at Southlake Boulevard Church!!! This all happened within this last week and has blown us away.

God has been so faithful. Sometimes, in order to make the puzzle pieces fit, He turns them upside down. When He does, it makes the whole picture come together.

You all know how we feel about this church. We couldn't be more thrilled. Please say a prayer of thanks to God for this....which reminds me...thank you for all the prayers that got us here. Please also continue to pray for us as we seek the minister for our pulpit.

There are about 100 kids (or just over) in this youth group and they are a neat bunch of kids. Todd's already been gone from home almost constantly since Tuesday night when they first brought the idea of youth ministery to him so we're slipping back into old routines. I get them ready for bed, Todd gets them ready for school. It's the childcare routine that has worked for several years for us and I'm glad we get to keep it!

All said, we are delirious and emotionally exhausted and just grinning all the live long day out here. We love you guys!

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Dancin'

Sometimes the hand of God is hard to discern in our lives. Sometimes you need to get still and really look to see how His hand is working. But sometimes the hand of God whacks you broadside and you have to do a little dance to keep from stumbling over from the impact.

I'm dancin', Lord!