In Lieu of Webkinz...

Since the Webkinz site is down for very important maintenance, I have time to post to my blog.

Where to start?

Christmas was busy, fun, and relaxing all at the same time. Stephen worked REALLY late on Friday the 21st (I think he got home after midnight), but then he was completely off work until Monday the 7th. It was so nice to have him around for over 2 weeks. And we knew that the main objective of vacation was met when Kira wandered off to play by herself, because she'd had "lots of time with Daddy." So we had a really good mix of time with extended family, just the three of us, just the two of us, and individual time.

The last few days of vacation were crazy as we tried to work quickly to get things ready for our new unit at church. Although we were borrowing from a unit we had done in Jackson, it was our first foray into doing something new at this church, and we wanted it to be great! I don't know how impressed the kids were, though. One of the seven year old boys asked why we put so much work into something that lasted only 5 minutes. But a lot of our efforts were front-loaded and will carry through the entire 12 week unit. So, maybe it really will have been worth it.

Vacation was good to Jersey, as well. He stayed at Stephen's parents' for a week as we traveled to other family. He got to play with their dog, Stephen's brother's dog, the neighbors' dog, and have a great time! But when he came home, he was ready to be with his people again. He seems much more calm and obedient than he was before Christmas; he'll even get in his bed when told!

I will be starting my last class in just a couple of days! When we moved, I applied at Cornerstone for my final two classes. Only one was offered that semester, the other was offered every other spring. So, I tried to register this semester for Middle School Ministry, but that course has been dropped! The alternative class, Philosophy of Youth Ministry, meets my requirements, but doesn't sound nearly as interesting. But at least I will be done with school!

I know there is more going on, but I am tired and starting to ramble. So, until next post...

All Tuckered Out

Too much running through the snow I guess.

Jersey loves the snow!

Unfortunately, he likes the snow so much that he won't come back in the house. And he has the habit of walking around bushes and trees and getting his leash tangled, so even if he wanted to come in, he couldn't. So, we have to get bundled up and trudge outside through cold yellow snow to retrieve him. But then he just wants to snuggle, so it's worth it!

Budding Artist

These are some portraits Kira drew over Thanksgiving. Can you identify who is who? (The drawings are not to scale, and there is someone missing.)








If you are having trouble seeing details, just click on each picture to zoom in.

A good Christmas idea for Kira would be a nice sketch pad and drawing pencils. The blue lines from her notebook paper do detract from her work.

The Blog Black Hole

I am writing this from Pennsylvania, otherwise referred to as The Blog Black Hole by my sister. Apparently, with my siblings congregated at my brother's house in PA, none of us has found the time to post new material to our blogs. Somehow, this is considered unacceptable, irregardless of the fact that we are actually interacting face-to-face and creating special holiday memories.

Some highlights of our visit out here (day 2 of 5):

Driving out of Michigan took longer than driving through Ohio; great time for family conversation in the car, but seriously????

Staying up way too late to watch way too cheesy movies, and then debating the cinematic qualities of "Walking Tall", "Hairspray", and "Transformers."

Watching 13 month old Audrey take her first steps! Pretty cool!

Retelling our family history, trying to make sense out of the fact that we all get more like our dad every year. Why? (Dad, you're pretty cool and smart most of the time, but it's your quirks we are noticing in ourselves. Again, why?)

So, this post is dedicated to my sister Kathleen, who I am currently ignoring in the other room because I am in here posting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What God can do in three months...

I'm trying to write a profound post here about how faithful God is, and how He moves in incredible ways we can't even begin to imagine. But all I can think right now is "Woo-hoo!"

We have been attending Lowell Church of the Nazarene for about five months now, and the Board this week approved hiring me as the new Children's Pastor. That's less time than it took for First Church to offer me the position after I applied. Considering that the current Director was slated to be in her position for another two years, the timing of all of this is incredible!

Several weeks ago, Stephen and I were talking about how much we love the kids at our church already. Although we attended Kentwood Community for 11 months, and volunteered in children's ministry for 9 of those, we never felt a connection to the kids. After teaching for two weeks here, we were hooked. So, I can't wait to dig in and do everything I can to help these kids (and more) come to love God, and seek Him everyday.

In the meantime, I will have fun writing introduction letters, designing a ministry brochure, and dreaming of what God will do next!

5 Best Things About Having the Flu

5. Finally get a chance to memorize Comcast's channel line-up and daily schedule.

4. Quality time with Jersey, who can't catch anything from me.

3. Fitting into skinny jeans again.

2. Opportunities to earn a lot of WebKinz cash.

1. Don't have to make the bed!