Summer has come and gone

I begin every summer with plans to have a routine, to do fun things, swim as much as we can, throw some learning in and whatever else I can think of. I feel like at the end of every summer I didn't really do anything I set out to do. This summer was no exception. Suddenly it is over as fast as it began. I do have to say though that it went a lot more smoothly than I anticipated. The kids got along and even though we didn't do a whole lot or go anywhere we seemed to have a good summer. I haven't blogged much, some because I don't know where to fit it into my schedule and some because we haven't done a whole lot to blog about. I thought I would throw together some pictures of a few things we have done in the last few weeks before I post my back to school pictures.

At the beginning of August one of our babysitters got married and we got all dressed up and enjoyed the day celebrating with her. I took the opportunity to take a few nice family pictures of us.

Caleb and Elizabeth did remarkably well getting along this summer. I think that is why it has been an adjustment for her now that Caleb is back in school. Here I was mopping the kitchen and the chairs were set out in the living room. They put them together and made a fort. Needless to say the chairs stayed in the living room for awhile. It kept them entertained for a good part of the day!

I had to eventually move the chairs into the kitchen so I helped them set up a fort in Caleb's room which could stay up for a longer time. They actually slept a few nights in it.

The week before school started we had playgroup with friends from church and we enjoyed one of the girl's pool. We were the first ones to arrive so the kids had full reign of the pool until everyone else got there. Caleb and Elizabeth are fish so it didn't take long!

Everyone brought their lunch or a snack to enjoy while they were there. The two girls are Emma and Elisa and their dad is one of the pastors at our church.

Just a few things that have been going on around here. We did have a good summer and we are sad to see it end. We enjoyed the pool, friend's houses, the trampoline (a little in this oppressive heat), lots of gymnastics, going to youth group on Wednesday nights and then late night dinners at Whataburger with friends afterward, fun church events, a bible study with Caleb and his friends, the circus, sleepovers, and I am sure there are some things that are missing. God truly blessed our summer by providing time to grow closer to friends and family even though we couldn't go very far. Now it is on to the next season of our life...2nd grade for Caleb and time for Elizabeth and I to school at home together.

Jumping around

With this post I should finally be caught up with all we have been doing this summer. We haven't gone anywhere on a family vacation but we have enjoyed the pool, our new trampoline, the movies, the circus, VBS, other church activities, and keeping up with gymnastics. A couple of weeks ago, Caleb was invited up to "Team Cypress" which is the competition level of gymnastics. He now goes 3 nights a week for 3 hours each night! He is still enjoying it a lot and now we are carpooling with another mom so we don't have to be up there every night. This fall will be spent fundraising to offset the cost of competitions which start in January.

So we have been adjusting to the new schedule but still enjoying a relaxing summer. The other day I took the kids to the pool and realized I hadn't taken any pictures of them swimming so I brought my camera and caught some pictures of them having fun. Elizabeth began the summer readjusting to the water but now she is a fish again. Caleb as usual is a strong swimmer and loves every minute of it.

The kids have wanted a trampoline for awhile and we had set aside some money for it. We finally decided to get it as we had noticed some of the boys in gymnastics with trampolines at home are improving a lot in their flips. This gives Caleb a place to practice at home. The day we bought it, the rain finally arrived and we had to wait, so Caleb put in a request for us to put it up one night while he was at gymnastics. Elizabeth was a big helper and got to enjoy it for a little while by herself since Caleb was at gymnastics. It was hot so she enjoyed a popsicle while she rested. When Caleb got home that night, he and Daddy jumped a little.

It has been a good summer and I can't believe school starts in just 3 weeks! I will be glad to get back into a good routine though!

Power Up Vacation Bible School

I struggled this year with whether we would do VBS with our church. Since our campus meets in a temporary facility, VBS would be held at 3 of the other campuses. For awhile I debated on which campus I would go to because they are a bit of a drive, one more difficult than the other because it would be through morning rush hour traffic. It turns out that the more difficult one was the one that everyone I knew and my children knew would be going to. I asked Caleb whether he wanted to go and he didn't so I figured my decision was made. The Sunday before it began, a friend stopped me in church and asked me whether I was going. I started to explain to him that Caleb wasn't interested when Caleb stopped me and said he had changed his mind. What? It starts tomorrow! So needless to say, everything changed in that moment and we were headed to VBS. I was a little frazzled that suddenly I was consumed with volunteering at VBS, but also glad because I knew the kids would have fun and it would all be worth it in the end.

I was very right! The kids had an absolute blast and I did too. I volunteered at the CD/t-shirt sales table and got to meet lots of great people and also see some people that I hadn't seen since Heath and I were first married when we last attended Second Baptist. It brought back a ton of memories being back at the main campus because that was where we went when we dated, where I had my first job in Texas, where I did my student teaching, where we got married, I could go on and on. What spoke volumes to me about our church is the number of people still on staff at this church even after 10 years. Often times you see a lot of turnover but not at Second. So many of the same pastors and staff are still there going back all the way to when Heath first started going.

Anyway, back to VBS. Each day the kids went to their respective classes and learned bible stories and did crafts and made new friends. The highlight was the "Big Show" everyday. Second's Children's ministry has a group of Superheroes that were in the "Big Show" last year and appear occasionally through the year. Well this year in the show they were invaded by pirates who were trying to steal their power (not knowing until the last day that God was the source of their power). Each day the story continued until Friday when the pirates became Super Heroes as well. The music and the show was great and by the end of the week we knew all the songs and owned the CD. Thursday and Friday the Super Heroes and pirates came out for pictures and our shy little Elizabeth was all about getting photos with them.

This picture is with Zoink and he is actually the Children's pastor at our campus, so Caleb and Elizabeth have a special place in their heart for him.

This is Zip and Elizabeth wants us to do her hair like her. She might need to grow it a little longer!

Elizabeth and Zap

These were two of the pirates: Tongue-tied Taylor was hilarious as you could never understand him and Two-patch Tyler wore two patches to be more scary but ran into everything because he couldn't see.

This was Mean Marge. The funny story behind this picture is that after I picked Elizabeth up that day she told me that she didn't like Marge because she was mean. No sooner had she said that and we walked into the atrium of the church and there were all the characters. She immediately went to all of them but kept avoiding Marge. Marge was standing by herself and Elizabeth cut her eyes over at her and walked as far away as possible. I went up to Marge and told her that Elizabeth wouldn't come near her because she thought she was mean. It took us a few minutes but we convinced her she wasn't really mean and she took her picture with her.

This was Captain Zirk and by this time we had picked Caleb up from class and he joined in.

This picture was taken with the Commissioner over the Super Heroes on the last day of VBS.

Another one with Captain Zirk on the last day of VBS.

She has the biggest smile in this picture. She really enjoyed every minute of VBS!

This was Mean Marge after she became a Super Hero.

The pirates after they became Super Heroes.

It was a great week and even though our days started at 7:45 with a 45 minute drive down to the main campus (an hour and a half one day when there was a wreck!) and not getting home until after 2 everyday, we had a lot of fun and will definitely do it next year. The following week, VBS was at another campus and the kids asked to do it again, but I just couldn't! One week was enough! We look forward to next year!

Church Picnic

This summer our church has had Summer Family Nights each Sunday for about 4 weeks. It started with family bowling where Caleb bowled a 132 and led his 4 year old teammates to win the Kids division! The next week was country dancing at a local VFW and then on July 5th our church had a picnic at a local YMCA. We all brought our own food and there were games, bounce houses, watermelon, and ice cream. In good southern picnic style, we decided to pick up Kentucky Fried Chicken!

We love doing things with our church and this was no exception. It has been fun getting to know more church members in different venues and hopefully activities like this will continue beyond the summer.
One of the activities was tug of war. They also had relay races and balloon tosses.

After the tug of war, the kids found some water guns and decided to heck with their clothes, it was too hot not to get in the water. This is Caleb and our friend Emma.

Elizabeth didn't get in the pool but got squirted a few times!

Elizabeth enjoyed the slide while Caleb was getting soaked in the nasty, muddy, pool!

This is the final result of Caleb shortly before we left!

Another fun, hot summer night! The following week we had a movie night. The church set up "Bolt" in one room and "Fireproof" in another. They sold popcorn and candy and we brought our lawn chairs and got to watch a movie drive-in style without bugs and the hot, humid temperature.

Friends and fireworks

Yes it is almost the end of July and I am finally updating on all that we have been up to. For the 4th we had some friends from church over for a cookout and then we headed out to Waller (a nearby town going out towards the country) for a concert and fireworks. They had a christian band playing, the Robbie Seah band, so we sat in the stadium and enjoyed that for awhile.

Towards the end of the concert we headed out to the parking lot and set up our chairs around our cars for the fireworks. We were right under where they were setting them off so it was perfect. We enjoyed fellowshipping some more.

In the picture below, from the left after our family, are Stephen and Tiffani and their three boys, Riley, Wesley, and Andrew. Stephen is the campus pastor at our Cypress campus. Next beside them in the back is Lisa, then Paul and Megan, and then Cody and Corby. All of us went together on beach retreat and work with the youth at our church.

We had a great time hanging out and the fireworks were great. We had a neat experience when a small group next to us asked us where we went to church. They said they could tell by the way we were acting and treating each other and no drinking was involved that we were from a church. What a reminder that people are always watching and even the way you interact with other people can speak volumes!

Life Changing

Wow! God can truly do amazing things when you step out of your comfort zone and allow Him to work. Heath and I have been married for 11 years and together for 13. All of those years he has worked with the youth at church and for more than half of them he has gone on some sort of summer camp with them, whether it was the beach or the mountains. This year as summer approached, out of the blue I felt God telling me to go with him. I kept thinking, "Are you crazy? I am so not the person to be going on beach retreat. I have never worked with youth before and I am certainly not bold enough." But it kept nagging at me and I kept feeling like if I didn't go I would stay behind and regret it. God has been at work in me this year and has given me a passion to be in His word and to serve Him. But it was always where it was comfortable. Now God was telling me it was time to get uncomfortable because that is when I would grow the most. I had completely leaned on Him over the last few months when we didn't know how our bills would get paid, and He was faithful. It was time to lean on Him in a different way and watch how He worked again.

I didn't say anything to Heath for awhile because I knew once I said something I couldn't turn back. Time was getting closer so I approached him and said I was thinking about going with him. He smiled and said, "You ARE going with me!" Like I said, there was no turning back. Especially once he told Chad, our youth pastor, who was just as excited. We talked to my family up in Dallas and they were great with having the kids spend the week with them and the kids were equally excited to spend the week with their cousins. With having to get the kids and the dog up to Dallas before we left and then going back up there after we returned, we would be apart for 9 days! That was a heavy burden on me. We had never been apart from them for that long. God had given me a peace about going on beach retreat and this was where Satan tried to steal it away. My heart was heavy and I worried about so many things. But God reminded me of Matthew 6:34, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." God will give me enough strength to get through each day. I can't take my strength from one day to save for a day that hasn't even happened yet. When I focused on the day I was in and what needed to be done that day, and didn't look at what loomed ahead, I had the amount of strength I needed.

Beach Retreat finally arrived on Sunday, June 7. God had been answering my prayers and had given me the strength each day that I needed. Even the strength to say good-bye to my kids and know that they would be fine without me. It was a 10 hour bus ride to Orange Beach, AL with our Cypress Campus of Second Baptist Church. For those of you that don't know, Second Baptist Church has 5 campuses in the Houston area and over 1700 youth and leaders would be going to Beach Retreat. We would all be staying in separate condos along the beach but come together at night for dinner and worship. Despite the long bus ride, we enjoyed getting to know the other leaders and students. We arrived in Orange Beach around 9:30 that night where we were divided up with our students and off to our condos.

It was a busy but great week. Each day consisted of getting up and out on the beach by 9:00 for silent sounds (quiet time), back to the condo for breakfast and then off to classes until 12:00. Then lunch and free time where the kids could go to the beach, the pool, shopping, or tournaments on the beach. After free time it was showers and cleaning the condo, leaders meeting at 5:00 and then back to the beach at 6:00 for another silent sounds. Then we loaded the bus and we were off to join the other campuses for dinner and worship at the local Student Life building. On Monday after worship we were bussed to a local amusement park where the kids could play until midnight, Wednesday night was baptism night, and Thursday night was campus night where all the campuses worshipped separately. Most of the time Heath and I only saw each other in passing but were able to sit together in the evenings for worship. It was still great to know that we were there together. When we weren't running from one thing to the next, the time that we could just talk with the girls in our condo was special. I enjoyed getting to know them and meeting them right where they were. Talking about how God was moving and what they wanted from their lives. I hold those times closely to my heart. Friday came quickly and a little unexpectedly. I wasn't ready to go. But I got on the bus with a lot of great memories and a new perspective on what lies ahead.

On a personal level, I had an incredible time and walked away with a new passion to continue growing these relationships I had formed. I didn't want to just go home and forget all that God had done during the week. I was excited that after all these years, Heath and I could do ministry together. It will be tough having two kids and wanting to serve together, but God will provide in the ways that we need. I look back at the week and know without a doubt that God wanted me there and that I would have regretted it if I didn't go. I met some incredible people and allowed God to work in my life personally. When I got home I felt like I was looking ahead at a different life than I had been looking ahead to before I left.

That's what God wants from us...obedience. As crazy as I thought the whole idea was, I knew it was what God wanted. And to not go would have been complete disobedience. And a complete loss of all that I gained while I was there: trust in God's perfect plan, His strength, His peace, a stronger relationship with Him, new relationships, a hunger to grow stronger in my faith and knowledge of His word, and more that He hasn't even revealed to me yet. Beach retreat for me was more than just going to the beach to invest in the lives of students. It was allowing God to take me out of my comfort zone and show me there is so much more out there that I was afraid to experience. Our walk with Him is not about standing on the sidelines, but about getting right into the middle of it and fully experiencing Him. I did that and I am all the better for it.

I am overflowing with thoughts and feelings from beach retreat and could go on and on, but I will end with this: If you feel God speaking to you specifically, don't ignore Him. Just be obedient and watch Him move! Your life will be changed!

Before I leave off, of course I am including a few pictures of our time there.

This was the view from our condo. The beach was beautiful and the weather was perfect all week.

This was our condo from the beach. It was fairly new and quite nice! (We were far from roughing it!)

A view down the beach.

Free time at the pool. This was our last day and neither Heath nor I had any duties. I was excited that we would have an hour to hang out during free time. But what does Heath do? He takes a nap!

The first day on the beach.

Silent sounds on the beach the last evening. This was the view from where I was sitting and doing my quiet time.

This is a view from our condo looking out at silent sounds. It really is amazing to see 150+ students and leaders spread out across the sand in total silence reading God's word.

At night all the students came together for worship. The band from our campus played and then Dr. Ed Young who is the head pastor of Second Baptist Church gave the message.

On Wedneday night after worship we went to a local water park and used the wave pool for baptism. What a powerful statement it was for these kids to profess their faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized in front of their peers.

This was me with the girls from my condo just before our campus night of worship. One of the girls brought headbands and we put our names on them and all wore them that night. We also had another leader in our condo since we had 8 girls (she was taking the picture).

Heath and I at worship with our campus the last night. It had been such a great week, I was a little sad it was all coming to an end.

We have an incredible worship band and it is always a blast to worship with the youth!