The Six Month Mark

First off I will tell you that Saturday, Kelsie's HSM3 birthday party, was lots of fun and I will tell you more about it and post pics later. Today's post is dedicated to the fact that Wayne has been on staff at First Prosper for 6 months yesterday. Sometimes I think the time has flown by and we've barely begun and in other ways it feels like we have been here forever. The last 6 months have been a major growing time for me personally just learning more and more about letting go of the control I want to have over my own life and turning it over to God's purposes. It's been difficult at times but it's also been a testament to God's graciousness as He has provided for so many of our needs - selling our home and giving us transitional housing, Kelsie making friends so easily and a great school district...the list goes on and on. (Just a side note - if there is something you are struggling with God about, I want to encourage you that there is blessing in obedience).

Sunday was a HUGE day for me as I looked up on stage during worship and saw the beginnings of Wayne's vision coming to fruition. He has always wanted to be a part of a church where he had the freedom to train up young people and give them real life experience and opportunities in ministry - leading worship, planning, team building, etc. All for the purpose of carrying out kingdom work and on Sunday morning Colin led part of our worship and did so great. Just knowing that in God's timing he will be launched into a new chapter too - can't wait to see what God does with him. I believe God will continue to bring more and more to be trained up and sent out. I see the church's passion for that - expanding God's kingdom and doing it together along the way.

So, as we mark this small milestone - 6 months - we thank God for our pastor who is steadfast in the word, he is just consistent in his pursuit of being true to God's word. We thank God for a staff that is united and more than that - they are friends. They just become closer friends and have more respect for one another the more they are together. We thank God for a church with a heart for missions - from community outreach events to personally talking to someone about Christ to missions trips and missionary support all over the world. We thank God for so many people who have just loved us and invested in us in the short time we have been here. We thank God for His presence in our worship, how He is just continuing to teach us more about Himself here and given us a family to do life with as we grow. There are still things and especially people at Wedgwood I deeply miss. But, I pray that God will continue to grow our love for Prosper just as He did while we were at Wedgwood. Pray that God will use us to expand His kingdom for His name's sake while we serve here and that we can have a part in being used to teach about having a lifestyle of worship. We are blessed!

Finally, it's Fall!

I am so glad Fall is finally here, I have loved the cooler weather this week. My husband, on the other hand, is a summer person and doesn't love the colder weather like I do. I did make him appreciate it a little more tonight by making his favorite soup (taco soup) for dinner. Once again, this week flew by us and this was the first night we were home all week. Looks like that is becoming a trend, Thursday nights at home - I like it.

Kelsie had her first honor choir rehearsal this week and she learned that they would be singing something special for their Veteran's Day program. She enjoyed rehearsal and seemed excited about things to come. Her last birthday party (thank goodness, we have birthday partied all month) is Saturday. We are taking 8 of her friends to see High School Musical 3 (much anticipated). It should be fun. Morgan is coming from Fort Worth to spend the weekend too which is a huge treat for all of us b/c we haven't seen her in a while.

There is not a whole lot of news to report - we stumbled on a house that we really like but it is not officially on the market yet. We saw a house that was an obvious foreclosure - the backyard was literally a wall of weeds waist high with absolutely NO landscaping in the front. We called the realtor on the sign and she told us it was a pre listing and the price had not been determined yet. The next day we noticed that people were clearing the backyard and cleaning the inside so we asked the contractors if we could walk through. We loved the floorplan and the location but the house was stripped down by the people that left - no appliances, doors taken off and light fixtures missing. It's a mess, but has possibilities especially for the right price. So, we will wait until it officially comes up on the market - the listing agent is suppose to call us the day before so we can have a heads up. So, we are continuing to watch new listings and monitor the few we still like as well as pray and wait on God's timing. The good thing is that we are not in a hurry and we are not tied down to rent or another mortgage. So, here is this week's thankful list:

1. Pumpkin bread Kelsie made after dinner tonight - yummy!
2. The cool weather we had this week.
3. The sweet blue birds that I got to see this afternoon out the window.
4. A hilarious episode of "The Office" tonight - the funniest one of this season so far.
5. Girls Night Out - Tuesday night out to eat with the girls and our wonderful husbands who watched the kids. It was delicious Kobe and the company was better.
6. A question that Khris (our pastor) gave us last week to ask ourselves - "What is the thing that will bring God the most glory?" That has caused us to think about houses (and other decisions) in a new way. I love that we are challenged every week by our pastor.
7. Kelsie being so sweet to little kids - they love her and she is so caring and patient with the

Hope you have a good weekend - I will hope to post pics of the Saturday party next week.

A Great Weekend

There are some weekends that fly by because you are so busy going from here to there that on Monday you can't believe the weekend is over and you wonder why you had no time to recuperate in between busy weekday/weeknight schedules. Well, that has been our weekends for a while but this weekend was a restful weekend mixed with quality family time and fun. I loved it! It started on Friday afternoon, Wayne and I got to spend the whole day together. We did spend the first half of the day with our realtor looking at some houses and taking him to lunch but the rest of the day we just hung out and then picked up Kelsie from school. That night was the Prosper/Celina game - a good game with a better outcome. It was a blast to be there and see this year's team win this huge rivalry game. Saturday morning we all slept late and then watched college football and capped off the day with Kelsie having a friend and a babysitter over while we met the Griffs at Babe's in Carrollton for dinner - we had a lot of catching up to do with them. Sunday worship was great, it never gets old seeing how many men come to the altar every week to pray. It always sets a tone for worship. After lunch, we came home to watch the Cowboy's play (I love having a DVR, we didn't have to watch commercials) and that was disappointing and UGLY. We squeezed in a quick nap and then took Kelsie to Prosper Party Place for Allie's birthday party. They played laser tag and games. Wayne played one game of laser tag with them - they broke up into teams of 6 and he was his own team. After the party was over, we came home and made a fire in the fire pit because it was a chilly night. We ended up roasting hot dogs for dinner and we all said we felt like we were away somewhere - it was dark, quiet, the stars were bright and we were sitting by a fire on the perfect night roasting hot dogs.

So, today is Monday and we are back to our normal busy schedules. Kelsie is off at school, Wayne is spending his day off site to do mega planning and I have a huge to do list that is typical for Monday, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, bill paying and errand running. This week I think we have something going on every night but this weekend was fabulous and we can hope for more like it! See below - a few pics taken with my phone after the game on Friday night.

People starting to rush the field when the game was over.....fun!

From top - Joy, Sarah, Kelsie, Karis, Kensey and Caroline after the game.

Prosper Wins!!!

Wow! What a game last night - Prosper beat their biggest rivals, Celina, last night 33-7. It was a huge win since Prosper hasn't beat Celina in 24 years. We had a blast at the game. Hope you are having a good weekend. We are enjoying a lazy Saturday with Kelsie working on some craft projects and Wayne and I watching Texas Tech play A & M. Love days like this and we look forward to worship tomorrow. Will post some pics later.

Thursday Already?

I can't believe it's already Thursday, this week has flown by and so I will start with this week's thankful list:

• My Sunday School Class has been a blessing to me just watching them really do life together. They all step up so many times when there are things going on in each others lives. They are a GREAT group of friends!
• Pumpkin Spice Limited Edition coffee pods for the Keurig that I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond - yummy! My very own starbucks at home (cheaper and less fattening too, a win/win)
• Time to sit down and eat breakfast with Kelsie several days this week. I love starting my day with her.
• Our dentist (Dr. Toney) and orthodontist (Dr. Jensen) - both professional and exceptional in their field and generous men of God. Kelsie has been relaxed and comfortable with both of them which is so important to me!
• The cooler weather - it's been nice to have the rain and the cooler morning today. Fall is my favorite.
• Market Street's Chicken Tortilla Soup. Yum!
• Karen Kingsbury's "Sunset" which I am reading now. I have to force myself to put it down at night so I don't stay up until 2 a.m.
• Watching all the bunnies, birds, and especially the hawk at the farm house - it's fun to have nature all around (as long as it doesn't include snakes and mice - so far they haven't come up to the house but I know they are out there).

Monday night we went to look at some vacant/foreclosed houses. Even though our plan is to wait until after the first of the year to move, we learned that foreclosures take a while to work out and close so we decided to go and look. There were a few we liked, nothing we loved yet. We have a few houses that we are watching but don't want to see yet because people live in them and we know how it is to be given false hope by lookers that aren't serious. We will wait on those until Nov/Dec. It is fun to look at houses though and it gives us good ideas of what neighborhoods to narrow our search to, so it's useful even if we aren't making offers yet.

Tuesday night we ordered On the Border for a Deeper Worship Conference meeting at the farm house. I love the team that is working on this project! God really has assembled such a talented team and we all have such different strengths that we work very well together. It will be an incredible weekend-don't miss it! Wednesday we had our first visit to the orthodontist, Dr. Jensen, who was fabulous. We loved him, he was great interacting with Kelsie and explaining stuff to us. We left with a good understanding of what we need to do now and the long term plan for her future smile. Right now, we have to see a specialist for a root canal on the malformed tooth so there won't be decay later and they can shape the tooth further. After that is done, the tooth next to it (a baby tooth) needs to be pulled to make room for the impacted tooth that is not wanting to come down in the right spot. All of her other teeth (she still has 7 baby teeth) look like they are coming in correctly. So, we get those things done and see him in one year to take another x-ray and see where the impacted tooth is and how the other teeth have come in so we can go from there straightening the turned tooth and whatever else they need to address. Kelsie enjoyed looking at the x-ray of all her baby teeth and perm teeth that are in there - I think she was counting the tooth fairy money!

So, tonight kinda starts the weekend for me - the first night we haven't had plans this week so we can actually sit down to dinner together and spend some quality family time. On Friday, Wayne and I get to hang out together - I am looking forward to spending the day with him. Then we have Friday Night Football, Prosper plays their biggest rivals Celina this week so it's a huge game and should be fun! Okay, if my weekend is to start tonight I better get busy on finishing up laundry and stuff. Have a great weekend!

Birthday Celebration Weekend 2

This weekend was Kelsie's birthday celebration weekend #2 with Wayne's family. Normally, we have one celebration for family and one for friends but typically in the same weekend but this year ended up being a little different and will expand almost the whole month of October. I'm sure Kelsie doesn't mind getting gifts all month. So, this weekend was kicked off on Friday morning with Rucker Rocks at Kelsie's school. She was recognized on stage with the other birthday kids and they have to do a little dancing in front of everyone. Luckily, Kelsie had a friend from her class (Miranda) that went up with her and a little girl (Emma) in Kindergarten that she knows from church was up there, so she was a little more comfortable but I think still a little embarrassed.

Kelsie on stage, getting ready to dance. Miranda in black and pink and Emma in white and blue standing with her.

Kelsie's class made a sign to show school spirit so they could win the gold rock for the week.

4th Grade won!!!

Kelsie and Kensey before it started. Kensey got Rucker Rocks for the week (an award that is given out to kids who do extraordinary things that week - see Kennedy Krew blog for details)

On Saturday, we had everyone out in the afternoon to celebrate (after the Texas/OU game). We always let Kelsie pick the menu so she wanted to cook outside hot dogs and roast s'mores. We purchased a small fire pit to have an open fire so we could cook out hot dogs and s'mores. It was nice weather outside so we all enjoyed sitting outside on the deck and the kids had a good time playing and exploring. We had a great time getting together for Kelsie's birthday!!

Kelsie got lots of webkins from her cousins.

Kelsie and "rattlesnake" she got - look closely....Aunt Joy is so creative.

Wayne, the fire starter.

Christopher, Brittany and Wayne roasting marshmallows.

Posing for a silly pic - they didn't want a sweet, smiling, serious picture.

An unconventional Birthday Cake - a s'more without the graham cracker...????

Made a wish!!! Happy 10th, my big girl.

Kelsie and Brittany both like their s'mores without graham cracker. A Gooey mess!

Hey - watch the hair!

As you can see, we had a fun weekend. Hope yours was good....more later.

I See Some Dentists in Our Future

We had a good visit with Dr. Toney (our wonderful dentist and elder at FBC) yesterday for Kelsie. She has a tooth in the top front that is turned slightly so we went for a little repair before our trip to the orthodontist next Wednesday. After some x-rays and investigation, he saw some things with that tooth (technical names I don't get) leading him to believe she needs to see a root canal specialist to fix it so it doesn't decay. YIKES!! Also, another tooth is impacted and not growing the right way to replace the baby tooth that is loose. So, we have some dental work in our future and we will know more next Wednesday. However, because he had to do some repair to that tooth and look at it closely, she had to have the top part of her mouth numb. It was so funny b/c she was shocked at how big her lip felt and that she couldn't talk or anything. She also hated the feeling that she couldn't swallow so they just gave her the little wand that sucks out the fluid from your mouth. She did really good being still and doing what they said, we were proud of her b/c she hates anything done to her mouth. Also, once we got home, the tooth that was loose she pulled so the tooth fairy brought $5 which made it all worth while in her eyes.

This is a pic that Wayne took with his phone because she was trying to smile...funny.

THIS WEEKS THANKFUL LIST:

• Wayne is home this week and got back safely from Ecuador. The stories and pics are great - can't wait to continue hearing more from everyone that went.
• Cooler weather - each morning and evening has been beautiful. We have enjoyed spending time outside on the deck.
• A 7 minute commute to Kelsie's school.
• Kelsie making friends at school and church - she has already made such sweet friends at both school and church. Everyone has welcomed us with open arms and I am thankful for a smooth transition.
• The new iphone apps - love the grocery list maker and the balance sheet.
• Harvest Candles (Yankee) - my favorite.
• Praying friends and family - we love you!!

Random Stuff

Kelsie's Birthday - On Monday Wayne took the day off because he had been gone to Ecuador all week and was tired and starting to feel a little under the weather. So, we took lunch to Kelsie at school. It was the first time we had eaten lunch with her at school and we enjoyed meeting some of her little friends. It cracked me up how the kids immediately separated into boys at one end of the table and girls at the other - I know that won't last much longer but it's cute that they are like that still. I asked Kelsie if any of the girls ever mix it up by going down there and sitting with the boys and she gave me a definitive NO!!! When we picked her up from school at 3, she immediately opened her gift and then we let her choose where to go eat that night - she chose JinBeh, a favorite for all of us! She said the kids in class counted down her birth time (12:04 p.m.) and said Happy Birthday to her in class - how cute!! The celebration continues on Friday with Rucker Rocks - I hope to post some pics of that later in the weekend.

Microwave Fire - Tuesday morning I was heating up some bacon in the microwave for Kelsie's breakfast and I put in a Happy Birthday plate left over from Grammy's house this weekend. It went up in flames - big flames. Apparently you cannot put paper plates in the microwave if it has little foil sparkles on it! YIKES.

Margaret was kidnapped - While I was at my mom's house, my gps (Margaret) along with Kelsie's portable DVD player and my iphone car charger were stolen. My mom's neighborhood is rear entry garage in an alley and I must have left my car door unlocked at some point and it presented a nice opportunity for someone to help themselves. I am thankful there wasn't a "break in," no broken glass or anything like that to deal with and they did close the door back so the light didn't stay on and run my battery down. Of course, Kelsie was upset b/c it meant a 5 hour drive with no movie but I assured her she would make it - after all, what did kids do before portable DVD players? She didn't know and didn't care! She did find some things to do like read and draw, listen to her ipod (which was in a bag and not stolen, thank goodness) and then we practiced "Christmas in Reverse" which was a good thing for both of us to do. It wasn't that bad but will all be replaced. I am LOST without Margaret. JERKS!!!!

House Hunting - Before Wayne left for Ecuador, we had been house hunting on the internet and narrowing down our search to 3-4 houses that we were going to look at once he got back. Now with financials and credit the way it is, we have decided to hold off a little and have more cash when we make an offer on something. So, we are back to our original plan to wait until after the first of the year and hope that things settle down. We are anxious to have our own house for sure but living at the farm house has been fun and it's really great when the first of the month rolls around and we don't have to make a house payment. We know God has the perfect house for us (within our budget) and His timing will be perfect just as it was when our house sold. So, we will keep praying, sorta looking and wait for "our" house.

Well, I have finished my cup of coffee and I need to get busy with some household chores and errands today. Talk later.

Happy 10th, Kelsie

Happy Birthday, Kelsie.  Since you are 10, I thought I would make a top ten list of the things I love about you (in no particular order):

1. You are sweet to other kids, especially little kids.
2. You use your gifts in music to praise God.
3. You love to cook and help in the kitchen.
4. You like to help me pick out jewelry and shoes.
5. You like to go and play golf with your dad.
6. You love animals and are so responsible with Raider.
7. You are not afraid to tell people about Jesus and your relationship with God.
8. You have a heart for people in different places all over the world, especially kids.
9. You are a leader.
10. You are a good daughter and a good friend.  

We thank God for giving you to us.  We love you and can't believe you are 10 years old!  We are so proud of the young lady God is shaping you into.  We love you!  Mom and Dad

Surprise!!

Wayne and the Ecuador team got back yesterday afternoon around 6 p.m.  He was not expecting us to pick him at the airport but SURPRISE!! we were there.  Our original plan was to go to San Angelo on Friday and come back on Sunday but when we realized that the team was getting back so early, we decided to pick Wayne up at the airport and surprise him.  So, we went to San Angelo on Thursday after school and went straight to the airport on Saturday. Wayne was very surprised when he came through the door and saw us standing there.  He wanted to go to Sonic and get iced tea with ice (b/c they couldn't have ice all week) and so we drove through and came home to eat and look at all his pictures from the trip.  It was nice to have him home again and we enjoyed looking at all the pics and hearing about his days in Ecuador.  

Monday is Kelsie's birthday, she will be 10 - I can't believe it.  We went to San Angelo this weekend to celebrate with my family since my grandmother cannot travel right now due to having her surgery a few weeks ago.  We had a great time visiting with everyone even though it was a quick trip.  Kelsie requested grammy's mashed potatoes so we had grilled chicken with all the fixins including funfetti cake.  We will celebrate with her tomorrow by taking her lunch at school and opening presents after school is out.  On Friday at school, she will get to dance on stage at Rucker Rocks so we will be there to see her do that.  Next weekend, Wayne's family will come out to the farm house on Saturday to cook out and celebrate and then she will have a party with her friends a few weeks later when "High School Musical 3" opens.  So, I guess this year we will have a month full of birthday celebration which is okay for double digits.  

Other good news is that Kelsie made Honor Choir.  We got the letter on Thursday and she was really excited about it.  They get to sing at the town's Christmas event as well as other events throughout the year.  It should be lots of fun, we are proud of her!

Thursday's Thankful List

First, we are doing well - thanks for all your e-mails, phone calls and facebook messages but especially thanks for your prayers for us and for the Ecuador team. You can read the missions blog to find out some of what has gone on during the trip and see a few pics. They did not have internet service last night but hope to have it today to post again before they begin traveling back on Friday. Our week at home has been busy with our regular school and church stuff going on and this weekend we will travel to San Angelo to celebrate Kelsie's birthday with my family.

Last week, I said that I felt a need to have a weekly thankful list as a matter of discipline instead of just a "Thanksgiving" season thing. It's been good for me all week to just think about the things I am thankful for, when you start doing this you realize how blessed you are by God. Psalm 30 says :

"I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.” LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O LORD; And to the LORD I made supplication: “What profit is there in my God, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

My Thursday Thankful List:

• Friends that pray, support and encourage us
• Kelsie's sweet spirit toward others
• Coffee - this week I needed it EVERY morning
• Facebook chatting - we got to talk to Wayne using this without paying a gazillion dollars to talk on the phone
• The fact that we are healthy
• The opportunity for me to be room mom and volunteer at Kelsie's school and be home right now
• During this financial mess - that our house sold before all this stuff happened

Hope you have a good weekend. What about you, do you have a thankful list for the week?

Girls Weekend

Saturday morning, our Ecuador team left and we had a sweet prayer time before they left early on Saturday (too early for a Saturday morning if you ask me). Wayne was able to call for less than a minute last night just to say all is well, travel was smooth and everyone on the trip is feeling good (no illness). They are going up into the mountains today. He said they were hoping to have access to phone and internet at the base where they are staying tonight so hopefully we will get to talk to him and they will be able to upload their photos on the missions blog.

Saturday morning, Kelsie, Allie and I were signed up to serve at the First Prosper booths at the Prosper Arts and Music Festival. The festival was originally set for early September, but it was the same weekend that Hurricane Ike came through so because of the wind and rain, it was postponed. We had two tents set up near the kid's area and we had a kid's craft to do along with a community, active art project for everyone to contribute to as they walked by. It was lots of fun and we worked from 10 to 1, the girls had a good time and we had a steady flow of people visiting us. I love that our church is so willing to do things out in the community, to support the community and to meet people. There was no gimmic for getting names or any secondary agenda like that - just serving. So, after our shift was over we got to walk around and see the artists that were there and visit the kids area. The girls got to paint pumpkins, jump houses, ride a horse, pet animals in a petting zoo and then shop. There were many good artists, we ended up with necklaces from a jewelry artist. After coming home to rest a little while, we decided to go to a movie so we went to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3-D. It was a good movie and the girls were ready for bed when we got home. Sunday worship was good - we prayed for the Ecuador team and celebrated the fact that the vision to train up others and send them out was visible as so many stepped up to serve in the absence of most of our staff and other leaders on the trip. We had a sweet time of worship under the leadership of Colin.

Necklaces the girls picked out.

Kelsie and Allie working hard getting the craft project ready and helping kids do theirs. They were hard workers and did great!

This week will be busy, but we are counting the days to Kelsie's 10th! She can't wait to be double digits. Growing up fast. This week at school, her class is on safety patrol morning duty and her day was today. We are hoping to find out about Honor choir some time this week as well - we will keep you posted.

Pray for our Ecuador Team

Please pray for our team going to Ecuador, they leave in the morning. See our FBC Missions blog under my ministry links for updates this week. I will also try and post pics from Kelsie and Allie working with me at the Prosper Arts and Music festival tomorrow. Should be fun helping the kids make art projects and checking things out ourselves when we are done with our shift. Keep you updated - have a good weekend!

The Rope Swing

Kelsie posing on her new swing.

Out at the farm house, there was a broken rope hanging from a tree close to the house. Kelsie and Allie had moved the trampoline under it so they could reach it and swing on it. It gave Kelsie the idea while we were at Home Depot to buy a new and longer rope. So, MaMaw and Joy splurged and bought her one and then on our way out of the Wal-Mart parking lot they spotted a peice of board on the side of the parking lot entrance that would be perfect for a swing seat. So, Wayne got out and picked it up. On Tuesday night, Wayne and Kelsie had the project of hanging the rope on the tree and then attaching the board as a swing. Kelsie is such a little monkey and loved climbing all over it. The perfect homemade project especially fitting for the farm house which I am sure will provide hours of fun. Who needs a rainbow swing set?

This was a picture taken with Wayne's iphone camera of Kelsie looking out the big barn doors at sunset. I want to go back and take another with my camera so you can get the whole perspective but too many wasps right now.....eeeekkkkksss

Kelsie on the swing. (This is the view at night from our back porch)

Other news from Kelsie's world - there were auditions on Wednesday morning for honor choir at school. She and Kinzy (her friend, our pastor's daughter) were the only 2 that didn't sing Happy Birthday - good for them for being more creative! I will let you know the outcome when we find out. She finally earned enough money in class that she paid to sit with a friend at lunch so she got to sit with Kinzy at lunch yesterday. I was thinking that meant she was now broke but she said she still has $200 (Klinenberg Krones) to buy other things if she wants to later. I'm glad they got to enjoy lunch together and proud of her for her money management skills (although she's not quite as frugal with our money). Also yesterday, little Ms. Caroline came over to play after school. Caroline is 4 years old and has grown attached to some of the older girls, thinking she is their age. It's so cute! So, as a big girl, she came home to play with Kelsie after school. The cutest part was that in the car on the way to the church, Caroline was already lining up more plans saying that Kelsie could bring her pajamas and come over to spend the night at her house. She is just so precious and she loves Kelsie. I'm so proud of Kelsie for being such a sweet girl and loving people. She is just a blessing to us!

In honor of this week officially being Fall, I must continue my tradition of having a "thankful" list. I did this last year a couple of times during Thanksgiving but now I am thinking as a discipline that it should be a once a week thing - not just whenever I am "feeling" thankful. So, here goes this week's list:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte - and a friend that brings them to me from Frisco since we do not have a Starbucks here yet - Thanks Patti!
• Sitting on the back porch at the farm house enjoying the quiet and the breeze.
• Watching Kelsie walk from school to the church with her friends and being there to pick her up to hear about her day over Sonic happy hour drinks.
• Shane and Shane worship songs revisited this week while cleaning house.
• My husband who is allowing me to take my time in figuring out a balance between work and home (and also that he is my best friend who listens to all my crap that is important to me but he could care less about, like the jewelry I ordered or how much I saved at the grocery store).
• Listening to Kelsie hum and sing in the mornings when she is getting ready.
• Keeping up with friends from everywhere on blogs and facebook - I love technology.
• That my nana is still recovering well from surgery and doing better every day.
• That "The Office" premiere is tonight!

List disclaimer: This does not encompass EVERYTHING I am thankful for but it's this week's list. Please read my lists knowing that some stuff seems stupid and it's not all spiritual stuff. No, I am not leaving God off the list but my thankful lists are done with the knowledge that without God's grace in my life I would have no blessings and that the most important blessing is a security for the future in heaven with Him and the security of now that I get to participate in His kindgom building while I am on earth. So, I am not excluding God from the list but everything I am thankful for comes from God. I owe Him my very life. I hope you have a long thankful list - love to hear yours! Have a good weekend and check out the new FBC Prosper Missions blog and pray for the Ecuador team who leaves this Saturday.

A Monday Off

You couldn't ask for a better Monday!  The Cowboys won last night and we got to stay at friends to watch, not to worry about school the next day because Kelsie was out for Teacher/Parent Conferences.  Kelsie ended up spending the night with a friend and Wayne got up early to go and play in a golf tournament so I got to sleep until 9 a.m. and it was great.  We did have Kelsie's conference with her teacher this afternoon and it was all good.  She is doing well and adjusting well - her teacher said she is social in class (meaning she talks in class) but it's not a discipline issue and she is doing well academically.  We are very proud of her!  After the conference we ran some errands together and then Wayne was off to play softball (the first one of the season).  By the way - Wayne's team did win the Prosper Open but he was disappointed in the prize which was a "Showroom Detail" at a car place.  On the up side, he did get to play the country club course which he doesn't get the opportunity to play that often and his car will be extra clean.  

This weekend was busy but fun.  Friday night was an away game so we did our community tailgate.  Those are lots of fun as people from the community stop and eat with us before the game.  Prosper beat the Frisco fighting Racoons easily - we left at the end of the 3rd quarter because it was 36-6.  On Saturday, Mamaw (Wayne's mom) and Aunt Joy came for a quick visit. We gave them the Prosper tour and just grilled out and hung out at home catching up and playing with Kelsie.  Unfortunately, the faucet at the kitchen sink broke so after 3 trips to Home Depot, Wayne was able to fix it - a pain.  Worship on Sunday was good but the best part of Sunday was our Connect First class (a class for new members).  We had lots of new people and we had a great time getting to know some of them better.  We are looking forward to the next one.  It's always amazing to me to hear the testimonies of people coming to Prosper, they are all unique stories of God's grace, His provision and how He moves people to accomplish things in His kingdom.  We are humbled that God uses us to build His kingdom and we see His hand so clearly at work in this body in Prosper.  Exciting days are ahead as we grow together into more family.  Have a good week, more soon.

Adventures at the Farm House

We have lived here now for two months and have experienced things that make living in the farm house...um, let's say interesting. First you should know how blessed and thankful we are to live here in the farm house and how generous First Prosper has been to let us live here after our house sold. At first it was a necessity because there was no way we could have 2 house payments but they are letting us live here rent free (only paying utilities) for 6 months. It's the only time in our marriage we have not had a rent or mortgage payment and it allows us to save, save, save for a new house and pay off some lingering debt. So, as I describe the interesting, things that have happened to us living here please know none of it is a complaint - it's just life that happens and it has happened to us here. So, now that my disclaimer is done, here's are a few stories about our adventures at the farm house....

• We have had our washer overflow (thank goodness it's all tile flooring) and once the plumber came on a Saturday we learned it was a major clog (septic tank - yuk) which called for the real deal kinda plumber, not the guy on the weekend that can do minor repairs. What made this difficult was that we were in between events in our household. We have just moved and Kelsie had returned from camp with several loads and we were scheduled to leave on Monday for a week in Austin and San Antonio. Several people offered to have us come over and do laundry but we had so many loads it would have taken all day so we went back to college! Yes, we visited the laundromat near UNT. Kelsie loved it and we got all the laundry done quickly - those machines are HUGE. So, while it was inconvenient it worked out that we all pitched in and did the laundry together and were entertained at the same time!
• We got struck by lightning. Seriously! There was a huge antennae on the front of the house the previous owners used I guess but we never thought anything of it until the morning we heard the huge boom sound. Wayne was getting dressed for work and I was still in bed (it was still summer and only 7:30 a.m.). Kelsie and Kinzy (her friend) were in the guest room sleeping. Of course it woke us all up and then Wayne smelled smoke and the smoke alarms went off. We got out immediately and called 911 so the fire department came. Thankfully it hit the antennae and fried all the phone line wires in the attic and blew out the phone box and phone jacks. Weird and yes, the antennae has been taken down.
• We have seen lots of wildlife and bugs. The bunnies under the deck, we see a lot of bunnies every night. We have seen a racoon, squirrel, armadillo, green snake, preying mantis, hawk (a separate story), possum, stray barn cats, mice in the field, many varieties of bees and wasps, cicada, very large spiders on ginormous spider webs and lots of different kinds of birds.
• We have two hawks that frequent the farm house property looking for food. It's actually really cool to watch them. They are very large and I will admit that it's a little unnerving to see one of them so close to the house looking for food and walking outside with prey on a leash (Raider - Needless to say, he is never off his leash outside because we have heard there are also bobcats out here but we haven't see one yet.) Anyway, we have watched it stalk bunnies and squirrel and swoop down to pick them up, it's amazing to watch the process. One morning we walked out to see it sitting on top of a victim having breakfast - Kelsie and Wayne got out the binoculars. Does this make us country-fied or what?

These are a few of the things we experience out here. It's fun and because we have a large deck we did a few nights of what we called "coffee on the porch" for people to come by and visit so we could get to know some families better. We had a great time getting to know everyone that came by. I hope your week was good, ours has flown by but we have had a great week. Kelsie got a little solo part in the musical the kids are doing in December. The cast list has been set and the kids are doing so well on the music and choreography. Tonight was the first night in a while that we were all home, no company and no plans so we spent the evening together just hanging out and it was fun! Tomorrow a football game and tailgate in Frisco which is always fun and then Wayne's mom and Aunt Joy are coming for a quick visit on Saturday and Sunday. Hope you have a good weekend and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather.

Solitude and Silence

This week I am reading "Intimacy with the Almighty" (Charles Swindoll) as part of a team I am serving on at church for our Deeper Worship Conference in January. Okay - stop - I need to plug this event before I go on.....DON'T MISS IT!!! This is going to be such a great time of worship and teaching, Steve Hardin from The Village Church and Billy and Cindy Foote - wow! The planning team God has put together is incredible - everyone with very specific giftings and talents. This will be a great time for personal growth and family bonding. Okay - plug over. So as I am sitting on the back porch on Monday morning reading about the importance of solitude and silence before God, I realized that even though it was a still and quiet morning, the birds were chirping and it was beautiful weather that I am still not completely quiet and still. My phone was dinging - an e-mail and then a text, a different text, the dog needed my attention, I was taking notes, another e-mail....you get the picture. I realized that even when I am having a "quiet time" I was busying myself with other stuff in the middle of it. I realized I do this alot - I think I'm being quiet because noone is home or there is no music or tv but really I am still multi-tasking. I am cheating myself out of quality time with God by giving Him just some of my attention. Even in praying - I seem to "pray on the go" - praying for people and situations all during the day - which is good but no real time to just stop and listen. So, as our Life Connection Group leader has asked us to read and have quiet time 7 days out of 7, I am realizing for me that means more than just reading - it means being QUIET and STILL!!! I'm still thinking through a realistic solution (getting up at 5 is not realistic for me) for this - to set aside a completely quiet time with God, no phone, no people, no dog, no computer, no music - this will be a learned discipline.

As you know, we were suppose to be on a cruise this week. Instead we are maintaining our regular routine here, which is fine. Wayne was planned ahead so it's good because this gives him a chance to work on some longer range projects and he was able to pick Kelsie up from school yesterday and go play a little golf. They had a good time. I worked in the 3 year old class at First Friends yesterday (they are so cute) and then was able to go and do a little shopping since Wayne and Kelsie were busy. I was thinking yesterday how much I love that I can be at Sam Moon and Stonebriar Centre in 20 minutes! For the first time, I went to Sam Moon and didn't buy anything (I was looking for a specific thing they didn't have). Usually when you drive over an hour to shop there you stay for hours and buy whatever you find that you like because you won't be back for 6 months.

On a family note - my 76 year old grandmother had neck surgery yesterday to repair 4 disks...ouch. She did really well and is doing well today. I know many of you were praying, the whole family was a little nervous I think about future nerve damage and other complications that come with that kind of surgery but she did very well and is on the road to recovery, I think scheduled to go home as early as Thursday. Thanks for your prayers and e-mails. More soon.

No Cruise

At some point today, Carnival got the news that Galveston was closed so they cancelled the cruise. We will get a full refund so we can rebook. I think Kelsie is secretly glad because she is hoping when we reschedule, she can go with us. On the upside, it gives me more time to say I'm going to lose a little weight before the cruise.

On another note, lovin the cool weather tonight on the back porch. We sat out there after a meeting at church tonight and it was almost cold. Lovely! Worship was so sweet today and as we sang, read scripture, prayed, gave and dove deeply into the word, the Spirit of God was present in our worship-encouraging, convicting and healing. I am thankful for the body here to worship and serve alongside. Stay tuned for adventures at the farm house......

We're Back!!!!

Yay! We are back in the REAL world!! Yes, we finally got internet service late on Thursday. You already know the nightmare so I won't recap that but let me update you on a few things. Wayne (because he is the patient and polite one) has been working with Wendy here to get an order through the abyss of AT&T and get a tech out here to hook us up. We found out Wednesday that her 13 year old daughter has cancer. We are just convinced that God ordained for us to meet her so we could pray for them and minister to them. She was so thankful when Wayne offered for us to pray over her daugher and told her we would be praying for them and touching base to see if there was anything they needed. So, we ask you to pray for Jaime in Little Elm. Pray for her healing both physical and spiritual and for her family as they take this cancer journey together. So, I was reminded once again that all this is not about me and my perceived needs but that God has bigger plans for His kingdom. When will I learn that? Anyway, the technician that came was super nice and even stayed to make sure our wireless router worked which wasn't his job since it's not AT&T equipment. We are super thankful to have internet service now. It's unbelieveable how many things (besides blogging) we use it for like paying bills, getting school information, looking up a variety of things like recipes and weather and of course there is Webkins and Club Penguin. Kelsie was convinced that all her Webkins would be dead. They weren't so it was a happy day.

This weekend was Homecoming in Prosper and we have not been a part of a Homecoming quite like it. All week was different dress days at school, Monday was pajama day and Kelsie couldn't wait to wear her pink, fuzzy slippers to school. Of course, she had to take tennis shoes for P.E. but she mentioned she was so comfy she wanted to sleep during a test. I think it's more a state of mind and the fact that she goes non stop, but funny. Tuesday was jersey day, Wednesday was favorite color day-Kelsie of course wore pink. Thursday was wacky dress day and that was lots of fun and Friday was spirit day and it was early release at noon. Yes, the whole town shuts down for the Homecoming parade and so after we ate lunch we got to our spot on the parade route and Kelsie got to meet up with some friends. It was really fun, the weather was warm but with a breeze and the floats were very creative and the kids favorite part was the candy they threw off the floats. After the parade, Kelsie went swimming with Allie at her house and we met up early for the game so we could get a good seat for the packed out game. The game was really close all night. The Prosper Eagles really fought hard but had too many penalties to get the win and we lost by 6 points to Bridgeport. The game was exciting until the very end unlike the other two games we attended where the eagles dominated and the score was a blow out by half time. Saturday morning was so cloudy and dark we slept in - so nice - and then this afternoon took Kelsie and Allie to the mall so they wouldn't be stir crazy stuck inside b/c of all the rain. We were going to ice skate but it was closed so we ended up at Dave and Busters for games, chips and salsa and a chocolate fondue plate - it was cute to watch the girls pick and choose what their favorite was and we decided we need a fondue pot at home. The girls discovered "Deal or No Deal" game and won lots of tickets and we all had a good time - Wayne could be found playing Ms Pacman or basketball. We all had fun, even the big kids. Tonight we just relaxed at home, watched a little football, hurricane coverage and played games.

School Update - Kelsie still really likes her teacher and she has earned almost $200 is Klingenburg Krones which she can use to buy lunch with a friend, free homework pass, etc. We continue to be so impressed with Prosper ISD as we attended curriculum night this week. It has been easy to get involved, I worked in the library this week and attended room mom meeting Thursday. It was fun meeting some new people and getting plugged into the school. Kelsie is going to audition for the honor choir and we should know about that by the first of October and she also signed up this week to take pictures for the yearbook.

The Cruise Update - some of you may know that Wayne and I are booked on Carnival Cruise leaving from Galveston on Monday, September 15th. Well, if you have a tv, radio or internet then you know Hurricane Ike hit Galveston very hard but nobody has told that to Carnival and they are still planning to leave on Monday. We will not be there! I am not about to drive down to South Texas and get in all that mess. So, here are 10 reasons why Carnival is oblivious to reality:

1. The Governor of Texas has told people to stay out.
2. IH-45 connecting Houston to Galveston is heavily damaged by water, debris and road damage. People have to currently leave Galveston by helicopter.
3. The NFL cancelled a football game - you know it's bad when they are willing to lose money.
4. No electricity or fresh water....so, we go potty in a toilet that doesn't flush and in the dark?
5. Galveston is mostly underwater or blown down-pictures say it all.
6. The people that will dock at the Port of Galveston coming in from the cruise that left on Thursday will have no cars to drive home in.
7. A million people evacuated, do I really want to sit in traffic with them when they all return?
8. There is no airport - again, an industry that doesn't like to lose money.
9. The mayors of Galveston and Houston say stay out.
10. There isn't a dock and their terminal is flooded - I guess they could float up to the road and we can hop on.

Seriously, we are hoping they will change the itinerary to New Orleans and we can reschedule. We are going to try and pick a date so Kelsie can go with us. We will keep you posted. More to come, including the many adventures of the farm house. We love you, let us hear from you soon.

Still in Technology Hell

If you have seen my facebook profile you have seen that I refer to my situation at the farm house as technology hell. I say that because on July 10th, AT&T was suppose to transfer our home phone and internet service to the farm house from our Ft. Worth house. The technician showed up on time but said all he had was a phone order not an internet order and after calling to get the run around we were told that it would be a week. A week later, we still did not have service. So, without telling you all the gory details of the numerous phone calls made about this issue we still do not have phone or internet service at the farm house. The weird thing is that the Executive Pastor who lived there before us had AT&T internet and phone. The excuse given is that for some reason the order goes through and then gets dropped by the provisioning department due to no service available which is CRAZY!!! Even the technician is frustrated. We have finally been in communication with the local supervisor and she has put a lot of minutes on our phone bill to reimburse for the many minutes on the phone about this and we will probably get internet service free for the next 6 months IF they can ever get it going. We are about to resort to a mobile card.....so if it wasn't for the iphone I would not be able to update facebook and get e-mail. So, enough about that - on to other updates.

Kelsie's school - she started school last week with Mrs. Klingenburg. She really likes her teacher a lot. We have worked out her walking from the school to the church (there is a sidewalk that connects the church and the school) so we don't have to get in the monsterous car line. There is a separate, shorter car line at the church where I pick her up and she enjoys walking with the group that gets picked up there. Her favorite part so far has been the class job selection process. They had to choose a job, fill out an application and this week will complete their interview for the job they want. They get paid in Klingenburg Krone money for the job they do as well as for other good things they get caught doing and they can buy privileges to sit with a friend, etc.

We had a good Labor Day weekend. It started Friday night with the Prosper Eagles football game. By half time the score was 56 to 0 Prosper winning - a blow out, we left right after half time. Kelsie spent the night with her friend Allie and we were exhausted so we just went home to watch a movie and go to bed! Saturday morning we picked up Kelsie and another 3 friends to take them to a little girl's birthday party. Caroline was turning 4 and wanted the "big girls" to come and do make up, hair and nails. They were so cute being the big girls and so sweet watching the little girls do their tea party. While we did that, Wayne went to a work project with some men from church and he said they got a lot accomplished, I know he loves the ministry and fellowship of those kinds of things. After that, the girls went swimming and then we spent Saturday night just cooking out and hanging out at home. Sunday we had some wedgies visiting us at church and went to lunch with them. Sunday night we had Isabel's birthday party at the Gaylord so Kelsie had her friend Sara spent the night at the farm house with a babysitter. They had a great time and so did we. It was good to see everyone at dinner - it was a surprise party and we almost got caught. Wayne and I were going into the hotel lobby to get to the restaurant and there were the Shirley's and McLelland's standing at the elevator. Luckily, Isabel did not see us so we didn't blow the surprise. We ate at Ama Lur and just had a great time catching up with everyone. Happy Birthday Isabel! Monday we slept late and then went to the Griff's to swim and cook out. We all had a great time and it was good to just relax and visit with them.

We are looking forward to a busy week. I am substituting at the preschool here at the church this week - four year olds. It was a good day, a fun class. Friday night is our tailgate party since Prosper has an away game this week. Saturday we are headed back to Fort Worth for Stephanie's wedding and looking forward to that and Sunday marks the first day of Cowboy football season. Busy weeks ahead but fun and exciting, I will keep you posted as I have internet service in Wayne's office. Right now I must go pick up Kelsie at the sidewalk so I'd better get going - more soon.

Where have we been?

Blogging friends!  Where have we been you ask? Well, we have been in a foreign land called the land with no internet connection.  As you know, we moved to Prosper on July 10th (I have no excuse except getting ready to move between June 20th and July 10th) and since we have been in the farm house here we have not been able to have internet access.  Because of the iphone, I am able to get and return e-mail as well as do limited stuff on facebook but it won't let me post anything here.  Right now I am in Wayne's office writing you - I have really missed you!!!  Here is a brief report (more details coming as soon as we get service, we are hoping for next week).  

The house:  We have a contract on our house and the option period for the buyers was up yesterday.  We are currently scheduled to close on Thursday, August 28th, however we heard from the title company today and they believe it may be a few days sooner than that at this point. We are excited to be selling and got a decent price so that all we owed at closing was a small portion of our property taxes so praise God we didn't sell the house at a loss.  We were able to sell high enough to cover all our realtor fees, the warranty the sellers wanted, title insurance and closing fees and the pay off on the mortgage.  Our closing costs were minimal because it was a cash offer/transaction so we didn't have all the normal fees associated with someone who is getting a mortgage which also makes for a smooth and quick closing.  

Where do we go from here?:  We haven't really been seriously house hunting yet.  We have moved into the farm house on the church's property (will post pictures eventually) and we are settled there for now.  Kelsie will begin school at Rucker Elementary (right next door to the church) on Monday the 25th and so our focus for now will be getting her settled.  We are planning to begin looking seriously in November so we can time the move into permanent housing sometime after the first of the year.  It also gives me some time and freedom to decide about job opportunities.

FBC Prosper:  Church is going well.  Kelsie went to Camp Copass with the kids here and had a blast.  She has already made some good little girl friends and has adjusted well.  Wayne loves the guys he works with and is into everything from Rotary Club to golf to going to Ecuador in September - you know him.  I am getting involved as well, singing on one of the praise teams and gearing up to lead the music portion of "Acting Up" on Wednesday nights - which is the kids choir.  We are doing the musical "Christmas in Reverse" and it should be fun, begin on Sept. 3rd.  I look forward to getting involved in Kelsie's school and whatever other ministry opportunities God has in store.  We are all getting adjusted to where things are (especially me since I am directionally challenged) but are learning to love the convenience of Frisco and Plano with the peacefulness and no traffic of Prosper.  We are meeting new families each week as people continue to visit and join - it has been an exciting/growing place to be. 

Well, I know that is not the detailed account you are accustom to with my writing and I really hope to get back to that very soon.  I plan to do some graphic work for Wayne up here the first week of school so I can write more then if we don't have internet at the house yet.  There are many stories to tell.  Love you all - let me hear from you!  

Wayne shared this in morning worship on Sunday and it has come up several times this week for various people so I thought I would share it with you.  May God give you a peace in knowing you can rest in Him and He will hear your prayers.  

Psalm 5 says:

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. 2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, for to You I will pray. 3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up 

4 For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You. 5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. 6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. 

8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face. 9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue. 10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.  

11  But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. 12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Lovin' the Summer

It's been a while since I have had some moments to post anything, we have been pretty busy so here is a quick update and I will fill in more details later with pics. I love the freedom of summer!

House - nothing new. We had 2 showings last Thursday and both gave feedback that they liked the house and the floorplan but they found something else. I guess the good news in that is the house shows well enough for people to like it but the bad news is that noone has signed on the dotted money line yet. So, we wait and pray for God's timing to be revealed and ask for patience in the in-between time.

Camp - Kelsie got back from camp yesterday and she had a great time. She was completely exhausted yesterday but today is playing with Morgan, we are about to head to the pool and to ride scooters. Fun day.

This week should slow down a little, I am going to start packing b/c our move date has been set in July and I need to at least start cleaning out and packing up closets. I haven't decided if I'm up for a garage sale - I hate them! We will see how much junk we have collected in the 3+ years we have been in the house. Well, that's the overview for now -much more to share but wil have to continue with that in several posts over time. Have a good week enjoying your summer.

Like Sisters

We started out our weekend going to Conner's grad party on Friday night. It was fun to see everyone and meet some new people that we have heard about in the McLelland's household over the years. Stories of past vacations and holidays. The girls instantly became glued at the hip playing together. We slipped out a little early with Kelsie and Morgan to go to the dive in movie at our pool but disappointingly they had cancelled it because of the wind. The girls still had fun playing and the ended up staying up until after 1 a.m. even though we went to bed and the were up by 8 a.m. The next day we went to the pool first thing and stayed there much of the day then met the rest of Morgan's family at Outback for dinner. The girls hadn't seen each other so they wanted to spend the night again and since Kelsie and I were planning to stay home instead of making another trip to Prosper we agreed that would be okay. By Sunday around lunch time, they were fighting like sisters. I guess they had enough - just girl stuff, bickering over who crossed the line on the scooter and went too far - we're talking inches people. But, by the time we were taking Morgan to her house they were great again and wanted to play more. Of course, we thought it wise to separate them for a while and pick up again later in the week for more swimming. So, Tuesday we will have several of the girls over to the pool to swim. Should be fun especially letting them reconnect a little before heading to camp on Friday. So, since we spent so much time at the pool, I finished "Mountain Top" (Robert Whitlow). It was pretty good. Also, I forgot to mention that I finished "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin and it was okay but not as good as "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" I read last summer. I can't decide what to start next...probably something from Karen Kingsbury.

House Update - please continue praying. The people that were so interested in it last weekend bought something else in Benbrook. None of the other showings we had last week have given any feedback. We are hopeful because we have had many more showings but no offers yet. We are expecting a market analysis report from our realtor so we can see if our asking price is in line with others or if we need to lower the price significantly. We will continue to pray for God's timing to be revealed and patience while we wait. As I mentioned, we did not go to Prosper today but Wayne said the services were good and we are praying for all of those who are going out tonight to make contact with those families who were interested in finding out more about God and us. We also pray for the 10 who accepted Christ this week, that they will be discipled in their young faith. We are blessed to be in a growing body who love to "do life" together.

We're Back

We have been in Prosper this week for VBS and we got back last night.  The week was really fun, we stayed at the farm house all week and while I am glad to sleep in my own bed again, it was too busy to sit around an empty house.  Every morning was VBS until noon, my job was one of the rotation staff for 3rd grade.  I say one because we had about 36-38 kids each day so we had 3 rotation staff for them to make sure we could keep up with them, especially the very active boys in the group.  It was a good week though as 3 of our kids accepted Christ and our group won the competition for bringing the most missions money for the upcoming trip to Ecuador in September, the money went toward buying shoes to give away and overall the kids raised $1200. We also had 40 kids who are not affiliated with any church at all and whose parents said they would like more info about First Prosper.  I had pictured quiet afternoons at the farm house after VBS but we were much too busy for that to happen.  On Monday Kelsie and I got invited to swim with some girls in Kelsie's class and so we did that and then went over to the Lillard's house for dinner.  Craig was in our wedding and he is now married with 2 precious kids (Malin is Kelsie's age) and lives in Plano so we had such a good time over there - the kids got along great and we laughed ALOT.  Tuesday afternoon Kelsie and I went shopping and my gps led me astray looking for the new Mardel close to our house which it apparently doesn't know about b/c we ended up 15 miles into Plano.  We still got to a Mardel though and it got us back to the farm house eventually.  We still had fun stopping at different places to shop along the way.  Tuesday night the Executive Pastor's wife, Melissa, was having a Premiere jewelry party so I went to that and so Wayne graciously took Kelsie and Kensey to Gattitown for dinner.  They had a good time and the jewelry party was fun too.   Wednesday afternoon I did get to relax a little.  Kelsie was invited to swim with some other girls in her class at a Allie's house so I got to stay home and read a little.  Allie and Kelsie came back to the farm house around 4:30 in anticipation of the mud dodgeball tournament for the youth.  They dug a HUGE pit at the property and filled it with water to play mud dodgeball.  The kids could not wait to get in it.  So Wednesday night there were lots of people on the property watching mud dodgeball - it was hilarious.  The kids did eventually get REALLY muddy but they had a blast!  Thursday was the last day of VBS and I was totally exhausted so we went to Randy White's Hall of Fame BBQ restaurant for lunch and then went to the farm house to take a nap.  Last night was family night at the church to cap off VBS and the highlight of the night was the staff dunking booth - pretty funny and Kelsie couldn't wait to dunk her dad!  We headed home around 8 and the wind was brutal driving back but we made it home and today I am doing massive amounts of laundry.  Wayne's birthday is tomorrow so he is playing golf today with his dad and Kelsie before we celebrate graduation tonight with the McLelland family.  

Updates:  House - we had a good showing on Saturday, they were going to come back early this week to look at it and possibly make an offer.  We have heard NOTHING!  Have no idea what is going on so our realtor is going to try and make contact today.  We had 3 other showings this week which is good news b/c it looks like things are picking up a little, but no feedback from these yet.  Keep praying that God will bring the right buyer soon so we won't miss the summer activity.   

Book List - finished "Oceans Apart," Karen Kingsbury - good but a little predictable.  Also finished "Bleachers" by John Grisham - liked it a lot, he is not predictable but it was a different style than his other mystery writings.  A good read though.  Started on "Mountain Top" by Robert Whitlow - a Christian version of John Grisham. I haven't read much yet b/c I didn't have a ton of time later in the week and I was too tired to stay up until 1 a.m. reading.  Hope to finish it this week at the pool.  I purchased Karen Kingsbury "Between Sundays" and "Just Beyond the Clouds" and the prequel to the O'Malley series, Dee Henderson this week.  I also have "Hidden Riches" by Nora Roberts that my mom gave me.  So, I will let you know the progress.  I look forward to being home this week and with Kelsie at the pool each day.  More soon (with pictures).

A Quick Update

So, here is just a quick update on things.... 

The House - please pray!  We had a showing yesterday morning and the feedback was really good. The realtor said they loved the house and want to come back on Monday evening with their girls and will consider making an offer then - they wanted to know why we are moving. So, we are waiting on contact between our realtor and theirs and the second showing tomorrow to find out more.  We had another showing this afternoon, no feedback yet from that one.  We are also hoping for a showing later this week as a family from Atlanta is relocating and have seen our house online and want to look at it so they are coming with our realtor which is a good thing b/c we will get instant feedback.  Of course, none of these things are guarantees but we are so hopeful that one of these families is our buyer.  We are especially hopeful since our house has been on the market 60 days today and until yesterday we had only 4 showings and this weekend we have had much more activity.  I am trying not to get my hopes up b/c I know that nothing is done until the papers are signed and money is exchanged but I am hopeful with the possibilities.  I know it's all in God's timing and He has graciously provided us with a place to live in the interim and we are so thankful.  

A Week in Prosper - we are here in Prosper for the whole week this time.  Wayne has been able to come and stay during the week so he has had the opportunity to meet with people but Kelsie and I have only been here Saturday nights and Sundays to this point.  This week is VBS so we will be here all week.  We got here last night and unloaded and then went to a dive in movie with several families from the church at their community pool.  There are lots of girls Kelsie's age and around her age so the group of them had a good time.  The movie was the "Bee Movie" which we hadn't seen but it was cute.  I did bring my camera this time so I could take some better pictures of the farm house and things around town to share.  (Sorry I didn't have time to download any pics last week - but next week when we get back, I promise).  At the farm house, the carpenter bees are still there but there were only a few this time instead of a ton of them and so we are going to spray again and plug up all the holes.  I am hoping to take a picture of them so you can see that I am not exaggerating when I say how giant they are.  The really funny thing about the property now is that the youth minister had someone dig a HUGE hole for the youth to play mud dodgeball on Wednesday Night.  Kelsie is excited about that - should be lots of fun to watch.  Also this week while we are here, I have a lunch with a realtor here in town that is anticipating needing a person to work in the office about 20 hours a week.  I wouldn't call it an official interview, but just an initial contact.  I have always been interested in real estate and this would be a good way for me to see if it's something I would want to do slowly by working in the office at first.  I do know that for a while at least I do not want a full-time job 

Family Reunion

Memorial Day weekend was our family reunion in San Angelo, my mom's side of the family. We had a good time seeing everyone, 2 cousins that I haven't seen in 10 years and one baby (13 months old) that we had never met. Everyone came from places in Texas, Arizona and Colorado. The kids were so cute, most of them little which Kelsie loved b/c she LOVES kids. She and Jarrett are the oldest and all the others are 5 years and under. Saturday night we cooked out and let the kids swim at my mom's house and Sunday we were at the lake - it was hot but a good breeze all day kept it pretty comfortable. On Monday, the girls went and got pedicures and did some shopping while everyone else either played golf or hit the road going home. We came home on Monday night but Kelsie stayed for her week at Camp Grammy. She spends time there every year by herself and loves being spoiled at Grammy's house. We will pick her up on Friday for a week of VBS in Prosper, we are looking forward to that. I will try and post pics later this week.

I finished "Like Dandelion Dust" while I was there and started "Oceans Apart" which I am hoping to finish today (both Karen Kingsbury). Both are good reads and they are stand alone books - I have discovered I like the series books much better. Since I completely wasted yesterday and half of today, I better get busy on some laundry. Hope to post pics soon, took some cute ones to share.

A day at The Colonial

Today was the day Wayne and I got to go to The Colonial golf tournament. The weather was perfect! It was warm and overcast with a breeze - actually it was pretty gusty at times. Probably not good for the golfers but it kept the temperature comfortable. We walked the course following various golfers, mostly Corey Pavin, all morning. We sat down at noon for lunch and then decided to walk to hole number one to see some of the big guys start off. We sat at the green and watched Phil Mickelson and others come through. He birdied hole one - it was fun to watch. After noon it was beginning to get pretty warm so we stayed under our big tree at the first hole until it was time to go. We left the golf course and had to stop by Target before we picked Kelsie up from her last day of school. We decided since she had such good grades and had been such a good student, we would surprise her with a Razor electric scooter. She got in the car and saw the big box and was so excited. Of course, we went straight home so she could play on it for just a little while before going with Wayne to his last basketball game of the season at Wedgwood. Unfortunately, they lost tonight but only by 8 points. Once they got home from the game, Kelsie was back on the scooter. I am not sure who liked it more - Wayne or Kelsie but they both had a great time riding it. Congratulations Kelsie on a great 3rd grade year!!

Other updates: Tomorrow is my last day at FBC Aledo and it's Kelsie's turn to go to The Colonial with Wayne. On Tuesday, the office had a going away lunch for those of us that are leaving (there are 3 of us moving) and gave us cards with gift cards in them. While I have enjoyed my job, I am excited to have the summer off with Kelsie. I plan to work on my reading list and be at the pool with her. We actually have a lot of things planned this summer beginning with VBS at Prosper the first week of June, Kelsie's two camps, golf school, a family trip to Austin and 2 family reunions. I guess it's a good thing I don't have a job this summer, I wouldn't have time. Nothing new on our house - keep praying for us that it will sell. We are hoping for more lookers after the holiday weekend and the summer move season starts.

Recently I heard a Hillsongs worship song called "None But Jesus." Actually, it's from the "Mighty to Save" CD so I have heard it before but for some reason recently in the car I listened to it with new understanding.

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You’re Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will
When You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord Forevermore

At first, I really had to ask myself if the lyrics were true in my own life, especially the part about acting on God's call without refusal or delay. I tend to be a thrasher - you know, the kind of person who goes back and forth with God presenting excuses and arguments before finally giving in to accepting that God is sovereign and He is in control. God's sweet voice reminded me that it's the act of obedience that is important - not how I feel about it. True with moving to Prosper. It was hurtful to leave Wedgwood, hard to pick up and start over, leaving people I love. God said the important thing is that we surrendered and did it - He reminded me that He could heal the hurt part - giving us grace to obey. God has been so faithful through this entire process to show us over and over that He is guiding our steps. I am getting more excited about living in Prosper and see how happy Wayne is working with the team God has placed there. We are blessed!

Weekend Events

As I mentioned, we saw Prince Caspian on Friday and we all loved it, including Kelsie but on Friday night around midnight we see Kelsie's flashlight in the hallway. She was having bad dreams about the scary witch creatures in the movie. So, we played musical beds and switched around so someone could sleep in the guest room with her. Poor baby, I felt sorry for her b/c she was truly scared.

Saturday morning started off with Wayne and the guy who bought the Rainbow play structure taking it apart in pieces and loading it on his trailer. They started at 9 a.m. and finished at 1 p.m. and as I suspected, Kelsie was sad to see it go. She got over it pretty quickly once we reminded her she was getting a trampoline and that we wouldn't be taking it with us to Prosper anyway. She had fun taking out glasses of water and helping with little things. She was a big helper inside too as I cleaned, putting up her laundry and packing for Prosper. After all of that, we left for Prosper. The Griffs were in Denton so they came over to see the "farm house" and we went to Frisco to eat. Church on Sunday was good but Kelsie's mind was definitely on getting the trampoline. We had a first impressions lunch after church and as soon as it was over and we got out of town, we went to get the trampoline. We got home in time on Sunday night to put it together and by the time we were cooking out for dinner, she was jumping.
I am including a few pics of the farm house that I took with my phone - I will try and take some good ones with my camera to post. Our friends said it wasn't what they were expecting b/c they were expecting old carpet and gold appliances. It is a nice house with tile floors, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with a living room, a formal dining room area and a breakfast area off the kitchen. The very best features of the house are the deck on the back of the house and all the trees in the front. It is very peaceful and quiet out there. On Saturday as we were waiting on the Griffs, Wayne and Kelsie hit golf balls while I sat out and watched them with Raider. I enjoyed watching a blue bird and the squirrels - very restful. Right now of course the house is somewhat vacant except for beds and a few basics to live there on the weekends so it's not quite home yet and won't feel that way until we actually move which is projected to be July. We also must get rid of the bees. We did find out that the gigantic bees around the gazebo are carpenter bees. We found out how to kill them and that they don't sting (except the queen). So, hopefully we can get that done the week we are there for VBS.

Nothing new on the house selling, we seem to have several people to pray for that are relocating and needing to sell a house recently. So, we are praying for God to take care of these details as He moves people to accomplish His purposes. Kelsie's last day of school and my last day of work are quickly approaching! YAY! She gets to have a splash day in PE on Thursday and she is excited about that and the fact there is free dress this week. Her last Science test is tomorrow and she is that much closer to finishing out 3rd grade and still has all A's.

The front of the farm house (side view)

The view from the front porch, the front yard is full of trees.

The view of the barn from the gravel drive way where we park.

Kelsie hitting golf balls - this part of the property is to the side of the house where there is a clearing of trees. She is hitting balls out in a field and then we walk Raider and go pick them up.

A Fabulous Friday!

Today was a great day. We got up and finished school fairly quickly (we still have reading to do) and then off to the movies to see Prince Caspian. We went to the Movie Tavern which was great b/c it was the 11:15 movie and that meant we could eat lunch there too, especially since the movie is a little over 2 hours long. I won't say much about the movie (because you will want to see it) except that it was really good and the time went by so fast -it's engaging. Kelsie was so funny, she kept leaning over and pointing out when they skipped over certain details that are in the book. Of course, if they had included all of that it would be a 5 hour movie. The book is really good (I think too hard for her age - we have read it together) but we have not read the last chapter yet so it will be interesting to see how it matches up to the movie.

After the movie was over, we came home to clean out our garage. That sounds yucky but we all worked together and it didn't take that long. As we were outside, we saw a few bunnies and found some of Kelsie's old stuffed animals in the attic as we were making our garage sale pile. It was fun to look back at those - we put them back in the attic for keeping. The evening was turning out to be so nice that we decided to eat dinner outside and then Wayne and I pulled weeds, especially around our blackberry bushes. Kelsie found about 8 blackberries that were ready to be picked so she did that part. There are lots of little green berries and flowers about to bloom - hope to have lots of them this year - we to stake the 2 plants that have gotten really big this year.

No house news - we have not had any looks this week. We are hoping things will pick up after school is out. Of course, we would like the house to sell but we are okay with staying in it for a little while. We are looking forward to enjoying the pool at least for a month or so. We know it's all in God's timing and we are blessed to have "the farm house" in Prosper to stay in on the weekends and if our house doesn't sell, that we can live there for a while. God is an amazing provider and FBC has been so generous to us by offering us that option. Tomorrow we take down the Rainbow Play Structure in the back yard - we sold it and the people are coming to move it in the morning. Kelsie is sad mixed with happy. She says she will miss it (even though she doesn't play on it) but is very happy to be getting a trampoline - which was one of the reasons we sold it in the first place b/c we told her she couldn't have both. The other reason being that we didn't want to move it when we move to Prosper. We put it on Craigs List to see what would happen and it sold the next day. We will see how she reacts tomorrow when it's being hauled off. Maybe I can keep her busy helping me clean house....??? Well, to finish off my perfectly lovely day, I am headed to a bubble bath (with my book) and then to settle in with my hubby for a movie. What a Fabulous Friday!