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.