I have tons of stuff to tell you and pictures to go with it so here we go, grab your favorite snack or beverage and get comfy - this is likely to be a long one.
Easter Weekend - We had a great Easter weekend spent with meaningful worship, great fellowship and good family time. We started Easter weekend on Friday with Kelsie only having a half day of school so we were able to all go to lunch together with some families from our Life Connection group. Friday night we had a worship time at First Prosper, it was a simple and very meaningful service, filled with scripture and the reality of what Christ did for us. Kelsie even got teary eyed at the end and said she was sad that her sin made Jesus have to die. It was just a good time of focus and reflection. Saturday started with festivities for the kids at church - an easter egg hunt for the little ones and Kelsie went early to help out but between us, I think she really wanted to hunt eggs and used that as an excuse. (No, she really loves to help out the little kids and they LOVE her) . After the little ones finished, there was a hot dog cookout and the Prosper Fire Department came so the kids could see the fire truck then the AmazinGrace for the bigger kids. That was a BLAST. They were broken up into teams, paired with a driver and given instructions. They had to get clues and race all around Prosper where they would read a portion of the Easter story, complete the activity, get a souvenir and a clue that would lead them to the next place. Kelsie's team was in a close first and second most of the race until close to the end - they guessed a wrong clue and went to the wrong place which put them in 6th place - still pretty good. They had such a great time though and got to read the Easter story too. Sunday was a GREAT day of corporate worship - what more can I say but the Spirit was there and Jesus name was lifted high. Sunday afternoon we had a yummy lunch (all of our traditional favorite dishes) and after lunch we dyed eggs together and just hung out together as a family. It was so nice to have the whole afternoon. Here are some pics from Easter:
Kelsie and Allie made this cake and decorated on Saturday after the AmazinGrace.
They are so creative and it was yummy.
Kelsie and Baby Keeli, she is so good with little ones!
Some of our eggs - can you tell Kelsie and I like pink.
Sharpie Party - The Monday after Easter, we had a sharpie party at the new house. We started in the driveway with a prayer asking God to bless our time in this house. Armed with the word and some sharpies, we headed in to write God's word, personal blessings and messages on the studs of the walls. It's neat to know what's behind the walls are messages of love, hope and blessing. Here are some pics of that night, there were too many to post here but it will give you the general idea:
Todd and Melissa writing in the breakfast area.
This message is on the back porch - they're talking poker!
I thought this was neat - Wayne wrote this on the post by the door he will enter in from his garage (the house has split garages, 2 car on one side and 1 car on the other).
I liked this one - Valinda (our pastor's wife) wrote this on the framing around the master bathtub.
Kelsie and Jarrett writing on the studs in the master bathroom.
I really liked this - some of the kids wrote this all the way up the stairs. I will always remember this walking up and down these stairs.
Loved this - Kelsie wrote this in her room.
Loved this!
This gives you an idea of what was left all over the house. Some wrote the scriptures out and there were these big black references all over - I loved looking around and seeing these bold statements all over the house.
Roughrider Game - On Sunday afternoon (the 19th), Kelsie got to participate with the other district honor choirs in singing the National Anthem before the roughrider game. They had to be there to rehearse pretty early, but they got to see the facilities and meet some of the players - Kelsie got an autograph on the hat they gave them. After they sang, we stayed for the game and since it was Prosper night, lots of Kelsie's friends were there and so we spent much of our time at the playground area. The ballpark is a great place to spend Sunday afternoon and we had a blast. Here are some pics of the group rehearsing.
The field from our seats.
The group rehearsing on the field.
Good looking Prosper choirs.
Serve Prosper - This is an initiative our church began as we partner with community leaders, other organizations like Rotary and other churches in town to clean up areas of Prosper that need assistance getting their properties up to code. Last Saturday was our second time out and we were in the downtown area. I did not take my camera but Mrs. Patrick (a local photographer) took some great pics and they are on the Serve Prosper site (a link in the sidebar) if you want to see them. Kelsie and I worked on a team cleaning 4 houses - all owned by an older man and some of the areas were overgrown with weeds, garbage, old sheds, dog houses, etc so we got to do lots of demo, which was fun. It is absolutely amazing what can be accomplished when so many people are working together. When we first walked up to the houses we thought it would take ALL day but we were finished by 2:00. A guy from our church cooked, chopped and served briskets which were so delicious! It was much needed after all that work. Kelsie had a treat after working so hard and got to go over to a friends and swim. I personally thought it would be too cold with the wind but they did not seem to mind at all and swam for hours. A good day topped off with dinner at the Riley household (where Kelsie was swimming)!
TAKS Week - This week was TAKS week at school for Kelsie - she had Math and Reading tests this week. When I picked her up the first day of the test and asked her how TAKS was, she said "like being in jail." Apparently, both days they finished at 11 and just had to sit there and read or whatever all day. Also, she was bummed because the field trip they were supposed to go on Wednesday to the Dallas Museum has been postponed because of swine flu. I think they needed a day out of the classroom!
House Update - We had our frame stage walk through last Friday with our builder to check the location of outlets, light switches, fixtures, etc. There were only a few minor things to change but it was great to walk through with him as he explained everything about what's being done with the house. They were scheduled to install insulation, sheetrock and brick this week but because of all the rain, they have not been able to brick yet. They did complete the insulation and started with the sheetrock. We walked through last night and having the walls up really changes it, making it look more and more like a house. It's been fun watching the progress. We are still on track for July, we are hoping early July as our builder said he thought that was attainable. Let's hope the rain doesn't delay it. I will keep you posted.
One Year - Monday (the 27th) was the one year anniversary of our first Sunday at FBC Prosper. Wow! What a year. When I look back on all God has done, it's amazing. God has been so good to us, even when I was doubtful many times about the whole thing. When I was stressed about the sale of our house - God sold it just at the right time before the market really crashed. When I was concerned about Kelsie leaving her best friend and her school - God gave her a GREAT teacher at Rucker and she has made friends and adapted so well. When I was starting to get discouraged about finding a house in Prosper - God showed favor on us by giving us the great deal on the house we are building (looking at prices initially, I never thought we would EVER be able to have something new). When I was sad about leaving my friends and starting over again - God put us in this amazing Life Connection group that has grown and turned into this great big loving family. When I was concerned Wayne would be bored in his job because it's a much smaller church and ministry - God has continued to give him vision for things like Serve Prosper, things outside the "programs" of the church which is how he has always wanted to do ministry. When I was discouraged about the changes from a big church to a much smaller one - God has shown me over and over that where His Spirit is, those things don't matter, people don't need to be impressed - He draws people to Himself. I really could go on and on with the list but the bottom line is that God called us here and He has shown Himself faithful in the whole process. There have been moments of doubt, stress and tears but looking back over the entire year, we are so blessed at what God is doing here and that we get to be a part of it. I hope you are in a place where you are serving God where He has called you. Have a blessed weekend and I hope to post more often as we have tons of stuff coming up in the month of May.
