what i've been up to.

to my, ahem, roaring crowd of 2... a little update. this may be a long post about a lot of little nothings.

march brought a lot of busy weekends. the first weekend brought reverb. i've been working with the high school youth quite a bit -- mainly just going to prime time, the sunday night worship and group study. kim, do you remember spiritfest at graceview? that was pretty much what reverb was. the students stayed in homes of tbc families in small groups. they were divided by their age/grade levels (junior high through high school) and each group had two college students (that drove home from their college lives to spend the entire weekend doing reverb). on friday night, we had a concert with gatlin elms. throughout the weekend, our speaker brandon, led 4 sessions with the kids. the rest of the weekend, gatlin elms led worship. the in between time was filled with food, bowling, and hanging out. we had about 60 kids, i think. it was a huge success all around. tons of work went into and the kids had a blast.

i did a lot of group driving, working in the kitchen, and trying to catch the sessions and worship time. my group to drive had cassidy as their college leader. it was neat to hang out with her a bit and watch her interact with her girls. she's a pretty amazing girl.

a few photos (click on them to make them larger)...

shaun kicking off friday night.

gatlin elms concert.

the speaker, brandon.

a few of the 7th and 8th grade girls i drove around
with cassidy and samantha.

worship with gatlin elms.

the group.

the college students, our leaders.

the, ahem, adults...

all the photos from reverb are courtesy of dee. i wish i was half the photographer she is!

the next week was spring break. pretty uneventful, since it rained for over half of the week. sigh. klein isd took a week earlier for spring break than most of the area school districts. the following week was, of course, beautiful weather... on monday, before the rain started, i got to head downtown and hang out with jamie and her boys for the whole day! we had a fun day eating at lupe tortilla (yum!!) and a quick target trip. i also got to hit up old town spring with a friend on tuesday. i hadn't been there in years, so it was fun to wander around and do a little shopping... and of course, eat at the infamous wunsche bros cafe.

the bell boys.

jamie and i.

i went camping the third weekend in march at inks lake state park. amanda invited me to go with a group that her cousin had pulled together. it was a fun weekend. but, wow, was it cold friday night. and the ground was hard. i think i got my fill of camping for awhile! ;) we visited longhorn caverns on saturday afternoon. i hadn't gone on a cavern tour since years ago, when my family went to meramac caverns when we lived in missouri. so, it was a lot of fun to walk through them and hear the history behind the caverns. sunday afternoon, amanda and i stopped to take pictures in the bluebonnets near chappell hill. that was fun... i'd never really done that before!

a partial photo of the field we stopped in.
oh, alright... the ditch on the side of the highway.

indian paintbrushes and bluebonnets.
shhhhh... i actually like the indian paintbrushes better.
but don't tell my texas friends...

finally, march wrapped up with the tbc ladies retreat. i had been working on the planning committee since january, so it was nice for it to finally be here and see our work come to fruition. it was a fun weekend, with lots of laughing, eating, and bit of shopping. and of course a speaker and worship. our retreat has been at round top for the past few years. we schedule it during round top weekend (which has turned into round top week or more, i think), so we get to head out for antique and junk shopping on saturday afternoon. there are tents upon tents upon tents of junk and vintage and antiques. i love sifting through that stuff. no good buys, this year though. i go with the wrong group to do the real digging for good stuff. i swore last year and i'm swearing again this year -- and i mean it this time ;) -- i'm switching shopping groups. :)

whew. march was busy! april is uneventful, so far. or so says my calendar. right now, the event to look forward to is flying to omaha in july to visit teri rae and her family for two weeks!! :) of course, that's after vbs in june... i'm directing again this year with my friend, kim. i'm sure things are about to pick up in that planning area real soon. we've been doing a little planning and recruiting... but it's time to hit the ground running on that!

what i'm loving...

My Messy, Thrilling Life. Brin at Freeman House writes a really great blog. Those of you that follow Pioneer Woman and MckMama will find that same little something over at Freeman House. But, she is closing her blog on her 30^th birthday next month. I am incredibly bummed, because I just discovered her a couple months ago! I’m busy trying to read her archives and I’m finding some really great words of wisdom and some yummy recipes buried there. I’ll be sad when I can no longer check in on her blog… She really is an inspiration on so many levels.

Greek yogurt. Yum. My favorite right now is Greek Gods Honey. Greek Gods has other flavors… but I love the honey flavor too much to stray. Plus, I have this thing against Pomegranate potpourri (it’s stinks, okay?) and it’s all I can think about when I see the carton of yogurt. I’m not a fan of figs… so, the fig flavor is lost on me, as well. But, the honey… Yum. It’s just a distinct hint of honey flavor behind the yogurt. And I love the firm, creamy texture Greek yogurt has as opposed to the thinner versions.

This Wicked Stitch Designs camera bag. I'm really in love with this bag. This bag company is pretty darn cool with some great bag designs... but the best part is that you get to pick the fabrics you want used in your custom bag! But, I would lovelovelove to have this exact bag.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I read this book quite awhile ago, but it's been on my mind lately. I think I need to pick it up again and reread it. Unfortunately, I lent it out and I'm pretty certain I'll never see it again... but that's another story. Anyway, I'm usually much more into crime and political dramas and suspense books. But this book... oh, this book. It's the retelling of the story of Hosea (yes, that Hosea, from the Bible). It takes place in the Gold Rush of 1850 where a kind farmer marries a prostitute. An unlikely relationship becomes a story of love, trust, and hope. The story is also a reminder of God's unconditional love for us. hmmmm... looks like Amazon has a few used copies for about 3 bucks. Time to order a new copy.

wild Olive tees. Very cool Christian tees! A little bit funky, a little bit classy, and an awesome message. Plus, 10% of the profit from each tee goes to non profit organizations and charities. Currently, they are spotlighting Shaohannah's Hope. I'm loving the "rooted" tee...

Crested Butte Ski Trip

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post... I went as a leader to Crested Butte with the TBC youth. What a fun time! It was great getting to know Shaun and Abby (our youth pastor and his wife) and Guy (another adult leader) better. It was a whirlwind trip, but full of memories. Of course, I'm sure the most memorable is the missing van keys. But, I'll get to that in a moment. We started out Friday night, so that we could drive straight through the night (hoping the kids would be less restless and would sleep -- in other words... leave the drivers alone. ha) We had an uneventful drive up until we got to Monarch Pass. It was a bit of a tense drive going over. But, we made it just fine. Here's a photo from my passenger seat (I drove the dead-of-night-middle-of-nowhere-Amarillo-to-Raton portion). The van/trailer in front of us is Shaun, Abby, and several kids:

Once we arrived in Crested Butte, it was time to grocery shop. Note to self -- Do not grocery shop after a 20+ hour drive with 18 teens. Talk about delirious decision making. The remainder of our time was spent skiing (well, for some!), playing Catch Phrase in a huge circle, cooking and eating, and hanging out. I did attempt to ski, but between my ineptitude and a so-so instructor, I was doomed. Someday I may try again. But, the second day of skiing of was a great day for the skiiers (lots of powder), so I chose not to weigh down any of our team with a crappy skier. :) Instead, I hung out around the lodge, drank overpriced coffee, and went down to the town to browse the cute little shopping district:

The day of our departure promised a storm in the afternoon. So, Shaun and the rest of us leaders decided leaving first thing Tuesday morning was wise (the kids were supposed to get in a half day skiing). So we start the packing up process with a departure time of 10:30. About 9 am, one of the girls asks for the van keys. Shaun can't find them. We do a little searching. Still no keys. More searching. No keys. Turn the couch cushions and Shaun's room upside down. NO KEYS. Okay, time a for leader meeting. Start looking at contingency plans which range from the ridiculous to the plausible to the most inconvenient. At one point, we think we've found them in the console of the (locked) van. Call a locksmith. Turn out to be Shaun's Xterra keys. Tear the van apart. No keys. We've moved on to just laughing at this point. What else are we going to do? The locksmith turns out to be our saving grace. He moves mountains for us to get things moving in the middle of the day, the day before Christmas Eve, in a small town. After many many phone calls with the rental company, the locksmith, the Gunnison (nearby town at the bottom of Mt. Crested Butte) Chevy dealership, and others, we find out we can indeed get a new key made. So starts the shuffling of kids down the mountain. I sit with a group at the Gunnison McDonalds, Abby sits with a group at the condo while Guy drives back and forth getting us all down. Shaun goes with the towed van to get our keys remade. After an hour or so at the McDonalds, Shaun calls me -- we have a key, he's on the way, Guy is bringing in the last of the kids, and we have a full ten minutes to get on the road before we lose daylight mid drive and therefore don't want to risk Monarch Pass. By the grace of God, we make it safely and we are officially on our way. At the time we originally planned to leave before our early departure decision was made.

We had some amazing kids on this trip. Such a fun group and also well-mannered. They were great at offering to help cook or clean up. Always remembered to say thank you to Abby and I after we cooked for them. And we also got a few compliments on a well behaved group from various locals. Including at the McDonalds where I contained half of them for over an hour during the van madness.

We pulled in to TBC right on time and I rushed home to do laundry and start the second part of my Christmas vacation... Omaha! The rest of the Ski Trip photos (nothing real exciting and all from my camera phone, but pretty nonetheless) can be found in my Facebook album.

MckMama's Rebel for a Cause

I just donated a small amount to MckMama's raffle-way, Rebel for a Cause. She has teamed up to create an AMAZING giveaway based on raffle tickets sold to donate money to three incredible ministries. MckMama has blessed me so much on her blog and in her story of her sweet baby Stellan and the miracle that God performed in her womb. And in her incredible sweet way, she has created a way for her blog readers to recieve something while supporting these awesome ministries. I would be totally blown away if I won this incredible Canon package; but more than anything, I just wanted to be a part of this in some little way. And, yes, my donation was very small. But, one thing that I have learned while raising money for missions trips... God takes a small amount and simply multiplies it. There is no other way to explain it. It just multiplies. Like the fish and the loaves of bread. So, God, multiply my donation and send it on it's way to bless many hearts.

Home for the Holidays at TBC

This past weekend our church did a huge event called Home for the Holidays. It was actually a two day event filled with all sorts of fun! We started out Saturday morning with a luncheon and tea for the ladies. We had somewhere around 25 tables set up. A different woman (or sometimes two) in the church was responsible for decorating and hosting each table. I shared a table with our music pastor's wife, Amanda. I had a lot of fun getting to know her a little bit better while we were setting up the table and then on throughout the morning. Here's a photo of our finished table with our combined decorating items, skills, and ideas. (Excuse the bad and uncreative photography, I just couldn't get a good angle and finally quit trying. ha.)

We were entertained by a thought provoking skit and had a wonderful message by one of our ladies. We also got to sing a little Christmas music. Finally, we had a wonderful lunch catered by Mel's. There were so many fun tables to look at, too. Ours was by far the most simple table, but I think it still looked classy and we did get several comments on it.

Sunday night was the BIG NIGHT. It began with a performance by our children's choir, Awaken. They did a fun little musical... It really was precious. Then we all moved outside. We had three bands come in for concerts. Lindsey Kane is just the neatest girl ever! We (the ladies' ministry at TBC) met her at our retreat this past March when she came in as our speaker and worship leader for the weekend. She just fits so well at TBC and we all wish she would move to Tomball. :) Only if she brings Jenny, her percussionist, with her, though! We love her, too.


Next up was Gatlin Elms. TBC has a strong connection to this band as well. One of the guys is one of our very own TBCers. I had never heard the guys live before and they really were fantastic!


Our headline band was the Robbie Seay Band. These Houston guys are really making a strong statement in the Christian music industry. It was quite cool to see them live, also.


Amidst all the live music we had a live nativity, Santa on Candy Cane Lane, food, hot chocolate, wassail, and lots of fun! It was a huge success, especially for a first year event. We've already started talking about "next year".

And with the end of that, I can breathe normally for a few days. Until it's time to pack and leave for the ski trip. And then on to Omaha! Stay tuned for those updates. I'm sure I'll have some good stories and photos.

i must be crazy.

Just sign me up for the insane asylum, because I just cemented my craziness. In the matter of 3 days, I booked my Christmas vacation solid. SOLID. Let me start at the beginning...

I've been keeping an eye on plane tickets to Omaha, Nebraska since about April of this year. I didn't have specific date to fly, but I knew I wanted to go see my cousin. Well, the summer went by and there were no good deals. I looked a bit for a long weekend during the school year... nothing. Until I put in a search for tickets on Christmas day. I found an awesome deal! So, in the matter of few short hours I made plans and booked my ticket for December 25th through January 1st!! So exciting!

Then... I get a phone call from our youth pastor Friday evening. He needs another chaperone / relief driver for the high school ski trip. Free ski trip? Um, yes please. So, now I'm leaving on December 19th at 5 pm (um, did I mention I get off work at 4 pm on the 19th?) and driving to Crested Butte, Colorado! We come back at 2 pm on the 24th (please God, don't let us be late!). I'm pretty excited about the trip! I've never skied in my life (please God, don't let me break anything!) and don't own a single ski item. I've got some borrowing prospects that should work out really well. My goal is to not purchase much besides socks and other personal stuff... Because remember that Omaha trip? I need a winter coat for that! I live in Texas. I use heavy sweaters and sweatshirts for a "winter coat".

By the time I get back, I'll have a whole three days before I go back to work! I think I may be sleeping those three days... ;)

prayer alarms

i'm really horrible at remembering things. i just made a commitment to pray for courtney and her family monday morning, as they face another morning of unknowns with maggie's adoption. but, like i said... i'll probably forget all about it until i read her update on her blog. so, i'm setting the calendar on my phone with an "event" at 9:30 am to pray for them. i keep my phone on silent at work, but it lights up when i get a text or an event reminder, so i usually catch the message on time. i've found this works great for praying at a specific time for a certain issue or just things that i need to make a note to myself about. sure beats writing it on the sticky note that i will inevitably lose!!