Christmas Busyness

It feels like such a long time since I've written, but I'm sure you all know how busy the Christmas season is :) Here's a few things we've done since I wrote last time:

-Had our young adult group Christmas party (there were 27 people in our house!)
-Went across state for two family Christmas'
-Spent time with my brother and his girlfriend who live in Missouri
-Spent Christmas with two sides of family
-Been in the ER here, and a hospital two hours south

It has been interesting to say the least, but life throws all kinds of things at us, and we're used to that :) Both family Christmas' across state were wonderful. We got to see at least fifty people from my family, and my brother and his girlfriend were able to come to both parties this year. They come from Missouri every year, and because the parties were so close to Christmas, this year they were already here. It was great to see everyone and the family time was much needed.

The young adult group Christmas party was a lot of fun. We did a traditional dinner (there was absolutely no counter space left after everything was set out - and I have a lot of counters!) and a 'gift grab.' Everyone brought a dish to pass and white elephant gift. We ate (so much food..) and then we drew numbers to pick the gifts. There was stealing of gifts, shenanigans, and lots of commotion, but it was fun. It was a late night though, and we both had to work the next morning so it was quite exhausting.

Christmas here was fun. We spent Christmas Eve day with my family, and went to the service at night with Caleb's family and then opened gifts with them. Christmas morning was at my parents', dinner at his parents, and then we ended the night at my parents with a bunch of games before we came home and did gifts with each other. It was hectic and long, but it was a great Christmas day and we were able to spend time with lots of family.

The day after Christmas we had to work, but I went out to my parents for dinner. We ended up in the ER with my great grandma, and then got transferred to a bigger city. After many tests they confirmed it was a stroke. If you could please pray for her that would be greatly appreciated. She's 95, and has always been a fighter, but she could use a few prayer warriors to think about her.

As for me, I sit on my couch on a perfectly good Sunday morning, sick. I've been fighting something off since last weekend and it finally caught up to me. I'm not super sick, but my throat is irritated and I keep coughing up phlegm.. and just guessing, but thats probably the last thing people sitting next to me in a pew want to be around. So, I'll listen to the service on the radio. I was looking forward to the service though. I was supposed to be on praise team, and our friend - the youth pastor at our church - was given the opportunity to preach. He's so excited, and we're excited to see what he has to say. I just wish I could be there to see it,.. the radio is great, but I'm too fidgety to just sit so we'll see what happens.

Well, thats all for now. I hope your Christmas season was great, and you enjoyed celebrating the Saviors birth. Just remember that regardless of the season, we can always celebrate.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Buttery Deliciousness (aka English Toffee)

I've been wanting to make some of this for a while now, so I finally looked up a recipe tonight and figured out that it is super easy to make!

Here's what you need:
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
chopped nuts (optional)
chocolate chips (optional)

Here's what you do:
Melt the butter, add the sugar, and heat till it boils, stirring constantly.
Stir in the water and corn syrup and cook until mixture is 290 degrees F on a candy thermometer, stirring constantly. It'll start to turn light brown and thicken up.
Remove from heat and pour onto a lined/greased baking sheet - it sets up super fast, so be quick to spread it out!
Sprinkle with chocolate chips while toffee is still hot, and spread them over mixture once they start to melt.
Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top.

Let harden (or, if you're like me.. you'll be impatient and put it in the fridge), break into pieces, and enjoy! (And maybe share..)

AWANA - Just Listen First

I'm back much sooner than I thought! I mentioned AWANA a few months ago, and after last night's club I just felt like I had to come back and reiterate how cool the program is.

The goal of AWANA is "to reach boys and girls with the gospel of Christ and train them to serve Him." We try to achieve that by teaching them Bible verses, telling them a story/lesson, songs, and then, of course, we have a time for games :) The group I work with are 'Sparks' (K-2), and they are awesome. Between teaching them verses, helping at game time, and being there during their lessons, I'm sure they have taught me just as much as we teach them. I have a blast every week. Seeing their faces light up when they say a section of verses, earn a jewel from saying multiple sections, or their team wins for the night... those are the things that make me come back. The not-as-great times when we need to slow them down for a quick chat are good too, I mean hey.. we all need a little instruction now and then. I'd rather do it kindly in that kind of an environment though, where we can explain why certain actions/word aren't good.

Needless to say, last night was an exceptionally good night. Every student on our team had their uniform, said a section, and earned a jewel. We have been struggling with some of those things lately, and it was a great encouragement to know that these kids are still working hard. Not only did our team say 30 sections (some have more than one verse!), the whole Sparks group (approximately 35 kids) said 102 sections! How cool is that?!

I really think we underestimate kids. We were each a 'kid' once.. remember how adults undermined you, saying you couldn't do certain things because " " and they'd list reasons? They're so smart.. and sometimes we just forget that, or fail to acknowledge it. I observed a conversation last night between two boys on my team. We watched a movie for the lesson. It was about three trees; each had a dream of being something when they grew up, but God had a different plan for them. One became a manger, one a boat, and one a cross. The boys started whispering back and forth, so I leaned in so I could quiet them down. I overheard a comment about 'what do you think they're making with that?' so I stopped to listen. The other said 'oh, I betcha its the boat Jesus was on when he calmed the water!' 'oh yeah! that makes sense!' was the reply. Well sure enough.. that was what one of the trees was made into. At that point, I was a little flabbergasted... they weren't just watching the movie, they were consuming the movie. They whispered each other into a realization that the last tree was made into the cross that Jesus was crucified on too. I didn't stop the whispering. We were in the back row, no one was complaining, and it was healthy conversation between the two boys who were helping each other get more out of the movie. They got the point. I sat back and thought about their innocent conversation that only I had heard. We are often so quick to shush kids when they're whispering during a quiet time, that we fail to listen. We can miss so much if we don't listen. I'm glad I didn't tell them to stop whispering, because I learned once again, that we underestimate them.. who knows what they could be talking about. Yeah, sometimes its not pertinent to whats going on, they could just be fooling around. But we'll never find out if we don't listen first.

Listen to a 'kid' today. You may be surprised at what they have to teach you :)

Tired Tellings

Wow.. so much has happened since I've been here to write. I'll share, but I know I won't be able to remember most of the stuff.. haha. I'm sure most realize that life gets a lot busier during the holiday season though.. :)

To start with, last week flew by. Monday and Tuesday were normal, but Wednesday night we started our normal routine and I ended up leaving for my hometown. Caleb had to work Thursday, and I figured that because we wanted to leave early it would just so happen that he would have to work late that day... so I left a night before him. And guess what? I was right... he didn't get started on his way across state until late Thursday. But regardless, we got to spend the weekend with my family and it was wonderful. There were many conversations, lots of food, and a lot of relaxing. Despite not getting back till late Sunday night and having to work early yesterday, it was a great weekend, and very refreshing.

Here's a thought (mainly for those who utilize smart phones): what would you do if you went away for a weekend and could only text and call with your phone? That would be crazy.. wouldn't it? I've been phone-less for over a week before, but somehow it wasn't as weird as it was this weekend only being able to text and call. No facebook, no twitter, no games that used internet... nothing other than calling and texting. It felt like depravity and freedom all at the same time. I didn't have to worry about who needed to get ahold of me via facebook or twitter, because I knew they would just have to wait, but it was weird to have a moment to spare and not be able to check either one. It wasn't a huge deal, but it brought how much I use my phone into perspective. I use it like a computer.. except it can travel in my pocket :)

After getting back and whipping the house into shape and getting to work and everything else, these past few days have went well. My body wouldn't let me sleep in this morning, so I did some grocery shopping before work, warmed up leftovers for dinner afterwards, and let fellowship relax me. Its crazy how our Bible study is such a large part of our life now, but I am so thankful that we got involved. Its great to have close friends who I can lean on that have a similar mindset. We have between fifteen and twenty people here every week, and after we start a new format next month, our numbers (Lord willing) may explode. Please pray for our group. I also love having a large enough house that we are able to have everyone over. When we were looking at houses one thing we really wanted to have was extra space to share... and we sure got our wish. With just under three thousand square feet, our house will hold quite a few people. It'll also make for extra room when children are running around inside... but who's counting down till that..? Oh wait.. me :) Hey, I can't lie, thats one thing I really look forward to. In His time.

Well, thanks for listening to what my tired mind has to share.. and a small snippet of what we've been up to. Goodnight!