Getting Ready for the Game

Our church gets together to "watch" the Super Bowl. I say watch, but it tends to be more of glancing at the game. Just enough watching in order to know who's ahead. In fact, one young man the year before last got very upset because there was "too much noise" and people weren't watching the game. The guy went home around half time when he realized he was the only one who had to listen to every word the commentator had to say. The fun of a Super Bowl party is just getting together with friends and even good natured cheering for opposing teams.

Everyone brings food and all evening people go back and grab a bit more to eat. There is usually so much food that the table is covered in crock pots and desserts.

I usually take my tostados. It's a wonderful and easy dish that reheats well. The only problem is that it's so good none ever makes it home.

Tostadas

· 3 lbs ground beef, browned
· 3 large cans refried beans
· 3 envelopes taco seasoning mix
· 2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
· 1-1/2 cups water
· shredded cheese
· Scoops tortillas

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Combine the ground beef, refried beans, taco seasoning, tomato sauce and water in a slow cooker.

Cover. Cook on low for several hours.

Use the scoops as spoons and top with the shredded cheese.

So if you're looking for a great football meal this is it!

Christmas Pageant

Sunday evening our church put on a Christmas pageant that involved our adult choir and the children in the church. Rich sang in the choir so I took pictures from the balcony.

The children in their costumes were so adorable. I was so glad that they allowed all the children who wished to participate to be involved. Even our pastor's seven-month-old daughter was able to be a little lamb. The only problem with this was that the slightly older lambs wanted to play with her instead of paying attention to the music and the play going on around them.

Having been a children's photographer for six years I love to watch children. It was so much fun to watch the children's antics as the adults sang Christmas carols behind them. They began making faces, using their shepherds crooks to "capture" their friends and our pastor's young son checking the bottom of his shoe. We had two little lambs that must have realized that sheep don't wear shoes so they decided to remove their own.

The choir and children did a wonderful job. Many of our church members brought unsaved family members to watch the pageant. It was a great outreach with light snacks served in the fellowship hall after the program.

The church had so many people who worked hard on the program. They also stayed late into the night Saturday in order to return the sanctuary and hall back to order following Saturday's wedding.

Bridal Blessings

Cupcake Station

Last night I attended a bridal shower for one of the young ladies at church. The shower was planned by Abigail, Stacy and Leslie. Instead of a traditional cake or cupcakes they went with a "cupcake station." This was so well done and creative and allowed the guests their choice of what they wanted on their cupcake. There were unfrosted vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, which you could then put vanilla or chocolate frosting on. Then they had raspberry sauce, chocolate sprinkles, or M&Ms that could be added as a topping. It was fun watching everyone make their cupcake a little different.

Since this was an evening shower the room's lights were turned down and candles lit the event. Lots of pink and black balloons scattered the floor, pink and black plates and napkins and pink punch kept the theme colors of the evening. Abigail's computer played music while we enjoyed the food brought by the ladies of the church.

Even Joe, Abigail's husband, had a hand in the evening's event. Joe had interviewed the groom with questions about their first dates, likes and dislikes of the bride, and where they see themselves in five years. One of the young ladies in the church asked the bride the same questions and following the bride's answers the video of the groom's answers played. This created quite a few laughs as the answers sometimes were exact and others were totally different.

Instead of the traditional devotion, verses were read followed by prayers for the couple. Abigail also brought out our responsiblilty to the couple in holding them accountable and also teaching the bride how to be a godly wife.

Chili Weather

This weekend the weather took a turn to the chilly side. This was perfect timing since our friends Doug and Elaine have a chili-fest at their home each fall. We really missed last year, since it had to be canceled due to Elaine's mother's health. Rich has been scouring the internet for a recipe to make sure his was the hottest at the event. Rich began cooking his brew the night before the event and let it meld overnight. I made an apple dump cake to take and share.

Doug and Elaine own a beautiful home in the country so there is lots of room for the kids to play. With a minimum of 50 guests there is a variety of chili types. Everything from very mild to heart-stopping hot. The kitchen table is laden with a variety of desserts and the drinks are served on the enclosed porch. The livingroom was even set up with a table for additional seating.

Upon getting to the house, families quickly separate. The men head for the field for a game of football, the kids head to the fort, swing and riding toys, and the ladies head indoors for catching up with what has gone on in each other's lives and inspecting the desserts for quality assurance.

One of our college students' moms was visiting for the weekend and was amazed at the quantity of chili-filled crock pots. There were at least 11 pots of chili that I was able to count. There were cookies, cakes and a ton of brownies for the sweet tooth. Elaine had fresh, hot bread for the dinner.

The fellowship at this event is wonderful. At church people tend to sit with friends within their own age group, but not so with this event. Everybody mingled and I got to talk to many people on a deeper level then I have ever gotten to in the past.

Doug pulled out the tractor and hooked up the hay wagon to give several hayrides. David loved it; he even rode twice. We saw many married couples cuddling with each other. Later there was a bonfire, we missed this to make sure David got to bed in time since church was the following morning.

The next morning we found out that one couple even got engaged that evening. Congratulations Lisa and David!!

A Great Success

Our baby bottle fundraiser is over and God has really blessed it. Last year we collected $410⁰⁰ so I kept our goal low. But as week after week God's people continued to back this ministry, I carried loads of change to the bank to be counted. The cashiers were very supportive and encouraging with these weekly trips.

The grand total that I was able to turn over to the church this morning was $1,074²⁷. That's two and a half times the amount that was raised last year!

Fall Gathering

This past weekend several ladies in church organized a "Fall Gathering" for the ladies of the church. It was a great time to get to sit and chat with others, without the kids to distract us.

The room was decorated with the fall harvest theme and they did a wonderful job. We had a craft that followed the fall theme. Even the non-crafters had fun and did a great job. We made bows and tied together wheat and artificial leaves to make a table decoration.

Kelly explains the craft

We also were made to pick a piece of paper from a bowl. Whatever color the paper was (all fall colors) that group that chose the same color got together to ask the questions listed on the paper. It was a way to get to know each other on a more personel level. Questions such as "How did your husband propose" or "What one item would you want with you if you were on a deserted island."

The food was wonderful and creative. There was even a door prize—which I won. I received a beautiful mum plant.

One of the nicest aspects of the evening was that when I got home I didn't have to worry about what to make for my boys for dinner. My thoughtful husband had already made their dinner and they were eating.

Helping Others

One more week to go on our Liberty Godparent fundraiser. We are almost at double our last year's giving total of $410.00. As of last week we have raised $743⁰¹.

It is amazing what one little church can do through God's power.

Just Ducky

Saturday was Rich's day. But, Sunday was my friend Abigail's day. I had the honor of throwing her a baby shower. Since Abigail likes old fashioned toys I thought that would make a good theme for her shower. I used lots of rubber ducks, Little Golden Books, a Dick and Jane book and a large building block for decorations.

Abigail's cake

Our friend Stacy was wonderful enough to make one of her amazing cake creations. Dots and Ducks made the cake fun and festive. I made the punch and floated tiny little ducks as a fun surprise. Once again I used my huge galvanized bucket to hold cans of soda and water, but this time I decorated it as a bathtub. Little ducks in front with a washcloth and hooded towel laid across the top gave it a different twist.

Since we don't know weather she's having a baby boy or girl most stayed away from clothes. She received lots of bathtime items, diapers and wipes. Some clothes, a couple blankets and several books rounded out the gifts.

The devotion was given by one of ladies and she spoke about the importance of laughter in motherhood. One of Abigail's bridesmaids led the games. She had Abigail try a new jar of baby food after opening a few gifts. Abigail has decided she doesn't like baby food.

Abigail's reaction to her baby food

I gave all the ladies a form asking them what piece of advice they wished someone had told them. As an example, mine was that "I wish someone had told me that I am capable to parent the child that God gave me. There are days when as mothers we question our own ability to parent our children. Take the advice of others and if it works, great. If it does not, toss it out and move on." I am allowing the ladies a week to complete these forms and return them to me. I plan on making them into a booklet for Abigail.

Abigail is such a wonderful and thoughtful person that she brought me some beautiful flowers and a card tonight to thank me for the shower.

Goal Reached!

Today I took this week's baby bottles to have the change counted in order to update our Liberty Godparent fundraising total. Our church still has two weeks left before the campaign ends and we have surpassed last year's total and also this year's goal. We had hoped to raise $500⁰⁰ ($90 more than last year's total)—and we have now reached $629⁴⁰, with two more weeks to go!

I had several people approach me on Sunday to say they have bottles that they are still filling. We had one family that took their children out into their neighborhood and filled their bottles that way. With four children they were able to do a great job. From the older members to the youngest, everyone has gotten behind this project.

Baby Bottle Campaign

Last week I let you know that we had made a good start on our church's fundraiser for The Liberty Godparent Home. This week I was very happy when all the change turned in puts us at a total of $362²⁰. Since last year's total raised was $410, we are just under that with three more Sundays left!

Updates

This week has been a bit busy, if you hadn't already guessed.

First, still no one-on-one for David. This is very upsetting and frustrating for all of us. The school has tried to send an aid as much as possible and I am thankful for this. But, since it is not a consistent one-on-one I am not able to have an on going dialog. This is so important so we know when problems occur and don't learn about them two or three days later after more problems are then piled upon the first issue. Since the one-on-one is not listed in his IEP they are not required to get one in there immediately. The reason it's not listed is due to the way school issues are paid for. If it was written in the IEP it would have to be funded through the cities special education money. Since this is a service funded by a FAPT team it can't be written in the IEP. Aargh!

Yesterday we began our home school civics class with David in earnest. We had already used the wonderful "School House Rock" DVDs last week to teach him how a bill becomes a law and also the preamble to the constitution. I still remembered these songs from my own childhood so I know how well it works. After I mentioned the fact that all the School House Rocks were on DVD she went out and bought them too. She said she hadn't even thought about it, but the kids love them.

Last night we had a great group over for dinner. We served nine with homemade pizzas. Actually we made and rolled out the dough and they were required to assemble the pizza with what they wanted. I went to the city market and got fresh veggies. We had toppings for them to make whatever they wanted- except mushrooms. Rich and I are both highly allergic to mushrooms so that was not on the menu. The two young ladies that have just started their first year of college were so happy to have a home cooked meal. The newness of leaving home for the first time is wearing off a little.

I have been busy planning Abigail's baby shower. Though her baby isn't due until December there is so much that is going on then we felt it was best to go ahead with it. Abigail's baby is due the same time another girl at church is getting married so we also have her shower to plan. We also wanted to keep both showers away from Thanksgiving. Abigail and Joe do not know (or at least are not sharing) the sex of their baby so the theme is "An old Fashion Childhood." Rubber ducks, Little Golden books, Dick and Jane books and building blocks. My friend Stacy is making the cake and I can't wait to see and taste it.

I also have been busy with the Liberty Godparent fund raiser. I will share our total with you tomorrow.

A Great Start

As our church's liaison for the Liberty Godparent Home I would like to make it the best year ever. We kicked off the baby bottle giving two weeks ago with some of the home's current residents in attendance. One had just given birth the month before and another was due anytime. I think that having these young ladies there helped the congregation. Often people think of unwed mothers are "those" or "them" but our people could see that they could have been our own sisters, daughters or neighbors.

Last year our church raised $410.00 for the home. This money came in handy when their washing machine went out. I really want for us to cross that $500.00 mark this year.

I am pleased that after just two Sundays we have raised $177.86. This has been a great start since we have three more weeks to up our total.

I will be keeping you all posted on how well we are doing. But for now I am very confident that we can meet this total.

Some Sweet Treats

Tonight is the last church picnic for the summer. The picnics are always a wonderful time to get to connect with friends and also meet new people. I wanted to make something a little special for the event.

When we were at Dollywood's candy shop, I saw a cute idea I thought I would make for tonight—Rice Krispie Cones. I seem to be making a lot of interesting edible items this summer with ice cream cones. Who knew they were so versitile?

First I made peanut butter rice krispie treats:

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
5 cups Rice Krispies

Bring syrup and sugar to a slow boil. Stir in peanut butter. Remove from heat and add Rice Krispies.

Then I assembled the cones. I used an ice cream scoop and topped off the ice cream cones. After letting them harden for about an hour, I dabbed vaniila icing on each one. I quickly placed sprinkles on each one.

For this recipe I used small ice cream cones. This made 22 desserts.

Change For Life

On Monday I had gone to the church to return the parlor back to it's original state and pack up the last of the decorations from the shower. So imagine my husband's surprise when I returned home and and he found out that I had just completed one project only to sign up for another.

Our church secretary asked me if I would be willing to be the liaison for a baby bottle fund raiser for the local residential maternity home for unwed mothers. The girls are prepared to either become mothers or place their baby for adoption. The foundation provides housing, counseling, education and medical care.

I became intimately involved with David's birth mother and her difficulty in finding support to carry her pregnancy to full term and then her decision to place David for adoption. Her friends and family members felt that abortion would be a better option—"put it all behind you and you can just forget." After one abortion she felt that she needed to carry the baby to term and then place him for adoption. After the adoption she told us that it was the hardest thing she ever had to do, but that it made her face up to the bad choices that she was continuing to make in her life that affected not only herself but her daughter. We also knew a young mother who placed her baby for adoption through this agency.

This is a cause that is close to my heart. I saw first hand how our culture makes it more acceptable to abort a baby then to make a loving adoption plan. As an adoptive mom I also thank God that there are places that allow these precious babies to be born. The mothers will be blessed with the ability to choose the adoptive parents if they decide on adoption or if they choose to raise their baby they are more prepared due to the training they received.

Water Days

Last year our pastor's wife Angela organized activities to help the moms get together while allowing the children to have some fun. She has kindly done the same this year. Sometimes it's $1.00 movies or a day at the park.

Today it was a water-filled day at our church's playground. We are very fortunate to have a large playground on the grounds of our church, far from the main road. Several slip and slides, pools and sprinklers were set up and the kids got to have a blast. We had a great turn out with over 20 kids running around and getting soaking wet. The moms got a chance to talk to each other while the kids ran wild. This was really appreciated by David who had 2 long hours of math summer school before the party started. Many of us stayed and had lunch together, while the kids played even more.
Ahh, the simple pleasures of life!

Baby Shower Fun

Radio Flyer wagon holding the cupcakes

Yesterday we held our baby shower for Katie and her little son Jonathan. I thought we were going to have a fight as the ladies of the church called dibbs on who would hold him next. I was so much more mature then that (ok,I had already held him that morning in the church nursery.) The ladies relaxed more as Angela brought her little Lacey into the room—two babies to pass around. The babies were born just 12 days apart.

I was very pleased with the way the decorations transformed the room. I had planned on a "cupcake cake" (several layers of cupcakes made to resemble a cake.) But while setting up thought it would go better with the cupcakes inside one of the Radio Flyer wagons we used as the decoration theme for the party and I could just refill with the additional cupcakes if needed. It also gave more room on the table for the wonderful food the other ladies brought. I had a little frog from my photography days I hooked on the wagon and the ladies loved it. A tiny wagon held gummy worms while the slingshots were placed in the backpockets of the overalls.

Washtub ice bucket and glove with baseball

Katie had originally declined a shower, since her family had thrown her one and her work had thrown her another. She had felt it would be too greedy to accept more gifts and as a first time mother she thought she had everything she would need for him. She quickly found that he went through more wipes, diapers and bath supplies than she had expected. Also he has grown very rapidly and the baby clothes weren't going to fit as long as expected. So we were able to use this time to give her a mountain of diapers in many sizes, many boxes of wipes and bathing supplies to last at least into next week. Many guests also gave her wonderful little baby books and music that he will be able to enjoy soon. The outfits she received were in the 6 months and up range.

The ladies playing a riddle game

My friend Abigail joined us for the shower and even lead the games (baby pictionary was so much fun.) Since she is the next to have a baby this was a great experience hearing from another first time mother about the surprises she received with the birth of her son.

I was a little disappointed as I checked with some of the church ladies to see if they would be attending and was told "I really don't know her, so I won't be coming." My first thought is "are you going to know her any better by not attending" and my next thought was "aren't we as the older ladies supposed to teach the younger ladies?"

Katie opening her presents

Katie is very shy and quiet so it is harder to get to know her, but that doesn't mean we are not responsible to try and support her. We did have a good group of core women who are wonderfully supportive and at the end no one seemed inclined to leave as we talked with each other. Not only did the ladies who didn't attend miss out on the chance to support Katie, but they missed the sense of community and friendship that those of us who attended were able to enjoy.

Little Red Wagons and Overalls

Katie and her first son, Jonathan will be the guests of honor as we shower them with love, hopefully wisdom and even some gifts. I have been to many of the pastel (yellow, green, blue and pink) parties with the animal theme (ducks, bears, bunnies). So I wanted something different and original in the way of decorations. Since we know it's a boy I thought "Dennis the Menace." I have three different sizes of Radio Flyer wagons to serve food in and plan on using overalls strung on "a clothesline" across the window tops.

David and I found a wonderful limb with a fork in it to make a large slingshot for a table decoration. A galvanized bucket will hold the sodas and instead of a cake I will make a "tiered cake" out of the cupcakes. Red plates and napkins will be used on a table covered in a white cloth and a denim runner.

The ladies of the church will be providing the remainder of the food. My friend Angela will give the devotional and my friend Abigail will lead the games. This is very fitting since Angela gave birth to her little angel just weeks before Katie had Jonathan and Abigail is expecting her first child in December. I don't mind the behind-the-scenes work, just don't make me get up and speak in front of a bunch of people.

Treasure Found and Shared

This past week I was very busy with Vacation Bible School. So I apologize for not posting last week.

Crafts
Lindsay and I had prepared and purchased the craft projects and were ready. But we underestimated what God would do. The number of children we expected almost doubled in our preschool class. The kindergarten through 3rd grade expanded each night of the program and the 4th through 6th grade class doubled what was expected. Monday night we had more then enough crafts to go around, but Tuesday night we found that we had to switch around crafts to meet the number of children in the classes. I then had to go to the craft store on Tuesday and Wednesday to purchased more crafts for the additional children. The crafts for two classes would only be enough for one class. Since we had ordered the original crafts from catalogs this meant the crafts were different and we would need to prepare samples. Oh, to always have this problem of having more then expected walking into our churches.

Lots of donated items!

One night we had planned to do plaster hand prints and decorate with shells. We had experimented and planned. We made our sample wrote down how long the plaster would need to set and were ready. Only instead of taking the 45 minutes it had taken to set with the sample (or the 20-30 minutes listed on the side of the bucket) the plaster set within 5 minutes of us beginning the mixing process. We were able to finish the project for the first class, after much concern. But we had not been able to do the project with the two other classes as planned.

Kelly shows the thermometer
way over the goal

We scrapped the project since much of the plaster meant for these classes set before we were able to use it for the first class. But that meant another project was needed for the two classes. So we shuffled around the projects from later nights to get through the night. We won't be trying this project again since there are too many variables involved with the plaster.

Missions Project
Our goal for the missions projects was 200 items. If we met the goal, at the picnic Friday our Pastor would get soaked by the kids throwing water balloons at him. Tuesday night we passed our goal. So then our pastoral assistant offered to have his head shaved if we collected 250 items. We passed that goal. Everything from children's books and toys, personal hygiene items to food was brought in. The final count on the items was over 700 items to help others in need! It was really amazing how much was donated.

Donald losing his hair

A great time
Several visitors commented on the wonderful program we ran and how much the kids enjoyed it. The really wonderful part is that the gospel was clearly presented to each age group. We never lost sight that this was the real purpose we were all there for.

At the picnic on Friday we all had a great time getting to meet the visitors' families. Yes, Pastor Mike and Don got bombarded with balloons, then Don got his head shaved. It was a fun way to end the week.

Next week is tear down of all the props—some were removed Friday night but most were left up for our church members to see.

Treasure Seekers

Tonight was the first night of our church's Vacation Bible School. For the last three years we have used a beach theme along with seeking treasure. This has allowed us to build our props each year and this year the church looks fantastic.

One of the decorated VBS rooms

The same team of leaders has worked hard each year to make sure the program is not only fun, but more importantly, teaches the children Biblical truths.

It was interesting to watch last year how a few people made suggestions to "help" just two weeks before the beginning of VBS with drastic changes for the leaders to make. The ladies in charge are great about encouraging others to get involved, but the process begins in January, not in June. I also noticed these "helpers" were not offering to do the work, just ideas to change the program.

Last year we had already booked and paid for our vacation when the date was announced. So this year we made sure we would be in town to help (work). I am helping a friend with the crafts. Each class goes through our room and each craft is geared for their age group. While the theme and decorations are reused, we are careful to use different crafts each year. I am happy to say that everything went very smoothly tonight. We have purchased enough supplies for each class. But, more importantly we have worked well with dividing the work up between us. We each made samples well before this week and were able to work out any kinks or change crafts that we found might not work well. All our supplies are purchased and stored in labeled cubbies for the entire week. We also worked together last night to decorate our room. We also worked very well together when the children came in.We would both give instructions as the craft went along—even though we hadn't practiced what we would say.

The church foyer, decorated for VBS

Each year we incorporate a missions project into the program. This year we are collecting non-perishable food for "Gleaning For the World." This is a local Christian organization that provides humanitarian supplies for domestic and international relief. This year there is even a prize for the family that brings in the most food.

I remember fondly my own summers in Tennessee when I joined my cousins at the local Baptist church for VBS. This was the only time of the year some of my relatives attended church. An older couple would invite us and pick us up and return us home. I can even remember their names—Mr. and Mrs. Patton. God was able to use them to plant the seeds in some of my cousins' hearts. When the church had other programs—4H days or Christmas caroling—they always made sure to invite us. They were wonderful people who didn't hesitate to chauffeur and chaperone a carload of kids to church functions.

Kids Serving Christ

Our pastor's wife, Angela, came up with a program called "Kids serving Christ," which we began last year. It's a wonderful program that incorporates learning Bible verses and Bible stories that teach the kids about service to others. The classes range in age from 2- to 10-years old, and each week they "adopt a saint." The saints are usually older people in the church or are home-bound. Sometimes the saint is able to come and speak to the children and the children are given the opportunity to ask questions of the saint. This has brought a sweet fellowship between the oldest and youngest members of our church.

Each week the classes complete a craft geared for their age. The crafts sometimes are saved for gift baskets that are distributed at Easter and Christmas to our adopted saints. Sometimes the craft is sent home and the children are encouraged to give theirs to others (a neighbor or clerk at the store.)

We often only serve our children, thereby depriving them of the joy of serving others. It also tends to give them a feeling of entitlement. They are the future of our churches and we need to start preparing them at a young age to teach them service to God and others.