College Memories

Moving and packing does have its advantages - you find stuff you forgot you even owned! Here are some pictures we found. More will be posted in the gallery soon.





This is the first time I sang with the trio. I was scared. You can tell in all these pictures.

The second time

Pastor Sexton surprised me and asked me to give a testimony...SCARED again! As soon as it was over, I remember thinking how quickly someone took the microphone out of my hand so I could step to the pulpit. I think it was Bro. Fox. :) Funny the things you remember.

Ahh...the memories.

New Photo Gallery

Today, my wonderful, computer-genius brother helped me set up a new photo gallery. Actually, he did it all. But it's ready at the same link on the right. Be sure to leave comments and rate the pictures. You can also search if you want to see something specific (teens, church, snow, etc.). There's also a whole new album "March 07." Check it out. Click the link at the right.

Look, Jada...

only one letter off!

Rockport and Ocqueoc

Yesterday, we had the whole day to ourselves. We decided NOT to pack, but to go out and just go a few places we have never been. We went to a place called Rockport first (after we had eaten at Burger King). It used to be a rock quarry. It was pretty cool. They just put boats in there now, and it's a park. We got out and it was freezing cold! Don't let the sunshine fool you.



Next, we drove by a current quarry site. They had a viewing area. Jamin loves that kind of stuff. So we looked. You can't really tell anything by the pictures. Then we went to Ocqueoc Falls. Though it is called "falls," it really is not. It is beautiful, though.

Fun Things to Do During Boring Sermons

• Pass a note to the organist asking whether he/she plays requests.
• See if a yawn really is contagious.
• Slap your neighbor. See if they turn the other cheek. If not, raise your hand and tell the preacher.
• Devise ways of climbing into the balcony without using the stairs.
• Listen for your preacher to use a word beginning with 'A' then 'B' and so on through the alphabet.
• Sit in the back row and roll a handful of marbles under the pews ahead of you. After the service, credit yourself with 10 points for every marble that made it to the front.
• Using church bulletin or visitor cards for raw materials, design, test and modify a collection of paper airplanes.
• Start from the back of the church and try to crawl all the way to the front, under the pews, without being noticed.
• Raise your hand and ask for permission to go to the rest room.
• Whip out a hankie and blow your nose. Vary the pressure exerted on your nostrils and trumpet out a rendition of your favorite hymn.
• Chew gum; if the sermon goes on for more than 15 minutes, start blowing bubbles.
• By unobtrusively drawing your arms up into your sleeves, turn your shirt around backwards.
• Try to raise one eyebrow.
• Crack your knuckles.
• Twiddle your thumbs.
• Twiddle your neighbor's thumbs.
• Wiggle your ears so that the people behind you will notice.

Acquired at First Baptist Church of Bridgeport at the youth conference. Why a church would hand this out is beyond me! :)

Faith Factor

Saturday we had another youth conference. This one was at First Baptist Church of Bridgeport, MI (near Saginaw). The pastor of the church is R.B. Ouellette. He was also the preacher for this meeting. It was a great day. We only took 8 teens this time, but we had a blast. I didn't have the camera with me the entire day or I would have gotten a lot more pictures. We played games in the gym after lunch. For one game, everyone was divided into groups of 15. Each group was given a pack of printer paper and a roll of masking tape. We had about 10 or 15 minutes to build the tallest free-standing tower we could. Ours got pretty tall, probably about 4th tallest or something. It was fun though. :)

Pastor Ouellette

Tour group from West Coast Baptist College

We took a detour on the way home to Iargo Springs to take a few pictures.

The tired youth leaders

The road home

It was a long, full day. We left the church at 6:30 am and got back to the church about 8:45 pm. It was our last rally. It was a great one to end on! :)

Men's Basketball

Every Friday night the men of the church meet in a different elementary school gym to play basketball. They always have fun. Of course, Jamin is the star!

The crowd

Fun With Our Teens

Almost every Thursday since we've been here, we've had Teen Gym Night at a local elementary school. It's so much fun, and it has always been one of the highlights of my week. Last night was our last one. Next week, the schools have parent/teacher conferences, and the week after is Spring break. So anything special at the school knocks us out. It was pretty sad to think of it being our last teen night. Here are some shots from the last few teen nights.

Black Hole Soccer

Time for devotions...

Oh, the romance of it all!

Dodgeball

Two of my sweet girls

By the way, any photographer tips for gym shots?? They're so difficult.

Scary Night

In the middle of the night, something woke me up. I didn't know what it was so I went back to sleep. Then a little while later (not sure how long), I woke up again and I felt something crawling on my arm. I am totally scared of the dark, and of creepy-crawly things. I reached down and flicked something off my wrist. I was breathing hard and trying not to panic. I didn't want to wake up Jamin, so I just toughed it out. It took me a LONG time to go back to sleep. I was convinced that it was a hairy spider or something worse. But this morning when I got up, I saw a dead fly in the floor! Creepy!!!

I hope you can all sleep tonight.

Happy...

First Day of Spring!

Cranberry Blues...

is the name of my second quilt top. I finished it today. Its plan is to be used for a Christmas gift. Every time I finish one, I want to keep it. :) I'll have to work on that. Cranberry Blues is the name of the pattern. I like the contrasts of the colors.

I'm seriously considering selling quilts after we have moved and settled again. I'm not sure how to go about it all, but I thought of just making up several and renting a space at a flea market. I'm not sure though. I would have to have a lot for people to choose from. For now, great gifts!!

I have Ladies' Bible Study at my house tonight. I have lots of cleaning to do, but I wanted to finish up the quilt first. I'm going to have to set aside a few days for packing this week, too. There are just so many other things I'd rather do.

I'm talking about YOU!

If you read this blog from time to time, please just leave a quick comment. I just want to know who is reading. I see in some emails that some of you look from time to time. Please leave a comment! You can just click on the anonymous and then sign your name after you've typed a comment. I left it like this so you don't have to join just to leave a comment. Please just tell me who you are if you're looking. Thanks!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

To my sweet, precious, wonderful mother, Happy Birthday! You are the most wonderful mom any child (or grown-up) could ever have. I love you so much and thank God for you. You have been a great inspiration to me for many years. I learned so much watching you live life every day. I love you!

By the way, I won't mention how old you are this 50th birthday!

Preparing to leave my cute house...

Right now we live in the church parsonage, directly beside the church. It is a nice little house, and we were allowed to paint and fix it up however we wanted. We worked so hard the first year, and even some this past fall. I've been taking pictures of the rooms before they get too bare.
My Picture Corner. I saw this in a magazine and wanted to try it. Some people probably think it looks dumb, but I love it! Plus, it's just one corner. I love my red piano room!! I've wanted a red room for a long time. I think our bedroom is my favorite room that I've decorated. My pastor's wife helped me texture the walls. I think it looks elegant.

The kitchen is the first room we did. My parents were here at the end of the first summer. They helped me paint it. Then I made the curtains and hung the border. Voila!The living room is in the very middle of the house. The dining room is behind the couch, and the piano room is to the right of the tan chair. One big long room turned into three.
These are the nice rooms. The other ones don't look so great (guest room, study, bathroom). I absolutely love to decorate!! These things are completely my taste. If you don't like them, that's fine, but I thoroughly enjoyed fixing everything just how I wanted it. I hate to leave it. :( But the good part is, I get to do it all over again soon!!

Have a great day!!

Love to Cook?

I got in a "find a lot of new recipes" mood the other day and came across a neat site. You have your own recipe box. You can save recipes there and organize them. You can even rate them. You can also sign up for free daily or weekly recipes and cooking tips and stuff. I have found a few great recipes already! Visit http://www.allrecipes.com .

A Quilt

So, Monday night, I opened the closet to find stuff to get rid of, sort through, and pack. I got down my quilting books, and instead of working, I decided to make a quilt. So that night I picked one out and went through my huge cedar chest full of fabric, and picked out the right colors. Then I started cutting out the pieces. I have one of those rotary cutters and mat - it's so much easier than scissors. I made myself a schedule yesterday, so I would be sure to get my daily tasks done. Around noon I started working on it again. I did it the rest of the day. Jamin felt a little neglected when he got home from work, but it freed him up to do whatever he needed to do. (By the way, he started "packing" and ended up reading an old comic book - we are not task-oriented people.) So I finished it at around 11 last night. Just the top, of course, now I have to get the lining (back), and cotton for in-between. I can't decide if I'm going to tack it, or quilt it. I may just wait a while. Here it is:

It's really hard to pick up on good color (with my camera anyway). It's about full/queen size. The borders make it a lot bigger.

I've already picked out colors for a new quilt. I think I may start on it today. Wednesdays are busy though, so we'll see. I'll post it when I get it finished!

So yesterday the temperature got up to about 74 in some places. I kept a window open all day, but I forgot to turn the heat down. Oops. It didn't run much, though.

Spring Fever!

I'm so excited! It's almost 60 here today. I have a few windows open to let in the fresh air, and the sun is streaming in! Of course, we're probably in for more freezing weather, but it's nice for now! How nice is it where you are?? Beautiful, I hope.

A New Day, a New Direction

Many of you know that in January, Jamin decided it was God's will for him to resign as youth pastor, and for us to leave. It was made official last night in the evening service. Jamin preached a wonderful message about obedience to God, and how our disobedience limits what God wants to do for us. Then after the invitation, he read his letter of resignation. Some people started crying, and I couldn't stop the tears (I was at the piano, in front of everyone). We are filled with mixed emotion. The circumstances have made us ready to leave, but now that the decision is made, it is really heart-breaking when we think of leaving some of these people. We have grown to love them, and to love northern Michigan. Really, the winters didn't chase us away!

So, where are we going? You may ask. We only know the first step. We will be moving back to Tennessee, and living with my parents for a while. We'll go to Jamin's family's for a while, too. Jamin will pick up odd jobs here and there. We are looking for a church, and have already had a call from a pastor in TN. We are excited to meet with him - they have a growing church. After we find a church where we can learn and work, we will find a place to live. We would like to be "full time" again soon, but we also look forward to a little transition time with our wonderful families, as we "get our wits about us." The ministry is a wonderful thing, and we are privileged to be part of it. Though trying and tiring sometimes, it has heavenly rewards!

Please pray for us. We will be moving April 12. Time will fly by, and we will be saying "goodbye" to Michigan before we know it.

To our teenagers reading this: We love you!

The photo above was take last week, not today. But it fit my title. :)