Mind Doodles

Henrypalooza!

It's going to be a blast!!!!  I hope to see you there.  Check out all the details here.

It's an honor to be a part of this great event. Come, have a great time with your family.  Eat some food.  Buy some raffle tickets.  Maybe win some great prizes and help an awesome family.   

Sweet Sixteen

This past week my baby turned 16!  I can't believe it.  It just seems like yesterday that she was crawlingaround emptying the Tupperware cabinet.  She still makes a mess, it just involves hair paraphynalia instead of plastic bowls.  

So, in celebration of Courtney Michelle we had a small party with some of her favorite people--Jenna, Mrs. Becky, Nate and Little Jonathan.  And--we had her favorite meal--FONDUE!!

Here are some pics of the night.

The gifts--

The cake--A Blue Moon Original!

The Big Reveal--

Courtney's having a party with her friends in October.  A "party planner" has been working on it, but Courtney didn't know what the theme would be.  On her birthday, she found out all about it.  She was thrilled!  

The Amazing Race--16th Bithday Edition

Things I Want My Daughters to Know - Part 2

God gave you a best friend and she's in the bedroom down the hall.

Cherish her, treat her with respect, fight on her behalf because when push comes to shove--there is no one like a sister.  

So, don't let petty problems cloud your perspective.  She's in it for the long haul with you.  

One day, you'll be really glad of that.

Oh Yeah---

I remember pouring salt on them.  Hmmmm.  I'm feeling a little evil.  I may go on a slug hunt tonight.

BTW--Wikipedia calls them gastropods.  I'm sure I knew that at one point in my life, but I had since forgotten.  If you really want to get grossed out, check out what Wikipedia has to say about slug reproduction. 

Why?

Today I walked outside barefoot and stepped on a slug.  It squished between my toes.  I have SO MANY childhood memories of that exact thing happening.  It is one of the grossest experiences ever!

Why did God make slugs?  I really don't get it. 

I think I'll do some research and find out if they are good for anything.  I am guessing that we can live without them.

Sunday high--KidSpace!

Sunday was a great day at Crosspointe!  It was KidSpace!  I LOVE KidSpace!  

It is great to see families all gathered together having so much FUN!  

We had an all-time high attendance--650 people!  That's awesome!  That means people invited their friends.  

It was a really hot day, but the water theme outside helped to cool things off.  

The KidSpace Crew came through again with energy and excitement.  They never disappoint.  (Wasn't it great having them on the stage to start off our Sunday morning service as well?)  I'm crazy about these kids.  They are totally bought in to leading younger kids in worship.  Not only do they help out in KidSpace, but they also serve in our Children's MInistry and Student Ministry every Sunday morning.  What you see is what you get--teenagers sold out for God!

 

Let me just tell you how many teams were in place to pull off this event--

The entire stage production team--behind the scenes with lights, audio, and video as well as those who were on stage: hosts, actors and singers.  They put in so much work to make this an excellent production for the whole family.  

The Set-Up Team arrived immediately after the 3rd service and began knocking out the outside set up. We had great workers of all ages, hauling, organizing and preparing for the families that would arrive ready to play at 3:30.  Several Life Groups (both adult and teen) used this opportunity to serve together.  

The Tear-Down Team was ready to go at 5:00.  While we were inside enjoying the show, they were outside, cleaning up the activities.  They hauled trash, took down tents and put everything away.  

Then, at 6:00, when the show was over, they moved inside to break down the stage and put everything back in place for next Sunday morning.

And of course, there's the Children's Ministry Team. They totally ROCK!!!!  Woohoo!

In case you haven't met them, here they are:  

 

I absolutely love these ladies.  Besides being just down-right fun to be around, they LOVE KIDS.  They are always exploring ways that we can do a better job of creating the most incredible environment for kids and their families.  (They worked their tails off Sunday afternoon for KidSpace!)

Whew!  What a day!  We're all still recovering--but it's a GOOD tired!

What I Need

It's been a long day. 

There are SO Many exciting things happening in Children's Ministry at Crosspointe!

But, my brain is about to burst!

What I need is afternoon refreshment!

Okay, that picture convinced me.  I'm off for a break.  Anyone want to come?

I Heart Rainy Days

I know--we just had a tropical storm come through here--Hanna.  I shouldn't enjoy it so much, but I do.  I love waking up to the sound of a downpour outside.  I occassionally love a day that is dark and grey.  

Like today. 

 

This morning, I tiptoed out of bed while everyone was still sleeping.  I came down and checked the progress of the storm on the weather channel.  Then, I flipped around until I found a good movie--one of my favorites. . .A Few Good Men.  

There are so many great lines in that show!  Pretty soon, Greg came down and joined me.  

The rest of the day---well, not much.  I must say that we didn't accomplish anything.  Just hung out and relaxed.  Ahhhhhhh.

Tonight, the whole family is cuddled up watching another old movie--Catch Me If You Can.  Too bad, that the day is almost over.  

Yes, I heart rainy days.

The Dark Side of Parenting

So, tonight I was at a friend's house.  She has 3 young kids so it's always fun to see them interact.  I forget what life was like "back then".

After bedtime, the oldest (who is 5) came out complaining of her growing pains.  My friend said, "I'm sorry, but I can't give you any medicine because I am only allowed to give it to you once a month.  Go in and do some of your stretching exercises in bed."

That worked for about 3 minutes.  

She came out again, so my friend said, "Okay, go and get the placebo cream".  

What?!!! The PLACEBO cream?

And this child knew exactly what that was.  

She brought it out, mom rubbed it on and everything was all better.

BRILLIANT!!!

I wish I had thought of that about 14 years ago!

Whatever it takes. . . .

Things I Want My Daughters to Know - Part 1

After contemplating the things I learned from my mom, I started thinking,  "Hmmm. what would I like my daughters to know".  (I mean besides how to do their own laundry.)  So, here's Part 1 in this new series.

1.  More isn't always better.

I thought about this one today when I looked into the bottom of my closet and saw the huge pile of shoes.  I have a lot of shoes.  So does Kelsey, my oldest daughter.  Actually, she comes from a long line of shoe lovers.  (My mom has more than all of us.)  When I saw my pile of shoes this morning, I realized that there are really only a handful of them that I love.  The rest I just bought on a whim--maybe they were a great deal.  (In my case--that's probably the reason I have them.)  

We are just completely bombarded on all sides with messages that tell us we need more.  But, the truth of the matter is that more does not make you happier.  In many cases it can make you desperately unhappy.  So many people struggle through life with huge debt and gnawing fears about their financial future.  So much of that is caused by the constant drive to have more.  

I remember being in first grade and getting a new pair of Keds to wear for our family vacation. (They were totally cool--denim Keds.)  I didn't get new shoes often so I treasured these.  I absolutely couldn't wait until the day we left so that I could pull them down and wear them.  It's hard to feel that same joy when the bottom of your closet is stuffed full of shoes.

So, I'd like my daughters to learn to make do with less. One of the ways they can do this is to choose wisely.  Is this something you love and "can't live without"?  If it  doesn't fit that category--let the next clutterbug pick it up.