November Ministry Wrap Up

Thanksgiving weekend weekend the girls and I attended the baby shower for one of the young ladies at our church.

The following weekend was Baptism Sunday and we watched as two young people from our congregation gave their life to Christ. 

November seemed to be a month of celebration and I'm so grateful to God for the opportunity he has given us to love on so many different generations! 

I continue to be in awe of the fact that not only are we a diverse group of individuals from every walk of life but also from every generation! It's so beautiful to see young and old worshiping beside each other to further the kingdom! 

Not sweating the BIG stuff!

 

Just realized I had not blogged since before Thanksgiving! Maybe the fact that it was so laid back was the reason why but honestly for the first time that I can think of I was ok with just a quiet holiday with my hubby and kids. We chilled most of the day, ran a few errands and visited a friends home for dessert! And that was pretty much Thanksgiving in a nutshell! I missed my mom and sister but I didn't have to worry about preparing a decorative table or even making sure everything was in place and picture perfect. I cooked everything with the exception of the meet so by 12:30 the only thing we were waiting on was the turkey and roast to come out if the smoker. Sometimes it truly is worth not sweating the big stuff (or at least it's big in our mind...lol)!

Christmas!

Christmas Day was fairly low key. 

This is a picture I took Christmas Eve with my phone. You can see more of my decorations on my Treasured Creations blog.

At least this year I got one pic of TJ! lol

Quisha doesn't live at home anymore but she did come home Christmas week to stay.

It doesn't take much to please this one! Give her anything pink and she's a happy girl! lol

I was not feeling well Christmas morning so I took very few pics ( somehow we didn't even get a good pic of Marc that day). I think Nicki snapped this one of me.

Later that day we traveled to my sisters home for Christmas dinner. I definitely  think we surprised her with her Christmas gift! 

I know we (actually Marc) surprised her with her Christmas gift. Her face is priceless!! lol 

My nephew played Santa Clause! I remember when he was small how excited he was when we handed him gifts now at 16 he's doing the honors. Now he's almost a man! 

My sisters boyfriend and his family were there as well. Never knew men could get so excited about a pillow!! lol

All in all I have nothing to complain about and Christmas was a blessing as usual. I do realize that Christmas will change in the next few years as our kids began lives out there on their own so I'm savoring each moment that we have together that I can! 

4th of July

Patriotic Outfit

I don't like having 4th of July in the middle of the week! I couldn't seem to get it together and our family was all over the place! A few of us ended up getting together at church (with plans to hit the waterside for the fireworks, which never happened. It was just too hot). And somehow I ended up doing all of the prep and cooking! I was really not trying to go there since I'm the lead planner for our family reunion in August.

A lot of my plans seemed to have gone down the drain this month. I didn't make it to Kansas to see my friend Alida from Belize, and this week Nicki and I found out that my girlfriend had canceled a planned trip to NY at the end of the month! But that is ok, next month Marc starts his two week vacation from WABC and we will be going to Lancaster PA and Hershey PA. No ifs, ands or buts about it! LOL

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day evening with Glen and his family. Glen leaves this week for Iraq for a year. It's hard to believe its been over a years since we went to Hawaii to visit them and now they are back in the states. I knew Marc would want to spend as much time as he could with Glen before his tour began. The two of them went off for a couple of hours on Glen's bikes. You can see the picture's of them on my scrapblog taking off ( see link below). We teased Marc about needing some Excedrin when he returned. He didn't complain any.....so it must have been a good ride. I know he will miss his friend...we are praying for his safe return. We know he is in God's hands.

I spent the evening enjoying the view from the pool while Marc and Glen took a spin on the motorcycles. It wasn't until this morning that I realized there are no pictures of me.

Marc didn't get to barbecue at his own "kitchen" grill, but he somehow made it over to the grill at Glen's home. We warned them in advance that he is known for leaving the food and coming back when its on fire. Sure enough he had to be reminded that the hamburgers were ready (LOL).

Quisha doing what she loves best.

Nicki spent most of the weekend at the water park, then proceeded to spend five minutes in the pool on Monday. I guess she had enough water for the weekend.

Its been a busy weekend...starting with Friday's birthday dinner for a friend. Saturday we chilled a little bit in part because Marc was preparing to preach on Sunday at my grandfather's church. In many way's it was surreal going back to my family's roots. Our friend's Rob and Diane...along with my Aunt and Uncle went with us. My mom met us at church so it was a very special day for me spending so much time with family and friends. We had a nice dinner together and then headed right back to attend a second service with our church. I'm surprised we didn't crash once we got back home. I am beginning to appreciate a slower pace life. As I set by the pool last night it motivated me even more to get some things at home in order. I am looking forward to the work we have planned for the backyard. I could have set out by the pool all night just enjoying it all. The lanterns burning reminded me of our trip to Hawaii...but they also reminded me of the Poly at Disney World. I have been getting a little homesick for my favorite place in all the world. Guess it's time to start planning again.