Dan pulled through - and he is just overly ecstatic at his ability to see. I'm so happy for him. He opened his eyes and things are a little bright for him (even with sunglasses on). All the lights are off and it makes him happy but I'm having a little trouble seeing now...hmmm.
He's been napping all day since his eyes should really stay closed and now that I'm ready for bed he's ready to party! Thanks for the prayers, we appreciate all of you for thinking of us :) Can't wait til you can see Dan without glasses!!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Dan
I'm so thrilled for Dan today. He has been waiting for six years to get lasik eye surgery done. We are in the Washington D.C area now and Dan is in surgery! Apparently it only takes 7 minutes on each eye. He won't be able to see until tomorrow. I'm praying everything goes right for him. Dan has worn glasses since the 1st grade (our kids don't have a chance of being able to see).
Avalee and I will be slaving over him for two days - but it's worth it! just pray he doesn't drive me nuts.
I'll let you know how everything turns out.
Avalee and I will be slaving over him for two days - but it's worth it! just pray he doesn't drive me nuts.
I'll let you know how everything turns out.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Weird Night!
Lately Avalee has been trying her hardest to climb out of the crib. Usually by the time we get to her in the morning at least one leg is hanging over and she's not quite sure how to untangle herself from the position she's put herself in. It's funny and scary at the same time to walk in and see her like that. Dan decided it's way over due to lower her crib, so that's what he did yesterday. When we went to put her to bed she was terrified. She was confused, and scared to be in what probably looked like prison to her. We would go in and comfort her every 15-20 minutes but she just would not calm down. I gave in and decided to rock her to sleep. The second I picked her up she fell asleep on my shoulder, but then when I tried to lay her back in her crib she immediately wailed. It was very confusing for us and we weren't quite sure what to do. We finally just left her in there until she fell asleep...which didn't end up happening until 5:00 in the morning. What is up with that?? I only got a good 3 hours sleep last night and now I'm exhausted. Let's just say naps were good and long for her today! Let's hope this night is much easier for all of us.
Monday, May 19, 2008
What a weekend!!
So many exciting things have happened this weekend!
Congratulations to Jeff and Jennifer on their new baby boy, Hudson Ream. Hudson was born last night...we were all very eager to meet him and couldn't wait for his entrance into this world.
Congratulations to Ben and Courtney on their new home! It is beautiful and we are so excited for them.
And Finally congratulations to Dave and Evelyn on their wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding with a gorgeous bride - and it turned out to be a beautiful day.
We had a great night Saturday evening at our VIP event. Our staff pulled off an awesome evening. Worship was amazing and God has blessed us with awesome volunteers at Fellowship. John shared elevate with our VIP's and were excited to see the greater things that God has in store for Fellowship Church.
Thank you to all of our KidVenture workers who make our kids ministry the best ever! We have such a talented group of people who have an amazing passion for kids and I couldn't thank the Lord enough for bringing them to Fellowship to invest in our kids lives. Thanks for making a difference! I love you all!!
Congratulations to Jeff and Jennifer on their new baby boy, Hudson Ream. Hudson was born last night...we were all very eager to meet him and couldn't wait for his entrance into this world.
Congratulations to Ben and Courtney on their new home! It is beautiful and we are so excited for them.
And Finally congratulations to Dave and Evelyn on their wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding with a gorgeous bride - and it turned out to be a beautiful day.
We had a great night Saturday evening at our VIP event. Our staff pulled off an awesome evening. Worship was amazing and God has blessed us with awesome volunteers at Fellowship. John shared elevate with our VIP's and were excited to see the greater things that God has in store for Fellowship Church.
Thank you to all of our KidVenture workers who make our kids ministry the best ever! We have such a talented group of people who have an amazing passion for kids and I couldn't thank the Lord enough for bringing them to Fellowship to invest in our kids lives. Thanks for making a difference! I love you all!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Exciting weekend ahead!
Lots of exciting things happening this weekend. Dan's sister gets married Saturday. We have our VIP elevate night Saturday evening. We've been anticipating this weekend for a while and can't wait to dive in.
The beginning of the week was rough. Dan and Avalee came down with a stomach Virus, then decided to pass it along to me. I'm glad we didn't end up being sick at the same time, that would have been a nightmare. God pulled us all through, we are all healthy and ready to go!
The beginning of the week was rough. Dan and Avalee came down with a stomach Virus, then decided to pass it along to me. I'm glad we didn't end up being sick at the same time, that would have been a nightmare. God pulled us all through, we are all healthy and ready to go!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
weekly update
Not much has been happening around here this past week. We've been enjoying the wonderful weather. Avalee loves it outside! She's gotten used to crawling on the grass and now has discovered ants - ugh! If I'm not watching her closely she'll attempt to pick one up and eat it (everything goes in the mouth).
We enjoyed the day with my niece and nephew Austin and Rachel. Avalee now gets what it means to "play" with Austin and it's too cute to watch. They pass each other toys, "talk" to each other, and just laugh, to which Rachel will then say "hush babies! you're too loud!"
We have our final UpStreet with the kids tomorrow before we break for the summer. We are serving them a big dinner and have lots of fun activities in store for them. I'm looking forward to it and hope we have a great turn out (especially with all the food we have!) Also looking forward to the weekend - relaxing and getting ready for Sunday.
We enjoyed the day with my niece and nephew Austin and Rachel. Avalee now gets what it means to "play" with Austin and it's too cute to watch. They pass each other toys, "talk" to each other, and just laugh, to which Rachel will then say "hush babies! you're too loud!"
We have our final UpStreet with the kids tomorrow before we break for the summer. We are serving them a big dinner and have lots of fun activities in store for them. I'm looking forward to it and hope we have a great turn out (especially with all the food we have!) Also looking forward to the weekend - relaxing and getting ready for Sunday.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Good Days; Bad Days
This weekend started off great. A Friday evening to ourselves, a productive Saturday around the house followed by a fun evening of pizza and a movie with friends...life doesn't get any better than that. I had time to meditate on my lesson for Sunday morning and "extra" time to dig into God's Word without being rushed or having other things on my mind - that's what I call a good day. Then Sunday rolls around which is the most exciting day of the week for me and nothing seems to go right. What happened? I thought I was doing good - the weekend was great, I was on a high and my world comes crashing down - that's what I call a bad day. We all have good days and bad days. It's a reminder to me of what my relationship with God is like - good days, and bad days.
Pastor John recently challenged me about God's wisdom. How much do I want to know God? Proverbs uses words like search, store, turn your ear, look up, call out, cry aloud...then you will understand. In other words, God's not just going to hand me wisdom. I have to want it bad enough to seek out. My relationship with the Lord can be a roller coaster of ups and downs, but it's during the downs that I realize how much I need God and how much I need to cry out for his wisdom so I can apply it to my life. It's those "bad days" and moments of when I want to quit and give up that only make me search and look up more and more and those are the moments I never want to let go of. So thank you God for the good days, but thank you also for the bad days.
Pastor John recently challenged me about God's wisdom. How much do I want to know God? Proverbs uses words like search, store, turn your ear, look up, call out, cry aloud...then you will understand. In other words, God's not just going to hand me wisdom. I have to want it bad enough to seek out. My relationship with the Lord can be a roller coaster of ups and downs, but it's during the downs that I realize how much I need God and how much I need to cry out for his wisdom so I can apply it to my life. It's those "bad days" and moments of when I want to quit and give up that only make me search and look up more and more and those are the moments I never want to let go of. So thank you God for the good days, but thank you also for the bad days.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Orange (Part 2)
What a great conference. It was such a refreshing time away and also a great time to learn. The speakers were awesome, the break-out sessions were insightful, and the time spent with some of our staff was a great reminder of how blessed we are.
Here's some quick info I walked away with:
Reggie Joiner talked on a "prodigal generation". In the story of the prodigal son there is a loving father and an older brother. The older brother wasn't quite as thrilled about the other brother coming home as the loving father was. Reggie talked about the church having a loving father mentality rather than an older brother.
Sue Miller talked on "unedited children's ministry". She discussed how children's pastors need to set the bar higher on systems, policies, and procedures. Too often we don't stand firm enough and people take advantage of this work for the kingdom. This is one thing Dan and I can really push harder at.
Craig Jutila had a great talk on replacing yourself. A good leader trains someone to take over what they do. If you are constantly filling in for someone or running the show, volunteers will ultimately think that "it's your job." No one will step up and do it. We need to train people to do what we do so there are no holes to fill when we leave.
This conference was all about getting on the same page with your student ministry. Working along side your youth pastor rather than having two separate ministries. The best part of this whole trip was the relief of knowing that Ryan, Dan and I are doing an awesome job at working with each other. Of course, there are some things we could work at but all in all we are not too far off. Ryan and his wife Jessica are amazing with our teens. Ryan is the best at what he does. Our students are blessed to have him be their pastor. I look up to Ryan and all his gifts and knowledge, he amazes me at what he can do. I'm so glad to be on the same team as Ryan and the rest of our amazing staff for that matter.
We flew in last night and got home around 11:30pm. As much as I wanted to drive right over to my parents house and wake up Avalee I refrained. I waited until this morning to pick her up. It was so exciting to see that cute adorable face!! (I think she got fat - they must of fed her junk food the whole time :-) ) I haven't put her down all morning, we've been cuddling - against her will - and I've only given her ten thousand kisses so far. Poor Dan can't see her until he gets home from work. He called to try and talk to her but all she wanted to do was eat the phone. so, until 5:30... he'll have to wait. It's good to be with my baby girl again!
Here's some quick info I walked away with:
Reggie Joiner talked on a "prodigal generation". In the story of the prodigal son there is a loving father and an older brother. The older brother wasn't quite as thrilled about the other brother coming home as the loving father was. Reggie talked about the church having a loving father mentality rather than an older brother.
Sue Miller talked on "unedited children's ministry". She discussed how children's pastors need to set the bar higher on systems, policies, and procedures. Too often we don't stand firm enough and people take advantage of this work for the kingdom. This is one thing Dan and I can really push harder at.
Craig Jutila had a great talk on replacing yourself. A good leader trains someone to take over what they do. If you are constantly filling in for someone or running the show, volunteers will ultimately think that "it's your job." No one will step up and do it. We need to train people to do what we do so there are no holes to fill when we leave.
This conference was all about getting on the same page with your student ministry. Working along side your youth pastor rather than having two separate ministries. The best part of this whole trip was the relief of knowing that Ryan, Dan and I are doing an awesome job at working with each other. Of course, there are some things we could work at but all in all we are not too far off. Ryan and his wife Jessica are amazing with our teens. Ryan is the best at what he does. Our students are blessed to have him be their pastor. I look up to Ryan and all his gifts and knowledge, he amazes me at what he can do. I'm so glad to be on the same team as Ryan and the rest of our amazing staff for that matter.
We flew in last night and got home around 11:30pm. As much as I wanted to drive right over to my parents house and wake up Avalee I refrained. I waited until this morning to pick her up. It was so exciting to see that cute adorable face!! (I think she got fat - they must of fed her junk food the whole time :-) ) I haven't put her down all morning, we've been cuddling - against her will - and I've only given her ten thousand kisses so far. Poor Dan can't see her until he gets home from work. He called to try and talk to her but all she wanted to do was eat the phone. so, until 5:30... he'll have to wait. It's good to be with my baby girl again!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)