blast from the past

check me out! looking pretty stylish, huh?

my friend, ashley {on the right}, posted some pictures from our youth group on facebook last night. i've had such a great time reliving memories of the 2 years i was in the youth group at the church in mckinney, texas.

those 2 years had such an impact on my life. i wish i could have been there longer, but that wasn't in god's plans. i'm very thankful, though, that god brought those people into my life.

the following picture was taken in one of the houses at medina children's home. our youth group went there for a week and helped do a VBS at the church in medina. i stayed in a cottage with ashley and stefanie. they are the ones that made me look like this! ashley said it was all in the name of love! {i was trying to impress a certain young man in the youth group.}

photo of the day #200

lookin' good

quote of the day: Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show The Wonder Years {loved that show!}

swan lake

swan lake isn't just a ballet.....thank goodness!

tonight i had dinner with lisa and gina. then we were on our way to utica square to walk around and take pictures when lisa said, "there's swan lake." i had never been there or even heard of it. so gina turned the car around and we went to swan lake. it is like a secret garden in the middle of tulsa.

it is beautiful! it's a pond surrounded by all kinds of plants and flowers, and there is an actual swan that lives there! there are also some adorable ducks with adorable orange feet! {did you know that ducks scratch their heads with their feet just like dogs?}

i kept trying to get a picture of the swan, but he was too busy biting himself the whole time we were there! he just wasn't cooperating. but i still got some really awesome pictures! {at least i think they're awesome!} check lisa's and maybe gina's blog for some more awesome pictures!

photo of the day #199

i just like this row of pots

the best part of the evening wasn't all the awesome pictures we took. it was being with people that i love. the older i get the more grateful i am to god for the people he puts in my life. i love my friends. {eyes are leaking.}

quote of the day: "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart. I'll stay there forever." ~Winnie the Pooh

waiting...

well, we're home from bartlesville now.

what can i say but we REALLY hope that bartlesville is where God wants us. the congregation there just seems amazing. they love their community and there is a HUGE outreach effort towards the people of that town.

lots of things this weekend impressed me, but one that will stick with me is something the elders did at meals. when we were at dinner last night, and again at lunch today, one of the elders asked our server if there was anything they could pray about for her. wow! what a simple question with a great impact. both times our waitresses had a prayer request. so before we ate, whoever was leading the prayer prayed for that person right then! so cool.........

so now we're just waiting.......waiting for God's answer. we have been praying a long time for this. and if God's answer to working in bartlesville is no, we will definitely be disappointed, but we'll know that he has other plans for us. i'm not worried about it. he's always taken care of us, and he'll continue to take care of us. i'm just ready to see what the next chapter in our life is going to be.

so now for some catching up on pictures!

photo of the day #196

hotel phillips

this is the hotel we stayed in this weekend. it was very cool. it used to be housing for the phillips company, but now it's a hotel. we were told every room is different!

photo of the day #197

daryl's new view

hopefully this will be the auditorium daryl looks out onto very soon.......

this is one of the cononco-phillips buildings downtown.

i went to lunch with some of the ladies from church. we ate at this cute little deli/bakery called the rolling pin. downtown bartlesville is full of little cafes that are just open from 7-2 weekdays for all the conoco-phillips employees to have a place to eat. we walked around downtown for a little bit, but if i'd had longer i would have taken lots more pictures! there were just some really cool buildings and other things to photograph. i'll definitely be going back!

tonight the ponds were calling me. i love walking down there right around sunset. there's just something about the sunlight on everything down there that just makes me sigh and smile. here are some of the things i photographed.

this picture is actually from the crape myrtle in our front yard. all of the blooms are a deep gorgeous red except for this one that has a tiny pink bloom! how beautiful!

this little guy was munching on his evening snack just a few feet away from me. i was just about to move in a little closer when a kid on a dirt bike zoomed past and scared the bunny away. oh, well. at least i got this one!

photo of the day #198

wow

i actually thanked this little guy out loud for staying still long enough for me to get his picture!

and now i have some more pretty flowers to look at in my kitchen! have i mentioned that i love going to the ponds?

quote of the day: Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering. ~Winnie the Pooh

first impressions

most of my blog readers know what's going on in my life, but some don't.

after much prayer, daryl and i have decided that it's time to leave the congregation where we currently work. we dearly love our brothers and sisters at 29th, but we feel God is leading us in a different direction.

today was round 1 of the interview process for a church in bartlesville, oklahoma. i hope that their first impression of us is as good as our impression is of them! first of all they put us up at a really cool, old hotel that used to be apartments for the phillips company. it's actually called the phillips hotel. these people sure know how to make you feel welcome! they even had a little basket of fruit and cookies waiting on our bed along with a sack full of information about the city!

daryl met with the search committee first. then i joined them for dinner. it was awkward at first because they had already gotten to know daryl a little bit so it was my turn in the "spotlight." they only asked me 2 questions: tell us a little bit about yourself and what is your philosophy about being a preacher's wife?

the first question was easy. the second question wasn't hard, but the way the question was asked kind of caught me off guard. i wasn't really trying to be funny, but my response made them laugh! i told them i was not the kind of preacher's wife that would be all prim and proper sitting on the front row staring adoringly at my husband! i said that god had blessed me with talents, and i had work to do in the church, too. i said i am supportive of daryl and i help him with what he needs, but god also has things for me to do. i hope that was a good answer!

after that we had dessert at a couple's home. we all talked for awhile, and it was amazing the connections everyone in that room had! one couple lived in texas for 25 years until moving to bartlesville 2 years ago. they were talking about the church they had attended while living in fort worth, and that is the congregation we borrowed VBS material from when we worked with the church in terrell! in fact he was the one that wrote the VBS curriculum!

another strange connection i had with that same couple is that my first {and only} church camp romance went to that church. now that was years ago....but when i mentioned his name they started laughing!!! they had him in bible class when he was younger! too funny!

so overall it was a good evening. we're just praying that god puts us where he wants us.

i did take pictures today, but i forgot to bring the card reader! so you'll have to wait until saturday night to see them. sorry!

quote of the day: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11

you're a winner!

photo of the day #195

winner!

yay, me! i won a super cool scrapbooking kit from kenner road. i needed a little happiness today!

quote of the day: "Can you fly?" ~a little boy asked Jesus this question at VBS tonight! so cute!

google eyes rock!

photo of the day #194

wiggle eyes

i got to create a love bug hat in preschool crafts today at vbs! it was so fun! i sat at a table with colby and another little boy. while we were waiting for glue, we played with our googly eyes {giggle...} googly eyes make me smile! i use them as bingo markers in my classroom!

my love bug hat turned out really cute! i left it at church, so i'll have to take a picture of it tomorrow!

quote of the day: Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history. ~Joan Wallach Scott

Baby is gone......

Baby has gone to a good home.......I hope.

{I still think she needed me, though.}

wooden spoon

photo of the day #193

vbs crafts

today was the first day of vacation bible school. i was given the title, "director", so i just walked around to all the classes making sure everything was going ok.

as i was walking by crafts, i recognized a very familiar varmint voice whining, "awwww, i don't like those."

to which the crafts teacher replied, "uh, sorry." {translated, too bad for you. i'm glad she said that!!! don't let him whine!} i was just about to step in the room and get on to colby when i heard him add, "but my mom uses those to spank me!"

i couldn't pass by at this point. i walked in to see what they were doing, and the teacher was passing out wooden spoons that they were using for the heads of the puppets he was making! i just started LAUGHING!

way to go, colby! just rat me out on my parenting techniques! i haven't spanked him with a wooden spoon in a really long time. i used to carry one around in my purse with the handle sticking out as a reminder to both boys what might happen. i think i actually only spanked them with it once or twice, but apparently it made quite an impression!

quote of the day: "But my mom uses those to spank me!" ~Colby

i want this puppy.

this is baby. i think she needs me.

varmints

at approximately 8:10 this morning when the varmints SHOULD have been getting ready for church, this walked into my bathroom right after i heard daryl shouting, "why haven't you taken a shower yet???" {we leave for church no later than 8:25.}

you see instead of taking a shower, spencer was decorating colby again.

photo of the day # 192

dork varmint

i couldn't help but laugh.......especially when he sneezed in his beak!

quote of the day: "Look at Colby's face!!!!" ~Spencer