I Wanna Get Away

Each spring the ministerial staff at church is able to get away for a time of retreat. Over the past 7 years it has varied as to what they have done. Wives v. no wives; Wives the entire week v. wives for an overnight; planning v. playing, etc. Last year was heavy on the meeting and discussing vision. This year was a bit more heavy on the team building (read--encouraging each other every night) and playing.

We were able to find two homes on Fripp Island, SC that could accommodate the entire staff (23 of us on the trip). We had all but one meal in the home. You know, it did seem like we ate all week. Seriously. But the food was awesome!

Just before lunch one day we saw this awesome view from the porch. Amazing!

The island has deer everywhere. They would even come up to us and beg for food, especially this mangy one. Most had their "amenity card" (aka ear tag) unlike this one.

On Thursday morning, half of the staff headed back home. We did not have any commitments and our friends were willing to keep LilE one more night, so we took advantage of one more free day on the island.

We headed out to Hunting Island State Park, the island right next door to Fripp. Several movies have been filmed on the Island: Forrest Gump, GI Jane, and Rules of Engagement. While there we went letterboxing with some friends. We went to the light house on the island.

 JD had never been in a light house. We rested while he took the 167 stairs to the top. And then he showed us the view from the top.

The next box we went after was on a trail that was closed. But that didn't stop the boys from walking 50 paces. And I guess we paid for it too, ticks. That's right, ticks. We brought a few out of the trail with us. Hmm.

One box we weren't successful in finding was on the marsh. We took a long boardwalk over it. There were teeny crabs everywhere. Thousands of them. And most had a dominate claw. Pretty funny looking.

We had a great day with friends and enjoyed the evening relaxing after some golf carting adventures. You just never know what may happen--what happens at Fripp Island, stays on Fripp Island.

Party Time, Excellent!

This weekend we had 3 birthday parties--THREE! Fun, but busy weekend.
No pictures from the 30th birthday. Guess that is what happens when you get old. :)

On Saturday we had two 3 year old parties. And yes, I took my camera them. In the morning we headed to the fire station to celebrate with theEdge. This is the best group shot I got. I forgot how distracted 3 year olds can be.

The fireman gave us a quick tour of the station and then showed the kids all about the truck. And they even got to get on!

Later that evening, we headed to the picnic shelter for an Alice in Wonderland party for another 3 year old. You can get ALL the details from MC's mommy HERE. It was amazing!

They had a "photo booth" area and the girls and I took advantage. Fun idea!

And  we couldn't go without a creeper picture.

Baby even had his/her picture taken. You can see it HERE.

Fore

About two months ago, JD took up a new hobby, one he swore he would never take up because he didn't like it; it was boring. Now those words have come back to haunt him. Ha!

Mid May the church staff will go on our annual retreat. This year all the boys are to play golf. Yes, boring golf. And in order for him not to make a fool of himself, he decided to head out to the driving range and hit a few. One of our neighbors LOVES to play and this gave him an opportunity to get on the course with him.

Over the next few weeks he had in his possession a nice golf bag, full of clubs, balls, and tees, golf shoes, and gloves. Really? Who is this man? But he has enjoyed spending time with the boys at work. He was even able to play in a fund raiser for Child Evangelism Fellowship at the Cliffs. An extremely nice course to play on for the first time!

CTW

He has been given lots of tips along this journey and had lots of encouragement from the boys. Thanks to all who have helped him learn. He seems to actually enjoy playing and is competetive enough to conquor this new challenge.

Although it looks like it may all is well, you can watch this video to see the bumps in the road.

Happy Cow Creamery

When LilE was 2, she stayed with some friends who home school while we were out of town. She tagged along on a field trip to a local dairy farm and loved it from what I was told.
Since then, I have always wanted to take her back and check this place out. Supposedly, their milk is awesome! And they have strawberries you can pick also. And since it is now strawberry season, I thought it would be a perfect time to do both. Until I called and realized all the tours were booked until July. BOO! Who knew it was so popular? But, because we had a teeny group, we were able to join in with another group! YEA!!

We loaded up the Tahoe with car seats, camp chairs, picnics, and ice chests and make the trek 40 miles down the road. The kids were so excited!

We arrived early to eat our picnic lunch. And we had a little photo op with the 'dry' cows, otherwise known as the maternity ward. I felt like I fit in right there in the parking lot.

Near the picnic area they had a milking area for the kids to practice.

Due to prices of strawberries, we chose to pick our strawberries a bit closer to home. And boy am I glad we did. It. Was. HOT.

We started the tour. Not too much to take pictures of. We took a trolley ride out into one of the fields. They rotate their cows and the types of grass to keep the cows eating green grass all year long. Eating grass in the fields is what makes their cows happy. The tour lady said that in the beginning the cows were cooped up in the barn and were making about 50 lbs of milk at each milking time. Then the cows decided they didn't want to be in the barn all the time and they escaped. After eating the grass in the fields they then began to produce twice as much milk a day...200 lbs!! Holy Moly that's a lot of milk. And that is why they keep green grass all year long. They also bottle their milk on site after a low temp pasteurization--which keeps all the natural vitamins in the milk (they don't have to be re-added like the milk in the store).

We were also able to go into the milking barn and see how that is set up, but it wasn't milking time, so we didn't get to watch the entire process. Fortunately, we saw that at the State Fair of Texas last fall.

And after the tour we were able to taste test some products: strawberry milk, chocolate milk, whole milk, and of course, ice cream! It was all so rich, thick, and SO good!! We brought some home for JD to try as well.

We had such a fun day. I think I was more interested in the entire process than LilE was, but that's okay. It was well worth the drive! And I would love to go back again one day when we are studying the farm!

The Last as a Mother of One

In K4 the last big hoorah of the year is the Mother's Day Brunch. The room was decorated in pretty pastels. Tables made up with table cloths, hand printed placemats, and homemade flowers. It was perfect! (And didn't think to take a picture to show you. Sorry.)
The kids were so excited to have all the mommies come. They started with a little presentation of all they had learned this year--Psalm 23, Nursery Rhymes, the days of creation, and a cutesie little song about mother's. The program ended with a slide show of the kids throughout the year. It was super sweet.

We then got to sit down with our crowns on and have our lemonade and cookies. So yummy!

The kids did such a great job making us feel so special!

On Sunday, we had our typical morning at church. Well, kinda. I started the morning off in the nursery full of newborns who had been dedicated that morning. So glad I am not having 14! One I think I can handle! As I was leaving the nursery, I had several people stop me and tell me what a great job LilE did. Thanks? JD had said I was going to get one of my gifts at church, but I assumed it was a picture or something in a video. Oh. My. Instead it was an ENTIRE video of my daughter dancing and playing in her room. She was the video! I just about melted right there. And yes, I was the mom sobbing in church! My heart was so full of love for that girl! She was only a teeny bit confused at why I was crying.
If you have not already seen it, take a minute and enjoy my precious first born!



Isn't she beautiful? I sure think so!

After church we headed to Olive Garden with everyone else in town. We actually went with some friends and which made the hour and a half wait more bearable. We had the best conversations which made the hour and a half go by quickly.

Can you believe I didn't take a single picture on Mother's Day? Who am I? BUT I did take a picture with my girl the day before, so it will just have to do for this year.

Strawberry Season

This is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Spring. The weather is starting to warm up without being too hot. The flowers are blooming. And the fruit is growing. And we LOVE to have fresh strawberries in the house.

LilE and I loaded up to meet a few friends and ended up meeting the entire church at the strawberry patch (well, maybe just two other playgroups and another staff family).

LilE and I found a spot all by ourselves and picked away.

Two gallons of strawberries.

They were yummy!

We talked about how the plants grow and the flowers bloom.

Then the strawberries grow out of the blooms.

Isn't it great how God created these wonderful plants for us to enjoy?!?

We took some other pictures just because we could. I have one beautiful princess with beautiful friends. 

The next morning we gathered our supplies to make freezer jam. I am so thankful for a friend making it for us a couple of years ago. We have forever been changed.

I cut the strawberries.

We crushed the strawberries.

Add the sugar (and it's not just a little sugar).

Boiled the pectin.

Mixed the two together.

And poured it into the jars.

I ended up using all two gallons of strawberries to make 4 batches of jam. Yielding 24 half pints. If we run out of jam this year we need some serious help! But really, it IS that good!!

The Royal Jewels

Tonight we had a girls night out. And in honor of the Royal Wedding, it was themed. To be honest, I didn't even know about this wedding until I got the invite for the party. Maybe I should watch the news more often. Nah.

We had such a fun time getting all dressed up in our fancy headbands, hats, and ginormous rocks on our fingers.

We enjoyed tasty treats and even a wedding cake for dessert.

But the real reason for the get together was to buy some jewelry to support Florence and Ayiko.

A friend of mine met this mother and son while on the mission field in Uganda, Africa. It is such a sweet story about how the boy and Alissa became best buds. When Florence realized Alissa was not the same age as her boy, she just had to meet this girl. Even though Alissa is now back in the states, they are still dear friends and she continues to help Florence. Here is her story:

"Florence Kamure is a single mom from northwestern Uganda. In February 2010, she was unemployed and she and her son Ayiko, were homeless. In June of 2010, she began creating and selling paper bead jewelry. Since then, the proceeds from her jewelry sales have provided for Ayiko's school fees and allowed Florence to purchase a plot of land where she hopes to build a home soon."

Last summer a friend (GC) went on a short term trip to see Alissa. When she came home, she brought a sampling of these paper bead necklaces. For only a few dollars, I snatched one up. I LOVE it and wear it all the time. And the best part is knowing that a mom worked so hard making it to provide for her child.

When my friend Rhonda invited me to a party at her house to browse though necklaces for Florence, I was all in! There were boxes and boxes of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

We shopped and shopped. It was so fun trying on all the different styles she is now making and the fun colors.

In just a few short hours, Florence made a little over $700!! Praise the Lord! I cannot wait to see exactly how the Lord will use this money for her family!

And we couldn't let the evening pass without a group shot!

If you are interested in hosting a party in your home or want to buy some jewelry for yourself or a gift, please let me know and I will send along Alissa's contact info.