Another Week

Another week has gone by already.

This is for Johnny!

On July 3rd we went to LAX to drop off Anna and Sarah. That evening we went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Nancy's house for a get together. We had pollo asada... and other good stuff. Later in the evening we all headed off for the park to watch a firework show. After the show Aunt Nancy pulled out brownies and homemade ice cream! Yum!!! (Yep, it was sugar free!)

On the 4th we had an absolute BLAST in Grandpa's pool. I finally learned to dive off the diving board. And I finally got up the nerve to do flips off of it again too, thanks to Dad and Uncle Mike's patient coaching.

Wednesday Annie and I had the day set aside to go pick up our adopted sister and her 3 girls at LAX. She was coming home from a month in New York. We took Charity, Kaylee and Heidi with us and they were so adorable the whole time! We took them to In-N-Out because they hadn't eaten since the day before but we didn't eat because of how early it was. By the time we dropped off the new arrivals we were feeling really hungry so we stopped at Baja Fresh. (Tip Of The Week: Don't ever buy a bean and cheese burrito there!) It was so fun going out with my sisters. Did I mention that they were so precious and cute?

On Thursday I got a call from Brian Denton, a friend we hadn't seen in 8 years. He was desperately looking for 40 volunteers for an all day Childrens Program on Saturday... I took on the task and after 3 hours on the phone while driving back and forth to Home Depot...(long story)... I was ready to quit! I was trusting that God would supply the perfect amount of workers, and He did!

Friday was Pizza Night and we had ... PIZZA for the first time in a long time! Making pizza between making more phone calls and running more errands wore me out. I was dead tired but then the company started arriving. It was fun to see the Rutz family from AK! There were quite a few people here and we had a nice time.

Saturday morning we had to get up around 5:30. That's normal for a week day, but it's not fun when you don't go to bed until after midnight as you all well know.

At the Childrens program we met up with Brian and his new wife Shanna, and the Leckenbys. They gave us a 20 minute briefing for the whole day and we were off to our team stations to start collecting kids.

I was so blessed by what Stephan L. shared about unconditional love. The whole day I was impressed by the message they were sharing with the kids too, it was exactly what I needed to hear that day! Even though I was seriously lacking on sleep, (to the point where I couldn't stop laughing at one of the skits it was way too funny. I think I had all the leaders in the back laughing at me). So despite being over-tired, embarassing myself like that I wouldn't trade the day for anything! It was fun taking Turner and Josiah to dinner and then home afterward. They remind me of ourselves a lot!

Sunday was a sad day because Hannah and Minna said goodbye. They went to Taiwan for a month. But one cannot be sad for too long because we had some great games of volleyball and some profitable fellowship!

Monday was a quick planning day because we headed off to the beach to test out the bus and to take the Rutz family surfing! The waves were incredibly perfect for me and I had the funnest time of my life surfing!!! It was REALLY FUN!

Tuesday had a million things to do on our to-do list so we threw it out the window and enjoyed a rare visit from our cousin who is heading off this Monday to spend 3 years in England with the Air Force. We got Jack to help us girls wash the bus using a folding table to reach the top. lol! Then we washed Mom's bedroom windows inside and out and made dinner while keeping an eye on the little girls who played happily together. Dad and the boys + Merrie had a hard day at work, Mom at the office, Annie, Joanna and Alyssa at the department stores.

In the evening I joined Justin, Willie and Jack on the basketball court for the first serious time in a long time. (They are WAY TOO good for me to play with anymore). We had a great time and I didn't even come in last place! (Probably because of Willie's tolerance and Jack's kindness).

After the basketball game we all sat out on the front porch and talked while waiting for the moon to rise. After the moon finally came up we all headed to bed because we're supposed to get up early ya know.

Last week I was driving in the car with Dad one day and he shared with me about something the Lord was beginning to teach him. He asked if I knew why God had created me. Do you know why God has created you? I'd be interested to hear your answers!

Maybe I'll tell you more another time. For now I'd better get going. We're planning to leave for Oregon tomorrow evening so we have some stuff to get done first.

" Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." James 4:7-8a