. . .and again!

This week we're in Anderson, South Carolina with Student Life for Kids! This is our first time to do kids camp--and it is so fun! They are precious! Our kids are back in Houston spending time with their grandparents--all of them! Marsha had them Tuesday and Wednesday (with a zoo trip with Gene on Tuesday) and with my parents until Friday when we get back.

Wow! The summer fun never stops!

See you later!

Camp. . .again!. . and other happenings. .

Yes, we've been to camp and back. . again. . .since my last blog. Last week we were in San Angelo at Angelo State University for a Student Life camp. It was an incredible week. We are so blown away that we get to be a part of such a wonderful week. I always pray that the things the students saw and heard will go down deep into good soil. I hate the thought of it just being another week in their lives, and I want so badly for them to be truly transformed because of God's work in their lives at camp. That sounds super-spiritual, but really--what is the point of the week if they aren't changed?

Do you know that Stephen and I have been going to camp every summer together for 14 years??? Our anniversary is coming up in July, and that first summer--14 YEARS AGO--we went to camp right after our Honeymoon! Seriously! It just wouldn't be summer without camp! :)

Here are some pics from last week. . 

in the green room

at a Q&A with the band and speaker (Matt Carter)

Maddie and me

Jackson finishing off a 2 liter of coke--at 10:30 PM!!! This was the Thursday night after party.

Does Hope look like a rock star, or what!?

And here are a few pictures from the week before last:

This was a "Mission Wednesday" moment. I try to have day each week where we purposefully do something for someone else. Last summer it was "Mission Monday". This summer has been so crazy, that I'm just catching it when I can. This was for their VBS offering. Yes, we did VBS LAST week--in between Oklahoma and San Angelo.

This is a sweet Father's Day pic, don't ya think? 

My newphew Caden is getting so big--he's soooo close to full-on crawling!

Hope is a reader (just kidding! :) but she does love books. Thank you, Aunt Melody, for all the new books!

Good night!

Camp Pics

Hanging out in the green room. We were so thankful for a nice, cozy room to spend our backstage time in.

Molly (our wonderful nanny-for-the-week) and the kids spent a lot of time on playhousedisney.com!

My little strawberry girl. . so sweet!

My cup cake girl. . so sweet, too!

Just look at those legs! Love them!

We're at camp!

We're at Falls Creek in Oklahoma with about 5,000 teenagers! We are loving getting to lead worship here. It's a wonderful invitation and we have so much respect for the camp director and the speaker this week. . so it's all good!

The kids are having fun playing in the green room, driving the golf cart, playing ping pong, making new friends, and going to the "Devil's Bathtub" (a natural spring in the mountain).

I love summer! It's my favorite time of the year. . the more relaxed schedule, kids home, and time to play and hang out. I love it! Hope you are, too.

Have a great day!

Star

Summer Clothes

I had some "retail therapy" the afternoon, and I am just praising the Lord that I could do it! Every year at about this time I feel the need for a few new things to wear. . don't you know what I mean? I hit the B.P. at Nordstrom and got lucky on some DEALS. I love the IT brand of denim, and they did me right with some shorts and cropped jeans. I also got one of those little knit dresses that are popular right now. . I just hope I don't look pregnant in it! Yikes!

After some supper of spaghetti and meatballs (which I make Rachel Ray-style in the oven except that I added ground flax seed instead of breadcrumbs and my family never knew), we went to see Stephen's "new" office. The church was so gracious to initiate a re-do on his space right before we came, and it's just about complete. . and OH MY GOODNESS . . it is gorgeous. The furniture is gorgeous, the accessories are gorgeous, the set-up is gorgeous. . I might just work up there, too! :) (Just kidding!) I am giving the decorator a huge round of applause right now!

I'm so happy that it's a long weekend and that summer is almost here. I love the more relaxed pace with the kids. . and not having to get up quite so early. Of course, when I come to think of it, Jackson manages to get up pretty early anyway many mornings! Last night he couldn't go to sleep and ended up sleeping by me from 10-midnight. Then, at 5:30, he came in because he'd had a bad dream. The Grinch (who is his "boogy man") had rung the doorbell and taken Mamama (my mom) away! Truly frightening!  Well, I put him back in the bed, but when he heard me get out of the shower at about 6:00, he joined me in the living room. Oh, well. What do you do? In our current condo situation--with all 3 kids in one room--I can't exactly make him stay in his bed because he would wake up his sisters.. . such is life.

Well, those are the current ramblings of my brain. Have a happy Memorial Day weekend!

Here are 2 pictures from Madison's school production of RATS (the story of the Pied Piper).  She was a towns person from Hamelin.  They did a wonderful job, and Maddie did great on her lines!

Visit the Fun House

I just finished reading my friend Emily's blog. . and I just think you might want to visit it, too. Emily and Joel have a brand new baby boy named Seth. Seth has Downs Syndrome. I think you will be so encouraged to read how their faith is REAL. We love this family and are so incredibly privileged to lead worship with them at church.  I know you'll be blessed like I am by Emily's latest post.

skaggsportal.typepad.com/

***PLEASE know that I am so EXTREMELY humbled and honored that she mentions me in her post. I promise that that is not the reason I want you to read it! :) 

Why haven't I been blogging lately????

That is the question I've been asking myself. I don't really know the answer. It's not because life isn't still happening with plenty of "news". Let's see. . . . since my last post. . . Madison busted out her 2 front (permanent) teeth and had them bonded back on. . . we celebrated Stephen's birthday. . we celebrated Mother's Day. .. . we've been to swimming lessons 7 times.  . we've miraculously sold our Irving house to some precious friends :). . . .Madison was in a school play. . .I've been to lunch with sweet friends. . . dinner with sweet friends. . .we participated in our first annual Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk (my sweet nephew has CF). .. . I've been on a yeast-free fast for the last month (Wednesday marks a month). . . visited my friend Emily in the hospital upon the birth of her son, Seth. . . visited my Grandmama in the hospital upon her 3rd trip to the ER in about a month (she's back in her new "home"--a residential care facility in Pearland). . . we went up to Austin for Stuart's (my brother-in-law) graduation from UT. . . and all sorts of other comings and goings. These are some of the things I've DONE.

I've worn lots of "hats", and I've also thought a lot about what my true priorities are. There's just not enough time in a day or a week to waste (much) of it!  I've been wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, friend.

I'd like to not get so behind again on this little blog. . we'll see how I do keeping up. . 

So. . . HI to all my friends in blog-world. Yes, we're alive and doing well (to those of you who have asked--and thanks for asking).

But for now--it's time for American Idol! Good night!