Days at The Lake

June 21st...Summer is officially here...and it is here with a vengeance. We have had some extremely hot weather, and some very humid air. Thanks to good ole' Missouri humidity it makes it hard to even go outside. That is unless we are going to the lake. One really great thing about where we live is that it is only about 5 minutes away from Tablerock Lake. Eric and I have spent three out of the last 7 days at the lake. Okay, well not the whole day, but Sunday afternoon, Thursday after work, and this last Tuesday.

We have gone with friends and family everytime. We have such a blast. It makes it even better because the water is lukewarm and not too chilly. Fun in the Sun!!!

VBS

How fun!!! Eric and I were the directors for our VBS this year at church. We had such a fun time. Maybe stressful at times, but for the most part it was blast.

It took about 2 weeks before hand to decorate for VBS and would have taken a lot longer, but thanks to many wonderful friends and church family we got so much done in a very short amount of time. The theme for the week was Rome:Paul and the Underground Church, so the idea was to make the church seem like Rome and a marketplace. We also made a very cool cave and a small room that was where the apostle Paul was under house arrest.

As you can see by the pictures we had lots of help and lots of fun. Eric was Paul and he did an excellent job. I was the drummer. I walked around and beat a drum when it was time to switch from one activity to the next.

I guess pictures speak louder than words so I will show you pictures of our exciting week.

The prize for the team who raised the most money was to throw messy shotputs. They were actually just balloons filled with water, mustard, and chocolate syrup. The older kids won by one dollar. Eric and our associate pastor, Jeff were the victims. They had to stand there while the kids threw these nasty balloons on them. Well, needless to say the balloons didn't pop very well, so we had a few people who ran back into the church and grabbed the leftover mustard and chocolate syrup and squirted them all over with the bottles. YUCK! It was hilarious/disgusting. The guys were really good sports about it and all the kids got a kick out of it.

I Know I've Said This Before...

I HAVE AN AMAZING HUSBAND.
Just wanted everyone to know what an amazing man I am married to. He is always doing little things to show me that he loves me.

Remember the newspaper cut out that said "I love you".
Well, the other morning he said that he would make me my coffee. Of course, how could I resist such an offer. He then proceeds to make the coffee, but before pushing the start button he asks me, "Is this enough coffee grounds?" I thought, "Hmmm...He has made my coffee before and has never asked me that," I look into the coffee filter and to my surprise there is a short message from my hubby to me. "I Love You!"

Then, a few short mornings later I opened up our cabinet door to get a cereal bowl and when I looked inside there was the shape of an "I" made out of Cheerios. Being the observant one that I am I decided to look into the next cereal bowl. Yep, a "heart" shape was in the second bowl. And yes, as you have probably already guessed I took out the third cereal bowl and there was a "U".

He really does love me!. Thanks baby.

Underground Excursion

Last night we had some pretty bad weather. Eric and I just finished watching a movie and I noticed that it was lightning and thundering outside. Well, ever since we have moved in to this trailer I always get a little nervous during storms, just thinking we might blow away or something...nothing too serious. Anyway, we turned on the weather and saw that there was a tornado warning for our county. "Eric, we have to go under the house." And Eric being the thoughtful husband that he is said that we could go down there and wait out the storm. So off we trudged in our pj's to the underside of our landlady's house. Jack, of course, came with us. We brought a flashlight and my cell phone. As you can see in the pictures the set up isn't ideal, but it works. Jack had a great time exploring/eating all the stuff underneath the house, ya know like insulation and old matches that don't work anymore. We sat there for about 40 minutes, until about 12AM. I proceeded to call my dad so he could check their TV to see if the storm had passed yet. Thanks dad for being our storm radio. He said everything looked okay.

We then made our way back into our trailer which was still intact and in good condition. Whew...glad that adventure is over.

Eric and I took a photo after we got back inside, even though I thought it would have been fun to be able to take a picture while we were actually under the house.

Wonder Why?

Have you ever had those times when you just don't understand what God is doing? Sometimes things just don't make sense. Why would God allow me to go through this situation? Why does it seem that when one bad thing happens another and another just pile up right on top of them?

That's when Psalm 66:10 comes to mind..."For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver."
God knows just what He is doing. He will test us and try us and when we are brought through the fire we will be like pure silver. A vessel to be used by God for His purpose.

Allow me to be completely broken so that You can build me back up into a beautiful vessel crafted by the Master Himself!
..."For I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

Doggie Ball

Eric and I had our first experience playing doggie ball the other day. One of us would pitch it, the other one would bat it and guess who was in the outfield...Yep, that's right, Jack!! He had a great time and so did we. We didn't have to chase after the ball, we just let Jack get it for us. What a good puppy!

Wonderful Hubby...

I just wanted to show you all what an amazing man I am married to. Yesterday I had to go to work, but he had the day off. When I got home the house was vacuummed and the laundry was all done. I was cooking supper and Eric mentioned that Harter House had some great coupons in them this week. I went over the the table with the newspaper on it and opened it up. Here is what I saw...

One Year Already?!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Eric and I have spent a great year together and have enjoyed this amazing time that God has given us.

Taking a great idea from my brother and sister (thanks i and a), Eric and I are switching anniversaries every other year. Not that he gets to celebrate it one year and me the next, only the planning part. This year he will plan it, the next year it will be my turn. I told him he gets the first year since I planned the wedding. Sound fair?

He did a fantastic job. We headed out and stopped at this small park called, don't laugh, Totem Pole Park. What is Totem Pole Park, you might be asking yourself. Well it is just what it sounds like, a park with a bunch of totem poles. It was nice though. It has the world's largest totem pole over 90 feet high. There was also a nature trail that we went on. Jealous yet?

We next went to the Will Roger's Museum. What a guy!

After visiting Will Roger's Museum we traveled to huge house called 'Belvidere Mansion'. It was a gorgeous old house that is said to be haunted. ooohhh... They also had a little tea room that Eric and I ate lunch in. We then strolled around the house and looked around. The house was a gorgeous three story house. The top floor was a ballroom, the second floor had six bedrooms on it. The first floor had two different parlors and it was all very detailed.

The floors in the mansion were all tiled, but not the tile that we know. The tiles were tiny and had very intricate designs. They had workers come in from Italy to lay the tiles down, which were laid piece by piece. CRAZY!

We then made our way to our destination, Tulsa! We stayed at the Guesthouse Suites and stayed in the Jacuzzi Room. Supposedly we were the first ones to stay in the room...who knows. Eric had big plans for the rest of the weekend. After we got settled we drove to El Chico a cute Mexican restaurant in town and had supper. We then went to Utica Square a super cute shopping center with tons of way cute shops. I had never been to a Williams-Sonoma, but it is my new favorite. They have the coolest stuff.

The next day was the big day.... We started out by going to the Tulsa Zoo. It was awesome. Too bad it was so hot. It was about 92 degrees, but we drank alot and took our time. Even though it was really hot most of the animals were out.

After a long day at the zoo we went back to our room and got ready for the big finale of Eric's trip...the CBR RODEO!!! No way, right!!!? It was awesome. This was Eric's first time to see a rodeo and what an awesome one to go to. Bullriding for 2 hours straight.

We had an incredible time.

Thanks honey, for a wonderful year. I can't wait to surprise you next year. Don't look for an itinerary though!!! hehehe