Son Rock Kids Camp!

It was a big week around here... VBS week! Here at Zion VBS is held in the evening and the whole family is invited to join in. Every evening begins with a meal (Woohoo! I didn't have to cook all week!). The theme this year was Son Rock Kids Camp, so we had camp skits, mail call, and lots of woodsy fun.

I helped teach the 3 and 4 year old class - the Bumblebees, which wiggled with a whopping 20 kids most nights. Kevin taught the "Wise Old Owls" class for adults. Johnathan enjoyed the nursery class and Naomi kept me company in the Bumblebees. It was a whirlwind week but we had a lot of fun and were amazed at the turnout from the surrounding community.


Naomi dances to the songs which will probably be stuck in our heads all summer.


A few of the Bumblebees get ready for a story from the life of Peter. Good ole' flannelgraphs!! Naomi loved it all - from the skits to the crafts to the games and the giant tortoise named spike that one of the teachers brought for the preschoolers to see. Johnathan loved his "class", too. He was so excited for "BBS" each night.

The final night of VBS is a big deal. After the final session in the church, we went out on the grounds to eat hamburgers and play on bouncy houses, a rock wall, and the playground. Kevin bravely took waterballoons in the head as a part of the "VBS Celebrity" water balloon game.

The end of VBS... I think we have some sleep to catch up on now.

Father's Day Festivities

Happy Father's Day to our dads and Kevin! To celebrate Daddy, we went to the Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival in Bryan. Contrary to the name of the fastival, our family chose to have neither steak nor grapes, but we did have a lot of fun! The festival spans multiple city blocks, so we saw as much as we could before it got too hot...


Naomi tried fishing in the catfish tank.


We watched the grape stomping competition.


We ate strawberry shortcake, Cubano sandwiches, and lemonade. We also tried some steak samples, got free books, and listened to a guy play the William Tell Overture on a turkey baster (I know you're wondering how... it was filled with water, and he squeezed the bulb to raise and lower the water level to produce notes while blowing across the top... Johnathan loved it). We even played in some snow - shavings trucked in from the ice arena. It was a really fun morning.

After a long nap time, we made Daddy a sausage and shrimp boil for dinner. We steamed it all with corn and potatoes in a pot and dumped it out on butcher paper. Talk about easy cleanup!

What I learned from my pastor.. 6-28

Kevin wrappped up his sermon series on "Essential Church" this week by talking about the church's purpose and the Great Commission. What stuck with me most was the fact that we are continually in the process of becoming a disciple. He shared this acrostic about characteristics of a disciple:
D ominated by God's Gospel
I nspired daily by God's Word and prayer
S urrendered to the ministry and leading of the Holy Spirit
C entered on Jesus Christ
I nvolved in the church's work and worship
P ursues the lost with passion
L oves others as a servant
E xemplifies faith in the home, work, and life
S trives to know Christ in all of His glory

Next week: Jonah!

Barton Springs

To cap off a fun week of visiting with Mom, we went to Austin to sightsee and drop her off at the airport. We decided to be brave and go to a popular, huge park close to downtown Austin that has all kinds of fun stuff, including a spring-fed natural pool, aquatic exhibit, and a train ride around the park.

The boys decided that frigid spring water was not for them, so they took a 30 minute train ride around the park. Johnathan loved every minute of it, going through a tunnel and seeing the water from a safe distance!

The girls tried out the pool and braved 68 degree water. But when the temperature is 100 in the shade, freezing cold water feels pretty good! We had fun wading and watched the filming of a country music video in the pool. If I knew more about country music, I could tell you who it was... maybe Keith Urban? If you hear a song about "get crazy" with a music video that includes people jumping in a natural pool sometime in the future, let me know.

We also checked out a really nice aquatic exhibit next to the pool, which looked like it was inside a winding, dark cave:

To top off our day, Rachel made everyone eat dinner at an institution of her childhood - Furr's cafeteria. When I saw that Furr's sign on our last trip to Austin, I just had to go. I fondly recall many trips there with my grandparents in Colorado Springs when I was growing up. The mac and cheese, fried okra, and millionaire's pie tastes just the way I remembered! I even made Mom pose for a picture of the good 'ole "dip the napkin in her water glass to clean the grandchild's face" thing... Ahh, memories. Now I have that out of my system...

What I learned from my pastor... 6-14 and 21

As Kevin's first series nears its end, he taught about community and leadership. From Romans 12, he showed how critical it is for Christians to live in Biblical community with one another. We can only do that when we are transformed by the "renewing of our minds," consider ourselves with humility, and use our unique gifts for the body. On Father's Day, his topic was leadership - primarily how men are called to lead in the church and in their homes.

I am so thankful for the way Kevin leads in our new church home and our family. He demonstrates the words of Romans 12 every day for our family - genuine love, humility in giving of his energy and time to the kids and me even after a long day, his affection for us, and his fervency in serving the Lord. He is the center of our family's ability to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and in praying for and with us. We love you, Daddy!

The Bounce

Today we went with Grandma Stata to check out The Bounce, and we had lots of fun jumping and climbing on the air jumpers, slides, and obstace courses. Here are some pictures from our morning...

Naomi's favorite - the slides

Johnathan and Grandma Stata

Blue Bell

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

Have you ever had Blue Bell ice cream? Until we moved to Texas, we had never tasted it, and according to most folks around here, we were sadly deprived. After trying it for ourselves, we agreed! It is good!

For Dad's birthday, we made him a Blue Bell Birthday Cake flavor ice cream pie. Yummy! Sadly, Dad was not able to take the leftovers home to Colorado with him when he flew back on Sunday, but we took care of the rest for him.

What I learned from my pastor... 6-7

This morning's message was about worship, with scripture from Colossians 3:14-17. We were challenged that worship is not just what we do on Sunday mornings in church, but it should be a lifestyle, so that "whatever you do, in word or deed," glorifies God. Of course, music is an element of that, so Kevin talked about how any music we sing together on Sunday morning should be God-centered, intergenerational, and an active pursuit of every believer. I love the thought of all generations coming together and bringing God glory both in song and in our lives throughout the week.

Balloons and Big Rigs

Last Sunday, Naomi was looking out our back window and shouted, "Mommy, a balloon!" Sure enough, a hot air balloon was lowering into the pasture behind the parsonage and church. We ran out to see it land and deflate in the church parking lot.

On Wednesday, we went with a group of little friends to the Bryan library to see tractors, trucks, fire engines, and police vehicles in the streets surrounding the library. We had popsicles (as evidenced by Johnathan's shirt) and had fun climbing into and honking the horns of various big rigs!

Johnathan's Noggin

Or is it spelled nogin? Whatever the case, Johnny's head has had quite a month. Two weeks ago, on the way back from the post office, as he was vigorously complaining about having to walk, I offered him a piggy-back ride. At that crucial moment when I hoisted him up, he threw himself back and the back of his head connected with the gravel. He got a small cut, but that has healed up well.

On Sunday night, he hit the back of his head hard on the floor of the fellowship hall. No bumps, but he was not a happy camper. The next morning when he woke up, he didn't want to get out of bed. When he eventually did get up, he was pretty lethargic. When he started to throw up, Kevin took him to the ER. After a CT scan to make sure, the doctor said everything looked okay - the hard smack on his head probably caused his symptoms in the morning. We're very thankful to say he is back to normal and going strong! Hopefully we can keep his head away from hard objects for a little while!