Awana's Crazy Tie Night

Duct tape is so versatile!

Whoop!

I went to my first (and Kevin's second) Texas A&M football game this weekend - What an experience! Now, I haven't been to a large number of college games, but I'm pretty certain Aggie games are one-of-a-kind. Here are my highlights (my apologies to football fans who want sports-related highlights. Most of mine revolve around the band, I'm afraid!).

The student section (pictured above) is humongous! And all but three of them were wearing maroon (okay, that might be an exaggeration - but not by much!). And they never sit down. And they stayed the entire game - even the whole half-time show. They don't have cheerleaders - they have "Yell Leaders" - and the entire student section yells. Loud. In fact, the entire stadium links shoulders to sing a song every quarter. They yell "whoop" when the announcer says something favorable. There are also dozens of other traditions the Aggies observe. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Whenever the teams scores, the fans "score" (get to kiss their date). Kevin "scored" 16 times this evening. If you're doing the math, that's 56 points for the Aggies (don't forget extra points!).

2. This next tradition is a close second for me, and I think it was just in the section where we were sitting. The person sitting next to me passed a tupperware container full of fudge at the end of halftime - we had to eat a piece to bring the team good luck in the second half. Anything to support the team!

3. The band does this really amazing thing in which it marches to the end of the field, then each row does an about-face and marches back, turning the whole formation in on itself... Confused? Just watch:

So, so cool. Yes, I was a band geek in high school. A drum major, even.

4. At the end of the game, if the Aggies win, the Corp of Cadets (dressed in khaki uniform) tackle the Yell Leaders (fleeing in white uniform) and throw them in a fountain. Nice way to celebrate!

Lots of fun to go to a game together. Below is our attempt to get a picture of ourselves. Turns out the camera was on movie mode. So it's a movie of us at the stadium!

Green Eggs and Scorpions

No, this is not the title of Dr. Seuss's most sinister book. It's just a summary of two interesting facts I learned this week. (Note: To our moms, if you are reading this, please stop now and go to the next post.)

Fact #1

It is a good idea to check your bedsheets here for scorpions. Just in case one is in there.



Because finding a scorpion in your bed is a little disconcerting, and certainly mars an otherwise good night of sleep.

In the interest of truth in reporting, I would like to point out that the above picture is a stock photo from the internet, chosen to enhance this post. I did not have the presence of mind to grab the camera to take a photo of the actual scorpion we found.

And moms - I told you to stop reading, but I know you still are, so I want to to know that our pest-control appointment has been scheduled.


On a lighter note, Fact #2

There is a variety of chicken that lays green eggs! I know I'm a city girl, but am I the only one who's never heard of actual green eggs? Here's a picture to prove it to any sceptics...

We love fresh eggs, and Miss Hannah from church is selling eggs now. So I was very eggcited to have a source of fresh eggs.... But when she told me some of them were green, well, that's just even better!

Making Tamales

The WinGS (Women in God's Service) group tackled the project of making over 2000 tamales this weekend for a fundraiser. I joined them for the morning, and I promise that as soon as I snapped a few pictures for the blog, I did my share of tamale-making! Here's what I learned about how to make a tamale...

Spread out the masa mixture on a wet corn husk

Plop the meat mixture in the middle

Wrap it up and tie the ends

And them steam them until the masa is firm. Sounds easy, right?

Okay, here's the real secret to making tamales...
Millicent.

I think if you want to make authentic and very yummy tamales, you're going to need her, because I think there may have been a few more steps to that recipe, including really well-seasoned pork and many other steps I didn't do!

Anyway, we now have some very delicious tamales in our freezer!

What I learned from my pastor... 9-27

The description of Jesus in Colossians 1:15-20 is amazing: Jesus is supreme in eternity, creation, the church, and in salvation. To think about how He holds everything together by His power is beyond my comprehension. A few weeks ago I watched Ben Stein's documentary, Expelled, and this morning as Kevin was sharing some of the wonders of creation, I thought of the film's segment that animates the inner workings of a "simple" cell - which scientists are discovering contains far more complexity that we could have ever imagined.

The second part of this passage in 1:21-23 turns to our response to Jesus' supremacy: if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel... Many days my faith feels far, far from "stable and steadfast" - I could give you multiple examples right now. But I was encouraged when Kevin pointed out that, in the Greek, "if" in verse 23 expresses no doubt that the believers in the Colossians church will continue in the faith. The key may go back to last week's passage - "according to His glorious might" (verse 11) - building my faith on the solid rock of Christ. And since He holds everything together, I believe He has the power to hold me steady in the hope of the gospel.

I believe; help my unbelief! Mark 9:24

What I learned from my pastor... 9-13 & 9-20

The sermon series Kevin is now preaching is from the book of Colossians, and the theme is Jesus Christ: The Ultimate. In his first sermon from Colossians 1:1-8, we learned that a gospel-centered church has 3 charactersistics: faith in Christ, love through Christ, and hope because of Christ. I'm excited to explore both the simplicity and complexity of the gospel as we go through this book.



In his second sermon from Colossians 1:9-14, one of the points that I found intriguing was about the word "knowledge" in verse 9. The Greek word Paul uses doesn't refer to just a general knowlege, but full and complete knowledge of God. He prays that the church will have that complete knowledge, and it comes through spiritual wisdom and understanding. The idea of knowling and completely understanding God's will seems like an impossible goal to me. But Colossians 1:9 says that we should ask for that spiritual knowledge, which comes through studying God's Word with the help of the Holy Spirit and then obeying it (Col. 1:10). It's a good thing that this understanding is a lifelong process (Kevin noted the present active tense in this passage, indicating a continual progress), otherwise I'd be pretty discouraged, because I'm definitely still learning!

At The Woodlands Mall

On Tuesday we loaded up and drove a little over an hour to the Woodlands, just north of Houston. There we found all kinds of fun stuff to do - a little shopping, lunch, a carousel, and a water taxi ride through a mile-long waterway that winds through an area with restaurants, parks, condos, etc.

Prisca naps to store up energy for shopping!

Naomi chose the rabbit for her carousel ride

Johnathan chose the slightly tamer bench

Prisca chose a giraffe!

Lara and Prisca on the boat ride

We were very thankful for a great visit with Matt, Lara, and Prisca. Having family come to see us is a blessing!!

Cousins at the Museum

After picking Naomi up from school on Monday, we took the cousins to the Children's Museum for a little play time.





Naomi did a little grocery shopping and picked up a cute new item:





Naomi enters the spaceship with Uncle Matt

Johnathan and Prisca play with trains

Having missed nearly all of little Prisca's milestones so far, we were very excited to witness a first for her - she learned how to push a little shopping cart to help her walk. She was so proud of herself! Watch this video to see her accomplishment:

A fun afternoon for everyone!

Welcome to Aggieland!

This week we were excited to welcome Rachel's brother Matt, Lara, and Prisca to our new home in Kurten. At ten months old, Prisca is a delight, scooting around and offering huge smiles. Here she is in her Aggies shirt...



Heading to church on Sunday

Snuggling with Uncle Kevin

Johnathan pals around with Uncle Matt

The cousins cuddle! Naomi and Johnathan couldn't keep their hands off their baby cousin - They wanted to "help" her with everything she did!

Swinging out back

We had a fun weekend going to Kurten's Fall Festival, touring the church campus and the Kurten area, and eating Texas BBQ.

Naomi's First Day of School

Naomi has been waiting and waiting for the first day of school... And it finally arrived! Sporting her Dora backpack and her new ladybug lunch bag, she was off this morning to Central Baptist Weekday School.



Posing for first day pictures... (See how foggy the picture looks? That's what you get when the humidity is oh, say, 105%)



Here she is putting her things in her cubby like an old pro! She then hopped off to her name on the rug and it was adios, Mom and John!



Naomi reported at the end of the day that it was very fun. She planted some kind of seeds, learned about the 't' sound (that's the letter T, Mom!), and ate her very first lunch at school.


While Naomi was at school, her mother and brother were buying groceries at Walmart and emerging from the checkout line to find it was pouring rain. We're talking torrential downpour. One of these days this Colorado girl will learn to keep her umbrella in her bag.

Awana Buddies

Cubbie Naomi and Puggle Johnathan reporting for duty!

Front Yard Fun

Labor Day 2009

On Labor Day, we played in the wading pool and ate homemade ice cream - Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Chip. Nothing like homemade ice cream on a hot summer night (In the yard so we could hose everything and everyone off where we were done!)


Yummy!


Johnathan rests from his labor. It's a lot of work being 3.

And speaking of labor, I ran across this picture from 4 months ago of the flower beds in the front of the parsonage. So, to show off my new-found gardening prowess (ha ha), here's a before picture...



...and after.

But to tell the truth, I do little more than weed it occasionally and throw the sprinkler on it. I sure do love gazing at it, though, and I'm thankful to those who planted it before I arrived!!

Kidnapping!

No youth pastors were harmed in the making of this post... At least not too much!

Joseph is Zion's youth pastor intern, and his fiance is Amber. Little did they know that when their premarital counseling appointment on Saturday was over they would be abducted and taken blindfolded by the youth group for bachelor and bachelorette parties!


Amber was taken away for breakfast, manicures, and makeovers.


Joseph was taken out back to be abused with silly string in the back of a pickup. (Notice Pastor Kevin fleeing the scene of the crime!) The boys then played lasertag and bowled.


The youth group rounded out the abduction with lunch and sharing what they appreciated about Joseph and Amber. So all that abuse was really because they are loved!!

Artistic Endeavors

Here are a few pictures from our jaunt to the Children's Museum on Monday...

Johnathan takes a bow!

Naomi paints a Bug

Johnathan's spaceman mask

I think Naomi has the makings of a teacher in her. Here she reads to her class of chessmen.

Johnathan joins the "class"!