Family "Popcorn in a Fort" Night

A Yummy Birthday

For my birthday, my sweet husband created a feast of yummy Japanese food. The menu included gyoza, teriyaki chicken, rice, shrimp and veggie tempura, and sushi rolls (the fully cooked variety for mama and baby!). He logged many hours in the kitchen working on this one - Naomi even pitched in with wrapping the gyoza! We chowed down for dinner that evening with our friends Jason, Jenna, and Jackson. Everything was delicious, and Kevin's first attempt at rolling sushi was very impressive! Thank you, honey, for everything!

And thanks to Jenna, we had my favorite birthday dessert - carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I had prepared myself for my first birthday in a long time without enjoying the version that Fargo's pizzeria in Colorado Springs makes. I had it every year for my birthday, and my parents even delivered it to us while we lived in Wyoming. But Texas is a little far for that kind of delivery, so I figured I'd go without this year. But Jenna's version was pretty well identical, and I was one happy birthday girl!

What I learned from my pastor... 1-31-10

In part 2 of Kevin's series on the new vision statement, he spoke from I Corinthians 12 about serving. We are to serve the body of Christ first - serving one another builds up the body and demonstrates Christ's love. But we are also to serve our community and world - to tangibly show the Gospel with acts of kindness and genuine love. We watched a video clip called "Get Service." It's a good one! You can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

Sand Hills

On our way home from Monahans, we stopped at a state park filled with sand dunes. We didn't stay long - just long enough to get our shoes filled with sand, look for pyramids which Johnathan was convinced must be around there somewhere, and play a little. It was a great place to burn some energy before another 8 hour ride home!

The day before was extremely windy, but this morning was warm, perfectly still, and we had the run of the dunes which had been untouched, covered in ripples from the wind.

Going up the hills was lots of work, but coming back down was even scarier at first. Daddy told Naomi he'd give her a dollar if she'd try running down the sand hill - and she discovered it was quite fun!

We left our mark with footprints and "We Love U Erwinna" written in the sand.

Family Fun

Since our move, family visits are becoming fewer and farther between. So it was very exciting for us that so many of Kevin's family from Colorado and beyond were able to meet in Monahans for the services. Besides Grandma and Grandpa Boaz, we got to see Kevin's sister Karen, Rudy, Ben, and Matthew; Kevin's brother Randy and Kayla; nieces Rachel (newly transplanted from California to Colorado) and Heather with baby Carolann from Oklahoma; Kevin's uncle Jim from Oregon, and cousins from Texas and New Mexico. We all stayed at the Best Western and soaked up two days of:

Eating! Lots of Texas BBQ and steak.

Hugs and kisses! Naomi and Kayla have always become permanently attached to each other whenever they get to visit. Carolanne got lots of kisses, too, although they weren't always welcome, unless they were coming from Matthew, who has a special way with babies, it seems!

Swimming! Everyone jumped in the pool at night to wear out the kids before bed. Baby Carolanne even fell asleep in the pool - she's sucha snuggle-bunny!

We are so thankful for the brief but wonderful time we had with everyone!

Family History

It was a special time to gather with the Boaz family to remember Grandmother McNabb's life of 94 years. The funeral service was held in Grand Falls, TX, in the little church that her family attended. It was a beautiful chapel with amazing stained glass.


Kevin's dad officiated at the service, during which her family shared many memories of Erwinna and how her faith touched them.


Kevin's mom shared her memories of her mother as well. We have been so thankful for the example she set in honoring her mother - over the last few years, she has taken care of Grandmother full-time at home.

They set up a table in the reception room containing memories of Grandmother. I will always remember how she taught me to crochet. The frame with blanket pictures contains a poem that Kevin wrote for her a few years ago about how she covered her great-grandchildren both with homemade blankets and with prayer.

After the service, we drove a few blocks away to see the house where Charlotte grew up with her parents and sister Nelda. Her father was the town sheriff, and a little two-cell jailhouse sits right next to their home. Charlotte remembers hearing drunks singing in the jail when her father let them sober up overnight there rather than be hauled off to Monahans and pay large fines in the county jail!

After that, Kevin was honored to officiate at the graveside in Monahans. Kevin's grandfather passed away years before he was born, and this was the first time he's been able to see where he was buried. Even though he never got to know his grandfather Charles McNabb, he's always felt a special connection with him. He, too, loved to fish, and they share the same birthday, July 24th.

We are so thankful to know that Grandmother McNabb is now safe at Home with both her husband, Charles and her Savior, Jesus.

What I learned from my pastor... 1/17 & 1/24/10

Over the next four weeks, Kevin will be preaching a series detailing the new vision statement for Zion Church of Kurten that the vision team developed. The mission statement (which is too long for me to remember off the top of my head!) is boiled down in the mandate, which is Ordinary people living, sharing, and showing the Gospel. Last week Kevin gave an overview of the new mission statement, mandate, and the four areas in which the church works to grow disciples.

The first area, which was the topic of today's sermon, is Equipping. The passage was Ephesians 4:11-16. I found it interesting that the word "equip" had dual meanings in the Greek of the New Testament; more common to our understanding is its first definition, "to prepare". But it was also used to mean "restore or mend" - like in Luke, used in referrence to mending fishing nets. The church is meant to be a place to prepare us to serve and glorify God, but it is also intended to be the place in which people can be restored to better and better reflect the image of God as we grow in Christ.