Because we just finished a several month long series on Ecclesiastes, Daniel and I decided to have a free night with the kids. We brought our fire pit and all the supplies needed for S'mores. Aimee brought her guitar and we enjoyed singing praises to our Lord and eating some yummy treats. Even though we had a smaller group due to prom, it was great. I love getting to kick back and enjoy my youth group kids. They are a great bunch and i am cherishing every moment i have left with them. There is only 6 more youth groups left before they leave for college and only a few more youth events. I think the next eight weeks are going to be amazing and memorable. However I know it will be bitter sweet. Today was great and i look forward to the time we have left.
This weekend Daniel, Sienna and I made the trip down to Encinitas where our friends Dave and Jody live. We love spending time with them and getting together and planning camp. Friday night we just spent hanging out and talking, we had the blessing of have our friends Christopher and Katherine from Texas there too. It was great getting to catch up. Saturday morning Meghan, Sherry, and Elyse came over so we could get down to business planning this years Teen Camp. Daniel and I have been helping at camp for years and love being apart of such an amazing group of people. This years camp theme is "Hold Fast to Christ". And I am en-charge of games and activities during camp, most of the games will be boat related, I'm excited about that! We got a ton of stuff done, however i still have a lot to do between now and camp. Planning did not make for the best photo opt. so i have no pictures for then, sorry.
After the meeting we headed down to San Diego to have dinner at Hodad's a hamburger place we had seen on Diners Drive Ins & Dives on food network. It was crowded which we expected. The place was really cool looking and eclectic. We got a table pretty fast and enjoyed some yummy onion rings, i think they may have been the best onion rings i have ever had. Then we were served huge bacon cheeseburgers. I enjoyed mine, however i didn't think it was the best burger i have eaten. It was good, but not great and didn't live up to the hype. I do think if you're in the San Diego area you should stop on by it's an experience, but i wouldn't recommend going out of your way to check it out.
Today my sister Cristal and her son Josh met Sienna and I at a local park for a picnic lunch and a day of playing. This park is special because it has a free little water park in it. It opened this past weekend and we were excited to get some use out of it. Well, as we walked up we saw a big sign that said closed. Bummertastic! Nonetheless we had a fun day. The sun was out and the weather was perfect. I packed a yummy lunch for the four of us and we ate well. After eating we played on the play ground, however all the equipment was hot, and Josh and Sienna did not want to play on it. So we went for a walk around the lake. The kids had fun climbing rocks and seeing the ducks and turtles in the lake. It was a fun afternoon spent together. I just can't wait until we can go again and play in the water!
Today we all headed over to my best friend Veronique's House to celebrate her little boys 2nd Birthday! There was plenty of wonderful food and great friends to share a beautiful evening with. We have been having cooler weather lately and i don't mind at all. Because once summer hits California there is no turning back. We have fun eating and playing in the Guy's lovely orchard. Sienna loved playing with so many little friends and i love catching up with my girlfriends. There was so much wonderful food, that i just had to take pictures of it. It was a wonderful night and I wish Ian so much joy in his life. He is a blessing to us and to everyone he meets.
Happy Birthday sweet Boy, so many people love you!
Tonight we had a super fun Youth Event. We started out our night at our home with 16 of our youth group kids and we demolished a Ice Cream Sundae Bar. We had almost every topping you could think of and i think i ate most of it! hehe! My firend Meghan drove out from Bakersfield to help us with this event. She is such a blessing to me as a friend and as a servant. She is always willing to help and does it with so much joy. Thannk you Meghan for being so willing to serve our youth group!
I have been so tired this pregnancy. I praise God for no morning sickness and no aversion to food. However this tiredness is horrible. Normally I am a super energetic person who can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. But right now walking to the mail box is exhausting. I am trying very hard to listen to my body and rest when i need to. I am struggling though with disappointing my family. I feel like I am not living up to the wife and mother, that Daniel and Sienna deserve. I know that this will get better, i started feeling less tired with Sienna around 15 that's only 4 weeks away. Oh dear, now that i write that, it sounds like a long time. At least at the end of all this i end up with a beautiful blessing from God! Oh little one growing inside me, I can't wait to meet you and hold you! You sweet blessing are worth anything and everything!
Oh, side note, we have thought of baby names. As of right now, because it's my prerogative to change my mind :) The names are Eli Daniel (for a Boy) and Scarlet Hope (for a girl). Daniel and I both love these names and look forward to meeting the little person who one of them belongs to.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"
Ecclesiastes 12:14 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the hole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Tonight was the last night that we spent in the book of Ecclesiastes. It was fulling to finally finish a long but good study. We started out the evening playing a fun game i came up with. I call it "Looking For God in all the Right Places". I had bible verse references about living your life for Christ written on index cards. Then i taped them all over the church property. The broke into teams of two or three and went out to find the verses. Once they had the index cards they had to look up and hand write each verse on the cards. Once they had written a verse they could match it to the reference on the wall in our youth room. To make things a little more fun, most of the verses where doubled so they needed to be the first team to find the verse write it and bring it back to the room to receive points. The kids had tons of fun running around and writing the verses. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did with finding the verses in their bibles. They have come so far! No one asked where in the bible is this book or I can't find it. They did a great job!
Today I shot my first solo wedding. It was a lovely day spend watching two people in love become one before God. I was honored to be aloud to capture this celebration of love. I had been really nervous about being the lead photographer on my first wedding, however with the help of my wonderful husband and a beautiful couple to photograph, the nerves disappeared.
Tonight Sienna was invited to attend AWANA. Which is a children's group that equips Churches and parents to raise Christ-Following Kids for Life. Awana helps churches and parents worldwide to raise children to know, love and serve Christ. Daniel and his brother both went all the way through Awana from four years old until they graduated from high school. We are planning on enrolling Sienna in the program in the fall, so this was a great opportunity to check this club out and see how Sienna liked it. Well, she had a ball. I was so proud of how well she listened and kept up with the older kids. I really think she will do well in Awana in the fall. Thank you Jerome for thinking of Sienna, and we were so happy to help you meet one of your goals!
If you have a little one and you want to get them connected to an Awana group near you go to www.awana.org
