On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

School has officially begun!  Which also means so has our sprint that is the Fall Semester.  We had a survey table at a different school each day this week except for Friday (which is our staff meeting/prayer/planning day) along with a few last week.  We have also had a student leadership day, a pizza party, two info meetings, and one weekly meeting has kicked off (pictured below).  And that’s all in a period of a week and a half.  Whew! And it continues with more of the same this coming week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As overwhelming as it all sounds, WE ARE LOVING IT!!!!  It is so fun to see students arrive on campus in anticipation of another year and for us to meet them and pray that the Lord uses the year to draw them closer to him, either in intimacy or to a relationship with Him for the very first time.  We have had amazing turnouts and while numbers aren’t everything, it is exciting to see the Lord exceed our prayer goals, our expectations, and to realize that each number is a life that the Lord can change for Him!  We look forward to sharing more about the specific things the Lord is doing in our upcoming prayer letter.  We also have some really fun stories about how the Lord is already moving in students’ lives and how he is opening doors and aligning students, faculty, volunteers, and staff to reach campuses for Him.  I even had the chance to take Kinsley with me to two survey tables this year – one at Wake Tech and one at Campbell University.  Despite a few moments, she did well and it was a blessing for me to be involved in that way!

On Saturday, we were excited for some much needed family time together and Ed set to work finishing a project that we have had “in the works” for quite some time yet (okay, maybe it hasn’t exactly been in the works unless you count sitting in my brain as a “I want to do that” soon project).  We had found a fun template for a DIY water table that would only cost around $20 to make.  Even though summer is winding down, we knew Kinsley would enjoy it and it would last into next summer and through multiple children.  Here is how it turned out:

 

 

 

 

 

She loved it and did not want to leave it to take a nap.  She actually just saw me putting this picture on here and said “Please, Water, Please, Water”.  So it looks like that is what we will doing this afternoon!!

Last night, I also hosted a Pinterest party – which, if you aren’t familiar with Pinterest, is a party where everyone brings a craft they want to do and we just do it all together as we socialize.  It was lots of fun as we did a little bit of crafting and a lot of socializing.  I did get a little bit of scrapbooking done, but I also learned a lot from other mothers about how to (and not to) educate your child on sex education.  Ok, so we talked about lots of things, but the stories, both funny and embarrassing, are what I remember!  Thanks ladies for making it memorable!

Help, Runaway Child!

So, Ed and I have discovered a new fun hobby that we BOTH enjoy.  What is that hobby, you may ask?  Going to yard sales!  We started doing this before we left Kentucky, but have become way more into it since coming to NC.

Now, before you roll your eyes, hear me out.  We NEVER went to yard sales before we had a child, unless you count the one where we were the people selling the stuff.  Then, we happened upon one in Lexington and bought toys for Kinsley for Christmas and clothes as well as some other things we were needing to buy at an incredibly discounted price.  I was hooked!!

We have learned and figured things out until we now have it down to a science.  We look up the sales we want to go to on Craigs List, map out a plan of where to go first based on what we want to see and where they are located, and we even take breakfast with us so we don’t have to eat out and we aren’t grumpy shopping on an empty stomach.  At first, Ed went along not because he loved it but because he is a great husband.  Now, we all love going….even Kinsley, who, when we tell her we are going to yard sales on Saturday morning, says “YEAH!!!” and jumps up and down!  Just this past week, we scored an good condition portable basketball goal for Kinsley for Christmas for $5!!

So the story I have to share happened two weeks ago at a yard sale.  It was a rather large sale because it was a fundraiser for a baseball team.  I was up near their house looking at books and craft items and Ed was looking at tools while watching Kinsley play with toys beside him.  She hopped on one of those power wheel four wheelers (which she has done in the past just to sit on them and act like she is riding).  Ed didn’t think anything of it until he looked up, saw she put it into gear and was taking off across their front yard!  I look up at them when I hear Ed yelling “Kinsley!” just in time to see him running after her on the four wheeler across the people’s yard.  He didn’t think she could put it into gear, much less that it had a battery and was working.  Kinsley was scared but actually enjoyed it! Thank the Lord he was close, she didn’t try to jump off, he can run faster than this pregnant mama, and there were no trees nearby!!  Everyone at the yard sale was dying laughing, with many of them saying “They have to buy her that now because she loves it” – um, no.

Another funny thing – we saw this picture on our camera we had taken just the week before this all happened.  Do you think she was telling us something?