Just for Fun

Here's a great pic of my buddy Jacob. Just makes me laugh!

Hard to Say Goodbye

It seems we have been saying goodbye a lot lately. The Atterson family moved to Michigan to pursue missions work, Jennifer Wagoner took a new job in Colorado, the Biglers will soon be in Sioux City and now the Young family is moving back to Omaha. Lucky Omaha!

Michael, Lindsay and Rhys have stolen my heart and it seems so weird to have them moving so quickly after their thievery! They are the funnest people and have such a heart to serve the Lord. Rhys is so sweet and has a HUGE crush on Mister Randy! Good thing Omaha is only a couple hours away! Thanks for some awesome memories, guys. We love you bunches!

Super Saturday Update

I am PUMPED about Super Saturday!! We got an awesome hookup yesterday. Kim Kimmer contacted her former boss at Texas Roadhouse Restaurant and he has agreed to not only donate the hot dogs for SS, but they are bringing put their company grill for us to use!! That's what I'm talkin' about. Yeah, God and Kim!

I have had some very generous donations towards our GRAND PRIZE family gift baskets, too. Places like PF Chang's, ZMarik's Noodle Cafe, Nick and Willies, Cold Stone Ice Cream, Caribou Coffee, Longview Golf, Chick-fil-a, Family Christian Book Store and more! We will also have a great photo op...bring your camera to get a pic with The Grape Ape!

We will have the fliers printed soon so break out those walking shoes and get ready to hit the neighborhoods to invite everyone! Keep praying for good weather and lots of kids.

Happy Anniversary Randy

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary! I cannot believe it has been that long! Most people know our story...short version...we met working at a Walgreens in Sioux City, had our first date 2 weeks later, eloped two months after that. So I met him in March and married him in June. I'd kill Micaela if she did that! Anyway, I got the BEST husband EVER! I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful man but I'm sure thankful that God saw fit to bring us together.

As in most marriages, we have had some difficult times. We had gone through unemployment (more than once), financial difficulties, family deaths, sickness, multiple surgeries, and child rearing. But through everything, we have grown together in our love for each other and our relationship with Jesus. I always say...I got the better end of the deal! Of course, we have had many wonderful memories, also. The births of our two kids, our vow renewal for our 15th anniversary, buying our first house, getting my ministry credentials, and the wonderful churches we have had the privilege of being a part of. Randy has been my rock. He always supports me, loves me when I'm grumpy, tells me I'm beautiful (he wears strong corrective lens!), takes care of me when I'm sick, is my cheerleader, and my best friend.

When I felt the call of ministry on my life, he was TOTALLY supportive and said "go for it!" He encourages me to be all Jesus wants me to be and reminds me of who I am in Christ and the purpose He has for me when I'm discouraged.

I have NEVER had to pick up his dirty socks, put away his shoes or clean up the kitchen after he makes a sandwich. He pitches in around the house without complaint and most of the time without me having to ask. He even makes the bed if I get up before him! I'm so blessed.

Happy Anniversary my love...you're the best. I pray the Lord gives us many more years together.

Old Friends

I had an opportunity today to connect with one of my oldest friends, Susie. We grew up in Sioux City and met when we were about 11 years old when we moved onto Lakeport Street. Susie now lives most of the year in Florida but spends a few months of summer at their lake house in Fremont, Nebraska. Her kids are a little younger than mine. Her daughter, Allie, will be a freshman at UNI this fall. She was in town for a little while on her way back to Fremont so we had little Starbucks and lots of conversation. It's so good to see a face from childhood days. Susie and I both had challenging home lives and our friendship gave us someone to lean on in those difficult times. Of course, that's before I had Jesus to lean on! It's so interesting how each of us "turned out" and where we are in our lives now. We see each other so rarely but always pick up talking like we just saw each other last week. I was so mad at myself...as she was driving away, I remembered I had my camera in my purse and didn't think to get a picture! Grrr! Anyway, it was a wonderful treat to see my pal.

Wednesday Kid's Service

I went to check out the room at Valley Southwoods that we are using for our Wednesday night Creek Kids service and it is gonna work great! Lots of room for lots of kids, space to play some games and the only draw back is that I don't know how to play piano. Huh-na-wha? There is a grand piano in the room...sure wish I knew how to play!! If you haven't signed up to be a part of Alpha yet, jump on the church web site, http://jordancreek.org, and register. We will start at 6:30 with some din and then break off into kids and adults about 7:00. Creek Kids will be learning about The Fruits of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5:22-23. Here's a run down of each week's lesson:

1. How to Bear Fruit - BE GRAFTED TO THE VINE

2. Love - A WOMAN ANOINTS JESUS

3. Joy - JOHN THE BAPTIST REJOICES

4. Peace - A POSSESSED MAN FINDS PEACE

5. Patience - SIMEON WAITS FOR THE SAVIOR

6. Kindness - FRIENDS ARE KIND TO A SICK MAN

7. Goodness - ZACCHAEUS BECOMES GOOD

8. Faithfulness - THE WIDOW'S MITE

9. Gentleness - JESUS TREATS TWO WOMEN GENTLY

10. Self-Control - PETER DENIES JESUS

We will also cover why we sometimes need pruning and how we can have lasting fruit as we grow in our relationship with our wonderful Savior, Jesus. Gonna be awesome!

Happy Father's Day

I have to say that my husband of nearly 27 years is the most amazing father. He always had so much patience with Micaela and Keaton, always took time to play with them after work or school, was great to help with homework and was consistent in his discipline. The thing that sticks out in my memory though, is what a great listener he has always been. He is often times slow to speak and therefore better at listening than most. I admire that in a person. It's something that I try to work on but comes naturally for Randy. He could sit forever just listening to Micaela talk about all the things girls love to talk about, even if he had no idea what or who it was. He would listen as Keaton explained the new play of the week in football or express his frustration over something. His reward now are two adult children who are not perfect but are serving God, great people, faithful, giving and fun to be around. Micaela is at that age where she would like to find a husband but has not ever compromised her high standards or expectations to get one. She knows what to look for having had the best dad! Lord help the guy she falls for...he has a tough example to live up to! :) Keaton in turn will be a great dad because of the example Randy set. It's funny to listen to both of the kids talk about how they will parent their own kids. Happy Father's Day Randy. Thanks for being such a wonderful partner.

Shout Out for Claussen

Okay...this is totally silly but I have got to say that today, I ate the BEST pickle EVER! I have never bought Claussen brand pickles. Our friend Maria is getting ready to move to New Jersey and we stopped over to pick up a recliner she was giving away. She asked if we would please raid her fridge and take whatever we wanted because it was all going to be thrown out. I grabbed this brand new jar of Claussen Kosher Dill pickles and Micaela and I have already almost polished off the jar! Yowza...yummy...the only ones I'll ever buy again. Thanks for hooking us up Maria! Now, every time I eat those delicious morsels, I'll think of our buddy Maria.

Isaiah

This is my buddy Isaiah. I love this pic of him because it's not meant in a mean way at all...just being kid-silly. Isaiah is a tender hearted, smart, funny, brave and very Godly young man. He is a wonderful big brother to Elijah, Amaris and Sam and probably equally annoying to his older siblings Dominique and Madison! :) He loves Lego's, video games, "Army" stuff, and his new passion - golf. I remember when he was in my children's church and still a little guy, he didn't really like loud noises ~ just like me when I was a kid. He LOVES our son, Keaton, but hey...can you blame him? :) I remember when he was in the hospital in Minnesota a couple years ago, I sent him some balloons. Angela later told me that Isaiah was so excited because someone finally sent him "boy" balloons. Made me laugh.

I'd like you all to pray for Isaiah. He has faced many physical challenges in his young life and is facing some more. When I think of Isaiah, it is hard for me not to question God, but I KNOW He has a plan for all of us, Isaiah included. Pray for his parents, Scott and Angela, that they may have peace that passes all understanding and wisdom in decision making. Pray God will make a way with medical expenses and traveling to the Shriner's Hospital. And lastly, pray for his siblings that they are okay with all that's going on with their brother. No, I take the lastly back...pray that through Isaiah's trials, God be glorified and that some doctor or nurse will come to know Jesus through Isaiah's testimony of faith. Perfect...he's wearing his Faith Factor shirt in the picture!

I Scream for Ice Cream

We had a great time tonight with a wonderful family, the Sustala Clan. We had our celebratory ice cream date for the winner of the heaviest Buddy Barrel from Sir Jacob of Sustala. The whole fam, including Mister Randy and Micaela, met at Jordan Creek Mall for a little Cold Stone action. Yowza, I think you could gain five pounds just standing in line at that place. :)

The Sustalas are one of those families that every church plant dreams to have. They are dedicated to the Lord, creative, passionate, giving, hardworking and just plain FUN! Thanks for sharing your evening with us. Sooo cute! The kids, Ed, not you!

Tough Day at the "Office"

Well...somebody has to do it! How cool is it that I get to crash mom's group and love on all those ankle bitters? We have a Life Group for moms twice a month where we get together and sometimes just hang out and let the kids do their thing and sometimes have destination days. Today we were on a Father's Day mission. All the kids made Father's Day cards for all those incredible JCFC dads. Thanks Amy for hosting! She even made lattes for us - doesn't get much better than that. We had some new faces today which is always a BONUS. :)

Next Mom's Group is June 26 when we will meet at Blank Park Zoo. Join us at 10:30 for some good times. Bring a friend or two.

BIG Summer for JCFC Kids

We are gearing up for a BIG summer for JCFC kids. Starting Wednesday, June 20, we will have a kid's service during our summer Alpha Life Group! Families will meet at 6:30 at Valley Southwoods High School for dinner and then the adults and Epic youth will have their Alpha class and kids 3 yrs. old and potty trained-5th grade will meet with me for a great service. We will be focusing on the Fruits of the Spirit. We are still firming up plans for the younger kids and babies.

I'm also working on another summer adventure that I can't reveal quite yet but will give kids lots of opportunities to invite friends. More in a couple of days! Did I peak your curiosity?

The sign up deadline for Kid's Camp is quickly approaching so give me a call if you have a child entering 4th-6th grades this fall and get all the details!

Last but certainly not least....SUPER SATURDAY is just a few weeks away! Drop all other plans for Saturday, July 7th from 11-1 PM and be at Willow Springs Park! Your family could be one of two that wins a fabulous family gift basket worth hundreds of dollars. We will have a great program with a character building message, games, balloon animals, PRIZES, music, free hot dogs and a ton of fun. Begin praying for awesome weather, divine appointments and that we are a huge blessing to our wonderful community. See you at 5547 Wistful Vista Dr. in West Des Moines.

Baby Thia Arrives!

Congrats to Scott, Jenna and Eli on the arrival Cynthia (Thia) Jo Raridon born yesterday at 1:37 pm. 8lbs 1.4oz 20.75 inches long. She's a beauty for sure! I LOVE to have the privilege of welcoming babies to the JCFC family. One of the pastoral perks! Jenna looked incredible! No surprise there, she is the most dedicated work-out queen. We praise God for baby Thia's safe and healthy arrival. Jenna and her grandma said 3 year old brother, Eli, already loves his sister and can't stop touching her soft little head. The JCFC baby boom continues!

Baseball Has Been Bery Bery Goo to Me

Did I date myself with that title? Seventies Saturday Night Live. Anyway, Randy and I got to cheer on Drake and Dawson at their baseball games Saturday. Not only was it a spectacular day for baseball, the boys were awesome. When we got to Drake's game, he seemed pretty excited to see me until he saw Mister Randy walking up behind me. That made him smile even bigger! Marcus and Kim are a great part of the Creek Kids team and their boys are sweetie pies. Felt good to yell and cheer! Sometimes I forget that I like competition.

Dancing Queen

Friday night, I had the opportunity to go to Adele's dance recital at the Des Moines Civic Center. Wow...you have never seen to many costumes, mascara enhanced lashes and CUTE kids!! I told Adele's parents that we were in the wrong business. Costumers must make bizillions! Some of the older girls were in 6 or 7 different performances with a new costume for each. It was so fun to watch the littlest ones. Of course, Adele was the cutest out of the hundreds of kids there! There was one little boy about 4 years old that was in a number where they wore circus ringmaster costumes. Super cute but he had one mission in mind...he spun in a circle through the whole number much to the amusement of the audience. I imagine his mother, who paid lots of $$ for lessons and costume, didn't think it was quite so adorable. :) Adele was a super star, I'm sure she will have an agent by the time she's 6. :)

Also....I am WAY pumped that Paul and Sandy are joining the Creek Kids team to help in service once a month! Sweet.

BGMC Results

BGMC - Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade. Our kids at JCFC learn about missions and participate in monthly missions giving. For the month of June, we had a contest to see who could bring the heaviest Buddy Barrel. Buddy is the container that the kids generally use for their offerings. Our heaviest barrel winner was Jacob Sustala whose barrel weighed 7 1/2 pounds! Jake earned an ice cream date with Pastor Lori and Mister Randy to the ice cream place of his choice! Our total offering for the day was $175.19! Awesome job kids!

Our next summer contests are:

July – The first Sunday is most dimes in a Barrel. We will have two winners, one boy and one girl, who will get a special toy that is TBA.

August – Highest Amount on the first Sunday will get to choose one friend or parent and go to an I-Cubs game in Des Moines with Pastor Lori and Mr. Randy! Checks are accepted and credit cards can be used with our on-line giving.

Great Sunday

We had an awesome Sunday at JCFC. We had SEVERAL new families visiting the church. I know I gave out 8 visitor bags in Creek Kids and had some new little ones in Baby Steps. The registration table was hopping. It's so fun to meet new people and find out how they learned about JCFC.

It was the last Sunday for the Buzz until school starts again. We have had so much fun doing the Buzz! Our whole team has done an outstanding job. Unless you are one of the actors, it's hard to understand how many lines you have to try to memorize. We tease Mark Main because he is now a frequent flier at Nobbies! Can't wait to start up again!

Family Camp

I had the honor of preaching three kid's services at Sunstream Retreat Center, our Assembly of God campground here in Iowa. It was a new experience for me and I really enjoyed it. There were only about 27 kids the first two services but almost 40 for the last one.

I preached a couple of sermons that I had done at DM Christian School on being lion chasers, and on trusting God. Sunday night, I preached on wisdom. The kids were so great and I think they enjoyed the services. My good friend, Pastor Bud, is usually the family camp kid's speaker but he had anther commitment. Those were hard shoes to fill!

I'll be back to the camp ground three more times this summer; twice for kid's camp leading the Junior Bible Quiz section and once to preach at a retreat for Pastor Heath Adamson's 7 Project team. I get to spend time with the kids of those who are on his leadership team. I LOVE kid's camp! I look forward to it more than Christmas! This will be my 13th summer doing camp. Randy loves to get rid of me for awhile! :)

My Week with Awnna and Colin

I'm sooo behind in blogging! Between a busy week with Awnna and Colin, bad Internet connections and my crazy knee, I just haven't been able to get to it.

Awnna and Colin spent a few days with us while Pastor Josh and Dara took a well deserved anniversary trip. We had a full, fun week! They were so good but I never could have made it without our daughter Micaela's help. My knee was giving me fits and slowing me down so Micaela jumped on board and helped with whatever she could. We started out the week with Chuck E. Cheese. Always a good time with the Chuckster! Chuck E. Cheese actually has pretty good pizza now. I remember when our kids were small, the pizza there wasn't the greatest.

We had a play date with Amy, Isabella, Lisi, and Rhys at Jordan Creek Mall's play area and story time at Barnes and Noble. So fun and such well behaved children. It's always interesting to watch a pack of kids in a place like the mall. You see every type of parenting going on and every type of kid's personality. That's a whole other blog...don't get me started. :)

Awnna and Colin LOVE to go swimming in our indoor pool so we got to swim twice. They have been coming here once a week for several months to swim and it has been fun to watch them get more comfortable in the water and try new things. Awnna has gotten the courage to jump off the side of the pool all by herself! Colin can wade out away from the steps and not panic, in fact, he's getting a little too brave without me being near. When we first started, both of them would cling to me like little leeches!

I can now recite the entire Lion King movie! You know how kids will get attached to a movie and watch it everyday for ages? Well, Colin's movie here is the Lion King. I guess it's better than Barney!

One of the things we do togther when they come over is to make dinner and set the table. It's so funny to watch. Whenever I say, "It's time to set the table.", Colin yells, "I get spoons and forks!" Awnna always does plates and napkins and then has to remind her brother to not move the napkins after she folds them and places them on the silverware!

It was a great week and I'd take them again in an instant. Just wish we could have made more progress in the potty training area to help Dara. I guess it's hard enough at home but too much to try and do it in another place without your momma.