It never stops...

April writing...

...and the more I think about it...I am not sure I would like it if it all DID stop!!

Fall is on it's way...oh glorious Fall...how I have missed you! I am more than happy to have it back!

*Note, I sat out my Mulled Cider candle last night...the smell of Fall was ALL UP in mi casa!

The 'things to do' list keeps on growing and the 'things I wish I had time to do' list grows as well! :) Lemme show ya!

Things to do: (For this week)

• Get organized for Yard Sale - Organize/Sort, Price and Advertise.
• Preparations for the Ladies Tea (19th)
• Prune back some plants
• Mail Summerly's package (yeah!)
• Work...ehhh
• Sew...Now that my machine is fixed...I have to finish a couple projects for friends (Brandy and Goldie)
• Plan the fall calendar...or start to at least.

The Yard Sale prep is going to kill me, but it HAS to be done. I HAVE to get rid of some of that stuff! I think I will feel MORE than pleased once that is completed!

As far as the rest of it...it's all the goal to be completed, but I don't plan on knocking myself out to get it all done.

Now...what else is coming up this Fall...we have three VERB trips and then all the Jack-O-Carving Parties in October, then there are already two special events planned in December. One of which is our 4th Annual Cookie Exchange (and I just settled on my cookie of choice...the chocolate crinkles. :) YUMM!) The other is our Gingerbread House Competition!! There will be plenty more events, I am sure! This really is my favorite time of the year!

What's coming up that you are looking forward to?

...re-designing a schedule and a game room...

April writing...

Our schedule has been a-changin,' and so far...I LIKE it!

VERB (our youth group) has moved to Sunday nights. It hasn't been on Sunday nights in YEARS! In fact I remember the all the Sundays quite well.

Back in the day, we would attend church in the morning, usually being there from 9am to 12:30 pm. Then we would head out to lunch, run home and change and be back at church for Praise and Worship practice at 3:30 pm. I wasn't on the praise team, but both my parents were (being the youth pastors at the time) and my boyfriend (at the time) was the sound engineer. So I hung out up in the balcony and hung out till people started showing up at 5 pm. I hung out with my friends. Some days we had drama practices, other days we just hung out in the game room...then service started at 7 pm. We were finally done by 9 pm and usually out the door by 9:30 pm. We usually headed over to Pizza Hut afterwards with everyone. Those were the days.

Then we got the Community Center. What a COOL place. It was this little warehouse type building, with an office setting in the front section. We decked it out with all our posters, TVs and game consoles, pool tables and stage and lighting. This is where we held our Sunday youth services for about two years I think. It was awesome. During church time we had a massive red curtain that we would pull to block the front doors/office/sitting area from our church area. We had drama practice in this tiny office, but it was all ours!

Then came the time our new community center was added to our existing church...and it was time to sell the community center down the road. Totally sad. (It is not a tanning salon...weird) We now had this HUGE church community center with a HUGE gym...that was quickly dubbed the "Grand Hall" not a gym...(even though it had gym floors haha!) We also had a HUGE game room...all to ourselves. I don't have many pics of the old game room (before the recent transition) with me here at work...but it was quickly painted in all sorts of neon colors...teal, green and purple I think. This is was our church!

I am pretty sure on the timing of this, but when we moved back to having services at the church we moved back to Wednesday nights. Our first month or two we were running close to 100+ students every Wednesday for game/free time and service. It was awesome and you can imagine my Dad was in hog heaven!

Eventually the attendance died down and we were running a steady 50-85 depending on the season. Also, Jason and Brittany stepped into the Youth Pastors position and we have been having church on Wednesday ever since! An easy schedule...No ALL day Sundays anymore. Just church at 6 pm on Wednesdays and Small Groups (for those involved) at 7 pm on Sundays. Easy Peasy.

Well...we just shook things up again, but I am PUMPED. Over a year ago, we re-named the youth ministry from Alternative Student Ministries to VERB Student Ministries. With a tag line like "It's what we do" we are challenging the students to take part in the 5 purposes...Impact, Encounter, Get Grounded, Connect and Link. It's about ACTION and doing something!! Since our change, we have been gearing up for another big change. Moving BACK to Sunday nights! It's been about 5 years since we had services on Sunday nights...possibly longer. Along with moving the services we did a complete game room re-design. Here are some shots of the new room, that was revealed this past Sunday evening for our first ever VERB Sunday night service!

Left: one of the (hopefully soon) 4 tables for eating snacks, homework, hanging out, etc.
Right: Pool Table and Air Hockey area.

Left/Right: Two different views of the seating area, with a small sac chair in the middle.
(Pay no attention to the window coverings, that was to keep curious minds in the dark. The room was locked up for a month during the re-design.

Left: The Gamer Area...2 XBox 360's and a Wii. Always a popular area.
Right: Still unfinished, the Snack & Sales Bar. Eventually (within the month possibly) we will have a rounded bar area with corrugated medal on the front. Think 'Chipotle" style.

Here is a little cove right inside the entrance with two huge sac chairs...pay no mind to Cory and OD relaxin...we had been there most of the day cleaning and setting up the night before the BIG reveal.

So as you can see...it's a GREAT spot to hang out, and the students LOVED it. Especially the chalk-board support beam, the sac chairs and the ability to buy MONSTER and Starbucks drinks at the Snack and Sales Bar! :) Each week we will be adding more exciting things...like more pictures, more tables and chairs, repainting the ping-pong and air hockey tables to match the decor, tee-shirts and books to sell, and so much more!

Along with our new Game Room, which has been named...

...we have our new Sunday schedule to match. 4-5:30 p.m. is practice for some of the IMPACT teams. Drama & Video, Sound, Lighting &Media and Worship Teams and the Life Hurts, God Heals Class. 5:30-6:55 p.m. is FREE time. Hang in The Lounge, in Grand Hall 1 and play board games, Grand Hall 2 & 3 for Dodgeball, Volleyball and/or Basketball. Then 7-8:30 p.m. is our Service time.

It's went very well on first night...and I am eager to settle into this new schedule, especially seeing how on Wednesday nights, we are free. (since Cory and I aren't involved in youth small groups) We will eventually get hooked up in a Bible Study on Wednesday, but we are enjoying the freedom for now.

What makes Sundays even better....? Chipotle after church. That's WAAYY better than Pizza Hut!

So it's all just really exciting!!! The kids seem to like the idea and their new space!!! With all that said, I will leave you with one of my favorite things in The Lounge...our "Acceptable PDA diagram."

I feel busy...but I'm not....really.

April writing...

I haven't blogged in ages it seems. Not a real blog anyways. Let's see if I can catch you up since I last wrote...

Since the beginning of June I have:

• Done a Maternity Photo Shoot for a dear friend...(who may possibly be in labor as we speak)
• Bought and used my first Digi-Scrap kit...(and I still love using it...can't beat that...never running out of supplies!)
• Rocked My Socks off...(and just finally removed the last remnants of the paint of my toenails.)
• Started planning our August vacation...(can't wait for this...I am totally excited!)
• Made Cheese Straws...(not so yummy.)
• Successfully made place mat pillows for my living room...(and I love them!)
• Solved the mildew-y smell in my washing machine...(thank heavens...the towels are the best part!)
• Signed up to participate in the Shades of Summer...(can't wait to take a GREAT picture!)
• Had a fender bender...(and got denied by the other driver's insurance...boo)

We also just finished up with VERB Student Ministry...where I was lucky enough to take off three days to join them at the DC Zoo, Beaver Dam and Busch Gardens (pictures coming soon!)

We celebrated July 4th...pretty low key...and I almost watched Husby blow a very necessary body part off of his body when a bottle rocket shot between his legs!!!

So all in all...I guess I have been busy doing alot of stuff...and hopefully this week we will slow down a bit...or at least try.

And I promise to blog DAILY for the next 7 days. That's right. Tuesday-Monday...I will blog...maybe multiple times...I gotta get myself back into the bloggy swing of things.

So as I keep you updated...let me know...what's been going on with you lately?

The *dreaded* Summer Calendar

April writing...

It's coming...the Summer calendar is starting to fill up...let's see what we have going on SO FAR:

• May 30th - Murder Mystery
• June 1st - Preggo pics with Manda-Rose
• June 5th - Eddie's Grad Party
• June 6th - Bekah's Graduation
• June 7th - Bekah's Grad Party
• June 12th - Goldie & Dave Baby Shower
• June 12th - Rock Your Socks Off
• June 14th - Youth Leader Meeting
• June 17th - Church wide P&W Service
• June 18th - Cory's Birthday
• June 21st - Father's Day
• June 28th - Leader's Picnic
• June 28th - Day One of Seven² - Pizza & Movie
• June 29th - Day Two of Seven² - Hiking in Catoctin Mts (I will be working though)
• June 30th - Day Three of Seven² - DC Zoo (I may try go...)
• July 1st - Day Four of Seven² - Frisbee Golf & Water Sports (I'll be at work)
• July 2nd - Day Five of Seven² - Beaver Dam (trying to go...)
• July 3rd into 4th - Day Six of Seven² - Busch Gardens & Lock-In (going....???)
• July 4th - Fireworks in DC??

then comes the lull...the low point. Where it seems FOR NOW that there is nothing going on.

But I am sure that will change...soon.

What kinds of craziness do you have going on this Summer?

What's-a-happenin'

April writing...

I can't keep my head on straight lately. So much going on. Between practices for the upcoming Murder Mystery, (on May 30th...get your tickets!!!) *shameless plug* and all the yard work, and the birthdays and graduations...It's getting better...but I am ready for the warmer weather...pool time and a tan :)

...now THAT's the life!!!

I am very pleased with the progress that we have made on the front planters...I will post the final pictures once we have the mulch laid on Saturday. Then...I can check that home improvement project OFF the list!!!

...do you know what tomorrow is?

MY BIRTHDAY! I am going to be 28. Yikes.
A great pictorial post coming tomorrow!!! Check back!

We are 88 page views away from 10,000 visitors...and I am VERY excited about that!!

Uhm...let's see. We told Bekah (my youngest sister) where we are taking her for her graduation/18th birthday present. Myrtle Beach, SC! I am so excited about it. It's going to be August 8-15th. We wil have a blast I am sure. I can't wait to go down there. I haven't ever been and I have wanted to go to one or both of the Carolina's for years!!!

...slightly random thought...*cause I am talking to her on Facebook right now...* I am going to miss Summerly when she leaves. Boo.

...and yet another random thought...I just got tongue tied on the phone at work...I said, "He should be returning no later than boob tomorrow...I mean noon." What the heck? The gentlemen on the other side just chuckled. Embarrassing.

What has been wrong with me lately. I haven't had the blogging bug. I am not sure what it is. Maybe I am too addicted to Chain Reaction or Bejeweled Blitz or Mafia Wars on Facebook to come over to 2Slisks land and blog more. Ugh. I am sorry. I will work on it...I promise!

Oh OH! I had a dream last night...here we go.
So I was running in a marathon (haha...see it was a humorous dream) and all of the sudden I feel down with these sharp pains in my earlobes. This lady comes behind me and taps me on the shoulder saying, "I know what's happening to you...follow me." So I did.

She leads me into this hydration tent and sits me down to take my blood pressure. It's through the roof and she says that I am losing blood through my earring holes. I reach up to check my ears and there isn't a drop on them.

I was really confused. She said..."the faster you breathe the thinner your blood gets, till it is almost air-like. So basically your blood is seeping out of your earring holes, like air out of a pinhole in a balloon."

I was still confused.

So then, Cory comes around the corner towards me with a jewelry box in his hands. He is screaming..."Here! Here! This will help!!" and he puts a pair of diamond stud earrings on my ears and says, "Happy Birthday!"

The lady smiles and says...you're all better now, you can get back to the race."

I woke up.

?????????????
Huh?
What in the world?

Yeah. That's what I thought.
I am sure my contemplation over what to ask for from Cory for my birthday, coupled with the large glass of chocolate milk and the horrible Jillian Michael's workout did it to me.
Strange.

But anyways...that's it. All I have for now. This post has been eerily similar to the jumpy-random nature of a one Summerly Joy's blog postings. haha!! Enjoy!