That one time, in middle school...

...yes, I have been MIA for quite a while. I do have to admit, though, that I've been busy enjoying life and balancing the many hats I have found myself wearing lately - wife, friend, employee, volunteer, cook, cleaner, dog-walker, runner...

The one thing that I have really enjoyed as of late has been spending time with the young people at our church. I would encourage all people to give youth ministry a try - you don't have to be good at it, you just have to want to have fun, laugh a lot, and brush up on your herding-cats skills...

Two weeks ago the hubs and I went to Orlando for the weekend with the middle school ministry at church. I had so much fun with the students, and got embarrassingly dizzy/nauseous after riding a couple rides, but I put my big girl panties on and trucked through the rest of the day rode water rides and watched bags the rest of the day.

This past Sunday, we unveiled an awesomely disgusting hilarious game we have affectionately named "Honey Boo Boo Breath Challenge", taken from Honey Boo Boo's family game of "guess who's breath". Word on the street is our video has made it on a youth ministry website #youknowyouvemadeitwhen

I've found myself surrounded by middle schoolers in this stage of life, and I'm finding that I'm really ok with that. In fact, I'm kind of enjoying it! I don't remember much about being in middle school, but what I do remember is that my middle school years were filled with insecurities and questions about who I was and what I was made to do. I needed a lot of guidance then (and I still do), and I found comfort and happiness at church at youth group that lived life with me to figure it all out. Maybe that's why I got pulled to middle school ministry...who knows. But if there's anything I've learned lately, it's that I've been learning how to love innocently, how to pursue God earnestly, even when there is uncertainty. There's plenty to learn from middle schoolers, and I think that's pretty cool.

Weekend Update

I don't know about you, but we've been kind of busy around here lately. Since when was it August?! And now it's almost September...

At the beginning of the month, I got a job! Praise the Lord (seriously). This job has been a daily reminder at how great God is and how much he cares for his children (ie you and me!). There is no way -- no way -- I would have gotten this job/opportunity had it been through my own works and efforts. Big Man upstairs really got my back!

Anyways, between the two of us working and coming home with just enough time to cook and go to bed, we haven't been doing much besides the 'usual'...until this past weekend!

Our weekend started off with Blend -- the annual lock-in at church for the high school youth ministry. We started in a few years back as a way to force introduce incoming 9th graders into the youth group. We're usually up to no good, and this year was no different. We blended things in a blender, we played broom ball in the parking lot, watched kids do Minute To Win It challenges, and watched Hunger Games. A couple hours of sweet slumber, and we were off again! To Forsyth Park we went, to do a really fun scavenger hunt using our nifty smartphones. Then it was time to feed them and send them home. Youth ministry is so much fun, but tiring too (can I get an "amen"?). Glad we can still keep up while we're young!

The aftermath of blending -- CD, banana, leftover wonton soup, golf ball...

Playing Ninja in the parking lot

After we recovered from Blend, we went out for dinner to celebrate my new job (and to reward ourselves for having just survived another youth lock-in). We went downtown and ate at one of our favorite Savannah restaurants. We just so happened to go when an awesome Gospel choir was beltin' out some Spirit-filled tunes across the street. The windows were open, the weather was beautiful, the choir was awesome, the company was great...can life get better? (I submit that it cannot!)

Then today after church, we went down to Bonna Bella for lunch with the in-laws and friends (as if this weekend wasn't already awesome). The weather once again was beyond amazing and the food was too good. It's so easy for me to forget how blessed my husband and I are and how much fun we have with his parents close by. It is always fun to get together and fellowship with one another...and celebrate milestones like anniversaries (!) where a certain father-in-law gifted his lovely bride new bling (!). They are too cute.

Check out your gorgeous bride, Rob!

Thank you, weekend, for being fantastic. If only life was made up of weekends and not weekdays!

Deep Creek

Deep Creek, NC is a special place in the Great Smoky Mountains where the going is easy and the life is breezy. Deep Creek is also the place that the fiance and I have been every year that we've known each other (except for last summer).

Summer 2008

Our first time was in 2008, when we were church youth interns. All I remember about this trip was that I had a lot of fun and rafted for the 2nd time in my life in a month. I didn't realize it until this trip, but I suddenly remembered that that was the year my fiance spit game on the van ride home. I woke up from taking a nap and he was holding my hand.

Summer 2009

The next year, we suddenly found ourselves no longer interns but instead the ones in charge. This was our last trip of the summer, and I hated the fiance. We were not "a thing", and definitely not united in love when this trip was going on. There was a serious transmission problem, a flat tire on a trailer on the side of a major highway in the mountains, lots (and lots and lots and lots) of rain, an almost-drowning, and bad attitudes on my part.

My absence from Deep Creek in 2010 was probably the saddest time of my/the fiance's life.

Summer 2011

This time, the fiance and I are very much in love (insert gagging noises) and had a wonderful time spending time and living life with these kids. They are a great bunch of young adults, and it has been our pleasure knowing them and watching them grow these last few (four!) years. 

Kind of crazy to think that this time next year, the fiance and I will be coming back from our first Deep Creek trip as a wed couple. We will be purpling in the same tent and it will be awesome.

(but not as awesome as this picture)