First Week of Summer Break!

 We’ve wrapped up another school year complete with awards programs, spring tryouts for cross-country and soccer, and the age old problem of “how’d all this stuff even fit in your locker?”! We are so thankful to be done, but at the same time it’s a weird feeling as the last few weeks flew by and here we are- done! 

We had the school awards program last Friday which included all grades first through eleventh grade, so that’s a lot of kids! This was our first introduction to the final awards program, and it was a lot of kids and awards. Sometimes the challenge is trying to make it feel personable and special when there are that many students. All four of the boys did end up with “B” honor roll certificates, and Emma ended up with a certificate for “A” honor roll. Travis was awarded a trophy for “Citizenship” which is an award given for Christ-like character, respectfulness, responsibility, etc. Roger was not able to go to the awards program, so later in the evening, Roger was talking to Travis. Roger was telling Travis how proud he was of his character and doing the right thing. Travis replied, “Dad, it’s really not that big of a deal. My class has a lot of naughty kids in it, so there’s not a lot to chose from for that award!” We had a hard time not laughing, but if you know Travis, he will speak his mind to those who ask his opinion! Regardless, we told Travis that we were proud of his work ethic and character cause that is a HUGE deal! Emma received an award for the “Most Improved Student”. We’ve been proud of her hard work to navigate a new school, dropping back a grade, adjusting to so many new things, and lots of changes. She’s not a straight “A” student, but she does try to work hard. We are thankful for the kids hard work in adjusting to a new school, new church, new state, lots of challenges and changes, but by the Grace of God, we made it through! 

My parents arrived at our house for a visit on Monday evening, as well as my sister, Jen. It was a full week and a full house. The weather has been unusually cool for North Carolina, and we’d all like to see some heat and sunshine! My sister, Jen, had her days full with interviews and appointments for various schools in the area. She would be a help and an asset to any school, and they all would like to have her work for them. We’ve done a lot of praying and talking! The boys and Emma enjoyed having Nana and Papa here for a few days as we made multiple trips to the park, fishing, doing projects, and visiting together. The week flew by, and we are thankful for family. The boys worked on building an outdoor pizza oven, which needs some tweaking! However, they had fun working on it. 

June will be a busy month for us as we have a wedding today (June 3rd). Then we are going to the mountains in Tennessee for a few days with some friends. We’ve never been to Gatlinburg, so we are excited about that adventure. We are coming home on Wednesday, and then Emma and I will leave on Monday (12th) to head to Maine for a few days. I am going to be watching my little nieces and nephew for a few days while Hannah and Josh get away by themselves. Emma is excited that she will be get to come along, and we are excited about a trip to Maine. Once we come back from Maine, we leave the following week to take the boys to camp at Pensacola Christian College. We’ve been praying about this camp for them, and asking God to work in their hearts and lives. It’ll be a busy month, but we have very few plans for July. 

The boys were hoping to work for the neighbor again this summer, but he said that he won’t have very much work for them this summer. Garett and Chandler are especially disappointed about that, so please pray that they can find employment this summer. They have things that they need/want to buy, and they’d like to be working this summer. We’d appreciate your prayers for them. 

Summer is a wonderful time of the year, and we want to use these weeks wisely. Our children are growing up so quickly, and life literally is like a “vapor” as it says in the Bible. God is good, and we are blessed with five great kids. We always appreciate your prayers as we try to point them to Jesus. 

Church Hunting Experiences! June 28 & July 5

Roger and I knew before moving to Page, Arizona, that we probably were not going to find a church like our church back home in Wisconsin. However, fellowshipping with believers is important to us, so we want to find a church that we can worship the Lord together as a family. 

Roger had visited the church we went to on Sunday, June 28, a few different times; but because of his work schedule, he hasn't been able to attend very many Sundays. But June is a slow flying month, so we were able to attend a church together on Sunday morning. 

It was a very weird feeling to have no responsibilities on Sunday morning! Usually we have Children's church, college ministry, nursery, or someway to help out on Sunday morning. We were up and ready for church long before it was time to go, so we decided to walk to church. It's not that far of a walk to church number one which is a plus. 

We arrived at the church about 9:10 and church starts at 9:30. When we walked into the lobby, there were only a few people there. We were standing there in the lobby unsure of where to go. Unfortunately, no one else engaged us in conversation either! There weren't any ushers or signs directing visitors, and I didn't see any bulletins either. So, we just kinda continued to stand around in the lobby and hoped that someone would tell us where the nursery and Sunday School classes were held. 

While we were waiting, the praise team was practicing in the auditorium. There were a few old hymns, but most of the music was newer contemporary music. We don't listen to a lot of contemporary music, mostly because I feel like I have to skip quite a few of the songs to play the few that I really like. I do like a few of them, but I'm rather picky about music. Emma, however, loved the music! She was waltzing and dancing, and twirling around in the lobby while the team was practicing! It was really quite funny, and it at least helped brighten our morning! 

Finally, at about 9:28, one of the ladies that had been standing in the lobby came up to us. She announced that she was the Sunday school teacher for the little ones. Really?! Not to sound unkind, but  if I was a Sunday school teacher for little children, I hope that I would introduce myself to families with children! Oh well...moving on! Roger asked her how little was little. Did she mean just Emma? Wyatt, Travis and Emma? All of them? She replied, "yes".  Now we were more confused! Yes, to which one?  Finally, it was decided that she would take the three youngest children. Travis was delighted to have Wyatt in his class, and Emma was happy to go with her brothers. Someone else directed us to a class for Garett and Chandler, and Roger already knew where the adult class was going to be held. 

I was a little surprised that Roger and I were the youngest ones in the adult class. I mean, we aren't that young any more! :) The church had a guest speaker for Sunday School, so it wasn't their normal lesson. 

After Sunday school, we were unsure of whether or not there was a children's church, or if we picked up our kids from the classrooms or what was the procedure. However, all the kids seems to be coming out of the classes, so we went to the younger kids class to get them for the worship service. One problem- Emma wasn't in the class! I asked, "umm, we left three kids in here, and now we only have two?" The teacher looked around in surprise until Wyatt announced that "some lady came and took her away". Say what?! Come to find out, Emma was disrupting the class a bit as she was a little on the young side.  Another lady had come from the nursery and offered to take Emma to the nursery. I don't have any problems with that...I just like to know where my children are as much as possible! 

The worship service was different from back home, which is fine. They had a special speaker for the worship service too. He was presenting his ministry, which is important. I just happen to firmly believe that a Sunday morning message should contain a plan of salvation as well. Again, that's my personal opinion. 

So, in all fairness, the pastor was out of town on vacation this week. However, would people have been more friendly and welcoming if he had been there? Would people have noticed the new family with ALL THOSE KIDS and been more helpful about directing us to where the classes were held and how the service was conducted if the pastor had been there? 

I don't know. I realize that you have to give a church more than a one week service to get a good feeling about the church. So, maybe we'll come back and try it again-maybe. But first, we have a few more options to try. 

We would certainly appreciate your prayers as we seek to find the place that God would have us to go while we are here in Arizona. Church is important to us and our family.  We want to enjoy going to church. We aren't seeking to get overly involved in any church, and in fact, our pastor at home suggested that we just concentrate on our marriage and our family. We just want a church to worship the Lord, grow as a family, be faithful to attend, and be a blessing to those around us. 

Church hunting experience number 2: July 5

Roger had an early morning flight this morning, so we weren't able to make it to the Sunday school hour. We arrived early at church number two and we were greeted at the door by and usher with a bulletin. He directed us to the desk in the lobby where we could sign in our children for the children's church program. While the lady at the desk seemed to be friendly and efficient, it took quite a while to sign up all five of the children for the various classes. It seems like perhaps there could be a faster way to do it? However, I do appreciate the precautions they take to keep every child safe. Travis and Emma went to their classes right away, while the older boys came with us to the singing part of the church service. 

As we found a place in the auditorium, Chandler announced, "I don't know if this will work, mom! Look at all those drums and guitars. It's probably going to be really loud!" One thing I can count on is that Chandler will always share his opinion! 

A man came up and introduced himself as Manny. It wasn't until later in the service that we realized that he is also the pastor of the church. As the worship service began, Chandler was right. The music was very, very loud. I don't have a problem with a group of people leading the congregation in songs, but it did seem a little like a performance to me. I realize that sounds critical, but I'm just sharing my personal opinion. Again, we didn't know any of the songs. No, we did know one. They sang "America, the Beautiful" and that one we did know! There wasn't an announcement about when the older kids were dismissed to Children's Church, but we figured it out from all the kids that were leaving the service. I took the kids to their classrooms, and each of the teachers seemed to be kind and friendly. 

The message was good. It was a little generic, and by that I mean that I would have preferred more practical application. However, he did present a brief plan of salvation, and that I really appreciated. At the end of the message, he closed in prayer. It was a little different not having any invitation or closing song, but that's the way that they choose to do it here. 

After church, we went to find the kids in their classrooms. They were all so excited about what they had learned and the new friends that they had made. I will say that I was very impressed with their concern for children and the structure of the program for children. Also, no one lost Emma this week, so that was nice. :) 

This church doesn't have a Sunday night service, so if we come back it will be on a Sunday morning for Sunday school and worship service. Neither Roger nor I felt at home completely, but it was/is a better fit than church number one. We still have two more churches that we will consider for options, so we will keep at it. Again we appreciate your prayers, as we search for the church that God would have us to be in for these months in Page.