A very successful launch indeed

Crossroads is finally here! Josh is officially pastoring a church every Sunday, which is a dream come true for him and I could not be more proud. After months of preparing, putting volunteers into place, getting the word out, and working many long days, all of the hard work has paid off. And we certainly know that moving across the country from a big, sunny city to a tiny, Midwestern town was meant to be... not that we ever doubted it!

Sunday morning was awesome. We weren't sure what to expect with it being our first Sunday and God truly surprised us by filling almost every seat in the house. In total we had 290 people walk thru our doors and many, many new faces. The great news is that everyone walked out smiling. We had some folks who went to other churches and were there to support us, and one family in particular sounds as if they won't be going back to their old church! We had a few folks scoping us out so that they could gossip about us to their friends, and the only thing they found was that (gasp!) we preached out of the Bible and worshiped the Lord! Oh my... what will they go and tell their friends now! We were actually happy those folks were there, because in this small town we've heard everything from us charging $1500 to be a member to us being a cult. Awesome. Regardless of why they were there, many lives will change because of it and that makes it a successful day.

Josh did not preach this past Sunday, but we heard a message from our Lead Pastor, Keith. He started a series on the book "The Shack", which is a phenomenal book if you have not read it already. Either way, the message was incredibly powerful and can be watched online. If you want to check it out, visit http://www.crossroadscn.com/series/the-shack/... you can even download and print the message notes before you watch, which has all of the scripture passages he uses on it. Josh will be preaching in a couple of weeks, and we look forward to that immensely! In the meantime, I am just proud to be standing beside him as we embark on what is shaping up to be an incredibly successful ministry. Praise the Lord!

It's starting!

Oh how I am going to enjoy this after 5 years in Florida!
College football, carving pumpkins, picking apples, eating warm bowls of chilli on a cold day, cozy sweaters, hot chocolate... it was just never the same without the pretty leaves everywhere!

Yummmmm....

Nothing says summer like ice cream... and I have a new favorite place!

Sure, we may not have the Marble Slab or Cold Stone (or even Baskin Robbins for that matter), but where else but a small town can you find the cutest old-fashioned ice cream shop?

And it is complete with the old fashioned soda fountain... definitely worth the trip!

Although, the next best thing (and they are EVERYWHERE here) would of course be the good ol' DQ. Florida never had many Dairy Queens, but considering there is one on every corner here, my love for the Blizzard is growing back to the size of my childhood days. And now they have Girl Scout Tagalong Blizzards... are you kidding me??? Talk about DELISH! But our best trip has been with our new friends, Mike and Jen, and their three cutie-pies!

Josh and Noah (above) / and Mike and Noah (below)

Jen and Leah... I could steal her. Leah that is- but Jen is pretty cool too! :)

Me and Isaiah... this kid is hilarious. Look for him in sales one day soon.

Next up on my ice cream tour of the Midwest??? Whitey's Ice Cream in Moline... super duper Midwestern friend of ours has highly recommended it. Maybe I can send some to Florida on dry ice... now that's an idea for Christmas! So visit us anytime folks... you're guaranteed to get all the frozen treats your little heart (and tummy) desires!

Classic!

So my oldest sister Angie asked her 9-year old son if he knew who was going to have a baby.

"Aunt Mindy?" he asked.

"Well, yes, Aunt Mindy is going to have a baby in January, but who else?"

He went on to name one of his teachers, to which she replied, "Well, yes, she's going to have a baby, too, but it's somebody else."

"You?" he questioned.

"Nope, not me, but you're getting closer."

"Aunt Kim?" he finally guessed, to which she excitedly told him "yes!"

Without missing a beat he responded, "They're pregnant already???"

Ha ha... we love you, Kevin! And yes, we were just as surprised as you are!

Happy happy birthday to...

My wonderful husband. It was a pretty low-key weekend, but we managed to have some fun. Ben and Angie came to visit from Wisconsin, we had a surprise cake and gifts after church, and I made Mawmaw's famous cookies (which were quite a task!). He claims that he doesn't need anything special for his birthday, but he is certainly a special man who deserves the world. Here are just a few things that makes him who he is... he seriously has the best sense of humor of anyone I know; in a crowded room he will find the one person who doesn't look to be having a good time and turn their day around; he never puts himself first; he is certainly a man of God and spends hours each morning pouring over the Bible, praying, and watching sermons; if someone is in need, he's the first to be there and ask how he can help; he loves to give hugs; he's good at everything he tries (which aggravates me to death); he misses hanging out with my mom :); if he's excited about something, everyone will know it in a matter of minutes; he makes a darn good pot of chili; he's very handy around the house; he sees the finished project before most people can even see the vision; he inspires me (and others) to be better, work harder, and not settle for anything other than the best I can be. So yes, he's a special, special man... but my favorite thing about him? He's mine.

I love you, Joshua. Happy birthday... it's going to be an awesome year!!!

Little Joshy... so cute!

Too cool for school

High school all-star


Air Force days

Frat-Boy Haircut
27... and more handsome than ever

Dear 18-year-old-me,

You will never believe how blessed your life will be in just ten short years. If you're just patient, you'll see that in ten years you will be married to the most handsome, amazing man in the world, standing beside him and supporting him as he starts a new church plant, living in the house you only dreamed about as a little girl, have two precious puppies welcoming you home everyday, a family who loves you, a faith in God that is growing stronger and stronger, and a little one on the way. Just wait and see... it's going to be better than your wildest imagination could dream up. And no, you won't deserve a single bit of it, but it's all yours.

All my love,
28-year-old-Me


*sigh* What I would give to be able to give this to her... I'm sure you can relate. :)


PS - Here is baby's first picture... our little peanut.... and already a cutie:

The County Fair

And so begins the blog posts that I'm WAY behind on! I know a certain reader is anxiously awaiting the "Bathroom - Before and After" post, but unfortunately we still have a little bit more work to do before that one is ready. So this one will have to do for now!

Soooo.... the fair! Let me start by saying that my family spent six years in a small town in Louisiana and the fair was the highlight of the year... chili pies, the Radar, the double ferris wheel, the livestock... so many great memories that make me a bit nostalgic. So I was probably more excited for the fair than the average person and was like a wacko tourist who took pictures of EVERYTHING!

So the highlights? Well, there was the chainsaw competition, barrel racing, the draft horses, a crazy type of horse racing where the jockeys ride on little carts, the funnel cake, the carni-games, and of course the rides. My hubby was a perfect date and won me a stuffed animal and while the youth kiddos dragged him on the zipper, I had the perfect excuse to stay safely on the ground (this baby is already coming in handy!). While it wasn't quite the same as the fair from my childhood, it was certainly a good time and something I will look forward to every year here in Small Town, Illinois.

Oh, and just so you can see for yourselves:

CLEARLY this one should win! Someone did this with a chainsaw!

Horse racing... the jockeys are riding on little carts behind the horses. Strange.

The winning draft horses... he's an Iowa State Fair champ, too!

We are pretty convinced these games are rigged!

But yes, he still won a stuffed animal for me!


The Zipper... better him than me on that thing!


A barn full of bunnies. Just what every fair needs.

What do they FEED these things???

Mmmm... funnel cake. The perfect end to the day! Until next year...