Something To Get Excited About

I am really excited...I'm really excited about my church!  Last year I was so upset because they canceled Saturday night service.  We went to it all the time because Sundays are just really hectic for us.  My husband is a work-a-holic and so is my Dad.  They do firewood, feed cattle, tear down old barns, built my house - all of these things happen 7 days a week.  It was just really hard to get to church on a Sunday morning.

So last year - we weren't so good attendance wise.  Church started at 8:15 which meant I had to have my kids fed & dressed & out the door by 7:45 b/c church is 30 minutes away in Effingham.  Our other option was 11:15 church which then got out at 12:45.  So by that time most of the day was gone, and my kids were bawling grouchy messes b/c they eat lunch around 11:30.  I know excuses excuses, but it just made going to church more of a chore than a joy sometimes.

So they just announced a new service!  Hooray a brand new service just for us!  It starts at 9:45 and runs until 10:55.  I am just beyond words happy about this.  We can actually sleep in a bit on Sunday, but still get to church & have most of our day to work on chores as well! 

The day Everett was dedicated

I go to New Hope in Effingham.  This church is contemporary, casual, and they put a huge focus on the youth.  It is just filled with young couples & people so excited to come together for the Lord.  I love going.  The music is fabulous - it's like a rock concert every Sunday & I nearly cry every Sunday!  (I don't know why being a Mom makes me cry at American Idol & church services, but it does.)  Then to top it off, our pastor is amazing.  He teaches out of the bible.  Real bible verses up on the screen, not a secret agenda that is about him, his relationship with God, and his holy marriage (I've had that before & I really don't need to hear about how rigteous some other pastors marriage is.  I do think it's important, but gosh I want to learn about the Bible).  Anyway, Pastor Van really talks about God and Jesus!  He's funny - he's really funny actually and I enjoy learning from him.  He's unexpected in a good way & you can tell the church loves him as the leader.

*Google Images - LOVE this photo*

I always dreamed I'd find a church to bring my children to that would be fun and nurturing.  Well this church made it their mission statement to focus on the youth.  They have a group focused on 5th and 6th grade (b/c most kids commit to God at age 12) & they have the entire group (300+ kids) do alter calls - that's amazing!  Then - they get even bigger with One Eighty!  They have an entire facility for teens.  They do Saturday night worships out there and have a huge teen following (imagine 8:15 church with the front 5 rows filled up with teens - that's unheard of!)  They definitely are doing something right here.

I am so excited about the new service & I want to work hard this year to get my family to most of those services.  I know it's important in our marriage & important to my children so it's my job to get us there - even if that means pop tarts in the car!

So - if you live around here and are looking for a place to try out - give it a try - I love it and you may too!

A Worthy Cause

Something my family cares deeply about is the Ronald McDonald House.  It is important to us.  My Mom stayed there when she had my twin brothers.  I imagine without the Ronald McDonald house my parents would have figured out a way for her to be with them, but it would have been hard & they already had a lot on their hearts.

Because of our appreciation - we give our change to all the coin catchers when we hit up a McDonalds.  Well, every year our McDonalds does the annual fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House.  Plus, you have an opportunity to give more & get your name on the big sign out in front.  Now typically only businesses do this.  However, my Dad is a funny man.  He thinks it's absolutely hilarious to put Jade's name on the board.  Keep in mind our town has 5,000 people.  To say everyone knows everyone is an understatement.  They know everyone, plus all your cousins, may be related to you in some bizarre 3 marriage way, & they know all your business too.  That's just how we roll down here in Central IL. 

So behold - a hilarious sign!

Check out the line of cars by this sign too - that's a lot of traffic in our town rolling by this sign!

Every time I drove by this baby I'd crack up.  Jade had friends calling him to know what in the world he was up to.  Hilarious I know!  This was a few years ago.  They are doing the donations again & I'm trying to get Jade to get his name on the famous board, but this time for his business!  Hey it's for charity & it gets your name out there right?!?

An Office To Enjoy

So I blogged about Jade & his business partner's before office & the decorating plan here.  Well I forgot to share the afters!

It came together very nicely.  Now, I will say it is the office that perpetually shrinks!  It's not very big, and as they got more and more equipment it became smaller and smaller!  It's on Main St. in our town right behind Maggie's hair salon.  The guys love this because they can get a hair cut any day of the week (I secretly think they get an eye brow wax too!)  They also like to joke around with my sister & pull pranks on each other as well.  Imagine walking into your very girly purple bathroom (that they share) to find a huge UFC poster on the wall.  Or walking out of your manly office into a curtain of beads - they liked that too!

So here is a waiting area.  To the left is the door.  They have an antique surveying tripod that they are proud of.  I'm not sure the books will stay in the window, but at the same time they do not have room for bookshelves either.  I really like the gray walls & the laminate flooring they put in.  Such an improvement from the befores!!

This is their other waiting chair with a magazine rack.  To the right is the door & to the left is an old replica map of our town.  It's very cool to look at all the changes since the 1800s. 

To the left are the 3 big metal desks & the huge printer.  I scored 2 desks for $55 total & spray painted them black.  They had a 3rd desk for free that I also sprayed black to match.  This helped pull the desks together since they were different non-matching desks.  We then took some nice black & whites of the town & matted & framed them.  I didn't take pictures of the work space.  It honestly is more functional than wowingly decorated.  They love their office & have been working diligently since the start of the month.

  Please keep praying for lots of clients & for our families.  So far we are getting clients and calls, plus the guys love working for themselves!

Junk-tacular!

Saturday I went junking with my two sisters in hopes for great finds for myself as well as Ethel Edith.  Well there definitely was success! 

My sisters & I were kicking ourselves for not taking pictures of this place, but it was an unheated top level of a very old building.  The roof was all slanted boards, and missing quite a few pieces to the ceiling.  It was definitely a hot spot to say the least.

I came home with these babies...

I paid $31 total for these two large galvanized tubs.  I was thrilled to say the least - I love anything that could potentially give me tetanus!

The plan came from the lovely Mary.  I think I'm going to fill these up with lights & large branches for my party patio.  It's full sun out there & usually a concrete wasteland.  I have a hard time keeping plants alive out there, however branches won't die on me!  I already have Christmas lights for night lighting & I have a few more galvanized tubs to fill with flowers.  I think I have a great plan in mind so far!

I also scored this bad boy for $3.

I know here you are thinking - why?!?  Well my Mom has one, and let's just say it looks IDENTICAL to someone I know and love very much.  He's an older man & it just cracks us up that it looks just like him.  So this is going in with my salt & pepper shaker collection.  I couldn't pass it up.

Beyond this, we had a great day meeting some blogging friends for lunch.  Then, a trip to TJ Maxx always tops off the day in a nice way.  I have new bath towels - woot woot!  It was an overall great day.  Please go over to Ethel Edith to see more of our adventures!