spit nails or kick a cat!!!! Why you ask? Because I went home to visit my family last week and took tons of great pictures. I had a week's worth of candid photo documentation ( I was waiting on a call from Life magazine at any moment begging for my awe inspiring photo skills) and when I downloaded them to my laptop they disappeared like that black sock in the dryer - never to be found again. This would fall under the "bad" category of blog posts. Up to this point our posts have pretty much been in the "good stuff" category. We had to know it wouldn't last forever. "Well, Mandy why don't you just download them again?" Because I told the computer to remove them from my camera after downloading. I don't like clutter in my house OR on my camera, but its safe to say from now on I won't be clicking that particular button.
I have a sneaking suspicion they are stuck in a file titled ESKB.mbb (anyone know what that means?) that appeared when I downloaded them, but that my computer can't open. I downloaded them just like always but when I went to open them in my Shared Documents they were no where to be found. After I fiddled with it for 2 hours and turned 3 shades of red in the process, I gave up....for now. This machine won't win. I will have the last laugh. I will get my precious memories back if it kills me! If you know how to fix it let me in on the secret. I will pay in the form of a blog post dedicated solely to your individual greatness. So, you'll have to wait a while for pictures. I have some more to post but that will be for next week.
So what have I been doing while you blog followers have been languishing for lack of news on the Knights? Well, we have been attending sporting events like its going out of style. We're trying to get out and support our kids and youth in their extracirriculars which have included softball and football so far. **Note** Padded chairs with a back that fit onto the bleacher seats are a MUST....trust us...your behind will thank you.** Anyway, high school football is a BIG deal here. Friday night everyone is crammed into the local stadium whether you know someone who is playing or not...its just what everyone does for fun.
Last Monday (Labor Day) I made the 4.5 hr treck home to my Mom and Dad's to spend the week with the family and help take care of my brother and sister (Lee and Jacie). We worked hard and played harder and had a great week. I got a taste of being a chauffer while taking kids to and from school. I played and won many games of Uno (sorry Lee...maybe next time), pushed kids on swings, took them to McDonalds, picked tomatoes in the garden, watched movies, read stories (Jacie's all-time favorites are Move Over Rover and Monster Bugs), rode bikes, organized the refrigerator, kept an eye on the first aid kit while Jacie and Lee engaged in sword fighting with sticks, gave four-wheeler rides, created ice cream sundaes, and broke up a few siblings fights. I know, I know...you're wishing your siblings were as cool as me....sorry I'm taken. My nieces and nephews came over on Thursday and we introduced them to a summertime classic - the Slip N' Slide. They're roughly 2.5 yrs old so we thought they'd love it...WRONG! We started off playing in the sand box and then moved to the water portion of the day. Most of them cried but Ethan was the best belly-flopper you've ever seen. Lee and Jacie got out of the car after school - dropped their backpacks - ditched their shoes - and headed straight for the summertime happiness that only a long piece of plastic and icy cold water can bring. After the Slip N' Slide experiment the little kiddies went back to the sandbox which meant that there was a beach in the bathtub by the time all five were clean again. Grandma Joy (Dad's mom) stopped by for a visit and I came home with a sack of novels to read from her personal stash....I'm always looking for new reading material! Thanks Grandma Joy!
Jacie and I went to Grandma Bette and Pappaw Jim's (Mom's parents) on Thursday afternoon to wear off some energy -going down the slide, chasing Pap all over the place, riding bikes, playing on the monkey bars, etc. - before going home to Mom and the quints. We also went to their house for dinner on Friday night and ate way way too much....but who can say no to Chocolate Creme Pie?...not me. Saturday before making the drive back to Tennesee, the whole family made the drive to the University of Southern Indiana for my brother Lee's cross-country invitational. He's new to the sport and doing great! He ran a 1.9 mile course with giant hills in 16 min. 7 sec. I'm very proud of him!....I know there is NO WAY I could do that myself. I felt like I had run across the country too by the time it was over. We like to spread ourselves out strategically along the trail to cheer throughout the race so we spend a lot of time running from one place to another and then to the finish line for the big finale.
So what was Kevin doing while you were gone? Good question. Pining away for me - obviously (He did confess that he missed me when I got back). I'm not really sure what else he did although I bet he was working hard. He really does love being a pastor. He had sermons to write, books to read, and people to see! I left plenty of food for him...hotdogs, Moonpies, cereal, pizza, and macaroni and cheese. Some of our church ladies who knew I was out of town also took good care (a.k.a. spoiled him rotten) of Kevin while I was gone. He must have done a little cleaning while I was gone because the house looked pretty clean when I got home. He even did a couple of loads of laundry. However, I realized when I got home that he had washed everything with liquid fabric softner and no detergent because he didn't read the bottle. Poor Kevin was shocked to learn there even is such a thing as liquid fabric softner.
This week we have spent each evening participating in the Jasper City-Wide Crusade. Each night a different church hosted the crusade and provided music and the speaker. We hosted Wednesday night and were proud to have 129 people in attendance. It was nice to meet some of the other local pastors and church people. Its a very friendly community and we feel right at home. This week also kicks off our fall Sunday School Drive which will last through the next 6 weeks. Yesterday we celebrated Kevin's 27th birthday with a birthday dinner at Cracker Barrel. He got lots of cards and well wishes from many of you and overall it was a great day!
We've got some great things coming up on our calendar and we'll be sure to share them with you. I am having a Girls Night In at the parsonage in October when Kevin goes to a preaching conference in Nashville so I'll have about 15 little girls spending the night and doing all the fun girlie things we do at slumber parties. I'll be completely sleep deprived by the end but they are super excited and are already counting the days until it gets here. Since I teach the junior/senior high Sunday School class we'll have them all over on the Saturday that Tennessee plays Alabama to watch the game and grill (yes they love college football almost as much as high school football). We're also feeding the Marion County High School football team before one of their home games and putting together a youth weekend for our teens in November. Needless to say we're busy but we're loving it and our people are with us.
Sorry I was MIA for the last couple of weeks....(my deepest apologies Wes - I'll try not to let it happen again :) but life has picked up speed. We'd ask that you continue to pray for us and our church - that we'd be the hands and feet of Jesus with lots of room in our hearts for everyone in our community. Also, continue to pray for my job situation. I'm still unemployed but I did start substitute teaching at the local elementary school this week to help fill up my weekdays.
Have a wonderful weekend. Check back next week for more fun stuff.
Love,
Mandy and Kevin
Lee riding the four-wheeler...safety first!
Looking fierce.
It's hard to see but Jacie is waiting on a snail to come out...after I explained that it would be mean to pull him out of his shell. A few minutes later she got tired of waiting and threw him in the yard. 
Psyching out the competition
Oh look they made up
Lee prior to the front yard sword fighting
Slip N' Slide fun!
Playing in the sand with Grandma
Visiting Uncle Lee's chickens
I took Jacie for a Happy Meal one day after school.
She wears her Dora the Explorer hat and her backpack EVERY DAY.
Living room wrestling match between Dad, Jacie, and Lee. Don't act like you don't do this at home too!
The starting shot
See his ball in the sand trap...hahhaahaha.
Good view...but not worth the rain.