VBS Coming Soon to JCN

You know there really are very few things I wouldn't do for my church. I don't think my co-workers and friends would hesitate to add "team-player" to my list of attributes.

You also know how much we enjoy our kids and teenagers. If it won't cause me bodily harm or unbearable mental stress I'm usually game.

However, a girl's got to draw the line somewhere. Our VBS theme this summer is "Deep See Adventure: Exploring the Depth of Jesus' Love." Sooo, as you can imaging we'll be swimming (I love puns) in water-themed decorations. 

At one point it was suggested that I wear a wetsuit as part of a costume during our opening each night. LINE DRAWN. 

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get into a wetsuit?

Do you have any earthly notion how hard it is to get OUT of a wetsuit? 

Don't ask. You don't want to know. Its dangerous and you might require a chiropractic adjustment afterwards.

I'm all for clothing that holds things in in all the right places BUT.. I like breathing. I've found it to be very beneficial for my health.

Besides, the 3 or 4 church ladies it would take to get me in and out would see a whole new side of me that they just aren't prepared for :) 

We're gathering stuff up and the decorating bonanza begins on Friday night! Check it out:

It takes A LOT of STUFF to do VBS up right!

We are going all out with our Deep Sea Adventure theme.

Wish us luck...and patience...and nerves of steel,

Mandy

Why Yes, I Do Have 17 Children

You're shocked. Surprised. Dumbfounded. 


I can tell by the way your mouth is hanging open. And you haven't blinked.


I'm sorry I haven't mentioned it yet, but as I'm sure you can imagine,  a family of 19 (watch out Duggars!) keeps me pretty busy. 


You're still not blinking. Okay, I confess! They're not really "mine" if you're going to insist on splitting hairs. 


Technically, I'm their youth sponsor/fun older sister/responsible adult spiritual role model/superwoman......and I wouldn't have it any other way. 


The youth group here at JCN is full of kids I'd be happy to claim as mine. I really love them....they make me laugh. Sometimes I laugh so hard I cry. Sometimes they make me laugh when I want to cry. 


Over the last year, we've spent A LOT of time talking about what it means to follow after Jesus - to be the kind of people that sees the world like God does - the kind of people who love others extravagantly.


 So, this summer we felt it was time to give our kids the opportunity to love others through a domestic mission trip. We partnered with youth groups from a Methodist church in Memphis and a Nazarene church in Nacogdoches, Texas to take some of our kids to Kansas City (our old stompin' ground!). We are good friends with the youth pastors of both churches and this trip has been in the works for about 9 months. They will have the opportunity to interact with homeless families and children while getting to know other kids their age.


The final fundraiser for "KC2010 Three Churches. One Mission." was a Sunday evening youth service. It was the first time the kids had EVER done anything like this and they were amazing. I'm pretty sure my heart almost exploded with pride no less than 30,000 times. :)


They blew me (and everyone else) away again and again as they led music, offered prayers, ushered, spoke, and shared insights about their favorite Nooma video Rain . I don't think I could have been more proud if these teenagers actually shared my DNA. My face hurt from smiling. My hands hurt from clapping. My throat hurt from holding back those ridiculous tears. When all was said and done the rest of their church family graciously showed their appreciation with hugs, encouragement, and a love offering for the mission trip. 


You'll find a few photos below (sorry they're dark...taking care of 17 kids leaves me very little time for fancy photography lessons). The other kids (not pictured below) who participated included Hannah Banana, Sawyer, Hannah Shea, Elijah, Brooke, Taylor, and Haley.

Christy - she has great leadership potential and didn't miss a word as she shared her thoughts about Nooma.

Dylan - he spoke. he prayed. he made me proud. I'm pretty sure his favorite part was sitting in Pastor Kevin's chair on the stage.

So, in about 10 hours I'll send my husband, 9 teenagers, and my partner in crime - Susan, halfway across the country for a week....without me. I had planned to go, but when I got the new job at Unum it didn't fit with my training schedule. 


I'm devastated that I can't go. I wanted to make this memory with them. I wanted to be there to watch the light bulbs go off one after another. I wanted to watch them grow. and laugh. and do dumb teenager stuff I could torment them with for the next 20 years. 


Separation anxiety is imminent.


Instead, I'll be sitting at my desk, anxiously chewing my fingernails to nubs, and stalking Facebook for photo updates. In the evening I'll stare at my cell phone - mentally willing it to chirp with text messages telling me about their day. 


Pray for them (and me!) this week as they step out to do something they've never done before. I have no doubt that when they pull back into the parking lot next Saturday afternoon, I'll once again feel like I'm having a mild heart attack as the love and pride spill over and the noise level rises while they tell me every detail.


Missing them all,


Mandy


P. S. I made them glow-in-the-dark bracelets that say "NO WHINING" to wear for the week. We may be young but we're not dumb :)

Now My Thumb is Black, Brown, Green, and Gross

The days were long. The days were hot. It was the grimiest of times and the sweatiest of times....(Reader's Digest version please, we don't have all day)....


Landscaping is HARD. and dirty. and buggy. and weedy.  


Okay, pity party over.


 I'll just cut to the chase - Kevin finally fought the Mac / Kodak battle and saved me from utter blogging disgrace by downloading my landscaping pictures for me. Lucky you.

The new front flower bed + mulch - holly bushes.

Near the front steps

Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Dwarf Light Pink Azalea, Dark Pink Azalea, Dwarf Light Pink Azalea, Dwarf Alberta Spruce

**NOTE** We are in no way obsessed with dwarves, midgets, or Snow White. We chose dwarf shrubs to avoid another holly bush-like fiasco in 10 years. It makes sense. We are responsible adults. We're looking ahead.

Hostas are virtually maintenance free and they like shade.

 

Have I ever told you that I LOVE Miniature Japanese Feather Maples? No?? Really? I can't believe it never came up in conversation. Because I do. I love them. 

**NOTE #2** I cross my heart, pinkie promise/will sign in blood that I really am not obsessed with tiny plants. Lets think about this logically for a moment. We are nothing if not completely logical around here, right? I am responsible for shrub maintenance. I am small; therefore, I pick small, maintenance free plant life. Work smart, not hard people. 

The whole enchilada.

$5 bucks if you can tell what kind of tree this is and whether or not its in my yard or Mr. Cooper's. We're really not sure and I'd hate to be accused of murdering my neighbors tree. But it looks a little - shall we say - "unloved?" If it is in fact mine, then it may be time to discuss euthanizing it. 

Basil....I'm pretty sure I would eat floor wax if you'd put fresh basil on it first. I will be devastated when winter comes and I am forced to face my basil addiction, cold turkey.

Yes, I have a banana tree in my backyard. Don't you??!!

It will always be a work in progress but I'd say that's a good start for our first Tennessee summer!

Mandy

Dolly Parton Would Be So Proud

I am officially a working girl again!  Not exactly 9 to 5 but close. 


Well, really I was all along, but now I have a job with health insurance and all the trimmin's. 


(go ahead and applaud)


(or at least hum along as Dolly sings)


On Wednesday, June 9th, I started working for Unum....a benefits company. You may have seen the commercials or heard the tagline: "Better benefits at work"


The good: Awesome benefits from a great company for doing something I like and am good at! I am training to be a Disability Benefits Specialist. When a person makes a claim on their long term disability policy I will determine whether or not they are payable, amount of payment, when they can be paid, and what will be their duration of benefits, etc. It's very similar to my former job with the railroads so that helps.


The bad: I live in central time but work in the eastern time zone. It makes you cringe, doesn't it? Me too.


Also, my head may become abnormally large as Unum continues to cram unseemly amounts of information into it.


Next time you see me please refrain from calling me Fathead. 


I have such fragile self esteem as it is. 


The ugly: My attitude (and my hair) at 5am every morning when the alarm goes off.  Seriously. Its heinous and probably considered spousal abuse to make Kevin look at my puffy-eyed face that early in the morning. 


Please don't call Adult Protective Services. Its not my fault. He knew this was a possibility when he married me. 


It was in the vows...."for better or for worse, crazy eyed or sleep deprived...."


Anyway, Unum is number 235 on the Fortune 500 list and is the largest employer in the Chattanooga area. Everyone I've met so far has been extremely helpful and hospitable. Over the last several years my new corporate home has also won several repeat awards for Employee Wellness (great gym and fitness classes), 100 Greenest Employers in America (we're paperless because we LOVE trees), Best Employer in Chattanooga, and the Award for Workplace Flexibility. 


AND.....To top it all off - there are no annoying ducks (or other woodland creatures) in our commercials. 


You can check Unum out at their website.


P.S. - Please. Send. Caffeine. NOW.


Mandy

JCN Meets Cyberspace

So, I'm still trying to figure out how to get my camera to sync with the Mac. The Mac is generally much more user friendly than our worn out PC, but its mad at the Kodak software and I don't have the patience to negotiate a truce right now.


That's the only excuse I have for not posting the "after" pictures of our landscaping makeover yet. 


Technically, Kevin is my IT guy so this picture delay is really his fault. Really. It is. 


I'll light a fire under him don't worry. He knows who cooks the meals around here :)


Until that's figured out, those of you who haven't been there yet can feast your eyes on our church website . I don't think we ever posted the link for you even though we've had it for at least 6 months. 


Add us to your favorites list!


Mandy and Kevin

Before My Thumb Turned Green

We recently decided to give our neighbor's sore eyes a break and re-landscape our yard. They had to be on the verge of planning a blockwide intervention and calling Curb Appeal to come and smack some neighborly sense into us. 

These are the official "before" pictures. 

The gigantic holly bushes and monkey grass graced our front yard prior to our shock and awe gardening campaign of destruction. They are now eternally banished...forever. I mean it. Serious business around here.  

Be gone bushes! Outta here monkey grass! Don't you ever show your face in my yard again! If you do - I'm moving.


 I can't take it. Entirely too much digging and shovel use required when you're around. You're just too pushy for me. 


I need my space - some time to explore other options.


I'm sorry. 


It's not you. It's me. 


What can I say?! I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment.  


No, we can't even be friends. I'm just not that kind of girl. 


You're just too clingy for an independent woman like me.


A break-up is a break-up. Period.


The only problem now is that we could quite possibly lose a small child in the craters left behind. You know, like when little Timmy fell down the well and Lassie had to run for help. And we don't have a dog. Poor kids.


If any of the Sunday School kids go missing we'll know where to look.

Very narrow flower beds infested with crab grass and wild strawberry vines created with the sole purpose of making God laugh as I pull truckloads of weeds.


I appreciate your sense of humor. Really. I do. But I am not above Roundup. 


I. WILL. be. victorious!


I'll post the "after" pictures later this week. It will always be a work in progress but I think we're safe from an HGTV home invasion for the time being.


Mandy