I Survived

Yes, the slumber party was a phenomenal success! I had 16 girls (I know that's A LOT!) over on Friday the 9th. That evening things were supposed to get started at about 6:30pm. Wouldn't you know that the strom of the century decided to blow in right about then. So for a while before they got here I ran around collecting batteries, flashlights, and candles just in case. Michael (Taylor's dad) brought me some more just in case. I knew I could handle 16 Excited-To-Stay-Up-All-Night-With-My-Friends girls but I wasn't so sure about 16 Scared-Of-The-Dark-So-Lets-All-Scream-At-The-Same-Time girls. God was gracious and the storm only lasted a short time and the lights stayed on the whole time. I can handle noise but I do value my eardrums.

Once everyone arrived and claimed their spots there wasn't an inch of carpet to be seen in the living room or dining room. That was okay because girls really don't mind being that close to one another. After everyone had staked their claim and put on jammies we had pizza and any other junk food you could imagine for dinner. Sly, child-less, pastor's wife, Mandy made sure that all their drink options were sugar and caffeine free and only one of our snacks contained copious amounts of chocolate. It would have been cruel to completely eliminate chocolate from the festivities but I'm not stupid remember? Next they had a dance party in the living room to a CD made especially for our Girls Only evening. After that they played hide and seek in the house. This was definately the loudest part of the evening because it involved the most screaming. Our only injury befell 6 year old Mia when she was caught standing on the wrong side of a door. She ended up with a goose egg and bruise on her forehead.

Next the Wii bowling and Wii Sing it came out....which included every Disney pop song ever made. Once the singing competition was done we did makeovers. Eleven year old Brooke wanted her long brown hair cut short so with her mother's permission and blessing we gave Brooke a whole new look. I snipped away while 15 wide-eyed girls watched from the bathroom doorway. It turned out great and Brooke loves it...all the girls told her she looked beautiful and that will do any girl's heart good. After the makeovers were complete they had a fashion show for which I was their photographer. They've definately got their runway struts down!

Later in the evening the older girls made "prank" phone calls to boys they liked (even though they'd die before admitting it to anyone). Don't worry I cut it off before it got too late and kept an ear open. I reminded them to keep it all above board and not to harrass anyone too much. Now that most kids have cell phones I think the parents were spared the ringing phone. At this point it was about 11pm and the little ones were starting to wilt so I put them all in my bed and turned on Narnia for them. Mia and Zaalee wanted to call their mom's to say goodnight so we did that and then settled in. No one went home or got scared all night long. Eight year old Emily was having growing pains so I rubbed her legs until she fell asleep watching the movie. It didn't take long for the other little girls to crash and I got them back in their sleeping bags (I'm stronger than I look!). However, Emily told me she was perfectly comfy in my bed and didn't want to move so she was my bed buddy for the night.

At about 12:45am the ones who were still awake decided to watch the Hannah Montana movie and by the time it ended at 2:30am they were pretty much out. I was exhausted so I crawled in bed with Em and dozed with one eye and ear open for the girls. At about 3:30am a little girl named Leah was coughing loud enough to wake the neighbors so I walked her to the spare room and put her to bed in there so the others could sleep. So for the rest of the night I kept getting up to make sure she was breathing okay (It really did sound that bad!...and I'm paranoid when they're not my kiddos!).

By about 8am the little ones were waking up and ready to go which meant the older ones didn't get much more sleep. I tried to keep them in my room watching cartoons but they were too noisy. Gracie Mae (8 yrs old) asked when she had to go home and when I told her 10am she told me she just didn't want to go.....I think I definately made some friends for life. After I heard the older ones moving around, I got up and broke out the chocolate milk, chocolate chip muffins, and blueberry muffins. They ate over 37 muffins that morning! I didn't think they would possibly be hungry after putting away half the junk food in Marion County! If girls eat like this I'd hate to have to feed a bunch of boys. By 9:30am the parents were showing up to get them and by 10:15am everyone had gone home. Needless to say, I took a nap that day and several of the girls did too! Some of you might read this and think I'm crazy for doing it but it really was fun and it meant something to them. All of those girls are such good kids I didn't have to argue with or yell at anyone. Sure it was chaotic...but it was fun, girly, giggly chaotic and I can deal with that. I am just so proud to have such wonderful girls as part of our church family. I look forward to what God may do in their lives and I hope somehow I'll get to play an encouraging, guiding role in that. I also hope we can do many more fun activities. They asked me when we could do it again and I said....How about next year? Maybe we'll make it an annual event. We'll just have to look back at our pictures until then.

The snack table before they devoured EVERYTHING. I had some Ritz crackers, 1 honey bun, and some goldfish left. They're bottomless pits!

Opening dance party moves

Zalee and Mia...best buddies!

Taylor and Haley going head to head in Wii Sports.

Beautiful Brooke before....

Beautiful Brooke after...if this whole unemployment thing gets too bad at least I have a side job!

Wii Sing It...they weren't too bad actually. They can put on a concert in my living room anytime.

I love the ingenuity of girls...

Miss Mia chilling in my bed after she got knocked in the head. Yes, I made sure she didn't go to sleep for 2 hours afterwards just in case but her eyes weren't dialated so I wasn't too worried.

Brooke, Abby Lynn (who used her inside voice ALL NIGHT without me reminding her, Aly, and Haley posing for the fashion show camera

My good, mature influences - Christy, Hannah, and Hannah Shea.

Emily and Gracie Mae posing for the camera. With those smiles they could be on a Colgate commercial.

Well, that's all the evidence I've got for you this year. Check back later for a post about Corn Hole and the Fall Festival. Yes, I really meant to type Corn Hole.

Love to the girls,

Mandy

Are You Crazy????

I've been getting this question rather often lately. In about a week the votes will be in and I'll let you know the verdict. Next Friday night (Oct 9th) is Girls Night In @ the Parsonage, which means I'll have 10-15 girls from the church here at the house from 6:30pm thru 10am the next morning. The girls are 1st grade on up through high school and there are 12 of them signed up so far. My game plan is to have the older ones help me with the younger ones since I'll be the only adult present (this may be where the "ARE YOU CRAZY???" looks keep coming from). I have no dining room furniture so its just a big empty space - perfect for piles of pillows and sleeping bags (that they probably won't use). Kevin will be out of the house since its "girls only" and we have all kinds of girly things planned.....facials, makeovers, Wii tournament, movies, junk food, etc. They wanted a water balloon fight in the back yard but lucky for me its too cold for that now. Chances are I'll look like an Extreme Makeover, (sleep deprived) version of Rainbow Bright by the time they leave on Saturday but I'm okay with that.

So, why are you having a sleepover with all these kids? Well, why not? Don't you remember sleepovers when you were a kid? I loved sleeping over at friends houses when I was a kid! I looked forward to it all week long. It got me through Math and Science at school because I knew the torture of fractions and long division couldn't possibly last forever. Secondly, its a good chance for me to get to know them better and let them get to know me better. Let's face it.....its just easier to tell your troubles to someone you've already seen in their pajamas with bed head hair. Finally, this slumber party is a great way for me to let them know that we think they're important and that they're worth spending time with....just doing things they like to do. I guess its a small way that we can say, "We'll meet you where you are." It also provides me with a way to work in some positive messages to combat some of the junk media throws at our kids.....you know things like..."Don't ever let a boy be mean to you"...."You're beautiful just as you are whether you're a size 0 or not"....All it requires of me is my time, some junk food expertise, and a little less sleep for one night. I think I can handle that. And just in case...I've got some of those earplugs that block out some of the noise but you can still hear everything....just quieter (Hey, I may be crazy but I'm not stupid).

I've got a week to get ready. Maybe I should start sleeping extra so I'll have it stored up for when I need it. I'm terrible at staying awake. I can usually only make it to about 10:30....Kevin just laughs at me and stays up watching Sportscenter.

Don't worry...I'll post pictures of all the chaos. That way you can see it but not have to experience the ear splitting noise level. On a side note - I did have one of our church ladies ask when the adult ladies were going to get to have a sleepover. Another lady reminded her that once they got down they'd never be able to get back up! hahaha!

Can't wait to see you girls on the 9th!

Abby Lynn, Haley, and Gracie Mae

Hannah Shea, Taylor, and Abby Lynn

Mandy - Slumber Party Planner Extraordinaire

P.S. What are you going to do with the boys? No idea?! Maybe Kevin will take them to hunt something...or hike something...or some other manly-ness.

Dorothy Was Right....

there really is no place like home! Here are some more pictures of my week in Indiana. You'll see why I was tired when I got home!

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.

Their version of NASCAR on the front porch

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!

We hope you had a great week. It was raining and humid here but no flooding in our neck of the woods. Have a relaxing weekend. We'll post again next week.

Mandy and Kevin

You Have to Run How Far????

Okay, I mentioned in a previous post that I went to my 10 yr. old brother's cross country meet while I was home last. I am so proud that Lee has found something he likes to do....It really wouldn't matter to me what he did as long as he enjoys it. However, I know there is no way I could run 1.9 miles in 16 minutes without the definite need of CPR so I think his choice of sport is pretty impressive.

Most of you probably haven't been to a cross country meet since its not a really well known sport. This meet was held at USI's (University of Southern Indiana) disc golf course which meant lots of hills and wooded areas. They break the teams up into appropriate age groups and run all the boys together and all the girls together. On this particular day the course was 1.9 miles long and it was HOT outside. They gather all the runners for a particular race in an open field...fire the starting shot, and off they go. Each team receives a certain number of points for the finishing place of each team member. The team with the most points at the end wins. Right now Lee is running to beat his time from each previous race and is improving consistently. I offered to shave flames in the sides of his head to improve his wind resistance but he wasn't up for it. We divide the course into sections and head out in pairs to make sure he's got a cheering section at points all along the course. He only needs to finish two places higher and he will be a varsity runner. Below are a few race day pictures....

My sister Kate and Don...trying to stay one step ahead of the Jace-ster.

Jacie and Dad at Lee's meet...this seems to be the easiest way to keep an eye (and a hand) on Princess Squirms-a-lot. Looks mischevious doesn't she?!

Princeton Cross Country Team Picture (Lee is 4th from the left, front row)

The starting shot

Lee chugging up the big hill just before the end...keep going buddy!

Just a few more feet to the finish line! Time: 16 min. 7 sec. In other words - awesome

**Not Pictured** - Big Sister Mandy's heart bursting with pride...I know I'm not his momma but I get that proud momma feeling when he crosses the finish line.

Now you know a little about how a cross country meet works and why we were worn out after it was over! I wish I had half of Lee's energy. Good Luck in the rest of your season Lee - I'm sure you'll keep getting better.

Until next time,

Mandy

Friday Night Lights

My pictures have been restored! Don't ask me how...I couldn't tell you but I am thrilled. Victory is sweet! I have been laying awake at night trying to unsnarl the whole thing mentally....maybe I'll sleep better now.

Below are some pictures of our time at the football field. Its still a little too warm here to feel like football weather but no one here seems to know that. On this particular night we played against the Pirates and lost pretty brutally. The boys at our church have informed me that I am NEVER to wear Pirate colors (orange and black) or they'll disown me.

"The Opposition"...our arch rival...the South Pittsburg Pirates

Clashing on the field....no major injuries on this night

Mia...rocking the glow in the dark necklace given out to the kids.

The PomPom Hut will spray paint your hair purple for the low low price of $2

This place was so crowded we got there an hour early just to get a seat. You can see that tons of people stood at the fence for the whole game.

The steel and canvas tepee the Marion County Warriors run through for home games. Luckily , I look good in purple.

We hope you'll go out and support your kids, grandkids, friends, and community in their sporting events this fall. You never know who you'll see!

Love,

Mandy and Kevin

I'm So Mad I Could....

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

Sand Mountain

Last Thursday was Kevin's official day off. So he somehow convinced me to go with him to the golf course (go ahead, pick your jaw up off the floor) and ride the golf cart while he played 18 holes. Who knew Sand Mountain - known as the home of snake handling church goers - would have a classy golf course. This place is just full of surprises! For the record, this was only the 2nd time I've done this in our 4 years of marriage and now I remember why! He convinced me to go by telling me how beautiful it is up on Sand Mountain and I'll give him some points for that...it is pretty up there. It would have been even better if it weren't monsooning outside all morning.

The day we went it started raining on the 4th hole and we had to sit under a tree for an hour to wait out the storm. Luckily, I brought a book with me so I was able to entertain myself while he stood beside the cart holding an umbrella over his golf clubs. He played another couple of holes and it started raining again. By the time we were done (4 hours later....) I was cold, wet, hungry, and even less of a golf fan than when we started up the mountain.

Pretty View!...I'm talking about the mountains, not Kevin's backside. I knew what you were thinking.

See his ball in the sand trap...hahhaahaha.

Good view...but not worth the rain.

On a wide open golf course why is this warning necessary? If your driver is running you into trees or other humans on the golf course you have bigger problems than just staying in the cart.

I hope you get a day off this week! Make it a good one.

Mandy