Becca's surprise party

Last night was Becca's surprise 16th birthday party. Krista and Kelly and Kellie came over early to help me decorate, get the food ready and hang out, thought we didn't have time to hang out due to my lack of planning. Kellie had to leave around 8, so then it was just Krista, Kelly and I. We brought the coffee table down with Joe's help and set everything up. They were hiding downstairs in the dark when Becca came in. I practically ran down the stairs, flipped on the and we all yelled "SURPRISE!!!" Becc said we hurt her ear pretty badly, other than that it was a success as a surprise. =)
We watched The Secret Garden then Hannah and Morgan came downstairs. It wasn't quiet at all then, so we pretty much ignored the movie-Morgan and Kelly tried to watch it but didn't have much luck. The cake Mrs. Emory bought was lovely and tasted really good. My home-made piniada went very well too. But we couldn't figure out how to hang it so Morgan suggested rolling down the stairs, which we did.



Hannah didn't come till later. =( But this is a really good picture of the three of them. =)



There she is!
It was a really fun night! I'm so happy we were able to have it. =D Happy Birthday Becca! Those balloons were priceless! ;P Ya had to be there...

Awana

Tonight was... how do you say it... BUSY!
Luckily I got off babysitting about two hours early! =D so I was able to eat something before I left for awana. I knew tonight would be really busy, but I didn't think it'd be that bad.
When we got to church I did the normal stuff I do in the office. Of course, when Mrs. Sneed is actually there no one needs anything, but as soon as she leaves there's a stampede.lol Okay, well maybe it's not that bad. Mom had to buy a shirt for Joe, someone came in because they just bought their daughter a new Spark vest and the seam was ripped already(faulty job by the maker), and someone came in and had to pay dues for only 8 weeks for three kids, and buy books for all of them. Oh yes and thank you so much Mrs. Kersey for your help with that! I was a little confused but she helped me through all of it. =D In addition to all this, I forgot where the checks went! Not good. But I figured out a solution. =)
After that I handed out the envelopes to the leaders. I really had nothing to do until around 7:30 when I had to get the cookies out and poor water before I had to run into game time and keep score, afterwhich I would have to go back into the kitchen to serve said items, and then go to the office to keep the tally of games and sections, and get discovery stickers and badges and such. Busy, busy, busy.
I killed the half hour by listening to my ipod and double checking things. Around 7 I went to the kitchen to get all the ice in the ice thing to put into cups and pitcher later. Rachel Winter was my helper and she did a WONDERFUL job!! Thank you so much Rachel! She helped me with the ice, refilled some of the trays and rotated when I was filling the water(she filled the pitchers). She also cut the cookie bags so they'd be ready to serve when I got back from game time. I was a tad late as scorekeeper from my mess in the kitchen. But I did get there and was even able to play a game withe the kids. When that was over I raced to the kitchen where Mom and Rachel already held down the fort. Thanks Mom!! Love you! =D It really wasn't complicated and with the three of us, it went quickly and smoothly. Much thanks to both my helpers and for cleaning up the kitchen.
Back at the office I had to write down the number of clubbers and leaders. Also keeping track of the points scored by sections and game time. There were 5 or 6 badges that had to be dealt with and a mix up with two of them. Mr. Phillips was great and stayed behind with to lock up the church. Thanks Mr. Phillips! I still have some work to do tomorrow night... but the majority of it is done. I feel much better now that I have explained it to someone/no one maybe. Thanks for reading it!

shopping..... story of my life! Well... at least one of the chapters

Well first of all yes I did have an amazing time at the pizza bash! I was a very funny time. =)
Today Joe went with Dad to a skate park and then over to his place for the afternoon. Morgan was off work by this time and Mom had done most of her homework sooo..... we went shopping! =D Fun right? Yeah, well. Alyssa, Shar's friend(I love her too! =) came with us also.
First stop was Goodwill... naturally.lol It was the most crowded I have ever seen it! We stayed there for almost an hour and didn't find anything... sigh... but Mom said we could head over to TJ Max. But before we got there she had to run to Hy-Vee (Bakers' enemy) to get a few things. Now comes the awkward part....
We pulled up in our parking place and I saw an old friend from school. Ian now worked here. He was an absolute nut in school, but incredibly funny! He also asked me out of Valentines Day in eighth grade... I'm pretty sure it was a joke, but nonetheless, a little awkward, but of course I said "UH NO!" lol... it wasn't as mean as it sounds.
To our left I saw a guy working with the carts and he looked extremely familiar. After a few glances I finally figured out who he was. His name was Joe. He was a nice guy a grade ahead of me. We were had Pottery-I together when I was in high school. He asked me if I would be his date for homecoming! Let's just say I was caught a little off guard. I didn't like him in that way at all! but rumor had it he liked me. We were friends but because it was a dance and a date and he was almost sixteen when I was 13, Mom said absolutely not. It really hurt him, but there was nothing I could do. I didn't go to homecoming myself and he said he wasn't going to go if I didn't go with him. I'm still not sure if he ever went, I hope he did go and had a good time though. =)
I don't think he ever saw me while we were in the store, but it was completely weird seeing him. I think Ian did see me but because him asking me out was most likely a joke, and we were good friends after that, it wasn't nearly as weird. =)
After that experience we went to TJ Max. Unfortunately I didn't find anything there either, but Shar found a cute pair of jeans. We also tried on hats. Amanda and Michael I've got a question for you. Was that were ya'll went shopping when Amanda and Michael took those pics of the hats and sunglasses? Because I saw the same black hat with the feathery thing around the side/top of it. And the golfing hat Michael wore. Shar looked really good in the black one but I looked awful in it. lol.... I'm just not very much a hat person.... sigh... But I did try on some really nice leather(or fake leather, not sure) gloves... great for motorcycle riding. =)
Then we picked up Joe from Dad's and came home. They had made some pizza that was absolutely delicious! =D

Today's plans

Getting up this morning was a real pain.... well as every morning is. I was exhausted last night but luckily I was able to get some sleep and I feel much better!
Today was a bunch of fun!
I did some school: Chemistry, correcting math, finish the Magician's Nephew, and the God's World history thing. After that Morgan took Shar and me to Wal-Mart because she had to get some wooden hangers that were on sale. We played her phone because she downloaded music onto it and we were walking down the aisles of the store rocking to Jesus Freak, Must Have Done Something Right, I'm Taking You With Me and a lot more! Walking side by side it was seriously like a scene from a movie... we only get to act like sisters in that way every so often, so it was special. =D
When we got home we ate lunch and then Mom left to go to the hospital to get info for work tomorrow. While she was gone(Morgan was at work) Shar, Joe and I took pics for Mom for Christmas. She wanted some nice black and white pictures of us that Morgan matted, for Christmas. So PLEASE don't tell her! Shar had a lot of fun dressing up and we got some great photos! But we're still not done yet.
Tonight we have the pizza party, so that should be fun. Marc is coming over to play with Joe while Shar and I are gone.... I hope Mom will let us stay up late when we get back. A few weeks ago she made us go to bed at 11. I hit the sack later than that on weekdays! But I hope that was just a one time thing. =D
bye. =)

Church

Sunday was simply amazing. The Sunday school lesson was really good. The time went by so fast! We basically took a 'test' to see how well we knew the Bible and where to find things. It was all in the old testament though... it was very interesting I thought. I was happy to find out the most of the people in Sunday school got the right answers! lol .... Needless to say I would have been a little disappointed if they didn't know them.
The actually service was amazing. We switched it up, which completely confused me, but it was fun. The singing was like it's never been before. It was loud and joyful, full of praise! And the songs were were singing were very worshipful. And then Mrs. Knipp sang I Am by Nicole Nordeman. That's one of my many favorite songs! I loved the way she made it personal too. She said '3 kids and a dream' instead of 2 kids and a dream.
The sermon was great. Pastor talked about how a true, born again believer will sin, but cannot do it habitually and continually. He also talked about how believers are born of God and we're new creatures in Him! That was special to hear and just a good reminder that we are God's children and He loves us so much!
Sunday night's lesson was a rerun but was as powerful as ever. It was about how important it is not to water down the gospel when witnessing. And it's so true! It takes away the power of the Word when we leave out the part about Hell and sin. And if you think about it... it makes it that much more special for us. If Jesus just 'loved' us, that'd be great and all... but to know that He took our sin, when He knew no sin and died for us, that we might not go to Hell and live eternally with Him!!! ... it's just.... indescribable! Praise God for all He's done for us!

Valas Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to Valas Pumpkin Patch. It was way fun!
For the first part of the trip we learned about the growth of apples and I was with Alyssa and Katie Long. The 'lesson' was very thorough and all who heard are that much smarter and know more about apples. =D lol After that Alyssa ditched me for Sharon so Katie, her friend Emily, and I rode the hay ride and went pumpkin picking! It was SO muddy! But we got some pretty sweet pumpkins. =)
Then the whole group split up mostly by families so the rest of the time it was just Mom, Sharon, Joe Man and I.
We went into some haunted houses, ate lunch at a picnic area, visited a petting zoo thingy and Joe got to feed some goats. I think he really enjoyed that. =)
We also go to see the pig races! It was so funny, and very, very corny. But the cutest part was some kids not too far away. They were about 5 or 6 years old and there was a kissing booth right next to the stands. Before the race started, they took turns in the booth.lol And then they all started dancing. It was adorable because they were so little! =D

We got this amazing kettle corn! A huge bag so we have almost all of it left over.... Even Mom liked it.
Lol... at the beginning of the trip we passed a thing that said something about Bones...it was dead pirates but it reminded me of a story.
I looked everywhere for postcards but they didn't have any. The first shop we went into had only two different ones at that was at the beginning, so I figured I'd shop around a little... never found any. So my apologies, but if you ever get the opportunity to go, take it! It's a lot of fun! =D
Well I gotta scoot.

Babysitting

Today I got to babysit the Allen kids down the street. I started sitting for them when there were just two kids. Then Mrs. Allen got pregnant and Isaiah is now 8 months! I only sat for them one time since he was born and I must say, he's much bigger than he was then.lol It was fun though.... I got to play with him a lot.
I think his favorite part was swinging out back. He smiles all the time. =D It's so cute! But, like all babies he's a drooler. I also had to change him because he peed all over his clothes... fun fun.
I jumped on the trampoline with Frankie and Madelyn. I think they got a kick out of it. They're not as little as they used to be though... =( Frankie talked a lot before but he didn't talk nearly as well as he does now. And Madelyn... she's a regular little mother to Isaiah and a great helper. Unfortunately she and Frankie remind me of Sharon and Joe in the fact that they pick on each other as much as possible.
Of course I got a kick out of watching a bunch of Hannah Montana!lol
It was long, but it was fun and I had a good time. Those kids are getting so old and I haven't even know them for very long!
I get to spend a lot of time with them. I sit with them Sat. from 7 to 10 or 11 a.m. and then for the next six weeks I'm there from 2:30 to 6:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. But I'll still be at AWANA. =)