2012 - 3rd Quarter

Our third quarter update includes July, August, and September. Those three months contain a mixture of ministry, family, and fun.

The second week of July was Music Camp at our church. Since J is one of the Music Ministers on our church's staff he was heavily involved. He actually co-wrote the music for the Older Camp with a friend of ours. The Older Camp had a 70's theme so for the final performance we dressed appropriately.

J challenged the children to learn their music and lines and if they did so a day early, he would dye his beard a color of their choosing. They choose purple! I went to Sally Beauty Supply and the clerk helped me find what I needed. She guaranteed me that it was temporary and could easy be washed out. I was hesitant but she was right and his beard is back to it's normal shade of red.

During the first few days of August, J's mom called to see if we wanted a family-built hutch that she no longer wanted. We needed a hutch to hold some dishes as well we like the sentimental value of having things built by family. We told her to put it in storage and we would get it next time we were in town. She saved us a trip and came for a visit bring the hutch and our 16-year old niece. We had lots of fun shopping, visiting, and of course filling the hutch with our dishes.

We made a trip to Virginia over Labor Day Weekend to visit my parents. There was so much packed into those 6 days it deserved a post in itself. You can find it here.

We also had church directory pictures taken during the 3rd quarter. The one on the right is the most current picture and the one on the left is from about 4 years ago. My how times have changed!

Some other things worth mentioning, but no pictures -

• In August, I went on a staff retreat at a nearby lake house for the ministry I work with.
• In September, J went to the same lake house for his church staff retreat.
• We enjoyed watching the Olympics and we were so sad when they were over. 
• I started teaching a new Women's Bible Study called Brave on Wednesday nights. It's been a great self-reflection and I think the other 15+ ladies have enjoyed it too. 
• J has started guitar lessons with his two students again - they both took a break over the summer.
• J's grandmother, Dixye, also passed away. She had battled dementia for several years. We are so thankful she knew Jesus and is now made whole again. As one friend said: "She knows all the words to the songs again." J made a video tribute to her including pictures from throughout her lifetime. He copied the DVD multiple times so that every family member could have a copy. It was a great work!