New Life with the Youth Group

Last month I went with Jake's youth group from Anderson First UMC to New Life International in Underwood, IN. This has become an annual trip, and something I always look forward to. This year was extra exciting because we helped with the assembly of a new controller that will make the whole system more automated, and also easier to provide clean water to larger groups of people.  Lucky for us, we had its creator, Dave, with us! :) It was amazing to see how technical the inner workings of the controller were (assembling them is definitely not my forte), but even more amazing to see how God cleared a path for Dave to come to New Life International. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Of course it's always fun to visit with all of my New Life friends for a weekend as well. I came back inspired and thankful. As usual, such a great weekend!

Renaissance Festival 2013

We made our annual trip to the Ohio Renaissance Festival with Jake's youth group on Saturday. Luckily, we had a break in the rain just long enough to enjoy all it had to offer. 

I hung out with the Nordic Power Rangers...

 ...and Thor

 I found some writing utensils...

 ...and made a new friend.

 We stopped to smell the (iron) roses...

...and generally did some amazing people watching. Great day!

Touring Hanover College

When one of Jake's youth, Marissa, said she was interested in Hanover College, we jumped at the chance to show off our Alma Mater. We made the two hour drive from Morristown down to Hanover to tour the campus and visit historic Madison. It brought back so many memories (and funny stories)  as we went from building to building. Looking back, I can't believe I spent my freshman year in that small, unair-conditioned room in Donner. Such a special place for me (and Jake). We really enjoyed the day with Marissa, too!

Lansing and Holland, MI

Jake and I took a little road trip to Michigan this past week. We were headed to Holland to attend a middle school youth conference Jake is looking in to, but we left a day early to meet up with our friends of Mike Mains and the Branches in Lansing as well. Usually our visits with them consist of a few minutes after a concert, so to just hang out and talking with them for an evening made the entire trip worth it. So blessed to have the time with them!

After shopping (and eating) in Holland, we visited with our friends Corey and Sarah who live near downtown. We love Holland so much! I mean, they have a windmill. Enough said.

We even snuck in a visit with some of Michigan's newest residents at their new apartment in Benton Harbor, MI. Can't wait to go back and explore this area more with James and Ben!

We really made the most of our short time in Michigan. We were so lucky that we had the chance to visit with so many friends in between our travels back and forth. Until next time, Michigan!

Renaissance Festival

I hung out with a pretty cool youth group last weekend during their first trip to the Renaissance Festival in Mason, OH. 

We celebrated its opening bright and early.

I admired knit-bombed trees.

We had a royal welcoming from Queen Elizabeth.

We witnessed quite a joust.

We showed how loving our marriage is.

I even made a new Nordic friend!

Overall, great day!

Youth Cookout

Jake had his annual youth cookout at our place on Sunday. Since we live an hour away, it was great having all of them in our neck of the woods for an afternoon. We grilled out, played board games, sang the Canadian national anthem (yep), and even braved the heat outside for a bit. Such a fun afternoon with some of my favorite teenagers and their families!