Best weekend ever!  This weekend we went to Christeens.  It was amazing of course.  We stayed with some super nice people and now we have new friends.  New friends with an adorable 13 month baby boy named Enoch.  Seriously, so cute.  So I already knew that Christeens was going to be awesome, it always is.  Then I found out that Patrick Mead was going to be speaking…for those of you who may not know….I HEART Patrick Mead.  A LOT.  So this was setting up to be one of the best trips ever.  (Last weekend we had a date mixup, and got to have an impromptu lock-in with the kids last weekend, which was excellent.  AND we still got to come this weekend and experience the rally. )  I got all my homework done four hours before it was due.  My best friend was with me.  We got to talk in the car the whole way there.  Got lost in R-ville.  Figured out what we were doing and made it just in time to get to sing the last few songs of praise to God with 1000 teenagers.  Its my favorite sound in the world.  Saturday morning I woke up in a house with five of my favorite girls, and our day began.  We sang, listened to Patrick, watched Pirates come alive, took a journey with a Biggest Loser, ate at Stoby’s, and learned about a God who loves us for who we are, unconditionally.  During the second class, our group of girls met up in the hall and while we were trying to decide which class to descend upon, an idea struck me and I got really excited. ( Do you ever just get super-excited?  Well it happened to me.)  One of our sevvies and I had planned a class for our group to do the night before and we didn’t get to do it because we were in different houses and such.  SO we looked at each other and it was like, “YEAH!  AWESOME IDEA!”  So we scoped out a vacant stairwell and listened as the youngest among us taught us from God’s word.  Her thoughts were so heartfelt.  She did a great job and I am so proud of her.  Looking at our younger group, I am very excited for the days to come.  They are already demonstrating such leadership!  I will be so sad when our “big kids” graduate, but they are leaving me and Alex in good hands.  haha.  So that was amazing.  Then we got back together with the whole group and got to see Theatron perform.  It was pretty weird to watch because the brother of one of our old friends is IN Theatron and it just doesn’t seem possible.  Anyway.  They were great.  The whole trip was.  SO, we got back late Saturday night and crashed.  Sunday was crazy, as all Sundays are.  Lunch with three families from church then home to change and meet Hal for a Sonic run and a quick trip before a meeting at 4.  Which was great too, by the way.  So after the meeting was church, and after church we had a devo at the Ashberrys house.  All three kids were there and Jackson lead us in songs and prayer.  He is three.  Really?  I love that kid.  Callie was singing too!  She is like a parrot!  She does everything her big brother does.  So after devo we came home and crashed.  What a weekend!  Thank you God!

Random Childhood Story:

Over Christmas break 1999, my youth group went snow skiing for New Years.  Me, Daddy, and Rusty were going and Mom was going to stay home.  Well for those of you who don’t know, Rusty has a dog named Dusty.  She is a yellow lab and I love her.  Anyway, 2 days before we are supposed to leave she has 11 puppies.  It was so cool.  Right there in the garage.  Amazing.  Soooo, what Mom thought was going to be a nice quiet weekend turned into taking care of Dusty and the 11 new babies.  Mom and Dad said we had to give the puppies away, but I could keep one.  All of the 11 were black labs, and they all looked alike, except for the runt.  He was a little smaller and only had 3 paws.  He had a little stub leg and I fell in love.  I named him Pokey.