Mom said I should blog about the Dream Center. The first time I went into the sanctuary I said to Allister, "I don't think they dreamed big enough." I was right: the Sunday morning service is packed out. People are getting saved and getting to know the Lord. It is wonderful. I haven't been given a job, so I just show up early and pray about the service in the sanctuary.

Tonight is life group again. Hopefully someone will show up this week.

I started stripping my cabinets and I hope that it doesn't take me too long because eventually I need to pick up school again. I figure I should strip now while when I open the windows COOL air blows through. I can home school in AC during the summer. ;)

More of what's going on at our house:

(I know how much Wendy likes bullets.)

• Jenny, the boys broke the boards with their bare feet. I couldn't get your comment to post.
• I sang, played guitar, and read a story at Bible study this morning. It is the largest crowd I have ever played for and I have never done it all alone. I was so nervous.
• Allister finally has a few days off without having to study. I'm stoked. I feel like I haven't seen him in forever. He wants to take the boys to Amarillo on Tuesday for a concert.
• Our pastor called me this week and asked if Allister and I would pray about being one of the "core" people who minister at the Dream Center. I told him that I already had that in my heart. I hope the associate pastor wasn't mistaken when he told me that the services would be bilingual. I will be so disappointed if they are completely in English. I really hope we have some Spanish songs. Soy una mexicana en mi corazon. Services start there on Sunday morning.
• Tomorrow we are having a big meeting at our home school group. I am very excited about where God is taking us with this group. We are making some really neat changes. I love this group so much and am feeling extremely grateful to be a part.
• Jenny, your plaid couch has a new home. God brought it to our attention someone who had no furniture at all could really use it. We gave them a vacuum cleaner, too. We had two because M found a perfectly good one by the dumpster.
• Saturday, the Dream Center is having a huge Grand Opening. Hopefully this rain will quit so that we aren't partying in the mud! I am grateful for the rain, though. I like it when there are flowers in my garden and grass in my lawn.
• Sunday we start our life group, but I already mentioned that. I'm still wondering who will show up and what Allister's plans are. Maybe we can talk about that tonight.

For Aunt Jenny

What's going on at my house:

• The new windows are installed. They look great. I'm looking forward to lower energy bills! Now, we've got to get those blinds back up.
• Z and Iz are both riding bikes without training wheels. I should post pictures. Every time I get the camera hooked up to the computer, I get frustrated. I know it's simple. I just manage to mess it up.
• We are starting a life group next Sunday at 6pm. Allister's focus is worship and healing. He's been inviting people from work, school and coffee shops. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
• We had a plumbing issue just before the window people were supposed to show up and I spent the better part of one day sucking up water from the carpet with the steam vac. I ended up with a very sore shoulder. I still need to go back and use cleaner on it now that it's dry, but I hesitate because my shoulder is starting to feel better today and I don't want to messed that up. On the other hand, the hall is full of stuff that's supposed to be in the closet and E's room is in disarray.
• The Dream Center is opening next week. I have more to say about that, but I will save it for later.
• The big boys took their yellow belt tests for Tae Kwon Do. Both of them broke the board on the first try. I felt proud because not all of the kids were able to do that. (Breaking the board is just part of the test.)
• The big boys are taking an art class in April at LCU.
• Z got her recital costume. It's jade. I love that color.

Feeling Proud

I knit a dress for Z! It's not perfect, but it's wearable. I couldn't find a free pattern for the yarn I had and the size I needed, so I used a simple one and pretty much completely changed it because it was for heavier yarn and a smaller child. The bottom looks smaller than the top, but the bottom is stretchy. I would do the belt loops differently, too. Anyway. . . it was fun and Z loves it. :) I like the way the yarn made the pattern on the dress. It was given to me from my friend, Enid. Z loves it! Thank you, Enid! I have a bunch left. . .socks anyone?

On another note, I really hope it stops raining and snowing and it warms up, so that we don't have to cancel our BBQ tomorrow! It's Spring Break in Texas for goodness' sakes!

Two Blogs in One Night

The Best Soup Ever. . . because you are dying to know.

leftover grilled (outside) chicken
leftover spinach (frozen)
the rest of the cream cheese (2/3 block)
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 can of Italian diced tomatoes
2 chicken bullion cubes
water

(I didn't measure anything and Allister used some kind of wonderful clearance "rub" on the chicken when he grilled it).

I put that stuff in the crock pot before I took the kids to dance and Tae Kwon Do and I came home to the most delicious soup I've ever tasted.

Honest Scrap Award

I don't understand what the Honest Scrap Award really is. I'm not passing it on because my friends quit blogging and my family was already tagged.

10 True Things about Me (that you may not know)
. . . and I'm trying to keep it positive. . it's a lot easier for me to confess my faults, so this will be a challenge.

1. I have a lot of interests, but nothing that I'm just really passionate about (other than pursuing God. . .and probably still not passionate enough).
2. I'm good at almost everything I try, but not outstanding at anything.
3. I taught myself to play clarinet a little when E was a baby and read all the Janette Oke books. He was an "easy" baby. . . unlike M, whom the nursery named, "the screamer."
4. I read (past tense) so many parenting and home schooling books that I'm confused about what or who is right because they all say something different. Sometimes I wished I hadn't.
5. I took a year and a half of college French. I don't remember a lick of it, but I do remember it was VERY easy to learn with my Spanish experience. (They are both latin based languages, so there are a lot of similarities.) I almost minored in French, but the upper level Spanish and French classes were offered at the same time, so I changed it to Communications instead (majored in Spanish).
6. I didn't care much about grades until college. I had a 3.9 GPA when I graduated.
7. I was very close to getting a license to minister in the Foursquare church. I was almost done with all the work (I had to read a few books and answer questions--I don't remember what all I had to do, but I was really close to finishing) when I got engaged to Allister and left the Foursquare church to attend church with him (which happened to be the charismatic church I went to with my parents from age 10-17).
8. The most fascinating book I've ever read, not including the Bible, was My Life with Bonnie and Clyde. That even sounds absurd to me, but it's true. I don't really read that much, other than what we do for home school and Bible study. Occasionally I will get curious about a certain topic and research it on the internet.
9. For every positive thing I am writing, I'm thinking of 5 negative ones.
10. I accidentally made the best soup EVER for dinner tonight!

What's happened since the last blog:

• Wendy came to visit with her children. It was fun, but we sure did get worn out!
• Allister and I chose a window company: Window World. They were much cheaper and basically had the same type of window: double pane, low-e, argon gas, double hung. . .a bunch of features. They guarantee to save 35% on utilities for one year.
• I went on a mom's retreat with my home school group to Ruidoso. It was my birthday. They made a cookie cake, gave me a card and sang to me. :) One of Allister's nurse friends said she saw me there, but didn't say hi because she was in a car.
• I ordered Year 5 of My Father's World and we got started on that today. It looks good! The Bible for the year is A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God. I'm believing God for spiritual growth in my kids this year.
• I changed up their schedule a little so that now we have "study hall" from 8am-9am for M and E. That gives them some time to get some independent work done before the little kids get up. If they will continue to use it properly, we should see some improvements in school. So far, it's helping a lot.
• Allister and I are starting a lifegroup next month.