A cute little helper!

A while back, Erinn and I were working at the Learning Center, cutting letters, laminating posters, etc. And a little helper named Noah was there too! ;)

To keep him busy, I started to teach him to throw away the trash. What an easy job! With only one time showing him to throw the extra paper in the trash, he knew exactly what to do. He would come over to me, do the sign language for "more" (Erinn's taught him soooo much!!!) and I would hand him the trash.

Then he would walk over to the trash can, stretch up as high as he could and throw it in there!! What a super accomplishment for him!! Then he'd come back and sign for "more". Ahhhhh.....he's soooooo sweet!!! I love him to pieces!!! :)

"more!"

Here's the trash; throw it away!

Ok, this was the short trash can--we had two. The other one was taller than he was and with a swinging lid! Which he still managed to reach up and throw the paper inside! Smart little boy!!!

Such a cutie!!! :)

And yes, he loves my sunglasses!

I LOVE my Sunday School kids!!!

You already know I love teaching! I love working with the kids and being involved in their lives. And I love their positive, innocent outlook on life! And I couldn't help but laugh this morning!

I was in the kitchen getting some things for class and Felicity walks in, sees me and says, "Miss Serena....I'm waiting for you!!"

Lol!!! Apparently she'd been in my class room, discovered me missing and went searching to where she knew I would be!

It's time for snow!!!

Yep, in my Sunday School classroom. One of the things I treasure doing in addition to loving teaching, is decorating my classroom for each season or with a Biblical theme. It's fun to find the images I want to use to fit the season, find the Biblical perspective in it and develop a theme to decorate from that.

And sooooo...I went a little bit overboard with winter this time. It's a bit more than I usually do, but I had the snowmen....and I just couldn't resist using them!! They're soooo cute!


I usually don't decorate anything but the bulletin board (photo above) and door, but I needed to take down the prayer chain I had on this wall and it seemed PERFECT for this winter snowing scene. And soon snowflakes will appear in the sky with things we are thankful for each week! :)


And this?? I love! I have to smile every Sunday morning when I walk through this door! It's a reminder to me as well--I'm nothing without Jesus Christ! And do I fall apart without Him? Many times, yes!

November whirlwind weeks!

November has seemed like a flurry of activities! Not only was I in three states (in addition to Kansas!) this month, but there just seemed to be plenty going on!

Week 1 - I made a quick trip to Oklahoma City over two days. My main reason for going was to do some specific wedding shopping, but it also was a fun opportunity to spend a little bit of time with Jena. I have to make those times count--her schedule keeps booked up enough that it's tough to find a couple days that she has free! Jena is training to run the Dallas marathon in December. That Saturday I was there, she was up and running by 5:30 am til about 8:30--16 miles! Glad it's her and not me! I'd never make it!

Week 2 - Kansas City, Missouri! Yep, you guessed it--wedding shopping! Erinn and I spent some time in Kansas City specifically shopping for wedding gowns, which I am soooo, sooooo happy to say I finally found! Yay!! Yay!! Cross that 2000+ mileage search off my list! Believe it or not, I actually was able to find just what I wanted! Hooray! Plus the days spent with Erinn, Noah and some of her family were a treat!

Week 3 - At church we had a Fall Festival meal instead of our annual traditional fellowship meal the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I always love being able to help with that. Saturday and Sunday were busy days getting everything prepared, then serving the meal and then cleanup. But definitely good times!

at Joe & Karen's wedding!

Some friends at church, Joe & Karen--their wedding was the 20th! That is the first of three weddings coming up in the next year in our church (mine being the third!). For some strange reason I look at weddings a little bit differently now than a year ago--can't imagine why! ;) It's fun to see the different ideas in decorations, flowers, tables, programs, etc--anticipating what I'll do in May!

Luke was here the third weekend this month! He was here just as long as he usually is--Saturday night through Monday, but it seemed like a short trip for some reason. Of course, I had lots on my list to discuss and do. That always seems to be the way it is.

We found these invitations that fit Dodge City perfectly
but not quite the theme of my wedding!

Week 4 - Thanksgiving week! This was the first Thanksgiving in two years that we've been home! And a first that just Dad and myself were here. Last year we went to Kentucky to visit Ryan and Krissa and the year before we went to Alabama to visit Krissa who was working there. This year Jena had to work all weekend and since Ryan and Krissa were just home in August, they stayed in Kentucky. So Dad and I spent a nice, quiet day at home and then went to Tim & Erinn's house for dinner. Perfect day!

And then this last weekend in November I'm in Colorado spending several days with Luke and doing more wedding planning/shopping!

What a fun, exciting and busy month!

Sunday School Fall Decorations

Fall is here and Thanksgiving is on it's way! Believe it or not, it's been a while since I've changed my Sunday School classroom decor, but as of a few weeks ago, it has a brand new look! :)

The story of Joseph!

Ok, I admit--I love teaching Kid's Klub every Wednesday! Watching the kid's attentive faces and their reactions each week is something I treasure! There are many stories which are my favorite to teach and one is Joseph! Ahhhh...so many lessons can be learned from his life--jealously, anger, temptation, forgiveness--just to name a few!! We're spending 5 weeks on Joseph--teaching a little bit each week!

One of the kids favorite things to do is act out the story and it's a good way to get their attention. Fun to see their faces as well! :)

For more Kid's Klub photos, check out this album....

Joseph told his brothers and father his dream
of the sun, moon and stars bowing down to him....

.....and his brothers and father did not like what they heard!

Joseph's brothers took his colorful coat....

...and threw him into a deep well!

Then they took his colorful coat and tore it!
(You should have seen the look on the
kid's faces as I actually tore the fabric! ;))

Then the brothers decided to sell Joseph
to traveling merchants headed to Egypt...

So they pulled Joseph out of the well...

....and he was sold as a slave!

I still make mistakes!

Yes, I do and I had a great reminder of that last week.


In Sunday School, I had cut out black construction paper crosses and my craft project was to cover the cross with colorful shapes of paper. As we were gluing on the pieces of paper, I talked about sin and how the black color can remind us of that and that when Jesus died on the cross, he covered up or took away that sin, so therefore--the colored shapes were covering up the "black".

Then Ben informs me that he is not going to cover up all the black on his cross with the colored paper, he is going to leave some of the black showing. Why? His answer, "I still make mistakes."

I had to smile and say, "Yes, we do." Even though at the time of salvation, Jesus washes that sin away, we don't cease to sin and make mistakes. I still need to daily confess my sin, failures and mistakes to my Savior who is willing and waiting to forgive me.

And Ben reminded me of that and what he "saw" in the craft project we were doing. There was no way for each of those colored squares to cover up every single bit of that black cross--just as there is no way I can live a life free of sin. I do things I shouldn't do. I say things that I shouldn't say. I think things that I shouldn't think.

Yes, I still make mistakes.

It was just a sticky situation--really!

Kid's Klub has started once again! It's already been an exciting two weeks! There's always little issues that come up that need to be worked through the first couple of Wednesdays and the very first Wednesday was no different -- yep, a new issue Erinn and I have never faced before!


What was it?! Flimsy little star stickers that would NOT peel of the sheet for the kids to put on their charts!!

Of anything I could ever have imagined having to tackle that first day, it was never those cute little star pokadot stickers! Never! As Erinn and I were discussing how the afternoon went, one of our first comments was, "Those horrible star stickers! Who would have thought we'd be battling stickers?!?!"

So.....when I went to Oklahoma City last week, a school supply store was right next door to one of the bridal gown stores we visited and what did I stop in to find??? Yes, star stickers that peeled off quickly! Ahhhh....much better!

A sticky situation?! Yes, for sure! Who would have guessed?! ;)

That wonderful heat machine that I love...

...called a laminating machine! Yep, I really do love that thing! It makes all my cutouts and posters sturdy, clean, neat and perfect! This week I had a few things to prepare for Kid's Klub (starting next week already!) at the Learning Center and so I dug through my huge stack of posters and cutouts to see what I could laminate while I was there.

I discovered I had a pile. A thick pile. Yes, quite the pile.


Ummm, yes, I know--I have enough fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter, spring, Bible themes and misc. posters and cutouts to use for my Sunday School classroom for a zillion years to come, BUT I just love all of them!!

And yes, I know--I said I wasn't going to buy one more single set of ANYTHING!!! But who can resist these cute little swinging monkeys?

Or this pink elephant?

Or these adorable whales?

I know I couldn't! And so these were a couple of the new sets I needed to laminate before using them over the next few seasons. I really don't mind clipping out the characters and laminating each one--it doesn't take long.

What do I get tired of doing? Cutting out ALL those pieces AFTER their laminated! Anybody want to join me for a cutting party??? I'll supply the scissors; just bring yourself!

Set sail for our High Seas Expedition!

Set sail on the high seas at Grace Community Church! This year I had the privilege of directing Vacation Bible School at church! It was an exciting week and I enjoyed every minute and was thrilled to work with so many wonderful people using the talents and abilities God has given them! All the work over the previous weeks and months paid off--we had a great turnout of 70 different kids over all five nights eager to learn about God's Word!



The worker meals! The skits! The decorations! The music! The rotating Bible lesson room each night! The water games! The creative snacks! The unique crafts! The lists upon lists!

It took everyone working together to create a week that the kids enjoyed and learned so much! Thank you to everyone who put in so much of their talent and time into that week and the weeks before it!

Can you believe that ship and sail?!?!

Bible lesson classroom for a ship at sea! I love this one!!

Bible lesson classroom for a shipwrecked island!

Our treasure chest filled with coins and blankets which the kids bought and tied each night!

My endless check-list! ;)

Our float in the Dodge City Days parade--it was sooo neat!!!

Erinn & I!!!

It was such a treat to spend the week working with Erinn! What would I have done without her???--I just don't know!!!

Here's a sneak peek from the week that Andrew put together and there's more pics from the week here....

What a month it's been!

Yes, it's so true! What a month is has been! July proved to be just as exciting, wonderful, full and exhausting as I expected, but what a great month!! In some ways this month has flown by so fast and in others, it seems like it's lasted forever.

Let's see...it all started when I went to Colorado Spring for the 4th of July weekend to spend with Luke. Then a few days after that I left for the first week of camp. Then the second week of camp. Then a week of VBS at church.

And now? Catching up on everything I didn't get done in the last month! Including blogging. And finally able to start making wedding plans, which I'm extremely excited about!!

Yep, more VBS!

This last week I've had a two track mind - VBS and camp. Camp is this coming week and the next, but VBS is that third week after two week of camp, so I managed to get the majority of stuff taken care of before this weekend. And hopefully I haven't forgotten anything of major importance!

Believe me, I've had stuff all over this house, trying to get two huge events organized and sorted. When I was working on the floor surrounded by paper, boxes, sacks, paperwork and who knows what else, Dad's comment was, "You sure do have lots of stuff!"

Yep, I do. But the majority of VBS is now at the church and camp will soon be out the door! Whew!

See? That's lots! And that's only the first room! ;) Oh, and that little itty bitty stack on top the dresser? That's the beginning of wedding planning! :) Don't worry--that pile will grow! lol!!

Of course, candy!

And fun crafts!

LOTS of notes and lists!

Prizes too!

Remember all that tea-stained treasure map paper?? This is it!

Love the clipart!! I have this weakness for cute clipart images and High Seas definitely has some cute graphics!

One of my favorites - the station signs!! These are so fun!!

These took FOREVER to cut, glue and tape, but they are so adorable--can't wait to use them!!