What a weekend!

Read entire post, Sunday gets crazy!

FRIDAY:

Friday night Brad and I got to babysit our favorite little Q. Matt and Brittney went on a date and so we got to watch Quinn for the evening. He is growing up so fast and has the cutest little personality. He loves to play and laugh and crawl. We fed him his dinner which is so entertaining and then we played and played. We put him in his jammies and got him ready for night time. He was so sweet and just loved to read his books with Uncle Spyda! (Yes, Brad is going have Quinn call him spyda! He currently has his little cousin Addi calling him Ninja Brad!) Here are some pictures of Brad rocking and reading to Quinn! He is going to make such a great daddy one day!

SATURDAY:

Saturday morning Brad and I met our college life group (Agape) at some McKinney apartments that have kids galore! These Kids are all apart of an after school program led by one very special lady with a huge heart. Her name is Ana and she is a resident and a mom at the apartments. She started this after school program and continues to do it everyday from 5-7 during the school year and 4-7 during the summer. Ana does not get paid for this (although she could probably use the money), but she does this because she cares about these kids futures. She helps them with their homework and reading in English and she teaches them the Bible and how to pray. The kids range in ages from 3 to 16 and they show the utmost respect for Ana. When she speaks they listen and watch her as she teaches them. Ana is truly overflowing with the spirit of Jesus and it is completely evident in her day to day routine. She has two daughters that are also fearfully seeking the Lord in everything that they do! Maria Helena and Isabella help their mom everyday after school. They both speak English better than their mom so they are often the ones helping the younger kids with their translations, on top of doing their own school work. The hearts of these three women of faith are just incredible and we are so thankful for them and the work that they do each day! So Agape, as a group decided that we wanted to help minister to these kids and Ana as much as we could. One saturday a month we go to the apartments with snacks, games, crafts, music and of course a Bible Story. We are out there for about 2 1/2 hours just playing and fellowshiping with these kids. We also try to make it out during the week and help them with their homework and just hang out with them. Brad and I count this as a huge blessing! Although we are ministering to them in as many ways as possible, they continually teach us the simplicity of life and the true meaning of love. Here is a slideshow I put together of this past Saturday. Press pause on my music player and then turn up the volume to hear the kids Praise Jesus!

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If you want to help out at the apartments or are inspired by Ana's story let me know and I will tell you some ways they need support! Also, please pray for these kids and their families, for their parents to keep/have jobs and for some of the abusive home life's of these children.




SUNDAY:



Wow! Is all I have to say.... But first I must tell you this story! Last night Brad and I went out with Joy and Seth from our church. Brad is obviously the associate youth minister and Seth is the worship leader, so we were quite the spiritual group. We decided to go to Shogun's, a hibachi grill, here in McKinney. The food is always so good and the chefs that cook in front of you show you all kinds of tricks! It is a very fun experience and we were fully enjoying the evening. As we finished our meal we noticed some comotion in the banquet room. As the wait staff and others were gathering to see what was going on, Joy and I decided to peek our heads in too. There was a small group of people throwing a birthday party, not really paying attention to all the details, Joy notices that the guy in the middle is dressed up as a cop? Then everything starts coming together, as he walked over to his brief case. Joy and I walked back to our table and told the guys that we think there is a stripper in the other room. Laughing in disbelief, the clothes start coming off. Unfortunately we could see this from our table... We thought for sure this was not allowed in a restuarant, I mean I always thought of this as a wholesome little family place. The next thing we know, the stripper is giving lap dances in a small little speedo and the waiters are encouraging Joy and I to join in. We payed our bill as fast as we could and got out of there. I am officially scarred for life! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be sitting next to a worship leader, a youth minister and have a stripper come into view. Somebody pinch me because I am having a horrible nightmare!
Tell me about your worst dinner experience ever... I will post the winner... and then take you out for a real treat!!! Contest begins now and ends when I say it does!