We just had our final KidStuf of the 2007-2008 season last Sunday.? We had a really good crowd–a record number of children!? We have found it to be a great thing for us to do–difficult, but great.? One of the best things besides partnering with parents is the amount of volunteers who help with KidStuf.? It has quickly become our largest volunteer ministry.
Here is the video I put together of the first season . . . enjoy!
As I wrote in my last post, Taylor turned 7 on Wednesday.? Taylor has a little brother named Tucker.? To say he is all boy, and in that terrible two stage would be an understatement!? He is awesome, but he is just willing to do absolutely ANYTHING and doesn’t care about the consequences!? Taylor would have never done some of the things that Tucker does on a regular basis.
Yesterday, Jenny and Tucker came by the church to drop off some things and say “hi” to me.? As Jenny was talking with Kris for like 30 seconds tops, Tucker had grabbed a Sharpie off of the welcome table and began to mark all over his arm.? Jenny asked him what he was thinking and he said he wanted “to be like the basketball players!”? How awesome is that??? Our kid wants to be a baller in every sense of the word!!
FYI, Sharpie takes a long time to get off of your skin.? Two baths and you can still see the “ink” on his arms.
Any good stories about your kids or you and mayhem??
Our “little boy” is SEVEN!! Wow, where has the time gone? Taylor was born 7 years ago, April 16th (Tax Day that year) and the day after Easter. What a whirlwind of activity that afternoon and evening! He was breech and our doc tried to do an external aversion (externally manipulate the baby) on Friday and were excited to see him, but he didn’t cooperate. Jenny actually went to school to teach at Clever on Monday. I went out to Clever to get something from her and she said she was having some “back pain.” Her friend Gayle started timing the “back pains” and then told me in the hall that “we are probably having a baby soon.”
Jenny called the doctors office and they wanted her to head immediately to the hospital. She called me before she left school on a land line because she didn’t have any more cell phone battery!! And then drove HERSELF into the hospital! My dad got in her vehicle to take it back to Ozark and it would barely start–she was driving on fumes!! God was really watching over her! Good times. Our lives will never be the same without him.
Happy Birthday Taylor boy!!
Mom, here are some pictures of the cake(s). The basketball was the original cake and the small baseball was leftover batter that I decided to decorate as well. He has his own brand of sporting equipment–Taylor Boy, est. 2001.
I have never done this before, but I called in to a local sports talk show and got some free tickets to the Missouri State Baseball game versus #8 Mizzou tonight. It was a good game for the first few innings, but turned ugly quickly late in the game. Bears pitchers just couldn’t throw strikes and the pitches thrown for strikes didn’t have any movement and got beat around quite a bit. Actually, one home run still hasn’t come down yet, I think! It began to rain about half-way through the game, so after the Bears went down 8-3, we headed to the van. It’s a good thing we left when we did as it started pouring on the drive home and they delayed (and probably shortened) the game.
A former student in my youth ministry at Hopedale was there tonight at the game as a “Diamond Gal,” MSU’s baseball cheerleaders. Man, I am old. She gave Taylor a little baseball and had him come up and make “Bear Faces” on the TV camera in between innings.
I think Taylor had a good time. It was good to have some “big boy and daddy time” as Tucker stayed home with mommy. That is a huge sacrifice for mom, and we are grateful!! Surprisingly, we got out of there without spending a dime on concessions or souvenirs! Wow, I don’t know how that happened.
Jenny and I just got back from Arnold, MO and a retreat for young pastors and their wives.? The pastor at FBC-Arnold, Kenny Qualls and the Pastor of Outreach, Bob Caldwell really have a heart for young leaders.? Boy, did they show that heart over the last two days!!
First off, they fed us wonderful food the entire time.? Their volunteers were awesome to go above and beyond to serve everyone.? Second, they spent a TON of cash on us over the two days!!? They gave each of the wives a $100 gift card to the mall that they could use on one condition–that they HAD to spend the entire amount on THEMSELVES!? That was a HUGE blessing for Jenny as we have been working on our budget–or better yet, it is working on us!? Then they gave away gift bags to the ladies as well as the guys.? I personally think that the ladies got the better end of that bargain.? Ladies got Bath & Body Works bags and guys got a bunch of books–I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love books, but seriously, how about the gift card to Bass Pro??? I mean, the girls got to go to the mall and we got stuck back at the church getting beat up about what sorry husbands pastor are to their wives!? Just kidding . . . about the gift card, not how sorry we are–’cause we can sometimes (a lot of times) get our priorities out of whack.? They just kept giving and giving and giving.? I hope we can “grow up” to be that kind of place that cares for people like that!
It was really great to get away if even for just over 24 hours away.? We got to meet some new friends and fellow pastors.? It is one of those things that you don’t notice how tired, frustrated, worn out, unrealistic your view of the world, stressed out . . . you are until you go away for even just a brief time of R & R.? Isn’t it funny that we seem to take out the stress of life out on the people we love because we think they can handle it?? They can, for a while, but then it begins to break them down bit by bit.
Again, I am really thankful to the folks at FBC-Arnold who really care about pastors and especially their wives.? Bob Caldwell says that he thinks the pastor’s wife is the toughest, loneliest job on the planet–even much worse than the pastor.? I would have to agree!? I love you Jenny!? I hope you had a wonderful time away!
Have you hugged your pastor’s wife lately?? Make sure you do.? We have pastor appreciate month in October, but there isn’t a month set aside to honor the pastor’s wife.? Maybe that is because we should be doing it the whole year long?
The “Stone Boys” (Taylor, Tucker, and daddy) went to the second half of the Bears game last night vs. Drake!! What an exciting win and redemptive for a very difficult season for Barry Hinson and the Bears. But the cloud of Barry Hinson’s firing is still hanging around.
That joy did not last long as I heard this news of my friend’s firing as girls basketball coach at Nixa. Read more
Both the girls and boys won their district tonight! The girls won their game going away while the boys squeaked one out in the last few seconds to win their game.
It was packed . . . so much that we stood the whole game behind the student section, so Taylor had a hard time seeing and I held Tucker the whole game (boy are my arms tired!) Tucker actually slept most of the second half. Went by the old “band hall” and showed the boys my old locker. It is really funny to see what we looked like in ’91 in all of the trophy cabinets.
The Ozark boys started the game down 11-0 and trailed 34-20 at the half. They never led the game until the final two minutes of the game. They kept on hanging around and capitalized on two consecutive missed front ends of one and one by Kickapoo. Then Ozark made their free throws down the stretch and won 60-57. One of the best high school games we’ve seen! Unbelievable!!
As you can tell, I didn’t have the heart to root against Taylor and his Tigers. I couldn’t do that to him. Plus, I don’t know any of the Kickapoo kids, but know several of the Ozark kids. Actually, we were rooting hard for Seth Arnold who was one of the “coaches” at Taylor’s summer basketball camp. Seth’s dad is a fellow pastor and church planter, so that made it even easier to root for the Tigers. Blood really is thicker than water, isn’t it?? It really is fun to go to games with the boys–especially with Taylor as he really understands the game and watches every detail–especially the announcers.
They move on to SBU in Bolivar on Wednesday. Way to go Tigers!
So you may or may not know that I graduated a LONG time ago in ’91 from Kickapoo High School–“The Home of the Chiefs.” My good friend Sarah (Green) Jones graduated together. Her dad is no other than Roy Green, Kickapoo’s head basketball coach. I have a feeling that I may see Sarah tonight at the District game tonight that I am taking the boys to enjoy some great basketball. . .
But I have this problem . . . and it is not that I don’t want to go back to my alma mater, or to see some old friends, or definitely not to watch high school basketball, which I love.
I have this problem . . . Taylor Quinn is all about rooting hard for his teams . . . and I think Kickapoo is one those teams because his dad went to school there.
I still have this problem . . .
Well, the third straight day of being cooped up in the ol’ house lends itself to a little mayhem and craziness–and today was no different. Got a call late this morning from Jenny that Taylor and Tucker were jumping on the bed. . .
We have had a couple of crazy weather winters this year and last!? At first, this current “ice storm” wasn’t looking too bad here in Ozark.? It started with sleet, but now the rains have started and the ice is really starting to pile up as I type.? The thunder is really booming.? Tucker thinks that the thunder is a “truck outside.”? “Listen Mommy. . . truck outside!”? We told him that it wasn’t a truck but thunder and lightening.? Now he thinks it is “Lightening McQueen!”? We’ll see how long we can handle this year’s storm.? Hopefully it will melt quicker than last years storm.? My, what a difference a year makes . . . especially for Tucker.? A one year old and 5 year old is a whole lot different than a “terrible two” year old and a 6 (almost 7) year old.? They pretty much like to get into stuff they shouldn’t get into together, then fight about it until one of us comes and breaks up the fight!? Good times.? Could someone please get me a sedative?