Andy left this morning for the Teen Missions Trip to Richmond, VA. It's neat for the teens of our neighborhood to go to a mission field and minister to other people as they themselves have been ministered to. Though it is hard for all of us - a week is a long time! - the benefits of this trip to the teens is amazing! Pray for unity and strength among the almost 20 teens and 8 adults this week.
So, while we are missing Daddy, we are continuing to plug away at school. Obviously, Matt and Sarah had other things on their minds. Matt moved as slow as molasses, finishing his schooling at 8:00 pm. Sarah enjoys her free time and plugged away at all her tasks. She is so funny. If you know Sarah she is as energetic and talkative as they come - but when it comes to school work, she loves workbooks and checking off all her assignments. I totally did not expect that when it came time to teaching her! I thought I would have to be all movement and motion, but she has really surprised me in her learning style. The one thing she hates is math, specifically math facts. If you have any great ideas on how to make this more fun, I would love to hear from you!
My friend Carisa and her boys came over for dinner tonight and are planning to through Thursday. Her husband is also on the trip. If I have people I can cook for, then I don't mind doing it. If it is just the kids and I - I HATE IT! Sarah and Paxton had a great time playing together as did Daniel and Kyler. Daniel loves Kyler and before they came this evening was yelling at the top of his lungs "KY! KY!" I hope they develop a good friendship as the years go by.
This past weekend we enjoyed a trip out to Lancaster, PA to join in the Schultz Family reunion. All of Andy's dad's (John) siblings and their families get together at least once a year. It was great to see everyone (about 40 in all), but the neat thing this year was hearing for the first time John's parent's voices. Martha (John's sister) had a tape of Wilbur and Carrie Schultz singing and talking. I had never heard their voices as they had both passed away when I met Andy. It was also funny because they spoke mostly in PA Dutch. John can still speak Dutch and used to tease Sarah with it - it would drive her crazy as a two year old! We'll have to see what Daniel does with it! I so love Andy's family. They are a great bunch of faithful believers and a lot of fun to be around.
Well, I am off to finish planning school. I am trying to plan through the end of September. With most of our vacation falling in September I know time will be short. I hope then to fall asleep so as to be well rested for the kids. Andy usually takes care of breakfast, which is such a blessing! I usually need the morning to get mentally prepared for my kids. Pray for me!
We had over 50 kids attend the party this year. Each kid was given a Christian t-shirt. Matt was thrilled to finally get a "grown-up" t-shirt! Andy did a nice job picking the color and decal. 
Each kid was also able to choose a gift - and there were tons to choose from. Usually the boys pick out something sports related and the girls pick out something crafty. There were some really neat ideas in gifts this year, like girls purses filled with girly things (lip gloss, notepad, hair things, etc.). The girls swiped them up right quick! It was a lot of fun to see the excitement of the kids as they took their gifts away. 
As they left the stage (that's where we put the gifts) they then received a hat and gloves, and new school supplies. All in all, it was well organized, the preteens handled themselves well and we all had a good time. Thanks to all who donated toys, hats/ gloves, school supplies or financially. You really brightened the kids lives with your generosity.
