You know it's a bad day on the job when...

...you can't even spell the word "STOP" right!


All of the roads at Northland have been either seal-coated or repaved over these last couple of weeks. This project was a huge answer to prayer for God's provision for the funds that were needed. Last night the work crew was out till 9:00 finishing the restriping and other painting that needed to be done. And this morning, lo and behold, the word "stop" on the way out of campus through the main entrance had been misspelled! I asked one of the guys to go up there and take a picture for me...it makes me crack up every time I see it!

Hi Christa!

I got a kick out of this...

Do you ever see an old toy or TV show that just sends you into a series of flashbacks until you suddenly snap back into reality and realize that you've been standing there smiling to yourself like an idiot? That happened to me the other day when I was at Walmart looking at the shoe-aisle and found a pair of high-heeled jelly shoes! I remember when jelly shoes were a summer-time must-have for me and my sisters! Of course, I tried them on; but no, I didn't buy them! ;)

Crazy Fads from the 1980's

Jelly Shoes
If you were a little girl that grew up in the 80's, then chances are you owned a pair of jelly shoes. These were flexible bright-colored shoes that you could wear without socks. A very popular fad during this decade.

Strawberry Shortcake
A popular 80's cartoon character. Every little girl that grew up in the 80's not only owned the doll, but also had either a Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox or blanket or even clothing with this character imprinted on it.

Care Bears
Colorful, adorable, furry friends with a caring mission. These cute bears taught us how to care. Every bear came with a bright colored tummy picture that told who they were and what their special area of caring was. Care Bears became "America's Teddy Bear" with over 40 Million Care Bears toys sold between 1983 and 1987 alone.

PSYCHE!!
This word was used very often during the 80's. It was used as another way to tell someone you were just kidding or pulling their leg about something. For example:

Larry: Hey Bob, who did you buy that ice cream for?
Bob: I bought it for you.
Larry: Really??
Bob: PSYCHE!! ...I bought it for me!

Big Hair with lots of Hairspray
Big hair was definitely in and so was Aqua Net hairspray to keep the hair up all day. In the early 80s, the New Romantic fashion styles kicked off the decade with great hair experimentation. For a while there seemed to be a competition to see who could build the tallest hair, have the strangest angles, or how much plastic, metal and mousse you could fit into your hair and still keep your head upright. Many accessories were available to assist with this process, such as teasing your hair and sticking it up with mousse. Some mousse even contained glitter or other sparkle pieces to give your hair 'extra interest and individuality'. And don't forget that you needed a matching headband or large bow to match every outfit!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
A hit cartoon about a bunch of hip turtles who loved eating pizza and could also fight well. People bought lots of related dolls, stickers, lunchboxes, etc.

My Little Pony
Colorful toy ponies marketed to young girls, and produced by Hasbro. The toys were first introduced in 1982, following the related "My Pretty Pony" toy which was introduced in 1981. They became enormously popular throughout that decade. They were plastic ponies with brushable manes and tails, generally bright-colored and often had multi-colored manes and tails. They had specific symbols on their hips that allow them to be identified. "My Little Pony" was one of the most popular collectible toys of the 1980s.

Tetherball
A tetherball is similar to a volleyball and is tied to a ten-foot, vertical pole by a slender rope. Two players, who each get half of the area surrounding the pole, try to hit the tetherball ball repeatedly in one direction so that the rope wraps completely around the pole.

Hacky-Sack
Coordinated enough to kick a beanbag but too wimpy to be a jock? Hacky-Sack was your sport. The world record holder for consecutive "kicks," kicked the sack 63,326 in eight hours, fifty minutes and forty two seconds on June 14, 1997. Get a life!

Koosh Balls
During the 1988 Christmas season, the Koosh ball was the hottest toy on the shelves. The Koosh ball was a rubber ball filled with a jelly-like plasma and its outside consisted of hundreds of rubber spikes making it look like a soft and flexible porcupine that did not hurt to hold or squeeze. When someone squeezed the object, the plasma caused it to squirm around in his hand while the spikes provided something to grip in one's hand.

Smurfs
Blue elflike creatures, dwelling happily in the forest. Creatures with names like Jokey, Greedy, and Brainy Smurf. The went through adventures, sought advice from Papa Smurf and found themselves captivated by the perky Smurfette, the only female in the clan. During Smurf Mania, they out sold Star Wars, Garfield, Snoopy, Annie and Mickey Mouse.

Cabbage Patch Dolls
Cabbage Patch Dolls were the doll craze of the 80s, and one of THE fads of the decade. I still have mine....do you? ;)

Slap Bracelets
A flexible metal with a colorful cloth over it. You would smack these on your wrist and it would wrap around it.

Neon
Pretty self explanatory. Socks, shirts, hair accessories, bracelets, shoe laces, store signs etc.

Hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane! :) Hopefully these items brought back as many funny but happy memories as they did for me!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Two years ago, Jason and Julia tied the knot in a lovely evening service held in a beautiful church in Garland, TX. I am amazed at how quickly the time has flown since then! That day was absolutely gorgeous in every way, and we all had a great time celebrating with Jason and Julia and family and friends. Unfortunately, I don't have any of their wedding pictures on this computer, but Julia and Jason really made a beautiful couple. God has been so good to my family and I am so thankful for the special blessing that Julia has been to us!

JaJu, I'm so happy for you guys and I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating your anniversary!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today was Mom's birthday. I really wish we were there to celebrate with her, but it sounds like Julie and Jessie did a good job of making her feel special today. Mom is my hero, my inspiration, and my very best girlfriend in the whole world! We have spent countless nights sitting up talking and laughing and crying together. She is the most amazing person I know. When God took Dad home, Mom continued to be the godly sweet woman she had always been. She struggled, of course, but she truly let God take her life and mold it into a wonderful testimony of His grace that truly speaks volumes to everyone who knows her. Mom, I know you don't think that you are anyone special and that you hate it when we brag on you. But I just want to say that I love you with all my heart and I think you are the most beautiful person that I know. Happy Birthday!

A Weekend with My Sisters

Julie and Jessica arrived last Thursday afternoon around 4pm. I was so excited to see them!!! They went with Jordan and me to VBS that night and they were so great about jumping right in and getting involved with the kids. They were a big help! :) On Friday, I took the day off of work (YAY!!), so we girls slept in till 9 and enjoyed a relaxing morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Daily Grind for a ‘sister date’ :) and then we went down to Jordan’s barbershop so Julie could trim my hair. She cut some bangs and more layers for me, too. (Thank you, Julie!) Jessica went to VBS with us again that night and Julie went up to camp to hang out with some of her old friends. Afterwards, Jess and I watched movies and went on a scary walk with Jordan in the dark. (AHHH!!!) ;) On Saturday, Jordan went golfing with Woody, and we girls went to the ever-exciting Green Bay mall!!! There are few things that are as much fun as shopping with your sisters. No one knows like your sisters do exactly what stores you want to go to, what styles you like, what colors you look best in, when to laugh, and when to be serious, and how to be so lovingly honest and frank about everything from friends and boys, to clothes and hairstyles. Thanks for the fun afternoon, girls! When we got home, we watched more movies (I was a little starved for chick flicks!) and tried to get to bed at a decent time so we could be up and ready for church in the morning. After church we went to Pizza Hut. It was so good! We had races to see who could do all the puzzles on the back of their placemats first, and Jessica was by far the fastest one. I guess all those weeks in the hospital last year are paying off. :D heehee! The girls left on Monday morning a little after 10. I really enjoyed every moment of having them here. I wish they weren’t so far away so that we could do things like that more often. I’m so thankful for the relationship that we all share and for the closeness of our friendship. God has been so good to our family by keeping us close even through all the trials that have come and I want to praise Him for that.

In a couple more weeks, Julie will be heading back to Maranatha to begin another year of college. Until then, she will be at home putting in as many hours as she can at work. Please pray for her as she has some big decisions to make about where she will work during the school year. Also pray for her as she will be a PC at school again this year, which requires a lot of wisdom and patience!

Jessica is working at her old job at the assisted living complex this summer. She loves working there, and the residents adore her! :) She still has an entire month at home before she will be heading back up here to Northland for her sophomore year of college. We are so thankful for how God has healed her in this past year. Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for her!! Her most recent tests showed that things are going very well for her. Please continue to pray for her that there would not be any flare-ups of the Crohn’s disease.

Love you girls! Come back again soon! :)

VBS

We had a wonderful week of VBS last week. Our theme was Noah's Ark. Pastor Markham and co. made most of the decorations and all the cute little animals. Brent Belford made the big Noah's Ark that we had sitting outside the church. It was very sturdy...it survived a few big storms as well as a run-in with the church sign (hee,hee!). VBS was held Monday-Friday from 6-8pm. Jordan and I had so much fun getting involved and helping where we could. It made for a crazy week, though! We would hurry home from work at 5 and then rush off to church as soon as possible and get back home around 9. It was definitely worth the busy-ness, though! We were able to meet several new people from Norway who brought their kids to VBS. The kids all had a great time, but were also able to hear the plan of salvation presented very clearly every night. Most of them also memorized the "Gospel Hand" as well as many verses! There were 57 total kids who came, and we averaged in the 40's every night. 24 of the kids were from our church, 7 were staff kids from Northland, and 26 were from the neighborhood. Praise the Lord for the seeds that were planted in these little hearts!