Melissa had found these adorable paper peony place settings on pinterest. Although I couldn’t get the streamers to gather like they were supposed to when using my sewing machine, I managed to get the right look when sewing them by hand. Most of my peonies were made out of three 3 foot long streamers sewn together. I did a few smaller sizes too.Then I hot glued them as I rolled them in a spiral, put some extra glue on the bottom to maintain their shape, and fluffed them once they were dry. I glued purple yarn to the backs of the yellow peonies so we could tie them to the purple napkins for some happy place settings.For the other decorations, Melissa mentioned she would like to hang something from her porch. I found these yarn globes and thought they might be just the thing. {Yarn seems to be “in” these days in the decorating world—have you noticed that too? Kind of surprising to me.} Anyway, I’m glad they actually turned out! It was a  pretty involved process. This was the look I was going for, and I made them by blowing up balloons of different sizes, covering them with vaseline so the glue wouldn’t stick to them, dipping yarn in mod podge glue, and then wrapping it around the balloons. The balloons hung on my back patio to dry. Most of the balloons shrunk on their own, but I cut a slit in them to remove them completely from the yarn globes. Although the yarn was the same exact brand, the yellow yarn was stronger and held up a lot better than the purple. Also, the smaller globes looked better than the large ones. We managed to disguise most of the imperfections with the paper flowers. I was happy to find a unique decoration!

The brunch was gorgeous on Melissa’s back patio with her pool and the bright sunshine. I think all of us had a great time! We were even sent home with a vase of flowers decorated in burlap, ribbon, and/or yarn {again, inspired by a pinterest find}. Springtime smiles.

Our service schedule has changed since our first year here. The morning worship is now at 10am, then we break for light refreshments and have our Bible study time immediately after that. It works well for our people and our location in a middle school.

Stephen bought a trombone about a year ago and has begun playing in church once again. This month I was able to teach children’s church, and it was encouraging to see the kids listening and learning. CBC has begun a nursery ministry as we now have four babies among our families! Just last year we had three families join our membership, and two other families from the community have been attending. Snowbirds often worship with us in the winter months, and it’s encouraging to have new faces—even if it’s only for a few weeks.

Last summer we held our first mid-week Bible study at a member’s home on Thursday evenings. We watched Paul Tripp’s video series, Getting to the Heart of Parenting. Currently, we are going through The Truth Project on Thursdays.

Youth4Christ continues to meet in our home every other Monday night. The teens have been studying the Answers in Genesis creation series. Our kids and teens are also starting to raise money for their trip to Ironwood Christian Camp this summer.

We’re thankful for our friends at church. They are our “Phoenix family.”

Although Silas still fits in the kitchen sink, he prefers to stand for his bath, so we’ve switched to baths in Mommy and Daddy’s tub.Baby blew kisses to me for the first time this week. This little guy has a tight hold on my heart.

This year’s theme was a race car theme titled “Rev It Up!”

A team of teens and adults from Northwest Valley Baptist came to run the event. Most of them had helped us last year, so they knew what to do, and the week went smoothly.

Silas and I attended on Thursday and Friday. We sat in on the music practices, Bible lessons, crafts, games, snacks, and visits from the puppets.

Every day the children were visited by a “race car mechanic” named Speed Bump. He helped introduce the Bible lesson the children would learn that day.  We thank God that 14 children put their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation during our VBS.

For the final day, the parents were invited to a mini music program where the kids showcased the Bible songs they learned. Each child was given a pencil box filled with school supplies, a gospel tract, a Hot Wheels car, and a Wordless Book bracelet.

We’ve already been able to have some follow-up with two families whose children attended VBS as they came to our worship services on Sunday. Hopefully several other families will visit our church as a result of our Rev It Up Vacation Bible School.

Silas is crawling around on the family room floor exploring the blinds, the magazines, sometimes crawling over to visit me. He’s such a happy baby today—singing, talking to himself, laughing, smiling, napping well, and eating lots. He and I have been getting up quite early this week. The earliest morning was 5am. Ugh! We’ve since tried to make sure his belly is very full before bedtime, but, alas, the little boy loves early morning hours. At least today he waited until around 6:30 before waking me.

Stephen is in the office studying for his coming sermon tomorrow. It’s always a privilege for him to be able to preach at Crossroad. Tomorrow will be his third sermon. I know Stephen’s heart for God, his commitment to being Biblical, and his thoughtfulness in the words he chooses to convey what God has taught him about a particular passage. All those things I treasure.

I would say that the dishwasher is happily humming in the background, but it’s actually roaring. We usually make it a point to run it after we go to bed. It’s impossible to have the dishwasher going and to watch a movie at the same time. It’s certainly a loud machine, but I’m grateful to have it. In my opinion, the best thing about a dishwasher is having a place to store your dirty dishes until it’s time for washing. Of course, it’s nice to have the dishes washed too!

Yesterday the staff of Grand View Camp canvassed for Crossroad’s upcoming Vacation Bible School. The camp staff is in exile here in Phoenix due to the enormous Wallow Fire that has been threatening their rental property in Alpine, AZ, and their new still-in-the-process-of-being-built property near Eager, AZ. The Wallow Fire is the 2nd largest fire in Arizona’s history! Thankfully, both of the camp’s properties have been spared thus far. You can read more of their story here. In spite of this tremendous hardship, the camp staff has chosen to make this time of uncertainty count for eternity by helping several ministries throughout the state. Tomorrow they will be contributing to the ministry at Crossroad Baptist by helping set up and tear down and providing the music for our services. We are encouraged by their example of selflessness!

For those of you readers who live here in the valley, we’d love to have your kids attend our Vacation Bible School on June 20-24. It’s open to all kids 4 years old through 6th grade. Our church website has all the necessary information, and you can register your kids online. Don’t miss our free VBS held in the Verrado Middle School!

I’ve been getting us ready for our trip to Indiana next week. Flying with Baby for the first time is sure to be an adventure! He’s so busy these days. Not sure what we’re going to do to entertain him on the flight. Thankfully we found a good deal on tickets with Southwest Airlines, so no paying for checked bags! We also scored a direct flight which means only one take off and landing for Baby’s ears to handle. We’re looking forward to being back in Hoosier Land and seeing all the Moodys—yes, all of them! Uncle Tim and Grandma included.

We have plans to visit with my family (who will be in Plymouth, IN next week) and to visit a close friend of mine (who also happens to be in Indiana when we’re home). Lots of fun things coming up, so stay tuned!

Yesterday our church gave out a 31-day devotional booklet entitled Gospel Meditations for Women. Each daily reading focuses on applying the gospel to a specific area of your life—relationships, battles against temptation, marriage, worship, mindset towards trials. The topics addressed are refreshingly relevant to women: marriage, singleness, motherhood, fashion, beauty, mentoring… The devotionals have already been edifying.

After church we stopped in the park for some pictures.

It was the highlight of my day to be sitting on the couch and see Stephen walk out with Silas in his arms, each of them holding their cards for me. Stephen had put a pen in Silas’s hand and had him write “Mommy” on the envelope and then “I love you Mommy! (heart) Silas” on the inside. Stephen even put Silas’s hand print in the card.

I loved both cards! They took me out to dinner, and we had a fabulous time, our little trio.

On this Mother’s Day weekend, I’ve been thinking about a story my mom tells. I must have been about 3 years old when this happened. One night, my mom was lying in bed with me, asking me what my favorites were, “What’s your favorite color?” etc. In an attempt to get some flattery for herself, she asked me, “Who’s your favorite mother?” After I thought for a moment, I asked, “Was Aunt Debby ever my mother?”

I do love you, Mom!

Crossroad happily welcomed a new family into its membership. This couple, with their 6 children (including a set of triplets), began attending CBC during the summer of last year. It’s been a joy to see their faithfulness, friendship, and thirst for a knowledge of God. Three of their children placed their faith in Christ this past January, and then two more trusted Christ a few weeks ago after Children’s Church. As I look back over our time at Crossroad, they are the first members we’ve had join since Stephen and I came to Arizona. It’s so encouraging to see concrete steps of growth.

Sunday, we also held a baptismal service in which the Horkavys’ son and the five other children were baptized. I think our church has one of the most beautiful baptismal pools. (Thanks to a family in our church who let us use their outdoor jacuzzi.)

How exciting to see six little ones profess their faith in Christ before a body of believers. I know Pastor Ryan counted it a special privilege to be able to baptize his own son.

With the addition of this family, we now have 8 families in our membership along with 3 other families that are regular attenders. We’ve also enjoyed several first-time visitors and repeat visitors this year. Our typical attendance on Sunday mornings is around 30 people. Thank you to those who regularly pray for the ministry at Crossroad. Please come visit us if you’re ever in Phoenix!