CBC 100th Anniversary

This year marks 100 years that Calvary Bible Church has been incorporated as a Church. We celebrated this weekend with a CBC Homecoming that included event after event for people to enjoy.

It all started on Friday night with a Welcome gathering and a hymn sing. The dining hall of the Church was decked out with pictures and stories relating to the history of the church as well as things to display what is happening in the Church today. There was a yummy spread of food to enjoy before heading upstairs for a hymn sing...something our church usually only does once or twice each year. Immediately following the Hymn Sing was an ice cream social. As always...another nice yummy treat! The event was very well attended and enjoyed by everyone who was there.

We all woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to head to the Community Center for a big breakfast prepared for us by a group of men from our Church. Again, it was a nice time to enjoy fellowship with others during this celebration weekend...and to fuel ourselves for the Church softball game that was to follow!

We then headed to the park to have a nice little game of softball...while the kids played games with Karen.



It all start out just fine and the game was moving along when first base strikes again. One of our elders, Mark, was headed to first base after a nice hit and managed to step on the base wrong and literally broke his ankle. It was horrible. I saw Mark rolling on the ground...and everyone else instantly said "Its broken" because it was very clear by what his ankle looked like. Mark confirmed this statement. For a split second we all looked at each other and someone actually said outloud "what do we do". The funny thing is that Mark pipes in (while mangled in a heap of pain on the ground)...."how about call 911". Duh. So yeah..Cindy calls 911 while trying to hold herself together (which she did quite well) and the rest of the people who could stomach being close to him and his ankle held a blanket over his head and put something cold on his head.



After some prayer while waiting for the ambulance to arrive Mark was feeling a tad bit better...at least not feeling like he was going to throw up and pass out...and he was acting like his normal self with laughter and jokes and was in great spirits while leaving with the ambulance.



At the hospital it wasn't as much fun with having to x-ray and set his foot..and then of course having to sit in the hospital until Monday waiting for surgery in which they had to put in a plate and a few screws to get it all back together. I believe he is on his way home today but will not be able to walk at all for at least six weeks. We were praying for him last night after our worship team practice..that he would still be able to make it to family camp...because it certainly wouldn't be the same without Mark and Cinny!!

Whats a 100th Anniversary Celebration without a little drama anyway??

We obviously ended the game after the broken ankle and headed home to try to eat lunch..although, after the scene of Marks ankle I honestly wasn't entirely hungry. We quickly got ready to head to Hesky Park to set up equipment and sound to have a concert there. There were lots of specials and One Voice numbers and our worship band played a few songs down there too. It was an interesting experience being the first time that we've played together outside...which is very different sound wise. Jessalyn sang a solo..with Shara accompanying her on the keyboard.



I'm not sleeping...I just can't open my eyes because the sun was SO bright.



Aaron and Lacy..



Shara and Jessalyn..



Jessalyn (and Vanessa) dancing..



After that concert we headed to the Church for some pizza...and then went straight to bringing all the sound equipment that we just set up and took down from Hesky up to the elementary school where we set it all up again in preparation for our Sunday morning service that we were holding there (because of space issues). There were many people who traveled into town for this homecoming weekend and we wouldn't have been able to seat everyone in our church for one service. Another late night of set up..and an early morning to prepare for the service.

Many more specials and things celebrating the history of our Church...more of our worship band to lead and the kids did a few songs. This was Ethan's stage debut. He was so cute:) He usually refuses any suggestion of him being involved on stage but for some reason this time he was cool with it and admitted having a good time.

Shara and Josh singing "Arise and be Comforted" with Aaron on accustic..and me on the djembe.











Then immediately following the service we headed back to the Church for an awesome BBQ and of course much more relaxation and fellowship. We stayed there till the very end and then came straight home with a nap on the couches on our minds. A nice two hour nap was very much enjoyed!!!

We now look forward to this weekend camping at Mechanic Falls in Maine with all (most) of our friends..and getting to lead worship again at the Oxford Church on Sunday!

...then school starts!!!

Making a deal with the tooth fairy

Lately, Jessalyn has been a tooth loss machine. I suppose this is typical for an almost 8 year old...but it seems that every time we turn around she is working on another one.

After waking up to find tooth number 7 replaced with some cash, Jessalyn came into my room demanding that she know the truth about the tooth fairy. I hesitated for only a moment..being sure that she really wanted to know (having a good feeling that she knew already)...and then proceeded to tell her that I was the tooth fairy (or sometimes Daddy...or even Shara when I didn't happen to have any cash on me)...and she was quite satisfied with my answer. It didn't bother her a bit to know that the tooth fairy wasn't really real.

This past Friday Jessalyn had a very loose tooth, just barely hanging on. She was very concerned because every time she smiled it would stick out and she would have to stick it back into a normal position. This was particularly bothersome to her this day because she had to perform with One Voice that weekend and she really really wanted the tooth out before that.

I am not terribly fond of pulling teeth. It gives me the heeby-jeebies...but I was willing to help her this time (maybe because I didn't want her to be a snaggle tooth during One Voice either). I went ahead and pulled her tooth out for her.

Later on that day while we were folding laundry I was asking her what we were going to do about the tooth..since she knew that I was the tooth fairy. I asked if she was going to expect me to fork over a dollar bill.

Her prompt reply was this:

"No. Since you pulled it, you only need to give me 50 cents."

She's a thinker.

Mastering untensils.

Owen now insists on using utensils for every meal. He is not happy to just be fed using a utensil..he must feed himself this way. Its quite entertaining for him actually. Here he is using his newfound skill while eating some much desired mac-n-cheese...









With Ethan off to school in just a couple of weeks I am hoping to see more of this type of thing occuring...



I think having Ethan in school is going to create more of a bond between Luke and Owen.

Funny. This is a really random post from me. The three "big kids" are sleeping over at my moms tonight..so I'm home with Owen finding a lot of time on my hands! Its crazy that I can 'get rid' of three kids...and STILL have one at home!

Summer. Where did it go???2q

Seriously. Where did the time go?? It feels like Jessalyn just barely got out of school and we are getting ready to go school shopping again! I know I have said it many times in my blog but this summer has been a complete whirlwind...of fun stuff. I know my blog entries have been a bit tedious lately..basically a "we did this.." or "we did that.." type of post with tons of pictures. I promise that I will get back to telling more interesting stories as I have more time to sit at the computer and formulate my thoughts.

In the meantime...just more of the same...

Last Friday was our final Pulpit in my Kitchen gathering. We spent a beautiful morning at the beach with our families and had a lovely picnic.











I left there just in time to bring Ethan (along with all the other kids) to the docs for his 5 year (a little late) check up. He needed two shots and did considerably well handling that. He was pretty nervous but he did well. He has pretty much stayed consistent topping the charts at a whopping 15% for weight and never more than 25% for height his entire life. Never a concern...he has stayed consistent and thats what matters. At this appt. he was 12% for weight and he jumped to 50% in height! The doc said that he is still fine..just long and lean. I was excited. I mean, he's definitely still not tall for his age but I'm just glad to see this growth spurt with him! He thought it was kind of cool too.

Right after that appt. we headed home to pick up Josh and Jake to head to Maine to work on the cottage at Mc. Falls. We stayed at Heath and Karole-Ann's house on Friday night and then went straight to the campground in the morning. The men worked..while we hung out at the pool with the kids. It was tons of fun! On Friday night we brought all the kids to see The Clone Wars. They loved it. Its awesome that our kids are getting older and are able to really enjoy each other. Daniel, Andrew, Ethan and Luke loved it! Sam and Owen did well..but obviously weren't into the movie quite as much. Jessalyn tolerated it..but she's not really into Star Wars.

On Saturday I had so much fun swimming with Jessalyn. Cindy, Sarah, Melody, Melissa and Mark came for the day to hang out as well. It was a mini family camp that got us all excited about Labor Day weekend when we get to do it again with everybody! Jessalyn is now swimming in the deep end and working on diving. She had many belly/face flops but she kept going. She is doing really well and it is really fun to be able to swim with her!





I don't think she was trying to dive in this one..









Luke headed back to the van to get himself dressed after swimming. I was a bit too late with the camera because moments before this he was standing there reaching into the van completely naked. All you could see was his pasty white tushy sticking out of the van door. It was cute...



The cottage is all jacked up and safe thanks to many hands who helped with this work! It was a beautiful day for working and literally as they were packing up tools the skies started looking like this...



We all made it to our cars just as the rain started. (Well...actually, I shouldn't say "all" because I hear that there was one person who didn't quite make it to the car before getting soaked..and before realizing that her husband packed their suitcases in someone else's van...we won't mention any names:) )

This is what the cottage looks like now. Unfortunately I don't have before pictures so these might not do it justice to people who aren't familiar. This is 100% better!!!





We headed home Saturday night...led worship in Church on Sunday morning then headed to the park to play some beach volleyball with friends. The kids had fun playing with Mark and Cindy at the park. I need to bring the camera to our next volleyball game.

Monday night was our last softball game of the season. I am glad for the season to be over...its very fun, but by the time the end of August rolls around I am ready to have those two nights a week to do other things (or maybe to do nothing?).

We are preparing for and looking forward to this weekend when we have our homecoming weekend at church to celebrate our 100th anniversary! We have a weekend packed full of services and events...and the so far the weather is looking great!

So lately it seems that my blog has been nothing but pictures...and lots of them! Its crazy because since the beginning of August (11 days ago) I have taken 421 pictures! We still have many more 'events' to take place before August is over so there will most likely be many more pictures to share.

I do have some silly stories tell but those take a bit more time for me to formulate into writing and I have just been too busy!

This past weekend was Joel and Michelle's wedding! After a week straight of rain and having to have the rehearsal inside our prayers were answered and the wedding day turned out to be BEAUTIFUL! The wedding went off without a hitch and was a great day. We enjoyed a few days of visiting with family that we don't see all that often. Josh's two brothers and their families were here and we all had a wonderful time catching up and getting to know each others children better. It was the first time that all of the cousins were in one place at the same time! Of course this led to eleventy billion pictures and as usual I am having a hard time deciding which ones to share..because I want to share them all!

I am now realizing that these have been uploaded in a somewhat radom order.. and I don't really feel like fixing it all.

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Brown and their parents..



The Brown/Story clan...
(Joel, Josh, Mark, Micah, Shara, Kirsten)





The brothers...all married now!


Cousins love silly pictures.


Joanna, Tim and Luke


Great Nana and Grampa Bill....SO photogenic!


Josh and Ethan


The brothers...Josh, Micah, Mark


Melissa and sad flower girl.


The vows.


Granny's homemade hat as she watches...


The kiss:)


Mr. and Mrs. Brown!


Ethan walking out...


Joel and Papa watching Michelle.
(Papa..married Josh and I too!)


Ethan walking down the aisle.





Happy Joel!


Cute Ethan....the candles WERE lit..this is proof!


Cousins at the rehearsal..
Back row: Tim (6), Lydia (6), Jessalyn (7), Moriah (8)
Front row: Ethan (5), Joanna (4), Luke (3), Owen (1)


Tim and Ethan


Tim, Ethan and Luke


Timothy and Joanna


A walk to get ice cream with the whole fam.


We stopped to look at the waterfall.


Almost the entire family...minus Joel of course who is on his honeymoon!


Micah, Tim and Joanna


Jessalyn, Lydia and Moriah


Luke, Ethan and Tim.


Great Nana's birthday party.


Jessalyn and Lydia doing a duet.


Lydia pretending to sing..


Pretty girls!
(Lydia, Jessalyn and Moriah)


On Sunday we did go to find a Webkin for Ethan since he did a GREAT job...they were closed:( He can't wait for Tuesday so we can go Webkin shopping. He was really good about it.