I Hope Everyone is Having a Great Summer!

Hi everybody. You all have been on my mind lately; especially after I had happy birthday notes from Stacey and Christina on facebook yesterday and an email from Tim earlier this week. It was so great hearing from you! I figured maybe I'd let everyone know what's been going on with me this summer and hopefully hear what all of you have been up to. At the end of June I went to Creation (http://www.creationfest.com/ne/). I was there for five days and worked crazy hours but did get to see some of my favorite musicians at night including my very favorite Chris Tomlin!

My brother and sister-in-law asked me to be godmother to my youngest nephew and of course I jumped at the opportunity so I headed to their house Sunday July 27th only to get a phone call when I got there to learn my office at church had been broken into and about $200 of our Relay for Life money had been stolen. A couple of people at church made donations to replace the stolen money but it was an upsetting experience. After the baptism was over I headed home since the Vacation Bible School we had put together started that night. We had a great time with the kids that week. We gave them some items to collect for some mission projects and a challange to bring in a certain amount and if they met the challenge they would be able to "slime" me and the Pastor. Needless to say, they met their challange and our last evening together those sweet kids I had spent the week with were circled around me chanting, "Slime her" at the top of their lungs. It was incredibly gross but they enjoyed it. I've been planning several more activities for them in the near future. They managed to bring back some memories earlier this summer when I had the younger youth group in to spend the night at church and heard them playing truth or dare when they thought I was sleeping. I was transported back in time and was suddenly 12 again and spending the summer in WV...

My next "major event" is Relay for Life (to raise money for the American Cancer Society to fight cancer). Our Relay weekend is September 5-6th and quickly approaching. I've had a Relay team for several years now but this year it has taken on a more special meaning since the woman I called my second mom passed away from cancer this past December.

I think that covers most of the highlights for me this summer - I hope all of you had a wonderful summer. I'd love to hear all about it.

Tonya