Update on our life

I thought I would give you all an update on what's going on with us before August comes to an end!

About the last month and a half, Chris and I have been helping remodel the new church building that our church will be moving into this week!  We've moved some walls and doors, built a new wall, have done a LOT of painting, and are putting in some new flooring.  We had a dedication service last night and it is really all coming together!  There has been a dedicated team of people getting this work done - it has been challenging but rewarding at the same time.  I've been acting as the project manager for the work and it's been challenging to make sure all of the tasks get done when they need to be so the project can keep moving forward.  It's hard to believe that our church will be held there this Sunday.  The inside looks quite different from when we first got it and we hope that the space will be inviting to people coming to LCC :) This has been a long time coming for LCC since they've never had a space to call their own before.  But now we'll be able to use the space 24/7!  We're all excited to see how God will work once we make this move.

God has ironic timing in our lives right now.  We'll actually be moving back to Peoria some time in October!  It will definitely be bittersweet for us since we've become very involved in LCC and have made some great friends here.  The move will be better for both of our jobs - Chris will get to move out of a production job which is stressful and into a job that he's really looking forward to in research and development for castings.  I will continue working for Mactec, but there should be move job opportunities for me since I'll be back in town instead of working from home out of town.  (Last week I actually found out about some work that they want me to start on this week!)  The move will definitely be bittersweet for us and we'll miss all the wonderful people that God has brought into our lives since we've been here, but we trust that He has great plans for us in Peoria.

We have known this for a while now, but finally got to go house hunting this past weekend (which was completely exhausting looking at houses for 3 days).  But we found a house (YAYYYY!) and are putting in an offer as I write this.  I will make another post once we find out if the seller will accept our offer.  We're praying for them to accept it - they already have a contingent offer on the house but the other buyer has to sell their house first (which sounds like it may not be easy).  I'll keep you posted!

This past weekend was the Reaching for the Stars Fashion Show.  I've been on the committee that's been planning this event since around Christmas.  It was wonderful for the day to finally be here and for all of our hard work to pay off.  This was the 3rd year for the event and this year it was a new location at the Holiday Inn downtown.  Enjoy the few pictures I was able to take.

At rehearsal on Friday night - Chris was able to borrow JC's cowboy hat to model with!

Pam showing the little kids how to walk the runway.  We had about 10 kids model this year!

Parents and models hanging out.  All of the tablecloths were white when we got there on Friday and they were supposed to be black.  I'm glad they were able to change everything that night!

All of the adult models.  We had about 7 men model for us this year!  (We only had 2 last year.)

Kenlyn looks good even though she was a little stressed, sleep-deprived, and starved!

Little Grace singing during the entertainment on Saturday.  She did awesome for only being 7 years old!

Many of the kids modeling on the runway - they were so cute in their clothes from JCPenney!

Kenlyn's sweet sister

And for the best picture of them all...my sexy husband on the runway with his "cowboy" outfit.  I think I might need to get him a cowboy hat now...Many people said he was a natural on the runway and I would have to agree with them :) Honey, thanks for helping by being a model!

It was a great time.  I wish I would've been able to watch the entire fashion show, but I was helping behind the scenes.  I'm glad we were able to help PEERS which is a great organization.