Catchin’ Up With The Sterks
Feels good to sit down and write a little update! I looked at my last post and it said “a little of this, a little of that;” well, that is a good description of what this post is going to be – a hodge podge!
First of all, thank you for all of the prayers as I had my little sternum mishap! I still laugh about it because all I was doing was reaching (kind of far) under the sink and that is what caused a week of pain. I finished up my last prescription last night, and to say the least, I am thrilled! I am excited to not feel all the side effects and not have to worry whether I will feel good or not. Yesterday and today have been AMAZING days – praise God for that! On Sunday we had the old folks dinner and I definitely overdid it that day! I was hurtin’ and I wasn’t feelin’ good Sunday night, but all is well! So thanks again for the prayers! And we hope that this never happens again!
As I mentioned earlier, we had the old folks dinner at noon on Sunday at church. It was absolutely AMAZING! It truly is one of our most favorite events because there is so much to be said about mixing the generations. Dan was a giving a little introduction at the beginning of the dinner and just thanking them all for coming. As we looked out, we could see our kids sitting amongst the older generation and it just melts our hearts. Dan said he almost started to cry as he was explaining how it was those who were of the older generation who invested in him, that led him back to the church. He desired to come back during college because of the care the older folks showed him. We are so passionate about the influence that those older than us can have on others. Wisdom does come with age and we pray our kids see that as well. As I was washing dishes after the dinner, I could just hear the laughter upstairs. I stopped and JUST LISTENED. I was smiling ear to ear – I even started let out a little giggle. I just thanked God right then and there for the work He was doing in our kids’ lives and in the lives of the adults. It is such a blessed event and we are blessed to have been a part of it. Everything went so smooth (at least from the kitchen perspective). Most of all, we praise God for such a wonderful event – where generations came together around one table. Can’t wait til next year!
After the dinner and cleanup, it was mid afternoon, and in a hour we had kids coming over for a “hang out” Roots night. We decided to not have a normal Roots night because of the hecticness of the day, but honestly, we LOVE hang out nights. We believe fellowship is one of the most healthy things you can do for your ministry – especially youth ministry. Fellowship/relationship building is at the HEART of youth ministry. You never know what conversations you can have with someone by just sitting around and eating snacks – you end up talking about everything under the sun! We just LOVE those kids so much!
On Tuesday, we headed up to my parents for the day. I was looking so forward to it because we had been so busy and we were excited to just get away and relax for a day. Dan wanted to go hunting since it was November 15! We stepped out of our vehicle at my parents and right there in the field were 3 deer. No joke. He didn’t have enough time to grab his gun before they ran away, but we found that rather hilarious! Dan didn’t end up getting one (even though he saw a few more from a long distance), but it was a great day to get out there! My mom and I went Christmas shopping and I have to say, I am CRANKING out my lists! I have just a few more people to get gifts for! I love to shop early because I enjoy spreading it out. And of course I brought up Ticket to Ride and me, Dan, and my mom played a few rounds 🙂 – it’s a tradition now! Everytime I go up, Ticket to Ride comes with me! At night we celebrated my niece Emma’s 1st Birthday! I cannot believe she is ONE already! She brings so much joy to us through her smile and her personality! You can’t help but just melt over her teethy grin! She is so gorgeous! The whole reason we came up was for her bday party, but we decided to just make a day out of it. It was such a good day!
Dan is getting all geared up to go to deer camp next week! Can’t believe that time has come already too! And of course we are looking forward to spending time with family next week as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Ah, such a wonderful time of year! Dan and I have so much to be thankful for! God has and continues to do some incredible things in our life – He continues to show us His grace and showers us with blessings in ways we never imagined. We are truly blessed and truly have so much to be thankful for!
Until next time…
