Craziness

What another crazy Sunday morning. At least at this point, I've come to expect it and don't get upset or too stressed when things don't go as planned. I was so proud of myself... last night I had everything ready to go, just needed to grab it and go. I even made a list of things that needed to be done in the morning (as far as set-ups go) so that I would have something to cross off and say at the end... 'I'm totally ready.' But obviously... things didn't go as planned and I found myself running around to find people, make copies... and though it wasn't too big of deal (things always have a working themselves out) I did miss the smile on Mike's face when he walked into Sunday School and realized we were celebrating his birthday. But I'm lucky enough to see his beautiful smile any day of the week so I guess I can't complain too much.

So yeah... Mike turns the big 29 tomorrow and we felt it was only right to let him know how much we all appreciate him and his ministry. Hannah made a delicious cake, David and I brought some snacks, and we played some get to know you games. The kids even went together to get him an iTunes gift card to go with last years gift. I know he'll be going nuts over trying to decide which songs to download. We wanted him to know how special he is to all of us and that he is making an impact on all of our lives whether we realize it or not. Ministry is hard because we often don't see immediate (or sometimes we never) see the results because teenagers don't tend to even notice or understand the influence or impact that someone has on their lives until they are much older. (Just ask Mel and Sue from my youthgroup days) And sometimes as an outsider, I can see things that Mike can't and I just really wanted him to know his ministry is appreciated.

Mike was invited to watch some golf so Hannah, Becky and I had dumplings at my favourite restaurant. This sounds awful but I was blessed to have a very peaceful meal because my dear sweety, Isabella, wasn't feeling the greatest and slept through the meal. Turns out she had a fever and slept most of the afternoon (yet another blessing because I joined her). I'm not sure if it's the molars coming in or what but I gave her some meds and after her nap she did have a bit more energy. I decided to wait and see how she is doing in the morning before taking her to the Dr's. They seem to just load her up on meds everytime we go and sometimes it just drives me bonkers.

Another little treat we received today.... Pastor Ed and Sharon were blessed by a family in the church offering to supply them with a full Thanksgiving meal and so they invited us to join them. How lucky are we to have 2 meals? It's a really neat story of how God works and I'm really looking forward to the fellowship.

Our children's Christmas Program is in the works and I'm so excited about it. It includes some drama and singing and today I had the opportunity to work with the actors. Let me just tell you... I had a blast and really enjoyed the chance to get to know these children a bit better. I feel I will have a better idea on how to organize Children's Church once I understand the children better so I'm blessed to be able to be a part of this Christmas Program. I managed to convince 3 boys to act and my Angels all knew their lines. Next week we really focus on the drama and I'm really looking forward to watching the children shine as they share the story of Christ's birth.

REWIND:
I never fully shared about my week while Mike was in the states so I'm briefly going to write about our Costume Party. I am so glad that it worked out. Everyone that I expected was able to come... Adelina and Kayla, Mousumi and Saytaki, Lisa an Sophia, and Isabella and I. It was the first time that all of us got together and the first time I was able to meet Lisa. We hit it off easily and were blessed to have Adelina's helper (Artelina... too funny that they rhyme) watch the children so we could chat. Lisa is from the states and moved to HK about the same time as us so it was fun to talk about what we've learned by moving here, what we miss, how to adjust, etc... We all talked about getting together again, taking the children to the big library, so I guess I need to get working on the organization again. Seems like I'll be the co-ordinator of this stuff which is totally fine for me. Just gotta do something before Adelina returns to Canada for Christmas.

The children loved all the candy they got and it was so cute to see them all dressed up in costumes. Izzy was a puppy, Saytaki was Spiderman, Kayla was a cat and Sophia an angel. Unfortunately, Sophia (who is just a few months older than Izzy) slept through the party but I've been told she's just as active as Isabella so I must get those two girls together to play.

Well... it's late and we have a fun day planned for tomorrow. Decorating the tree and dinner at our Malayasian restaurant plus a special dessert treat for Mike. :)

Hope your Sunday is as special as ours was!