"Post" Busy Season ...

The big financial report and all those tax returns were successfully mailed for March 1 ~ yippee!

I just added a note to my calendar NOT to schedule anything the first two weeks of March 2007 ~ why? Because I've totally overextended myself for the first two weeks of March 2006 and it's been rough :( Well it's been great (at moments) and rough (at moments) and I'm not one who enjoys that kind of rollar-coaster ride!! Since the year-end filing was completed, we've:

Had a really fun dinner party for our youth pastor & his family and the executive director and her family. These families are so neat and special. I choose some really healthy and fun recipes from Creme de Colorado (brie with apricots, pine nut salad, lemoned carrots, and pine nut salad) and also made chile con queso for the big triple later tortilla chip server that Aunt Cris gave to me a dozen years ago that we love so well. It was a great night. Z brought refreshments and Amy brought cake and scotch-a-roos. Fabulous!

The next night we had a dinner party for the great cafe team that cooks on Sunday nights at church. We barbecued brats and chicken and our guests brought side dishes. We played spoons and scum and wore crazy jester hats. We laughed, we didn't cry, we had a great time.

The next day, Dave and I took the lead on the meat preparation and shopping for Grace Cafe ~ preparing 15 pounds of ground beef and 13 pounds of chicken for Taco Bar then meeting with our good buddies for decorations and the other preparations. Deana brought her most awesome homemade salsa, Hanna & Ingrid baked at least 300 cookies, and we had all the other stuff to go along. Waa-laa, dinner for 125. We laughed, we didn't cry, we had a great time.

Did I mention that the morning before these three big nights I had a big implant screw put into my jaw for my back molar replacement and five stitches to go along? No laughing, just crying, and a day filled with my dear friend Deana, an awesome smoothie, and lots of movies.

On the 1st and 8th, we prepared for the youth group lessons at our home ~ we're continuing working on SHAPE and the 1st we did A=Abilities and the 8th we did H=Heart. The A was a lot more work to prepare as I took numerous abilities inventories to see what would work for a good lesson. The H was easier relative to preparation as Hanna led the group in a great discussion for each person to share about their heart and passion ~ and encouraging them that God gave them this unique heartbeat for their happiness and service to others. It was so cool seeing the great diversity of heart our students have! It's so fun loving on them this way.

On the 7th I hosted our neighborhood women's bible study and spent many hours preparing a special lesson on loving our kids for their uniqueness. I used materials from Pastor Warren's Purpose Driven Life and Dr. Boyd's Different Children, Different Needs. In working with Amy on 1 Liquid House, I've come to share her belief that in our community we tend to do worse in loving our kids in the unique way God designed them than do many other people because we've "made it" and we're "successful" and we project our expectations on our kids to be like us and do what we have done. As a result, we are seeing skyrocketing rates of drinking, drugs, sexual activity, and self-mutilation. It was really neat sharing concepts with these other mothers to help them love their kids better. I wish I had understood them earlier in my journey through parenthood!

Amy had a big meeting with the Board of Directors this week so in the past couple of weeks, I've spent many hours working on her business plan for building the multi-million dollar teen center by Park Meadows. Once the Board has seen it and added their enhancments, then Amy can use it to approach mega-donors for funding the project. She's so excited. And the plan is looking very sweet! This morning, I am going to breakfast with Amy and the Chairman of her Board (a pastor from Seattle who is in town) at a neat little place in Castle Rock. Can't wait!

On the work front, there is so much that gets pushed aside during busy season that the catch-up and wrap-up is intense ~ stacks, projects, man! My to-do list is longer than it has ever been.

And it's just the 10th right? So, take all of that, add in family, house, and a little sleep and you know why I posted my March 2007 calendar to schedule nothing :~)

Tonight we are going to the Sound of Music at Rock Canyon High as Ingrid from our youth group is performing, Hanna from our youth group is on the tech team, and my dear friend Karen's daughter Kristina has the lead role (aka Julie Andrews :~) I've held that little girl since the day she was born! Tomorrow's calendar includes swim in the the morning followed by my Board Meeting for China Partner and the play Aida at Highlands Ranch High at which Jamie from our youth group is on the tech team. And I'm in the midst of preparing to teach 130 ladies next Wednesday morning.

Okay, now can someone tell me which way is up?