A New Adventure...

Well, "The Ruston Bennys" are going to have to come up with a new blogpage name...we'll be leaving Ruston, LA in June. We're pretty certain that we'll be moving back up north to Anderson, IN (as long as some final details fall into place). Benny will be returning to school to obtain a physical education/health teaching certification as well as assistant coaching the soccer team at Anderson University. He really has a passion for coaching high school soccer and after much prayer and thought, we've decided that being in the school setting will provide the best opportunity for him to grow and develop a program. (And, may I say, he's A PHENOMINAL coach...he knows the game SO well, and he does such an incredible job investing in the lives of the guys.) While Benny's in school, I'll continue working as a Labor and Delivery/Postpartum/Nursery nurse...hopefully as a "travel" nurse or contract nurse in the communities and cities close to Anderson.

We sure would appreciate your prayers as the final details of moving our lives to Indiana are finalized!


Last week, we drove up to Indiana so that Benny could meet with some of the Education folks/look at apartments. Here are some pics from the long drive:




Benny expressing how we really feel about long car rides. :)

Baptism

A couple of weeks ago, our church held a baptism service. One of my small group girls, Brienna, was baptized! She's a sophomore in high school, and we were able to start hanging out when she as in 8th grade. Last winter, she became a Christian, and decided to be baptized. These are some pictures of her special day!


Brienna and me.


Brienna with one of our pastors, Skin. (James Skinner).


My friend Ellie's daughter, Aubrey. I love her curly hair!! (It reminds me of yours, Liz!)

The Amazing Race

Back in January, we did "The Amazing Race" with our kids. We combined a few ideas of events we'd seen/heard of before...Basically, the kids were divided into teams and had a list of places/things to take pictures of around town. At different times, a pig or a duck would show up at the different locations, and if the kids could chase and tag the character and get them in their picture, they got extra points. It ended up being a really fun and hilarious evening!





My team, posing like the "Lady of the Mist" fountain on Louisiana Tech's campus.





One of the boy teams, obviously after having captured the pig.




Another boy team, with "an elderly couple."



Emily, Allison, me and Katelyn, with "a dog and a cat." (We sure are creative, aren't we?}

Emily, Katelyn, Allison, and Sarah with "the camel of Ruston." Notice the way they creatively spelled out "C-A-M-E-L" with their hands. (Our team got second place)

Christmas Time

Merry Christmas! Here are some fun holiday pictures:


This is a pretty accurate one of Benny and I...just kidding. We like to dress a little tacky for our Christmas party with our kids. Our leaders get really into it too...

This one's a little more normal... :)

In front of our new (since the end of May) house. Yes, those are GREEN leaves and GREEN grass...Louisiana doesn't quite have the whole "four season" thing down.

Jill and Dupree's Wedding

My great Friend, Jill Tanana, got married last weekend in Detroit. She was absolutely beautiful, and the entire weekend was spectacular. The rehearsal dinner was in the Clubhouse at the Detroit Tiger's Stadium (thanks to her dad, Frank Tanana...he played a little MLB a few years ago), and the wedding/reception was in the Henry Ford Estate. I had a wonderful time catching up with good friends from the Kanakuk Institute, and was blessed to be a part of the weekend. Congrats Jill and Dupree!

Lee, Kim, Ryan, Dupree, Jill, Jason, Cari, and me at the reception.


Me, Laura, Jill, Stacey, and Cari at the rehearsal dinner.


"The Front Row Four." (Cari, me, Jill and Kim)

Dupree serenading Jill at the reception.

Me and Kim!

Go Bearcats!

For those who don't know, Benny is the Varsity coach of the Ruston High soccer team. His season started a few weeks ago, and so far they're 7-1. Benny absolutely loves coaching, and he is VERY good at it!

A very blurry picture of their first game...I think they won this one 8-0.


Benny with the JV coach, Christian.

The studentLIFE Room

Benny and I have always known that our leaders are phenomenal, but this weekend they REALLY amazed us. For the past year and a half, the walls of the room where we meet with our kids have been beige and barren. Five of our leaders, on their own initiative, spent the weekend laboring to improving the aesthetic appearance of the room. Here are a few pictures of their works in progress and finished products.


Lainie, working on her tree.



James, sitting in front of the really cool "flourishes."


Seth, touching up a few places.


Christian created this one...it symbolizes that the
church is where we grow and secure our deep
roots in Christ.

Christian's work again... Another depiction of the church

on the right, and that we are called not to just stay

there, but to build bridges to our communities in order to

bring the Good News to those around us.


Charis, Sarah, Mary, and Aaliyah enjoying

the new room.