He Passed!!!

Scott had his appointment to take the U.S. Citizenship test and passed! He has been officially recommended for naturalization. We're still waiting for the letter with the date for the swearing in ceremony. The girls and I met Scott for lunch after his appointment (which lasted all of about 12 minutes). This is pretty much what we'll look for the 4th of July - up in Canada too. We'll be back in a couple of weeks. Until then...

I've been fixin' to...

I realize it's been quite some time since I've given you an update. So without further delay, here's a snippit of our lives for the last month.

Paws in The City

We attended a charity event this past weekend to benefit the stray animal population in the Dallas area. No really... we did (stop snickering!). It's a project the Clarks have been involved with for several years now and they were a sponsor of this year's celebrity studded event. (Ok, I was shocked Scott wanted to go too). Another couple that went with us and have been to our house several times was surprised to learn that we even owned a dog!
Anyway, I wish I had been brave enough to take more pictures. You would have been amazed at the sights! Forget about the dogs, this was all about the people watching. If you were into football players and soap opera stars I would dazzle you with some of the names that attended, but quite frankly I really don't give a hoot about celebs and was content just gaping wide eyed at all the plastic surgery that adorned the masses. One lady sitting at our table literally could not blink or smile for all the botox she must have had done recently. The folks in the line-up of the above pic just completed entertaining us with a Dancing with the Stars performance.
Our generous friends Mari and Steve. I hope they invite me next year...

Mercy House - Revisited

Here are some new pics of Mercy House in downtown Dallas where our life group serves once a month. The last time I posted about Mercy House I was a little timid about taking photos, but I was assured this go around that it was quite alright to do so (I still felt a little awkward though). The fancy new artwork was done by some high school students who volunteer nearly every weekend. This is actually a house that Kevin (seen on left) and his wife Karen rent solely for the purpose of reaching the homeless in the area on the weekends. The building is basically a wreck that the owner is waiting to sell to some enterprising developer. Everything else nearby has already been raised.Dan the man delivering the morning devotion. This is where everyone eats. There are 3 tables set up that can squeeze in about 20 people. They have 2 to 3 shifts to get everyone fed. The kitchen is in the back and has room enough for 2 maybe 3 people if you don't move around.

The meal we served.
Our own Ricky Glenn telling it like it is.
This pic looks like it's well intended, but this guy actually has some major OCD issues and had to make sure all the pages of his Bible were in order before he would join the rest of the group. He could probably make some major $$ organizing closets for a living.

Sister Adams at the piano. She has some amazing talent, but can't read music at all. If you can sing it, she can play it - southern gospel style. It's always a joy to be here.

Last Day of School

The Valls hosted a School's Out Party on the last day of school for the kids in the neighborhood. There are 4 kids missing in the above picture from our end of the cul-de-sac. Later in the day the party swelled to about 25 kids as more families joined in. I set up a sno cone station with a variety of fruit juice toppings to choose from. It was a big hit on this hot day as we used up everybody's supply of ice.

What a great way to start summer vacation!

Good Bye Gifts

We made aprons as parting gifts for the girl's teachers. Each girl picked out an apron and added their handiwork. Gracie sewed a pocket and placed it just so on her teacher's apron. Elie sewed the entire waistband on hers and did a fantastic job with all the straight lines and Ashley sewed a pocket onto her apron and made sure the placement was perfect. They were all excited to present these to their teachers with the added pride of having been involved with the process. It was also a great way to kick start the sewing lessons I have planned for them this summer (when we can fit it in). The girls also included a recipe card with each apron. They came up with all the attributes and measurements. Too cute!

Recipe for a Great Teacher

Ingredients
3 cups Encouragement
2 cups Knowledge
1 cup Caring
½ cup Good Communication
2 tbsp Respect
½ tsp Flexibility
1bunch Humor
A dash of Silliness
Add a whole lot of Patience

Directions
Simmer all the above in a classroom of eager students and the results are a memorable first year with a teacher I’ll never forget.

Thank you for adding all the right ingredients to help me become who I am today.