Emily Norman's Wedding and Michigan Trip

Wow! I have utterly failed on the blog posting front. I intend on posting once every week or two, but it gets easier and easier to procrastinate when I know I have a lot to write about! So, I will keep myself to the highlights this time (yeah right!).

On May 5, Kayle and I drove about 2 hours to Puyallup and back to pick up one of my EA2 students for a dodgeball tournament at church. The brother of one of my youth group girls decided a few months ago to arrange a dodgeball tournament to raise money for Haiti. Several of my girls joined a team, and I invited Alan to make or join a team as well. Kayle and I went to cheer and possibly volunteer and certainly NOT play. However, Hannah (another youth group girl) gave us her puppy dog eyes and was trying to get together a team an hour before the amateur bracket started. So I joined...and a few minutes later Kayle became our 6th and final player.


We played a round robin set in which we played every other team (about 10-11 total) and then a double elimination tournament (best 2 out of 3). Long story short: our team won about 3 games total to be the 2nd worst team in the amateur bracket. We still managed to play about 15-20 games! All in all, it was fun...and painful. I got nailed in the face in the final game and both of us were sore all over for about 3-4 days. Really sore! Probably should have stretched out or warmed up beforehand! On a lighter note, Emily and Kira's team (more youth group girls) got 3rd place.





My birthday, May 18th, was lovely. I checked my e-mail right after arriving at work and was surprised to see a wonderful birthday letter from Kayle sitting in my inbox. About 6 or 7 people called me at work, while I was tutoring students (still can't pick up the phone then!). Another 50 people wished me a "Happy Birthday" on Facebook. At work, my co-workers gave me a bouquet of tulips, a card, and a birthday cake to share (very yummy). In the evening, our community group did a potluck of southern food (fried chicken, jambalaya, corn, sweet tea- all very delicious). Kayle and I also celebrated with dinner earlier in the weekend, and he made me chocolate pudding with whipped cream and oreos for dessert. All in all, I felt very loved!

From May 20-23, I was in Michigan. I took the red-eye on Wednesday night around midnight and arrived in Michigan, safe and sound and on time, on Thursday morning. I spent most of my visit with family and enjoyed all the quality time. I went to lunch with my parents, saw a movie with my dad and brother, ate dinner and watched movies with my sister, and spent several hours over two visits with the Hinkle clan. It is so good to see everyone! On Saturday, I went to Emily Norman's wedding in Grand Rapids with my mom and sister.



Her wedding was beautiful, with 6 bridesmaids and groomsmen in teal and brown, a red trolley to transport the bridal party, Nubia singing an operatic "Ave Maria," and the most amazing wedding cake I've ever seen.


I also talked with many high school friends including Em J (a bridesmaid), PJ and Lisa, Bridget and EJ, Bram, Katie, Angie Gould, Nubia, and, of course, Emily Norman (now Emily Norman-Morey or M&M).




I arrived back in Seattle on Sunday afternoon after being delayed 1.5 hours in Detroit. Boy, was I glad to see my husband after a long weekend away and hours of traveling!

This week was mostly dedicated to catching up on sleep. Kayle had only a 3-day work week, since his building was being rearranged again on Thursday and Friday. With Monday off for Memorial Day, he had a 5-day weekend! CG on Tuesday was a Mexican potluck, and we welcomed a new baby to our group on Thursday (Everett Doyle Montgomery- Lindsey and Steve's first child). On Wednesday, I led Bible study with my youth group girls and had a great discussion on the first 6 verses of Ephesians 4, which exhorted us to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received." Tonight, we are playing Settlers and Wii Fit. Our plans for the weekend are few. Kayle hopes it will stop raining long enough to go on a bike ride together. Angie hopes to see Kat for a girls night tomorrow. We both hope to see some friends at a BBQ on Monday.

We miss you all and look forward to lots of people visiting Washington this summer! We've been planning all sorts of activities for the coming months...

With love,
Angie and Kayle

Slower Week- Time to Catch our Breath

Last week, we finally had some time to rest. Unfortunately, I had a cold for most of the week with coughing, sore throat, and general fatigue. At least it was a relatively good week to be sick!

On Wednesday night, I had youth group at the usual time and place. We are studying Ephesians right now. Two of the girls led discussion on Ephesians 3, and we had a good prayer time after. Desiree, my new co-leader, has been a great blessing to me personally (as a person to talk to and learn from) and to the girls (as a person with similar interests).

On Friday evening, I went over to Kat's house to spend some time with her. She baked scones for an event the next day and we enjoyed pizza together. After all the baking, we watched "Sherlock Holmes" and enjoyed it very much. I had been missing Kat, since we hadn't been able to hang out for a few weeks!

On Saturday, it has become "normal" for us to trade the car back and forth all morning. So, Kayle went to his now-weekly accountability group with other guys in our CG at bright-and-early 7:15. Immediately after he returned, I hopped in the car to meet Desiree at a coffeeshop. We intend to get together bi-weekly to discuss theology (Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem) and plan for youth group. On the way home, I got a car wash from the high school boy's soccer team (they were holding up signs all over). I don't think they realized (or cared) that people inside the car can hear every word they said outside the car. I heard all sorts of exclamations like "Wow! Look at how dirty this one is!" and "It's your turn to get the bird poop!" It's sort of embarrassing to sit inside a car for an extended period while people outside wash it. I'll have to remember that if my youth group ever decides to do a car wash fundraiser!

At night, Kayle and I went to see Caleb and Laura, the couple we've babysat for a few times. They are moving back to Texas to be with both sets of parents again. Fortunately, Caleb will be able to work remotely with Microsoft, so they already have the job settled and just need to decide which neighborhood to live in. We talked for quite a while and ended the night with a few rounds of Bananagrams (like Scrabble without a board). And, believe it or not, Kayle only won 1 out of 3 rounds!

On Sunday, we kept busy as usual. I taught in the primary class while Kayle was assigned to help in the two-year-old room. My lesson was on what it means for humans to be made in the "image of God". After attending the 2nd service, I went to a new curriculum training for Sunday school teachers. Kayle spent those two hours learning a new program for the tech booth. The new curriculum should have interesting content; it's called "Children Desiring God" and from John Piper's church. However, it doesn't have many activities, like crafts or games, associated with it, so I might need to do some extra work coming up with ideas. So far, this is the 3rd curriculum I've used in the past year or so of teaching, so I'm sure I can handle the change!

This week, Monday and Tuesday were stay-at-home nights. I made Kayle pasties, since he has been asking about them for quite a while. He was thrilled! Tonight (Wednesday), my girls are helping another community group as they serve the neighborhood where Kayle and I live. We plan to bake and deliver as many cookies and brownies as we can in two hours. The other CG is helping individual households with various chores. Tomorrow is Caleb and Laura's official going-away party. Friday, we are going to a local community center's dinner/auction. And Saturday will feature a mother's day tea and chocolate tasting event with my youth group girls (and their moms, of course).

So, we're almost back to our usual hectic pace and I'm almost back to feeling healthy again. I am looking forward to Emily Norman's wedding in just a few weeks (in Michigan!) and to the Hinkle family visit to Washington at the end of June. We miss and love you all!

Angie and Kayle