The belly fanny pack and Price is Right parties

On Saturday December 15th we were invited to a friend's Christmas party where Terry picked this gem of a white elephant gift, a hairy man-belly fanny pack. 😂😆

Suzie and Eric hosted in their beautiful house, but it was actually Greg and Martha and Suzie and Eric who brought the fanny packs. Like my hand on his "belly"? 

Me, Terry, Amy, Brian, Danny, Amanda, Greg, Martha, Denise, Jason, Suzie, Eric, JC, Nick

Yes, fanny packs in the plural. They brought two! It was so funny! I was the one to open up the gift that Terry chose and I sort of froze when I saw what it was. When I held it up for everyone to see, we all just died of laughter. Terry walked around modeling it for everyone which made Danny consider stealing it from us. Amanda put the kabosh on that though. When it was their turn next, they happened to open up a second fanny pack! 😆🙈

Chilling out before we opened gifts.

Rewind one night to our youth group leader Christmas party. 

After our fall retreat this last fall Terry and I were talking about how totally great all of our leaders were. We really wanted to do something special for them to show our appreciation and since we didn't do a Christmas party last year, Terry planned an extra special one for this year. We both agreed we should get Qdoba catering but didn't know exactly what to do for the party portion.

Terry decided to put on a Price is Right show! He starred as Drew Carey.

If you don't remember, we love The Price is Right. Terry grew up watching the show during the summers with his grandparents. We currently watch every Friday since that's Terry day off. And during Terry's sabbatical summer of 2017 we watched it every single day. 

There's Ed winning his game.

The day before we had spent well over an hour in Walmart picking out prizes to bid on and prizes to compete for, not to mention the showcase prizes. We had four leaders at a time bid on a prize and whoever came closest without going over got to compete. Here is was Steven, Prae, Denise, and Abby's turn.

Talitha, Zoe, Russ, and Sue bidding.

Ed, Isaac...

Jazmin and David bidding.

There were lots and lots of smiles that night.

Pete was a wizard at guessing prices. He won his own bid and helped his wife to win too.

Steven won and got to compete.

Terry made a cute Drew. He bought those glasses at the dollar store and popped the reading lenses out of the frames. 😂

Steven making his choice. He also won.

Pete was hoping for a dollar when he spun the wheel.

Steven was also super animated. Love it.

Talitha competing. Such a pretty girl!

John...

...and Talitha competed for showcases. Tilly won.

I took a bunch of video but here's the best one I had showing everyone present and the climax of "the show."

After the show we did our white elephant gift exchange. I loved this moment when David stole Steven and Prae's much loved kitchen tool. I can't even remember exactly what it was, only that it had something to do with Mexican food, which they both love.

David's face!! 😆

We took the turkey home and put it on our Christmas lighted bike. From far away you couldn't tell it was a turkey though. It looked more like a basket...like a basket riding a bicycle. Ha! 

Terry also took home this dog bobble head for his Malibu. 

Isaac got a plant!

Ed got a live beta fish! Also, I love Zoe's expression. Steven and Prae brought that fish and watched it like a hawk to make sure it never got tipped over (a small miracle it didn't). I decided to take the fish off Ed's hands since he said they had five cats and we had an empty tank at home. What's funny is that our last beta fish, Montana, died while Steven and Prae were fish-sitting when we were on sabbatical, so how perfect was it that they got us a replacement fish? We named it Wedge for White Elephant Delightful Gift Exchange...and also after a Star Wars character.

Abby got this super random foam-like decoration and then promptly gave it away the following week at the youth group Christmas party. 

Such a great group of leaders! The only bummer was that all of them couldn't be there. It was truly a fantastic night.

Below is the appreciation post I wrote for them after the fall retreat. Terry thought it was so great that he printed it and hung it outside his office door. 

Why are the students so tired after Fall Retreat? Aside from all the fun and late nights, it’s because many of them were up in the middle of the night praying with their leaders for an hour at a time, seeking the Lord, crying out to Him to draw near to them as they drew near to Him, to reveal Himself to them, to speak to them. What an amazing thing! How many of us adults could boast sacrificing our sleep at 2 or 3am to pray? And yet that’s what they did, led by our amazing leaders. And they are going home full of *intention* to carve out the time in their crazy busy and overwhelming lives for the only Person who is deserving of all the time in the world, the Lord God of heaven and earth who set them apart from their mother's womb. Amen, and let it be done.

I just have to say, our leaders are the best. We love them SO MUCH. They are simply wonderful and I want everyone else to know how much they gave this last weekend. Fall Retreat is no small thing. It’s a large sacrifice. They sacrifice their time, which is perhaps their greatest commodity, their sleep, their sanity (haha, maybe a little), their relationships/family, their schooling, and the following week. They poured themselves out like a drink offering serving these students and now have to go back to work and school with no break from the previous week’s demands only to face more demands this week. Not to mention all the leaders that help every single week at youth group and for other events, trips, even helping in the summer time when they need a break. They are all incredible!

Thank you leaders! Thank you Shane H. for sacrificing your family time to teach us the spiritual disciplines so we have the tools necessary to seek the Lord and make Him our treasure like we’ve been talking about this year in Youth Group. Thank you Emily H. for sacrificing your husband this weekend because I am intimately aware of what it’s like to need your husband and not be able to have him. Thank you David and Jazmin M. who were married only last weekend (!!!) and still they desired to come and serve at Fall Retreat, even helping to set up the Friday afternoon before and tearing down after all the students were gone. The same thanks goes to  Praetoria and Steven K. for coming after working all night, not to mention teaching Sunday school, and being incredibly hands on in your assistance to Terry with all the planning of current and future events. Thank you Denise R. and Zebedee J. for organizing the all night prayer times, not to mention your passion and leadership which are invaluable and inspiring. Thank you Ransom B. for your love for these students and your energy which ignites them. Thank you Ed Sue E. for the hike that I had a hard time keeping up with even though you’re 70 and I’m 37, you just never quit, and to Josh E. who has so much going on in his life and still teaches the high school Sunday school class with Peter I. . Thank you Katrina S. who busts her butt at the hospital getting ready for nursing school in addition to all the school work you juggle. Thank you to Zoe R. who was on her own for the first time this year and had a lot to deal with and yet you do it with a heart full of care. And thank you to our student leaders who help carry the load despite being completely overwhelmed with school and after school activities, I really don’t know how you do it, Tori Altstiel, Abby B., Sarah S., and Talitha B.. And finally to thank Terry B's and my parents, Jerry N Alice B's and Steve K. and Kathy K. who kept our kids so that we could both go to Fall Retreat, even though they were exposing themselves to the potential stomach flu that Ezra and Terry had, and Evie ended up getting. 

We love you leaders and we are so incredibly grateful for you all!