God carried me through....again!

Well, I did it and it went GREAT. 2nd service was running a little behind (the Mayor of Yucaipa came and honored Pastor Don with a day of his own...July 11 being Don Hinkle Day), so I getting a little stressed about that. Then to top it off, I was called up front and then (because they were running behind) they played a snipit of Pastor Don's first service at YCC ever and I was just standing up there by myself, listening like everyone else. Like THAT wasn't nerve wracking.

Then came my time. I had written it all out, so I was hoping I would stay calm and NOT get emotional. I even made a joke about that at the beginning, that I would probably get emotional because I was after all pregnant. So it went great and yes, I did get a bit emotional, especially when I talked about all the prayer Aldeana has given our family, especially when my mom had cancer and all the years Steve and I were trying to conceive. But I was just being honest, she means so much to me and I think that showed.

Anyway, after church there was a big luncheon they had in honor of Pastor Don and Aldeana and so many people came up and told me I did great, which of course felt good, but the funny thing was people congratulated me on the pregnancy. I didn't mean to make it an announcement, but there still was a lot of people we hadn't told yet and I guess that was definately a way to get the word out...funny huh?

What meant the most was Aldeana telling me how much she appreciated it and how she didn't even know that someone was going to honor her, much less me.

So a shout out to 2 of the greatest, most Godly people I know, Don and Aldeana Hinkle. I love you both so much and thank you for making my family feel so at home at YCC and making it a place we love to come and serve.

The pic of Aldeana was taken at our MOPS Christmas Party and she is holding my friend, Joanna's little boy, Daniel.

The pic of Pastor Don was taken on Halloween at our church's carnival and as you can see Esther adores him.

God is growing me....don't you hate that???

Ok, so most of you know I have been the MOPs (soon to be MOTs) Coordinator at my church for about 8 months now and I love it. I have grown and been stretched in so many ways, but I love the fact that I am being used by God and used to serve so many women...it's such a blessing and one I feel honored to do everyday. Ok, so that should be enough right?? I mean I am serving God...but is He content with just that???...uh no!! I get a call the other day from our music pastor and they are putting together a 15th anniversay of service celebration for our pastor and his wife. It's going to take place this Sunday for both church services. His wife's a mentor at our MOPs group and has been for quite some time. Well the music pastor, Olin asked me to share, just 3 minutes worth, about Aldeana's contribution to MOPS and her impact on our lives. My first reaction was NO WAY. And I had some good excuses; he wanted me to share during 2nd service and I don't go to 2nd service and Esther takes a nap during that time and I don't really know many people who go to 2nd service and it would be nice to look out and see people I know and plus he asked me Wednesday and I didn't have enough time to prepare. Those were good right??? But of course, I had to pray about it (and talk to my mom about it) and you know what that means?? I am doing it. None of my excuses were good enough. Here God has given me this amazing opportunity to honor someone that I love and to share with everyone all that she has done for our church and I didn't want to do it?? Now that I put it in writing, I can't believe I was even going to say no. So as scared and nervous as I am, I know God is growing me and I am thrilled that He has chosen me to speak about Aldeana. But hey, if you want someone to pray for this weekend, I could use it! Thanks. ~ Kin

An Amazing Find

My mom is always going to garage sales and finding the best deals. Last weekend, she found this Playhut set of tunnels and little cubes. The whole 15 piece set she got for $10!!!!!! I couldn't believe it.... it's almost brand new and I checked on Amazon and it sells for $120 and this set includes even more pieces than that. Since I wasn't feeling that great yesterday, Steve went ahead and set most of them up (all of them wouldn't even fit in our living room) and Esther and Steve had so much fun playing together. The cats of course, enjoyed it as well and I can only imagine the years and years of use it is going to get.

More Zoo pics

We have season passes to the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park, so we try and go as often as well can, even with the high gas prices. We love taking Esther, especially since she is getting even more interested in animals. It was hot and crowded that day but we still had a blast and Esther had so much fun. I even did good...it was a lot of walking, but I hung in there.

Lil' Wooden Shoes

Growing up, my parents had these wooden shoes that my brother and I LOVED putting on and clunking around the house. So when Steve and I went to Holland about 5 years ago, we went to a wooden shoe factory and I wanted a pair of my own that I could share with my kids someday. Well Esther discovered them sitting on the hearth the other day and is obsessed. Usually she just carries them around, but Steve helped her put them on and that sweet clunking sound that I remember as a kid was in our home. I know she will enjoy them for many years to come.

Independence Day

We had a great time on the 4th of July. We went over to our friend's, Jill and Tim and swam, had a bbq and watched the fireworks from their backyard (they have a killer view of the firework show in Yucaipa). Most of our bible study group joined us as well. Esther and I swam a little bit even though she preferred being in the spa where she was safe from all the activity. Steve played mostly with Jill and Tim's kids, Wiley, Campbell and Mckenna and as you can see in the pics was a hit with all the other kids as well. It was such a good time. Tim (who is a Lt. Col in the Air Reserve) flys a C-17 over the Yucaipa Stadium and most of the stadiums on the area, so it was exciting because he makes sure he flys over his own house as well and we were watching from the back yard and it was a definate close up view.

Also this year was a bit special because my parents joined us for the fireworks and the last couple of years haven't been the best in regards for them celebrating the 4th. Two years ago my mom and dad watched the fireworks from the City of Hope window, after she had just had her stem cell transplant and last year, they were supposed to join us, but my mom, who was battling a fever at the time, thought it was best if she stayed in and then actually found out she was dealing with pneumonia. So it was great to see my mom feeling good and enjoying the day with some of my favorite people.

Our newest additions

Right before we left on our vacation, ironically on the day of my 2nd OB appt, Steve and I were sitting at the kitchen counter and Steve said "Look we have babies!". I knew he was talking about our fish. We got a few new fish a couple weeks ago and we thought one of the Mollys might be preggo. Well we were right. So our household just grew by 8. We went right out and bought a "nursery": it clips on the corner of the tank and keep the babies from being eaten. Not the easiest catching them and getting them in there, but we succeeded. We are hoping to give Matilda and Colt a couple (they just recently acquired a tank) and one of my friends who is a teacher is willing to take a couple when school is back in session. We want to keep 2 as well. Anyway, it's been really fun and as you can see they are SOOOOO little. All I can say, is that thank God they aren't puppies or kittens, because more fish we can handle.
Click on the images to see the babies better.

My new man

Steve's job with the Air National Guard doesn't allow him to grow any facial hair...well any "cool" facial hair, he can grow a mustache if he wants. When we are on vacation, Steve always just lets his facial hair grow and then usually shaves it all off the day before he heads back to work. He had to go back to work on Tuesday, so Tuesday morning he walks out with this:
I about died laughing. He shaved it all off except the "stache". He went to work like that and I almost peed my pants. Needless to say he shaved it off right when we got home. But I felt like I was married to a cop from the 70's for a day!!