Mindy would be so proud of me!

My friends and family know that I am NOT a pet friendly person. In fact, my home is declared a "PET FREE ZONE".  So why I agreed to dog sitting is beyond me....

Anyway last weekend I watched two dogs.  The instructions were so simple, I figured...."hey, even I could do this."  It was easy, all I had to do was let the dogs out of their crate, have them go outside, and let them back in.  If only it was that easy.

Here are my two new friends...Jimmy and Maddy!    No wonder Jimmy never came when I called him...his name isn't Johnny!!!

Jimmy is a sweet beagle...he went out, came in, ate well and loved to be petted. Only once did he not want to go back into the crate.  He just flopped on the floor and wouldn't move. So I slid him to the crate bit by bit.  Thank goodness for hardwood floors.

Then there is Maddy....

For the first time in my life, I found a dog that was more afraid of me that I was of him.  I felt so bad for Maddy (wait, did I really say that?)  On Friday night, she willingly RAN outside but wanted nothing with coming back in as long as I was there.  Thank goodness Brian came with me.  For 45 minutes, in the pitch black and the rain, we tried to find and get the pup in the house.  Not to mention the only flashlight I had was the one on my IPhone. Getting the dog in the house involved, me climbing up an embankment, sloshing through the puddles in the backyard, a dog crate outside, two brooms, and lots of patience. You just had to be there to appreciate the true comic relief in the situation!!!  

So Saturday am, I was determined to make Maddy my friend.  Before heading to let the dogs out, I stopped at Target to get a leash and a big box of MILKBONES!!!  Even that didn't work... all I did was break every rule and feed Maddy in the crate.  Maddy wouldn't even come out of the crate. Poor thing just stood there shaking.

By Saturday afternoon, I was more than confident that Maddy wouldn't be so afraid....NOT!  Although at one point with lots of patiences and many, many milkbones, she got on my lap and then licked my face. UGH!!!  This wasn't just a little lick...she licked my mouth when it was open.  GROSS!!!  Of course, I didn't want to freak her out so I didn't even jump up, run quickly to the bathroom and rinse my mouth out.  Unfortunately, her excited was short lived and she quickly reverted to her panic stricken shaking!  

I guess it wasn't too bad...I'm watching their dogs AND children soon....Silly People!!!

Laurie

October Fun

We always have fun while celebrating special events
or serving others. Last night we enjoyed celebrating
Melinda's birthday with a delicious cake and ice cream!
Check out a couple of pictures of our birthday girl!

 Melinda decided to give us a spelling test!

Though, I don't think Melinda liked her Birthday hat,
she was a good sport and kept it on until I got
proof that she actually wore it!

 After enjoying Melinda's birthday celebration, we started
packing shoe boxes. It's time again for Operation Christmas
Child and we love working on this service/mission project as a team!

The advance preparation helps make things
move along smoothly and the packing great fun!

Karen was tired after a tough week at work but
certainly got her second wind while thinking about
the kids who would be blessed because of the shoe box
gift.

Our guys always step up and help where ever and
when ever needed and really do a great job too!

Once the boxes were filled , we were back
to our Crazy Love study!

We love our Friday 'mental health' night!
Visit us again soon!

The In Line With the Word team

A Helping Hand

Excitement grows as the transformation of the class-
rooms off of our church fellowship hall continues!

Last week we began our work in a room that is
shared by young and old alike. It's a small room that
needed  to have lots less furniture and a bit of organization.
In just a few hours we managed to accomplish a great deal.
Though we haven't yet painted this room, check out
our progress for yourself.

 Our goal is to help get all of the classrooms done
in the next few months! Check back with us again soon
for more exciting transformations!

We're serving In Line With The Word!

Kids Suite Part 2

Sorry for the delay in posting about the transformation of the kids suite at church. Sally and I were anxious to get the other half of the suite completed but we knew we needed help.  Brian was on vacation so we recruited him to help with the room.  Charlie is always a willing participant as well.  We are blessed to have husbands with such servant hearts!

Finished Project

Loving the color!

And this is the work crew that spent hours removing furniture, cleaning baseboard, washing walls, patching holes, painting the walls, framing pictures, and staging the room.

Sally patching the walls

Brian working hard on vacation

Charlie is such a big help!

...and if you haven't figured it out....I know to take the pictures...then I don't have to be in the posts!!!

Don't tell the guys, but we have plans to re-do EVERY room downstairs.

As we serve...we remain

In Line With The Word