May Visitors

Yeah these are a long time coming but you know we blog in spurts :) Anyway, in mid-May our friends Jared and Erin Wellman came for a couple of weeks to visit and raise support for their ministry with Athletes in Action. Lindsay spent more time with Erin while she lived in Richmond than with anyone else before she met Joe. They haven't seen each other for months so it was great to spend some quality time catching up. We went to an Astros baseball game, took a trip to Galveston and the Kemah boardwalk, and visited Austin and San Antonio. Below are just a few of the pictures that we took while they were here.

Lindsay and Erin at the Astros vs. Cubs game - it was Pink in the Park
night and all of the women got free pink jerseys

We found the best hat shop at the boardwalk!

Joe's favorite hat

In front of the aquarium

Experiencing Texas

We enjoyed some excellent Texas barbecue

A trip to the Alamo

That's a big cactus

There truly is NO basement at the Alamo

The Riverwalk in San Antonio

The Wellmans in front of the San Jacinto monument

Baccalaureate

Joe was asked to deliver the message for the high school baccalaureate service this year. Two of the high schools in town come together for this service and he definitely kept the crowd entertained! He shared many hilarious stories and encouraging words to challenge this year's seniors to be great. As he did research about what many baccalaureate messages are about he found that they were mostly warnings about the future and keeping the faith. Through much prayer, he felt that he was instead being led to share a challenge to not settle for an ordinary life but instead to be the greatest at everything they do - the greatest doctors, the greatest teachers, the greatest mechanics - all for the glory of God.

Anyway, he did a FABULOUS job and I was SO proud. In my opinion, it was the very best that I have seen him speak. People were absolutely cracking up and there were many "sounds of agreement" from some of the older women in the back...it was very dramatic :)

He is so natural in front of a crowd

Joe, Will, and Pastor Richard

YIKES!

A few weeks ago our friends Erin and Jared were here (more to come on that!) for an extended visit. Each morning Erin and Lindsay went for a walk around the neighborhood. On one of those mornings Erin was attacked by a snake! Well, maybe it wasn't an attack but it did jump 0ut at her ankles. That doesn't happen in Indiana! She jumped and screamed and when Lindsay looked back there was a small black snake curled up on the sidewalk with its head up and tongue out...eek!

On Saturday Joe and Lindsay went to a graduation open house for our youth group's only senior. Joe was dominating a couple of our 14-year-olds in badminton and Lindsay was talking to a parent when the ladies noticed a snake slithering through yard towards the woods. Lindsay called to Joe so that he could get himself, and his bare feet, away from the danger zone. Apparently, though, Joe thought that he should go after the snake and try to pick it up. With only his badminton racket he was unable to do so as the snake was a good 4 1/2 feet long but he did grab the tail. Fortunately, Lindsay had not seen his attempts. Either way...we have snakes that big around here?!? Yikes!