Sad, Sad, and more Sad

It is official...brace yourselves...our digital camera has died. I know some of you are crying with us, while others are saying to yourself, "it's not that big of a deal." You're right, it really isn't that big of a deal and we will get over it, but I do have to apologize that you guys are not able to some of the pictures on shutterfly that I have promised you. For that, I am truly sorry. We will buy a new one soon and flood you with pictures. Mark it on your calendars people, today is a sad sad day.

Did you hear that?

Did you hear that? That whispering going on...can you hear it? That's right, there are whispers of dodgeball in the air! Last year Ignite Student Ministries put on a dodgeball tournament for junior high and high school students. This year...it's making a reappearance! There are rumors of t-shirts being ordered, the ESPN booth is being cleaned off, teams are starting to form and dodgeballs are being aired up. So get excited and stay rested because the date for the dodgeball tourney is February 18th. If you have no idea what we are talking about and are wondering what the maddness is all about, check out some of the pictures from last year on the shutterfly website . Just remember...the orange dodgeballs fly faster than any other colors.

A Year In Review For The Ivy's

I feel like yesterday we were deciding to move to Graham, but that was almost 2 years ago. It's crazy how life goes so fast! As Clint and I look back on this past year, many things have changed. Some of the things that have changed this year for us are:

• Making it an entire year without Clint having to have a surgery...yippee!
• We still had to pay the deductable...always goals for next year.
• Lauren started teaching 4th grade Science & Social Studies.
• We both have "beefed" up a little bit this year...check out our Christmas card.
• Clint finished his first year of seminary at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• Lauren is actually starting to love being in Graham, Tx (it was a rough adjustment at first).
• Ignite Student Ministries has grown tons!
• Graham Bible Church moved into its' new building...it's growing tons also!
• We bought our first home...who knew we could learn how to texture walls!
• Lauren got a new car...poor Clint is still driving the brown truck.
• We have been blessed beyond what we could imagine.

This year has been full of changes and we are excited to see what is in store for next year.

Bigger or Better

Every year for the youth Christmas party we play a game. This is not just any ordinary game, this is Bigger or Better. The youth are split up into smaller groups (each has a driver) and they start out with an item of little significance. For example: a toothpick or a Q-tip. They must then take this item and search the town to see if anyone has an item "Bigger or Better" than what they have. The people must willingly give the students the item. At the end of the time period, the students come back to "sell" their item to the judges in hopes of becoming to bigger or better champion. It is amazing to see what comes back. Last year the group that won brought back a live possum(someone actually gave it to them...that's Graham for ya!). Due to that someone almost getting eaten, no live animals were allowed this year. This year's winner brought back a metal ostrich! What?! That's right...A METAL OSTRICH....Unbelievable! 2nd place went to a hospital gurney that was missing a leg. Every year I can't wait to see what will come back next! Ignite Christmas was awesome! Don't forget to check out these pics!

Updated House

After months of "figuring out" how to do all sorts of things, we have come to a stopping point. this stopping point is mainly because we ran out of money and willpower. With plenty of things still left to do, I find myself dreaming about doorknobs. I would just love to have them on my doors. While I am dreaming about this word, and Clint has begun to use it as a bad word. You never really appreciate a doorknob until you don't have one...or any. Even without doorknobs our house is beginning to turn into a home. I will be so excited when the day comes that we are finally finished!! I know you are probably thinking to yourself..."self, I wonder what project they will begin working on?" I know, I know, it is pretty exciting (not really). Soon the adventure of building a fence and tearing down a leaning shed will be what we will try to conquer. Do we know how to build a fence? Nope. Have we ever torn down a leaning shed? Nope. But do you really think that is going to stop us? Nope.