Worst Halloween Ever

Even though it's not my favorite holiday, I still get excited when Halloween comes around. It's just fun to see what costumes kids pick, how excited they get over some candy, and how exhausted their parents look from walking all over the neighborhood. Last year on Halloween, we had an exceptional amount of trick-or-treater traffic at our door. We hadn't been home from work for more than 20 minutes and there were already little goblins and princesses asking for candy. Since it was supposed to be a nice night, this year we were prepared. Here's how the evening started:
5:30-
Jerilyn: Hey, maybe we should only give one piece per kid so we don't run out.
Nick: Yeah, that's a good idea until we see how many come by.
6:30-
Nick: Oh, I see some trick-or-treaters walking down the street.
Jerilyn: Cool. Maybe they'll stop here next.
7:15-
Nick: Are these stinkin' kids gonna stop here or what?
Jerilyn: I know. We've got the porch light on. What more do they need?
Nick: I don't know, but I'm going to have some candy.
Jerilyn: Me, too. Toss me a box of Nerds.
7:45-
Two boys dressed as Spider Man come to the door. Our attack dog, Oliver, donning his snappy red bandana, greeted them.
Boys: Twick-or-Tweat.
We hand out two pieces of candy to each of them.
8:15-
Jerilyn on the phone with Kim: How many kids have you had?
Kim: About 50.
Jerilyn: 50?!?!?! We've had 3.
Kim: One of them was dressed like a box of popcorn.
Jerilyn talking to Nick: Have we had any interesting costumes?
Nick: We've had THREE kids, Jerilyn!
Kim: Well, I'm sure more will come. It's only...oh, it's already 8:30!
8:30-
Giant suburban full of candy-seeking kids pulls up and unloads directly in front of our front door.
Jerilyn: Hey, there's a ton of kids getting out of that car. I bet they're coming over here.
Kids take off down the road and they and their vehicle are never to be seen again all evening. Nick & Jerilyn each devour a box of Junior Mints.
8:45-
Nick walks outside to scope out the situation. He returns with a grim report.
Nick: There are no kids to be found ANYWHERE! They've disappeared.
At this point, Drunk Dave, who lives diagonal to our house and decorates more for Halloween than Christmas, has blown out the candles in his jack-o-lanterns and called it a night. Nick and I take that as the signal that trick-or-treating has officially ended.

In the infamous words of Homestar Runner, "This is the worst Decemberween ever."

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

Last week was Boss' Day, so me and the girls in the office decided to fix up a breakfast feast for our fearless leaders. We covered all the flavors, from savory to sweet. My contribution used a favorite fall flavor - pumpkin. So I present to you, fair readers, a recipe for pumpkin pie biscotti.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin, not pie mix
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoons vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

- Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl and stir well.
- Combine the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla, stirring well with a wire whisk.
- Slowly add pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. The mixture will be very crumbly.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, then add nuts.
- Cook, constantly stirring, until nuts are browned.
- Remove from heat and cool completely. Gently knead nuts into dough.
- Place dough on lightly floured surface and divide into four portions.
- With lightly floured hands, shape each portion into a 1" x 15" log.
- Place logs 3" apart on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes.
- Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Cut each log crosswise in 1" slices.
- Place slices on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Cool completely on wire racks.
Yes, there are a lot of steps to this recipe, but don't be put off by that. When they come out of the oven you'll find that the effort was totally worth it. These are great with your morning cup of coffee or hot tea. Enjoy!

Indy07 - the week in review

Yes, it has taken me over two months to finally get this posted, but I was waiting on pictures, so it's not entirely my fault. This August, over 12,000 students attended national youth convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. With so many events to participate in, such as Fine Arts Festival, AIM outreach, Campus Tour, and evening services, you'd think that students would be worn out at the end of the day...but you would be wrong. It seemed as if their energy only increased as the week passed.
The week started out with a road trip. My car buddies were Kim and Mary and we came prepared for the eight hour trek. We had sing-a-longs and, of course, the snack food of champions - Flamin' Hot Cheetos.
On Monday we headed to the convention center to start setting up our store and exhibit booths. Unfortunately, the convention center policy is to not turn on the air conditioning until the actual convention begins. We spent over 10 hours setting up in the 90+ degree heat. We were not happy campers.
Tuesday was the official kick-off for Fine Arts and youth convention. The crowds were crazy and the excitement level was through the roof. The atmosphere in the exhibit hall was electric. Since the Campus Tour didn't start until the next day, Mary and I spent some time in the nym store helping out. Mary had the chance to lead some games and we had an amazing time.
Wednesday was the start of the Campus Tour. There were workshops in the morning for students and youth leaders who were interested in being campus missionaries and making an impact on their schools. The turnout was impressive and it was really exciting to watch teens get motivated to reach their unsaved classmates.
Thursday was full of more Campus Tour workshops and afternoon concerts. That night, after the evening service, was the annual PK Party for pastor's kids. This year's music was provided by a great band called Group 1 Crew. Their sound is kind of like the Black Eyed Peas. Their performances were so fun to watch and get into. They even took some time after the party to hang out with our staff and get some pictures.
Friday was definitely the highlight of the week. During the evening service, over 7,000 students made a commitment to become campus missionaries to their schools and reach out to unsaved classmates. They were even commissioned with the all-new FIRE BIBLE Student Edition. It was a powerful sight to watch a sea of students on the main floor of the RCA Dome - definitely a moment that I won't soon forget.
Over all, Indy07 was a huge success, but it was all because of God's favor and the hard work of so many people at nym. I have so many more stories that I could tell about the incredible ways that God worked, so if you want to hear them just let me know.