My Friday-Day in the Life 2013

So last week Ali Edwards was doing a week in the life.  Photography everyday moments all week long, and documenting it on her blog, she will then scrapbook those pics.  Very cool concept.  I was in no way ready to commit to a whole week but I thought it'd be fun to do for one day.  So that's what I did.  It was not a completely typical Friday, but it's a good glimpse into my life. 

Friday with The Sexton's...................................

Every successful morning starts with clothes that have been laid out the night before.  I've taught Perry this.  He's almost to the point where he doesn't need a reminder, but not quite. 

Perry's breakfast

I eat bacon almost everyday, that my awesome husband makes for me. 

On days that I work early I'll usually eat egg muffins that I just heat up when I get to work and a piece of fruit. 

This is not typical, but this day I had pumpkin chai made with almond milk, in my new spill proof coffee mug I got from target.  Usually I'll just get a cup of IKEA coffee. 

Perry got a new backpack this year.  He's got a new LL Bean backpack whenever he's transitions to a new school.  Next new backpack will be for college. 

We are fortunate that Perry's bus stop is at our driveway. 

I now have to periodically use reading glass's.  I have a notebook I keep with me at work.  This one was missing for a whole day, which completely stressed me out.  It was found on Friday and I was oh so happy. 

My job consists of a sea of cardboard on flat carts all-day everyday.  Oddly I love it. 

We had a discussion as to if we had aged over the past 4 years.  Picture being held is from my 40th birthday party 4 years ago. 

Catching up with Rick is often my favorite part of my day.  Love this guy. 

We often share our left overs.  You can see a little bit of Kristi leftovers.  I only shared my olives. 

Only junk mail today when I got home. 

We usually have pizza on Friday.  This Friday the boys weren't going to be home, so Perry and I ate leftover chili and I had some left over humus after they were gone.  Kipper thought he'd like to have some too. 

 

The boys sent me pictures from their campsite.  They went and played glow disc golf, and camped at Winton Woods.  I was actually kind of lonely in my quiet house.  I knew it was time to go to bed when I started to fall asleep in my recliner. 

It was fun documenting my day.  It was hard work to remember to take pictures all day long.  I couldn't do it for a whole week, I'd probably lose my mind.  It'll be fun to look back on the events of a somewhat typical Friday. 

 

My Morning in Court

So I know, one should just make it routine and renew their tags on their birthday or even the beginning of your birthday month.  Well I am not that organized.  And I am the queen of procrastination.  So much so 3 months went by, and guess what, tags were expired.  I was never nervous I would get pulled over, it never crossed my mind I'd get in trouble.  And well I didn't get in trouble.  My sweet innocent husband did get in trouble though.....in my illegal vehicle.  Ahhhhh snap.  So we gave up all processed food in January.  We occasionally indulge, but for the most part we don't eat processed food.  And rarely eat out anymore.  Unless its the weekend or we're on vacation.  Well Ron has given in  to the draw of diet Mt. Dew, and decided he was going to drive my illegal vehicle to get him a 20 oz.....and got pulled over for expired tags.  (should've reconsidered on that pop consumption.)  The officer told him if he showed up in court on the given date and had renewed the tags the judge would probably just throw it out.  So the man whose name was on the ticket thought that meant the owner of the car, and not him whose the law breaker.  So I was going to go by myself,  and I was like, um your names on the ticket, and told him he should go with me.  So he went thinking he was just supporting me.....um duh.....his name was on the docket.  And they were rolling through alphabetically.......we are Sexton.......I could spend the whole day in the court room listening to thugs and thieves.  At one point Ron was like you are loving this aren't you.  And he was correct I was.  Fascinating how dumb people are.  Got to see a 30 something chic go to jail for stealing a pair of Nike's from Kohls.  And then the dude who got busted years ago for drug possession and had to do a drug test every Friday, and was in trouble for "failure to report", tried to get sympathy that because he had to be there every Friday he lost his job. 

 

This is a generic photo, as no cellphones allowed in the building.  Judge Campbell is an excellent judge.  When it was Ron's turn, he plead guilty.  He stated it was his wifes car.......and she said "you're going to throw your wife under the bus...?" And laughed.  She then mentioned that husbands are suppose to renew all tags for all vehicles because that's what happens at her house.  (she was kidding.....) She asked if the tags were renewed.  And they are.  He left with no fine and no court costs.  And an entire morning full of thugs and thieves, and a whole lot of entertainment.  Can you just go to court and watch?  I'm serious, that's fun. 

Another interesting fact I learned today from Judge Campbell.  90% of traffic accidents are cause because someone was making a left turn.  So all the people I know who avoid left turns, I know many.  You are smart people.  Apparently UPS drivers are not allowed to make left turns.  I'm intrigued, I might have to follow a UPS truck just to see this. 

 

Whole 30, I didn't die....and neither will you.

Accept for doing Weight Watchers a couple times, with no real success other than losing 10 lbs in the first week and calling that a success and gaining it all back a few weeks later, I've never really attempted a weight loss program.  Woops....not actually a weight loss program, although the result is weight loss, it's not why we did it.  We did it, to change many habits and not just our eating habits, although that was the primary focus. 

It started with a year end message at church.  You can see that message here.  Where both Ron and I.....more so Ron, had some "ah-ha" moments.  I could relate to much of the story being shared.  Being overweight, relationship with food.....I'd heard it a million times....but this time was different.  There was a God aspect to it that I hadn't given much thought.  I am fully aware that ultimately God is in control of EVERYTHING.  But does that mean I am willing to surrender EVERYTHING to him?  Ha Ha Ha.....NO.  Does that mean I recognize when God is trying to talk to me, often screaming at me.....and I hear him.....UM NO.  Theres just somethings in life we hold onto with both hands with a very tight grip.  A lot of people aren't willing to admit food has a crazy strong hold on us. 

Enter the book.....It Starts With Food.  I'm not much of a reader.  Since giving birth, I've probably read maybe 10 books in the past 15 years if that many.  And when I do read I am a sloooooow reader.  This book I plowed through because it was fascinating and I could relate to it and the science stuff about food was not in anyway over my head.  Ron read it to, and once we completed it we both agreed to give the Whole 30 a go.  Ron never agrees to anything this crazy, or this restrictive. 
When I say restrictive I mean RESTRICTIVE.  I knew we wouldn't go hungry, but giving up food that had such a stronghold on us was going to be a challenge.  And I'm a women, and you know what happens to women and hormones......they don't go away now matter how healthy you are eating. 

We rid our home of all non-compliant whole 30 foods.  After a couple weeks we referred to those foods as "poison".  The first few weeks I stocked up on meat and veggies from Whole foods and trader joes.  I soon learned that wasn't necessary.  I soon learned to find almost everything I needed on the outside edge of Kroger.  It's true all the processed foods are in the middle.  Basically Whole 30 is Protien, veggies, fruit and healthy fats.  Go to the website for more details.  After the first week, it became easier and easier.  We just had to learn to read labels, prep a head of time, and we pretty much couldn't eat out during whole 30.  We did only 2 or 3 times, and that was to a Steak House, and to Chipotle. 

Our results.  Our relationship with food has completely changed.  We aren't being as strict as the whole 30, but we are eating the same way pretty much.  We almost never eat sweets.  We don't eat pasta, or rice.  I've not bought a loaf of bread in nearly 2 months, probably won't until we go camping.  I've actually stopped missing bread.  (truth) We rarely snack at night and if we do, it's fruit, and in small amounts.  Occasionally I'll have a teeny tiny bowl of popcorn from Perry (he was only whole 30 at dinner time) seriously he's a 15 year old boy.....he probably would have lost his mind. 
Ron has lost 25 lbs and I've lost 23.  We haven't started working out.  We wanted to get out eating in check before we conquired physical activity. 

What else has changed?  I love Mango's!  Ron's eaten spaghetti squash and didn't die.  Ron's learned how to cook his own food from scratch.  He's learned it's not hard to bake some chicken, and he loves salad.  We learned that by reading the labels you learn that all processed food contain a whole lot of CRAP.  And it's shocking how much food contains some sort of soy......ugh including teabags???  We are probably done with processed food for forever.....I may never buy Helmans mayo again ever.....or Miracle Whip.  Homemade Mayo is easy and way better. 

Whole 30, 1 Week in......WHO FARTED?



We made it through 7 days of clean eating and did not die. Today was the first day I didn't feel like I was fasting or being deprived of food. I was never hungry like you would feel on a diet. Just craved things we can't have. The only time I've felt hungry is when I waited to long in between meals. Today was a good day. It was sunday, and I was off. Which rarely happens. We had all kinds of family time church, shopping, and then home. Plus we ate at a resturant for the first time in 7 days. Which is a miracle. Not a whole lot of safe food out there in the world. After some research we found we can have chipotle. Very restricted chipotle, but it was good, and satisfying and for the first time ever, after eating at chipotle I didn't feel like a giant brick was in my stomach 20 minutes after eating. 

 

We are heading into week 2. Our fridge is stocked with all fresh food, we know to plan ahead.  So now we shall see what week 2 shall bring.  Funny thing while at chipotle, I was thinking as I was eating my clean chipotle......dude I totally have not farted in 7 days, why is that?  People who are close to me....I mean like really close, those I would fart in front of.  It's a small group I promise, know well.....it's not like they don't do it too, it happens people.  Lets just say they would be in shock.  I never claimed to be much of a lady.  Geez....I did actually end up farting once this evening, but it was the first time in 7 days I swear.  And I haven't since.  Also funny, while discussing this with the man I kept saying the word "fart" and he was like....."it's such a nasty word...." wait what?  Good grief, it's not like I said the word POOP!!!!  We'll discuss that next week......that's another interesting topic.......HA HA HA HA HA......NOT....some things are way too personal. 

Thoughts about life right now.......

Happy New year! We are off to a pretty good start. We started eating healthy this week. Not just healthy but whole 30 healthy. Go here http://whole9life.com/ to see what that means. We aren't being all strict on the man child. He's 15 so baby steps before you take away his waffles and popcorn. Day 3 is tomorrow Ron's struggling with breakfast. I made some omelet muffins he didn't like. Gotta find something we can eat that's quick and easy.

2012 Year in review Instagram Photos

1. ATC's, 2. picnic, 3. IKEA- Me, 4. Fun with P, 5. Herbs, 6. Me and Alex, 7. Socks, 8. C-bus, 9. Scouts, 10. Zombie, 11. Ice'd Green Tea Latte, 12. Fun Chucks, 13. Old Uniform, 14. Pumpkin Crunch, 15. Sauerkraut Festival, 16. FACETIME, 17. Election 2012, 18. Thirty-One, 19. Last of the Hostess, 20. Winefest 2012, 21. B-Dubs, 22. Thanksgiving 2012, 23. Sweet Potato Pie, 24. Romance, 25. Apple Obsession, 26. Christmas 2012, 27. Cat, 28. Christmas 2012, 29. Christmas 2012, 30. Christmas 2012, 31. Christmas 2012, 32. Video Gaming, 33. UGH, 34. Shoes, 35. Metro Ride, 36. Bubble Tea
2012 Year in review Instagram Photos, originally uploaded by Yoda0419.

Thought this would be fun for my blog. I created a year in review with some of my instagram photo's. It was a great year according to instagram. 2012 had it's fair shair of heart ache, but for the most part it was a good year. No complaints. God has been good to us!

Bacada Frittata



First Watch Bacado

my favorite oatmeal

So first watch is my favorite resturant to have breakfast at.  I always get the same thing.  I get the Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal, with a side of sausage.  Some of my friends make fun of me.  I've heard "all the yummy things First Watch has and you're gonna get Oatmeal?'  Yes, yes I am because they put magic into their Oatmeal that's why.  First Watch is famous for the Bacado omlet, it has bacon, and avocado in it, along with cheese, red peppers, onion......I've never had it at First Watch.  My bestie, Abby made it for me when I visited her in Cbus in march.  Not even sure if I would like it, but convinced if she added her magic, I'd like it.  She studied up, to make sure she got the ingredients just right.  Made the Omlet, along with sliced potatoes with onion, and it was perfect.  Thats what a good friend does. 

 

So my other bestie Weezer and I are visiting Abby in Cbus together and spending time having a girlie weekend.  Just hanging out cooking and doing girl stuff.  Abby had mentioned she wanted to make us a good yummy breakfast and I mentioned the Bacado she had made before......so the planning commensed. 

Bacada Frittata

Abby came up with what we are now calling a

Bacada Frittata....it was genius.  Ingredients to follow. 

preheat oven at 350

1 Avocado

7 Eggs

1 Cup of Monterey Jack Cheese

1 Onion diced

1 Red Pepper diced

1/2 lb of bacon

1/4 cup of Milk

1/4 cup of butter
tomato to taste
sour cream to taste

Mix up eggs, milk, and veggies.  Pour into a buttered casserole dish, mix in half the cheese.  Sprinkle crushed bacon and rest of cheese on top and bake for 55 minutes. 
Garnish with chopped tomatos, slices of avocado, and sour cream

I wanna be a groupie....

Specifically a Coldplay groupie!!!!!  So it's been almost a week, and I say something about last weeks concert almost daily to someone.  I'm still slightly abuzz about my experience at that amazing Coldplay concert at the United Center in Chicago last Tuesday. 



I MEAN SERIOUSLY DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?

So lets back up a bit to maybe like 5 years ago, maybe even 6 years ago.  My friend Connie and I would debate on who loved Chris Martin more.  Clearly it was me.  We both agreed, he wasn't all that attractive, it was his amazing talent that made him so damn SEXY.....however now that we've been 6 inches from each other, he is a nice looking fellow, and way better looking in person.  But I digress, I'll get to that in a minute.  Connie and I discussed going to a Coldplay concert 6 years ago, but when we started investigating there was a tour going on, but when that was over they weren't going to tour anymore......WHAAAAAT?  We had missed our chance.  So we gave up......then last year Connie and I went to Nashville, TN to see U2.  It's clear we had now hit the big time, we were rich enough we didn't have to wait for our favorite bands to come to us, we could travel to them.  That's when we realized....Hey Coldplay is touring again, we must go to them.  So we made plans to see them in Chicago. 

We threw down a big wad of cash on some stub hub tickets and booked a hotel.  It's nearly impossible these days to get decent tickets if you don't get them the day they go on sale....crazy ticket scalpers.  So Connie was in charge of tickets, she got 5 rows from the floor on the right side of the stage....sounded impressive.  Then she got them in the mail and they were for the Wednesday, not Tuesday.  We are grown ass women with tight schedules, she has 3 girls who play soccer, girl scouts, I have boys scouts....our schedules are very tight.  So she contacted Stub Hub, and they agreed to replace the tickets with Tuesday tickets, the seats would be as good if not better.  So when we got them, they were 9 rows up from the floor, and said obstructed view??  How are these better?  Plus we were kind of nervous as these were some random person's tickets who sold them to Stub Hub, and they were e-tickets...what if they were printed more than once.  So we were all kinds of nervous before we got to the United Center.  Once our tickets were scanned we were able to relax.  When we arrived at the United Center we were handed a wristband....no idea what that was....I put mine on after all it was pink, Connie was skeptical, so she put hers in her pocket.  It soon became clear what this was.  After I texted someone who had already been to the concert the week before.  So soon our super cool bracelets turned into awesome led lights that blinked in sync with the music.....WHAAAT?  How flipping sweet is that?  Coldplay you are genius!!  So already I was super excited about what was about to go down. 

                                                                                    

So we suffered through really bad opening acts.  And waited anxiously for Coldplay to take the stage.  Just before they turned the lights off and our magical bracelets lit up, I glance to my left.  I had noticed the section of seats shrouded in black drapery.  I initially thought this as some sort of sound board or something but no one had shown to run said sound board.  Then we noticed a security dude on one side, and a few mic stands tucked under this shrouded flat surface.....hummmmm....puzzling....thank you technology, I texted my friend Shane again with a photo of what was next to me.....





I think he was as excited for me as I was for myself.  They would be playing 4 songs from that stage....as an encore....I'm sorry what did you just say????  Did I read that correctly?  I immediately jumped up, and ran to the bathroom, because clearly I needed to empty my bladder because otherwise I was certain, the moment Mr. Chris Martin took that tiny little stage I would have wet myself for sure.  We could barely contain ourselves during the first part of the concert.  Thank God for instagram, and pictures and videos.....Before we knew what was going to happen Connie had offered to switch seats with me as she was closer to the main stage and we had to look to the right, and she's taller than me, so she was being thoughtful as she can see over me.  Then when we found out what was about to go down RIGHT NEXT TO ME, she asked...."wanna switch seats now???"  Ha Ha....NO!  Now before they took the itty bitty stage I had plans to be polite and thoughtful and after they did 2 songs I was going to switch so she could be close too...all of that did not happen because as soon as they were that close we lost leave of what was right and wrong, and normal and polite.   We couldn't even take decent pictures we were so starstruck.   

We weren't sure how anyone could ever top U2, the 360 tour was unbelievable.  Their budget was huge, and they put on an amazingly visual performance.  Coldplay, came very close to topping that.  They were able to make a very large venue, become very intimate.  The fact they were feet than inches away was a huge surprise, and a sweet hook up. 



It is again going to be super hard to top this one.  We seem to pick super awesome concert venues.  It's clear we have excellent taste in music.  And men since we both love Bono, Chris Martin and most of all our lovingly supportive husband that put up with our crazy roadtrips.  Wait till we decide to spend a whole summer traveling around following Coldplay with random stops at Rubber Stamp conventions.  OMG.....how awesome would that be? 

Theres a video as an example of how cool our bracelets were.  I could upload a bunch of photo's but I'll psot a few more videos.  At the start of the concert during "Hurts Like Heaven" they started shooting off confetti cannon's, and the confetti rained down all over everyone. 

The pictures of this are amazing.  Many of which I stole from strangers on Instagram.  I'll post just one, but thank you strangers for all your great pictures.  Feel free to steal mine. 

I seriously haven't stopped listening to Coldplay since last week.  I'd talk about it nonstop if people would let me, but I was quickly losing friends.  Connie needs to live nextdoor so we can just chill over coffee.....no wait wine, Oliver Soft Red, each night and listen to coldplay. 

Thanks everyone for putting up with my super Geeked self over the past week.  Now that the story is blogged sufficently I'll shut up already.....maybe. 

Sigh......

I love COLDPLAY!!!!!

Jodi's Dutch Oven Cake

I once had a recipe I found on the internet that told me how to make a cake in a dutch oven.  We used that recipe on one of our annual memorial day camp outs.  The recipe has since been lost, and I never remember to search the internet for it, so I decided this past memorial day to just wing it.  Tried to remember what would go in such a cake.  I was able to pack most of the ingredients, but forgot the the dutch oven.....FAIL....but we were in luck the friends we were camping with are Trailer campers, therefor they have way more storage area than us tent campers and they happened to own a dutch oven they had used once or twice.  The only ingredient we were missing was a can of pop.....in the past I had used cherry limeade, but try to find that in the stores now....it's rare.  Plus we never take pop when we camp, but tada Lisa and Tony (those trailer campers I spoke of) had a can of diet orange pop.  I winged it and made a fantastic cake.....it burn on one side but we were able to get enough not burned to satisfiy everyone. 
So we  planned another camping trip this past weekend to Mammoth Cave with Lisa and Tony, and their daughter Lauren requested some Jodi Cake......no pressure....as I didn't write any of that down, so I planned to wing it again, this time being more strategic, and plan it to be even healthier.  This time I consumed nearly an entire bottle of Oliver Soft Red Wine, the wine didn't go in the cake but me having drank almost the whole thing possibly made me a better cook.  I'm sure of it.  It also encouraged my creativity to create a blog post Pioneer Women Style so other could make this cake also. 

We'll call this Jodi's Dutch Oven Cake.  This is a camping recipe, but you could easily throw this into a 13x9 cake pan and bake it in the oven if you are not a camper.  I shot for making this almost sugar free.  The only sugar was what was in the cake mix, the rest was sugar free.  We have here as follows:

1 8 oz can of fruity pop of your choice (diet)

1/2 stick of butter 

1/2 cup of splenda brown sugar blend

1 box of cake mix

can of mandarin oranges no sugar added

can of cherry pie filling no sugar added (or any fruit of your choice)

1 egg



This is the liner in the dutch oven

We are going to load all these ingredients into one of these.  This is a cast iron dutch oven to be used in a camp fire.  It's an amazing piece of equiptment, but requires quite a bit of maintence....thankfully we have friends who take care of theirs, since we've neglected ours.  It requires oiling, which we forgot to do to ours.  Because you can't really wash these things the Dutch Oven Liners are amazing!  So I highly recommend picking up a box of these Theres quite a few in one box so provided you and cooking in a dutch oven every night 1 box will last you a long time. 

Ok the oven is prepped and ready to go.  Side note......my other friend Weezer went camping with us too.  While preparing to go camping and thinking if we had additional people to feed we might need another dutch oven so I asked her if she had a dutch oven.....she said no they did have a convection oven though and wondered if that would work????  Ha Ha Ha.....I don't think I'd put that in the fire.  Ok so lets make a cake already!

Dump the cake mix in a large bowl. 

add your egg and can of pop stir until well blended.

I greased the bottom with a little bit of butter and then, pour this concoction into the dutch oven.

Then add your can of cherry's

drain the juice of the mandarin oranges, and pour them in on top of the cherry's.  No need to mix.

Sprinkle in the brown sugar splenda blend.  I did not measure I just eyeballed what I thought would be a good amount.  Same with the butter cut of pats of butter and sprinkle them over top the mixture.  again no mixing. 

Then put on the lid and check and prep your fire. 

You'll want any large pieces of wood moved to the side and a good base of white and red coals on the bottom those will be under your oven.  You'll also want to move some coals to the side that you will place on top of the dutch oven. 

This will create even cooking. 

approximate cooking time, depending on how hot your coals are should be 35 minutes.  Check often, starting at the 30 min mark add 5-10 minutes if it doesn't look done.  It's done when the edges are brown. 

Let it cool for a good 10 minutes as it will be very very hot. 

Serve and enjoy.  We are thinking about making campers ice cream next time to go with our yummy cake. 



God Art......SOS 2012

sketchbook doodles

 If you are a friend or you read my blog, you know that I love my church.  I have been involved with SOS for over 12 years, maybe longer I've lost track.  Rarely do I venture away from my comfort zone of being on the evening prayer team.  Years ago, they didn't have it, so I was forced to find another way to be involved so I took photos of outreaches, but eventually found my way back to the prayer team.  This year months before SOS, Carolyn sent an email to a bunch of people in regards to an onsite experience they were creating, and needed volunteers who would like to be involved in the planning process.  Rarely do I answer these calls for volunteers, as I work retail and my hours are unpredictable.  I agreed to go to the first meeting just to see what it was all about, and if it was something God needed me to do I'd make it work.  There was a whole lot of brainstorming that went on.  For the most part I am not a big fan of brainstorming, I survived that process.  The time frame was laid out and the frame work was presented.  And a suggestion of something creative the kids could do, to fill some time while they waited their turn to go on the prayer trail.  Through a series of brainstorming ideas we landed on Broken Tile Mosaic......as soon as those words were out there.....I could literally think of nothing else.  My head was instantly full of ideas, and my wheels were turning immediately.  Apparently this was obvious, and I suddenly was in the throws of a whole lot of creative planning.  And this time filler activity grew from a time filler to an important activity, with speaking points and everything for the onsite experience.  The best part, I agreed to plan this all out, and I was going to be gone 2 weeks prior to SOS......which is the important time when they pull everything together.  I made this clear ahead of time.  I was responsible for what the image would be and what supplies would be needed......and how to construct it all.......IMAGE????  This gave me a bit of a panic.  I don't draw.  After some prayer I really felt like the image should be original.....and not some photograph we redesigned.  Except I don't draw.  Although I have people in my home who draw very well.  Welcome.....my talented.....very understanding husband.  He is not a huge fan of me interrupting his usually low key life, with whatever craziness I got going on.  I let him know I needed a picture and for what.......I got "the look", and I smiled my sweet......"you're gonna do this", smile.  I told him the theme of SOS, and the direction we'd kind of like to go in.  And I said now go draw something......and then I prayed.......a few days later he sent me a few doodles from his little at work sketchbook. 
I have never made a mosaic, or even tiled ever in my whole life.  I still haven't.  Ha Ha......I watched videos, and read on the how-to.....and then instructed others.  It was a fun, slightly stressfull process, and very rewarding.  And after it was all said and done, I can clearly see God's hand all over it.  It was a great experience to listen, hear and act on what God was saying.   My husband was gracious enough to plot out his image on graph paper so it could be translated into mosaic.....much like color by number.  I also gave him the task of......... we need something to hold this, and how will they be attached.....with a huff....he went to work on construction plans. 

All this was completed a few days before I left on a 2 week vacation for California.  I was a tiny bit scared when I left just because it turned into a giant project with a lot of details and I was terrified I had forgotten something which I probably did.  Somehow the folks at VCC pulled it off as they always do with large insane projects.  Because of being gone for 2 weeks, and my work schedule there was no way for me to be at SOS during the day and to be involved in the process.

So for those of you who weren't there basically 200 kids per day went through the onsite experience there were several stations.  The mosaic was one station.  In small groups throughout the day they'd have talking points and then they'd creat a 12x12 section of the mosaic.....not knowing what the big picture would be, only what their section was.  The last station was a worship type experience where the big picture was put together so they could see. 

I was amazed, and happy they pulled it off.  Big thanks to a ton of people.  I know it was a lot of work.  They turned out to be the exact image God put in my head.  Great job to the 800 teens who didn't even know what they were creating, and allowing God to use them to make some super awesome God Art!!!

Also a big thanks to Carolyn for pulling it all together when I left.  And the onsite team for pushing me to do this, it was a lot of fun.  Oh and thanks to my work place for tolerating my long lunches every week for several weeks.