...they were nice enough not to mention it!

We had such a good night tonight. I came away with just a great feeling about what we'd done tonight and it seemed like everyone else did, too. There's any number of tangible, physical factors you could point to for it.
Good weather.
Great food and plenty of it.
The folks that came tonight were pleasant and very complimentary.
The people that help cook and serve are amazing and fun to work beside.
But.......
....I gotta believe the reason tonight (and all the other nights too) was so good is because on a conscious and subconscious level we knew that God with us. He was in the kitchen. He was beside everyone serving. He went with everyone who took a plate.
It's impossible to work side by side with Unconditional Love and not be affected.
I need to do a better job pointing this out to the kids that come.

Speaking of the kids that come:
ELLEN / WADE / BLAKE / CAMERON / DALLAS / LAUREN / JOHANNA / KILLER / HAYDEN / CHRISTIAN / TYLER / and the adults tonight were:
BRIEN / TERESA / WAYNE HILL / WAYNE CURRIE / STEVE /JOY / DERRICK /and the in -betweens : CREEEECH! / MO-GAN and me.

Beth Grace called me up Sunday and said her husband Jess had made a big pot of Spaghetti Jambalaya and had plenty left over. Did we want it for Tuesday night?
You know me. I said Sure.
She said there was enough for about 30 if it was the main serving and 60 if we used it as a side.
She brought it down tonight in a huge pot.
I'll be honest with you- Spaghetti? Check. Jambalaya. Check.
Spaghetti Jambalaya? Hmmm...never had that. Didn't really know what to expect. Beth said it was spicy and had a little kick.
Y'all, it was straight up gooooood. We served it as a side so everyone could get some. I told them if they liked it to come up and let me know and we'd do it as the main meal one night. Everybody tried it and liked it.
Big thanks to Jess and Beth for helping us out. She also gave us a large bowl of cut up fruit that was a hit. If you see them, tell them I bragged about them on the blog.

HOT DOGS
SPAGHETTI JAMBALAYA
MIXED FRUIT
PEACHES AND SHORTCAKE
SWEET TEA / WATER

So last week.... with all the stuff going on and the busyness of getting everything out, we forgot to make Tea.
I say "we" -I didn't tell anyone to do it.
Not a problem. We had enough drinks to cover the first stop. I'd just send someone down to the kitchen to make some while we served the first stop.
I look around- who to send, who to send......I know I'll send CREEECH! and Mo-gan.
I call 'em over and tell them I got a special project for you. Can you go make about 5 gallons of tea for me real quick? They turn and look at each other in a way that brings me absolutely no hope that they can.
Now the reason I ask them to do it is because they're freshmen at UNC-W and they helped me when they were in high school and I guarantee you I've showed them and helped them make it dozens of times.
I go through it real quick, call me if you need me, blah, blah, ....go make it.
Over the next 20 minutes I call down there on the phone 4 times-How's it going?-Water boiling yet?- Got the bags in?- Did you find the sugar? - and so on.
Always getting assurances - Yep. -Yeah. -We're good.

CREEEECH! comes walking out holding a clear plastic cup. Taste this she says and see if it's ok.
I don't have to taste it to know it's not.
I've seen Ginger Ale darker than the contents of that cup.
I take a sip- Whoooo! All the sugar is in there anyway.
I say CREEEECH! why is it so light? She says I don't know. We did everything you said.
How many tea bags did you put in?
6. Just like said.
6 of the big ones?
The big ones?
Ahhhh....I take my finger and draw a gallon sized tea bag in the air. ?
She shakes her head no and draws a very small tea bag in the air - the size you'd use for individual cups of tea.
We had a box of those up in the pantry someone bought by accident . They literally had to reach over the big ones to get their hands on the little ones.
It wound up ok. Wayne Currie went down there and brewed some more to mix in. Nobody at the 2nd stop noticed it -or if they did......