It was a wonderful morning! High energy, lots of smiles and a sense of joy filled the air. Kids' City hit a new record time in set-up & tear-down, new families and friends joined us, and every child from toddler thru 5th grade read the bible story of the Resurrection of Jesus, made crafts, played games and sang songs of love to their Best Friend Jesus.
60 kids in Kids' City this weekend. 28 leaders/contributors. That's another WIN for Kids' City. Each weekend I am reminded of God's provision over Restores Kids' City. God continues to strengthen us during these long hours, provide a safe & loving environment and speak through us as we teach these little ones about His Friendship & Beauty.
I love my job!
63 Kids in Kids' City this weekend! 13 more than our Launch?!?!?!?!
3 in Baby Boulevard, 12 in Little Lane, 29 in Discovery Drive, 19 in Adventure Ave. & CrossRoads!! Huge Win!! We had so much fun! I can't wait for next weekend!!
Restore had 50 kids in Kids' City this past weekend....and up to 35 leaders, contributors and missionaries.
What a WIN!!!
Here is the count up....4 infants in Baby Boulevard, 10 Toddlers-2 year old in Little Lane, 15 3 year olds-kindergartners, 16 1st-3rd graders and 5 4th & 5th graders.
A special thanks to the Kids' City Set-up Crew; Jessica Barton, Matt Talley, Janet McMahon, Nick Barton, Bailie OConnell, Mitch McMahon & Shane Enloe. Leaders; Jennie Crowe, Bailie OConnell, Rose Goodnight, Cherilyn McAllister, Joselyn Martin, Shane Kilson, Mitch McMahon & Janet McMahon. Contributors; Erin McKillip, Kimberlee Khuen, Rachel Khuen, Paige Kilson, Bonnie Glick & Adam Khuen. Missionaries; Larry & Leslie Deal, Travis & Valerie Schlotfeldt, Saidy (Bailie's friend), Judy, Jeff, Anna & Lindsey Sturman, Alice Holland, Norma & Sydney Enloe, Chris Linville, Brandon & Angela Leininger, Sylvia Alverez, Ranata Donis, Micah Conkling, Nicole Bailey. Additional Tear-Down Crew; Kent McAllister, Adam Crowe, Rex Goodnight, Melanie Goodnight & her friend Clinton & to those whom I didn't have the opportunity to personally meet.
Thank you for all of your hard work. It was really exciting watching you all create Kids' City, prepare one another and love on those kids!! Numerous kids were asking their 'Mommy & Daddy if they could return next week!'
It was the last & final Launch Team Meeting tonight & there were tears flowing! The tears and sniffles started when my husband, Tommy was leading the Team in the song, 'Kindness' by Charlie Hall. He painted the memory of September 23rd, Restores very first Launch Team Meeting. Janet McMahon had approached him and asked if we could sing, 'Kindness.' So, Tommy thought it would be appropriate to end this season of Launch Preperation reflecting on the wonderful beginnings. Oh man, has it been wonderful! At the end of the evening we had some time to 'break-out' in our Ministry Teams. I wanted to take advantage of this time, everyone was together and I wanted to end this season in doing something FUN.....so we stepped back into our Elementary days and did the Human Knot, an Emotions Game,
and a Coordination Game....yes, those are paint brushes in everyones mouth...they are writing their name the best that they can without using their hands. FYI these will all be displayed on March 2nd with their photo, for the families to view as they enter Kids' City!
March 2nd, 9th & 16th. The Kids' City Big Ideas are, Great friends put others first, Great friends treat others with respect & Great Friends show Jesus' love. The title of the Series, is Friendship High. In Praise Parkway, Restores Kids' City 1st grade - 5th grade Celebration Service, there will be clips from 'High School Musical,' along with other videos created by Community Christian Church. The environment calls for a backdrop with lockers from a high school. So, I couldn't resist using my creativity and making this thing be a WOW factor. So, I called my friend Erin & we spent Saturday aftertoon in my basement creating RESTORES 1st KIDS' CITY BACKDROP!!!!!!! We had such a great time using all of the bright, fun colors in creating the 9x12 drop clothe brackdrop. Good thing I have an unfinished basement....because we left red, blue and orange Kids' City paint marks that are there to stay. I'll post additional pictures from the 2nd, stay tuned!
Preview Service 3. Kids' City's Contributor Jessica Barton was our Super Star! Jessica took 
lead on the Kids' City Set-up. Set-up begins @ 7am and it's a 'WIN' if it is done by 8am. Due to the nasty weather, set-up got started a little late...but Jessica, along with the Kids' City Set-up Team, Nick Barton, Janet McMahon, Bailie OConnell and myself accomplished the 'WIN' of having everything ready for Restores Kids' City Leaders, arriving @ 8am. In addition to the set back we experienced due to the weather, a few of Restores Kids' City Set-Up Team were absent....Mitch McMahon, Jake McMahon. Matt Talley and Shane Enloe....so we were hurting BIG TIME! Jess's leadership went above and beyond the call of duty! Check out some of the photos.....I'll have more to share soon......
What does Kids' City Set-Up involve? I share it with you.....
It all begins with a Kids' City Set-up Coach. A Coach builds meaningful relationships with their leaders and equips leaders for their task that morning. Jess Barton dictated this role this weekend, and I would like to ask her to fill this role? Jess, will you fill this role for Kids' City?
The Kids' City Set-Up Coach develops leaders and those leaders are developing an apprentice, with hopes of developing 2-3 Kids' City Set-Up Teams which will rotate weekends. The Coach gives hes/her leaders and their apprentices a timeline to follow.
For Example,
Room Tables/Chairs Gray Carpet Round Rug Play Panels Puzzle Mat Banner
Discovery Dr. 1T, 1T, 1T & 6C 2 Horizontal 2R 8Large & 3Small 0 1
At 7:55, they do a final run through and @ 8:15 Restores Kids' City Leaders arrive to set-up their rooms supplies, centers, etc.
Stay tuned for more photos of the weekend! Please keep Restores Kids' City Leaders & Contributors in your prayers!
We had the joys of family visiting this weekend. Tommy's sister, Laura, her husband Justin, and two kids, 
Breck who is three years old and Ashtyn who is 8 months. As Tommy and I cleaned and prepared our home for their visit, I was struggling with the fact that we were not prepared to entertain two children.....we didn't have a play area with toys, no tasty, fun food, we weren't familiar with the kids' t.v. channels....there was so much to consider and I was beginning to get overwhelmed. I continued to try and brainstorm of ideas to keep the kids entertained. It was going to be a cold weekend, so I had a hunch that we'd be in the house quite a bit. After all of my brainstorming, I hadn't come up with much. I went down to our basement, which is our office....and the preperation space for Kids' City, i.e. portable church to do the final check on the leader supply bins, equipment, curriculum, etc. As I looked around, it was like toys were divinely placed around the floor of my basement. It was at that moment, I said to myself, 'Thank you Lord for bringing me to Kids' City!' We had a wonderful time this weekend with one another. Tommy and I enjoyed lovin on these kids and spending time with Justin and Laura sharing Restores vision and our love for this mission of helping people find their way back to God. This weekend was the beginning of an exciting two weeks of family visiting, preperation and launch of the amazing journey of Restore Community Church.
Tommy was asked to lead @ Indian Creek Community Church today. As they planned the service months ago, they plugged in Legacy of Love, a song Tommy wrote and recorded back in the Tommy Bowman Band days. As we were selling c.d.'s, we met quite a few people that had friends and/or family which lived in the Northland....aka Restores mission field. This gave us the opportunity to share Restores Mission, in the hopes of it transcending throughout the Kansas City area and reaching families and adults who have gone astray, who are seeking community and fellowship with the Lord and those who continue on their Journey as a Christ Follower.
On our way out, I walked through the churches bookstore. I purchased a new book, 'Sacred Marriage.' The tag line is what motivated me to pick it up...'What If God Designed Marriage To Make Us Holy More Than To Make Us Happy?' 
So, as we were driving home the thermometer in our car read, 56 degrees! All I could think about was putting on comfy clothes, wrapping myself in a blanket and sitting out on our front porch swing reading this new book. I have to say once I got outside, I was looking forward to learning more about the foundation God has designed for my marriage, but I was really looking forward to seeing my neighbors and connecting with them.
If you are a newlywed (like myself) or have been married for 30+ years, I recommend 'Sacred Marriage.' I hope to keep you updated as I learn more about how the real purpose of marriage may not be happiness as much as it is holiness.
