pastor perks

One of the many best things about working with youth is just simply getting to know these amazing, wonderful people.  We always say, once they're one of the kids in our youth group, they're ours forever, and we mean it.  They're part of our family- even our own three kids adore them.  I love nothing more than when our youth go off to college (well, I don't like that part) and call us to celebrate the exciting things or help them sort through the tough decisions.  I love when they come visit us or meet up for coffee while they're in town.  It makes us so proud as we see them grow and develop all the gifts and talents God has given them.  We just had a house full of them the other night for dinner and it was so fun to catch up on their lives and see them catch up with each other.
Sometimes we selfishly make out pretty well in knowing these kids too.  :)  One of our college girls is full of creative talents, including being an awesome photographer.  We had her take pics of our family and I think this was the best experience even with all 3 kids because they knew her and were comfortable to be themselves in front of her camera.  I love that the photos she got capture them just the way I see them.  Here are some of our priceless treasures straight from one of our wildly talented sweet peas!