Fun on Halloween!

We had a FUN time out trick-or-treating tonight! Darren was a Pirate and the cutest one I have ever seen, I might add! We went out with Dave and Angie and their girls, Faith and Liberty. The kids got TONS of candy, we found a great neighborhood to go to. Here are a few pictures of our fun evening. (We planned to bring Belle with us, but when I put on her pumpkin costume, she wouldn't walk! Ha!) Enjoy...

Here is our brave pirate..Aaaarrrgh! He walked right up to every door and said "Trick or Treat" real loud and then "Thank You!" Every time he got candy. What an exceptional child! Mommy had fun putting together his costume...

Darren the Pirate and Belle the Pumpkin (Forlorn though she may be!)...

The 3 cousins at Grandma's house,

Darren, a Pirate...Liberty, Little Bo Peep...Faith, Snow White! They had fun!

Go PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!

Woo Hoo!! We won tonight! Clobbered the other team! I can't remember the final score but we had 50 something to their 18 points, I think! Our guys played very well tonight...actually making most of their shots. Usually we have SO many attempts missed in comparison to points made. We only have one home game left. Sad! I LOVE basketball season. Definitely my favorite sport to watch. Praying for a good weekend on the bus route. Since Angie babysits so I can go on Wednesday soul-winning with the teens, I babysit so she can go out on Saturdays. I do have a sign-up from soul-winning for Dan and the teens to visit so I might have a visitor in church Sunday morning anyways!

Mmm...Rollers...

Grandpa Callaghan has his candy jar in his office full of "rollers" for the grand-kids! I shall interpret...tootsie rolls! Ha! Faith so named them when she was little and couldn't figure out how to say Tootsie Rolls and so now the grand-kids LOVE to visit Grandpa's office and get some "rollers!" However, we have to watch out...Grandpa Callaghan would probably let them eat the whole jar at once if they wanted!

Thanks, God!!

Yesterday, we took the teens out as usual. Dan was pretty tired as he usually is on Wednesdays due to lack of sleep! I was pretty wiped out too since Darren has NOT been sleeping much due to molars and a few bad dreams. We got everyone picked up and then dropped off in groups to go door to door. Then Dan and I went together yesterday.

The first door we went to was opened by a lady who just stared at us and did not say a word! So I handed her a tract and invited her to come and visit us at church sometime. She closed the door and we started to the next door.

Just then the door the lady had just closed swung open again. A young adult man come dashing out and said, "Wait! Can I have one of those papers? (our tracts) I am really having a hard time in my life right now." WOW! Talk about God opening up an opportunity!!

Of course, we came back and Dan encouraged him for a bit. He told us how he and his girlfriend were really going through some trials. He had moved here from Louisiana about 5 years ago and just now was able to get a job...guess where?...UPS! So he and Dan certainly had some common ground to chat about!

Dan then opened the Bible and showed him what things could be "For Sure" in his life...knowing he was a child of God! He sweetly bowed his head, prayed and accepted Christ as his Saviour!! I was moved to tears during their prayer.

Here is the amazing part...He did not live at that house and he had only walked in the door 5 minutes before we knocked! Also, he said he had been praying every night for 4 or 5 days for God to give him a sign and show him that He was really there!! Coincidence? Hmmm...I THINK NOT! Talk about making your day, huh?!

Always heard these types of soul-winning stories, God showed us if we are faithful for Him, He will give us these special moments of our own! Ones we will NEVER forget! Isn't it GREAT to be used by God?!!!

Great Weekend!

Just because he is CUTE!!



Great weekend at Arlington Baptist Church! Had a GOOD group of teens, I had 15 in my Sunday school class and Dan had 12 or 13, I think! We had lots of folks saved and several baptisms! Not quite sure of the number. I am glad to be part of a church where hardly a Sunday goes by that we do not see souls saved in the morning service and the baptismal waters stirred! I know God is happy when the Great Commission is being fulfilled!

We also had a Haunted Bus for all those who "DARED" to walk through! A few teens and a couple men from the church "haunted" the bus and did a good job. Most kids enjoy getting scared! I'm afraid I NEVER enjoyed that sort of thing when I was younger! But it was a good promotion and brought in a lot of people on the buses. I went through too; it was scary! They did a good job!

My sister-in-law and another lady from our church recently started a Patch the Pirate Club for the younger kids. This past Sunday night was their first Sunday to sing. They did a good job and were so cute! Tried to post a video clip, but it didn't upload after about 15 MINUTES?! So, I will have to try that one again later!

We had fun carving our family pumpkin tonight! Darren was SO excited! Dan made a nice "friendly face" this year so Darren wouldn't be scared his first year carving a pumpkin! He wasn't TOO sure about all that nasty stuff coming out of the middle but then Daddy made it fun, so it was ok! Here is a 30 second video clip and a few pictures. Enjoy!

Video clip...Watching Daddy carve the face...He did a great job!

Ooooo...YUMMY!


Showing the chewed up candy in his mouth! Excited about "making a face on the pumpkin!"

What'sis, Mommy, What'sis? Darren's all too familiar question that I hear MANY times a day!

Our finished Jack-o-Lantern!

Daddy and the bud!

Darren and the pumpkin!

Mommy and our Darren man

What a cutie pie!

Honestly, could he get any cuter? i think he gets cuter every day! Sure, we have our "2-year-old" moments, but he is a good boy and he is so much fun! I love being a mommy. Here is a real short video clip and a few pictures I took of our cute man yesterday. He is our joy! I tried to post last night, but there was some systematic error on Blogger?!

Enjoy! Thanks, God, for our Darren man!

If you can't read his shirt it says, "Dad's Tough Guy!"

I walked in a few minutes later and he was sitting on the couch reading his books while wearing his beanie hat! Ha! Gotta love kids!!

Great Wednesday!

Good day today. I taught Dan's class this afternoon so he could get some sleep. I DREAD UPS peak season for him. With this new position of being in charge of his own belt, he may end up spending some extra hours which ultimately means, no sleep before he heads straight in to teach school in the mornings. Please pray for strength as he heads into this super busy season at UPS.

Of course, we had teen soul-winning today at 4:00 as usual. ALWAYS enjoy getting to go out and spend some time with our teens. I always benefit from watching their dedication and zeal for leading a lost soul to Christ. One young man who just led his first soul to the Lord about 3 weeks ago has really gotten excited about this thing of soul-winning. He personally led 8 PEOPLE to Christ this afternoon!! WOW!! Makes me stop and consider just how important it is to keep our zeal for leading a lost soul to Christ. Oh how IMPORTANT it is for every Christian!

We had 14 teens go out and...drum roll...20 PEOPLE SAVED!! WOW!! What a privilege it is to work with teens; we have such a GREAT group!!

Of course, there is the usual hilarity in the church van (we probably should have had the bus with 16 people crammed in that van!). Dan and I just laugh as we listen to the never ending interesting topics of conversation...Today, Hmmmm?!...The extra skin on your elbow, and how far you can stretch it...why some earlobes are attached to your head and some aren't...and the fun goes on and on!! Dan said we need to have a camera attached to the dashboard and just film some of the hilarious topics of discussion! Gotta love it!

Great day...Thanks, God! I will try to post a picture and video clip tomorrow.

Good job, Patriots...

No, they didn't win their basketball game, but they only lost by 3 points and they played a great game! Even some of those who weren't starters played a really great game. Always enjoy getting to take stats and watch our boys play basketball, my favorite sport to watch!

Darren and I enjoyed going to Foster Freeze for some ice cream and fun with Dave, Angie, their girls and some of the basketball team and fans. Nice evening!

A Couple Pictures...

Here are a couple pictures from Friday when we took a drive down Highway 1 (The BEAUTIFUL Pacific at sunset) and ate at Barbara's Fishtrap for Dan's birthday (which I already posted about)...



Daddy and his bud, watching the water and the sunset. Darren LOVES the waves!!

The breathtaking Pacific coastline NEVER gets old!!

Mommy and The Bud!

Lots of "Surfer Dudes" out to catch the Totally Awesome waves! Righteous...

Us three...

Had fun with the teen girls tonight!

Had a few of the teen girls over to my house. We baked some goodies and watched a Hallmark movie. Lots of fun! I have such great girls to work with! We made mini chocolate tarts with strawberries and whipped cream. Then they made snickerdoodle muffins and did a great job!


Here is a picture of them with some of their goodies!!



Here is the EASY recipe for Snickerdoodle Mini muffins

Snickerdoodle Mini Muffins...(Easier in mini muffin tins, but work fine in regular size muffin tins too! We did some of both.)
1 YELLOW CAKE MIX WITH PUDDING IN THE MIX
4 EGGS
½ CUP APPLESAUCE
SMALL BOX INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING
8 OZ. SOUR CREAM

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS WELL WITH MIXER. FILL GREASED MINI MUFFIN TINS ½ FULL OF BATTER. BAKE @ 350 FOR 10 MINUTES. TOSS IN BAG WITH ONE CUP SUGAR AND 1 ½ t. CINNAMON

Mmmm...Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday weekend for Dan!

We enjoyed stretching out Dan's birthday celebration as long as possible! His 28th birthday was this past Friday, October 16th. Of course, we had our family outing Thursday night, as I posted previously. Friday, we enjoyed a lazy day and then a YUMMY seafood dinner at Barbara's Fish Trap in Half Moon Bay. Mmmmm! Dan enjoyed his Cioppino! Saturday, after Dan made a few bus route visits, we dropped Darren off with Grandma and Aunt Angie for the day and went to Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo for Fright Fest! Had a fun time! Wish there wasn't SO MUCH nasty music everywhere you go these days!!! But other than that, we had a great time!

Also had a great day in the teen department this morning. Had 26 with 6 of those being visitors visitors and 4 of those visitors got saved!! GREAT lesson from Psalms 126 about the importance of singing and music in our lives and the testimony our happiness can have on others!

Here are a few pictures from Dan's birthday celebration...

Dan's Cioppino...AWESOME Fisherman's stew with fish and all kinds of yummy fresh seafood...

Darren and mommy ...

At Six Flags Fright Fest, the fountain was dyed red and looked NASTY!

Super Birthday man!

Before the Dolphin show (Had to leave, it was like a Rock concert! SO disappointed about that!)...

Fun Family Birthday Night for Dan!

Dan's parents took our whole clan (Us 3, Mom, Dad, Karen, Dave, Angie and their girls, Faith and Liberty) to Olive Garden tonight for Dan's birthday! WOW! It was lots of fun. Dan got some new jeans and a nice shirt and tie and some candy for his birthday!

Here are a few pictures from our fun family night (Sorry, no pictures of Mom and Dad C! Mom hates getting her picture taken so I always forget!)...

Darren man with Mommy...

Darren man with Daddy...

Us three...

Helen and Karen (YUCKY picture of Helen, but thought you all would enjoy seeing our pretty sis, Karen!!)...

Angie and Liberty (or Ity, as her nickname has evolved!)

Faith, TRYING so hard not to smile!! (SORRY about the beer picture on the menu there! HA! Terrible, I didn't even see that till just now!)

What kind of face is THAT??! Hee Hee! Little goofy man...

Opening his goodies...

Daddy's birthday cake was...PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE!! SUPER Yummy!

Helen Callaghan

Helen Callaghan

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19 Teens out Soul-winning today!

WOW! great group of kids out soul-winning today...19! With the privilege of seeing 11 people trust Christ! Our kids are a blessing. Good lesson about Joshua at church tonight. We are studying different characters of the Bible. Something I ate at McDonald's didn't agree with me so I am off to bed. Great day, though!

Another thought, though...

Just thinking as we "took over" McDonald's today after soul-winning what a blessing it is to be with a group of teens who know how to have good clean fun together and behave in public. Isn't it amazing how the presence of Christ in a young person's life can affect the way they act in all other areas of their life? We always get "looks" from people as we enter any place with 20 or more in our group. Usually that many teens in one place can only mean trouble. I love watching the change of expressions on peoples faces as they watch our kids behave like "normal human beings!" That alone is SUCH a great testimony for Christ!!

Of course, we have the normal "idiotic teen moments"...FREQUENTLY! Wouldn't be fun without those. Dan and I sometimes just shake our heads and laugh...did he really just say that?! Ha! But, as a whole, people are so impressed by watching our young people even for just a few minutes. We get good comments almost every where we go. Dan is such a great leader and teacher; training them and preparing them for how to act in each situation life throws them.

NO ONE can deny the difference God can make in a life!

NOW I am off to bed!

Nice Cozy Day!!

It was POURING rain all day today and BOY did we need it! It was also very windy and chilly. I was quite content to stay at home all day with my Darren man. We were lazy and didn't do anything too constructive except I did manage a couple loads of laundry, some dishes and a Yummy steaming hot pot of Potato Soup for supper! Mmmmm...hits the spot on a chilly day! Dan got a few more helpers to help him work his belt at UPS so he got home about an hour earlier last night. PRAISE THE LORD!! Plus a good nap this afternoon. I sure feel better when he is able to get a little sleep (even if it still isn't much!). We all enjoyed our hot soup together, played some basketball on Darren's little hoop and ended a nice family evening eating Moose Tracks ice cream (Bless God!) and watching good ol' Andy Griffith! Cracks me up how Darren always asks to watch "Andy and Barney!" Didn't think a 2 year old would be much interested! He usually gets a little disinterested before the end, though! Nice relaxing day!

Here are a couple misc. pictures I pulled off of Dan's phone...

Mommy and Darren at the park about a week ago...

Two VERY handsome men at church last week!!!

With Dr. and Mrs. Schaap during our recent visit this past July...

Like that "hat hair!" Go 'Niners!


Me and Dan, MY MAN, Callaghan on the hayride at Dell'Osso Farm with the teens last Saturday...

Great Service at our church tonight!

We enjoyed the Baptist Conference on Soul-winning tonight at our church with Bro. Alvin Martinez from North Valley singing 5 wonderful songs and Dr. Bob Gray Sr. preaching an encouraging message on "Never, Never Turn Back." Had a great crowd of people from our church tonight, and most of our teens back in the service again tonight! Proud of our teens for their faithfulness!! Also, quite a few people from visiting churches. I think we had 6 visiting pastors and their people. What a blessing to have great fellowship with other Christian people!

Bro Alvin Martinez singing his heart out!

Dr. Bob Gray Sr. Telling one of his jokes!

Bro. David Webster, Bro. Alvin Martinez' AMAZING pianist! (Definitely sounds like Dr. Zachary's protege'!)

What a GREAT Start to our Fall Program!

We had a great day at church all day today. This morning was the start of our Fall Program and Baptist Conference! We had 38 in our teen department! Exciting!! God is GOOD! We had breakfast and made some announcements in the teen dept. Then we all headed downstairs to hear Dr. Bob Gray Sr. preach a WONDERFUL Sunday school lesson on forgiveness. We also got to see 22 people receive Christ as Saviour this morning with 5 baptisms! Exciting to see God's people excited about bringing visitors to church.

We also had a great group of folks back for church tonight. We did not get to take any pictures this morning, but here is a picture of some of the teens we had back tonight with Dr. Bob Gray. It is a GREAT privilege to serve the Lord!

Our Family with Dr. Bob Gray (Can you tell Darren is tired?!)

GO...PATRIOTS!!

Woo Hoo! Our guys won their home game tonight! 49 - 23...PATRIOTS! Dan keeps the scoreboard and keeps the game lively with his iPod and speaker, playing college fight songs, tunes from Jeopardy, The Price is Right, etc. etc! He definitely knows how to make things fun wherever he goes! I LOVE taking basketball stats! The guys played a great game tonight and had their heads in the game. They played good defense tonight and made most of their shots. We played Bro. Mike Ray's church, the Hopewell Huskies. Always enjoy seeing good Christian friends!

Got almost all my forms and documents printed today and ready to go for Baptist Conference and Fall program this coming Sunday and Monday, praise God! GLAD to have that taken care of. Now ALL I have to do is prepare breakfast for 50 people by myself! HA! Excited about our Big Day, praying for 50 teens! Our biggest day ever so far was 37 teens. We serve a big God, He can do anything!

Ahhhh....

A nice simple and relaxing date night! We had a Costco Polish sausage / drink deal. Can't beat that for $1.50! The off to share a cup of decaf Starbucks (half coffee / half water, of course!) and look at a book in Barnes and Noble. Such a GREAT way to relax your mind and unwind!

Please pray for Dan, they have already been working him overtime at UPS so he barely gets one hour of sleep in the morning and then 2 more in the afternoon. That is just NOT enough to survive on. I am afraid for his health. Please pray God will sustain him until we are able to find something else for second income! He is such a hard worker, but that can wear down on anyone pretty fast! Darren is pretty "clogged up" in the sinuses, but doesn't seem to be too sick otherwise, thank God!

Thank you, God, for another day! Goodnight to all!

Busy, Busy Days!

Sorry, I have not put up a post in a couple days. We have been super busy around here! Our Fall Program starts this Sunday and we are having a Big Day in our Teen department, Friend Day. We are trying to break all our attendance records for the past 5 years in our teen department! We also have our Baptist Conference on soul-winning taking place this Sunday and Monday as well. Dr. Bob Gray Sr. is coming to preach for us. He will preach Sunday morning and evening and then Monday evening. Monday is when we will have people from visiting churches all around our area come. We also have Bro. Alvin Martinez from North Valley Baptist coming to sing for us!

Also, Darren is sick with a yucky cold and is not sleeping at nights, therefore neither do I! (And, of course, neither does Dan!!) So this will make for a MOST interesting few days, i feel quite certain! We are excited about a great weekend though. God is bigger than we are!

Anyways, I will be MOST busy the next few days, so for those of you who follow my blog, forgive me if I do not have time to post too often. I will try to at least post a quick note every day even if I don't have time for pictures!

GREAT Teen activity tonight!

What a GREAT group of kids we have! We had 28 teens tonight, plus Dan and I and our bus driver brought his wife and daughter. So 33 all together! WOW! What a great group! They were such a great testimony; we had several staff at Dell'Osso Farms comment on what a great group of kids we have and we said, "Thanks, We know!" Normally people get a little scared when nearly 30 teenagers come marching in, but after a few minutes they realize there is something different about a group of kids who love the Lord. What a great advertisement for Jesus Christ and Arlington Baptist Church! They enjoyed the hayride with cookies, the haunted house (their favorite part!), the giant pillow jump and then they had time to stroll around and do any of the other activities, which were many, for about an hour. I always love hearing our kids lift their voices up and sing the songs of God during the last 20 minutes of the ride on every teen activity. It is always such a great way to end up a fun evening! Enjoy a few pictures...