RS Weekly Update: Monday, June 30th through Sunday, July 6th

First and Foremost: Big Texas welcome to President Todd and Sister Sharon Hansen. We're looking forward to a great three years!

Sadly, this week we're losing

John and Laurie Armour
Gary and Nancy Conners
and Stacie Anderson (congrats! Stacie)

See our Contact Information page for their new information.

This week:

• Newsletter Deadline! Please, get the calendars and announcements for your auxiliaries and committees to me as soon as possible. July's issue comes out on Sunday.
  
• Dry Pack Day: Tuesday, July 1st, 8:45am for the morning shift, 6:45pm for the evening shift. Check out Lucy's full post on her temporary blog.
  
• Suggested Family Outing: Thursday, July 3rd @ 6:30 pm: Admission is FREE. "A Star-spangled Salute", concert and fireworks by the Houston Symphony, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. (map it) A great way to kick off the holiday weekend.
• Olde Oaks Ward Annual Independence Day Pancake Breakfast and Parade. Friday, July 4th @ 8:00 am. This one you don't want to miss! Bring your tykes on their bikes for a patriotic start of the day.
  

Sunday's lesson:

Fast Sunday: Presidency Lesson

Upcoming Ward Events:

4th of July Pancake Breakfast. See you there!

Visiting Teaching:

Summer's got everyone running, to make your appointments early. If schedules don't coincide, remember a letter in the mail or a phone call to ensure all is well.

Preparedness:

I received a treasure trove of information on hurricane preparedness and food storage from Cheryl Driggs this week as hand-outs for the Spring Creek Ward joint meeting. You can find them all on our group page at http://oldeoaksrs.googlegroup.com. Follow the links on the first page.

Enrichment:

What's upcoming in for your personal enrichment:

• Friday July 11, @ 10:00 am Learn to crochet at the church
• TENTATIVE: Friday, July 11, Gardening Club Field Trip to Heiden's Feed Store (map it), the fruit tree experts; further details TBA.
  
• Friday July 18,@ 10:00 am Jewelry making: necklaces and bracelets taught by Melissa Bowcutt
• Friday July 25 @ 9:00 am Houston Children's Museum field trip. Meet at the church and we'll go downtown together. Cost: children museum $ 5/ person, under age 2 free. Contact Marsha Johnson for more information @ 281-353-7930.
  
• Friday August 1 @ 8:30 pm Suggested Family Outing: Houston Shakespeare Festival, Miller outdoor theather @ Hermann park. no cost.

Remember: participation in any of these activities is strictly voluntary. Participate in what you like or are able, and ignore the rest. If you have ideas for low- or no-cost activities, if you'd like to learn something we're not offering, or if you have a skill you'd like to share, please, let us know. Enrichment Committee: Jeanette Schadler, Claudia Del Papa, Marilyn Bullock.

Olde Oaks Relief Society Group Site:

What's new? Just about everything. We've got a new look, a new home page, lots more information and more to come. Everything is a work in progress, so have patience with us while we get everything up to speed. Here's a rough sketch:

• An easy index right up front for better navigation.
  
• Easy access to the Olde Oaks Relief Society Calendar linked right on the home page.
• Members' map. This is still in it's conception phase, so please be patient. Also, be assured that no one will be able to access this map unless they are members of the Olde Oaks Relief Society.
  
• The Olde Oak monthly newsletter now in pdf format online.
• Lesson Schedules and Links to lds.org, recommended reading, etc.
  
• Preparedness hints, helps, handouts, and links, from our two sources of all knowledge, Lucy Stern and Cheryl Driggs. Lucy will have her own blog up soon, just as soon as she sits still long enough to set it up. For now, I'm posting them on our Weekly Update blog, and on a special page on the group site.
• Contact information for families who have left our ward but not our hearts. If you have addresses that belong on that list, please, let me know.
• An Enrichment section which provides not only information on upcoming activities and events, but also on those in the past, including the Cooking and Gardening Club. Look here for hand-out and recipe files to download, announcements, tips and more.
• A spot for good uplifting material you may want to share whether or not it is "scripture and verse". You be the judge and I'll put it up, so long as it is virtuous, lovely and of good report or praiseworthy.
• Links of other good stuff, including blogs of ward members past and present, as well as those you may find of interest or are related to the classes, such as scrap-booking or recipe blogs. If you have great ideas for family helps or fun activities, or know of other bloggers out there that aren't listed, let me know. This is just the barest conception of a list, and I'm sure there are others out there.
  
• Finally, a Weekly Update blog, where these posts will appear. Also, because this site is so new and growing so quickly, and because the larger it becomes the more difficult it will be to know what is knew that you haven't seen before, I will be noting new pages, changes to old ones, corrections, etc., on the blog. This should enable you to tell at a glance what's cookin'. If you're really a fanatic (which I seem to be) and you know how to use it (which I don't), you can even subscribe to an RSS feed for up-to-the-minute information.
  

Remember. This site is yours, including the blog and the email list. If you have something you think needs to be added, or I've overlooked something or am in error (highly likely), please, let me know, post a comment or start a discussion, and I'll get it up. Or, you can even contribute pages and files yourself. You've already got the necessary permission.

To post on the Google Group site, address your email to oldeoaksrs@googlegroups.com. You can also post discussions from the website directly. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me.

More Summer Resources:

• Today's Mama, Houston Mama: a great resource for free activities in and around Houston from our own Jennifer Hatch. Check out her calendar of events here.