A Glorious Day

Spiderman is an amazing boy.  We often marvel at what all he has been through in his short, little life and yet he has such a positive attitude (most of the time).  How beautiful to watch today as his earthly Daddy helped him publicly identify with his Heavenly Daddy through believer's baptism.  Precious!

It was over 2 years ago that he gave his heart to Jesus and we've watched him grow in his faith ever since.  He's been "contemplating" baptism for the past year but had been too scared to get up in front of everyone to do it.  All this week he has been praying that God would help him to be brave so he could be baptized.  Well God did help him and he even told me afterward that  it really wasn't that scary after all.  That's the peace that comes from knowing you've obeyed what your Father has asked you to do.  Thank you Jesus!

In God's timing, All God's Children International chose this week to share the miracle story (check it out) of what God has done here in our little family and our little church.  Today was a neat reminder about the bigger picture of why God brought this child to our family - to help bring him to his eternal family. 

 "Come and see what God has done, how awesome His works in man's behalf!" Psalm 66:5 NIV

Parting shots of August

This month we celebrated Spiderman's 3rd Gotcha Day.  Yep, we've been blessed to be his parents for 3 years now and time has just flown.  We've watched him grow physically (5 clothing sizes, 26 lbs and 7 inches since coming home), mentally (he has progressed in school - not easily but with much hard work), culturally (now loves pizza, Bill Cosby and often says "Dude"), socially (while still quiet, he's gone from painfully shy to everybody's best friend), and spiritually (he's come to faith in Jesus Christ and prays for everyone he can think of to do the same ).  He seemed to accept us as his family from the get go but has definitely grown very comfortable in his place here with us.   God has exceeded our expectations!

In honor of the celebration, Grandma and Great Aunt Liz made a trip out to visit for the week.  We had a great time and played a LOT of games.  We're thankful they took the time to travel so far out to see us.

August was also a time to get some summer projects done that we've been putting off due to the crazy heat.  My man and I worked on powerwashing the house and decks, water sealing them both and scraping, sanding and painting the trim on the front of the house.  Nothing too enjoyable though it all looks pretty nice.  The kids got in on the action by painting our shed (now lovingly called the barn) a more festive color.

It's very cheery now and it complements the nice new roof my man gave it earlier this summer.  The kids were proud to put their own elbow grease into the project, though they were surprised to see that painting was as much "work" as it was.  Looks great guys!  Now we're ready for fall and school! 

local wildlife

Just a quick look at our recent nature opportunities.  We had fun waiting for our monarch caterpillar to hatch from it's cocoon.  We actually missed the actaul moment it emerged but we had fun holding it while it got it's strength together.  Here is Jaybird showing off his new buddy - it actually stayed around us for over an hour.

Now you have to look really closely but here is Spiderman holding a cool spotted salamander we found out back.  That's the first one we've ever found here and I was glad to see the boys were both interesed in holding and examining it -though the girls kept their safe distance. 

 

Here is Goose trying her hand at milking a cow.  She had been bugging me for a year or so about wanting to milk a cow and we finally had our chance.  All the kids gave it a shot and figured out the proper technique.  We were really put to shame when Mr. Noe took hold and did some serious milking in very little time.  Very impressive.  The kids tried some fresh, warm milk but decided they prefer it cold!  The Noes were nice enough to send our milk home with us so we could enjoy it for the next few days.

The Budding Chefs

As part of a summer experiment and teaching opportunity, we decided to have each of the kids try their hand at playing chef (planning and preparing the meal for the family).  They had to choose what to make, check the pantry for ingredients, make a shopping list for what was missing and then prrepare and serve the meal on their night.  Each week, we had a night where it was someone elses turn.  They loved it!

Goose went first and planned a big meal of chicken lasagna, garlic bread and jello parfaits.  It was all delicious but I forgot to take any photos.  Silly me.

Spiderman here chose homemade pizza, fruit salad, and this cake for dessert.  They relished every step, from what to make and how to prepare it.  Can you see the big smile?

Jaybird chose to BBQ for his meal and you can see the hot dogs and burgers sizzling on the grill.  He paired that with chips and salsa and pumpking pie (his favorite dessert).  Oh the power he weilds with those tongs...

Boo had a more creative touch with her meal plans.  You can see her showing off her ocean themed seashell mac and cheese topped with octo-dogs.  Finish that off with a big bowl of dirt and worms (chocolate and gummy respectively) for dessert and we all felt like kids again. 

GOOD JOB KIDS!

Summer Camp

This was the first year my kids have gone to Church Camp (mostly because I was asked to help and that required them coming along).  This was the SCCA Junior Camp for 3rd & 4th graders but all 4 kids LOVED it!  I was thankful it was only Sun thru Wed. as I'm getting too old for all that fun out in the heat.  I may have gone reluctantly but God got my heart right while at camp and blessed me by the opportunity to love on these kids.  I spent many years as a camper and I know how important those experiences, lessons and memories can be.

This is Boo with her new friend, Christian.  The first night she slept by me but then she moved her bed to be next to her.  It was great to see her making friends and seeing the other kids treat her as a peer instead of a little kid.  She did her fair share of memorizing verses for the team too.  The week's theme was "Believe it" and the lesson I had to teach was on Deborah (Judges 4:). 

Here is Goose with one of her many new friends, Shana.  She really has no trouble making friends and if anything, her struggle is juggling the demands of the other girls around her.  She's learning that you can't make everyone happy all the time.  That's difficult for one with a compassionate heart but a necessary lesson to learn.  Like the other kids, she was not ready for camp to end and is already planning for next summer.

The boys had a great time but as I wasn't allowed in their dorm, I don't have a picture of them for you.

Summer Celebrations & Such

We just celebrated a wonderful Independence Day.  We enjoyed a yummy cookout with friends and while we waited for the fireworks that evening, we made tie dyed shirts and played four-square (it was amazing how long they kept at the game).  Here is the beautiful outcome of the shirt project and the happy faces of their designers.

The next day we went blackberry picking at the family farm.  You can see it was a very fruitful few hours in the heat, thorns and ticks.  That's why they say, "no pain, no gain."  Now we are enjoying the "gain" in the form of jam, syrup and smoothies.

A huge blessing has been the recent arrival of the newest Ethiopian friend.  Jonah was welcomed home by his new family and our little group of friendly support.  I can't tell you how excited my boys are that another boy has been added to the group, even if he is a bit older than they are.  Please pray for Jonah & his new family as God knits them together and they adjust to their new life together.

Now this one probably doesn't qualify to many as a celebration but I disagree.   My man and his boys worked hard to reroof our shed this past weekend.  Not only was this a first for all of them but it turned out great.  You wouldn't know it was a first for them.  The boys mostly did the dismantling but they were proud to help out Dad.  Good job Babe!

Final Visits

Our last day out East was spent with some more relaxing family visits and the guys even did some skeet shooting together.  It was a relaxing day to finish up the whirlwind week.

We started our trip home on Father's Day and stopped in West Virginia to visit with Big Skip & Sue.  My man's best hunting buddy, Skip, is their son but he is in the Phillipines this summer on a mission trip.   We had a great visit with his parents and they treated us like kings & queens at their gorgeous hunting cabin for the evening.  If my man has his way, he'll be back out to hunt with the gang this fall...

After that, we spent the last day driving for 13 or so hours to get home!  As nice as it was to be in our own beds that night, we weren't thrilled about the nasty hot & wet weather we returned home to (we are about 12 inches AHEAD in normal rainfall this year and we're ready to build an ark).  And so ends our 2010 vacation.  Now back to real life....