Camp

Even though it has been a rainier and chillier summer, it is well under way.  In fact, we are closer to going back to school than we are from the kids getting out.  I had all these well intentioned plans of bike rides and completing workbooks and not turning the tv on before 8:00 and eating healthy but that has not happened because well...life. 

There have been several unexpected things that have happened over the course of a few weeks. For one, Broderick went to church camp.  As a middle schooler.  This whole middle school thing has been kind of emotional for this mama.  Okay...not kind of but really emotional.  I was already having a hard time with him going to middle school and then to send him off to camp for a week...tears.  He really wanted to and I knew deep in my heart it would be good for all of us.  It may have been one of the best parenting choices we have made.  He had a blast, made new friends, grew in the Lord, grew in being responsible and came home with a whole bunch of great stories and memories. 

Mid week the camp had family night.  Did I mention camp was only 20 minutes away...Ha! Rob and I went to spend time with him and participate in their night worship service.  Can I just say...I want to go to camp.  I never went to church camp as a kid.  I did however spend half a summer with my cousin in Atlanta when I was Broderick's age.  Best. Summer. Ever.  Anywhoooo...back to Broderick....he walked us around the grounds, showed us his dorm, told us what he had been doing and eating and spending his money on (snacks, paintball, Mountain Dew...tweens, geesh!)  He introduced us to his friends and told us what they do each night after worship.  I absolutely loved hearing about all of it.  I saw a grown up version of my son.  I saw a happy, responsible, young man.  I learned he is completely capable of showering and getting dressed and cleaning up with out me constantly reminding him.

I left camp that night with a new perspective on being his mom and our relationship.  I left excited about what the next few years hold.  I left with a desire to stay connected to my son and his friends.  I am so excited about what God has in store for this boy and our family.

Oh...and we excepted an offer on our house last week.  More on that later. 

Celebration

This Sunday was an unforgettable day for our family.  I am not going to say anything about it.  I will let Broderick tell you...

 

 

 



As a mom, this is the one thing I have prayed for both of my children....that they would choose to follow Jesus, make Him Lord of their life and then proclaim Him to the nations.  What a blessing to witness this moment with so many loved ones surrounding us!

 

Broderick will be sharing his testimony with the school in Uganda on our trip.  We are so excited for him to start sharing his story and what God is doing in his life.

{eight}

 Today we celebrate God blessing our family with Carys Elizabeth.

 

 To know Carys is to know innocence,

 

beauty,

 

love,

spunk,

silliness,

 

fun,

joy,

 

a true girl in every sense of the word,

and a true servant.

 

Our family has been so blessed by this tender-hearted, thoughtful, loving little girl.  Each day with her is a joy.  She brings laughter to all of us with her silly sense of humor.  It is hard to believe that today she is 8.  I look back at these pictures and can not believe how fast the time has gone.  I pray for her future and know that God is going to use her in might ways for His glory.  I don't know if I have ever met a child that loves the way she does and I know that the love she has comes straight form the Lord.

 

 

Dance

Saturday ended the "official" dance season.  (We still have one competition left.) It was a long 2 days between rehearsal and recital, but so worth it.  Rob said it best, "You spend all this money and time and think should we be doing this, then you see your daughter on stage..."  And it all becomes worth every penny and minute!  I know I am a little bias but God has truly given Carys the gift of dance!  She is a beautiful dancer and absolutely adores it!

 

I love the friends she (and I) make during the year.

 

 A friend from house church also dances at the studio.  After she got done performing Carys met her backstage with a big hug and encouraging words.

 

 Backstage coloring while waiting for their next dance.

 

 "Shooting Stars" and their fabulous teacher!

 

 Sass much!?

Carys and Allie have danced together for 4 years now.  (This is them in their ballet costumes.  This was an absolute beautiful dance!) They have such a great time together.  Her mom has become a great friend as well!

 

What a GREAT year!  Here's to many more!

Kids on Mission

"Where are you going for your mission trip?"

"Mexico."

"Oh.  And you are taking your kids?"

"Yes."

"Oh.  You know Mexico isn't safe?"

"Yes."

"Well, be careful."

This was the usual conversation leading up to our trip.  Like I said in my previous post, I had lots of fears about going. But I can say, now that we have gone, that not only going on mission, but taking our kids was one of the best decisions we ever made.

Our family learned things about ourselves and our relationship with God that we could not have learned in the comfort of our everyday life.  For example, serving others is a blessing and serving ourselves is not.

Broderick (9) and Carys (7) worked their behinds off for 6 straight days.
They were staying up late for worship.

 They were waking up early to eat, do devotions, and serve breakfast.

They were playing with kids.

They were making bracelets.

They were serving food.

They were singing songs.

They were cutting craft materials.

They were caring water jugs.

There were doing whatever was asked of them.

I do not tell you this to say, "Look at my kids.  Aren't they awesome!?"  They are, but that is not the point.
The point is, that my kids served our Lord in another country for a week and your kids can do it too!  It was such an awesome experience to serve as a family...to watch my kids eager to help others...to hear them share their "picture of the day" (this was a something that happened that day that stuck out to you).  Nothing can top those experiences.  NOTHING!

Sometimes I feel like as a parent I can put my kids in this safe little bubble and say they can't handle this or that.  But the scripture tells us different.  It tells us, adults, to have child like faith.  Remember I said the first night we were debriefing and Amy asked about our fears for the trip?  My answer was a mile long.  You know what both my kids said?  "I don't really have any fears."  That is what God wants us to have.  He wants us to go into this world, living with abandon...no fears, and serve Him.

I encourage you to look into a family mission trip.  I know Back2Back allows it, because that is the organization we went with.  There are all different organizations and all different places.  Last year we went to Pikeville, Kentucky with Youth on Mission.  Do some research.  I would encourage you to start with Back2Back.  I was highly impressed.  (If you have any questions you can always ask me.  I LOVE to talk about our trip.)
Going on a mission trip with your family is something you will NOT regret!

Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe this little cutie is going to be 7 on Thursday. 

7!

We had her party last week and it was very fun.

We did a spa theme.  Which seems to be the "thing" to do for a little girl turning 7.

That is what the princess wanted so that is what the princess got.

My sister came and helped a ton.

We turned the play room into "Carys' Spa".  This is where we did nails and facials.

Carys had a great time and loved having all her friends here to celebrate with her.

 

Of course Lainey was here to celebrate with the girls!

 

I can not tell you how blessed I am to have this little sweetie in our family.

(I type this as she stands next to me and yammers on about anything and everything.)

 

She is full of joy, love, kindness, and sympathy.

She is laughing or smiling most of the time.

She loves to be with her brother.

She is a cuddly little monkey.

She loves to help others.

She is 100% girly girl.

She is smart.

 

She is a blessing.

Happy Birthday my Sweet!

Are You Ready to Laugh?

The last day of school I gave the kids a "Summer Bucket List" sheet.  It has like 30 fun ideas of things they/we can do.  One of the ideas was to have a photo shoot.  This is what I found on my camera afterwards...

 

 

(Not sure why they are all pink.  Something is wrong with my camera.)

 

How funny is that?



What Can $10 Do?

Our family has been doing a family devotion over the last five weeks.  It is a book and study guide called "Tales of the Not Forgotten" by Beth Guckenberger.  Beth is the co-founder of the organization we are going to Mexico with, so we thought it would be a good study to do as a family to prep for our trip.  It is mostly about orphans and missionaries and how God weaves their stories together.  It refers to God as the Storyweaver.  It has been very eye opening for Rob and I.  I had been wondering if the kids have bee understanding and making connections...until last night.

Our story last night was about orphans in India and how only 3 out of 5 boys get to go to school and 2 out of 5 girls.  We were talking about ways our family could help kids that can't go to school.  Broderick said, "I mean, I have $4, but what can $4 do?"  And Carys said, "I have $6.  I will give it."  Rob and I did not ask them if they had money or if they wanted to give it.  We were just discussing ways we could help.

The "ironic" thing is...we got an email that Ebeneezer Children's home (the orphanage Rob went to in Uganda) needs money to buy school supplies.  It had a broken down list of how much each thing cost.  So we pulled it up and told the kids what their $10 could do.  They said, "We want to give it!"  I could not believe it.  Broderick said, "I was going to buy 4 hot wheels, but I already have a million.  I don't need anymore."  I thought, "Thank you Lord.  They are getting it."

We got to talk about how God is using them in the lives of the kids at Ebeneezer.  He is weaving their stories together. 

My Tiny Dancer

This weekend wrapped up another year of dance for Miss Carys.  This was her 4th year and by far the most fun.  It was also her first year of doing competition which we both loved!

 

The girls this year did a Hairspray tap routine.  It was so cute and fun!

 

 

The girls waiting backstage for their first routine.

 

Carys and her friend that she has danced with for 3 years.

How cute at they?

 

They also did a lyrical routine to Maybe from Annie and a hip-hop routine to a remix of It's a Hard Knocked Life.  It was my favorite!

It was so fun to watch the girls grow to be such good friends.  Who, by the way, have some awesome moms too!  I looked forward to class every Monday as much as Carys just so I could chat and catch up with the moms!



The girls giving their teacher a big hug at the end of the recital!

She is seriously the sweetest person I have ever met!



Look at that sweet boy!  He was so proud of his sister and excited to give her flowers!

Celebrating Lainey Louise

Have I mentioned my sister is pregnant?  With a girl?  I am sure I have. 

Her due date is quickly approaching.  May 9th to be exact.

This past Sunday was her baby shower.  It was so much fun and full of cute girly things.

Thanks to Pinterest we had a great theme...

Berries and Baby.

 

We did a yogurt bar which was very fun.  My mom made these granola cups that were awesome!

Do you see those flowers?  They have strawberries in them!  Too cute!

 

 

My sister's mother in law made these adorable favors!  Look at the cute pinwheels for the little girls!

Darling!

 

 

Sisters. Aunts. Cousins.

 

Carys is so excited for Lainey to be born.  She also requested that they have matching outfits for each day!  Can you tell she was having a blast.  She was such a good helper!

 

Not to much longer until Little Lainey Louise will be here for all of us to hold and kiss.

The Bible Group

Have you watched the first episode of The Bible on the History channel?

It is FANTASTIC! 

We DVR'd it on Sunday and watched it tonight with the kids.  It was spectacle!  I was fighting back tears the entire time.  Why, you ask?  Because I believe this.  It is my history.  It is why I am who I am today.  It is one thing to watch a  movie that is made up.  But to watch something you believe with every fiber of your being, that you have read about many times, is a completely different thing.  He you didn't watch the first episode, I would highly recommend starting this Sunday.

The funny thing about this...

After we were done, Broderick asked me if him and Carys could read their Bible's together and then talk about what they read before bed.  Of course, I said yes.  (Could I really say no!)  They laid in Carys' bed and read for about 15 minutes then we told them it was time to rap it up.  I could hear them talking for a few minutes, then I heard Broderick say, "The Bible Group is now over." (Hilarious, right!?)  So, apparently, my children have a Bible group!

B - Boy



(newborn)

 (1 year)

 

 (2 years)

 

 (3 years)

 

 (4 years)

 

 (5 years)

 

 (6 years)

 

 (7 years)

 

 (8 years)

 

(9 years)

 

 

Today is your birthday!

You are 9!

(In 9 more years you will be 18!  18!)

As I look back at all these pictures, I am reminded of so many memories.

The fear and excitement I felt as I laid in the hospital bed thinking, "I am a mom!"

The tears I cried the first year of you life as I tried to figure out how to care for you.

The joy you brought to me with each milestone.

How much fun it was to watch you explore your surroundings.

The challenges that came with having you and a baby.

The happiness I had watching you play and love your sister.

Seeing you change into this boy...not a toddler or preschooler anymore, but a boy.

Watching you learn to read and write.

The fears of becoming a mom to an adolescent.  A child that was in school all day.

Out of my care for the majority of the day.

Developing into your own person.  (As if you weren't that from day one!)

Seeing you experience all the wonderful things of Disney World.

And now...9.

You made me a mother.

You gave me this name that I love so dearly.

I had no clue what it truly meant that day you entered the world, and I am still learning so much.

You have taught me so much!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

I am so excited for the next 9 years!