Reece and his Daddy..

This little guy could not wait until his Daddy got home to go on a bike ride with him. Well...Daddy decided that Reece was big enough to ride on the connector bike that fits on Brian's bike. Reece has seen Austin and Lindsey ride on it and the kid is 'over the moon' excited that he is now big enough to ride with his Daddy.

Flipping Water Fun.....

Only a GrandDad and Daddy can be THIS much fun in the water..

The Grandparent's visit to North Carolina...

Last week the Grandparents were here for a visit. The first night we had a crackers/cheese/fruit kind of a picnic and time to walk around and explore. Here are some pictures from our picnic....Right where we ate we had some incredibly loud music from a couple of bull frogs that were sitting on lily pads or hiding among the reeds. We did spot a few of them even though they blend right into the scenery.

Saw some monkeys in the trees...


The kids hanging out with their GrandMom..
Watching baby ducks..
Lindsey relaxing with her GrandDad..

PURPOSEFUL...

Today, Brian and I spent a good portion of our time outside. During that time a certain butterfly found that its greatest goal/purpose for that day was to latch itself onto Brian's hat, shorts, shirt, etc. Anywhere Brian went, the butterfly followed closely. This is another picture of a butterfly we had seen on Thursday and we can clearly see that this butterfly has a purpose for its time as well.

Clearly I have found a 'fondness' for the word "purpose/purposeful". It is a word that has defined my summer. We've already had such a wonderful summer and I know that the Lord has been good. He truly owes me nothing in that He has already given me His everything so that I might have eternal life. Yet I did ask the Lord, especially this summer, to give me great purpose in each and every day. Sometimes that might simply be spending the afternoon at the pool with the kids. Other times it has been sitting in my blue chair and reading chapter after chapter in the book of Luke as I occasionally glance up at the kids riding their bikes in the cul de sac. I've sincerely tried to wake up each and every day asking the Lord to direct my steps for that day. Here's what I've learned so far.....

Prayer: I now have dear, dear friends who are currently facing cancer, loss of a job or husband's job, fertility issues, a friend who SO desires to get on the mission field and sees some obstacles, and the list goes on and on. My one 'prayer purpose' is to ask the Lord to bring people to my heart and mind and then to not just think of them - but to really pray for them. It should be one of our greatest joys this side of heaven to pray for our family and friends. Please know...if you've recently asked me to pray for you or a loved one. God has answered my own prayer and you all have been on my heart and in my prayers daily.

Scripture: My quiet time changes in the summer as some mornings we are gone and some afternoons are gone, yet - praise God - my longing for time in His Word is even stronger when the days of summer are here. Some days I don't feel I give that much effort at all and other days are rich with time to soak in scripture. I ask the Lord to impress verses on my heart and He has been faithful to do so.

Husband: The regular school year can be quite hectic and so we find the need for 'summer projects'. These summer projects include paint, wood, sweat and more sweat. Even though I know Brian would leave all that for himself to do and encourage me that all I do in the home is enough, yet I've desired to be more of a help to those "outside projects." Well....I guess we will see if I've been a help when he sees my latest paint job. I'm also thankful for a full 10 years of "couch time" and showing the kids that Mommy gets Daddy first each evening. So important..

Friendships: I do not like a "full schedule" yet recently found out that summer was full. We have dear friends who, once again, have asked to keep our kids for a couple of days. As Brian and I were trying to find out when that could be, we realized that the first opportunity was the middle of August. That's just crazy to me, but it is a reality fortunately filled with trips and fun times. My prayer is always that the Lord would open up days to spend with dear friends and - as always - He's proved faithful.

So thankful that I can ask the Lord to direct my steps each and every day for He is my Lord and Savior. Praying I remember to live purposely -not only in the summer - but every day as I walk this side of Heaven.

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

Beach Day...

I can't believe we are several days into June and still had not been to the beach. This is a first for us because we had usually taken a few trips down in May. This year May was just not going to happen. And it almost felt like June wasn't going to happen when we had to cancel a Saturday beach trip. So, we did a first for us and I took the kids down by myself. We had a blast! I'm worse than the kids with excitement as I just can't wait to get my toes in the sand and spend a day at the beach...

Our kids are truly 'wave jumpers'. They would have spent the whole time jumping waves for sure. I must admit I missed Brian pulling the heavy cooler and I missed having him jump the waves with the kids. ( and I missed his company of course and him driving while I catch up on many magazines....etc. :) I usually manage to keep my head out of the water, but at one moment I thought Austin had gone out too far and was having problems (he wasn't). Well....I guess I now know that it is likely this Mom will die trying to get to her kids. A couple of waves took me and literally flipped my feet above my head and pulled me right under. Lindsey was just too excited over this saying: "Mom - you should have seen yourself!" That's ok....I can only imagine the spectacle I was out there...


There were a few moments in the day when I did call an "ocean break" and the kids still had a great time playing in the sand. This picture, below, is my ocean view during the "ocean - wave jumping breaks". The day was gorgeous!!

Love my GPS!! I know how to get to Wilmington, but I flunked Brian's quiz of how to get to a very specific spot (one with a shower and bathroom facilities). So he requested I take my trusted friend along with me. I snapped a picture of it as we were leaving the ocean as I loved seeing all the 'blue' on the GPS. Lindsey and Reece slept all the way home and -even though I'd never want to be a truck driver - I did enjoy a solitary 2 hours going home.

Our Three Little Jumping Beans....

Our plan, today, was to go to the beach with some friends. Unfortunately their daughter was sick and the weather showed some thunderstorms. So...instead of the beach we decided to stay home and jump around. Our kids love the beach and so I think I have a surprise for them come Monday, but they still seemed to have lots of fun today!

More summer fun..

Last week a local mall opened up a Lego Store and we decided to go to the Grand Opening. The kids, with their friends Austin and Ashlyn, got to help build an 8 ft. Yodi (I think that is what it is called....not too familiar with Star Wars names...)

Here is a smaller replica of the Yodi that they were building. Afterwards we hit the pool for the afternoon. If you came to our house you would see towels hanging everywhere. We've now been to our neighborhood pool morning, afternoon and even snuck in a late night swim last night. No time to even put away the towels lately.


The boys had fun 'attacking' each other by blowing water through the noodles and the girls were always willing to pose for a sweet picture.


These next two pictures were taken during a morning swim with our neighbors. We are blessed to have the best neighbors and these kids have spent hours outside every day this summer. Here I had asked the girls to smile for me and Reece can't resist posing himself.

Summer Fun......

I can't believe summer has just begun. It feels like we have packed an entire summer into just a week and a half.


Spending time with special friends would definitely be the highlight of this past week. Here are the kids during a fun-filled water balloon fight.
Doing bubbles the 'Martha Phillips way'. This was just too much fun!