Braving it with the Boys

Best pirate parrot I've seen yet!

I thought I would water the plants, but Speedie decided to water himself! He pulled on the hose til it he could dose himself.

The boys' expo chickens arrived home on Saturday July 8th and we've been enjoying them ever since.

Sometimes they are so kind and helpful to each other. Instantly enemies...instantly friends...

This little guy is just too cute sometimes!

It is officially rainy season...glorious wind and pounding rain blowing up every couple days.

The boys with their Joy Camp buddies, Mitchell Lanz, Scott Kieser and Brecken Beyer.

Pizza is a great bucket filler!

Play at golden hour!

The dedicated police man who patrolled my house yesterday.

Well, Marce arrived home last night and we were all very excited to see her. Thank you to all who prayed for my two weeks without her. Please continue to pray that we will have a smooth transition back to "normal" life.

I am very thankful for God's faithfulness these past two weeks. There was a lot of ugly (stress, disrespect, weariness, tantrums) and a lot of beautiful (moments of connection, joy, delight, peace in the midst of difficulty). And there is hope even for the ugly because God makes all things beautiful in his time! 

"Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Off to Joy Camp

 

Yesterday was the first day of Joy Camp for Zoom (on left) and Whiz (second from right). Speedie has Joy Camp with the older group, so his first day was Monday and Tag is still too young, so we have "class" at home. 

They all got new Joy Camp T-shirts. On the front they read, 

JOY nm: I am happy to be with you

And on the back, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Joy in the Lord does give amazing strength! 

Pray that we can all truly believe that God is delighted to be with us and through that find the deepest joy.

First Summer Rain

I am sitting on my porch in the dark listening to the wind gusting through the trees, the drops of rain, and the cars passing on the highway. Tonight we had our first downpour of the season. The air is fresh and cool. 

After our normal Sunday supper at the CVE dining room, all the kids raced outside to dance under the downspout and splash in the puddles. One of my boys scraped his foot which required ten minutes of cuddling or so. Around seven-thirty, we headed home. Then I was running (literally 😬) around the house getting them showered and snacked and in bed. But they are all sleeping peacefully now...

However, my real reason for posting is to thank all those who have been praying for me while Marce is traveling. (She is on vacation until July 14th.) We are three days in and I have been amazed at God's thankfulness! Prayer changes things. Please keep praying!!

May God bless each of you!

And enjoy a few pictures...

Arm-wrestling at the volleyball court this afternoon. At least one of my boys is obsessed with biceps... 😜

Zoom (age 7) lost his third tooth yesterday and today in my Sunday School class (ages 6-7) there were two other students missing the same front tooth. 

The rainbow from last weeks sprinkle.

P.S. I discovered the blogger app. So hopefully there will be more posts.