Start of Summer Fun

What a great way to kick off the summer fun!  After Mia's baptism on Sunday afternoon, we headed up to Cloudland Station to meet the Smith family.  We have a mutual friend who owns a cabin here, and they graciously offered to let our families borrow the cabin for this week.  The Smiths went up after school on Friday, we joined them Sunday evening, they left Tuesday evening, and our family stayed until Thursday late morning.  It was a great way to get some wonderful family time and some fun friend time in!

The place was great.  It's like how I imagine the summers in the 50's being.  It was rustic, but perfect for exploring and family fun.  Here are some of the fun things we did.

The kids loved the little lake with the pull boat on it.  They loved to pull themselves across the lake on the wooden barge.

 The adults got in on the action too.

 Just fun!

 There is a game barn to enjoy too.  The best part is the human foosball court.  It was so cool!  We divided up into teams and played for quite awhile.  It was great exercise and gave us so much laughter (other than Lily getting accidentally kicked in the face with the ball...whoops).

 There was a beautiful infinity pool that we enjoyed for several hours one afternoon too.

The tree house provided lots of fun too.  Lots of places to climb and explore.  Mia loved the little suspension bridge to the pirate's lookout.

 I love these kids!

 One of the best parts was the Sweet Shack.  This candy store uses an honor system which we followed.  Everything was a great deal...a dollar or less for ice cream, candy and drinks.  We all enjoyed stopping here each day!

 They also had some checkers and brain teaser puzzles out to try...or just give your daddy a hug.

  The cabin itself was a great place too.  There were 4 comfortable bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, laundry room, and lovely screened in porch.  The kids all thoroughly enjoyed the game room too.  Here they are watching Scooby Doo one evening, but they also enjoyed playing foosball, ping-pong, and darts up here.  My girls will also tell you how much they loved the loft area on the 4th floor.  On Tuesday night, after the Smiths left, Lily made the loft into her bedroom and added glow sticks around, her sleeping bag, and a reading lamp.  It was cozy but comfortable, and she absolutely loved it.  They also loved that one of the bedrooms had bunk beds in it; they had to try that out on Wednesday night!

 You could also enjoy some cuddle time or make funny faces here!

My favorite person to spend time with.

 On Monday, our families drove into Chattanooga (it was maybe 15 minutes away) to go visit Raccoon Caves.  It was really neat!  We took an hour guided tour through the caves which was really fun.  We saw some neat structures and interesting little critters.  It was a great experience.

 On Tuesday afternoon, the Smith family headed on back to Atlanta, but we stayed behind.  We were so thrilled to meet up with the Sepulveda family.  It's been a few years which is too long!  We met them for pizza in Chattanooga, and then they came back to hang out with us for a couple of hours.  It's always fun to catch up with old friends!

 On Wednesday, we spent just a little more time enjoying Cloudland Station.  We spent lots of time on the lake.  First we fed the fish the rest of our bread.  The girls loved throwing the crumbs to different areas to watch the little fish swim around.

 We relaxed a little too and enjoyed some Sweet Shack ice cream inside the water mill.

 We played some H-O-R-S-E on the basketball court by the game barn.  Mia won!

 Put this one in simply because I love this picture of beautiful Lily.

Mia had fun swinging from the tree house and over the creek.

 Lily and I tried out the rope swing over the creek too.  So much fun!

 Mia swinging and Lily crossing the creek.  Pretty much perfect.

Of course, you can't be at a creek and not wade in it, right?  They had all sorts of fun walking up and down this.

 This was such the perfect wait to start the summer!  It reset our family's attention after a hectic last month of school, afforded us time to relax and have fun with friends, and it provided tons of memories that we'll always enjoy looking back on.

Mia's Baptism

On Sunday the 21st, we were thrilled to see Mia baptized.  She had made the decision to trust Christ as her Savior back in February which was the best day for our family.  JFBC does a special children's baptism service once a quarter, so we waited until now to participate in that.  We were overjoyed that they church allowed Ryan to baptize Mia just as they had allowed him to baptize Lily a few years ago.  What an incredibly special day.  Our hearts were overflowing!

 Mia was very excited to have two sets of her grandparents there!

When Mia was meeting with a JFBC staff person about her decision and desire to be baptized, they asked if she had any special adults that she wanted to come up and pray for her after the baptism.  Very quickly she asked if Mrs. Mausz would be able to do that.  Mrs. Mausz is the mother of Mia's sweet friend, Sophie, and Mia just adores her.  She knows that Mrs. Mausz often prayers for her (and their classmates) because she leaves sticky notes on their desks letting them know that she's prayed for them.  We were so appreciative that Mrs. Mausz came (with Sophie and Beckett) and said a lovely prayer for Mia at the service.  We are so thankful for precious friends like this!

We were glad that Wayne, Molly and Zac were able to come celebrate with us, and we appreciated Mia's teacher, Mrs. St. Hill, coming as well.

 We were thrilled that sweet Macey had also recently decided to trust in Christ and was baptized the same day.  They have been friends since birth, but they are now sisters forever!  How great that at the Henderson's request, the church allowed Ryan to baptize Macey too.  What a special moment for Ryan!  Our families were so excited for these girls!

 We were so thrilled to have many friends here to support Mia.  Logan and Eliana Payne, Rachael and Sarah Crowley, Sophie and Beckett Mausz, Mary Preston and Layne Harvey, and Danae St. Hill.  We are so thankful for sweet friends!

What a wonderful day celebrating Mia's decision to follow Christ's example in baptism!

May 1 though End of School

May is always such a whirlwind of a month, but usually in a great way!  Tax season is over, so family life is back to normal which is appreciated by all.  School is winding down which often means field trips, finishing up projects, and class parties.  The weather is often beautiful.  It's just a good time of year.  Here's what we were up to during those first few weeks.

I took a long weekend trip to Gulf Shores to rest up from tax season.  This was a much-needed and appreciated break!

 Ryan and David took a 24 hour trip to Florida to visit family, and then David stayed with us a couple of days afterwards which we always love.  We went down to the Atlanta History Center one morning which was so much fun.  Lily and I had gone on a field trip in the fall, and we were both excited to go back.  It was a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed walking through the exhibits.  It is a fascinating place.

 Cuddling up with Mia during movie night one evening.

 Lily's class went to Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield one day and had fun hiking up the mountain.  Several of the girls stuck by Ms. Keesee at the top.

 We always love having the Smith family around!

 The kids had fun picnicking in the back.

 Sparklers after dinner was tons of fun!

 I was treated to breakfast prepared by Lily and served in bed on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend.  It was a delicious treat; I love when she makes omelets!

 Mia treated us dinner that night.  Spaghetti with a homemade sauce and dinner rolls - yummy!

 It is my honor and privilege to be called Mommy by these two.

 I had a blast chaperoning a field trip for each girl's class during the last couple of weeks of school.  I went with Mia's 2nd grade class to the Renaissance Festival which is always so much fun.  Watching them joust is always a hit though we enjoyed watching the birds of prey show and eating key lime pie on a stick (I'm sure that's an authentic food from that time period, right?).  This is such a sweet class!  I went with Lily's 4th grade class to the Botanical Gardens which is always a wonderful place to visit.  We spent most of our time in the greenhouse and edible gardens which was fascinating.  I love opportunities to go on field trips with these kids!

 Mia finished up softball season with the Lady Mets of FBC Smyrna's Upward league.  She learned a lot, hustled, and had fun.  She kept a great attitude throughout the season, and she worked hard to improve as she played.  She even tried her hand at pitching in the last game!  It was great to watch her play!

 The last day of school came on the 19th, and it was a wonderful day.  We started the day at the awards ceremony.  Lily was recognized for three items: her team winning the Geography Bee, Outstanding Work in Art, and being on the A/B honor roll all year.  She had straight A's until the very last quarter of math (which she goes up to 5th grade for).  She worked hard and earned a B, and we were very proud of her efforts.  Mia was recognized for two items: representing her house in the Poetry Bee, and Outstanding Work in Music.  This has been a great year for both girls.  They have worked hard and learned so much.  Miss Keesee and Mrs. St. Hill are wonderful teachers who have truly impacted our girls; we are very thankful for how they have used their gifts and talents to pour into each one of them.  

Even though we love Stonehaven, it's always fun to get out for summer!  After giving hugs to lots of friends, it was time to head out, and our family went straight over to The Georgian Club for lunch as a fun little treat.

 When we got home, the girls took turns pulling items out of "the summer basket" which is basket I've filled up with fun summer treats...books, Legos, snack treats, summer workbooks, nail polish, games, etc.  Basically, just fun items to get us all excited for a few months of fun!

Late afternoon we headed over to Suntrust Park for our first family Braves game at the new park.  We had a great time exploring all around, especially going in to the kids area.  Mia couldn't wait to try out the zip line and rock climbing!  We found our brick outside the stadium and visited the Mizuna store which was cool.  We had a couple of yummy treats inside too.  Even though we were all in great spirits and having a lot of fun, we ended up leaving about 10 in the 6th instead of waiting for the Friday Night Fireworks; we had two exhausted girls on our hands!

 On Saturday, we had the most gloriously lazy day.  It was fabulous.  Sleeping in, playing with summer basket items, cuddling with Decker, reading outside, and just doing nothing.

 The girls showing their favorite art pieces to me.  I love when they are creative.

 Let the summer fun begin!

What a Weekend!

Ryan and I just had the most amazing weekend!  We love to participate in an event called Secret Church each year.  This is an evening of intense Bible study led by David Platt.  David is currently serving as the President of the IMB, but his ministry is one we have loved for several years.  David's heart for God's word, missions, and shining light in dark places is unlike any other.  Secret Church is broadcast around the world, and we've taken part in it that way for years.  A year or so ago, Brian Henderson's brother-in-law, Chris, (who we actually know from college) became the President of David's ministry called Radical.  So, last year, Brian and Ryan actually attended the live broadcast of Secret Church while it was in Charlotte, thanks to Chris.  When they announced it would be in Atlanta this year, we knew we had to go.  

We were overjoyed when Chris offered to help us with tickets this year.  On Friday, we took in almost 6 hours of worship and Bible study on the reliability and truth of the Bible.  It was an amazing evening of study.  Then, thanks to Chris, we were invited to stay the night and on Saturday to take part in a VIP session.  We got to meet David and his wife, Heather.  We were actually seated at their table for lunch which was wonderful.  We knew how incredibly smart David was, but this provided the opportunity to get to see what a humble, kind, and funny man he is as well, and Heather compliments him perfectly.  They are so well-suited for one another.  In the afternoon, we heard from several of the individuals who work with Radical or have been impacted by this ministry, and David and Heather did a Q&A with the audience of about 50 people.  In the evening, Aaron Keyes led a fantastic worship service, and David spoke for about 45 minutes on the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11.  It was such a privilege to be included in this intimate gathering and learn more about this amazing ministry.  

On Sunday morning, we attended First Baptist Church Woodstock where David preached, this time on Esther 4.  This whole weekend was incredible.  We were ecstatic to meet and sit under the teaching of one of our faith heroes.  We look forward to supporting this ministry in the future as we watch God's Kingdom expand from its efforts.

Easter 2017

The girls were excited to get their baskets on Easter morning.  They each had a new shirt, chocolate frogs from Harry Potter, socks, sparklers, a movie and a book.

 Ready to head to church to celebrate our risen Savior!

 We headed over to Robert and Judy's in the early afternoon.  We enjoyed lunch and catching up with family that we haven't seen in awhile.  This is the traditional picture of the cousins in attendance.  We were missing a few, but this is most of them!

 Soon it was off to the races.  Mia ran hard!

 Lily did a good job searching high and low.

 Showing off their loot.  While some of these eggs have candy in them (which they thoroughly enjoy), most of the kids are a little older now, so the majority of the eggs have coins in them.  They love this!  Can you believe they both came away with over $15 in coins?!

 After the egg hunt, it was time for the kids egg toss challenge.  Ryan went out as Mia's partner this year.  They made it to the top 3, but then it cracked.  Congrats to Ben and Nicholas on their win!

 I'm always thankful for time with Meme.  She was feeling good today and looking pretty in her new outfit.  She always gets a boost by being around all the kids.

 When we left the Howell's, it was time to come home and paint eggs.

 Like little scientists!

 Some of the finished products!

Such a beautiful and wonderful day to celebrate!