4th of July...a weekend of unexpected guests, unexpected blessings...

The kids were so excited to go over the bridge to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Paul's house for one of their famous creekside picnics. Uncle Paul cooks hamburgers and hotdogs over an open fire while the kids romp in the woods and play in the creek. This would have been Mercy and Odesco's first time experiencing it and the anticipation was building. Unfortunately, the weather did NOT cooperate and Aunt Kathy wisely postponed the event to a date to be announced. The kiddos were crestfallen and unfortunately it was too late to make it to the local parade. The Lord had other plans...a few minutes later the phone rang. It was Mr. L calling from the ER...his wife was in some serious pain (they later learned it was a kidney stone) and he had the children with him. Every one he had attempted to contact was out and unavailable... except for us :) So I headed over to the ER and picked up our friends, Joy, A and E. The girls were so glad to have an impromptu playdate and they joined us for a picnic at another friends' house for dinner and fireworks.

Joy and Odesco had a great time playing together!

Ali and L had a ball setting up battles...G, Mercy and E had fun just being little girls but I forgot to snap a picture!

E was a big help to one of the 'moms of many' at the picnic!

Fun at the pool...C on steroids!

L looking a bit stout!

G with friend V enjoying an evening jump :)

Now this is the life... Watching the township fireworks display in the steaming whirlpool!

A perfect view and just the right amount of noise!

The next day, Mrs. M called to ask if we could watch her little 10 month old daughter during the rehearsal dinner for her brother's wedding. We were only too glad to oblige...the kiddos loved having a baby in the house and L figured out that if Mrs. M had 5 more babies, there would enough babies for each of them to claim their own. Now, I must admit, it was a little strange to consider I am old enough to babysit for Mrs. M's baby...she babysat our children only a few years ago!!

A baby around sure makes these guys look grown up!!

Baby Kenzie had a hankering for Mercy's beads!

He's a natural... even though it's been awhile since we've had one this little!

Even C man got in on the action.

The next day was the big wedding mentioned above ... our dear friends the E's came to our church where Mr. E preached the message. They used to be apart of our church but were sent out to plant a new church in the next state over 6 years ago...boy do we miss them! Anyhow, after church we learned they had no place to hang out until the 3pm wedding and joined us for lunch and visiting until the festivities began. They are in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia so it was great fun chatting about adoption and watching our kiddos play together.
So, a weekend that started with disappointment ended with a welcomed unexpected visit with old friends and a gorgeous wedding!

Mr. and Mrs. E with 2 of their daughters ( #3 was asleep in our room)...notice Mercy's hot sauce next to Mr. E...she had fun pretending to douse his plate with it.

Silly faces...pretending to have burning hot sauce mouths!

Grateful for special friends & memory making!
MamaB

Playing Catch Up...

We leave on Sunday for the church camping trip and I'm sure I'll have loads of pictures and stories to blog about so I though I better play catch up now!! As you will see, we have had a very full, busy, fun summer. I have been so enjoying getting together with friends and families we don't get to see regularly during our homeschool year. In between playdates and some basic school work, the kiddos (especially the 'littles') have gotten a bit creative entertaining themselves!!

The kids raided the basement craft bin...like their new look??

Mercy and our dear friend Miss B...this is after she spent 3 hours styling Mercy 's 4th of July 'do'

The creative juices are flowing!! L had an idea for a shirt design after perusing one of our Civil War books and begged for a shirt to decorate...I relented and soon after Mercy and Odeso followed suit. You'll need to click on the picture to get a better look :) Felicia and Jenkins came over after the artists finished and wanted to be in the pictures too.

Too funny...the kids turned around for me to see the back of their shirts and Jenkins and Felicia did the same thing:)

Felicia and Mercy swinging with Miss C during our Weekly 'Pool Day' . These are a part of our summers here... on various days of the week, different gracious friends open their pools( volleyball courts, trampolines,tree forts and bathrooms!!) up to the rest of us. What great memories have been made over the years!

I have gleaned so much wisdom and practical help from these ladies over the years... I am so grateful to walk beside these wonderful friends in the trenches of parenting and life issues!!

L and his friend M...this is the first summer all of our kids have been 'swim safe' without life jackets. Woo-hoo...another major milestone!

P and a friend playing a spirited game of water basketball.

Odesco , Em and G venturing to the tree fort!

We had a fun visit with our friends the T family... last year they took in 2 young foster children so life has been full of transitions for them as well. We used to babysit swap on a monthly basis--needless to say with both of our families in flux, our swaps have not happened :( and we have missed our times with this very special family! By the way, the cool shade of green pool water really was deemed safe to swim in :)!

A duckling's sad demise... the T's Golden Retriever did what he was born to do...he retrieved a wayward duckling in the bushes of the T's yard... Mrs. T quickly responded but it was too late for this adorable little fellow. The big mystery is where a duckling came from in the midst of suburbia??

Here's the sweet dog who had no idea what the huge fuss was about. The kids were totally spoiling this furry friend and asking when we were going to get one. That's not going to happen anytime soon!!

Sweet victory!! For as long as I can remember, G has had an unwarranted fear of dogs. She could tolerate teeny ones but was absolutely paralyzed with fear around larger more active dogs. Today she faced her fears head on and decided that petting them is better than running away from them! A huge step for our little girl.

P and C with friend J McD
We also went over the bridge for the 1st time since Mercy and Odesco came home to visit our friends the McD's. They have a son C's age and a daughter close in age to G and Mercy.After swimming and playing all day, we did a 'kid swap'- she kept the big boys and I took M home with us. My friend S has been so accomdating always making the trip to us and bringing a meal with her...she graciously says since we're not all called to adopt, she can help us out by making my load lighter. It's the role she can play...what a kind friend!!


Popsicle time!

When Mr. McD heard about Mercy's love of hot sauce, he provided 5 various bottles of hot sauce.As a chef, he has plenty on hand and very generously shared his bounty... Mercy was only too happy to oblige! Here she is at breakfast...eating a waffle with hot sauce! No syrup for her...
Uncle Juke, I know how much you enjoy our odd breakfast choices-this is for you :0 Oh and she also loves her toast and bagels to be burnt--to a crisp. She puts the toaster on the darkest setting and her food is not 'just right' until it has been through the toaster twice!!!

The kids had a ball playing house. They were very creative with leaves, bamboo, and other treasures from the yard.

On the days we are not pool mooching from our friends, the 4 littles stay very busy. My idol of order is knocked from its throne on these days...this 'visual noise' makes me cringe-they do eventually restore order and clean up their messes but I must admit I am still learning not to be perturbed in the midst of the chaos and trying to allow them some latitude for 'creativity'!!...the Lord obviously isn't done working on this area of my heart yet!

More Summer fun!!!
Our friends the S family hosted a fun summer party complete with a craft station, playdough station, slip n slide, yummy snacks and swimming in their pool. The kids had a blast and the moms had just as much fun chatting and getting to know some new faces.

Goofy boys...typical--instead of creating crafts with the foam stickers, they decorated their faces with makeshift mustaches and goatees!

Male bonding...over food, of course :)

Lovely little ladies!

A little mishap: Mercy accidentally banged into G's mouth and knocked her tooth out!! (the one next to her front tooth) They tried to find it at the bottom of the pool to no avail. Thankfully it was slightly wiggly baby tooth and Mercy just helped the natural process along a bit! A few months ago, Odesco had a similar situation and 'helped' G lose her front tooth...maybe Mercy and odesco have a future in Dentistry?

On Saturday we headed over the bridge to Aunt Joyce and Uncle John's house to pick up the big boys who had a sleepover with cousin J...Old friends stopped by with their children...this is their son S...I think Odesco enjoyed meeting another 'brown boy' with a white mom and dad!

Mr. G and Daddy~

The girlies~

Look how far we've come!!

Today the big boys went for an overnight at Aunt Joyce and Uncle John's. After dinner, M and I decided to attempt a bike ride with the younger 4 to the local McD's(taking back roads!!) for sundaes. This was an ambitious plan considering that L just learned to ride his bike without training wheels less than a month ago, not to mention the dynamics on wheels with our Liberian blessings :) It was a lesson in patience but we made it there and back all in one piece... there were a few exciting moments (I'll spare you the details) and L now has another victory to add to his summer list! As I was trailing behind the pack, I began thinking about how a year ago, this would not have even been a possibility. Mercy and Odesco have grown by leaps and bounds in their ability to follow directions and maintain self control in these types of situations...there are still lapses on a regular basis but overall there is a forward progression. I know it was 'only' a bike ride, but in my mind it definitely symbolizes more than meets the eye. It is a tangible reminder of what God has done in our midst :)!!
Oh and at bedtime Odesco asked when the 'big boys' were coming home...then he said he missed them. Sweet to know :)

Tonight I am rejoicing in His hand at work,
MamaB

Phew, we made it :)

Sweet Rewards!

Hamming it up~

A big accomplishment for our little man!

YUM!

Safe and sound at home!

A fruitful day :)

Today I made a last minute decision to go blueberry picking with the gang. We expected to meet up with other friends from church but all of their plans had changed. I'm grateful we made the trip though...those blueberries will sure taste great in the dead of winter---that's if any of them actually make it into the freezer :) I think the kids are glad I chose this over schoolwork!!!

What a crew...I was a bit apprehensive imagining the pounds of blueberries we would amass with this many 'pickers'!!

All aboard!! On the wagon out to the fields.

"Mommy, I'm really good at this!! "

Our oldest harvester :)

Having fun in the fields~

~The C man~

When the wagon dropped us off in the fields, we did bump into one family from church ...G enjoyed helping to corral her new little friend, M while the adults paid for the yummy blueberries.

The best part of the day : blueberry swirl custard :)!!

Locks of Love

On Sunday morning, I was helping G do her hair before church. I casually asked her if she's like to get it cut shorter for the summer and donate it to "Locks of Love". I was shocked when she asked if we could do it this week some time. At church, G was greeted by 2 of her sweet little friends who surprised us all with their new adorable short hairstyles after they had donated to "Locks of Love" earlier in the week. Guess where we went after lunch on Sunday?!? G loved the end result and especially appreciates how easy it is to care for her shorter hair! She is already planning to donate again once her hair gets long enough :)

Here she is just before our trip to the Haircuttery!

There it goes...all 10 inches!

The ponytail is sent to a central location where it is then made into a wig for children who have lost their hair due to medical conditions or chemo treatments.

A work in progress!

VOILA!!