Indiana...finally!! Part I

Well, I admit it has been over 4 weeks since our trip to Indiana and I am finally getting a post done about it! We had a wonderful time... the Lord was so gracious to give us good weather...aside from a rainy day of arrival, most of the days were so pleasant. The campground was much emptier than usual (the economy?) so it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Our days were full and laid back...just what we all needed!
Thanks Mimi and Pop-Pop for another week of memories!!
You'll notice some interesting effects by our oldest sons who decided to play around with the settings on my camera! There are too many pictures for one post, so consider this part I.

Sunday morning we had our own church service. Pop-Pop's brother and his wife joined us... We shared our favorite scriptures, one thing we are grateful for, and sang lots of worship/Bible songs.

Pop-Pop is such a good playmate. Whenever there was down time, he was asked to play a card game, go for a bike ride, take a trip in the kayak, play ladder ball, work on a crossword puzzle etc. He always willingly obliged and in the process made loads of memories with the kiddos!!

The games of choice for the older crowd...although the young crew did learn Phase 10 this trip~P was getting creative again with his camera shots!

Mercy and C just going for a spin!

Relaxing with my hubby!!

The guys are eyeing up the next home improvement project...trying to figure out how to rig a makeshift outdoor shower. Check back for Part 2 for the grand unveiling :)!

Bingo was the kid friendly activity on Saturday -something everyone can play:)... and it was candy bar bingo!!! YUM!

Breakfast helper of the day...which of course equates to "breakfast taster" of the day...someone has to be in charge of quality control:)!!

Dad and the big boys venturing out for a ride~

Our little guys holding down the fort...wouldn't you feel safer having them on guard??

Keeping busy... these boys have a strategy...this is no simple play time!

The 'hostess with the mostest'...My mom wore many hats during our visit...master chef, domino queen, kayak granny, nail technician, referee...you get the picture. She makes everyday such fun for all of us!! This picture is the work of C and P who were playing with the camera and experimenting a bit...

2 heads are better than one!! P and Pop-Pop worked on a crossword almost daily~

Coordinating cuties... this day we were on Uncle Duane and Aunt Linda's boat...they took us on a tour of the lake and then dropped anchor at a sand bar where we met up with many of their friends from the campground...the kids had a blast swimming and jumping from one raft to another...

Warming up after a refreshing dip in the lake!

One of my favorite outings was a trip to a restaurant that boasts of the hummingbird population which frequent their place because of the many feeders they have set up...despite getting lost, we were not disappointed.We arrived near dusk--perfect timing to observe them feeding!! I love watching these amazing creatures and there were about 40 to 50 of them dive bombing the feeders and each other constantly.After sipping the nectar, they would alight on nearby bushes which was equally fascinating because these wonders are so incredibly tiny. P took this picture on Mimi's camera.

How great and marvelous are your works, oh Lord!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Graduate!

Odesco graduated from "Miss Deena's" speech therapy lessons after receiving them weekly for 6 months. It was the perfect set up in our home and she was so great with him. As the mom of 2 small boys, she was unfazed by Odesco's occasional lack of enthusiasm or his 'ants in the pants' during therapy. His speech has improved significantly and I no longer need to ask him to repeat himself multiple times :) I'm so grateful for how the Lord made it clear to us that the time was right to pursue intervention and then provided just who we needed in the comfort of our own home! He surely does gently lead those who have young!!
Great is His faithfulness~

Baseball-again?!?

Life has been full and busy in the B household. Baseball season was extended by several weeks since C was invited to play on the tournament team for his age group. Although his team did not advance to the next level, we are all glad he had the opportunity and privilege to play on this team. We were able to spend concentrated time with our special friends the I's (met during the 2008 season) and we met many other neat families as well...we even learned a few 'life lessons' along the way as we dealt with disappointment and learned how to win over others with kindness. The younger crowd rallied and did a great job attending the added practices and games...they also made some new friends among the siblings of C's teammates.

Aren't they a handsome team?! Can you find C? (He is in the bottom row, 2nd from the left)

I thought this was the 'Big Leagues"...the boys practiced in their red shirts and donned their jerseys once their warm up was over... they hung them up outside the dugout so a hanger was part of their necessary equipment!!

Here's L (sketching, of course!) and Mercy being her sociable self during one of the games ~

Our All-Star!

When C was not playing in center field, he had the thrill of pitching...

L decided he just had to make his own version of his big brother's uniform shirt--he wore it to the final game!

And of course, Odesco could not be left out of the creative fun!
He felt no need to remain loyal to C's team though and decided to go with the Phillies theme instead:)

Twas the night before 'hair day'.... and we needed help. Our dear friend, Mrs. I jumped right on the bandwagon as we painstakingly removed all of Mercy's yarn extensions in preparation for Miss Britt's visit the following afternoon...once the game started Mercy donned a bandanna and all eyes were on the field. As you can see, she was not too thrilled with this lengthy process! To her credit though she was quite diligent in doing her part to prepare her head for Miss Britt's visit~

Oh the things we do to keep ourselves entertained during baseball games!

Treasuring Christ

I know it's been awhile. I promise updates and pictures are coming soon...until then, I found this and it was too good NOT to share.
Hope it encourages and inspires you!
Thanks for still checking in on this delinquent blogger!!



Blessings,

Our little man turns 7!

To know our little man L is truly to love him. He has quite the personality and what he lacks in stature, he makes up for in spirit! He is my mushy boy and often throughout the day will spontaneously approach , wrap his arms around me and tell me,"I just love you and Daddy sooo much!" He is quick to feel conviction when he is being a stinker and often needs reassurance that our love for him and more importantly, God's love for him has not changed because of his disobedience... he has a quirky sense of humor and keeps us entertained with his antics. He continues to have a passion for drawing and spends many hours each week during the school day sketching(yes, sometimes when he is supposed to be doing work!! ) He had a significant role in our Homeschool play a few weeks ago and said his lines with gusto...he played the part of Marvelous Marty, a heavy weight wrestler who represented the great Reformer, Martin Luther. He charmed us all as he swaggered out with his dumbell, sweatband, and towel draped around his neck. He didn't even flinch when his wireless microphone malfunctioned and he was asked to say his lines again using a handheld so we could all enjoy his fun lines. By God's grace at work in his heart, I have seen L grow so much in recent months with regards to conquering fears...he eagerly spent a night alone at Mimi and Pop-Pop's to celebrate his birthday and he handled 2 dental visits like a pro in the past few weeks. How grateful I am to be this little guy's momma!

Thanks for stopping by...I promise no more birthday celebrations to report until September!


L was so excited about his upcoming birthday because he knew he was getting his very own bible and case. All day long he kept saying,"Thank you! I just love my new bible" so sweet :) We pray that one day this will transfer into a love for

God's word~

Inspired by my Mrs. Di's birthday cookie made for me, I decided I'd make one for L. I spread the dough on my handy dandy pizza stone and stuck it in the oven. It's been a while since I've made cookies and I obviously forgot about the 'spreadibility factor' of cookie dough....I was just a bit generous in the amount I plopped on the the stone which of course has no edges to catch my blunder.During school time, I smelled something burning and sure enough the dough had expanded and was falling off in chunks onto the flames in the bottom of my oven. I quickly placed baking pans on the rack below to catch the goop dropping off ...smoke was literally pouring out of the oven door...the smoke detector went off, the windows and doors were quickly opened to air out the place. The kids were thrilled that they were able to eat the 'droppings' once they cooked and cooled! Oh, and just as the drama was unfolding there was a knock at the front door...it was a postal worker we had never met before asking me to sign for a letter...of course Mercy being the outgoing friendly girl she is, managed to explain the reason for the smoke billowing out the front door in just a few sentences...so much for first impressions :)...

Here is the B Towel Brigade hard at work eagerly attempting to rid the kitchen of smoke! At least they were amused and nobody complained about eating the finished product below!

The girls had a party at friend K's house so after a birthday dinner, I dropped off the girls at K's and picked up oldest brother to spend the night with our big boys. L's special friend MD came for the evening as well. It was an all boy night except for me!

Our resident artist!

Yes, even schoolwork has the potential to become an an art project with L!!

I just love this picture...I took it early one morning shortly after we arrived at Homeschooler's Day Out...L found a quiet nook and was diligently memorizing his lines~

Phew , we made it through all the birthday updates....and only a month late :)!! Thanks for checking in~

Celebrating God's faithfulness yet again...

On Sunday , our church celebrated God's faithfulness with a groundbreaking ceremony. After 16+ years of meeting in 2 different public school buildings (which were God's provision to our church!!) we broke ground to begin the process of constructing our very own church building. Warren, our pastor reminded us about the theme we had written on the cake at our 1st anniversary luncheon..."Celebrating God's faithfulness." 15 years later, that statement still rings true and will continue to ring true for all of eternity. Great is His faithfulness!! This was a family event...everyone brought a shovel--even the little ones :)

L carrying all the shovels to the ground breaking...can't you just see his muscles bulging?!

Mr. M, one of our very capable pastors who has overseen the entire building, bidding, financing process over these past few years...

Some of our kiddos in front of the sign on our church property...

Here it is...it is surreal to consider that in about a year there will be a church building on this property!! It is even more amazing to consider the many lives who will be touched as a result of our having a permanent home. The Lord already has ordained the steps of those who will one day enter this building...

Odesco and Jenkins ready to dig!
One of the things that hit me was the fact that our children, Lord willing will one day be married in this building ~ They have all participated in giving in some way to the building fund so this was a significant day for them as well~ The other thought that blessed me was God's perfect timing and kindness in having our Liberian children here for this time of celebration. This is now a part of their history...another event that adds permanence to them being built in here and grown in this soil. So years from now when they see pictures of the groundbreaking, the building process, and even our days of meeting in a school, they can say, along with many others,"I remember that!!"

Representatives from the building company were even a part of the celebration!...I'm praying they may some day walk the halls of the church they helped to build...but not as contractors, as a part of our church family:)

This is a picture of the 'original' church plant team sent out over 16 years ago...well, it is the original group plus many new spouses, 2 grandchildren and many other new kiddos! (we were without children when we first moved over!!)

The Jr and Sr High youth group with their fearless leaders...when this church started, there was no youth group....there were very few youth! It really is amazing to see how the Lord has grown our little church over the years :) And now this is what our children enjoy on a regular basis...what amazing grace!!

Thanks for sharing our joy!!

Our firstborn is 14...Oh my!!!

Another post that I am pathetically late with... but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to note the many evidences of grace in P's life....
I can so vividly remember the gamut of emotions that welled up as I was being wheeled to the elevators on our way out of the hospital with our first born in my arms. Daddy was videotaping our homecoming and I was bawling as the reality of having a dream fulfilled hit me. Almost 2 years to the day after miscarrying, here I was with my arms no longer empty--I was undone with gratitude at the Lord's kindness in hearing my cries for a child and giving us a precious son. I still mist up as I remember that day so well. Here we are 14 years later and that little baby has grown into a young man. He has changed so much over the past year both physically and spiritually and again, I am undone. P is marked by his diligence and often has his schoolwork well underway before his siblings are allowed downstairs at 7am. He consistently spends time reading his bible without any prompting from me, he babysits on a regular basis so that M and I can attend caregroup or so that I can spend 1:1 time with one of his siblings while the others stay back with him. He has grown much in humility and is quick to ask forgiveness from us and siblings when he knows he has sinned against us. I really am so excited to see what the Lord has in store for our growing boy. What a privilege it is to stand back and see the Lord at work in the lives of our children. We do nothing to deserve this...it is all of Him and I am so grateful!