Camp YoungLives 2013 - week 1

It's time for our favorite two weeks of summer . . . Camp YoungLives!!!
These two weeks are a time to be intentional: to have crazy fun, and learn more about God's Word and how we need to strive to live in His world.  

For our SIXTH annual summer-camp-at-home, we're focusing on being mighty warriors in God's army (utilizing Kingdom Chronicles VBS from Answers in Genesis as our jumping off point).  

We've been building castles, learning about knights, and having epic battles - all while learning about the greatest battle in human history: the battle between God's good kingdom and Satan's bad kingdom.  We're learning how we can join in this battle, fighting in God's army and wearing the "full armor of God."  God gave us this spiritual armor of protection to help us stand strong.  We're working on committing the Armor of God passage from Ephesians to memory:

Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand . . . with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  
Ephesians 6:10-17

This week our knights and fair maidens have dressed up, made crowns, painted stained-glass windows, threw javalon, battled with swords and shields, sang songs, colored pictures, had puppet shows, crafted jeweled daggers, painted crosses, and competed in relay races.  

Meeting together in the "great hall" (with occasional breaks for the "privy"), we're learning about pages, squires and knights - enjoying each fascinating detail and marveling at their bravery (we have a few boys who wish to be knights when they grow up!).  But we've also talked a lot about truth and error, and how our "belt of truth" can help equip us to remember God's truth.  Next week, we'll break down the rest of the passage to learn about our other pieces of spiritual armor. 

One more week to go!
"Fair thee well!"

Week 25, 26, 27

We're entering the THIRD trimester!

The precious babe is growing!

(I'm now wearing a support belt to help lift the babe)

 

The baby's kicks are strong enough to easily be seen and felt.
 The kids have really enjoyed feeling my belly . . . 

they're talking to this new babe and giving my belly hugs and kisses. 

There is some disagreement as to whether this baby is a boy or a girl.  

The girls are hoping for a sister, and the boys are all certain this is another boy.  

We'll have to wait until September to see who's right!
Regardless, this babe is well loved.

I got a bit of a late start in weight-gain, but I am defninitely growing.
+16 pounds, with the end goal being +35-45.
Yikes! - I have a lot to go.

As this pregnancy is progressing, I'm trying to be more intentional about taking it easy 

I'm trying to ease off a bit in my daily activity.

(which is hard since I've been feeling great)

I have a tendency to over-do-it, but I'm finding I quickly get fatigued.

It always surprises me!  

After a busy morning with the kiddos, I'm pretty much good for nothing for the rest of the day. . .
Oops!

That combined with the few daily contractions I'm experiencing . . .
is definitely a sign that I need to ease up.

Blackberries

We love picking fresh Summer produce . . . and with seven helpers, we're a very efficient picking crew.

The blackberries are just ripening, so we ventured over to Cowen Farms to gather a loot.  We picked 4 gallons of beautiful, sweet/tart berries in less than 20 minutes!  I'm not planning to do much canning right now, so most of these will be frozen now and processed later.  Of course we'll be enjoying plenty of our bounty fresh too! 

The bigger kids were very serious workers.  Kolpin was our taster - consuming more than he contributed to our baskets - his hands, face, and shirt were stained purple! 

The kids have all decided that they like blackberry picking the very best.  Hendrick likened their sweet/tart burst of flavor to Sour Patch Kids, only a healthy, natural version : )

After the picking frenzy, the kind farmer (himself one of nine children) invited the kids to visit the farm.  They fed the horses and goats, chased chickens and hens, eagerly collected eggs, asked lots of questions and explored the barn, and gave some extra attention to the sweet, affectionate barn cat. 

Our picking adventure became a rich farm learning experience, and now all the kids want us to move to a farm. . . I think they just want to get a barn cat : ) 

We came away with eggs (collected by us), blackberries, jelly (pulled from the processing pot as we watched), and peaches.

I am so thankful for unexpected local adventures and the kindness of others. 

Cincy

I drove with all eight kids to Cincinnati last week to be in town for my sister's vow renewal ceremony.  It was an adventure getting there (involving a necessary impromptu bath in a rest stop sink), but we thoroughly enjoyed special time with (and help from) family until Mike was able to join us mid-week. We had several days all together in Cincinnati until our return home after Mike's sister's wedding. 

Ten days in a big city . . . we stayed busy! 


Slumber party with cousins, two playground trips, Parky's Farm visit, fishing and swimming at Grandpa's lake, Cincinnati Reds Game, Skyline Chili,  pontoon boat ride, Children's Museum outing with Gramma and Grandpa, two water Splash Parks, LaRosa's Pizza, wildflower hike at Miami Whitewater Park, and U.D.F. Ice Cream . . . whew! 

It was a great week. 
We appreciate both sides of the family hosting our crew during our stay : )

The Splash Park:

And Ice Cream!

Wedding

This past weekend, we had the absolute pleasure of attending Mike's sister's wedding!!!

Annie wed Eric, a wonderful man, at a beautiful ceremony Saturday, June 22.  We couldn't be more happy for the two of them, and are so glad to have Eric and his sweet daughter officially a part of the family.  Theirs is a union of two lives and two families.  Annie and Eric are now a beautiful family of four! 

It was definitely a weekend of celebration.

Friday evening, the wedding party, participants, and immediate family gathered for the rehearsal.  The bridal party learned their places, Mike got to practice his reading from Genesis (I got to take pictures!), and the kids had an opportunity to practice their wedding behavior . . . sort of.  The gorgeous chapel at the high school Annie attended, adorned with tile floors, wooden pews, and stained-glass windows, was a challenging place for children - there was nothing to muffle any sounds and plenty of fun places to explore!

For the wedding celebration, extended family drove in from Wisconsin, including Mike's 93-year-old Grandma.  She was so pleased to have her three sons, 5 of her 9 grandkids, and 14 of her 18 "greats" all together.  Eric's large family was also well represented.

Great Grandma with 14 of her 18 "Greats"

*Katelyn, the eldest of the "greats" was a beautiful bridesmaid . . . 11 years ago, she was the beautiful flower girl in our wedding : )

Every detail of the ceremony was simple and elegant - from the soft pink bridesmaids dresses, to the beautiful chapel; the hand-assembled long-stemmed rose bouquets, and classic organ music with soprano solo.  Annie was radiant.  Her gown with cascading gathers, long train, and lace-up back was stunning.  She was a gorgeous bride.

Dad was so proud to walk his baby girl down the aisle.  The joy in both Annie and Eric was evident.  This was an incredibly happy occasion as they pledged their commitment to one another and their future.  Their children, cousin Will and his new sister Chloe, were so sweet walking down the aisle together hand-in-hand as ring bearer and flower girl.  But the best part was Will twirling and tossing the ring pillow while his parents were saying their vows - so cute! 

A fun-filled reception followed the ceremony (we left five kids with a sitter, taking only 3 to the party that went well past midnight).  Hendrick, Tesfaye and Hiwot especially enjoyed dressing up and making silly faces with cousins in the photo-booth - each coming away with 12+ strips of pictures.  They loved the pink flower iced cake, and endless supply of Shirley Temples from the bar, but they had the most fun on the dance floor.  After the touching father-daughter dance, with Annie dancing with Dad, and Eric dancing with his daughter Chloe, our kids began their domination on stage.  They tore up that dance floor!

Hiwot was thrilled to catch the bridal bouquet . . . Tesfaye was a little less sure about catching the garter (which he thought was a hairband) . . . and then the DJ started his magic.  Hiwot was incredible to watch.  She was an absolute dancing queen - moving her little body with each rhythm and "feeling" the beats of the music.  It almost appeared choreographed.  She put on quite the show, refusing to stop for refreshment as long as the music was still going.  The kids did their best following Annie and her bridesmaids during the line dances, but their uninhibited wild, abandoned dancing was where they really shined. 

Mike with his five siblings and one brother-in-law

This day was truly a wonderful way to celebrate the start of Annie and Eric's new life together.
We couldn't be more happy for them and wish them the very best.