A Good Day

This was VBS week at our church, which meant lots of fun and busy and late nights.  Our children loved it but by Thursday night, they were exhausted!  Yesterday Shane and I got to go out for a late lunch (thank you, Judy, for staying with the kids for a few hours!), which was a nice break at the end of the week. One of our high school families had students over at their house last night so we took the kids with us and spent part of the evening there.  It was another late night, but it's always nice to get to do that kind of thing together.

So today we wanted a bit of activity, but felt the need to keep it fairly low-key.  Therefore, we decided to take the kids to a bike park.  We had never been before but it was so fun!  Silas and Simeon rode all over; I think it was like a dream come true, especially for Sim who loves a good open space. By the end, they were going up and down hills on their own.  I'm not sure they exactly learned to follow the signage or signals, but it was awesome nonetheless.

We took the plasma car for Lieren but she declined and rode around with Blaise instead.  They sang and enjoyed the scenery then we headed for the playground, which was perfect for littler ones...

The bigger boys took a break for a while and joined us...

There was this hilarious spinning chair at the playground that Sim and Si liked...

And just to prove I was there...

When we had our fill of bikes and slides and wagon rides and spinning cup chairs, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a.  We then made a stop at Toys-R-Us for a return but of course stayed and played while we were there.  It is so fun to see what all our kids like when we are there.  We all actually really love going.

This evening we unpacked what is probably the last few boxes we'll unpack in this house, did baths and put the kids to bed.  I am going to bed thankful.  And thoughtful.  There are reminders tonight that life is fleeting; not in our control. But there is a God who is good and Who loves us.  Shane travels again soon so I am grateful for sweet times, just us 6.  It's been a good day.

Psalm 130

The other night I spent some time looking back through pictures and posts from when Simeon and Lieren were newborn babies.  I was especially struck by their tiny-ness in this post, was reminded of the sweet moments, and got to reflect on the evidences of God's grace in that season.

As I read and looked at the pictures, I kept coming back to a passage of scripture that really sums up  those days for me.  I'm going to be teaching from it during our fall Bible study so have been soaking in it recently...

If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness;

therefore You are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in His word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchman wait for the morning,

more than watchman wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with Him is full redemption.

They Turned Three

The day after we moved into our new house was Simeon and Lieren's birthday. We totally went back and forth about how to celebrate but they were turning three and we knew for the first time, they would really get it.  So we wanted to do something special.

If you're picking up on the details of the week we moved at all, you're probably understanding why it seemed a bit daunting to do a party. We started moving into the house on Tuesday, did another big move Thursday, slept in the new house for the first time on Friday, the birthday was Saturday, and Shane left at midnight on Saturday for Haiti.

Yet, party we did.  We rented a bounce house (it had to be exciting for our kids to wake up on Saturday in a new house with a bounce house getting set up in the front yard!) and my friend Natalie brought over her blow-up slide pool.  Around 4 in the afternoon, our friends started arriving.

There were lots of kids...

And lots of friends and family...

What's awesome is that right as the party was getting started, the cable guys showed up to hook up our internet. We really were grateful because (it's a long story) they were not supposed to come before Shane left for Haiti, but they blessed us and fit us in late on a Saturday.  So I guess I should look at it as a reminder of how the Lord provides, but a lot of our pictures have their van right in the big middle of everything!

Oh well, we just moved the party down the driveway a bit and invited them to join us...

The wind was blowing and we had a hard time getting the candles lit, but Simeon and Lieren didn't care.  They loved their Mickey and Minnie-themed party.  The cake was adorable!

These two are full of life! I cannot believe they are 3, but am loving watching them grow.  Can't wait to see how the Lord chooses to continue to shape and use their little lives...