Blessings in the form of friends.

You know those kind of friends who just make you feel good when you are with them...

This is one of those families.

This is the family that without "talking me into it", talked me into Home schooling. Cassie's outlook on life is so similar to mine.

It was her blog about why she was going to start homeschooling that pushed me into the home school world. I was already on the fence but this was definitely the final push. The blog expressed how they were less concerned with how smart their kids were and more concerned with how spiritually sound they are. 

She also emphasizes the importance of a strong sense of family. Something I can't say enough about.

Each time we hang out I leave the day feeling uplifted, encouraged, and... well... just good about the direction I am going in life. 

Matching bathing suits! Thanks guys!

Watching our kids play so well together is great. They are just like pea's in a pod. For the moms, we always have the best conversations. And every time I express discouragement or frustration with any thing Cassie encourages me with her natural positive outlook and knowledge of scripture.
Everyone needs a Cassie in their pocket!

On this day their crew came to swim... and of course like every other day this summer it was raining with rumblings of thunder. The kids were all in their suits ready to swim but neither Cassie nor I wanted six giant french fries so we entertained them with snacks as long as we could... Then we had to pull out the hose!

The boys naturally LOVED this as can be seen in the following pictures.

Finley decided to try and join in the fun..

Before you knew it the older girls were contemplating joining in although I don't think they ever actually committed to the festivities.

One can only be entertained by the hose for so long... soooo they headed to the playroom and...

yeah the boys thought they would be comedians! They raided Maylin's dress up clothes and came out for a great laugh!

Finley didn't think they were all that funny.  :)

Then thankfully/finally the sun started poking through and the thunder subsided!

Now it was SWIM TIME!

Slip and slide!

Chicken fight without the fighting... They kind of just walked around each other and laughed uncontrollably.

Either way they were having a great time.  It was an afternoon that went way too quickly. I cherish days we spend with these guys and always hate for them to end.
I am not sure what we are going to do when they move to Costa Rica next year. We will definitely miss our home school buddies.

Park with Friends

We have had a great spring so far this year. Warm air requires us to be outside and burn off some energy. 

Maylin has been working on her skill of crossing the monkey bars. At the point this picture was taken she wasn't able to make the reach to the second bar.

 

Pierson flipped over the bar landing on his hands. He was particularly proud of this new skill. 

  Of course it wouldn't be a trip to the park without snacks.

 And drinks. (I just love Her little hands and her messy hair).

 One friend is modest... one friend is not. :)

 I love a spring day at the park especially when it is with friends.

Birthday Bowling Bash!!

Happy Birthday Kate! We had such a wonderful time celebrating with you! You are a great friend and going to be a great mother!!! We can't wait!

We are so fortunate to have such a great group of friends to celebrate life's joys, disappointments, laughter and tears with. What's even better is that even though Adam and I are the only couple with kids, our friends still plan kid-friendly birthday parties/evenings out.

Andy being silly carrying a 'girl' ball. (kind of matches his head ) HEHEHE Technically I didn't say it Andy... I crossed it all out! :)

Giving Maylin pointer's on the "Granny shot"! (This was the only time she actually knocked any pins down! Fortunately she didn't seem to mind that the ball always went the gutter.

Andy helping Maylin keep score.

Daddy helping Pierson bowl. He actually knocked 17 pins down over the course of the evening. (PS we did request bumpers but those lanes were already full.)

Katie and Brandon.

At least she enjoyed watching the ball roll down the gutter! :)

Hmmm... not where he planned that one to go. Katie is always there for a supportive gasp! :)

Much Better!!!! (yes it looks like it is going quite well... but it actually took a curve to the left.) I think he got 3 pins that time though! Good thing we just bowl for fun every 5-10 years!

Come to find out this is what the on-set of the flu looks like!

Maylin just had fun being the center of everyone's world!

(PS. To all the bowler's in my Ohio Family: Go ahead... it is OK to laugh at our skill! Love you!)

Lunch at the Biggers

We have such wonderful friends! We have been blessed by the love and support of everyone around us. A few Sunday's ago we were invited to the Biggers' house for lunch. Jim had been fishing and caught a really big fish! (When Maylin saw the picture of the fish she licked her lips and smiled in a way that made her eyes sparkle.) Pierson and Maylin love fish and this one was no different! Pierson said "Dis is weally good Chicken Fish!"

 Even with a yummy meal it wouldn't be an afternoon at the Biggers' if playing with animals wasn't involved. Maylin LOVED this adorable little puppy.

 And both kids got to ride Klassy the horse. They love riding horses. I just wish our horses were younger and not quite so grumpy.  But when you get to be 35 and 40 as a horse you are allowed to be a little grumpy. : )

 Pierson had a great time building Tinker toys! He built an awesome.... building?  What ever you call it, it was amazingly tall and fragile!

Thanks again Biggers Family! We had a great afternoon filled with yummy food, fun toys and lovable animals!

Meals on Wheels

Thanks Mrs. Amanda and Emma for letting us tag along with you guys on your 'meals on wheels'
 route!
It is very important for Adam and I to teach the kids the importance of being a servant. At their age there isn't a whole lot they can do by themselves yet. But... exposing them to it and teaching them as they grow is our goal so that they will grow up with an understanding of what living a life of servant hood looks like, something that I am not sure I really understood until I was in high school or even later. If I am being honest I I am still working on it. I did local missions and did some short term overseas mission trips and loved it. I loved the act of serving while I was on a cool trip, but it was the living it everyday part that I was missing. We really want Pierson and Maylin to see service to others as a way of life and something that is the 'norm'. To do this successfully we have to be living this kind of life ourselves. Adam does great because his job is all about servanthood. Me... welll I am working on that. I'll share more about what I am trying to do later. In the meantime however we got to tag along with our friends Amanda and Emma on their meals on wheels route.

Maylin loved packing the basket of food. The first house we went in was pretty low on the social-economic scale. I waited to see what her reaction would be to the smell and the clutter but she really didn't bat an eye. She looked around a little bit, but she does that in any house we go in. I was very proud of how she handled it all! She acted as if she did this everyday and these people were no different than her! Praise God! If only we could all see the world through the eyes of a child. So many barriers would fall. But since that isn't likely to happen in our lifetime the only thing we can do is continue to live as servants to the best of our ability and pray we make a difference.

A Birthday Party in the Country!

Happy Birthday Jayden we had a great time at your birthday party!

 Pierson and the birthday girl. Jayden goes to church with us and is in Pierson's class at "Big see-cool"

 It was a great party full of face painting, pony rides and bouncy houses!

 Maylin couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror!

Princess Maylin in all of her sparkly glory!

 Pierson wanted to be a tiger, but Clown said that the orange doesn't wash off immediately. Since we were going to have our family pictures done later that day we decided he should be a brown lion! :)

 He turned out pretty darn cute if you ask me!

Sweetest little lion on the planet!

 Maylin is in love with horses! She was flying high on this gentle giant!

 Have you ever seen a lion riding a horse?  Well... now you have! :)

Have a ROARING day!