Plethera of Pictures from Bermuda Cruise

My in-laws are so generous. It is THEIR 50th anniversary so they took Us on a cruise! Here are some pics from our time.

Here is Danny lounging in our window.

The kids had some of thier stuffed animals from home with them. Some have magnets in their hands and feet, so they hung them in the window so they could see out.


Kate dressed for formal night on the ship.
Dapper Dan

Tyler. Not happy about having his picture taken, but handsome just the same.

Ty at Horseshoe Bay beach.

Danny

Start humming the theme song from the Titanic movie now. That is, if you hadn't already!
Somewhere in Bermuda

Window of an old building in Bermuda
Same window, different kid.
This is what happens when you suck on your cheap tourist shirt! Heehee. Just kidding. He just finished a blue lolipop.

Kate at the beach

Horseshoe Bay beach.

12'-15' waves that we went through on our way home. A rockin' good time.

Other fun things to do on board the ship.

mini golf.
Tyler's favorite-all you can eat of what ever you could want.

Rock climbing on the 14th deck of the ship!
Ice skating. Danny and a new friend were helping Kate.
Roller-blade track

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids.

God was so kind to give us this time with Rick's parents. So many memories were made that I know the kids will cherish for the rest of their lives. What a gift to have such generous grandparents who desire to share their time of celebration with our family!

And the Rain, Rain, Rain came Down, Down, Down

Last night during dinner we had some pretty heavy rain. After dinner, when the rain had stopped, and even a little before it stopped, Danny and Kate disappeared outside. A few minutes later I hear Rick call to me and say "Do you know what Kate and Dan are doing?" Uh oh! This can't be good! I grabbed my camera and went out to look for them. There they were. In the construction mud. Making "Swimming pools" for the little toad that was hopping by them. This is why we call them Water Bug 1 and 2! They just can't stay away!!! I give you exhibit A and B from 3 years ago. And exhibit C and D from last night!

Exhibit A:Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:

Exhibit D:
All I can say is, if it's God's will for Kate to marry one day, I pray that it won't RAIN!!

The Babies are Here!

We have been going out every day to check on our bird and her eggs. Today we found little tiny birdies where there used to be eggs! The kids were thrilled to be ale to see them (and so was I if you want to know the truth) They are less than a day old in these pictures. You should hear their little peeps!! It is so cute-such a tiny little noise that you can barely hear. I hope to get more pictures as they grow.

Bird Watching

I went into our barn the other day and discovered this little lady who is soon to be a mama. Her nest is wedged between old bottles of insecticides. Can you see her little face nestled in there? I thought it would be fun to photographically track the little ones after they hatch.

I looked on line to try to identify the type of bird and I believe it is a Carolina wren. The same type of bird built on this shelf last year. I'll try to get more pictures after they hatch-if the mama bird doesn't try to poke my eye out or something crazy like that.

Doing Hard Things

To some these may all be pictures of some kids and Tyler playing baseball. No big deal. But to me, I get tears in my eyes looking at them. These are such a testimony to me of God's faithfulness! This was the very first real baseball game Tyler has ever played in. Some of you may know the struggle that lead up to this day, but for those who don't let me assure you, it was a struggle!! Tyler really wanted to sign up for baseball and was excited when we did. That all changed when it actually started and it was much harder than he expected it to be. That was it for him and he wanted out! I tried to encourage him that this was going to be a great opportunity for him to experience God's faithfulness to him to get him through this season. But let me tell you, I got to a point where I was doubting that and was ready to call the coach and pull him from the team. However, I continued to get the sense that God had Tyler exactly where he needed to be-in a challenging situation. Over and over again my thought was that Ty needed to learn to do hard things; to persevere and trust that God would see him through. This all sounds kind of strange when you consider that this is a game, but God is even in the games we play!

So the first game came and Tyler sat out due to his back being sore. But when the team won, he was a little disappointed that he hadn't been a part of it. This past Tuesday was the 2nd game and Ty announced that his back was indeed feeling better and that he thought he could play this time. So here he is, in his first Little League Baseball game. For the first time since this all began, I saw him engaging with the other kids, encouraging them, getting excited by the good plays that were made-in short, he had become a part of the team! I was teary eyed then watching him get more and more excited. And again when he got up to bat! This is such an accomplishment for him! He was obviously nervous, but he did it! He didn't back away from it! I was amazed in that moment at how faithful God had been through this time leading up to that moment! How all of the prayers I prayed from the bleachers while watching the practices had been answered in this 1 moment! Even though he was "walked" to first, he still got a pretty good hit in before that, it just went a little far off the field! But that walk eventually lead to him getting a run and scoring a point for the team.

So here are a few shots from the game. Can you see his smile as he waits on second to run to the next base? Yep. Our God is so good!

The Warm up before the game.Tyler got a hit!Running to second base.On 2nd base.Home Plate! He's Safe!

My angel in the outfield!Game over. Red Sox win it, 10-3!

Oh and a side benefit to this...I get to take pictures of Tyler and he isn't ducking and dodging my camera!

Next up, NASCAR

This past Saturday was our cub scout den's Pine Wood Derby. It may not be NASCAR, but let me tell you, the competition is official and fierce!Here is Danny's car at the official weigh-in. All cars must be under a certain weight. The boys and their dad's are given a block of wood and some wheels and they get to design their own car. Here were this years entries.

Danny had in mind that he wanted to make his a Honda. Perhaps he will grow to be a more practical sort who chooses function over form. For now, it seems he made a wise decision. This is his car in the lead. (I wonder if we could get some royalties from Honda for this picture?)

This is how they start the race.

Here are the men awarding the ribbons to the winners.

Kate was the official car stopper!

Here is Danny with his 1st place ribbon! His car won all the races he was in! He was not so happy with me when I took this picture because I was singing the Speed Racer theme song.
"Here he comes. Here comes Speed Racer. He's a demon on wheels...."

God's Sovereignty

Above even the darkest, most severe storms, there is blue sky.

We had wild weather yesterday. 70 degrees quickly dropped into the 50's while the storm clouds moved overhead. Thunder, lightning, even reports of a tornado in the area. Then came the rain which turned to hail. 10 minutes later, it was over.

I am not currently in the midst of a storm, but as I pondered this picture God reminded me of His ever present grip on my life. "Forever and always secure." Thank you Jesus!