a sad goodbye and a happy surprise

first of all,

I have to say how proud I am of  Quinn

for finishing up a wonderful 3rd grade year!

he won every award...

attendance, honor roll, citizenship, etc....

he was home schooled! :)

really - I told him I will always treasure this 

past year with him. he's a smart boy

and we covered a lot of ground.

congratulations 4th grader!!!

we had to say a tough "goobye" this week.

it was especially difficult for Ali.

her dear friend flew home to China on Wednesday.

Ecko was an exchange student 

at Ali's high school this past year.

we so loved having her visit in our home.

she felt so comfortable here, 

and we loved the time we were able to spend with her.

the highlight of her time here?

Ali was able to pray with her at Christmastime

when Ecko invited Jesus onto her life.

it was beautiful and so exciting!

she has been a sponge wanting to learn more

and grow in her walk with the Holy Spirit.

I will always have the image on my mind

of when we took her to pick out a Bible of her own.

with tears in her eyes, she ran her finger

over & over her Chinese name that had been

engraved on the cover.

priceless.

she wanted the PINK Bible!!

friends and sisters!

lunch with dear friends to

 honor Ecko before she left

would you please pray for this sweet girl

as she eases back into her life in China?

as for our pleasant surprise?

we had pretty much written off any 

kind of week-long vacation this summer

because of budget and timing with

Gracie's surgery.

long story short, after searching some 

rentals by owner at Edisto Island,

we were able to negotiate a rental for next week

for less than the winter rate on a condo.

we are sooo grateful for God's favor in this,

and plan to relish every second with our family

as we gear up for surgery the week after our return.

no alarm clock.

no schedule.

thank you Father  for this gift!