a house full of hormones and world changers

last week was crazy around here.

fun, busy, blessed crazy that is.

one house

13 middle/high school girls

lots of laughter

lots of eating

lots of bonding

lots of God-moments

lots of excitement

(note the center of attention here...

she was leading the girls in a cheer -

not shy, this one)

we loved, loved, loved hosting

these beauties.

this was the second summer of
Kingdom Life camp for our youth group.
the kids were hosted in church homes for the week,
and their days consisted of serving
with local ministries (folding clothes & filling backpacks
for those in foster care, doing lawn work for the elderly,
gardening for a local ministry that feeds the hungry, etc.),
heading to public places in the afternoons
to pray with people & share the love of Jesus,
and life-changing services back at the church in the evenings.

God promises that when we draw close to Him,
He WILL draw close to us.
we watched these kids seek the Father
with all their hearts,
and He showed up in huge ways -
life changing for each of them
as well as countless others in our city.



Matthew 6:9,10
"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven."

say it aint so...

how could this be happening?

doesn't the state of South Carolina

know that Erin is my baby, and that

she can't possibly be old enough for a 

driver's permit?!!

i should have had a little word 

with that kind, ahem, little lady 

behind the counter at the DMV 

to explain the situation.

she would have understood 

this mama's dilemma.

oh well, 

time marches on, and we sure

are proud of that sweet girl,

even though she went & grew up some more.

our Fourth...a week later

i think the heat wave

has limited my ability to be

motivated to upload pictures,

and find the energy to type words.

and cook... & clean... (kidding, sort of)

we found ourselves on the morning of the fourth

with just Gracie, so Brian & I took her somewhere

she has never been in her three years home...

the zoo.

 no "parents of the year"

award for us!

i think after our not-so-pleasant

zoo experience in China, we 

have psychologically 

avoided that little venture.

BUT

we prevailed in the heat,

and Gracie loved it.

the cutest tour guide ever

love this

a zoo trip is not complete

w/o cotton candy

true dat, Gracie

then we got to visit Ali @ work!

i really broke the bank on fireworks...
a couple of boxes of sparklers.

Erin's all fizzled out

(in more ways than one - she volunteered

10 hours a day last week, 7am- 5pm,

with kids @ Winshape camp. i think

she's just now catching up on rest!)

feelin safe during the festivities

w/ Annie Oakley around

glad i didn't break the bank on
fireworks, b/c it seems our neighbors did!
come to find out in our new little
cul-de-sac a couple of neighbors go all out
to celebrate the fourth.
we're talking over an hour's worth of fireworks...
& they weren't lame either.
the. real. deal.

"front row" seat

and here's our newest baby

saying, "happy birthday America!"