Greer Getaway

We took a few days to escape the heat and stayed in Greer (courtesy of Papa Bob and Grammy's groupon purchase). It was so nice to wear a sweatshirt, play outside, and just get away....

Here is the view from the cabin we stayed in.... You can see evidence of this year's fire, but it was still green and beautiful.

Aaron, Papa Bob, and Lee made a "bridge" across the creek one afternoon. Aaron was so proud of his craftsmanship. He loved playing by the water by the bridge and throwing rocks in. He always came back soaked =)

We also spent some time with my grandparents as they stay near there during the summer. The one time I tried to get a picture with them, my kids would not cooperate so it never happened. But we enjoyed visiting with them as well!

Playing Together

There have been several moments this week where Aaron and Noel have actually played together..... It has brought us so much joy to see this relationship begin to develop.

Here is one of these "moments" - I came around the corner and asked what they were doing and Aaron reported that they were playing "trumpets."

By the way, if you don't know it, those are for the breast pump. =)

A Good Day

Lee had to stay long at church yesterday, so the kids and I came home to eat lunch and Noel took a nap. As Aaron and I ate, he told me that they had learned about Jonah in his Sunday school class and how Jonah didn't obey God. He then asked me if Jonah had gone to hell because he didn't obey. We have had an ongoing dialogue the past month about heaven and hell (so this question was not totally out of the ordinary) and once again I explained to him that just because we don't obey doesn't mean that we go to hell. I told him everyone disobeys sometime and the reason you go to hell is because you don't love and believe in Jesus. Both Lee and I have wanted to answer his questions in this area very clearly, but try to not manipulate him into making a decision about believing and loving Jesus. On this occasion, Aaron expressed to me very adamantly, "Mommy, I don't want to go to hell. I believe Jesus and love him.... I want to go to heaven." I told him then what he needed to do was to pray to ask Jesus to come into his heart and be in charge of his life if he wanted to go to heaven. At first, he wanted me to pray for him, but I told him that Mommy couldn't pray it for him because he himself needed to ask Jesus. I told him I would help him and he then and there bowed his head and repeated after me asking Jesus to forgive him of his sins, thanking Him for dying on the cross, and asking him to be in charge of his life so that he could go to heaven. It was truly an amazing moment, and oddly enough, sort of simple. I know there is still so much of his salvation that is beyond his little four year old mind's capacity, but I felt strongly that there was a level of understanding and sincerity in his reasoning and what he articulated. So we celebrated and will make it a point to remember this important day....

.... with our favorite new drink right now, Fresca. Doesn't he looked so much more saved now?

And just so Noel is not left out - Here is some video of her. She loves her baby doll so much (a hand me down from our friends) and it is hilarious....

Cause and Effect

This development.....

.....is leading to some paranoia.

Wisconsin Trip

Noel and I headed to Wisconsin last week for a quick trip to visit our family that lives there....

She was such a trooper with all the flying and traveling. We had a long delay between flights and french fries seemed to make everything better.

We got to see Auntie Serina and meet Noel's newest cousin, Abigail Grace. She is such a sweetie!

Noel loved seeing baby Abigail and wanted to grab her all the time. Abigail wasn't so sure what to do with her.....

We also got to head over to Wautoma and see Uncle Brad, Auntie Tanya, and Brynn, and Owen.

I felt so torn about not being able to bring Aaron. He would have loved to see his cousins, but the cost of another plane ticket was just too steep.

So nice to see all the farms and this way of life.... Seeing the pivots always reminds me of being a kid on our farm....

We celebrated Brynn's 4th bday and Tanya and her sister made an amazing "Tangled" cake. I was so impressed!

Happy birthday Brynn!

And in case you wondered, Aaron and Daddy had lots of fun while we were gone. Aaron turned 4 and also swam across Grammy and Papa's pool all by himself with no assistance so he earned the prize of a big monster truck....

It was a great time and we are glad to be back together as a family!