Being Ordained...

I haven't been very diligent with posting lately, so thanks for hanging in there bloggy friends : ) Well, David was ordained a pastor this weekend! Being ordained after 15 years of ministry is different than most ordinations since most pastors go through this process after Bible college/Seminary. But Dave was never officially ordained at that point in his life, so our church elders and pastors pursued ordaining him. Dave went through a very thorough process and was affirmed in his calling to youth ministry on Saturday. And Sunday night, the church held a BEAUTIFUL service that left both of us inspired, challenged and renewed in our passion for God and His Church. It probably held deeper meaning for us at this stage in our life than it would have for David right out of college.... the trials, challenges, joys and sorrows of loving God's Bride, we already know them and yet still love His Church and want to serve God and His people as long as He wants us in this position. We were overwhelmed by how many came to share this special evening with us and by the wonderful reception afterwards. A HUGE thank you to all who made that night so meaningful!

A few of the kids went out to Carl's afterwards for some ice cream with us : )

It's a terrible picture, but here's a look at the scrapbook I put together of letters written by many of Dave's past and present youth group kids and sponsors. Thanks to Facebook, I was able to reconnect with quite a few people from over the years!! Dave enjoyed these letters IMMENSELY!! They are more affirmation to him than about anything else of God's faithfulness in His ministry. So THANK YOU to all who took time to be part of this!!

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend! To God be ALL the glory!

Vacation Pics: Part I

Breakfast at Chick-fil-A: 5:30am(our time), 15 hrs. on the road, 4 hrs. to go!! My cousin Wendy lives in Valdosta, GA.... so we met for breakfast there before we pushed through the last part of the drive. It was so much fun to catch up with her and the kids!

Sarah with her Cheer Bear

Emily looking a little rough after a long night in the car : )

The boys had a great time hanging out with Nolan in the Chick-fil-A playland! (plus, they got to go in their pjs!!)

Me and Wendy and all the kids : )

First day at the resort:

The kids LOVED the whirlpool tub!

Sarah cracking up at her goofy Dad

Sportin' the "sales pitch" hats!

Funny story... The 1st morning we were there we had to go to a time share sales pitch. We were dreading it, knowing the kids would be miserable. It actually was pretty entertaining as they gave out all kinds of free stuff( hats, beach balls..) and they even brought out mini cakes for each of the boys' recent b-days. When we were walking back to our room afterwards the boys said, " Mom, Dad, this is the BEST vacation ever!!"



The Beach:

The girls were so funny at the beach... just once again revealing their polar opposite personalities.

Sarah is our princess. She barely would get her feet wet, constantly brushing the sand off of her, refused to sit on the ground and would only squat down to play with the sand toys. She was completely content to just watch everyone else.

Emily on the otherhand was crazy. She was covered in sand the entire day, throwing it, digging in it, running into the water and thoroughly enjoying the waves crash into her. It was a perfect place for this adventurous, curious 1 yr.old to wear herself out : )

The boys had a blast!! They loved trying to "surf" the waves on their bellies. They didn't even complain when it came time to eat pb&js on the beach... I pretty sure we got sand with every bite : )

Daddy and Caleb

Baseball... even at the beach!

Zachary was so excited that someone in Florida named a restaurant after him!

VACATION

I'm not as excited to post about vacation without pictures but.... our camera was stolen the 1st day we were in Florida. We did get some pictures but it was with our SLR and a few on Dave's mom's digital, so pictures will have to wait : (

We had an AMAZING time!! I tried really hard not to have expectations, realizing we were taking two 1yr. olds and we were going to have to drive 18 hrs. Whew!!! Let me tell you, it was a haul : ) But after arriving and getting a good night's sleep in, things were great!!

We didn't do anything spectacular. We went to the beach 1 day and went mini-golfing 1 of the evenings but the rest of the time we just stayed put. We rested, relaxed and got a LOT of use out of the swimming pool!! The place we stayed at was great because I could cook all of our meals right there!

Honestly, the best part was having Dave all to ourselves! Ministry can be very consuming and it felt heavenly to have all of his attention for 7 days straight : )

Zachary celebrated his GOLDEN birthday, # 6, at Walt Disney World at the end of our time in Orlando. We were able to just take the boys for their special Disney day thanks to Dave's mom and sister. Dave's mom took his sister and niece on a mini-vacation in Orlando the same time as us in order to come over for the day to watch the girls.... we are so THANKFUL!! It also turned out that the girls rode on Grandma's and Aunt Chris' laps on the plane ride home.... again THANKFUL!! (Especially since we ended up with a flat tire on the way home!)

I'll share some pics the next time I make it to Walmart's film developer :) Overall, one of the best memories I have of our family and so grateful to God for giving us that sacred time together! Hope everyone is able to take time to make special memories with their families this summer.... in a world that competes with the survival and sanctity of families, I urge all families to take time away and invest in something of eternal value... EACH OTHER!!