Ethan’s Baptism

What a special weekend!  Ethan was baptized by Chad on Sunday.  It was held at the same place where Andrew was baptized, and also the place we frequent during the summer!

Baptism is a step of obedience after salvation, and also shows that your desire is to follow Jesus.  Or that “your heart belongs to Jesus” as Ethan puts it.

Grandparents and friends and family from the church were there to celebrate.  I’m so very thankful we have such support.  We can’t do this alone!

3 John 1:4  “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Beach Camping Pictures

I took loads, as you can see.  These are with my camera.  Of course, I’m not in any of these!  I’ve got to get Chad on the other side!  I Instagrammed quite a few, though.

More Family Pics

More Memorial Day Camping Pics

Mommy and Boy

We had a good camping trip this past weekend.  Definitely more pics to come, but I think this is my favorite!  Yes, it’s because I’m in it.  I am always the one with the camera.  Not such a bad thing most of the time, but I am glad I can prove I was a part of this event!  Ha!

We all have camping hangovers.  It’s Tuesday already, so I am sure our first week of summer break will fly by.  I hope you had an enjoyable holiday weekend!

Easy Baked Donuts

I saw these Easy Baked Donuts on Pinterest. Ethan had a friend spend the night last night, so I thought it would be a great time to try them! I used regular size canned biscuits that were cheap. I liked the fact that you brush them with oil and bake instead of frying them! So next time I’ll try making my own dough for a better taste.

Ethan’s buddy loves chocolate, so we made a few with some leftover icing I had made for a baby shower last weekend.

And powdered sugar donut holes!

They were all a big hit in this house of boys! Ethan and his friend are off to a kite making class with daddy now!

Ohio Birthdays

Two weekends ago we went to Ohio to celebrate three special birthdays.  My sister’s 40th, my niece’s 16th and my other niece’s 6th birthday.

Here are a few pictures from the party…

Visit to Ohio

I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t made the time to do much blogging!  And something is going a little whacky with it.  I had an Advent post all ready and it disappeared twice!

We had a great time visiting family in Ohio.  My brother and his son came in from Florida.  It was so good to see them.  I love spending time with my big brother.  The boys love him to pieces.  There’s always wrestling that happens when they are together, and I so enjoy watching them!  We all joined at my sister’s for a Thanksgiving celebration.  Huge reason to be thankful!!!  We had a wonderful time.  Our family is so blessed.

Transformed!

This year my boys dressed as Transformers.

Iron Hide, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.  I think I’ve got that right.

This picture is from the party we had at co-op last week.

I have to throw in a picture of some of the other children, because it’s just so cute.

We really enjoyed our weekend.  The fall and Halloween is always fun around here.  I have fond memories as a child, and I hope we are making some for our boys.

Saturday a friend and I went to a community festival.  The local high school was packed full of fun for the kids.  Our dentist friends were there.  One was dressed up as a great big tooth!  We love getting our free toothbrushes and toothpaste!

Saturday evening we met some friends at the nearby park for another party and trick or treating around the hiking trails.  It was so beautiful there!

Sunday evening we had a bonfire with our dear church family.  It was such an enjoyable time.  I loved every minute of it.  It was bittersweet, too, as we gathered around the fire to say goodbye to our old church property and meet the new church family moving in.  Tears ran down my cheeks as we sang a few hymns together.  I felt like I was given a very small glimpse of what heaven might be like.

Monday evening we went trick or treating around the neighborhood.  But we were missing two special people.  Chad was on another business trip and Andrew was sick on the couch.  Andrew asked me if I could take his bag along with me.  Only in this great group of people would that work!  Love our neighborhood family!

Transformers….More Than Meets the Eye!

I hope I am more than one meets the eye, you know?  In this world, often it doesn’t seem like that.  We buy into the lie that what you see is what’s important.  I want people to see my heart.  Do they see the heart of Jesus?  Are we training our children to be concerned about the souls of others?  For daily we have to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2).  God, renew my mind through the reading of Your Word.  Help me be like You.

This week of celebration wasn’t about just collecting loads of sugary sweets, although that is fun.

It was about spending precious time with friends and neighbors.  My hope is that we were able to shine that Light into this dark world, and have some fun doing it.

It’s my first link up to Growing Godly Men!  I have always loved this gal.  Great encouragement for raising young boys!  Check it out!

 

Fall Camping

My favorite time to camp is in the fall!  We went Thursday-Sunday of this past weekend.  We were planning to do our annual Halloween camping trip.  When we arrived, we realized that this wasn’t the right weekend!  It’s always the weekend before Halloween and we book it 6 months in advance.  We barely got a spot then, so we sure didn’t think a thing of it.  Apparently the famous Covered Bridge Festival was a week late this year, pushing the camping holiday until next weekend!  Oh well!  I think I was more disappointed than my boys were!  We had a great time.  The weather was so beautiful, and it won’t be as pretty this coming weekend.  So I’m glad we were there.  We did “reverse trick-or-treat” children all around the campground and met some nice people.  We did our best to “shine the light of Jesus” wherever we went.  Here are some pics!

This is my favorite picture from the weekend!  Thursday night was cold.  The boys were so excited to where their winter coats and their new winter hats we got in West Virginia.  The way they highlight their faces…I can hardly take it!