Helping at Home

Here is Anthony dusting the furniture downstairs with a duster.

Here he is using the swivel sweeper on the hardwoods.

Nathan, the little engineer, replacing a broken switch cover.

Lately the boys have taken an interest in chores and helping out the family. We looked for age-appropriate jobs for them to do and they are really enjoying contributing to the family workload. We appreciate all the hard work they are putting in on a regular basis and their allowance is showing it :) We are thankful to God for such great men-in-the-making.

Back to School 2010

Wow! Where did summer go??? It went somewhere really, really fast :) We have had (and are still having!) a wonderful summer, but the books are calling. We started school this week at home and went to our first Classical Conversations co-op this morning. Nathan is now in 3rd grade (wasn't he in preK last year?), Anthony has begun Kindergarten, and Noah is in K3. The boys are loving school and doing very well. We are looking forward to a great year living, laughing, and learning together. To God be the glory!

Race to Win! ODBC Summer Musical 2010

Anthony with the grand prize trophy :)

Nathan playing "drums" as part of the Garage Band :)

Mamaw even got to see the performances :)

This year's church summer musical was Race to Win. It was the first year Anthony could participate and he LOVED it - he even "played" drums on stage during the final performance. The theme was race car driving and the children learned to be sure whose race they were running - the world's or God's. It was a very clear presentation of God's grace and the music was awesome! We're so proud of our boys for all the hard work and thankful to Open Door Baptist Church who invests in the lives of children.

Zoo Atlanta

We had an awesome opportunity to visit Zoo Atlanta and it was a wonderful experience. In addition to the great variety of animals - including giant pandas - they have a really fun kids area. Both Nathan and Anthony were able to scale the rock wall - a very high one, actually - and ring the bell at the top and we all got to take a cool train ride around the Zoo. Its a beautiful zoo with plenty of shady areas and exhibits. What a blessing to be able to see God's amazing creations!

Centennial Olympic Park and Fountains

The boys had a wonderfully wet time cooling off from the blistering Atlanta heat by playing in the Centennial Park fountains. The Park was created for the 1996 summer Olympic games and is really a beautiful place in downtown Atlanta. Every couple of hours the fountains are cleared and a choreographed fountain show set to music is performed. The boys enjoyed seeing the fountains shoot skyward during certain parts of the music. It was a real treat!

Power Camp 2010

Wow! What a great week of Power Camp! Power Camp is an annual summer sports/performing arts outreach camp our church puts on. This is the second year the boys have participated and this year's theme was "Hold Nothing Back" based on Matthew 13:44. I was able to help lead Nathan's group this year and loved it. The children had Bible study each night and participated in baseball, basketball, soccer, and Taekwando tracts during the week. Over 150 kids attended this year and we are confident that God's word that was faithfully presented during Bible study, large group time, songs, and skits will not come back void. The pictures above show the children in each of the boy's groups, some of the friends they made, and the coveted Spirit Shark presented to a different group each night based on their enthusiasm. It was a wonderful week. To God be the glory!

Rafael Nadal?! Nathan's Tennis Camp :)

This past week Nathan attended the YMCA Tennis Camp. It was definitely a new experience for him and he seemed to really enjoy it. He made new friends, learned new skills, and sweated an awful lot! The picture of the beaded necklace was an incentive/reward program the leaders do for the kids. When they notice the campers displaying a positive trait they award the camper a bead. Nathan earned beads for caring, politeness, responsibility, respect, honesty, and skills AND he earned a very special bead (the sea turtle in the picture) for overall good character and for always having a smile on his face :) We are extremely proud of him for trying something brand new and for having such great character!