DL was able to record this from where he was sitting.
I am so blessed by how these two have been able to work together this year.
Psalm 147:1
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
I was up early to take Kelly to the airport to fly home.
When I got home, Marie and Katriel were playing some pool.
We did a little laundry, then headed to Tampa to visit the Fritzes.
She had a feast for us, and we got to spend about four wonderful hours catching up.
The pool was FREEZING. But the sun was warm and wonderful.
We headed back around 4PM and it was an easy drive. We made tacos in a bag.
I failed to get many photos as I was enjoying catching up with Marguerite.
But I stopped what I was doing to take this one…
It’s the fourth of July…
Look at their outfits…
LOL.
Later, we moved inside for some more visiting.
And LEGO’s.
Our friends, the Fritzes, were back in the area for a visit after having moved last summer.
They invited us to stop by the hotel to visit for a while. Stewart and Nigel headed over before the girls and I so that they could visit with Brian and Stephen. Johanna, Katriel and I went later and the four girls swam and swam and swam. They were completely pruney by the time they were done!
Katriel’s friend Maddie approached her as she arrived to church last week with a dress identical to the one she had on. She had obtained two dresses from hand-me-down sources that matched. She asked her mom if she could give one to Katriel so that they could be “matchy-matchy.” Katriel was delighted by the idea and this week they got to make that happen.
If I tried to blog every amazing summer day we’ve had, I would never get away from the computer.
Some special people are moving to Florida. Though we didn’t hang out that often, it was always a given that this family would be doing the same fun things we were doing in both our homeschool community and their church community. Our kids have done VBS’s together since 2005. Their sons have been in a few of my boys’ short films. The DAD has even been in one. Two of their sons and my boys have done Cub scouts, a boy’s club, homeschool co-op, CBS, and seasons of youth group together. It has always just been the given that we would do things with them.
And now – a new chapter in their lives has them moving south.
So, when the packers came to their house today, I picked up these lovely ladies and we had what more than one of these girls has deemed “the best playdate ever.”
They played outside, and had a tea party, and played with princesses, and went to Bounce it Out, and came home for popsicles, and watched Mary Poppins. And every last iota of the day was fun. Said the girls.
Her fifth birthday fell on a Saturday. How fun is that?
We decided to pack all the fun into one day.
We woke her up at 7 A.M. (she was actually awake and waiting for our arrival) and sang happy birthday.
Balloons and banners greeted her.
as did a spiffy breakfast.
The boys had to work parts of the day, so we did family meal and gifts early on.
We cleaned up and turned our attention to getting ready for her 11:30 A.M. turtle-themed birthday party.
We had a craft for the basement.
Friends arrived and got their turtle backs.
Lunch was pizza and fruit.
Lots of lovely gifts and home made cards.
And cake.
Big sisters had some friends here, too. (I love these girls.)
And then the kid party was over at 1:30 P.M.
Somehow, we flipped the house again. Mom lay down for an hour, then made dinner, and grandparents and aunt arrived for 4:30 P.M.
Pasta Alfredo was the birthday girl’s choice.
And look… more gifts! 🙂
We had a Princess Tiana cake for the evening.
And we may have reached our party-food-limit.
Don’t underestimate the Butler’s ability to party, friends.
This was the 11th year of gathering with the Brookses for Christmas Eve.
It’s hard to believe how much they have grown. We failed to get a photo that first year. And we have no proper pattern of collecting photos…
But here you go.
These were really 2008, but the camera had that weird date on it…
Dayspring Disciples 