Acappella ..

Lamplighter Dramatic Audios

I've written about these stories before how much we LOVE them!!  Whenever we go on a long trip, these audios are brought out and we listen to them over and over.  I just found a site that lets you listen to some of these stories for free!!  They are broken up into smaller segments.  The kids favorites are Hedge of Thorns and Basket of Flowers....but we love all of them!
http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currpage=1&keyword=lamplighter&SourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Lamplighter+Theatre&AudioOnly=false&sortby=

Pastor in disguise

http://ireporterstv.co/church-members-mistreat-homeless-man-in-church-unaware-it-is-their-pastor-in-disguise/

Wow....that was interesting!  A new pastor to a church with a membership of 10,000 arrived for his first service disguised as a homeless man.  Read how his unknowing congregation treated him and how they reacted when he was finally introduced as their new pastor!! (the elders were in on it the whole time)

Kicks

So fun!  All the kids were able to feel baby move tonight.  I love how their eyes get wide every time they feel her kick.  I love this stage!!  And hubby was able to feel her tonight too.

Happy Birthday

Our boy turned 6!!!  I can't believe how these kids are growing so fast!  My oldest came to rescue again for me this birthday.....making the cake.  We got home from church and I really needed a nap so off she went and made the cake.  It was delicious!  We didn't decorate it according to our snake theme but he sure loved his 'snake' themed cards!!  He got his toy guns he was hoping for, some Star Wars figurines, and a ninja suit and sword.

He's 6!

Cake decorator

Number 6

So I haven't made an official blog announcement.....but my pregnancy ticker up top does the trick!  We are so excited as we wait the arrival of our newest member in the new year.  And as you can see from the choice of colors....it's going to be a GIRL!  I've been having high blood pressure early on and today the doctor actually brought up the idea of starting medication to control it.  I really want to wait a bit to see if will improve....I really dislike medication during pregnancy!!  Please be in prayer with us about this that I can get it under control.  She is quite an active little girl already.  I love feeling those movements!  Can't wait till the kids can start to feel those kicks.
God is so good.  We feel so very blessed :)

Day 4 Part 2

After visiting the lighthouse and grabbing some lunch, we headed to the Marina.  Our friends' Dad owns a boat and took individual families for a tour on the water.  We saw a freighter being loaded and the limestone quarry.  The kids had a blast and so did Daddy!  Especially when we were going fast!  Well our poor baby girl didn't like it so much.  She practically crawled right out of her life jacket and hung on to me for dear life (crying the whole way).  I don't think she has sea legs at all.
We then headed for the lake (Huron)....finally.  It is what the kids have been waiting for the entire time!  The temperature wasn't too bad for most of the afternoon but as it got closer towards supper, the cool air was getting a little nippy.  The pictures show the utter excitement the kids experienced all afternoon....

It was such a great week!  We hope to continue this type of vacation with these families.  It is such a wonderful experience to spend good quality fellowship with other like-minded believers.  You can see how each family is striving to raise Godly children.  They were all soooo well behaved.  It was purely a delightful, encouraging week!

Day 4 Part one

Friday morning, Pastor's family and our family headed to the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse (it was free!).

Forty Mile Point Light is a lighthouse in Northern Michigan, in Presque Isle County on Hammond Bay on the western shore of Lake Huron in Rogers Township, Michigan USA. Unlike many Great Lakes lighthouses, Forty Mile Point Light does not mark a significant harbor or river mouth. Rather, it was constructed with the intent that as one sailed from Mackinaw Point to the Saint Clair River, one would never be out of viewing range of a lighthouse.^[3] With no river or harbor to use for a name, the light is named on the basis that it is 40 miles (64 km) sailing distance from Mackinaw Point. (Wikipedia) 

Climbing to the top of the lighthouse was no easy feat!  The spiral stairs got narrower and steeper as you reached the top.  There were even signs saying no toddlers allowed.  The top of the lighthouse housed a $1 million dollar latern.  Looking from the top, there was a buoy out in the water that marked the shipwreck of the steamer Joseph S. Fay.  Part of the ship is grounded on the beach as well that the kids had fun walking on.  We walked to the beach where the kids enjoyed their hand at skipping rocks...and some of them just plunking big rocks in the water for the splash! 

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse

Day 3

Thursday was more of a family day for each of us.  We all met up Mackinaw City and toured a museum and some shops.  We then ate lunch in the park together and split up for the rest of the day.  Our family went to Colonial Michilimackinac which is an 18th century fort and fur trading village.  We got to see a canon being fired and a musket show.  We toured all the housing.  It was a fun afternoon.  Then we headed across the Mackinac Bridge which is the third longest suspension bridge in the world.  After supper, we all met up again to spend the evening together and had a devotional.

the canon that was fired....LOUD!

wanted out of her stroller!

Mackinac Bridge

    

Day 2

Day  2 was our first full day together.  We headed off to the apple farm where our friends mom works.  Her mom generously supplied delicious apple cider for us all and apple cider doughnuts.  Let me tell you....these were sooooo good!!  I had the apple cider cinnamon doughnut!  The apple farm not only had numerous varieties of apple trees but it had a playground and animal farm for the kids to visit.  We enjoyed the animals until baby girl got too close to the ponies....then it was game over for her!  Get me outta here!  The kids spent quite a bit of time enjoying each other's company on the playground.  Then we headed to the Marina where we looked at the boats and some actually got into the water (it was way too cold for most of us!)  Later that night we had pizza back at the cabin and then when it got really, really late we headed to the beach to watch a beautiful stars display.  The kids loved laying on the sand and counting the number of shooting stars.  It was beautiful!

most of the kids

not amused!!!

back at the cabin playing games with daddy