For the longest time, we didn’t have much of a 4th of July celebration. We would have low-key celebrations in Mexico alongside our other expat friends, but we couldn’t actually go out and do fireworks.
Since we’ve moved back to the USA, we’ve really gotten to know our neighbors and enjoy being around them. It’s been a fun few years. Almost every evening this summer we have spent time outside with them, and last Monday we had a Fourth of July celebration, complete with some fireworks (no big ones lit by us).
For one of my Seminary classes, I read the book Religious Education in the Family by Henry Frederick Cope. The book was written in 1917 but has a lot of insight for today’s families. Here’s my summary of the book and some of the quotes I highlighted. (more…)
I love my kids. They have definitely changed my life for the better and recently, I have learned that we share an affinity for hammocking.
My kids ask me almost every day if we can hang up our ENO hammock, but I think we enjoy using it for different reasons. Personally, I prefer the relaxing part of being in a hammock while my kids love to swing like peas in a pod or stones in a slingshot. At 10, 6, and 4, I really couldn’t expect them to want to do anything else.
I tried to figure out the best way for our whole family to love our time in the hammock, so I thought through these four rules. Using them, my kids get to enjoy their hammock time and I get to enjoy mine as well. Sometimes we get to snuggle together, but no matter what, we’re all happy in our hammock.
We started cleaning out some of our closets, and Shiloh and Benjamin found some painting supplies. Since we didn’t have any painting paper, Janell had the brilliant idea to cut up some cereal boxes (we have plenty of those) so they could do some painting this weekend.
If you follow along here, you already know that we were in desperate need for a new van. Last year, we started a campaign to try to raise some money to purchase a van that we could use everyday in Mexico City. We were overwhelmed by our friends as they poured on the support of our family. So when we returned from the USA in early December, we started the hunt for our new ride.
After many “downs” and very little luck, we finally found a van that suited our family’s needs. In fact, it is so much more than we could have asked or even imagined. The van is well taken care of, has all of the service receipts, and everything checks out great. Our lawyer friend who was helping us check it all out was extremely enthusiastic about this van. It is perfect.
We always joke when we rent vehicles that it would be nice to have a radio that told you what was playing. That might not be anything new to you, or you might not even consider it a blessing, but as I pulled away in our new van and put on the radio, I realized that God takes care of little things as I could read the artist and song that was playing on the radio at that time.
God takes care of us, and we have seen it time and time again in this journey on the mission field. As one of my friends told me, “See…it was worth the wait.”
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.