Weekend Life!

On Friday evening we made it to Zearing Park to catch an amazing sunset and get a few casts into the pond. We caught a few fish before the darkness came! The front porch was a place for a Saturday morning family game of Sequence. We are becoming quite the Sequence players! Wilma came over to visit for the day. She and Walter have been fighting and playing and hissing at one another. She is quite the crazy kitten! On Saturday evening, we were invited over to the McCoy’s for a time around a backyard fire! Playing and a few s’mores brought some friends together for some fun! We didn’t stay too late because Sunday morning sure comes quickly! On Sunday morning, Callie, Grandma, and Cade did the special music at church and sang Jesus Loves Me. Callie was so excited about this opportunity and Cade willingly helped with harmony with Grandma. The performance wasn’t the finest, but it was beautiful. Cade was disappointed, but he did well. I am thankful he has opportunities to make mistakes in front of people that love him (and really no one knew the mistakes he said he made!). 

One Last Swim!

Callie got invited by her friend Mia to swim at her Grandma’s home one last time this season. She was excited to swim after school, and when we arrived her friend, Miriam, was there too. What fun! But before we left to swim, Walter needed an after school snuggle!

Dad and the boys stayed home. Daddy has been working on getting his fishing supplies ready for his men’s fishing trip. He got a new reel today and was getting it all ready. Thanks Mom and Dad for the birthday present, he loves it! 

August 25th

Daddy got the chance to go cat fishing on the Illinois river with a friend and Pop. He had a fun evening and caught a few along the way. The carp on the river made the night eventful as they jumped in the water and even in the boat. One even jumped in the boat and hit Pop! Those crazy-pesty fish! 

While Dad was away for the evening, we did some Lego building. We have been working on sorting our Legos for weeks. We have done a little at a time and we are making progress. As we get more and more sorted, it is allowing us to get out our past instruction books and make some of the models. Tonight we made some vehicles from Start Wars. Joel loves when Mom builds with him, or maybe it is that he loves when Mom finds all the blocks for him so he can build! Finding is not his favorite! 

House Painting!

We worked hard this spring and summer to get our home refinanced and work on the outside done before the end of the summer. While we were on vacation in June, the construction guys showed up and installed new soffit, facia, and gutters all around our home. With our home being so tall, this was not an easy task. Then during the first week of school, our home was scrapped, primed, and painted. It got a whole new look as we went with a brown “tiki hut” color with white trim around the windows. Though we had hoped to put siding on our home we learned through this refinancing process and home repair, paint would work great and really not adversely or positively affect our home’s value. Painting it was a huge savings and we are thankful for the Lord providing all that we needed to get these repairs done. And we are soooooooo glad we did not try to paint it ourselves. It was worth the money to hire others!! 

We did end up painting the floors of the porches ourselves, and Mom worked on our outside doors and the decor. We now have a sitting area on the front porch, and a new look to the back porch for our shoes and randomness. Our home is such a gift and we are thankful for the Lord’s continual provision and care for us. 

Saturday Fun!

The first Saturday after school took us all in different directions. Cade got to go fishing with Justin, making a great bass catch on his new pole! Dad and Callie went squirrel hunting and got one! Mom and Joel played tennis or at the PHS courts and built Legos together. What a fun way to kick off the weekend!! 

First Day of School!

The first day of school went well for each of the kids. They came home excited about the year and full of joy from seeing their friends! This is the last year all three will be students at PCA! We are so thankful for the ministry of PCA and that our children have been able to attend this excellent school. We are so grateful for the Lord’s faithfulness in providing this for our family. 

After school we did some sandbox playing and then after dinner we headed to Zearing Park. The boys wanted to fish, and Callie wanted to play and ride her bike. The girls took a lap, while the boys fished. When we got back to the dock, we got to witness Joel’s jackpot fishing night with two catches, a bass and crappie! And Cade enjoyed hulling in a frog! What a beautiful evening! 

Last Days of Summer!

It looks like the school year is going to start on time. We have been anxiously awaiting the day, but also trying to hold on to our last days of summer. With school starting on Thursday, we decided we would each get one last “activity” we would want to do before summer ended. 

Callie wanted to get in a lemonade stand, so we prepped making lemonade and Rice Krispie treats (also some zucchini bread!). She made close to $30 and gave half of it as a gift to Dayana (our sponsored child in Peru). Mom wanted to go on a bike ride down at the canal so we knocked off a few more miles on the trail. It was a big ride of 3 miles out and 3 miles back. It is hard on Callie but she works hard to keep up with the long legs of our family. Cade and Dad wanted to go fishing, so we went to a new spot, some public ponds over near Sheffield. We didn’t get a tone of hits but some to make the evening feel fun! And we tried some disc golf on the day before school. It was hot, but we gave it our all. We definitely need a bit more practice but it was fun to give it a try! Summer has come to an end, and though it has get endless with our days of quarantine, it is still sad to say goodbye. We are thankful for such wonderful times together during the summer of 2020!