July 2013

The theme of July was "on the road again". We did lots of travelling and were blessed to visit almost all our family and many of our friends. The kids did great for all the hours of sitting they had to do in order to get to our far off relatives. There was so much activity packed into this month but I will try to keep it brief so you can enjoy the pictures.

For the past three years we have kicked off the month of July with a birthday party for Thad. This year was no exception and like other years he was given multiple parties as we celebrated with many people. He received many wonderful gifts from swim apparel and toys to fishing supplies to games and puzzles. One of the funnier moments of his first party was his exclamation after opening his new beach towel. He said over and over, "Thanks so much for my new rug Mommy and Daddy!" It was hard to convince him it was a towel! Silly little boy.

We also enjoyed the 4th of July parade in Sheboygan again this year. We have been blessed by the friendship of Ms. Anita and her generosity in having all the family come for the parade and cook-out! God  blessed us once again with beautiful weather and fun was had by all. The fireworks were awesome and it is so much fun to get to watch them with our cousins.

During this time, we found out the test results from Eli's procedures last month and were told he has allergies. We now wait for an opening with an allergist at Children's Hospital for further testing. Please pray for healing and answers as to what is causing all his stomach pains. We also found out the test scores for Jeff's AP Chemistry students. His kids did phenomenal and as a result Jeff will be awarded money to buy supplies for his classroom. Thank you Lord for this blessing!

We had two reunions in the first weekend of July. First, we got together with friends from Rawhide. We now have so many kids between all of us that we fill and entire swing-set at the playground and then some! It was another gorgeous day and we had a great time catching up with old friends and watching the kids play until they were wore out. Next was the Rice family reunion. We had spent time on and off over the weeks leading up to this so it was a great way to cap off the time together.

As you will see in the pictures, we spent tons of time in the great outdoors. We enjoyed everything from swimming in Lake Michigan to the Bookworm Gardens in Sheboygan.

After our time in Wisconsin, we packed up and headed north to Upper Michigan to visit with Leigh Ann's parents. Once again, we enjoyed beautiful weather and fun with family. Nana and Papa live in a gorgeous area right on Lake Superior. The beaches were plentiful and the scenery was breathtaking. The kids spent as much time in the water as they could while we were there.

After we returned home, Jeff started two weeks of training for school. Leigh Ann and the kids used this time to catch up with friends. We were also blessed with a HUGE answer to prayer. God provided a mini-van in a way that could only be from Him. Praise God for answered prayer!!! We now have room for several more car-seats!  We are still waiting for our homestudy to be done. Please pray we would be patient for God's timing in all this. We are so excited and can't wait to meet the child/children God has for us!

There is so much more I could tell you but because the smilebox is the longest I have ever done, I will wrap this up. WARNING.. The smilebox is over 200 pictures long. It will take a while to get through it. I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures. We have been so blessed and it is hard to narrow it down to show you only a few. Next month will be shorter...I promise!

This picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox