Good Times, Good Friends... and GOOD FOOD!

Something that we really enjoy is spending time with family and friends. These photos are from Labor Day Weekend...and I almost forgot they were on my camera! I came across them trying to figure out how to delete photos from my "Memory Stick"...and I'm so glad that I did. They are really cute.

We had a Potluck at the Bivens' house out in Stamping Ground! Mattie (Brenda's sister) and her husband Steve came down from Ohio... and any excuse to get together is a good one! We love going to the Bivens'... we love having a Potluck... and we LOVE having a good time! This was the first paddle boat ride for McCaleb - and the first canoe ride for all three of the kids. Tim (Grubbs - not Hanks) had all three of the Hanks kids, along with his oldest son, Sam out at the same time! What a brave soul! He was very kind... and taught the girls how to use the oars. They actually did quite well! I was very proud. They also did a little fishing, a lot of running and chasing the cat from next door... and had S'mores! YUM! Mr. Gallagher made sure that the marshmallows were perfectly cooked... and Mrs. Gallagher helped McCaleb with his very first S'more! Mattie helped us create beautiful beaded bracelets... and even finished them for the girls! It was a fun night for all of us!

Times like these remind me of the wonderful memories from my own childhood. The friends that we spent our time with were families from church. Those times were precious to me... and I can't imagine growing up without those wonderful memories. There are so many things that I "HOPE" for our children. I hope that they will know the value of hard work and that homegrown tomatoes really DO taste better... that there is nothing better than a jar full of lightning bugs...except letting them go...that singing songs by the campfire is FUN...and that being silly and spontaneous is also OK... that it's good to laugh until you cry... and that crying when you're sad is OK, too...I want them to learn all of these things - and MORE. I hope that they see these lessons in the life I am living - and that they can learn to be forgiving and understanding when I mess up - even as their Mom.

I recently told my Sunday School class about a poem I heard when I was younger that I recite to myself at least once a week:

I'd rather SEE a sermon, than HEAR one any day -

I'd rather you go WITH me, than merely POINT the way -

The EYE is a more ready pupil, than ever was the EAR...

Good ADVICE is often confusing - but EXAMPLE is always clear.

I pray that I am the example that they need, each and every day! But when I fail... and I know that I will time and time again... I pray that I handle those failures with grace and love.