Summertime Fun with Kate and Jack, et al

Thanks to men (and women) who serve,

you and I can continue to celebrate our freedom today!

It has been a full and busy week.

Kate and Jack came to visit on Tuesday and stayed until Thursday.

Lunch and ice cream at Chick-Fil-A

one of their favorite places

They played all afternoon in the hot tub.

We spent the evening building a fort again, but alas!

It wasn't that much fun after sibling rivalry raised its ugly little head!

Time outs for both, and then bedtime with the usual musical bed game.

On Wednesday morning before Mom was to come get them,

they asked to stay another night.

Okay by me!

Pancakes, more hot tub time and a lazy afternoon

before a trip to the mall for playing and dinner before church.

After dinner, Kate wanted to go to the Lego store.

I had never been inside before, but something told me

we wouldn't be coming out of there without some new Legos.

I was right!

On the way to church, they both held onto those boxes of Legos

and Jack informed me he was too tired to go to church.

He needed to go back to our house.

(I knew he really wanted to go home and play with his new Legos.)

He was able to find something at church that perked him up!

We opened the boxes and the instruction books to put together Legos,

but it proved to be very frustrating work at the end of a long day.
(89 pieces in one box and 55 in another. 
What was I thinking?????)

I suggested to Kate and Jack that a good night sleep would

refresh their minds and bodies and the next morning

we would get up all perky and ready to go!

Kate wanted to know what perky is.

Things began to come together 

the next morning.

Kate seems able to concentrate in spite of the distraction Jack can be.

Steadily working

Very pleased with what she accomplished

Small things require little hands

Jack was happy with his as it was and saved all the "spare parts."

Jack's new thing is to call Mom.

I love listening to him talk.

He also loves these two stuffed animals -

Sweetie and Swattie!

In keeping with my commitment to stay connected with friends over the summer, I had lunch on Thursday with my friend, Roberta. We had a long, lazy lunch and good conversation.

On Friday, I met with friends, Victoria, Liz and Cindy. And this morning, DH and I had breakfast with Cindy and her husband. Enjoying times with friends, and next week ... more of the same.

Happy Fourth!

Grand Old Flag

Yesterday morning the news media was all over the threats from terrorists and the various places across our country they threaten to strike! My heart and my stomach just lurched seeing and listening for about five minutes. Honestly, that's all I can take of the yakkity-yak from the media.

As I pulled into the place where my friends and I were to meet for brunch, I turned the car off and sat silently and thought about all those predictions. Fear struck again. As I prayed asking God to help me, this came to mind:

You are God and you have made a plan. 

You have a future and a hope for us. 

To all who believe, you have given the right to be called the children of God. 

What manner of love is this that the Father has given to us that we should be called 
the children of God!

I am not a citizen of this world. 

My home is in Heaven. 

My inheritance is Jesus. 

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus. 

Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. 

photo source