Sometimes that chisel can really be uncomfortable

I trust that you will take a few minutes to watch a provoking video. Our Pastor used a part of this in his message on Sunday, and I was happy to find the whole video on You Tube. It is funny, and it is spiritually challenging. I thank God for continual reminders of His love and opportunities for growth. I pray this video will be the same for you.

Back to school for everyone

Today was the first day of school for everyone. Wesley started 5th grade; Andrew is now in third grade; but, the biggest adventure was for Little Miss Brooke, who began first grade today. I even had my first day of classes at the college.

It was a great day overall for all of them. Wesley's favorite part was learning that he is not required to write in cursive. (He hates writing in cursive.) Andrew did not share too much with me, but he came home with a Chinese hat???? I asked Brooke what she did: "I wrote a page of letters. It was O." Did you read today? "No, we had free reading time, but Ms. Darby said I could just look at the pictures." Ha :) I am thankful, again, for a Christian school with a great dedicated staff. Here is to a great year of school.

It was grand!

We had a 4-day vacation at the Grand Canyon. Mom and Dad were celebrating their 40th anniversary, and they let us come vacation with them for a couple of days. We had an 8-hour trip to the Grand Canyon; we drove during the night so that the kids (and I) could sleep. We arrived at the Grand Canyon just as the sun was rising that morning. We bypassed the hotel and went straight to get our first look and watch the sunrise. It was beautiful, and truly breath-taking.

We spent three days hiking in the Canyon, observing different viewpoints, and shuttling around the enormous state park. Below are some favorite pictures, but I will have many more on the slide show. Actually, Gary and I took over 450 pictures---look for the book coming out next spring :)
The kids enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Poppa. Andrew, who was normally very fearful of the water, overcame his fear this vacation and became successful at swimming, floating, and doing the cannonball. We were all pretty proud of him!