A week of water blessings

Hello friends & family,

We've just had a great week of fun & celebrations so we thought we'd check in with you to share our stories. Last week Granny & Gramps traveled up from Alabama to go even FARTHER north to the lakes of MN with our family. We spent several days swimming, golfing, & eating our way through the lovely Gull Lake area. It was a lovely retreat for the 6 of us. Greta had a big time swimming every morning and playing "bunny & crocodile" in the pool (it sounds much more macabre than it actually was). She also discovered gummy worms for the first time which was fun until it came time to eat "Sam"...her favorite worm. It was a bittersweet goodbye.

We came home and got busy getting ready for baby Wes' baptism. Trips to the farmers market broke up the household chores & cooking. Granny & mommy even found time for a little vampire entertainment (don't judge...we deserved some mindless entertainment by some handsome mythical characters!). We were blessed to have 3 pews full of family join us for Wes' baptism on Sunday. It was a magical day- the sermon, children's time & communion were all linked to baby W's baptism. Truly a blessing realized. Everybody came to our house for a 4th of July cookout-style meal where we recounted over and over again how our life is a lived testimony to God's grace & love. Big sister enjoyed the day too...dancing her way through the service, sitting on her Grandma's lap during church, making a meal of mostly mustard, and she got to stay up LATE and watch her first fireworks show. She was totally enamored with the display. Over and over again she'd say..."Oh Granny, watch! This one will be my favorite!" Perhaps our favorite Greta quote from the weekend is when our family began to arrive at our house for lunch after the baptism and she said..."Oh WOW! Look how big our family is getting!" I love how kids often comment on those little lived gifts that might go unnoticed amongst the busy-ness of a family gathering. The Preacher & I have been totally overwhelmed with the joy of it all. We hope these pictures give you a sense of how great this week has been!