Camping! (A post of many pictures)

The schedule around here gets a little crazy most of the time.

Rush works his regular job, and off-duty.

I work around him....pretty much every weekend.

Which leaves not a whole lot to spare for quality family time.

So we took matters into our own hands and planned a little getaway.

We got the kids out of school early on Friday and kept them out on Monday, packed up 2 cars (yes, it takes 2 cars for us and all our stuff) and hit the road to the mountains.

It. Was. Heaven.

Truly....the Shenandoah valley is amazing in autumn. And we were lucky enough to be there at the peak of the leaf beauty.

It's like God is just showing off. And I'm not complaining.

We had a great time.

The kids rocked some hiking.

We froze in our tent.

A skunk came to visit...and lots of deer.

And now, my quest to rid all of our stuff of campfire smell continues!

Oh summer..... (Sunday Snapshot)

....how I am going to miss you.

    Your gorgeous blooms.

Your impromptu sleepovers.

Your poolside fun.

Your frolicking freedom.

It's been fun.

But other things await us.

Like cooler weather.

And sweatshirts.

And leaves.

And fire pits.

And did someone say football???

Oh yes. 

Summer, it's been nice. 

You can hang around for one more week.

But after that, I think it's time for you to mosey on along. 

See ya next year.

Good Vibrations

Man, I am behind! So much has been going on here. I've had multiple posts I've wanted to work on, but there just hasn't been time. I have so much I want to write about, but time gets away from me and then my thoughts move on. 

So...I'll take the easy road and do a superficial, catch-all, lighthearted post. OK? OK!

Let's see.....

June 15....a big day for my boys. 

Jude turned 2 and we got to celebrate his birthday with him for the first time!

And the same day, Jonah finished 2nd grade! 

I LOVE these 2 guys.

The first official week of our summer was pretty low key, aside from then celebrating Jonah's 8th birthday on the 21st. 

How in the world he is 8 is beyond me. I am pretty sure I forbid him growing up anymore when he turned 5. I'm still working on a punishment for that one....

Then we turned around and had Jude dedicated at church. It was such a special time to rejoice in the perfect placement of him in our family. What an absolute blessing he is. I cannot even begin to explain how much JOY this kiddo brings into our home. Thank you, God for this gift!!

After 2 birthdays and a dedication, we met our cake intake quota for at least the next 6 months. 

We quickly turned around and sent Jonah off to camp for the week. Our church does an AMAZING camp for kids. It was Jonah's first time away without family for the week! To say he loved it would be a massive understatement. He had a blast. We are so blessed by the kids ministry at our church. The people that just pour into our kids are phenomenal. I could not dream up a better camp experience for him. 

We drove about an hour and a half to pick him up on Friday and found out that during the closing program, he wanted to speak in front of everyone! I was so excited and nervous to hear what he would say. 

I was so proud of him...not only was he calm as he spoke, but the words he spoke were perhaps the most awesome thing I've ever heard him say. 

He talked about feeling God for the first time.....and feeling that God, somehow, wanted to use him. He described it as a "vibration" in his chest....which I thought was completely adorable. When we got home, over dinner, he elaborated more. He said that for once, he didn't want to just do things for God out of obligation. He actually wanted to do those things. He wants to be used. He may just be 8 years old, but he's got it down pat. I feel like he matured about 5 years in a week's time. He may have just lapped me spiritually. Sheesh.

In other news, Reagan learned to ride her bike this week!

And Rylie decided to wear her hair like this.

So....birthdays, dedications, finishing school, camp, bike riding, and crazy hair....how's that for a hodge-podge post?