God's Providence!

I am so tickled pink right now!!! There is nothing that excites me more than seeing God work!! Ethan has been talking about his friend Eli from school. Eli is the only friend that he talks about. I have been praying for Eli and praying that God would bring children into Ethan's life that know Him and/or come from a Christian family. I have also told the Lord that I know that He knows what is best for Ethan so....His will be done. The Lord worked it out for me to be able to come home early today and surprise Ethan by picking him up from school. Friends from church had mentioned that there are a couple of families from Bethlehem Baptist (our church) that have Kindergartners attending Island Lake. I recognized one of the moms on two ocassions, but never had the chance to talk to her. Well, God had a plan today (as He does every day). Ethan was so excited to see that I was waiting for him when he got done with school (praise God he still loves to be seen with his mom). I was excited to meet Eli (if the Lord willed). Eli walked past us and Ethan said goodbye to him. I watched to see who Eli walked to and guess who his mother is...the woman I recognized from church. Come to find out Eli and his family go to Bethlehem! Ethan didn't even know Eli before school because he is actually a year older than Ethan and attends the Sunday school class that is one year ahead of E. I was able to talk to Eli's mom and we were both so excited that God brought our boys together. Sorry that this story is a big rambling mess, but I am trying to type quickly. Once again, God answers a prayer in a way that only He can. I never doubted that this is where He wanted Ethan to go because of how clear He revealed His will to me, but it still brings me to tears when I get to see Him work in the details of our lives. What an amazing God we serve!

Ethan's First Day of School

It's official...Ethan is a Kindergartner! He did really well today and I only welled up on two occasions - whew! The only downer for Ethan was that they had to sit at their table for 20 minutes at one point during the day (like he has never had to do that before). Mason struggled with the fact that he couldn't go with Ethan to school..."but Mom, I bigger now. I go to school with Ethan." I am sure there will be many stories to come as we go through the school year.

Pictures from this summer....

Where did the summer go? Here are some random shots from this summer. I think I need to get back in the habit of taking pictures. This is pretty pathetic :-) I seem to have a thing for little Kayin - he has stollen my heart (the toothy little man below).

The Lord has given us another wonderful summer and now I am preparing to send Ethan off to Kindergarten. We were able to meet his teacher last week - she seems great! Pray, pray, pray for E as he transitions into the school world and pray for Mason as he adjusts to having big brother gone for hours each day. September 8th here we come!

Family - what a blessing!

These were pictures taken last night. All of the cousins are in town for the first time in years. We are all mourning the loss of our Grandfather, but I know it would bring him great joy to see us all together again. Sometimes I forget how blessed we are to have each other. The most beautiful part is that we share the common bond in our love for Christ. Thank you Grandpa for praying for each of us daily - look at the legacy you have left!