Bible Memory Camp || Full Soap But Full Hearts

The boys just returned from a great time at Bible Memory Camp.

We packed them up last weekend and check and doubled checked their list.

I packed plenty of clothes {some came home never touched}

and

I packed plenty of soap  {it came home nearly full}

but

I was never so glad to hug those boys and hear how their hearts had been made full

so

 we picked them up with full soap bottles and full hearts - I will take it!

Monday morning as I headed to work DH headed to take these two and cousin Tyson

over to Camp Indicoso for a great week!

Mama picked up an extra shift while the boys were away, so it was already a full week here

 when the flu bug hit our house - ugh!  Needless to say, fitting in work and managing sickness

did not leave for much exciting news around the homefront...

but I knew the boys were having a great time. {and have avoided our germs so far since home, yeah}

I stole some action shots from the camp nurse ( Thank You, Tera)

I couldn't find the boys in this picture, but I wanted them to remember group games!

Sam's back in whit shirt and Joe off to the left

 And campfire.  I spy Sam in the blue on the left.

Campfire is Joe's favorite and we spend several days trying to google songs

 that he hears and camp and doesn't know the title.  

Sometimes we are successful - his favorite this year were from Chris Tomlin so far.

And on Thursday with mom and dad on the mend - we drove over for the talent show and kid round up.  We found grandma who has been head cook this week!

Joe did his stick twirling routine again.

And he told me how it had taken 3 days to choose the right stick.

You might imagine the stick made it home with us.

Joe's group won highest points in group games.

And Sam's group won cleanest cabin!

Saying their goodbyes to counselors and cabin mates.

Their cabin this year (one on each side -not together, the peace must be kept)

they had A/C this year!

And boy did they smell like camp on the way home.

Dirty clothes and shoes and wet towels and on the mend parents.

This may have been heard in the truck: Joe, please do not unzip that suitcase one more time, we can not handle that smell!!!!

Thankful for boys who worked hard to learn verses and earn their way to camp.

Thankful for boys who have come home renewed and refreshed and eager to dive in devotions.

and

Thankful for God who orchestrates all this in His time.

Sunday Friends!

Sunday morning we woke up to another mess in our yard.

And this one may stay a bit, it is in a tough spot...

it had been quite a storm the night before, raining almost 5 inches.

Roadways were flash flooded for the drive to church!

But, we had planned a lunch party - so we were not phased!

Miss Maddie was very sweet, sat right up in Sam's lap {as long as he had my phone}

We had friends and family over for grilled chicken, corn on the cob and some delicious sides!

The sun came out and it was steamy, but the pool kept the kids cool and we enjoyed the company.

We sent this picture to her mommy, who had to work. Boo.

Good summer memories!

The Raber Reunion || Simon J Graber

We also had the Raber (Dan's Paternal Grandma Ida's family) this summer.

Our family was in charge of the reunion..and we are in the English minority in this family.

The majority of the family is still Amish so I tried to be respectful and keep pics to a minimum.

In case you were wondering, we did not go hungry.

This family can bring it || serious sweets at this event.

And the salads/appetizers - the grilled meat, mashed potatoes, noodles, corn and beans were on a whole other counter! It was a rather large group, nearly 200.

Grandma Ida was one of 8 and each of them had large families. 

Grandma has been gone since 2003 - but this family was something she was so proud of!

She would have dearly loved this gathering.

It was fun to hear the families tell childhood stories and how they cared for one another.

More 9 square!

It was a full afternoon of visiting and then clean up - made it home around 6.

We were blessed with some tasty leftovers! 

Little League at the Reds

Joe was able to go to a Cincinnati Reds game this summer with the

Loogootee Little League.

He loved it.

An organization sponsored the bus over and the tickets!

He spent the day with a best friend Pax and his mom.

I was sent these pictures of the fun, thankful for fun summers!

Captured Memories Summer 2017

This post is full of random phone pictures

that

may be some

of 

the best memories in the future years.

I LOVE summer visits from my boys.

It is tough to be away from them so many hours during my work weeks.

DH sees them a lot at Grandmas and they enjoy farm summer days..

but this mama treasures these summer visits.

And this day, silly was the theme,

they were on opposite sides of the swinging door entertaining each other...

And talk about crazy - after a farm water fight

in Grandpa Great's kitchen - towel drying!

And DH promised Sam ice cream after one of Joe's baseball tourneys and he forgot...

so it became the promise of a large blizzard any time say wanted to redeem it. He at the whole thing, never looked back - favorite flavor M&M

Love these daily reminders!!!

And a couple of my favorites at work - Menthol Kleenex (weird I know), my brown eyed susans

and smell good lotion!

And my very favorite - my niece Jaelyn spent a shift with me to see what pharmacy was like!

LOVED that.  I send to Blake and Morgan to see if we could make them jealous!

We added a new air fryer to our kitchen.

We've had fun trying new recipes in it...

chicken, pork, steak, burgers - it is quick and convenient and no oil needed!

We've discovered that suddenly the boys can play Yahtzee independently -when did that happen?

We have had some fierce evening competitions!

Some wedding prep...

And another night of Yahtzee and looks like ice cream, yum!

Many afternoon and evening swims, and this one is always by my side!

Joe won a library drawing and received a cool Lego Set.

We quickly took it apart and rebuilt it!

And a campfire in the basement?

Nope.

More wedding prep!

3 weeks out...