Tuesday...

Otherwise known as "put as little effort into your appearance" day.

laughter

Last week the kiddos spent time in Redlands.  Kit and I had so much fun going on dates, laughing until we cried, eating WAY too much good food, and connecting while we talked about all the silly things that were on our minds.  

I will tell you, that the sound of us laughing together will always be on of my favorite sounds and I am SO thankful for the time that I get to spend with my best friend!

"Won't You Be My Neighbor"

The kids are in Redlands having an absolute BLAST with our family for a few days.  Last night, at the last minute, we decided to go see the Mr. Roger's documentary that we had heard so much about.

It's funny to be able to decide something like that at 630 in the evening... ❤︎

I'm not going to do this movie any justice by trying to tell you how good it is.  Someone that we grew up watching who had the goal of letting kids know how special and valuable they are, how LOVED they are by speaking to the identity in which they were created... I cried at multiple parts of the film watching the tenderness that he and his production team used to reach children through television.

As parents and as a past children's pastor, so many beautiful truths came to light and we were reminded of the privilege it is to love and raise Christ's image-bearers that we get to call our children.❤︎

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the back to school drive

Each summer, our church has a back to school drive to get supplies for kids at a local schools that we partner with, that help support kids in the foster care system and an organization called Young Lives to support teen moms as they get their kids back to school.  Our church also puts teacher's boxes together for class room supplies to support teachers in our area.

Every year, the kids get more and more involved.  They ask questions about who they think will get the supplies they picked out.  They pray for whoever will get their back pack.  It has become such a sweet tradition for our family and I'm thankful for our church and how they create environments for us to better support and love on those around us. We are so thankful!❤︎

happy place

I love doing yard work, specifically mowing my lawn:

It gets me outside, while I listen to music or take time to pray, and when I'm done, the house looks better, and I feel so productive and satisfied when it's all finished.  The smell of fresh cut grass makes me so happy too!

Eden helps water:

I think she might love being in the yard as much as I do...❤︎

Celebrating our Monkey Papa!

Last Thursday, we drove up to Santa Maria to be with our dad to celebrate his birthday and to have some family time! Spent time loungin' in the pool with nerf balls and water balloons:

Then launching water balloons became such a treat!

 We went to dinner at Ming Dynasty, which happened to be the kids first ever buffet!

Ryder kept leaning over and telling me how much fun he was having and how this was the best restaurant EVER!

Then they played Splendor:

They made a shooting range:

Then we had the party.  Kit and Ryder did BBQ:

They did trip tip, chicken and sausage appetizers.  They did an AMAZING job!

Grandpa Pierce was there!

 Banana cream pie for the win!

 The Rae guys that were able to be there.❤︎

(We missed you Andrew, Mallory, Staley, and Gunnie!)

It is not lost on me that with the event of this last March, this birthday celebration seemed even more special and sweet.  I pray we have MANY more birthdays together and am thankful for family times like these!  We love you Dad!

bikes, park adventures, and meltdowns averted...

We took a bike ride to the park the other day and found this poster:

We loaded the app and Ryder and I had the sweetest time doing all the "missions" that it gave us to do:

While we were doing the scavenger hunt, Eden had a complete meltdown. Ryder got off his bike and hugged her.  He listened to her.  It stopped me right in my tracks.  He is SO good with her.  He brings a calm, nurturing presence when he is with her.  He is so patient.  I am thankful that I have a front row seat to watch their friendship grow and flourish.  Their relationship brings so much joy to my heart and I am incredibly thankful to be their mom.

 He helped her turn it around and we were able to salvage the adventure.

My heart is grateful for these motherhood moments that I am able to witness, the good and the hard.

I have so much to learn from my children...❤︎

master builders

Eden requested that we make a Lego unicorn.

So this is what I could find on Pinterest to help give me ideas:

So we went with what we had:

 And this is what we came up with:

 We were so proud of ourselves:

Upgrade!

In our church, at the end of June, our kiddos moved up a grade/class in our children's ministry program.  That meant that Eden was finally in the large group area with Ryder and officially in the elementary group!

 I am not going to lie to you.  It was WAY more emotional than I had anticipated!

 Ryder told her how much fun they would have and how much she would love her new class.

They spent part of their time writing letters and drawing pictures to families that are waiting to be reunited at the boarder.  They read about The Good Samaritan and what it looks like to love Jesus by DOING rather than just watching.  It lead to powerful questions and discussions after church.  I am so thankful for our church and it's community and how they love on our family.  We are starting a new chapter with having both of our kids in elementary school and we can't wait for what it holds for us!

Shaver Lake 2018 part 2

After all of our friends went home, it was time for our annual family vacation time.  We started off by going to the museum:

 They always have a craft for the kids.

This year it was so much fun because Ryder's reading was phenomenal.  Watching him go through the exhibits with Eden and do the scavenger hunt was so special to watch.

Every evening we would go on a walk to see if we could find any deer.  it was so relaxing...

We spent an entire day on an adventure to the Mono Hots Springs.  Kit has wanted to go for several years now and it was worth the drive to get there.

The views alone are incredibly breathtaking:

 A cabin in the rock...

 It's an hour drive so we got there and had lunch before we did any hikes or hot springs:

 Burgers and buffalo chili for the win!

This little spot was so picturesque:

 One of the Hot springs was called "Little Eden".  She was absolutely tickled that it had her name...

First we hiked to Doris lake and swam:

 Then we headed to the Little Eden Hot Spring:

 This hot spring is surrounded by wild flowers on the top of this hill that over looks the Sierras...

It was warm as bath water but still felt refreshing for the warm day that we had...

After the hiking, there was more fishing.

 Watching them together is one of my all time favorite things...

 The entire day was magical...❤︎

The next day, Kit and Ryder left early to fish in one of their favorite spots:

 This kid...

Then when they got back to the cabin, we headed back to Dinkey Creek to swim:

And of course to do more fishing...

I always hate when this time has to come to an end...

We are so thankful for the time that we are able to be away as a family.  It is such a gift and I am incredibly grateful for the memories that this time allows for us to make together.  Until next time!