Ocean City, New Jersey

The boys boogie boarded for hours!! They had a blast and the waves weren't too bad either.




Caleb riding a wave!!







Shaun trying to teach Lauren to boogie board.




Lauren wanted to jump the waves instead of the whole boogie board thing, not into that yet.




At least she tried.





Lauren & Paige. What sweet girls and play mates!! They were inseparable!




Working together on digging and filling a whole.




Josh loved playing in the sand as well!!










He didn't mind being covered in sand!




Daddy building the girls a giant sand dune.










Daddy and his girl!



Daddy and his boys!! It was awesome having lots of Daddy time and family time!!











We were heading out to the boardwalk for rides and treats!! This is Paige, Lauren and Hudson. It was a fun week and the kids didn't want to leave. Thanks Grandma and Grandad for this wonderful family treat!

Gigi & Mimi's Visit

Lauren hasn't gotten the courage to do the slide all summer, but once Mimi came here to play at the pool things changed. Lauren not only went down the slide, but after several times she didn't even need to hold Shaun's hand.




Sweet picture of Gigi and Caleb.



We had so much fun with Mimi and Gigi at Fort Monroe!! Thanks for coming to visit!!

Does your Heart break with the things that break God's Heart??

I've been meaning to post this since last weekend, but things have been crazy. Summer has been a whirlwind for us as I'm sure for a lot of you all. A few days after we got back from All-Stars, the boys and Shaun headed to Kid's Kamp. Our Church does an overnight camp for kids every summer and they have small groups, fun games, bonfire, all those fun things kids love.

The night they got back it was pretty late past 11pm and the boys and some friends were upstairs getting in bed when Caleb came down crying. I was sitting on the couch and he sat next to me. I asked him what was wrong, because his friend was sleeping over in his room, and I wondered if they had an argument or something. I wasn't thinking about anything deep at that time of night. Caleb said he knows Jesus and knows he's going to heaven but was so scared for the people who will spend forever in Hell.

On the first night, at the bonfire, they talked about having a relationship with Jesus. The talked about how Jesus died for every one's sins. Pastor Matt had the kids write down the sins they struggle with and then they each threw them in the fire to represent what Jesus had done for us and how he forgives us when we ask. I guess that night really impacted Caleb. They even discussed in small group about how important it is to tell others about what Jesus has done for them.

I have prayed for a while that the things that break God's heart will break my kids hearts. I have prayed since God was forming them inside my belly that they would have a HEART for God and to follow after him for all of their lives. I love when my boys share their precious thoughts, feelings and fears about the things of God. These are AWESOME times which I so treasure. Caleb and I went on to talk about how Jesus died for the World but not everyone chooses to follow him and how this breaks His heart. We also talked about how important it is to tell his friends and others about Jesus, this is why we are here on earth to spread the "good news"!! I PRAISE GOD for His CONSTANT REMINDERS of Him through my children and I pray we will have many more talks like this!!

All-Star State Championships here we come...Go Poquoson Bulls!

Caleb's All-Star little league made the State Championships. We left for Luray, Va last Thursday morning and we all met in the parking lot of the middle school. This is his team, the Poquoson Bulls. It was fun we wrote on all the windows (need to post a picture of that) and the police led us out of town and stopped the traffic. There were even some people (probably grandparents) lined up on the sidewalks waving and seeing us off. How crazy is that?? We live in a small town!!



This was opening ceremonies. Caleb got to help carry the flag!!





All the districts lined up for opening ceremonies.

Coach (DAD) and Caleb what a sweet memory!!

Caleb up to bat.

And he hits the ball but it was caught. Good job Caleb!!

Caleb ended the game pitching. Their team won 10-0. This was also his 11th Birthday!! What a great day he had playing ball!!

NUMBER 8!!

My sweet boy!! Love his smile and dimple chin!! Happy 11th Birthday to an awesome son, brother and follower of Jesus!! I praise God for the tender heart and love he has for the things of God and for others!! I pray that He will continue to follow HARD after the Lord and keep shining for Him!! I can't believe I have an official middle-schooler. Where does the time go? I have no idea, it was just yesterday that he entered the world as my first baby boy!!

While we were in Luray (smaller town than I live in) with not much to do, I found an awesome horse stable, Jordan Hollow Stables. What a great stable and such sweet people who run it. It was a Christian stable as well. Lauren loves animals, can't you tell?? She has been asking to ride a horse since she rode one in NY a year ago. And this past trip she didn't get to ride.

Lauren LOVES horses. She got to ride this sweet "old" horse named Desseyn. She was a little scared at first.

But by the end she was a PRO and she didn't want to get off.

Coastal Community Church Building

I wanted to post a more recent picture of the progress of our church building. It is really coming along!! Thanks to those of you who have been our prayer warriors and those who have sent money to help make this happen! I have to share some things about the process of the building. It has been a God-deal since we first purchased the land for ONLY $250,000 for six acres right off of a main highway. The contractors and builders have also given us great deals because of our economy and their need for work. God works all things together even in bad times!! Before they poured the foundation, one of our elder's who is working on the building, laid a Bible down under the church, which I thought was so awesome because our church is literally built on God's Word!! When I heard this I thought of some scriptures and searched for some as well.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates dividing soul and spirit...it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Matthew 4:4 "People don't live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not..."

Psalm 33:4 "For the Word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything He does."

Jeremiah 23:29 "Does not my word burn like fire? says the Lord. Is it not like a might hammer that smashes a rock to piece?"

Acts 12:24 " Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers."

Luke 11:28 "Jesus replied, "But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice."

I pray all of these verses for our church!! I pray that God's word will be preached here and never watered down!! I will have to write some of these verses on the pillars of our building. Shaun encouraged our congregation to go up to the property after church on Sunday's and write their favorite scriptures on the wooden beams of our building. I pray that not only will the verses people write on these walls truly change the lives of all who enter and worship, but that they will penetrate the hearts of the construction workers when they read and see them!!

Trip to NY, Fun with family and a beautiful wedding!

I am so bad when it comes to blogging and I can't figure out how to put the pictures in order. So I will post the pictures of the wedding first then the rest of the weekend. We had a great trip to NY and the wedding was beautiful!! Lauren loved watching everyone dance because dancing is her thing.

She was trying to twirl around in her dress and I guess it wasn't doing it enough on it's own, so she had to help it out.

Notice the cute little couple in the background?? Those are Lauren's cousins Will and Lilly dancing together, what a sweet shot!!

Uncle Paul did his "Christian" Magic show for the kids to help entertain them during Michael & Melissa's wedding.

What a great looking couple after all of these years!!

Michael and Melissa dancing together for the first time as husband and wife, how sweet!!

The kids were hanging out playing and entertaining each other while the adults were talking and eating!!

Ring-around-the-Rosie is very popular with these cousins!!

Will and Lauren, what precious cousins!!

What a great tradition to get married in the CFH gardens. It brought back great memories of when I married Shaun in that same spot!!

My beautiful sister, Sarah, and her sweet baby, Nate!!

These boys are so good-looking, I think we better lock them up now!!

Look at these HOT Mama's!! I mean they are really Mom's who are not blood related, only related through marriage. They all have grown children and they look so beautiful!! Hope it's in all of our families genes.

Precious Family!! We tried to get all of the cousins together in a picture!! It was hard to do with all our kids as well. All the adults are our 2nd cousins on my Dad's side. Thanks to Jim, Kelly's man, who had a blast with the camera as you can tell. He took like 15 shots of us!! It was funny!!

We were all laughing because every time the picture was taken one or more of the kids would turn around or not fully cooperate.

This was is pretty good, kids and all!!

Lauren and Lilly playing Ring-around-the-Rosie again, down at the barn.

Since Lauren is obsessed with horses this was our daily routine, morning and evening, going down to the barn to pet the horses and cats. It was a fun trip and great visit!! Every time I go to NY (where I grew up) it brings back such sweet memories!! Thanks Opa & Oma for putting us all up!! We love you and praise God for the godly heritage you have passed onto us and our children!! Thanks Aunt Marilyn for having us over and cooking for us, for your hospitality and LOVE!!