Be Strong and Courageous

This passed week we had dinner with a family in the neighborhood, it was great to get together and get to them a bit more. The family was so gracious to provide the meal, we took dessert. I tried my hand at a new one and it turned out nice (at least everyone said so).  While the older boys watched a civil war movie and talked a bit, the mom and I along with Emma sat and chatted for while the youngers played outside in the pool, inside and then finally came up with the train of animals down the stairs like a parade. It was great fun to see the 3 of them giggle and get along so well. On Monday 7 - 11  - 11 I took the kids to you guessed it 7 Eleven and got in on the free Slurpees, for their give away. the free ones were 7.11 ounces, it was really funny to see how full you could top it with out a lid. I of course bought a 'big' one for sharing, as we were headed to do errands and such.

Summer just seems to be rolling along. We have had weekly park playdates and time with friends at the house as well.  There also seems to be a lot of July birthdays out there; we attended a few as families and the older two are each attending some this week. Good thing no Civil War events this month, there is enough going on around here. We are also going to be blessed to have some friends from out of town stop by on their way to there temporary missions home in Alaska before going back to Europe again. We first met the Scott 's in Germany at the Schweinfurt Hospitality house in 2001. They work for Cadence International and minister to Military families worldwide.

So our Neighborhood's 1st annual 4th of July Party was a great fun! We had invited a few other families to join us in the festivities as well. The 'V' family was so gracious to stop by, and their little one is crusin' like crazy now. She carried a rock around for quite some time and loved the feel of grass on her toes! Addysen along with two of the neighbor girls found that cooling off was the way to go, between trips to the trampoline and swings of the back yard. All the kids tried their hand at confetti poppers and pull string snappers as well as the kind you throw ans later on sparklers galore. In the only 'incident' of the night  one of the fireworks shot at everyone on the lawn and Addysen and one other little took a bit of debris (Addysen's hit her cheek, the other girl got her arm poked). All in all we had a very safe evening at home. With in a few minutes she was asking to have some sparkler time :). Then some cuddle time to watch...