Does It Have to End?

July is a favorite month.

Family. Friends. Travel. Camp. Vacation. Spiritual Renewal. Less Work. More Play. Fun. JOY.

When we put together the photo galleries for this month, we realized that we were blessed to see so many friends and family this month. We thrive on these relationships and are so grateful to have you all in our lives! Thank you for what you mean to us!

So, here we go...

1. FCA Coaches Camp. We love this camp! It is a week for coaches and their families to get away, reconnect with God, refocus on impacting students for Christ and connect with other coaches, their families and FCA staff. There is huddle time, competition, worship, chapel (amazing speaker!) and family time. It fills us up, so that hopefully we'll be ready to speak Christ into students' lives this school year! It is quickly becoming a family tradition. We also enjoyed having Evans students at the Leadership Camp there the same week. We are looking forward to a great year for FCA!

2. Water Park. While we were close by, we took one of our free afternoons during camp week to go to the water park on Jekyll Island. The Aultmans & Papa & Rosie met us there! It was great fun. I think it will also become a family tradition, as Gehrig now equates 'FCA Camp' with 'Water Park' after two consecutive years of doing them together.

3. Cutting Teeth. Finally. The one challenging part of camp week is the schedule. Our kids had to adjust to less sleep...and for Greer, it coincided with cutting her first teeth. Not a great combination! She was fussier than usual, but we made it! Two pearly whites came in on the bottom.
4. Nicholsons. We came home on the 4th and had a great weekend visiting with my college best friend and her family. The kids were too tired to stay up for the fireworks, but we enjoyed a picnic in Patriots Park with them and the Links. It was so nice to relax over the weekend and catch up with Emlee...I wish that we were able to do it more often!


5. Visit with Pa. Daddy & Gehrig took a guys trip to Pa's house to fish and play golf. Our exchange as they left...Mommy: "I love you, Gehrig." Gehrig: "I love you too, Mom, but this is a boys' trip." Hilarious. They had a lot of fun there and Greer and I enjoyed a girls' slumber party with Jenn & Madi.
6. Playtime with the Mareks. Gehrig & Greer played over at Cole & Mason's house one morning while Mommy & Daddy worked. Boy, was it fun! They are looking forward to more mornings together in August!

7. Vacation. A full week at the beach with some of our favorite people in the whole wide world. :) There are so many highlights! We loved the family beachtime and some adult time. We were fortunate to have Brittany & Lauren come to babysit the last part of the week. A night out for dinner while the (7!) kids were at home was...GREAT. We truly cannot wait until next year! None of us wanted to leave...

8. Tball. It has begun. Gehrig started tball this month and loves it! It is for 3-5yr olds, so he looks really small, but he is keeping up with them so well! He's had one game and was 2 for 2 without using a tee! (They give each kid a chance to hit a pitch before setting up the tee.) The fielding is hilarious...as you can imagine, a swarm running to the ball and a dog pile to get it. The goal at this point is just to get the ball and throw it in to the pitcher. Very very fun! Luke is on his team and Mammaw & Pots came for the first game...a good day had by all.

9. Dormans visit. We are still hoping for some type of miracle that brings Lyle & Heather back to Augusta! They visited one day this week with us and Jenn & Madi and the kids had a ball. We like this seeing them every couple of weeks!

10. School and football. Here we go! B started football stuff this week and goes back to pre-planning on Tuesday. We have LOVED having him home and look forward to a good year! It will be an adjustment for all of us, especially the kids. Gehrig has already said, "I want to go to school with Daddy!" The good thing is that we'll be there a lot too with games and FCA.

Soooo, there we have it. A very busy, fun, tiring and full month! We have 2 sets of pics on the right...July and Beach. Enjoy!!!

Family Pictures

"Is He THERE?"

What would the world be without 3 year olds?

Our sweet friends, the McElwains, hired Gehrig to care for their dogs while they traveled. It was his first 'job' and a great way to start teaching him about working and earning money. He already knows that Mommy & Daddy go to work to "make some money so we can buy food," but we have recently started talking with him about different ways we use the money we make. So, he's learning that you first give some to God, you save some and you spend some. Budget 101, right?

Well, the McElwains came over the other night to pay Gehrig (way too generously, I must add) and he was very excited. They handed it to him and he held some up and said, "I want to give this one to God!" I said, "Great! Would you like to go with Mommy & Daddy to big church on Sunday to give it to Him?" Pause, serious contemplation, and then...

"Is He THERE?"

As if to say, 'You know, I've heard all about this God and I'm ready to see Him!!' It was so cute. And a challenge to explain that yes, He is there (and everywhere), but we still can't see Him. B picked him up from his class early yesterday to join us at the end of the service. He surely was the most excited giver there! Funny how our kids teach us while we think we are teaching them.

Psalm 51:12: 'Restore to me again the JOY! of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.'

Hard to believe June is over...pics are up!

Family Matters

1. The 2008 Bourne Reunion. Just about the most fun, relaxing, special time you can fit into one weekend. It was our first trip to Virginia with both kids and they did great. Aunt Gretchen rode with us and was a huge help and a lot of fun. Greer met everyone, especially Uncle Bill. :) Gehrig joined the big boys playing, not needing Mommy & Daddy around quite as much. And Daddy did a great job leading our Sunday devotion time...the first 3rd generation devotion time leader. We love it and can't wait until next year!! See full album of pics on the right...

(For more on the reunion, see last June's post!)

2. Father's Day. We have a fantastic leader of our family and we are so grateful for all that he does for us and with us. He is everything a husband and father should be and we love him! Here are a few (okay, a LOT) of our favorite daddy pictures.

May

What a full, fun month we had...
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1. Gehrig's first organized sport season. To see the kids that first week, we would've never guessed how much they would have improved by the end of the season. Most of all, they had fun!

2. Birthday party. See last post for details!

3. Mother's Day. B was sweet to treat me to Outback for lunch. He also took my Bible to be rebound since it was very old and sad looking...I'm so excited to get it back with a nice binding and all my notes inside!

4. Visit from the Owens and golf for B! It was great to see them during their visit to Augusta and B enjoyed a day at the course for the first time since last summer. We are looking forward to our next get together!

5. Playdate at the Pierces. Had to share a pic of these cuties having fun!

6. A date to Athens to visit the Dormans and celebrate Lyle's 30th! Our sweet babysitter, Mary kept both kids while we went to Athens for Lyle's surprise party. It was great all the way around...our time there and the kids time with Mary!

7. 3yr birthday and a zoo visit. See last post for details!

8. School ends for B&G. It is so nice to have B home more now that school is out and it is unbelievable to see how much Gehrig has changed over the course of this school year!

9. Great 3yr checkup for Gehrig. So thankful for his growth and health these past 3 years! We are always a little nervous for doctor visits as Gehrig has never loved the exams and has always been so small on the charts. He was so growny this time, handling everything so well. And he was in the 25th%ile in weight and 50th in height! So nice to feel like he is catching up some.

10. Memorial Day trip to Atlanta. We enjoyed a last minute trip to visit the fam over Memorial Day weekend. Got a little shopping done and enjoyed family game night with Bebe, Britt & Margaret, Slade & Jessica.

11. Visits from Mammaw. We are so thankful that Mammaw gets to come and stay with G&g from time to time. This month, she got to come a couple of times to keep them while Mommy & Daddy worked. We just love having her here.

12. Family time at the lake. Mommy, G&g went to the lake with the Bournes & O'Neills while Daddy was at summer baseball. It was Greer's first time in a bathing suit and Gehrig had so much fun playing with Aunt Chris and others.

13. End of one baseball season and the start of another. The regular baseball season ended earlier than usual this year in the 1st round of state playoffs, but not to worry! Summer ball started this weekend and will go through June!

14. The missing Links. The other half of our family was gone for a couple of weeks this month to the beach. We missed them!

...see the full gallery of pictures posted on the right.