Those Lazy Days of Summer are HERE!!!

Dear Friends and Family,

WELL...we begin the Summer! HOW FUN!!! = ) Today was our first full day of Summer and it was like hanging behind the caboose of a fast moving freight train. = ) I awoke at 7:00am, pen in hand...spent a good 1/2 hour on a detailed schedule for our day and SPLAT! Barely made it through with all the constant distractions, interruptions, wonderful..."Mommy, look at this!" and "Mommy, she did this!" and "Mommy, I'm hungry...AGAIN!" = ) We ended up finishing dinner at 9:00pm! Girls weren't in bed until 10:00! But, BOY, did we have fun! = ) Liliana is BY FAR the most BEAUTIFUL and PRECIOUS baby EVER!! And I am not bias AT ALL! = ) I hope to get some pictures for you all soon! I can't get over how all of her siblings just FIGHT over her! Way too much love, let me tell you! Except, of course, Gracie! = ) She definitely has a love/hate thing going on there. Bill and I spent Memorial Day weekend FINALLY digging out the playroom and getting it functional for the kids for summer. They LOVE their desks, their toys, etc. Isabella is our Librarian and has marked ALL the books in our bookshelf with numbers and has a GREAT process for checking out and returning books. Such a crack up! Daniel says, " Mommy, Isabella says we have to have the books checked out by her! We can't just get the books ourselves." And I said, " That's right, Buddy!" Having Isabella in charge of the books helps me to know I'm not going to have books strewn all over my house! = ) The girls are all about reading! I spoke to Bill's Mom about going to www.booksonthepath.com or www.lamplighter.com to see if she could get them some GOOD SOLID chapter books to read. The girls have begun a great pen pal relationship with Grammy and we are trying to encourage them to read some good solid Christian books instead of alot of what the library offers at this age. Beside the Treehouse books there really isn't anything that great out there. Isabella started her Summer Gymnastics classes. She gets to take two lessons a week for the summer for an extra $10. We are SO GRATEFUL to Gramma and Grandaddy for helping us with her fees! She couldn't do it without them! Caela is ready for swimming she says. I need to tell her about her Cousins Priscilla and Emily and Aunt Bethany who all were into swimming around her age. She's decided to wait a year to pursue horses because of the cost and need to be more responsible. Good girl! = ) Daniel REALLY wants to take Karate! He LOVES the ninja turtles. So we are working on that. He is SUCH a STRONG boy! He pretty much has a way of destroying MOST things...and says, "Mommy, I don't want to be strong!" = ) We need to find some avenues for channelling that GIFT!= ) I'm dying to start some devotional time for the Summer. The children are DYING to, too. We had an awesome time last weekend. The kids all put on a puppet show, each with their own show. Caela started hers with the reading of scripture. The girls are having their quiet time in the morning and we are enjoying praying together. I just really realized how much I neglected Gracie during my tenure with MIZERO that I completely neglected pouring into her... Jesus. But this summer, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Lord leads us. Well, we have some big to dos going on right now, that we truly need your support in prayer for. The River is discerning a candidate for the next rector. Our whole congregation drove to Orchard Hills, one of our sister churches, to hear the candidate speak on Sunday. His name is Dave Hendrickson. He has spent about 5 years under the tutilage of Mike Breen from Sheffield England and just graduated from TSM seminary in Pittsburgh. He seems like a great guy, has a lovely wife and children, but after meeting and chatting on Sunday the congregation seems to not have any real leading to this guy. Kind of "flat". Like, he looks good on paper, but there is no passion coming from the congregation that this guy is it. We have prayed much and trust that the Lord will lead the search committee. PLEASE take a minute and lift up The River for us! This is SUCH an important decision, and to be honest I feel like I am not in a strong intercessory place to really press in well for this. I don't know if I am struggling with spiritual attack or just burnout, but I'm not doing too well in the "face before the throne of God" lately. Please, lift me up as well. My eating is HIDEOUS and I just have no desire to stop eating. It's a great comfort to me right now, for some reason, and my heart of hearts wants FREEDOM!!! and to be able to FAST and draw my comfort from the Lord, but I am not handling this well. I would so appreciate your prayers for this! It is such a gift to be able to share our lives with all of you again! I feel like I spent a year in hibernation from all of you with my work with MIZERO and I pray you would forgive me that neglect and receive us back into your lives. On that note, we are SO looking forward to being with Bill's brother and family and his Dad and Stepmom on June 14 when his nephew Ryan graduates from High School. We haven't seen any of them in over a year and it will be a great homecoming! Ryan is do to attend school in Radford! Crazy! We hope that we can be able to support him while he is there. Please pray for our arrangements for that weekend with his family and that it would be a fruitful and truly joyful time in eachothers' presence. And that Ryan would truly feel special! Pray for Bill's Dad as he is recovering from prostate surgery. He is doing very well, from what Bill shared with me, but he needs our continued prayers. Also, lastly, pray for my Mom as she cares for my Aunt Dee. She is 78 and not well. She is in the hospital with a Urinary Tract infection and dehidrated. Pray for strength and an outpouring of love and service for her. I would love to hear from you all. You are welcome to post a comment on this blog. Just click on the words below and do what you are directed. If you have any questions about that just contact me and I can answer them. You can always write our regular email address. We love you all dearly! Until next time... "...with the sweetest affection." 1 Peter 1:22, Bill, Cheryl, Caela, Isabella, Daniel, Gracie, and Liliana