July Happenings

It's been way too long . . . Wow! . . . where do I begin?? Just want to assure you we are still alive and well. I guess this has turned into a "monthly blog" . . . so here's my post for this month. :-)
I have a ton of pictures from our activities during the month of July, so I think I'll just let them basically speak for themselves. Hope you have a few extra minutes to see what's been happening in our lives.

Fireworks!
Every year around July 4, Columbus has a "Red, White, and Boom" celebration. We've made it a yearly tradition with the church people to take the entire evening have a cook-out, play games, and visit while waiting for the fireworks to start. We had a great time again this year and Shayla really enjoyed the activities of the evening as well.

Youth Camp
The week after the 4th we took several teenagers from our church to youth camp in Stoneboro, PA. We had a great time and it was very rewarding seeing our young people find spiritual help while we were there. It was a very busy time, so therefore I did not get any pictures while we were at camp. :-( However, I did get a few on the way to and from. On the way home, we took our "city kids" through Holmes County Amish country and gave them all a horse and buggy ride, visited a pet store where they could hold any of the puppies, and took them to a cheese factory. Needless to say, we came home exhausted.

VBS
We had one week after youth camp to "breath" then the next week we had our Vacation Bible School. Ben's parents came and helped us for the week--what a blessing!! The Lord helped in the VBS, and we averaged around 40 kids each night. Again . . . another exhausting, but rewarding week!

Happy Birthday!
Another "Over the Hill" 30th birthday in our church--this time we helped Melanie Myers celebrate the big '3-0' last Wednesday night after church! Sharla Guntrum (also from our church) made the most adorable cake--a big chocolate cupcake. It was sooo cute!

Shayla
Last, but not least, here are some miscellaneous pictures of Shayla from the past month. We think she's a pretty special girl, and are so much enjoying watching her personality develop everyday. Can't believe my baby girl is already a year and a half!! Where does time go?