Summer Adventures

Ahhh...a moment to stop and reflect. 

This has been a busy couple of months to say the least. The summer began with decorating the church for VBS. Have I mentioned how much I love VBS? ;o) Soon after we were heading to South Georgia to pick up  our nephew (12) who was visiting for two weeks. VBS was a great success thanks to awesome leadership in our church and the amazing hand of God working! Then we took our nephew home and prepared for the wedding of our good friend Leslee. Our niece (6) joined us for "a weekend away" and Leslee's wedding. Our niece is finishing her first full week with us now. On the 10th we take her home to South Georgia. On the 11th Roland takes his compass exam so that he can begin finishing his bachelor degree in the fall. Roland's birthday is on the 12th. On the 13th I will head to PA for a week long visit. 

I have already written a little about our nephew's visit so I won't go into too much detail now. He is a wonderful child and a lot of fun. Wesley really enjoyed VBS and said that it was his favorite part of the trip. Praise God! Wesley made some casual friends and enjoyed his Uncle Roland immensely. This was his first trip away from home and we were surprised that he didn't seem at all homesick. 

VBS was terrific this year! I wish that I could say that all my things are put away but that will probably have to wait until I get home from PA. At least our "basement" is being put to good use! ;o) Two of the girls in our Sunday School class accepted the Lord as Savior and we are so excited! I can't wait to spend eternity with these precious girls and enjoy calling them "my sisters". We will make some visits next week as we were not able to do so during the scheduled evening. 

Roland and Verity joined me in Charlotte for Leslee's wedding last weekend. We enjoyed a great hotel room and a beautiful wedding. Leslee was a wonderful bride. She had a fantastic maid of honor who really went the extra mile! Christian (her new husband) seems to be a laid back guy who adores Leslee. I am so happy for her. Charlotte is an interesting town and we would like to visit again if the opportunity arose. 

Our niece, Verity, is a precious little girl! We are playing Barbies and watching Shirley Temple movies. Yesterday we baked cookies and played in a park (Delinger). She is a sweet child that loves to tease and "act big". She loves Alex and calls him "her dog". Six is an interesting age and it takes me a minute to adjust at times. She is well behaved and as long as she has a nap and is in bed at 9 she is positively delightful! She is excited about the party we are going to on Saturday and can't wait to "go back to church". 

Roland has been working evenings most of the summer which is okay with us. I will be happy to have him home more hopefully next week. The overtime is nice though and we are counting our blessings. He is a little nervous about the exam coming up and we would appreciate your prayers. Finishing school as an adult is a big deal and will require a refocus of priorities. We feel it is a door God has opened for us though and that the sacrifices will be well worth it. Hopefully, I will continue to "stay at home" (haha!) and be able to ease some of the burden. He will be attending Southern Polytechnic University which I hear is a really good school for engineering. He is absolutely brilliant and I am sure he will excel. 

Roland's work continues to be trying at times (as any job is) and we appreciate your prayers. We also are praying for his boss who at times seems to be blind to things happening around him. Roland continues to be given more responsibility above his peer though and we hope this is a sign of his boss' confidence. 

Although our summer has been full it has also been extremely fulfilling. We have enjoyed many of our favorite activities throughout the summer. God has been very gracious to us; His hand has been woven tightly around all of our activities and we are very thankful. We hope that you have also had a wonderful season and would like to hear your stories. We love you all and praise God for our precious friends and family.