4th of July!!!

 This year we have so enjoyed having the space to bring friends into our home!  We know that God didn't give us this space for us to just rattle around in and keep as a museum.  These rooms and walls are intended to serve--to make a place for LOVE.  And our aim is to FILL it to the brim!

 Each Sunday, we are blessed to host our Community Group here.  I don't wanna brag, but we have THE BEST group of friends EVER.  These folks are family to us.

 There are about 40 of us (give or take a few) when we're all together.

 More than half of that number is children.

 These are folks that I could not have picked on my own.  Totally God-matched.  He knew EXACTLY who to put together in this community.

 Because this isn't just a church-prescribed "Community Group."  It is a true COMMUNITY of believers--a family.  And God is the architect of families.

 So, what do families do on the 4th of July?

 We party!  (Or not...Christian played with cars, and Jared watched his TV.  Anyone surprised?)

 We play.

 We love.

 We relax.  Together, of course.

My Gorgeous Little Ladies

Of our 9 kiddos, only 2 are girls. And I'm not exactly a big-time girly-girl. Oh, I wear make up and like my purses; but as far as spending much time on my hair or nails or wearing pretty clothes, it just doesn't happen. And sometimes I forget that my girls ARE girly-girls and love it when I do things like that with them.

So, today, they were on their way to go listen to a band with their Daddy and I decided that we would spend a little time getting pretty. Lena had gotten some hot rollers for Easter, and MaKenzie had just gotten a few new outfits, so we played around with hair stuff and nail polish. The result? Daddy had 2 beautiful little ladies to escort to the singing.