What A Weekend :)

We had a marvelous weekend. Yesterday morning we went for a family bike ride in town. We parked on a little dead end street and set out to find a canal trail to ride on. We found a little paved bike trail on our way up the street and checked it out. It didn't go very far but we found out that there is parking at the end of it, so next time we can park there instead of on some random cul-de-sac, except...

The canal trail was nice and scenic, but less than a half mile up it we came upon a padlocked gate blocking the way. So, next time we will have to try a different spot.

The boys were getting over a cold, so they were exhausted by the time we got home. After lunch I got them settled down for a nice, cozy nap. Mama got to get dressed up all snazzy for a wedding we were privileged to attend last night. The boys stayed with Grandma Karen because we knew the wedding was going to be very crowded. And it was. The groom kept inviting everyone he ran into long after the invitations ran out :) It was a sweet, sweet wedding. There was so much love and peace filling that building it was tangible. The Holy Spirit was an honored guest and many who don't yet know Him personally said "something big is going on here tonight, there is something amazing in here." The bride and groom were absolutely radiating love and peace all over everyone there. The whole evening was beautiful.

My "adopted" older brother did the honors. While we bugged him a bit over the little mishaps, just because you have to tease the people you love best...he really did a fabulous job marrying our friends. It was a night full of smiles. We were very honored to be a witness and part of the celebration.

After the wedding we picked up our kiddos and went to Bear and Lorna's house for some late night prayer. The boys crashed in their sleeping bags on the dining room floor. We had a mellow, couple hours of soaking, prayer, and chatting. I kept thinking of our first all-night prayer meeting that was a huge party at Janis and Rowdy's house. I think a couple of us had something a bit more lively in mind for last night, but the mellowness seemed just right at the time. Then, around 12:30, we just seemed to be done. We ended up visiting a little longer when some friends of Bear's showed up to crash for the night on their way through town. Nate and I decided it would be better for us just to crash on the floor along with the boys rather than waking them up for the longish drive home.

We very much enjoyed our breakfast of oatmeal with our friends, then all headed off (a bit late, but no worries:) to church. We got there in time to enjoy the last half of the worship service. It was a short night and all four of us were tired today. The boys enjoyed children's church which they have twice a month (the other two Sundays they sit in with us), where they practice praying for each other and speaking words of encouragement, just an extension of what we do at home.

We ended up staying for the once a month potluck after church and the boys had a great time wolfing down a few bites of food, then running and yelling with their friends. After that we headed home to drop off clothes and guitars that were packed for last night and pick up little bikes. We headed to one of our favorite parks and took a long walk, well Joshua rode his bike with training wheels. He was too cute in his biking gloves and face mask(it's like a knit one you would wear skiing but thin so it fits under his helmet but keeps his face warm), zooming around.
At one point he didn't make a corner and went over his handlebars and face-first into the blackberry bushes. No harm done though. Mama ran and scooped him up from where he was stuck face down in the bushes, he had suffered only a single thorn in his face mask--right on the end of his nose. He hopped right back on his bike and off he went.

Now we are home, all very glad to be here, eating coconut ice cream and watching a cartoon. I'm pretty sure it will be an early bed-time tonight!

I am so thankful for all our wonderful family and friends. What a beautiful blessing our life is. Thank you, thank you God, for everything You have done and all You are to me. I love You!