Fun With Family

My parents' church is small. In fact, Kaleb calls it "that fun little church." We sure enjoyed our visit to their church on Sunday. We witnessed 2 baptisms, watched my dad sing in the choir, and used Skype to allow a shut-in "attend" church. The service was informal, with "amens" sprinkled throughout the congregation. The highlight for me came at the end of the service. Pastor wanted to sing "Jesus is Coming Again." He told us to sing loud enough so the roof would open up with Jesus returning. Kaleb looked up at the vaulted ceiling, held his hands up to his chest, and spread them apart as if he was splitting the roof himself. The pastor's wife, playing the piano, got quite a kick out of Kaleb's hand motions. :)

Kaleb playing at the church on a gorgeous day!

We might be in Illinois, but for a few minutes we enjoyed an Ethiopian lunch. My mom works with several native Ethiopians, and they treated their co-workers to a home-cooked lunch on Monday. My boys were not so sure about this. Braylen, always willing to try new things, piled food on his plate. Kaleb reluctantly took some bread, salad, and a rice/vegetable mix. Aaron let me fix his plate, and I picked several daring things for him to try. His reaction was great. "Wow, this chicken sure is powerful!" We sponsor a little boy (Guluma) from Ethiopia through Compassion International, and I thought about him as we ate this lunch. I'm not sure my boys grasped the significance of it all, but I did. Thanks to Solomon and Abarash, we got a taste of what Guluma eats.

We had fun after lunch. My boys love to play at Grammy's workplace. I think my pictures say it all! :)


Back at the house, Braylen mowed the yard for my dad. He sure loved doing that. Kaleb helped my mom plant potatoes in her garden while Aaron buzzed around the yard like the busy beaver he is! We went for a walk, and I sure miss my Ginger girl. Derek's taking super good care of her at home, but it felt strange to walk without her. Before heading inside for the night, Grampy and Braylen brought out the new compost barrel. I find it ironic that we come to the "city" to learn all about composting. The boys gathered dry thatch and sticks to put in the barrel with the compost and took turns turning it around and around. Such simple entertainment. :)


Such fun we're having!