Saying "See Ya Later" is ALWAYS hard to do

About four years ago a friend Facebook messenged me about a dear friend of hers whose husband was in the Air Force and was moving to Little Rock. Having spent time myself in the military, moving to a new place and trying to meet people, so I immediately set up a park playdate for her kiddos and mine.   Lynn was sweet and her kids were very similar in ages to my kids.  From that day at the park, we continued to get together and ultimately she and Jeremy joined our D-group.  We have walked through a lot of life together, illnesses of children, first days of Kindergarten, spouses who are traveling or gone, adding children to our families, waiting for the bus with our kids on it, etc.  Living life alongside people is a real privilege, there are ups and downs and its so good to have friends who support and encourage you in the valley's and praise the Lord with you in the mountaintop moments. Jeremy is beginning a year of training in Alabama and they have recently been in a real faith walk as they watch the Lord light ONLY the very next steps on this journey.  I know that they would have preferred a "flood light" that would illuminate all the hurdles, twists and turns, but getting to watch them navigate the last several weeks and months so graciously has been a blessing to watch. Knowing that they truly are following hard after the Lord and his perfect plans, even when they aren't easy or the preferred route, has been an example to watch.

To say "see ya later", our D group had a pool party with all our families; it's quite the crew of kids!

These Hague cuties will be missed.

I think it was a great evening for everyone, kids and adults alike.

Hague's we love y'all so much and are praying for your transition to Montgomery, for friendships, a church home, schools and preschools and ultimately that the Lord will lead you back here sooner rather then later.  So, until the first doctor's appointment for Micah or girls weekend for us Momma's, we're just gonna leave it as, "see ya later."

Visiting the Alligator Farm

Adam accidentally left my debit card at a restaurant in Hot Springs so last Monday morning the kids and I had to make an unplanned trip to retrieve it.  Since we had to make the hour and half drive down there, I decided to try and find something fun for us to do.  I sent a message to friends to see if anyone wanted to join us at the Hot Springs Alligator Farm and Carol and her oldest girls came along.

The Alligator Farm has other animals as well, from emu's to donkeys, goats to wolves and with your entrance fee they give each person one slice of bread that you can feed the goats and believe me, those goats acted as though they'd never eaten in their life!  We couldn't even get through the gate without several escapees and other goats jumping up on the kids.  Lachlan and Ava Jane were not thrilled with this so we stayed outside the fence for quite some time. We did eventually make it into the pen, and the goats scarfed down the bread and proceeded to chew on the hem of my jeans.

The kids had fun observing ALL the alligators, and there were SO MANY!  Old ones, new ones, big ones, small ones, it didn't matter what size they had a bunch of those reptiles!

It was a tad creepy seeing all those reptiles sitting super still, lounging around in the water.

This sign was a tad alarming, since all the alligators were sluggish and in the water!

After looking at all the gators and other animals, we went into the building that houses the smaller gators where you can feed and hold them.

I decided I should give it a go too, and it was terrible. They really are cold to the touch, I couldn't give it back to the man quick enough!  (Ava Jane's face is so funny here.)

I think everyone had a great time even though it was an unplanned outing.  Can't say I'm dying to go back, but it was a fun place to visit with the kids.

Lakin' it with friends

We have gotten to know the Livers over the last two years and truly enjoy their friendship. Two years ago we were one of their boys Sunday school teachers and our friendship blossomed from there. They ended up joining our D-group last year and we have thoroughly loved the transparency that they bring to the group and getting hearing them share their hearts on what God's doing in their lives and how He's using and shaping them. We weren't able to get to the lake with them last year so we made it happen this summer, here's a little taste of our lake day.

Ava Jane kept referring to Marley as "my friend".  They played so well together and enjoyed doubling on the tube.  (The sun was shining so very bright that they look upset but were actually having the time of their life!) 

Sweet baby Norah slept like a champ on the boat--that poor cheek-er got poked with a binky all day long but she didn't seem to mind.

Friends on the boat, making memories.

Everybody got up on something whether it was the wakeboard, knee board or slalom ski...I'd call that a successful day!

Full of snacks, sun and time with friends, this sweet girl passed out at the end of the day.

As we were finishing up our day on the water we got caught between to storm fronts and had to move around on the water to bypass the rain.  We saw a full double rainbow, it was beautiful! Livers, thanks for joining us, it was super fun!