Our vacation in North Carolina...

We spent a few days with my parents, my brother and his family at a cabin in beautiful North Carolina. We had such an amazing time! We went hiking in the mountains (saw alot of pretty deer), enjoyed a campfire every evening (the weather was PERFECT...50-60's in the evenings AND we had our own guitarist to serenade us with his beautiful guitar playing...very cool! Thanks, Nate!),cooked and ate way too much yummy food, went antique shopping one afternoon, took in a Daniel Boone outside drama entitled "The Horn in the West"(very well done), read, played Scrabble, watched old movies, talked and laughed alot, and ended our days with family devotions...usually at about 12-1 am in the morning! A "chilling out" vacation was just perfect for our family. We bonded, relaxed and enjoyed God's beautiful Creation.(Corey wanted me to add that he found a snake skeleton and some other fun creepy crawly creatures! YIKES!)

Blue Ridge Mountains

Cassie turns "7"...

God sent us a wonderful, sweet blessing when "Cassie Diane" arrived in our lives seven years ago! We love having her for a daughter! She is sweet, thoughtful, creative and LOVES everything girlish! The theme of her party this year was "Fancy Nancy". We had a fun evening at our house celebrating with family and friends. I think that I am a little girl at heart...I enjoyed her "girly" gifts as much as she did! Thought that I would share a few pictures! Love ya, Cassie!

Cassie's birthday

Strawberry Festival and July 4th

It was a good time had by all as most of the England Clan met at Mom and Dad England's house to make strawberry jam. The guys picked the strawberries for us and then with a "system" in place...we proceeded to make strawberry jam! The kids played outside for most of the day...it's always refreshing to be out in the country. The little ones enjoyed tractor rides, the older boys played in the woods, and the girls did hair and all the things that girls do. Fun,fun!

July 4th was spent at the Jewetts' church shelter and fellowship room. The kids had great fun riding bikes, scooters, and 4 wheelers in the church parking lot. Everyone pitched in and brought some yummy food for our cookout. We ended the evening by watching downtown Indy's fabulous fireworks!

Great summer memories!

strawberry festival, july 4th

Cade turns "4"...

Happy "4th" Birthday to our sweet little man, Cade,...You make our family "complete" and bring so much laughter and happiness into our home! You are a special gift from God! Cade's birthday was during our church camp so we postponed his party until this past Thursday! We went to the "Rascal's Fun Zone" and did we ever have fun! Cade's theme was "Speed Racers" and alot of the night was spent racing around the go cart track...most of the adults enjoyed this too, I do believe! Those that braved the bumper boats got rather soaked! Cade seemed to have so much fun and we hope that he will have special memories! Love ya, Cade!

Cade's 4th birthday

Highlights of Church Camp...

Another year has come and gone at Beulah Grove Church Camp! Our little family enjoyed our time there very much....a peaceful time of worshiping God out in the country! We had BEAUTIFUL weather....cool breezes and sunny skys "most" days! We not only heard "God inspired" messages and singing that drew us closer to Him, but got to "catch up" on fellowship with friends and family!(The cook did an awesome job, too!) Our kids are already looking forward to next year, I do believe! They played NONstop with their friends and cousins in between children's services in the pretty little white chapel! We are blessed to be a part of the Bible Methodist Church!(Our Cade turned "4" on Sunday at church camp...can hardly believe it! We plan to celebrate a little later this week!)

bible methodist camp 08

Happy Father's Day!

I'd like to say "Happy Father's Day" to some special people in my life. First, God has blessed me with an awesome Dad...He has always been a wonderful Christian example...a godly, hard-working husband and father(he is a fantastic grandpa, too!). He can grill a great steak, play a mean game of checkers, knows his Bible, sings beautifully, and keeps his yard and car perfect (and he always has a great shine on his shoes - I love it!). Thanks for being you, Daddy.

Second, God gave me Danny...he is such an awesome Dad to our kids...I knew he would be the first night he held our firstborn in the recliner all night long when I went back to work. Not only has he always helped with routines such as baths, getting everyone ready for church or doing school projects, but he "plays" with our kids, "prays" with them and "praises" them. They can't wait until he gets home from work every day. Thanks, Danny, for being an GREAT Dad to our kids!

As a bonus, God gave me an awesome father-in-law. He is a godly Christian man and I am so proud to call him my father-in-law. He taught Danny to have a good work ethic and Danny remembers his prayers even as a little boy. Thanks, Dad!

Love you all...

Our "Get-away" pictures...

Thought that I would share a few vacation pictures(only about a third of them)... On the long journey to Texas, we stopped in Missouri to visit Lambert's, "The Home of the Thrown Rolls". Such delicious "southern" food...the rolls were to die for! San Antonio was such a beautiful, fun city (a bit warm ~just "97" degrees a couple of days). It almost felt like we were in another country! Our hotel was located on the lovely Riverwalk. We enjoyed taking long walks and dining at some of the great restaurants there almost every evening(we ate some FABULOUS Mexican food!). We took a riverboat tour one evening at sunset...that might have been romantic! ha! We saw "Remember the Alamo" at IMAX prior to visiting "The Alamo"...I think this made it more meaningful. We visited Market Square one day and enjoyed walking through shops that had a beautiful Mexican flair. We enjoyed a day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas ~ we were able to walk right on the rides without a wait...very cool! Cassie and I visited a beautiful doll shop and picked out all the dolls we wanted. We all played at a neat park one afternoon. Corey saw many lizards and even brought one home to add to his collection. We ended our trip by coming through Louisiana and visiting family. We had a lovely day there...the kids were able to ride 4-wheelers, fish, etc. Scott and Suzanne fixed steaks with all the trimmings for us...thanks,guys, we love you! Monday AM brought us back to reality (there's no place like home!). We thank God for family, friends, fun, summer, and "get-aways"! Hope that you are enjoying your summer!

san antonio trip