Friendship Church & a Pool Party

When we arrived in Alabama, one of the first things we did...even before stopping at the Evans' house...was to stop by our 'old' house in Cairo Hollow. We just couldn't resist getting a peek at what the Craigs had done to it. We were impressed with how great it looked...although we were surprised when we later found out that they hadn't moved into it yet. We stopped back by on Wednesday...just before leaving town....and just after eating breakfast at Sportsman's Park (yummm!)...and took a peek through the windows once we realized that no one was there. The inside looked AMAZING...they had redone all the floors (which would have required some subflooring repair)...redone everything in the kitchen except for the cabinets...redone the master bath...repainted all of the walls...and I'm sure much, much more. After seeing all they had done, it made sense why they hadn't moved yet...they hadn't had time!

I didn't know how it would make me feel to see all the changes to "my" house...especially since so much of ourselves went into it...but it made me sooo excited for them! I can't wait for them to enjoy that space - I hope that it brings them many, many years of happiness!

As I mentioned in the last post, one of the reasons for traveling on the 4th was to be in Alabama in plenty of time to go to church at Friendship. We ended up attending both services...and Calvin even performed an impromptu...no warning beforehand...interview with us in front of the whole congregation...BOTH services. He still calls us their 'missionaries to Texas.' It was a wonderful service...BOTH times...John David Crowe, the Contemporary Worship leader, lead everyone in an hour long worship service. I had missed the worship time at Friendship more than anything...so I couldn't have planned a better Sunday to be there! (No offense to Calvin's preaching...it is great too!)

After church, we were invited to the Parish house for an afternoon cookout/swimming party. It was so nice and relaxing to sit by the pool and visit with so many good friends. We had been gone from Alabama for just a couple of months when my dear friend, Lori Donatelli, found out that she was pregnant. For anyone who knows her story...it had been a long road filled with many obstacles that seemed insurmountable. Although we know that 'NOTHING is impossible with God' it was quite miraculous news! This trip meant that I could finally meet little Laci Grace Donatelli in person, and let me tell you, when I first saw her I cried and cried tears of joy! I felt like I was looking at Jesus' love in the flesh.

Laci Grace & Kyla

Allie & Luke

Isaac enjoying the pool

Summer soaking up some sun



The hours just flew by and I couldn't believe the day was over when the sun began to go down. Unfortunately, all of the days we were in Alabama were that way...and it was Wednesday before we knew it! At least we had the trip to the beach to look forward to...we might not have gotten the kids into the van otherwise. ha!