We are preparing for our trip to Nantahala soon.  We'll be spending time with Jamin's family at a house near the lake in western North Carolina.  I can't wait for everyone to see how much fun Jaren is.  He loooooves being tickled, and he's only 3 months old.  It's surprised me how quickly he's gone from a baby who just eats and sleeps all the time to an interactive child who loves to bounce in his doorway bouncer, who reaches for things, and who wants to talk and laugh with anyone, but especially his MOMMY!  :)  Makes me happy.

This past weekend had its share of adventures.  In Lincolnton, GA, Esther made friends with 94-year-old Grampy, with whom she had a surprisingly lot in common, as we ate dinner with the Thorpes.  He has had a series of strokes and now lives with his daughter.  They both need help in so many areas, they're both a bit tough to understand sometimes, neither of them functions well on little sleep, and they both say "no" when they mean "yes". The Nichols family opened their home to us.  Esther made fast friends with their four children, especially 4-year-old Jesse, who was enchanted with Esther's name.

Sleeping all together in the same room has its challenges, but despite them we rested and woke up to the delicious odor of cinnamon rolls in the morning. 

I thoroughly enjoyed spending all of the first service in the sanctuary while Stephanie watched my kids in the nursery.  Thanks, Stephanie!  Between services we got to meet many people who were encouraging in their interest in the work we are doing and the future work we hope to do.  One comment that struck me commended us for perseverance in the long path one has to take in order to reach a mission field in aviation.  As Jamin always mentions in his presentations, the path to mission aviation always takes at least 8 years from first vision to the foreign field.  It takes determination to stay the course.

After all the meetings were over and nearly everyone had left, Esther approached Jamin and said, "Daddy, I broke a sink."  Now, with her limited language, Jamin and everyone around him though, "Surely she meant something else."  But Jamin decided to check it out anyway.  She showed him the water fountain she had been trying to get a drink from, and sure enough, she had pulled the whole thing out of the wall.  It's pretty comical to think a 30-pound 2-year-old could muscle that piece of equipment away from the drywall.  Weakened by countless other toddlers likely leaning on it the same way, it finally had to give way on OUR little trouble-maker. *shakes head*

Even more adventures awaited her that afternoon.  Two hours of staying up past her naptime apparently impacted Esther's logic, and she ended up impacting a lamp-post in the Nichol's living room.  Thankfully, though, a long nap and then a swim in the pool restored her to her previous mood of cheerfulness just before we began our drive home.

We are grateful to God for safety as we travelled, especially as we drove through some thunderstorms with strong winds.  It was hard to believe that it had only been one day since we had left home and then returned again.