This is for you, Sara!

At my parents' house with sunflowers we picked from the pasture.

on my parents' front porch




In the laundry basket, a favorite game!



A rare hug, and no one got hurt! Amazing!

Build your own rocket in Highlands, NC. It was awesome- and then NASA was there with a water pressure hookup that launched the rockets about 100 feet in the air!

Our family trip to Highlands, NC for my parents' 40th Anniversary!

My brother Travis, sister in law Melanie, Tate, Miller, our fam and my parents.

Sadie LOVES to point!

Our family shot at my aunt's house in Highlands. You may see this again at Christmas if we can't get another one with everyone smiling. :)

Summer has been really wonderful. I have to admit I was dreading it a bit...no mom's morning out, hot weather, etc. but we have had such a great time. The only sad part is that my friend Sara Boney (along with her husband and two kids) are leaving Tuscaloosa for the bright lights of Birmingham. Sara is a faithful blogger, much moreso than I am. So, this is for you, Sara, because you will probably be the first to read it. We'll all miss you a ton. Can't wait to visit you in Homewood.

Also, my great aunt Martha (Sister Madeline) Roddenbery died on Sunday night at age 92 in her sleep. Our Bible study this summer has been Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life." I have thought a lot about this charge over the past several weeks. Martha was a nun in the Sisters of Mercy. She gave her whole life in service to the Lord- she had a very real and living relationship with Christ. She certainly did not waste her life. She was my grandfather's last living sibling, so that is a little bit sad, but she is with Christ, and there is no sadness in that!