Hiking, Biking, and Skyping

Cruz has never been one for sleeping.  Ever.  So you can imagine my chuckle when I looked back and saw him like this on our way to Bible study last Thursday afternoon.  Just a few minutes earlier before we left the house I had listened to him declare over and over  "I'm not tired! I'm not taking a nap in the car!..."  I told him he didn't have to and look what he did.  Oh that boy!  He's the reason I have to nap from time to time.  He wears me out!

enjoying a few peaceful moments in the car on the way to Bible study last Thursday afternoon

I took the next two photos in the village.  They had stopped along the way to try to catch a few tadpoles in the creek. 

they are always exploring

me and Ben hiking to Bible study

It's not always easy hauling two young kids up the mountain, hiking, and then making them sit through our service.  It is getting much easier though the older they get.  There have been times over the past few years that I have just wanted to cry out in frustration because of the stage we were in.  Many times I have felt like I should have just stayed at home.  I am thankful for pressing on and continuing to go week after week.  Although these days are not perfect by any means I am glad to be seeing some maturity in our boys.  There are weeks when they whine about going.  There are times when they don't want to sit still.  But, there are also times that they absolutely love it, participate, and look forward to the next time we go.  Hang in there moms with little ones.  It gets easier.  I promise. 

We finished up another week of school on Friday and then that night went out for supper at our new favorite coffee shop in town, Vintage. 

me and Cruz at supper

Cruz was eating black bean and guacamole tostadas and I had chili bean nachos with a white chocolate frappe.  

We came home and they watched Home Alone 3.  It is one of their favorites.  While the movie played I baked some Christmas cookies.

movie night

a few of our cookies

On Saturday morning we surprised the boys with a visit to a local place called Los Laurelles.  It is just down the road from us.  They love to go there! I do too.  We took our bikes to ride and rented one for David.  It was such a fun, relaxing morning.  The weather was cooler and it was breezy.

Ben checking out the ostrich while David unloaded the car.

This picture makes me laugh!  It looks like Cruz and the ostrich were having it out. ha

David renting a bike so he could ride with us.

off we go...

It's just wide open country space and a perfect place to ride bikes and be outdoors.

our family enjoying a fun Saturday morning outing

There is a horse racing facility on the back of the property.  My boys especially love to play there.  They pretend they are horses and run their little legs off.  They like to take turns opening the race gate for each other and then watching each other run.  We usually find somewhere to sit down and let them go at it.  

ready, set...

GO!!!

this little "horse" can run fast!

oh what fun they had!

We can't go there without making a stop to see the real horses. 

and after all of that we rode some more

This was new to us and of course they had to climb it.  Ben didn't make it all the way up.  Cruz and I did, but I wished that I hadn't.  ha 

more clowning around before we headed back home

Can you guess what they both did that afternoon?  If you thought nap you were correct.  Those two were worn out!

Saturday night was a real treat.  We got to watch the live stream of Carols by Candlelight at First Baptist Church, Jackson, MS.  Our friend Malinda sings in the choir and her daughter was part of the children's pre-show act.  It was wonderful and such a blessing for us to see. 

The boys looking for Sara Madalin on the screen.  They thought it was so cool to see her perform.

We had another special treat on Sunday morning.  We were invited to do a Skype call with Rock Hill Baptist Church in Lexington, TN to promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  It was really fun getting to share with them about our lives, ministry, and how the offering helps our family.  The pastor's wife there, Lesa, shared that she has been following our family through our blog since 2009.  What a joy it was getting to "meet" her as she did the interview for her church.

David getting us all set up for our Skype call

I am so thankful for technology and how it brings the world together. 

Since we were all dressed in our Christmas red we took a few photos that morning too.

We ended the weekend with a visit to Shalom Baptist Church on Sunday night.  We had a great service and enjoyed a good message from Bro. Fito.

This is how Cruz spent part of the service.  He is crazy about maps.  He loves looking at them and wants me to tell him every little detail.  He loves finding places that we have talked about in Bible class.  I love that David and I have been to a lot of those places and can tell him first hand what they are like.  Being able to point to the Sea of Galilee and saying "Cruz, your daddy has taught a devotion on a boat out in the middle of that sea" is just a cool thing.

my sweet boys playing around while we visited after church on Sunday night

It had been a great weekend from start to finish and definitely one we'll be remembering for a while.   I love my little family and enjoy getting to do life with them.