Sumer is Icumen In...

 

.... Loude sing cuckoo!

The kids are loving the warmth and looking forward to the end of school.

Harrison usually does an 'end of school year' anticipation drawing. 

This one includes some of the characters he has made up over the years: Bograughd is at the bottom somewhere, Merlin is on his toilet broomstick flying in the air, and many other nameless characters are shooting off fireworks in what is clearly celebratory exaltation and not, as it first may seem, spectacular conquests.

Phoebe and I attended the Ladies' Banquet. 

Phillip was the featured speaker, and we had a delicious dinner cooked and served by the men. Phillip did an awesome job with his message. I was very proud of him!

Over the past few months our preacher Jamie has been working with Jonathan and several other boys on sermon prep. He let them each pick a parable from Matthew 13, and they prepared a 10 minute sermon to be preached on Youth Sunday. It'll burst your buttons to watch your son preach! All the boys did great; it was an exciting Sunday.

He's figuring out how to tie his own tie. That's good, since I have no clue.

DJ is a kid I teach in Super Church and Sunday School. His prayer request for a while has been about him getting up to read Scripture and his brother doing the communion meditation. He was nervous! But he and his brother were gentlemen up there on stage ~ very clear and well-prepared.

Jackson and a team came over from CCCB and led the music (front row). The three preacher boys are in the second row: Noah, Kemper, Jonathan.

After the service, the kids prepped, served, and cleaned up a lunch meal for everyone. Phoebe and Harrison were involved in that area. 

Doc is getting closer to the cats. At times they will even hug on each other. But here he is clearly not allowed to snuggle with them on the warm mat.

This is a game (?) they play. One of the non-Wallace kittens will nap near Doc and put up with him. Doc is so wanting to play with the kittens, he'll just sit there and bark at them. He'll bounce around in a playful way. But they hiss at him, and he lays his head and paws on the ground in obeisance and whines. 

Now, yesterday, Phillip was petting Doc and Abigail came up to Phillip and was rubbing against his legs; Doc went around to her and put his leg on her shoulder and they sort of sat there for a while in sweet companionship. But then a few minutes later she might be hissing at him and chasing him away. She's very moody right now. 

We hear kittens under the house, so we'll have a new batch peeping out soon.

Dogs have a way of making you feel so wanted. 

He comes bounding anytime he sees you.

Making some progress on my Someone's Daughter shawl.

End of school nature walk at Mark Twain Lake. The sun was nice.

What a special day was last Saturday. My friend from college got married! And joy of joys, I was near enough to attend. I'm so proud of her and how she serves Christ. She is the only person I've ever had the privilege to baptize, and I have a deep affection for her.

Her new husband lost his wife a little while back and he has four daughters. There was a moment in the ceremony where they all poured different colored sands into a glass enclosure while a song played. It was a perfect song for them. A tear-jerker moment. 

(warning: if you hold your tears in too long, they'll suddenly burst out in an ugly cry. Just slow cry from the beginning and you'll be alright.)

The bridesmaids.

Little cherub flower girls.

My seat mate. 

Theresa was also solo, so we sat together for the ceremony and reception. We were in college together and had lots of catching up to do. 

Also, the man who preached the wedding and his wife are friends with my parents. They all were in Bible college together at MSE in Ottumwa! It never connected with me before that Rick and my Dad had been best friends and had driven to college together from California. Rick stayed a summer with my grandparents! Anyway, Rick and Cathy sat with us at the reception, and we had lots to talk about. I should have gotten some dirt on my Dad though......

I loved her sunflower decor. 

It was a special, beautiful time. I'm so happy for Dean and Shirley.

Tilling, planting, spraying. 

I think they're gonna finish our fields within about 24 hours! I'm happy for them, but I wish it would last a little longer ~ we get such a great front-porch view.