Within the Pain of Departing

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; stuck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life is in You.

~

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

~

In loving memory of Timothy Mark Shumate

December 5, 1967-August 20, 2008

State Fair Time Again!

We spent Monday, August 18 at the fair. The boys waited eagerly after purchasing advance tickets for the day to come. As always, we had a blast. Of course we visited all our favorite exhibits, except for the cows. It was closed this year during the afternoon we were there while the animals we're loaded up to head out. I was not too sad, being that it is by far the smelliest exhibit.

It was fun to see Andrew on the same kiddo-rides at Six Flags, but this year able to ride on his own and Elijah with Daddy.
Micah liked the goats, I liked the decorated cakes (the pork chop sandwich was a close second), and Andrew said he liked his bag of cotton candy. When asked what his favorite thing at the fair was, Elijah said "Da Da dance". You may think at first that Elijah was mistaken, but this year, prompted by oldies from the Newsboys in concert in the evening, Micah did dance. This, friends, is a rarity. I think for all of us, the time we spent at the concert was most enjoyable. The boys had never seen such a display and they responded with delight. I haven't seen the Newsboys since I was a teen. They have as much energy as ever and the drum-off between the drummer and lead singer was certainly memorable.

This is totally unrelated but I had to include this picture. Like many Americans, we are getting so much more sleep now that the Olympics are over! Micah and I would leave the TV on all night and if we were to wake up, we would even watch in the wee hours of the morning. We loved the racing. Here the boys are at the starting line of the Childs 10 yard in our hallway.

What We've Been Up To...

Driving to NC

Meeting Dad, Mom, and Matt for help in the middle of the trip

Seeing baby Caleb for the first time

Outings with extended family

Meals with Abba and Nana

Uplifting conversations with Dustin and Mary

Jars of Clay with Amy

Writing and recording with Matt

Shopping with Chelsea and Mary

Rock Band with them both

Making friends with Toby

Getting out our energy! with Papa and Mimi

Visits with GG and Great-Grandfather

Lunch with Jeff and Cindy, Dinner with Matt and Stacie

Seeing Daddy for the first time in over a week

Another trip to Knoxville, then up to Lexington, then home to Louisville

Summer coming to a close

Beautiful weather

Walks at the park

Racing tricycles in the parking lot

Sitting on the kitchen floor, Elijah in my lap, Watching cookies rise in the oven

Andrew conquering obstacles, Becoming more of a "big boy"

Both boys pretending to be superheros

New bed for Elijah

Adoring glances from Micah

Ice cream sundays with extra cherries

Amid the chaos of life, the sweetest moments arise.

Hopefully you see why I haven't written in a while.