Happy Birthday, USA!

July 4th is a favorite holiday because we are proud Americans! Although our beloved country is experiencing crisis on many fronts, it is rich in history, innovation, opportunity, and FREEDOM! We aren't giving up on America, and we celebrate her birth.
This year we spent the holiday weekend (stretched into 6 days) at Grand Lake State Park. We haven't camped there in years, and the kids enjoyed being able to fish, bike, play in the sand, and sit around the campfire. Grandpa and Grandma Burley stopped in for a meal on Saturday, and Mama and Papa Nichols pulled their RV in next to ours. They had some other obligations that took them away part of the time, but we were able to make some good memories.

Kaitlynn has fun arranging fruit...notice a missing front tooth  :-)

The following weekend, just before leaving for band camp, we attended our local parade. Eric, Meg, and the kids came along, and they had fun bagging as much candy as they could grab!

The girls

Our local fire department had the loudest sirens of any of the
communities represented.  Obnoxiously loud.  Poor Suzie
was trying to deal with it.

Allison needed help.  :-)

Woo hoo! More sugar!

Little Will...such a cutie, and loves to wrestle! 
He is not intimidated by Ryan and Evan when
they act 'all boy'.  He jumps on top of the pile and gets to it!

Our little American gals

Silly Cousins

~Kait -n- Livvy~
(this one's for you, Valerie!)

Campmeeting 2011

Pilgrim Holiness Church Camp 2011 is definitely a memory for our family to cherish! Church camp has always been a part of our schedule, but this year was different because all of us were able to be there for the entire camp. God is so good to give us exactly what we need, and this year He blessed us abundantly. The ministry team (composed of Dr. Bob Bolois, Rev. Jeremy Fuller, and The Shrout Family) was an anointed combination. Even though we have been in hundreds of evangelistic services in a variety of places, neither of us remember previously hearing these evangelists. That made us anticipate their ministry even more, and we were not disappointed! If you are interested in watching, video archives can be found at Holiness Online.

Lil' Pilgrims enjoying the sand and the sunshine!

Our scheduled children's workers were unable to come because of some family illness situations, but Jackie Harris did a great job filling in, and our girls couldn't wait to get to kid's class each morning!

Allison had 11 cents, and was determined that it would buy
something at the snack stand.  Jeremy Fish enjoys teasing her when
she stops by, and he agreed to trade her a pack of Starburst for her 11 cents.
She's a bargain shopper!

Everyone loves to watch their own children at the kid's program, and we are no exception.  :)  Miss Line, Miss Burley, and Miss Shrout gave us some cute Kodak moments...

Evan Forsee and Kaitlynn had quite the little friendship
going on this year - they must have been in their
own little world during the program.  :) 

There's no better place than church camp for children to build relationships, learn about God, and completely wear themselves out having fun!

Each year God provides at least one "lake" on the Frankfort campground.
Not sure if this is just to test the nerves of the parents, or simply to
provide the kids with an added extracurricular activity for the week!
This year, one of the softball fields served as community swimming hole,
and Allison found it.  This is how we found her. 

Allison loved driving the cart with Aunt Sherry!  They went around, and around,
and around, and...you get the picture.  Thanks, Sherry, you're a sweetie!

This particular service was the very first time for all three little Shrouts
to sing with their momma and daddy.  Little Laura was a hoot!  At the
beginning of the song, she acted as though she would do a lil' jig, but within
a minute or two, she was in worship mode...notice her hand in the air...so cute!

Prayer of Blessing

On the final Friday evening of the camp, Bro. Southerland was given a challenge by a businessman.  For every young person between the ages of 11 and 21 that was sitting in the 'youth section', the businessman would donate $100 to the campmeeting fund!  What a blessing it was to have 86 young people in that section of the large tabernacle at offering time!  They stood to their feet and counted off, beginning on the front row.  As each young person loudly called out his or her number, they were seated.  By the time the couting was finished, $8,600 was donated!  Others were so blessed by it that they began giving for their children and grandchildren who were either not in attendance or were too young to be counted in the challenge, and by the time all was said and done, $10,600 had been given in just that one offering. 
Bro. Southerland asked pastors and their wives, along with parents, to surround the youth section and had our newest and youngest ordained minister, Anthony Harris, to pray a prayer for our teens.  It was a beautiful time, and one that we're sure those kids will never forget. 
So, now it's all just a memory: the softball games, youth services, kid's class, swimming in mud puddles, helping others from our church prepare drinks for many meals, bonding with friends, worshipping, praying, and giving. Now we're looking forward to Pilgrim Camp 2012 in just eleven short months!

~Achievements~

At the conclusion of each school year, our children have the opportunity to receive special recognition for areas of excellence in their academic setting.  This post is a little delayed due to the fact that photos from the evening are the only file that weren't found on the ailing computer. 
We don't often publicly brag on the kids (I guess as a kid I heard enough of that from other parents that it kind of turned me off), but there is a place for honor, and it is time.  :)  The kids were busy enjoying the Hawaiian reception, new yearbooks, and being with their friends, so (gasp) I didn't bother getting pics!  Kaitlynn posed for me after we arrived home.  I have silly poses of the boys, but they are 'unreachable' on my hard drive somewhere.

Kaitlynn finished first grade this May.  She is a very studious little gal, and is a great independent learner.  The benefit of this independence is seen each day as she is concerned about keeping all of her academic "stuff" (homework, review papers, etc.) in perfect order, and rarely has to be reminded about anything.  Once or twice, she forgot something at home (she would usually remember before we reached the first stop sign), and she was devastated. I gently reminded her that it wasn't the end of the world (coming from a sanguine who loses stuff every.single.day), and we could always go back to get what she needed.  She is responsible about studying for all of her tests, and is personally gratified by good grades.
Kaitlynn achieved Highest Grade Point Average, "A" Honor Roll (all 4 quarters), and a Scripture Memory award.
 I taught her to read in Kindergarten, and she made me nervous because she didn't seem to have a desire to do it.  I knew that she had the mechanics down well (her performance indicated that), but she wasn't very confident, and never really showed an interest in reading for pleasure.  I guess it was just another unnecessary motherly fear...by a quarter of the way through first grade she was stacking books all over her room and around her bed, and reading all the time!  Her Bible reading this summer is just beautiful...I love to listen. 

First piano recital - June 14, 2011

Evan finished fourth grade in May.  He is also a good student who takes his academic experience quite seriously.  He achieved awards for Honor Roll - "A" all 4 quarters, Most PACE's Completed Runner Up, Scripture Memory, and Perfect Attendance.  Perfect attendance is no small feat in our family.  We sometimes take a day of here and there to travel, and we always have sickness!  About half way through the year, Evan realized that he and Ryan hadn't missed any days, and from there he determined to keep it that way.
Evan took piano from October to May, and he is doing an outstanding job on that instrument.  He has a fantastic teacher (Aunt Megan), and really enjoys playing the piano.  I'm hoping to work my way out of my Sunday job.  ;)

 
Ryan completed 6th grade this year, and is headed into the Upper Level Learning Center this fall!  I still can't wrap my mind around that, but it's time and he is ready. 
The differences in children are no more apparent than in Ryan and Evan.  Ryan is much more mechanically inclined, and loves to work with his hands.  He maintained good grades this year, but makes no secret of the fact that academics aren't his favorite.  :)  He loves school, his teacher, his friends, and his favorite subject: history. 
He was recognized for achieving Honor Roll - "B" 2 quarters, "A" 2 quarters, and Scripture Memory.  He also did his best to achieve perfect attendance, but sometime during the first couple of weeks of May, he woke up feeling weird.  He went on to school, hoping it would pass, but didn't make it past lunchtime.  The dizziness and headache got the best of him.  I encouraged him to stay home the next day, as well.  It seemed to sap his strength.  So...he was present for all but 1.5 days of the original school year. 
Ryan has also taken 8 months of piano this year, and we are so proud of how much he has learned in those 8 months!  We credit his teacher with a huge share of that.  She has done an outstanding job with the boys!

Aunt Megan with four of the students that were able to
perform in the summer recital.

Summer is our time to recharge and explore other avenues for fun and learning that may not be available to us during the school year, and so far we are enjoying it to the max!





Wedding Bells!

Life moves so quickly, and often leaves us wondering where the days have gone.  Our niece, Harmony, was the flower girl in our wedding almost 14 years ago, and on May 27th we were able to help she and Chris share in their own special wedding day. For those of you who know Gene and Tina Burley, you will recognize Harmony as their middle daughter.  While Greg and I were busy with wedding responsibilities, Ryan snapped a few random photos...

I love this one of Allison and Karson!
(They weren't in the wedding, but they
coordinated quite well!)

I was so excited to play this piano...could spend hours right there
on that bench!  (Wait, I did spend hours on that bench...but I would
do it again in a heartbeat!)  Because I was focused on my own stuff,
I just now realized that Mark and Greg had to light all of these little
candles on the floor.  That had to be a pretty funny sight...6'8" and 6'7"
bending to the floor over and over and over...

Christopher and Harmony Funk

The cake was very pretty, as were the flowers.  I had a beautiful
wrist corsage, but being the pianist made it a little difficult to wear!

One of the reasons the kids absolutely love to go to MI is that they can spend hours roaming the property doing the things that boys love to do.  Forget video games, books, and all things sedentary, these guys become men of the wilderness...haha!

Yes, this was a little scary...

Fishin' in Grandpa's pond

Ahhh, the good 'ole summertime! 

**For the "gory" details of our trip, see www.stephanieburley.blogspot.com