Rocket City Weekend

We visited Huntsville for Nate's 8th birthday.  It was a surprise trip for him.  He knew we were going somewhere, but not the exact destination.  Our first stop was the Space and Rocket Center.

I think Darren was having more fun  than the kids. 

This is one of my favorites from the weekend.

Day one was a success!  The space and rocket center was a first for me and Nate.  There is so much to do and see there and we didn't see everything.  We did squeeze in an IMAX movie about telescopes that see WAY out in space.  Funny moment after the movie...I was changing Cora's diaper while sitting on a bench.  She was in my lap and it was a quick wet diaper change.  She started peeing while I was changing her!  Pee shot up and got on me and the bench.  She hadn't done that in months and it was totally unexpected.  It was hilarious.  Thankfully the bench was plastic and easy for me to clean really well.   

That night we enjoyed some pizza and gelato at Sam and Greg's in downtown Huntsville.  A friend recommended it and I'm glad she did.  It was delicious.  

We started day two at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.  They had a cool traveling Lego display that we knew Nate would enjoy.  

I've only been to Birmingham Botanical Gardens and there's not much to see and do there, except flowers.  I was expecting this to be the same.  I thought we would zip in and see the Legos and be out of there in an hour or so.  I was wrong.  Along the Lego exhibit route there were all kinds of stops for kids to play. 

I think the buffalo was my favorite. 

This girl was so sweet and easy, except at night. Nate always slept in a pack n play easily, but not this girl.  Once she went to sleep, she slept well thankfully. 

This was another cool stop along the way.  They have a water play area that I knew nothing about.  Thankfully, I had extra clothes for Nate so he just got wet in his clothes.  He could have stayed there for hours.  Nate played and we tried to cool off on this bench in the shade.  It was HOT.  

We left Botanical Gardens and headed to Huntsville's science center.  It is very small compared to McWane. They make good use of the small space because we ended up being there several hours.  It wasn't crowded and Nate got to do everything he wanted, including petting a snake.  

This was such a fun, quick trip.  Most importantly, Nate loved it and thought it was a great way to celebrate his birthday.

July 4th

Nate's favorite thing to do this year was burn ants with sparklers. :)

Cora liked the fireworks for a few minutes.  Thankfully, they didn't scare her.

Can you see this girl's double crown?

Now it's time to play with Daddy's visor. 

Gavan

When we were getting ready to leave the peach parade, Darren received a phone call that his brother-in-law, Gavan, was on his way to the hospital and probably wasn't going to make it.  I posted a little about Gavan in a previous post.  He had a gall stone block a duct that caused most of his organs to shut down.  This happened on January 28th, 2014.  He was in the hospital for 11 months and came home on Christmas Eve 2014.  Even though he was happy to be home, his health was still bad.  We prayed and prayed that he would get stronger and God would restore his health here on Earth.  That did not happen and Gavan passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital on Saturday, June 27th. We were all heartbroken to lose him, but thankful his earthly struggle was over.  We love and miss you, Gavan!

Peach Parade

It's our tradition to meet my parents for our town's annual Peach Parade.  We always meet them in the same spot.  This was Cora's first parade.

Hangin with Dad

We gave Darren a hammock for Father's Day.  I don't know if he or Cora liked it better.  We are so thankful for Darren.  He is an awesome dad and husband.  Nate, Cora, and I are very blessed to have him in our lives.

Glorious Day

Nate accepted Christ last winter.  It was late January.  We had been praying for his salvation and talking through some things for a couple of years.  We could see God working in his life and we were so excited and thankful to see him trust Jesus for his salvation.  When he made this decision, it was bitter sweet.  We were away from our church family for a few months last winter.  We were worshiping at a great church with sweet people, but it wasn't home. 

Fast forward almost 5 months.  We were back at our church home with our precious church family.  Father's Day was approaching and our children's pastor wanted to do baby dedication that day (June 21).  We asked if Nate could be baptized that day since all of our family would be there for Cora's dedication. Of course they agreed.

Cora's dedication was first.  This is not a baptism or salvation type thing.  This is just a commitment from me and Darren and our church family to teach her about loving God, loving people, and the good news of Jesus.  It will be her decision when she's older to decide to follow Christ or not.  

Parents choose a verse to read during the dedication.  Ours was the verse on our blog heading: The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.  Psalm 126:3  That perfectly sums up how we feel about Cora's adoption.

Next it was time for Nate's baptism.  I love that our church allows Christian dads to baptize their children.  

We love this kid so much and have seen God working in his life for years.  We are so thankful he has decided to follow Jesus.  We are so thankful for his tender heart and his love for others.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.  

Future Yogi?

A couple of days after we returned from the beach (the first week of June), Cora sat up on her own for the first time.  I walked in to get her up from her nap and found her sitting up.  I called for Nate to come see our big girl.  He and I both cheered and did a happy dance. I bet she thought we were nuts!

A couple of days after that, I found her sleeping like this!!!  I first checked to see if she was breathing and then I had to get a picture.  I assume she went to sleep sitting up and just fell over.  I don't know how in the world she was able to rest in this position.  A few minutes later she had moved into a more comfy looking position.