CFBC Camp in the Ozarks

Church camp is always a summer highlight for Cade and Caelin.  This year they returned to Missouri to the Camp in the Ozarks and were both on the same Purple Arctic team.  Needless to say, we had a lot of purple shirts to buy/make before they left for camp.  Cade had a blast with his buddies Connor, Lukas, and Aaron.  Caelin was excited to hang with her friend Timofe.  Charles and I spent the week refreshing the Flickr account to search for pictures of their sweet faces and joining in on worship each night. WE are so grateful to be a part of a church family that pours into our kids.

Caelin's favorite memories were worship times and being in a group with all her friends.  Her biggest takeaway that she wants to focus on is that consistency beats intensity when following Jesus.  Being consistent is a challenge for all of us.  

Cade's favorite memory of this year was the lip sync competition that he and his friends did to "Let it Go". The video certainly made us laugh. Ha!  The main lesson he learned and wants to focus on moving forward was that he shouldn't focus on how other's see him, but rather focus on how he sees your personal relationship with God.  

NEW CAR!!!

Today we bought a new car!  We needed another vehicle for Charles to drive this next year and Caelin to learn on.  After much debate on brands, ratings, most reliable, ease in fixing, options for used cars, and affordability...we settled on a beautiful 2021 silver Volkswagon Tiguan.  We fell in love with this car when it was our rental for the Oregon/California trip.  This specific car was such a great deal, one owner, VERY CLEAN, and only around 65K miles on it.  Thankful for our new friend Doug at Northside Lexus in helping us make this process so easy.  I am hopeful that this car will serve us well and be a blessing to Caelin with her learning to drive this upcoming year.

Happy 250th Birthday America!!!

Caelin's 15th Birthday

Today was all about celebrating Caelin, so she got to make our schedule for the day.  We started with brunch at First Watch before heading to a day of shopping at Target, Guitar Center, Lego store, and Comic store. Throughout the day, she received lots of texts and messages from family and friends that made her smile.  Of course we spoiled her along the way with various purchases before heading home for a quick change and then dinner at  Mimi's Garden with Gamee and Grampee. Dinner was delicious and included dumplings, fried rolls, and bao.  The highlight as always was the strawberry cake made by Gamee/Grampee!  It was a Superhero theme with all the emblems from various Superheroes. We finished the evening with a quick Walmart run for camp on Sunday.  It was a perfect day to celebrate our perfect girl.  

To our beautiful angel, 

You have blessed us since the day you were born.  Your energy is infectious to everyone around you.  You have a caring heart for others and shine for Jesus even when no one is watching.  Keep shining your light and always remember that we love you and will always be here for you.  May this next year bring all the exciting things that High School has to offer and adventures you never dreamed of. 

"3" Mom and Dad