Hard Work

Hard work never hurt anyone!

 cutting some firewood

trimming bushes

On Saturday these guys did some outside work, while I canned salsa!

Devotion turned Experiment

This morning I read to Maddie and Eli out of a devotional book that has a Bible story and application to young kids.  The story was taken from 2 Kings 6:1-7 where a man had borrowed an axe and then while cutting the heavy iron axhead flew off the handle and went into the water.  It sank quickly.  The man was upset because he had borrowed the axe.  Elisha was there and asked the man where it fell.  Elisha threw a stick into the water and the axhead floated to the surface.  It was a miracle!

At the end of the story there are questions to review the story and then today there was an experiment to see if penny's would float in water and then make the contrast of how heavy an axhead would have been to float.

Eli was excited to try the experiment!

We got a glass and 3 pennies (cause Maddie and Nathaniel wanted to be in on the action).

We dropped them in!

They sunk!

Instead of allowing me to make the transition of how an axhead is much heavier than a penny.  Eli called over his shoulder and said, "I'll be right back".

Next thing I know he drops 3 small sticks on the table.

My mind was thinking, "oh no, he's wanting to play Elisha". 

But I allowed him to see if what would happen.

Eli instructed Maddie to drop hers first. 
It floated.

Then Nathaniel.

His floated too.

Then Eli got a big grin and dropped his stick into the water, right over his penny!

Uh oh, nothing happened!

So Eli's next idea was priceless!  You can't see a miracle without praying.

So he did!

A little more disappointment!

Still no floating pennies!

When I grabbed my camera for our experiment, I really had no idea I would catch all this, but the whole thing was a good learning experience (for ALL of us)!

I don't think Eli believes any less in miracles, but I tried to explain how they will not always happen, just because we do the things that the prophet Elisha did!

We did wrap up with the science experiment noting that the pennies sunk and sticks float! 

Maddie seemed to enjoy that.

Wow, you always have to be on your toes around here!

Visits

Ron has been doing a lot of visitations this week.  He has 3 people who are not doing well and he has visited all 3 several times this week.  Today I had the opportunity to go with him on these visits.  We (very last minute) called Ms.Cathy (who the kids love) and she willingly agreed to come over and watch the kids for a couple of hours. 

It is always fun for me to be able to be "in ministry" with Ron and at his side in this calling to show Jesus' love to others.  At the first place we stopped Ron has been ministering to a gentleman with cancer.  I had the opportunity to just sit and chat with his wife.  It was so good and I really feel like we connected.  She's an amazing woman with an incredible strength.

The next two stops were women.  One in the nursing home and one in the hospital.  In both cases I watched as Ron began with small talk, but then offered to read them Scripture and share with them about Jesus' love for them.  I was so proud of my husband and his ability to share in these situations.  It is difficult, these women are hurting.  Ministry is tough at times, but it is so obvious that Jesus used Ron today and spoke through him to both of the women.  I watched as roommates and relatives listened intently to Ron as he explained the Scripture he had read.  Not only was he ministering to these women, but to those around them as well.

I'm thankful tonight.  Thankful for my husbands calling. Thankful for his willingness to be in tough situations and love those around him.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to share with him in ministry.

Love it

I just love it when they love each other!  Wish I could bottle it up for times when the argue and pick at each other!  Even acting goofy (see Ronnie below) is better than not getting along!

WOW!

The Final Tournament, The Final Game.  After this the season is over.  The Fairview All-Star team had done a great job at the Edgerton Tournament.  They had gone undefeated through 4 games in two days.  Now it was the Championship game against a team that they beat on Saturday by 1 in extra innings.  It would be a good game, were the boys ready to play?

The umpires brought both teams to the plate for the coin toss!  Fairview won and elected to be the home team!  We would get the last bat!

 Ronnie struggled in the lead off spot and probably had his worst game hitting.  He didn't get on base.  He had a great at bat his second one, where he fouled several off, but when he finally got it straightened out, it was a pop up, that was easily caught.

 Nathaniel didn't fair much better.  He popped his up and was pretty unhappy with himself!

It was a hard fought game.  Fairview was down the whole game.  By the end of the 5th inning we had allowed way too many runs!  It was 11-5!  We had to not only hold them on defense, but then we had to score 5 runs make it tied!

Defensively, we did it.  We got 3 outs without any damage. The team brought it in for our offense to take over.  It would be our last at-bat.  We had to score.  We were in the middle of our line up and honestly it looked pretty grim.  Could this team, who was not batting especially well pull off a win?

It was absolutely crazy and unbelievable!  They got 2 outs, it was grim.  Then they just kept hitting and running and hitting and running and scoring and finally...the 12th run crossed the plate.  They had won it!  They scored 6 runs in the final inning and won the tournament.  Crazy and so exciting for these boys to finish in such an unbelievable fashion!

 Nathaniel and Ronnie both got a trophy!

The whole team did.  Notice even the "batter boy" is in the picture! 

Wow, what a season, what a finale!

 This year of Pee Wee ball has been full of crazy plays and games and fun times. All 4 of these guys have enjoyed themselves!

 Then of course they needed a little water guns after all the trophy stuff.  The coaches pulled them out!  But after emptying them the kids filled them up and ended up getting completely soaked!

So we FINALLY draw another year of baseball to a close!  My 2 were a little disappointed on the way home.  They didn't play as well as they could have.  We talked about how it is a team sport and that yes, it was not their best game, but their team played hard and pulled off a win and then needed to be excited for their teammates!  Lots of lessons have been learned throughout this year and lots of fun times and memories!

Grandma Time

Sometimes it's good to have some Grandma time!

All-Star's

Today was the beginning of our last All-Star Tournament!  The boys were pretty excited to play.  They haven't done real great in their first two tournaments, but today they were on!

 I grabbed a couple of pictures before we headed off for the tournament! 

Of course I had to get their biggest fan too!

The boys really played well today!  They are in first place right now, but there are two more games tomorrow (that we will miss) and then the Championship and Consolation games are on Monday evening! 

Ronnie had a home run (by overthrows and errors  - we'll take them how we can get them).  Nathaniel had some outstanding grabs at short stop.  Ronnie had some very accurate throws from third to first for outs and Nathaniel snagged a double play.

So we're winding down our baseball season and we're still having fun!

Camp

I've mentioned on the blog before that our denomination has a yearly camp, Family Camp.  The East Central Conference of the Evangelical Church holds their camp at Taylor University.  We were able to go for about 24 hours this year.  We arrived at the beginning for the Monday evening service.  Then on Tuesday morning all 4 kids had the opportunity to go to the classes.  They all 4 love Family Camp and so badly wanted to stay!  I enjoy it too.  The preaching is great.  The prayer meeting is great!  The seminar and Bible Study are great!  The Fellowship is great!  The conversation and time with Godly women who desire to be wholly committed to Jesus is so refreshing!  It's just a wonderful place to be. 

Wish we could be there more!

Wilmore...Together!

Sunday after church we ALL packed up and ALL went to Wimore Together!  It was so much better than sending Ron on his own.  It is a long trip - 5 hours.  I'm not sure how he does it on his own.  We had a pretty uneventful trip down even though the whole trip didn't go as we had originally hoped.  Ron did meet with the guy in charge of housing and set some things up for next semester.  They are raising the price and offering less meals, which is very frustrating, but he is scheduled for a room! (we would appreciate your prayers in this as we figure out what is best)

Then we also discovered after the meeting was set that the library would be closed for 2 days.  Ron had hoped to return some books, check out new ones and even do a little research!  That plan didn't happen.

However, while Ron had his meeting, the kids and I toured campus.  We've been there before, but they like to walk and it was a beautiful day.  They wanted to climb into the fountain.  Don't worry I didn't let them :)

 Ronnie loves this statue of John Wesley and wanted to take a picture of it!

 Then I suggested they all sit with him!

Who knows, maybe one day one of these Adkins kids will be a preacher or evangelist like Wesley!

 Then when Daddy's meeting was over he wanted to show Ronnie this big tree that is outside the dorm room where he stays.  Ron told him that when he sees it he thinks of Ronnie - that made Ronnie's day and of course he wanted a picture!

 Next, Daddy took us to High Bridge!  It has a neat look out point, but we were interrupting a Bible Study so we didn't stay there long.  We found a good place for some more pictures though!

 The majority of our quick trip was spent with the Rozsa family.  Ron had Viktor in class at Circleville Bible College.  Then Ron and I had the privilege of doing our very first marriage counseling with Viktor and his wife to be, Kristen.  Viktor just graduated from ATS and they are now raising support through One Mission Society to go back to Viktor's home country, Hungary!  Maddie loves her "Emily Rozsa" - their oldest daughter- and so it was fun to spend time with her and to meet the newest Rozsa, Gabi who will be 3 months old next week!  She is a cutie!

 All the kids had fun together and enjoyed running in the park with their Daddies while Kristen and I caught up a little and snuggled with little Gabi! 

 If the Lord brings them to mind, please pray for the Rozsa's.  They are moving at the end of the month to a new apartment in Wilmore where they will live while they travel and raise support.  There are a lot of transitions going on in their lives right now!

Thank you so much Viktor, Kristen and girls.  We had a great time and we love spending time with you.  You are in our prayers for the upcoming move and all the new things that are ahead in your life as you seek the Lord! 

The 4th

Last week we decided to take a day and go visit with Grandma and Grandpa Adkins.  It was scheduled to be a very short trip, but the kids were excited!

We discovered though that when we are all away from our busy routine - this is what we do!

 We crash!  Ron and I were both able to get some much needed sleep.  We didn't really do anything.  The temperature was pretty high (although it was nearly 10 degrees cooler than at home).  So we just relaxed and enjoyed the Air Condition!

In the evening, we decided to go see some fireworks.  We all piled into our van and headed to a nearby lake to watch.

 The lake was pretty and we were plenty early to get a good spot! 

 The boys enjoyed throwing the ball around, until the crowd got bigger!

 It got darker and darker

 some got tired of waiting

 and finally, after what seemed like forever... the show started!

Sorry, I'm not good at enjoying and capturing them on camera - just take my word for it that it was a good display!

 The next morning we packed up and headed home

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for a fun, quick trip!

I Remember...

Forgive me for feeling incredibly old, but I remember a day when it was unheard of for schools to schedule anything on Sunday.  It wasn't too long ago that Sunday was kept clear on the calendars.  But those days are apparently in the past - and even out of most of our memories.

Our boys love Baseball, as you know if you have frequented this blog much at all, especially in the spring and early summer!  We enjoy watching them and although I am a bit biased, they are good!

However, Baseball and Sunday don't mix in our house!  Our rule is that we don't play organized sports or competitively on Sunday.

Yesterday the boys competed in the first All-Star Tournament and although I stayed home (out of the heat) with Maddie, I'm told they did really well.  Their team lost the first game, which was the first that some of those boys had lost all season, including my two - but they came back and fought and really played well in the second - and won!  Next game...this morning (SUNDAY) at 10am!

For obvious reasons, our boys won't be there.  The team will actually play multiple games today, but we won't be playing. 

Several parents offered to pick up our boys and take them to the games, but it's not just that Ron's job keeps us from getting there for a 10am game, there is more to it.

Sunday's are suppose to be set apart, different - not look the same as Monday through Saturday.  Yet in our world today, Sunday is another day to cram in whatever we didn't get accomplished throughout the week.  What happened to the days of old?  Why have we gotten away from clear calendars on Sundays?

It all honesty it would be easy to say, "could you take our boys to the first game and we'll meet up with you there?"  Or even, "we can't make the first one, but we'll be there for the second".  It would be easy and honestly our team of 12 needs their starting Shortstop and 3rd basemen.  It makes sense that they need to be there.

Yet it is Sunday!  Easy isn't always best.  Making sense to the world isn't what we strive for.

My boys handle it pretty well actually.  Yes, they would like to play, but they also don't understand why people would schedule during church, me either! 

We still love sports, we still enjoy baseball, but we also serve a God who is bigger than any sport or any game.  We serve a God who desires to be "important" in our lives.  A God who desires to have just ONE day that is set apart and different.

It is hard to be in this world and not of it, and yet we strive to teach our boys that the #1 thing in our lives is our relationship with Jesus! 

I am sure they will think about their teammates today and perhaps even wish they could help them out, but our desire is that years down the road (or maybe even today) they can look back and be thankful that they didn't compromise their time with Jesus for an All-Star baseball tournament!

So today we trade in our cleats, bats and gloves and grab our Bibles!  Today we spend time in the Lord's house!  Today we set apart as different from the rest of the week.  No -we may not be understood and we may not be respected, but today we teach all 4 of our children the importance of families going to Church together and spending Sunday like those of old did - Together and with Jesus!

Depressing

I'm not sure how widespread this is, but I can tell you that right now in Northwest Ohio it is ridiculously hot!  The projected temp today is 104 and then the heat index is another six or more degrees on top of that.  It is hot and it has been hot.  This is the 4th (or more -I'm loosing track) day in a row of 100+ temps!  and still a few more to come!  We are under a heat advisory until Saturday evening!

Then as if that's not enough...last Friday a bad storm came through our area. While we fared great, many neighboring communities have been without power for days.  My grandparents are in their 80's and are still without power (now 6 days).  In this oppressive heat, it is hard. 

As a society, and just me myself - we tend to complain about having to cook or the heat or any number of things.  But a week off of cooking because there is only peanut butter and bread because you don't have a fridge is not the kind of break I want.  Lack of a place to cool off - even a fan to run is not the break from the heat I want!  Being unable to read even beause there is no light to see by, not my idea of a fun time.  We complain and yet things could be so much worse.

Instead of complaining, please be in prayer for those who have no electric (many for going on 6 days) and they are hot and tired and it is really depressing to sit and sweat for 24 hours a day with nothing to do -not even laundry or cook! 

Thank you Jesus for all the Blessings we have and thank you that you have given us in abundance so that we can Bless others!  Please look over those who are struggling right now and give them strength and comfort and peace!  Amen!

A Match

By way of an update!  Ron found out on Tuesday that he is a MATCH for a stem cell transplant for his brother!!  We are rejoicing that Ron can be of help.  We still don't know exactly what that means, waiting to hear more details and we'll keep you updated.  Thank you to all of you who prayed for this process!

Right Intentions

Sometimes we can have the right intentions, and still fall short!

I think the Lord understands!