Summer Fun

I can't believe we are already halfway through July. Summer goes so fast. We have had fun thinking of inexpensive ways to enjoy each other and friends.

Enjoying a early morning bike ride with friends!!

Watermelon is a great motivator!

Rachel loves geography and was thrilled when I found this puzzle at a garage sale for a $1.

When Tim goes away on a trip each of the girls gets a special night with Mommy. Since Daddy came home early he was able to take a picture of some of the fun. Abby chose to curl her hair, paint her toenails and make a special dessert.

Enjoying our day downtown. The fountains helped with the heat.

Riding the trolley is a sumer tradition.

We luv free fud.

  On Cow Appreciation Day we met some friends at the mall and all dressed up as cows to receive a free meal at Chic-fil-a. What a fun treat. We won prizes and came home with all kinds of goodies.

4th of July

This year for 4th of July we went to the AR Territorial History Museum for some old fashioned fun. This museum is a group of original homes that have been restored in downtown Little Rock. We enjoyed the activities and the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Below the girls were summoned to be in the militia.

They received quite the training before they took off on this march.

Sack races are always fun - even in the heat!

After a quick dip in the pool we joined some friends to shoot off our own fireworks. This is the highlight of the day for everyone - especially Tim.

I wish I had a picture of the children cheering on the sidelines. We all had fun!!

Rebekah's Birthday

For Rebekah's 9th birthday we surprised her and made a special trip to the Memphis Zoo. The morning of our trip it was pouring rain but we decided to wait it out. We had a wonderful day and the rain helped keep the crowds and heat away. We celebrated her actually birthday with chocolate chip pancakes and dinner at On the Border. Rebekah has a great sense of humor which is often only revealed for her own family. She keeps us laughing with her witty sayings. She is also quite the swimmer. Rebekah was even chosen to swim on a relay team of older girls! She is good with kids especially those that are shy. Rebekah is a precious member of our family! We love our Freckly Bekaly.

Rebekah wears her new shirt from Gray Gray and Grandaddy all the time.

Now, Rebekah has plenty of room for her babies.

We all love birthdays

We enjoyed the Polar Bears and Sea Lions at the Memphis Zoo

Surprises are so fun!

Vacation #2

After leaving Clemson, we drove to Litchfield Beach to meet the Ross side of the family. This was a landmark year at the beach. Forty years ago my parents and another couple decided to vacation together at Litchfield Beach in South Carolina. Through children being born, growing up, graduating from college, getting married, and having children of their own this tradition continues. I appreciate my parents making this vacation such a stable part of my life. The beach is a great place to relax and enjoy time as a family. It has also provided me with a time to step outside the "problems" of my own little world and realize what a big God we serve. I am thankful for our time away and I am now thankful to be home!

The Owen and Ross Families - all 26 of us!

These girls Love their Daddy!!

Rebekah enjoyed catching minnows in the surf.

Defending the hole!

We all love to ride the waves.

vacation #1

We have just returned from a wonderful vacation. It was good to be away and now it is good to be home. We began our vacation with a stop to see Tim's family in Clemson, SC. We had a great time enjoying the lake and visiting with family. The girls enjoyed riding the tube and the three older ones even had a chance to try a little skiing. We also visited the Calhoun Mansion on Clemson campus and had quite an extensive tour. 

The Disguise of Sin

I read this article in the book "Whiter than Snow" by Paul David Tripp and my mind keeps mulling over this truth. I thought I would share it here:

"Sin lives in a costume; that's why it's so hard to recognize. The fact that sin looks so good is one of the things that make it so bad. In order for it to do its evil work, it must present itself as something that is anything but evil. Life in a fallen world is like attending the ultimate masquerade party. Impatient yelling wears the costume of a zeal for truth. Lust can masquerade as a love for beauty. Gossip does its evil work by living in the costume of concern and prayer. Craving for power and control wears the mask of biblical leadership. fear of man gets dressed up as a servant heart. The pride of always being right masquerades as a love for biblical wisdom. Evil simply doesn't present itself as evil, which is part of its draw."

"God who loves us enough to sacrifice his Son for our redemption, works so that we would see ourselves clearly, so that with a humble sense of personal need we would seek the resources of grace that can only be found in him."

Psalm 51:3 "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me." This is a good place to be - dependent on the Lord!

Surviving the Storm

Have you ever noticed how the stories that seem to be repeated over and over in families are often the stories of events that don't exactly go as planned. For Tim and his family Captain Blackey's, a campground in Florida, holds special memories of large biting flies. For the Ross clan, the memories of Winnebago accidents and alligators tied with rope and duct tape are forever etched in our minds. Well the last camping trip that we took may be one of those special memories that our girls will never forget.

The weather forecast for the weekend looked grim but a few brave souls decided to go anyway and see what happened. We had a great day on Thurs. and Fri. and  some how the 80% chance of rain seemed to be of little consequence, until Friday night. Coming from the bathhouse at about 9:00 p.m. I saw the men huddled around the weather radio with an Arkansas map. Once we realized that the tornado was going south of us we all went to our tents to weather the storm. The lightning and the thunder were intense as we huddled together. The combination of rain and thunder were so loud that we could not even communicate with the other families camping 10 feet away. Rachel was singing and praying, Abigail and Beka crying and Elizabeth was sound asleep. Thankfully our tent kept us mostly dry and were able to make it through the night. We were reminded of the power of God and even have a new understanding of what it means to fear God. We packed up in the rain on Saturday morning and were glad to be home in our dry house.  We made great memories with good friends are looking forward to surviving our next adventure together.

Thursday afternoon the girls enjoyed fishing with Tim.

A whole gaggle of girls. 

Our cooking adventure this trip was pizza cooked in a dutch oven over the fire. It was delicious and may become a camping tradition.

The kids putting on their annual performance in the amphitheatre.

Cleaning up from all the fun!