A Visit for the 4th

 Mike and Heather Hoerl and kids came in for a long weekend over the 4th of July!  Wow!  What a wonderful time we had with this family!  They have four children ranging from 11 to 2!  Scott and I were literally fascinated as we watched them parent these four kids!  And they do it with such patience and grace that it was convicting!!  We spent Saturday morning having hot donuts at Krispy Kreme.  How can any morning go wrong that way .. let's sugar-up 7 kids for the day!    
 Then, we went over to Apex for their town's old-fashion 4th of July street party!  It was awesome!  They had blow-ups for the kids, free Chik-fil-A sandwiches, snow cones, games and more.  Emma and the rest of the gang all put on tattoos for the weekend!  It was so much fun and I think everyone had a good time!  In the late afternoon while the little one's napped, the guys let the girls head over to Southpointe Mall for some shopping!  
 Heather picked up some exciting things for a special birthday.  And believe it or not, we all made it to church on time on Sunday!  The kids loved the fireworks we did in the driveway.  Erica, Emma and Maddie made a special cake for dessert Sunday afternoon.  And we sadly watched them go on Monday.  Maddie and Emma started to cry which in turn, this made me cry.  When they drove away, Spencer and I both were misty.  Spencer is my one in the family that really is affected most when people leave.  

I am amazed at how much all these kids have grown.  Mike remembers chasing Erica when she was 2 years old and the rest, we have all had together and watched them grow, except for Kyle who was born in Georgia.  But Scott and I were talking this past week and you cherish the friendships that pick up exactly where you left off.  It doesn't matter how much time has gone between talking or seeing one another.  When you can pick right up and share life, those are the friendships that last through the seasons of life.  And we can't wait to see them, hopefully, in the fall!!!