A trip to the Fair (Iowa)

In early August, Emily and I took our annual trip to Iowa to visit Greg during his two-week stint working at the Iowa State Fair.

We checked out the place where Greg was working for the week. 

The audio-visual production trainee

A little fair time.

Emily and I rounded a corner in the Art exhibit building and came across this site. As Greg was posing near this picture, a lady stopped us and asked us if that was a picture of Greg when he was a child. We chuckled. 

Emily's first experience with a pay phone. It was a novelty for her. She had to make a call to "Papa". She had no idea how to use the phone. Oh, how times have changed. 

Emily and I always have a good time on these road trips, and as she has gotten older the trip has changed. The conversation is deeper, and the experience is richer. 

Though having Greg away from home for so long in the summer is difficult for our family, I'm grateful for the opportunities it has afforded us to grow in the knowledge of Christ and in our relationships with others (like road trips with a niece). God is an amazing God who uses even the most unlikely of situations to show himself Great. 

Cookie Baking Night 09/21/15

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Emily, Ethan, Carissa, Alli, and Rylar. Since we're on the cusp of Autumn, we decided to make Fall-themed cookies this evening. We went with "caramel apple" and "pumpkin spice" cookies.

After our time of cookie baking, we spent some time reading "Leading Little One's To God" by Marian Schoolland. Tonight we worked through lesson 13, "God is Faithful". Emily read Joshua 21:43-45, and we witnessed through the Scriptures how God was faithful to keep his promises to the Isrealite people, how He moved the waters of the Jordan river to allow them to pass through it on dry land. And we talked about the promises God has made to us in His Word and how he keeps them.

We also squeezed in a walk on this beautiful end of summer evening.

My mom joined us at the table as we rounded out our evening with a game of Pictureka. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.