Happy Belated July 4th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What an awesome weekend we had! Even today was a great family day for us with Jeremy being off work! I'll start with Thursday. Around noon Thursday, we packed up the car (and it really seems like packing with 4 of us now!) and headed to Winston for the weekend. Jeremy played golf in the afternoon, and the boys and I hung out at both Nana and Paw-Paw's and Joe and Judy's. We had great fellowship, and Stephen played and played til all of us were exhausted. On Friday morning, we had breakfast, and Stephen played on Nana and Paw-Paw's slip-n-slide. I didn't bring him any swimming trunks, so he enjoyed his water time in his undies! The pictures are cute right now, but I'm sure he'll love them when he gets to be about 13!=) To celebrate the 4th (yes, a day early) with Jeremy's family, we spent Friday afternoon at Dan Nicholas Park. We actually used the shelter I had earlier reserved for Stephen's 3rd birthday. It had rained that Saturday in April, so we had to move his party indoors. Thankfully, the park allowed me to move our shelter reservation to July 3. It worked out perfectly. Stephen had a great time playing with his cousins. They rode the train and carousel, saw the animal exhibit, and played lots on the playground. We had a KFC "cookout" and watermelon for supper! It was fun, and we made some great memories! On Saturday we went out for breakfast and then cooked out with Jeremy's parents and Joe and Judy. Stephen played baseball in the backyard after we ate. Later that evening we headed back "home." I use that term loosely as my heart is in 2 places. Each time we leave Winston, I say to Jeremy "were we crazy?". Things were so good for us there. We had a home, great ministry, and family and friends who would do anything for us. We were comfortable. And that, we both realize, is part of why God moved us. As much as I miss our "old life" I truly love it here! This is God's plan for us. Has it been easy? No way. But Jeremy and I learned a couple years ago that God doesn't promise us a life of ease. He promises to be with us and to guide us as we trust Him. And once again, that is what we're doing! What an exciting ride! Back to the weekend...that was a total rabbit trail! On Saturday night, when we got back to the apartment, Stephen and Caleb went right to bed. They were so exhausted. Around 9, Jeremy and I heard a loud boom. We walked onto our porch and saw some amazingly beautiful fireworks. The shopping center connected to our apartment complex was hosting a July 4th celebration and set off some awesome fireworks. We literally had one of the best views "in the house" and didn't even plan on it! Somehow, both the boys slept through them (and thankfully, since Stephen is scared to death of fireworks). All in all, it was a great weekend! This post has become way too long, so I will save everything we did today for another time! Happy belated July 4th! Hope yours was awesome!