[1] It’s amazing how something so small can make Tyler so happy! Today I bought Tyler a Winnie the Pooh bubble maker for $5 from the summer clearance shelf at Walgreens. You pour the bubble solution into the base and then the fan blows hundreds of bubbles continuously. He loves it! Tyler is getting so good at talking in sentences and remembering to say “please” and sometimes “thank you.” It’s so fun to see how much he can take in and watch him interact with people.

My younger sister Monica (Tyler calls her “Peeka”)came down for the weekend, it was her birthday so we had some people over for a party. Tyler ran into the living room after his bath with both arms up shouting “Hi everybody!” And then[2] repeated the whole thing ten times or more. It was hilarious. I don’t know what’s funnier, Tyler or a whole roomful of adults so entertained by his antics!

Monday our Disneyland passes were unblocked from the busy season. So we went up with my older sister, Alicia and took Monica and her boyfriend Sean for the day. To see pictures from the last week, click [3] here!

Summer is coming to an end. All our beach days and BBQ’s are finished for the summer and we are starting to gear up for fall. Our high school students will be going back to school in the next weeks so our schedule will readjust for our school-year with small group Bible studies and more consistent meetings with students and leaders. I’m excited that Women’s Bible Study will be starting back up in a couple of weeks. Even though I feel kind of tired as summer is coming to a close, I’m reminded again of 1 Corinthians 15:58 and am excited about the new things we will be giving ourselves to in the fall.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

No matter what the season or changes in our circumstances we need to be spending ourselves full-time in what God has given us to do. I pray that as we look back at our summer that we don’t see a chunk of time wasted but weeks of giving of ourselves to others…labor that was not in vain!