Summer Adventures

It's hard to believe that school starts in less than a month!  We have had a full summer thus far and I am not so sure I am ready for it to end!

Lauren had a great time on her trip to Thailand.  She was able to delve into the culture as she worked at both a refugee camp and an orphanage.  And she has loved her internship with the Chapel in Akron as she is now working with Burmese refugees in Akron.

Justin rounded out his Thespian endeavors by attending and performing in the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was also a camp counselor for Fusion Camp with CedarCreek Church.  He is almost recovered from getting his wisdom teeth out on Monday and is finishing up his final two weeks of working at Kroger.  He is eager to move into the Honors College at the University of Akron on August 16th, and begin the next chapter in his life.

"Anatomy of Gray" cast

Justin's cabin at Fusion Camp

Logan has kept busy with volunteering at nature camps, helping out with Jameson and attending the National Staff Conference with Cru in Colorado with us.  He is enjoying the freedom of minimal school work (he does have a book to read for Honors English over the summer) and spontaneous time with friends and family.

Ethan is wrapping up his 45 hours of volunteering at nature camps, as well as attended Fusion Camp.  He keeps busy with buying and selling on eBay and is always up for a new challenge. He will be in a short film produced by MadHouse Creative in Toledo and is eager to begin filming next week.

Fusion Camp

Jameson has thrived in his various preschool camps, swim lessons and childcare when we were in Colorado.  He is growing up so fast and keeps us laughing with is one-liners.  Michael has committed to working an hour a week on our book about Jameson and we are all eager to get that underway!

The Brown Brothers finally produced another cover and continue to amaze me with their vocal and video production skills.  I am so thankful they have been able to bond over these videos and will miss them when the group splits up since Justin is leaving for college.  I'll have to remember to let them know that I would love another cover of them for Christmas and Birthday presents in the future! :)

"When You Look Me in the Eyes"  (click on this link to watch!)

Tomorrow we head to Cedar Point.  Everyone is very excited, especially Ethan since the last time we went there five years ago he missed the height requirement for most of the rides.  He is eager to try out some "real" roller coasters this time!


Last week, our foster daughter moved in with her grandparents after living with us for almost a year.  The family dynamics always change a bit when a foster child joins our family or moves on.  We are thankful for a few weeks with just our boys, yet remain open to another child being placed with us in the future.



In the meantime, we remain truly grateful for our family and are preparing for the bittersweet time when Justin, too, will leave our home for college.