The last weekend in January ...

I spent 24 hours of my weekend with the grandchildren … we didn't do anything spectacular together, but we were TOGETHER and that's what counts I think. They have gotten very used to just coming over and hanging out. Since it is winter, we are rather cooped up in my little place--I will admit that I miss our Saturday afternoon adventures very much!

 This is Ems dancing to "The Sugar Plum Fairy" as sung by the renowned singing group Pantatonic. They are amazing. Emma has so MUCH dance and music in her. I love to watch her happiness as she moves ...

After our dinner, Emma got everything all ready for our Bible story time. We talked about the story of Noah this week. It is such a sad story! 

 Oops! These next pictures have nothing whatsoever to do with our Bible story time! The boys were back in the playroom creating droids and other space-related things … something about a show they watch called, "Dr. Who." Anyway, this is what they made out of LEGOS.

Chris and Matthew kept coming out to the main room to show us their creations. They were VERY into this. 

Everyone colored a good rendition of the floodwaters. We talked about Noah "walking" with God and what that might have looked like in a world where "every thought of man's heart was only evil all the time."

 We talked about the grief that God experienced as he watched the people He had made and how He punished all of them. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." WHY was Noah favored by God?

 We talked about Noah's faith and obedience, which reminded us of Mary the mother of Jesus! So we spent some time discussing what it means to believe and do what God commands us to do. 

 I had done a time-line years and years ago and found out that Noah's father (Lamech) died the year of the flood, as did Noah's grandfather, Methuselah (the guy who lived longer than anyone else) … they were NOT on the ark with Noah. Did that mean that Lamech and Methuselah were wicked? Did Noah have to leave his parents and grandparents behind because they would not believe?

We also talked about the promise God made to Noah and the sign of that promise, a rainbow. We talked about Noah building an altar and sacrificing to the LORD when he came out of the ark. It was a good story time!

It was Chris's turn to choose our movie Friday night. He picked "Despicable Me 2" which I almost didn't fall asleep while watching … not quite, but almost!

Saturday morning we drove up to Robinette's so that I could purchase some local honey. The kiddos picked out a fresh-baked donut and ate it there. We came back home here and played a few rounds of "Apples to Apples." I snapped a few quick pictures of the kiddos as we played ...

 Yikes! Look at their expressions … NONE of them wanted their pictures taken!

 Emma worked on making a birthday card for her little cousin, Brendan ...

So glad the kiddos came and had a sleepover. I will take them whenever they are willing to come! So thankful for these memories with these precious kids.