All day long we praised Him!

"Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his miracles.
Exult in his holy name;
O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!" PSALM 105:1-4

We started our day with worship over at Hill Country Bible Church (Southwest) and pretty much kept a spirit of worship with us all throughout the day ... there was so much to praise and thank the Lord for!

Sabrina was substitute teaching in the 2's and 3's during first service this morning, so Mr. Jones and I joined her to give her some helping hands. The theme of the morning was that God loves everyone and is preparing a place for those who love Him ... so the children were decorating a doll house with pretty stickers, like if you were decorating for a party, and we talked all about God's love for little children and for the world. After class was over, we went into the worship service. We praised the Lord in song and we listened as Pastor Phil talked about suffering and prayer through the story of Hannah.
Isn't this such a cute picture? This is Olivia and Isabelle! Well, it's at least their feet! They are best friends and even wear the same size shoe!
It was Isabelle's 12th birthday today so we all wished her the best! Olivia and Isabelle have been friends for a very long time, and now that Olivia lives in Dripping Springs, she and Isabelle attend the same middle school. We ate out for lunch after church this morning. Andrew treated us to Red Lobster (my absolute favorite restaurant!). He had earned some reward points through one of his credit cards and graciously shared it with us! I neglected to bring my camera into the restaurant and missed a golden photo opportunity. On our way out of the restaurant, we were looking at the lobsters in the tank and one of the young workers lifted one out for us to touch (gross) ~ but actually, it was kind of neat to touch one of these critters! I didn't realize that their back tails were soft like a feather, did you?

I took some nice pictures of the Rauch homestead for you to see ... what a great-looking house!

This is the outside front porch ... there is an upstairs porch as well ~ how fun! This is part of the dining room ...
Here is Grandpa Jones playing with Jackson and Karis this afternoon in the main room of the house ... And Andrew and Olivia working on geography/history homework ... something about India and Pakistan and all of the conflict in that area of the world.
They have a really pretty house with lots of space. They realize it is a gift from God and are very hospitable folk ~ we have so enjoyed staying here with them!
This is the beautiful picture Sabrina purchased for Andrew for Christmas. The Scripture passage is from Psalm 113:3: "From the rising of the sun to its going down ... the Lord's name is to be praised."
This is their upstairs playroom, and right off from it is a door that leads to a wonderful outside porch that goes all across the front of the house ~ another fun place to play!

After our naps (we all took one!), we drove down the hillside to the playground where the little ones played and played ...

It's a very nice area for children with just the right amount of playground equipment to keep everyone active, yet safe ...
Some cute pictures of Jackson and Karis playing together ... Karis is a faithful shadow to her older brother ...

There is lots of room to run and play ... a full-size basketball court, tennis courts, soccer field, etc.
Even a zip line for those very brave and courageous 2-year-olds ~ Karis really loved doing this over and over again ... Grandpa Jones was at the other end catching her ...

There is also a beautiful pool area with Splash pad for little kids, as well as very shallow pools (like 7 inches deep) with fountains and cool stuff ... and beautiful pools for older children as well!

The water was pretty cold, but it didn't stop Olivia from swimming for quite awhile tonight! And Jackson and Karis enjoyed themselves too!
I love these pictures of Olivia ~ isn't she a beautiful girl? She is so athletic ~ she is a great swimmer and has endless energy and grace in the water!
Actually, the whole complex where they live is laid out beautifully with nice amenities for everyone to enjoy ... Livie and I had talked about going on a walk today, but it was 7:15 before we found the time to sneak it in! It was a wonderfully cool evening and we had a great walk together. Not too far from where their house is built is a bunch of undeveloped land. We walked down a dirt road that leads to this retention pond. You should have heard the frogs tonight! This pond is full of them! Olivia was really really wanting to catch one ... but she didn't have a net with her or anything ...
She tried to sneak up on them, but I remember from long-ago frog hunts with my boys (years and years ago) that the frogs are ALWAYS faster than people!
Olivia and I walked and talked for an hour ... until it was dark ~ the dirt road wound around quite a ways and thankfully brought us back into their complex on the other side of their street (so we were not lost!). It was very refreshing to just be out in the great outdoors listening to the beautiful birds, breathing the fresh air, and enjoying the wonders of God's creation ... and being with Olivia made it even more wonderful. She is growing into quite a mature and special young girl and I enjoy spending time with her very much.
Isn't God awesome to have given us SO much ... we certainly can't praise Him half enough!