Campin' in Muskegon

(I apologize for the random photo spread...it wasn't being very friendly!)

This past weekend, I was able to go camping with my family and my friend Melody, who was in Columbia teaching the last 5 months. It was fun to be on Lake Michigan and camp. We left Saturday, and arrived at Hoffmaster State Park, setting up the tents, and then heading over to Maranatha Missionary and Conference Center. Can I just tell you how much I love that place?? I'd love to work there sometime with the kiddos. Anywho...we were going to see Nicol Sponberg in concert. I LOVE Nicol! I call her a friend, and am humbled and blessed whenever I see and hear her. And this time, as "Esengo" started playing, she said, "Jess, you just got back from Africa. You need to be up here too!" So fun...so up I went, joining the little ones she called up to help her. It was a joy! God is doing amazing things through her and her husband Greg. They lost their little guy Luke, at 10 weeks, from sids, and they are grieving with hope. Since losing my friend Donna, I have longed for heaven even more, and Nicol was saying how she can't wait to get there to see her little guy again. If you've never heard of Nicol, I highly recommend you check out her music. She is truly gifted, a woman who loves the Lord and uses her gifts to serve Him.



Early Sunday morning, the rain came down in buckets, and the lightning was going crazy. So, my dad woke us up at 7:30 and told us to get in the van. We went for a morning stroll, got back to camp, and got ready for church. We went to Maranatha to hear Dr. Koessler preach. He is a professor at Moody and head of the Pastoral Studies Dept. After church, we went to Walmart and Goodwill, and stopped for lunch. The sun came out late in the afternoon, and we went to the beach to journal and spend time with God.

Sunday evening Sunset on Lake Michigan=wonderful.

ok....we went to the nature center and I fell in love with this sign. Can you read it? I wanted to go out and catch toads to see what I would win!! :) lol. I do love frogs/toads, and this was pretty appealing. But, we decided to go hiking instead to the top of the dunes. Next time....

This web was spotted by my mom, and I LOVED it. You can see the little spider in the middle. I love webs, and this is one of the best I've seen.

Breakfast Monday morning. Pancakes....yummah!

Beach all day Monday...I warned Melody to use sunscreen and to cover up. Did she listen? Well, I'll let you be the judge.

Dinner time....homemade pizza's on the fire in the pie irons. This has got to be my favorite camping food of all time! We had it 2 evenings, because you can't get enough. And really, I usually only go camping once a year, so I gotta enjoy it while I can!

We went to downtown Grand Haven Monday night to take in the sunset, and watch the musical fountain. We had a great time...it was a bit windy, but so enjoyable and relaxing.

We packed everything up Tuesday morning, and stopped at the beach one more time on the way out. We also played some miniature golf! I'm thankful I had this weekend to share with my parents and friend Melody. It has been a long time since we've spent time together, and I was grateful for it.

Love these guys!

I was in Chicago for a couple weeks the beginning of May, and I got to hang with some of my favorite people....the Davis family! :) I posted some pics, but finally have my computer hooked into the internet and can write so much easier. I first met Steph in Women's Choir the fall of 2005. (wow, can you believe it's been 5 years Steph?) She was the social chair on exec, and her job was to make sure everyone had fun and laughed...there was never a dull moment. She did her job well as the bone giver, and provided us with lots of entertainment. And I loved that we could be roommates on tour for a week. (Remember creepy guy doing our laundry? Eww!) She speaks her mind, is strong-willed, and I LOVE that about her. I was able to go to their wedding, and be there when she had her first baby. Because we lived in the same apartment, I spent almost every night with them. Steph cooked me amazing meals, and really showed love to me that year. I was privileged to really know Maddy and watch her grow up. She is the craziest little one I know!! But I love her for her energy, spunk, and charisma. Although I missed the first 4 months of Judah's little life, I caught up the 2 weeks I was there. He is such a cute, adorable, and good baby! What a joy!



Maddy and I going on a date to the library.
We made a stop at Molly's cupcakes...a first time for us all. After Cara brought us some, we were hooked! Here are some of the delicious flavors...I think my favorite was blueberry cheesecake, but the chocolate with raspberry filling came in a close second. Yummah!



These are the cute swing seats they have mounted to the ground. Momes really loved sitting here by herself. :) Why not add more sprinkles?
Tad graciously watched the kids so Steph and I could go out together. We decided to hit Diversey Bowl and knock some pins down. Well, I started off great with this.

And then in the first frame of the second game, I bowled a 1. So this is the text message my mom sent me. (Are you serious? I was crackin' up!)

Needless to say, Steph got me on the second game, but I came back on the third, not scoring anything near a 167. ;)

I enjoyed watching the kiddos so Tad and Steph could go out...and this is what Momes and I did while Judah slept. We had a tea party! (along with Maggie the doll) It was SO fun!

Steph knows how much I LOVE sports, and when I spent time over there, Tad and I would always talk about what was going on in the sports world. Well, he was able to get CUBS tickets from the hotel, and Steph told me I could go! How super sweet-so Tad and I headed to Wrigley in the freezing cold to attend the game. It was so fun, despite freezin our butts off! (and they won, which helps!)

I also got to attend the awards night for Momes in Awana. She loved sharing her verses with me, and it was great to see her get her certificate and sing her cubbies song.

Maddy also enjoyed catching up with my blog and the happenings of Africa. She was one of my smallest prayer warriors!

Meeting this little amazing cutie was a blessing as well. I loved holdin' and lovin' on Ju-Ju. He is a sweetheart, and melts your heart with his smiles. :)

When I was in Africa, I found these adorable Aprons for both Steph and Momes, because they love cooking. How cool are those?

Steph-we've shared highs and lows, ups and downs, laughter and tears. I love you so much, and look forward to sharing many more years together. Thanks for all you've done for me.