A week of "lasts"

This is our last week in Hilton Head with Summer LINK. The staff team will be packing our bags at the end of this week to head to various locations and leave the students to run Summer LINK without the staff. This is a bitter sweet week for all of us I believe. We feel so good about the students that will be staying the rest of the summer to accomplish the tasks before them. We are excited to see what God will do in and through them as a result of their leadership and trust in Him these next several weeks. We are also sad to say goodbye and see this sweet time together come to an end. This week will be filled with a lot of "lasts" for us to try and savor. Experiences like this make me long for heaven even more, where there will be no more goodbyes and we will be together for eternity with our Lord and Savior!

This past weekend was Parents Weekend and we had our own church service at the Holiday Inn on Sunday. It was a great service. Jeremy's dad, Don, gave the message and it was excellent to be challenged from 2 Chronicles as we looked at a Jehoshaphat's life. This was our last church service with the Summer LINKers.

Heather shared a great testimony of her Summer LINK experience so far. It was so encouraging to hear what God is doing in and through her.

Jeremy & Bryn before our "last" prayer and praise on the beach.

Our last prayer and praise on the beach with the students. This has been a sweet time as a group that I'll really miss.

Bailey (on the left) will be leading praise & worship after the staff leave and he will do an excellent job!

April shared her testimony of how Jesus called her to himself. What a great reminder of God's redeeming love and faithfulness!

Tonight was the staff's last Celebration with the students and this picture is of a skit some of them did impersonating the staff. It was pretty funny!


More pictures to come of our "last" week on Summer LINK.

Bluffest

This past Saturday was the first annual Bluffest for the community of Bluffton. It's a festival with different vendors and activities for kids. There was also a concert and fireworks that evening. Our whole group was there to volunteer with different jobs and needs. It was a good opportunity to meet the community.

Carson in the moon walk

Ava and I enjoying some cotton candy

Ava sharing her cotton candy with Bryn

Carson riding a four wheeler

Wild Woman!

Beach Fun

The Chasteen crew got here yesterday for the week and we enjoyed time on the beach together. Here are some pics of our fun in the sun.

What would we do without a daddy!?

Leigh with Emet on the way to the beach

She loves the beach

Kelsey running to the beach

The Chasteen crew (minus Jon & Kevin)

Sweet baby Emet sleeping at the beach

My little laundry helper

The washer and dryer at our place is in constant use so Bryn has obviously been watching the routine of laundry because this morning I turned the corner and spotted her loading the washer. I couldn't believe how she was doing this so precisely. She took ALL the clothes from the colors hamper and loaded them into the washer to be washed. This makes me want to have the low/front loading washer at home so she can reach it to help! This is a huge blessing being 8 months pregnant and bending over to load the washer is not so easy these days.

Savannah

Today after church our whole group headed for Savannah, GA to enjoy the city and a good meal at "Lady & Sons" (Paula Dean's restaurant). It was a very hot day there and I was feeling very pregnant walking those cobblestone streets but we did have a good time visiting Savannah. I told Jeremy that I'm getting more and more of those sympathy smiles from strangers who pass by and see my big belly. I just smile back.

Block Party Outreach

Today was outreach day and our group did several different things in the community of Bluffton. One team helped with painting at the elementary school. Another team did spiritual surveys in a neighborhood. And we went with the team to do a block party at a lower income neighborhood. It was so fun and we had a great turn out of kids. We had snow cones, popcorn, a moonwalk, face painting, and games. There was some neat conversations with the kids and moms as well.

The most popular spot:)

David showing Carson how to spin around the bat for the relay race

Go boys!

Carson was very into it!

Spa Night

Last night for women's time we had a spa night and talked about biblical beauty versus worldly beauty. We had different "stations" to get different beauty treatments. We also had yummy desserts and sparkling grape juice. It was a fun and relaxing time as we enjoyed being girly. I had Bryn with me so it was fun being girly with her too. Here a few shots of our time.

The massage station....my favorite place!

Manicure station

Bryn's first pedicure:) She sat still the whole time....probably confused why mommy was painting her toenails pink!

Look at those pretty pigs!

Play Date with Good Friends

This week the kids and I had a play date with 2 of my friends from college and their kids. We met at Brandy's house in the morning and let the kids play while we tried to have uninterrupted conversation...good luck with 6 kids in the room:) This is the first time seeing my friend Joy as a mom. Her little boy, Avery, is 2 months old and so precious. She is a great mom and so fun...I miss her! The last time I had seen Joy was at her wedding. It was a fun and crazy time.

We all went to Moe's for lunch....6 kids and 3 moms...we're crazy!

Celebration Night

Monday night is our celebration night and it's always a fun time of fellowship, eating, games, singing, and time in God's word. Here are some pics from this last Monday.

Claire shared her salvation testimony and it was so neat to hear of God's saving grace in her life.

Carson participating in the fun game with the group

Bryn looking on wondering what in the world everyone is doing

Go Buby!