12, 150 minutes
How do you measure a summer ...
In bonfires, in Smo'res nights,
in night swims or snuggly movies.
How do you measure, measure a summer.

I'll spare you the attempt at a horrible re-construction of a truly great song. BUT be entirely sincere in saying that that's a lot of summer minutes. We averaged about 4.5 hours/day of children in the care of their teachers. We averaged about 6 days a week of attending Maranatha programming (some more, some less). When you do the math you wind up with a lot of contact minutes.

How were those minutes used ?? They were used to:

Snuggle my children with hugs and kisses and tell them how loved they are
Intentionally engage my kids in Biblical conversations about God as He applies to their lives
Teach my children how to relax and have fun (SO NECESSARY IN SOME CASES)
Model what it looks like to live for Jesus when you're a "big kid"
Present them with missions opportunities so their perspective of the world broadens
Encourage them to memorize scripture and hide it in their hearts
Connect with my kids, learn about what makes them tick and build into their lives
Give them ample opportunity to make amazing memories: bonfires, skit nights (that we are still listening to jokes from, most of which we don't fully understand), popcorn/pajama/movie night, tab performances filled with ice cream and popsicles
Teach them songs that flood our house for months and months and months afterwards.
And in Maddie's case ... teach her how to participate in an organized classroom and learn to trust others.

The end result ... there are pages and pages and pages of memories in our photo gallery that summarize the beauty of this summer (I honestly can't WAIT to make their summer canvas but I MUST finish Maddie's belated birthday book first) but no memory will be as dear to me as these two videos.

I debated posting these because a faith journey is so personal. And these are children - their faith journey will grow and it will change and I pray that it deepens, but it might not for a while.. But when I asked them if I could record their "testimony" for sharing, they were so eager. They wanted - to "tell the world" about who they know and what they've found.

So, thank you, teachers ... this year's teachers, last year's pre-K staff who laid an incredible foundation for them... and even the adventure staff and pool staff who helped build their trust and boost their confidence. All of you play a part in God's continuing work in our family's life. We truly can't thank you enough. Thank you for dedicating your summer to this season of love. You've made an eternal impact for those nearest and dearest to me.