What a gift!

This past week, a woman from our church gave a generous gift of using her time share in the Poconos!  We went up to the house for two days by ourselves for some much needed time away together.  It was nice to be out in nature and enjoy the quiet of the outdoors.  We did some hiking and swimming and simply relaxing.

On Tuesday Emily's mom, Limaris, and the five nieces and nephews joined us!!

We stayed until Friday and had a blast.  We went swimming every day.  They had an indoor pool that was perfect for the little ones and an outdoor pool that the bigger kids loved.  We had a BBQ and even played another family in a game of volleyball.  I was blessed by the kids and their singing.  Gigi, who is 3, doesn't do anything quietly and so when she sings she belts it out.  We were sitting by the pool while they were swimming and she starts with, "He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save!!!!" (one of her favorites)

Another fun thing that was a surprise to us was that the house had a jacuzzi tub!  The kids enjoyed taking a "hot tub bath" when they came back from the swimming pools.  They were lovin' it!!!

Limaris wasn't sure she wanted to come this week.  She hadn't been feeling well, but it worked out and she really enjoyed herself.  This was a great time for the kids to get out of the city and for us to have some family time together without all the extra drama.  Jonerik's other sister was working so we missed having her there, but we are happy that she is doing well at her job.

We were so grateful for such a generous gift from God and from this individual because it was perfect timing.  

We are back in the city now and I was again reminded of how needy our community is.  I am moved at the spiritual darkness around us.  Trash covering the streets, graffiti all over the place, drug corners peppered all over the neighborhood, and children roaming the streets.  But God is moving and is making himself evident in our family's lives and we are praying that He will continue to move mountains.