Thanksgiving in July: A Letter of Thanks to the Youth of FMUMC

So today our house was invaded by pirates. Not the Johnny Depp kind mind you, but none other than the most feared pair of pirates that ever sailed the high seas: dread pirate Taylor and her first mate, Connor (aka "The Sea Monster").

This attack was the latest in a series of escalating stand-offs between Taylor and the kids. Water guns were drawn, water bombs were launched, sides were chosen, and sadly, tears were shed. All in all though, it was great fun for the kids.

                                                 

    

 

Which brings me to my point. For some years now, we've had the pleasure of getting to work with the youth at FMUMC. During that time, we've been amazed at the way those kids have taken our children underneath their wings and made them feel so special. There's been so many kindnesses here, it's getting really hard to keep up with them all. Some highlights:

• Special "date nights" with the Stacy, Drew and Sarah.
• A snow day in January in which the kids were invited to participate in a "big kid" snowball fight.
• Paige's birthday party in which the entire youth gave up a Saturday night in September to come celebrate with Paige.
• Game nights in which the kids were allowed to jump in and play no matter what the stakes.
• And who can forget that afternoon in May when Taylor hid in some brush like a stealth ninja to ambush the kids with water guns on their way home from school.

It's simply been amazing. And now we're seeing these kindnesses extended to Parker and Xander, too. For two shy kids coming to grips with a crazy new world, it's meant the world for them to have so many warm and friendly faces greeting them each week and making them feel like they belong.

So to all of you youth (and youth alumni/parents) reading this, a hearty thanks from two parents that really appreciate all you do and more importantly, who you are. You have given so much of yourselves to our children, and did it purely out of the kindness and generosity of your hearts. Andrea and I (and the kids) are so lucky to have you all in our lives.

Our First 4th July Together

We have had a wonderful time celebrating the 4th of July this year as a family of 6!  Parker and Xander have loved being a part of all of the festivities.

We started off the celebration with a test run of fireworks out on the lake last week to see if the boys would enjoy them... they did :-)

Parker LOVED tubing!

Then we tried to get a group picture of the kids in their festive patriotic outfits...that was what kids these days are calling an "epic fail"...

                              

Last night we all had a great time at the concerts in the garden in Fort Worth.  The symphony plays some lovely patriotic music and they end with a fun fireworks show.

 

 

And today the boys enjoyed the parade and a fun BBQ and swimming with friends...

and now they are exhausted from all of the excitement...