Chapter thirteen: First Crush, and end of GA

I'm afraid it's true. Jon David fell for a girl in the third grade this summer at Chattahoochee Valley church. The first time he mentioned her was after church on Wednesday night. He said that a girl named Madeline was outside on the playground, and that she was afraid of a bug on the ground. He walked up and smashed it for her, as I recall. According to him, she was very grateful. Classic knight in shining armor. ;)
Then, he talked about her in the evenings after super camp. I started to get pretty suspicious one day when I asked him what his favorite part of the day was, and he said that it was when the veggietales movie was over, and the lights were turned on, and he could see Madeline. Yea. He nick-named her "gir gir" for girlie girl.
Here is a quote from July 4th: "Madeline is the girl that I used to call "gir gir" and that I really like. I spy on girls that I like..." Oh dear!
I don't know how many times he asked me to print some pictures out for him that I had taken of her:
Chattahoochee Valley Church made quite an impression on Jon David and Luke. But especially Jon David. He even prayed that God would let him start going to church there. Everyone was super friendly and took us right in. And of course, there was Madeline. ;)
Here are a few pics of the kids singing songs on the evening of the Fourth of July: our last time to come to church on Sunday night. Tears were shed when it was over.
Sweet Jon David. He's got some drama in him, that's for sure.
Even Caleb enjoyed himself! Mrs. Diane took such great care of him!




Above: notice both of my older boys watching Madeline. In their defense, she was sort of "leading" the group that night I think.

And here they are with the famous Mr. Benny!! The incredible children's minister. The children's ministry here is outstanding!

And the rest of our time here in Columbus, Georgia... more fun, making it sad to leave!


BeePops had the FABULOUS idea of taking the older two boys to flat rock park. Here is some video footage. Way to go BeePops!







But despite all of the fun, nothing could replace Daddy. It started getting to all of us after a while: him being gone so long. Here are a few quotes:
Jon David at prayer time one night: "Thank You for helping the time pass quickly until Daddy comes home."
One day, Luke had a sad face and said that he missed Daddy.
Another day while we were skyping, Luke was struggling. He seemed upset. Unfortunately, he and Jon David had been arguing previously. I asked him if he was sad because he missed Daddy, and he said yes. He kept his face down low. Afterwards, I discovered him in the family room, sitting in the big chair. He simply said "Daddy's been gone for like ten thousand years!" :(
Luke at prayer time: "Please help me not to worry about Daddy taking a long time to come home."
As a side note that doesn't belong in the margins, Luke often prays for wisdom, power, and that God will help him not to do any sins, and that God will help him to be like God, and follow Him.
Lord, please help me to remember this when I start wondering when I'm going to be able to afford to decorate my house like I want to... Forgive me, Lord.
Oddly, we don't have any pictures of Don's return home. We were all so excited. The twenty-four hours following his return were filled with hugs, kisses, souvenirs, and more hugs and kisses. Oh, and sleep, and packing for the beach. ;)