Final weeks of summer vacation

There's not a lot of news to write about it. Nicole's summer vacation is rapidly coming to an end. She'll start 3rd grade on August 18! This leaves us to say, "Where did the summer go?" We've enjoyed VBS, swimming, fishing, church fellowships, having grandparents visit, and a whole lot of nothing. But it's the latter that reminds us that we had more on our "summer fun" list than we actually accomplished. Such is life. One thing's for sure, we are enjoying these last days of Nicole's summer vacation with Jake the dog. Here's the latest cute shot of Nicole and her pup.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and please continue to pray for the ministry here.

Tie-Dying

Nicole recently discovered a tie-dying kit on clearance at Wal-Mart. By adding white t-shirts (also on clearance), she was ready for her first tie-dying experience! With Mom's help, Nicole created three beautiful shirts, proudly modeled below.

"Hey, where's my shirt?"

Puppy news and other things

Well, it's official. We are now "dog owners." Jake, the black lab pup, arrived in Pioche on Thursday of last week bringing with him Grandpa Gary and Grandma Sharon (Mitch's dad and wife) from Wyoming. Our cat, Callie, is tolerating him. When outside, Callie is content to be under the porch or under the car observing Jake from a safe distance. And since Jake lives outside (at least, for now), Callie very much appreciates that there is no need, at this point, to share her indoor home with him.

Jake has his own pool (a kiddie pool) but he is NOT spoiled! We're just helping him stay cool on hot days. Yes, he's chewing on everything but that's just what pups do. We're just trying to give him replacement things to chew on. He has been a lot of fun already and we're looking forward to watching him grow. And grow he will--can you see the size of those paws?

We have enjoyed Grandpa Gary's and Grandma Sharon's first visit to Pioche. Jane's parents are also in town again so we were able to see more of beautiful Nevada while the grandparents were all in town.

Mitch baptized four on Sunday and we had a high attendance that morning of 81! On Sunday evening we had a church fellowship at a nearby state park. We enjoyed eating together, playing volleyball, throwing horseshoes, and hiking. The kids enjoyed staying cool in the park's wading pool. We praise the Lord for the work He is doing here. Thanks for your prayers.

Swimming, fishing, and a new pup

Since the beginning of swimming lessons, Nicole has worked on perfecting her front and back strokes. This week, for the first time ever, Nicole learned how to dive into the deep end of the pool. Here she is showing you her new skill:

After swimming lessons today, Nicole experienced another first--catching a fish. She caught two rainbow trout (and Dad caught one)!

This past weekend Grandpa Gary and Grandma Sharon in Wyoming gave us some wonderful news. Their friend was willing to give them a black lab puppy for Nicole. This 10-week-old pup will soon be traveling with Grandpa and Grandma from Wyoming to Nevada. Nicole can hardly wait! (We're wondering how excited Callie the cat will be to meet this new member of the family!)

In church news, we praise the Lord that a young man accepted Christ recently. His older sister had recently joined the church after being a regular attender. We are also thankful for the six kids (three from VBS) who have attended the first of three new Christian's classes for kids. New Wednesday night Bible studies for ladies and men are beginning in a couple of weeks while the kids are looking forward to "Faith & Fun" nights. Mitch finished a series of sermons from the book of Jonah and is now doing a series on the incomparability of God. We praise the Lord for the work He is doing here!