Church Picnic!

We had our church picnic a little later in the season this year........and were gifted with gorgeous weather! Due to too many vacationing members (where are your priorities people?.....:) ) earlier in the summer, we had to cancel and reschedule in Sept. They graciously waited until we returned from Ont., even though it meant that some of the planners themselves had to miss (thanks Betty and Bernie!!). It was a day of fellowship, of enjoying each other's company, of catching up with some that had been away, time to laugh and share a meal.

The first game was for the wee ones. They had to line up and run to their dads - with a little coaxing. Yvetta got there too late for the race itself and was rather startled to be handed a prize without even competing :) But a lolipop goes a long way in soothing disappointments, so I don't think she gave it a second thought!

(my pics are a little out of order, but you can see Yvetta getting her sucker in the top pic.......Alison spent the entire afternoon handing these out and taking a rather sinister delight in the fact that we'd all be returning home with children full of sugar.....;)

I can tell by Yvetta's stance in this picture that she's loving being with the "big" girls. She's got her eye on Naomi, who kindly spent most of the afternoon with her, holding her hand and showing her a good time :)

Watching the excitement......

We've walked a few of our kids through the relays over the years......so I know exactly what's going on in this shot :)

'Vetta and Naomi.

Henry getting right in on the game of football that the guys were playing. I love it when the men make a point of developing relationships with our young men - opens the doors for the "older men teaching the younger men" in everyday type interaction. Such a treasure, our interaction with one another!

I think Andrew had purpose up there in the tree. I think. :)

Parent/teen relay. Most of the pictures were very unflattering as the contestents had to do some sort of odd looking hip-swing to knock a ball off a post. Don't work too hard to picture this in your head if you weren't there. Just come over sometime and we'll laugh at the pictures...... ;)

A lineup of beauties :) Outward beauty, yes, but I'm seeing lots of inner beauty, too, as I get to know these girls better.

Our newest of members - Caleb! I wonder if they'll nickname him "Cabes" like we've done with our Caleb? This mommy/baby picture tugs at my heart.

Sweet Max. Almost always has a smile. I caught him in a pensive moment. Strapped to his mom's back, all is well with the world.

The "big" girls and Yvetta. Thank-you for inviting her into your group - she's very happy there!

I Love Church Picnics :)
(Cher)