If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

This summer at KIVU, we have 2 big dance songs and they are to 2 of Justin Bieber's most fun songs.  Well, it just so happens that the Braner children are HUGE Justin Bieber fans. . . .  Oh my!  So, last night Dax got VERY excited to get up on stage and BE Justin Bieber.  He was thrilled (he even put on Maggie's jeggings for the occasion)!  The sad part of the story is that the guy who promised him stage time changed his mind, much to Dax's dismay, but the picture above is Dax before he got the bad news!  I love my boy!!!

Today we headed to Durango Mountain Resort with the Blackwells. It was a SUPER family day (minus Hays because he is a camper at Kivu this week). We all had the best time together! So fun! Gabby has been trying to break the 30 pound mark all year just so she could do the bungee trampoline up at Purg...she made it...32 pounds for the big jumping day! This is a close-up of Dax's face way up there.  Hysterical!

Gabby (aka "Wall-E") and Rae Rae are having the very best time together. The argue and bicker like a couple of old hags, but they laugh and play and have the best time nevertheless! Enjoy the pics. . .lots and lots of pics!

Our friends from Branson, the Blackwells, are here for the week and we are all so super excited! We've been having a blast and the weather has been perfect! Enjoy the pictures! This was Dax & Tiki on moving day...they were watching TV like this.  Brothers. Look closely and you can see Gabby's butterfly she raised from a worm-ish thing. Yes, they caught a mouse.  Our girls!

Happy Birthday, Maggie!  Oh my!  This picture (above) is one of my favorites. . . Maggie being Maggie. . .just enjoying life regardless of what is going on. Ten years ago today. . .just like today. . .camp was starting, I had tons on my plate. . .woke up very early in labor, but I had too much to do!  I went through the camp motions. . .leadership meeting and breakfast. . .by the time breakfast was over, Andy had had enough and he wisked me to the hospital.  Good thing, because Maggie showed up in a hurry. Maggie. . .how do I describe her?  There really aren't adequate words.  She is Maggie.  There is no one like her and no words can really describe who she is.  She is sweet and thoughtful.  She spends most of her time in her own little world--Planet Maggie we call it.  She is an amazing sister (big and little) and a great daughter.  She has a gentle spirit and yet she is so fun-loving! I enjoy Maggie so much!  I am so thankful that God gave her to me and made her exactly

Last night I had a huge "ah-ha!" moment!  Andy was preaching to our staff about sin.  He was preaching from John 8. . .the story of the woman caught in adultry and the accusers with the rocks. . . remember that story. . ."let he who is without sin cast the first stone."  I've read that story a zillion times.  I've heard sermons on that story many times.  I've even heard Andy preach on John 8 recently. Well, further along in his talk he moved to Luke 15. . .another Bible story I am even more familar with. . . the son who asked his father for his inherritance and then squandered it and then returned home to an overjoyed father. . . . Well, at the end of the story of the Prodigal Son. . .after the father has picked up his robe to run down the lane to greet this wayward son and after the father has put the finest robe on his son and given him the family ring and killed the fattened calf and thrown a huge WELCOME HOME party, the story shifts focus to the

I just found these pictures of Gabby from our KIVU Barn Dance last week.  She is hysterical!!!  She is at BeBe and PaPa's house for a long weekend and they are having a blast with her!  She is going to come back SPOILED ROTTEN (and that's okay. . .every child should be at some point)!  Enjoy the pics!

It is beautiful here!  The kids are loving playing in the water!  Enjoy the pics!