Two Independence Days

The Fourth of July was a wonderful day! :) I love celebrating our freedom and I love being patriotic but there were extra fun elements to our day. We decided to go to the party in Tonopah because we figured it wouldn't be as crowded as those in Glendale or Tolleson. Come to find out, it was perfect! It was very small town-ish and yet the fireworks display was fantastic!! I was really impressd!! They had bounce houses and water slides for the kids along with bingo and music for the adults. Admission was free and the rides were $5 for unlimited! It was great! It seemed like a down-home 4th of July! :) And we met another family that has a boy Nathan's age who live close by and we traded numbers. I hope we can get together soon.

Today Nathan and Chloe took their placement tests for their school. Nathan did well because he can read above grade level. Chloe hasn't learned to read yet, and, at Michelson, was doing fabulously! This test however, asked Chloe to read and spell words will playing, house and learn!!!! I was shocked! The ladies proctoring the test mentioned that most of the other kids taking the test for first grade were overwhelmed and couldn't finish the test. They said that if she wanted to stop at any time, it was perfectly okay. I was so proud of Chloe. At one point, she broke into tears but she kept going. I asked her if she wanted to quit, and with tears rolling down her face she shook her head no and skipped on to the next question. She did so well. At the end, when she was finally completely overwhelmed (at this point, they were asking her to read complete paragraphs and answer questions about them) when she finally said she'd had enough, the ladies told her that she had done better than any other first grader and that they were really proud of her. I was proud too. Very proud. :)

Along that line, we had a very important event here yesterday. We finally went to a church. It is called The Rock and it isn't in a church building, its in the community center of a subdivision. The worship was crazy good! We heard an associate pastor speak because the real pastor was out of town. The kids program was good too from what I heard from the kids. They watched a new Veggie Tales movie, did worship, and played a game. When I went to pick them up, Chloe told me that she had to go talk to 'the girl' because this was her first time. I figured that they wanted to talk to the newcommers. Apparently, that wasn't the case. Later I learned that during the singing, the worship leader said a couple words and gave the kids the opportunity to accept Christ. Chloe raised her hand and prayed the prayer to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The worship leader asked that if anyone had prayed that prayer to come talk to her after service. So, Chloe, always the one to follow directions, went to talk to her. Chloe was given a little book that answers some questions and then the lady came out and introduced herself to me and told me that Chloe had accepted Christ. I was floored. I don't think I really said anything and I didn't say anything to Chloe about it for the rest of the day. I was processing. And dealing with my feelings... She's not my first baby to accept Christ. Nathan did it at Vacation bible school last summer. But this one was different for some reason. I think it is because Nathan is very verbal about his belief. Chloe is quieter and more thoughtful. I know that she was really touched and took her decision very seriously. So, this was a celebration weekend - not only of our nation's freedom, but also of Chloe's! :)

I can't even begin explain how my heart rejoices at knowing that my children love God. I pray for their little hearts daily that they will be protected from all the influences and dangers around them. I am so thankful that they are starting their lives knowing that God loves them and that their parents love them. I do love them... My little babies. Especially my little Chloe.