Visiting Family

Cole and I just got back from visiting my sister-in-law and nephew while they were up from Alabama. We all met up in Michigan at Jake's parents' and had a wonderful time. Cole and Leto hit it off right away. I am still shocked at how they remember each other so well, even though they don't get to see each other often. Now that Rachael and Leto have moved back to Alabama, we'll be lucky if we get to see each other more than once a year, I think. But Cole and Leto seem to have formed a bond that is strong...and it was evident in their loving and fighting with each other!

We took the boys to John Ball Zoo one day toward the end of our trip. The animals were active for the most part, although I can't say the same for Cole....he fell asleep in the stroller only 20 minutes into our time there! Leto had fun petting the pygmy goats and making the "ooh ooh" sounds at the monkeys.

Mostly, we just enjoyed the Michigan weather. Even though we're only in Indiana, it has been much hotter here than in was in West Michigan last week. We even bundled up in sweatshirts and jeans a couple of nights! We let the boys play in Grandpa and Grandma's back yard, exploring in the garden patches (thankfully with nothing planted in them this year), visiting the pony and goat next door, splashing in the pool, and playing in their homemade sandbox.

For the moms, it was nice to just not have any responsibilities outside of the boys for a bit of time. And really, the boys entertained each other so much, we didn't have that much work to do with them either! Rachael and I enjoyed a girls night out with Emily, Jake's youngest sister, where we did something wild....well, wild for me anyway! We went to a tattoo parlor and got our noses pierced! YES! Can you even believe it? I, Megan Manne, have my nose pierced. It's only a teeny tiny stud, so you can't see it incredibly well....actually, people at church didn't even notice until I pointed it out to them! But it was so much fun and I guess is my rebellious thing to do right now....how much more rebelling can a 24 year-old wife of a youth pastor and mother of a 15 month-old really handle anyway?

Well, that's all I'll leave for you for now....enjoy the pics of the boys!

An Update from Cole

Just wanted to give you a quick update on Cole too, as I know a lot of people like to check out his latest pictures! He is so much fun at the "old age" of 14 months! He says quite a bit, but his clearest words are "Hi" and "Ball". When we walk in the house he says, "Hi, kitty!" It is really fun to be able to communicate with him a little more. The top picture is his "C-Diddy" outfit....basketball shoes with no socks, saggy shorts and Dad's winter hat! He was very impressed with himself!

Cole and Jake treated me to a nice Mother's Day dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Chicago. I love this picture that Jake took of the two of us outside of the Water Tower.
Also....new addition to our family!! My sister and brother-in-law had Anthony Joel on April 4th. He is such a sweetie pie...this picture is from this past weekend. He is growing so quickly already and smiles and laughs.....so so fun!!!

How Can I Keep From Praising?

Well, I just have to stop and praise God for all He is doing in our lives right now! Jake and I have been seeing the Lord work in our lives in special ways in the last few weeks...really since we went to Canada on the WILD trip. We learned a lot throughout that week and are so thankful to the people who were in our group. We were able to be honest with this group of newfound friends who were no more than strangers a few days before. And in that honesty, we learned a lot about ourselves and the things that we have been allowing in our lives that have been hindering us from even greater fellowship with God.

Also, a huge prayer request was answered through that trip as God provided a mentor for Jake and me in the man who created these trips years ago. He is someone who is so wise, I can't even begin to describe him. But tears roll down my face every time I think of how God put us on this man's heart all week, unbeknownst to us. We now have someone that we can trust and learn from and he's right at our fingertips, thanks to our wonderful friend, the Internet!

We just found out that our dear friends arrived in Nairobi, Kenya safely along with their luggage, which is a huge blessing. They are preparing to leave Kenya at the end of June to head for their new home of Sudan where they will be missionaries. Thankfully, they are seeing God's hand in their lives every step of the way and we are so happy for them that they are now home.

God is just so awesome, and I think that I don't often enough take the time to just praise Him....not analyze Him or talk about Him, but just to praise Him and thank Him for His everflowing love upon us. So, it's short and sweet, but that is my thought for the day!