On Thursday, we started off having a time of worship with fun songs, dancers, and a band. Then we were divided into three groups-probably 100-120 people in each group (kids, parents, and siblings). We went to three different stations. The first place we went to was Family Bible Charades. They had it set up like a tv game show, with cues for the audience to applaude and everything. There was a host of the show and 9 families from our group volunteered to play. It was fun to watch little kids and their parents act out Bible stories without saying anything.
We then went to Bible Scavenger Hunt. We had a list of things we had to find in the Bible and a list of things to find in the local newspaper. We then had to look up a bunch of verses that all had "food" words in the verse. Those were our ingredients for our snack that we had to go make. It was apples, honey, cream, and nuts. Boy, was it tasty!!!
Our last station was Jewish School. We sat on mats and we learned about the word "Shalom"-it means "peace", what school would have been like for Jesus, and about the Hebrew alphabet. We wrote on scrolls and practiced writing from the right to left (how Hebrew is written).
Tonight was the Bible Time Marketplace. The church gym was set up like an actual marketplace you might have seen in Bible times. There were 25 booths and an activity to do at each. You could make clay pots, make a broom, make jewelry, eat fruits, veggies, and bread, get a tunic and make your own sandals, play instruments, paint wood fish, weave placemats, make money pouches, etc. It was unbelievable all the fun stuff you could do. THEN, you could go outside where there were more booths set up. You could knead bread dough, make butter, make grape juice, eat fish sticks, carry buckets of water on your head, make crafts, and there was a petting zoo!!! They had a real camel, donkey and goats!!!! It was so cool!!! They also had a story time at "the mountain". They told the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and passed out goldfish and bread. 
It was so much fun to learn about Jesus and Bible times with Halle. Thankfully, we could enjoy it without worrying about Parker-they had childcare!!! We hopefully will take some things we learned and apply them at home. It was a great reminder that I have to get on top of things when it comes to having family Bible study times at home. Although Halle learns lots of great stuff at church, it is my responsibility as a parent to really teach her the Bible and what the Lord expects of her.
The first few days we were there, the weather was nice and warm. We spent the days in the pool swimming with cousins. We also spent time playing with side walk chalk, jump ropes, and riding bikes. We grilled out a bunch and did a lot of work around the house and yard.
One of the main reasons we went up to MI at this time was because my brother-in-law, Todd, graduated from high school and we wanted to make it to his "Open House". Many people, especially those that live down here in NC, don't know what an open house is. An open house is pretty much a big celebration party that the parents of the graduate hold, usually outside at their home. You invite everyone you know, have food of some sort, and people come during a specified time period to congratulate the grad and eat. It's super nice to see everyone you might not have seen in a long time, but the real reason to have one is to get money!!! Everyone that comes usually brings a card filled with money!!! I'm sure most parents spend WAY more hosting the huge party than what the graduate gets in cards, but it still super nice. The 
We also went riding on the horses. 
This is my mother-in-law and 
Today, we spent the morning with the DeLanges. We had pancakes for breakfast and then had our family church service down at Grandpa and Grandma Park's house. We then headed off to my parent's house for lunch. My grandparents, Aunt Terry, and Uncle Wes, Aunt Mel, and Rachel all came over too. My Uncle Wes and family are missionaries to the Dominican Republic and they are here visiting for the summer. It was nice to visit with them as I haven't seen them in a few years. In the afternoon, we all went outside and played with sidewalk chalk. We all laid downed on the ground and Halle traced the outline of our bodies and then we colored them in. 
We left at 7 am (I wanted to leave at 6:30) and drove, drove, drove. My goal was to get there as fast I could, and boy did I!! Our trip was so uneventful, it was wonderful. We didn't hit any traffic, storms, construction back-ups, nothing!!! And Halle and Parker were WONDERFUL!! I could tell that a lot of people must have been praying for us!! We only stopped twice, which is amazing considering I had two little kids with me. They slept, played, listened to music, and tried to watch dvds, but our laptop didn't want to cooperate. We made it into our hometown 12 hours later. When we hit the "Welcome to Michigan" sign, I yelled out a "yipee"!!! Unfortunately, we still had a little over 100 miles to go, but it was nice to know we had made it. 
Me and Parker
So, that was our first full day in Michigan. We are so thankful for all those who prayed for our safety and we can't wait to spend another 11 days here with our family!!!
Last night, after writing my post, reading a few others, and watching a little tv, I went in to check on Halle, who was asleep in bed. (Remember-she had not been feeling well all afternoon) She was on fire!! I made her get up and take her temperature and it was 103.5!!! So, her temp was obviously going up! When she went to bed it was around 101 and she had Tylenol. I made her get in a cool bath and gave her more medicine. I set the alarm and got up again at 4am. Her temp was thankfully going down by then. It was 102. When she got up at 10:30 this morning, it was down to 100. She unfortunately missed school (she only has one more day left) and her temp was right at 99 all day. This afternoon, she started to complain about having a sore throat. I looked in her mouth with a flashlight and her throat was super red!!! So, needless to say, she was diagnosed with strep throat and put on medicine. Her temperature has not gone below 99, even with Tylenol. She will probably miss her very last day of kindergarten tomorrow, but I am hoping to take her up there for a few minutes anyways to say goodbye to everyone. We are giving Parker the medicine too just to be on the safe side. Hopefully, this is all cleared up by Thursday, when we head out for MI.
