Emma and Eli: June 2019

The Stranges truly had THE BEST June ever!  The highlight…by far…was June 5 when Eli prayed to receive Christ at our Kids Camp at Cedarcrest Church.  We have prayed for Eli’s salvation from the moment we first received his picture via email in our adoption referral.  We are so grateful for the partnership of North Cobb Christian School, Cedarcrest Church, and so many who have prayed with us and invested in our boy.  God has HUGE plans for our precious Eli and we are so excited to see those beginning to unfold!
Our June started with the week of Kids Camp at church followed by Emma heading off to camp for a whole week for the first time!  Woodlands is a camp that I have been going to for almost 20 years…starting with the student ministry I used to lead…and now NCCS groups for the last several years.  What a blessing to see my sweet girl heading off to make new friends when I dropped her off.  We REALLY missed Emma while she was gone, but we were so excited for what God was going to do in her heart during the time away.  We also REALLY enjoyed having just Eli at home for the first time ever.  He has grown up so much in the last several months and we really got to spend lots of special time with him.  Three evenings, he participated in a soccer camp here in Acworth and he loved it!  Eli also did Vacation Bible School at Burnt Hickory that week and enjoyed getting to make some new friends.  When I picked Emma up at camp on Friday, we made it back in time to surprise Eli and pick him up at VBS.  What a treat to have the dynamic duo back together again!  After lunch at Panera (my two crazies love Panera..and always order just a bagel and cream cheese), we surprised Emma and took her to get her ears pierced.  It was a special day and special week all around!
The following week was my first week off for summer break and the kids went to FCA Sports Camp at Northstar Church.  They had a great time and it was a great way to knock out a few home projects in the mornings.  We had some fun each afternoon too!  We ended up skipping the last day of camp and hit the road early to head to Memphis for a few days.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and stayed in Memphis until Wednesday morning.  We had a great time catching up with my mom, my sister, and her family.  My sister and her husband have three kids— a 6 year old daughter and 4 year old twins.  When we get the whole crew together…it’s loud and fun!  I’m always grateful for these times we can hang out and catch up.  We also enjoyed the chance to visit some favorite restaurants!
We arrived back home on Wednesday afternoon and then my mom flew down on Friday morning.  We picked her up at the airport and the kids and I showed her around Marietta Square and did some organizing because we all headed out for the Dominican Republic the next morning for a week!  The Strange crew, my mom, and Clint’s mom headed to the beach.  We had a great week!  Our trip was over 4th of July week and the staff at our resort went to great lengths to make it a really fun time!
I included several instagram posts below to give a glimpse into our month.  June…thanks for the memories!
June 3
Praying and believing that God has INCREDIBLE things in store for Kids Camp @cedarcrestchurch this week! Each evening we have the opportunity to share the gospel through the avenue of sports and arts so that kids can learn more about Jesus. Thanks for praying for us this week…it’s going to be an exciting time. I’m so grateful for the staff @cedarcrestchurch who have done a remarkable job putting everything together! All of the volunteers gathered yesterday to pray and go over details and we had a great time! #7000days
June 5
Hallelujah! Tonight @cedarcrestchurch Kids Camp, our son Eli prayed and asked Jesus to be the Lord of his life after Pastor Van shared the gospel. We have prayed for Eli to follow Christ since we first saw his picture on our adoption referral and when we first held him in our arms…and ever since then. So many of you have faithfully prayed with us. Thank you for rejoicing with us! God is faithful. Hearing Eli explain his decision makes it clear that God has been working on his 6 year old heart in a powerful way. Praying that the Lord would use Eli’s life in a powerful way for His glory! Revelation 3:20 #FLIPT#7000days
June 6
INCREDIBLE week @cedarcrestchurch Kids Camp! We have had the best time learning about what it means for our lives to be #FLIPTby Jesus. It’s been so fun to make lots of new friends and serve together with our church family. I’m so grateful for all of the volunteers this week…such a fun crew! And we seriously have the most amazing church staff on the planet! Servant leaders and tons of fun! Everyone will rest well tonight now that the week has wrapped up. Looking forward to a big celebration at church on Sunday! #7000days ?Featuring Unshakable by my friend @chriscolemanmusic
June 8
A few raindrops…errr inches of torrential rain….can’t stop our fun with @tritheparks! We had the best time this weekend serving with our Tri the Parks Friends! @clintstrange32 and Eli came with us for the first time and they fit right in our crazy crew. I’m so proud of all of our athletes that worked so hard to cross the finish line. We had a blast celebrating them all! #DoesAnyoneHaveATowel#TrulyHaveNeverBeenThatWetBefore#EvenWhileSwimming #7000days
June 10
Special day dropping our sweet girl off @WoodlandsCamptoday. Praying for an incredible week as she learns more about the amazing plans that God has for her life. The ultimate goal of this week is for Emma to come home loving Jesus more. What a treasure to be back at Woodlands after the Lord has done so much in my heart there through ministry with both Acworth UMC and @NCCSEagles over the past almost 20 years. Praying for @bigjonestes and his incredible team this week as they pour into these kids for the sake of the Kingdom. So grateful for these moments! #7000days
June 11
It was a beautiful evening for the @acworthparksandrecreation Soccer Camp as a part of their Summer Sports Camp series at Logan Farm Park. Eli had the best time making new friends and playing soccer! Precious moments with our boy! We can’t wait for two more nights of camp! #7000days@visitacworth
June 13
We are LOVING Camp Eli this week! This is the longest period of time that it’s just been Eli at home while Emma is off @woodlandscamphaving a great time. @clintstrange32had something to do last night, so Eli and I went out to dinner, to his soccer camp, and then wrapped up the evening with popsicles on the front porch. He even let me call it a date! He took my trash at dinner and held the door for me each time. We miss our sweet girl (Eli says he doesn’t)…and I can’t wait to hear all about her special week. I’m so grateful for this precious time with Eli! What a gift he is to our family! #7000days #ThatSmileMeltsMe
June 14
So good to have the Dynamic Duo back together again! Eli had an awesome time @burnthickorybaptist VBS “In The Wild” and @acworthparksandrecreation Soccer Camp this week. Emma had an UNFORGETTABLE time @WoodlandsCamp this week learning what it looks like to have Jesus as the solid foundation of her life. Thank you @bigjonestes and team for a powerful week! Emma is counting down the days until she can come back! #7000days@clintstrange32
June 16
Happy Father’s Day @clintstrange32! I’m so grateful for what an awesome Husband and Daddy Clint is. He is always the first to jump in and support anything our kids are interested in. Sometimes it’s things that are right in his wheelhouse like when Emma got interested in rowing (top left) or sometimes it’s just when Eli’s legs got tired when we were walking around Germany over Thanksgiving (bottom right). He is the first to give a lift and to make things intentional. I’m grateful that Emma and Eli have a glimpse of the love of their Heavenly Father because of the gift they have in their earthly Father. Clint is easy to celebrate and we do that today! Happy Father’s Day Clint! Can we take you to the @Braves game and out to lunch? #7000days
What a beautiful day to cheer on the @Braves and our @NCCSEagles Academy Singers as they did a beautiful job with the National Anthem. @ronaldacuna13@dansbyswanson and @austin_riley8LOVED it too! Way to go @amykwallaceand Academy Singers! So proud of you guys! #GoBraves #GoEagles#WeAreNCCS #NCCSFamily
June 24
Eli really seems to understand what summer break is all about. The king of relaxation. This pic is for all of you who wonder if he ever slows down. #MyBoy #7000days#Summertime
June 26
As we cruise back towards home, our hearts and bellies are full from our time in Memphis/Germantown having fun at #CousinCamp2019. Sleepovers at Mimi’s, WAY too much food, swimming, waterslides, laundry chutes, waterballoons, Girls day, lots of walks, shopping, summer school, scavenger safaris, jumping on beds, Memphis Pizza Cafe, Huey’s, cookouts, dinner with new friends, BBQ, Soul Fish, and on our way out of town early this morning…Gibson’s Donuts. Our time together is always too short…but oh so good for the soul. Such a treat to be back in my hometown with my mom, my sister, and her family. We never get to catch up with all the people we’d like to, but it’s always a treat to be back. Grateful for the story God is writing in our family by pointing us back to reminders of His faithfulness all along the journey! #7000days #Memphis#GoTigers
June 28
This summer our little guy has grown up so much. His legs and arms are getting so much longer. He is eating everything in sight. This morning…like many other mornings…he insisted that he can make his own breakfast without help. More than anything, it is so fun to watch his little personality continue to develop and to see him become more thoughtful and helpful. I’m so grateful God chose Eli to be such a blessing to our family. #7000days #ILoveMySon #Grateful
 

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