S'More Great Fun!

On Friday, May 6, Lily's Brownie Troop went camping together for the first time and I was so excited that I got to go with her!  We left at 4:00 on Friday and headed to the Girl Scout Camp, Camp Tanasi, for a weekend of outdoor fun!  Since this was their first camping experience, we stayed in one of the cabins on site.  The girls got to do lots of crafts while they were there. 

I had fun painting Lily's feet for her bandanna.

She kept giggling and giggling!

The girls had so much fun just being together playing outside.

 When it got dark, it was time to build a campfire and have s'mores!

After eating lots and lots of s'mores we sang songs and took turns sharing our favorite things and our least favorite things.  When we came in, everyone got ready for bed and I got to read a bedtime story!  I chose, "Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping," and it was so cute! 

The next morning after a huge breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage the girls worked on a Mother's Day craft

and then we all took a hike on the trail called Raccoon Run.  The girls were excited!  Lily brought her special pink hiking stick that her Daddy got her for her 7th Birthday.

We were blessed with beautiful weather and the views were amazing!  Praise God, our almighty Creator! 

 The hike was over 2 miles long, but it was lots of fun and full of adventure! 

 The flowers were beautiful along the way.

With all the rain, there were some parts of the trail that were blocked by water so we had to go off trail a little bit. 

 Me and my sweet Lily!

We stopped halfway to enjoy a picnic lunch. 

Here are Lily and Kaitlyn Strunk.  They met when they were first born, but lost touch over the years.  I'm so happy that the LORD brought them back together through the Brownie Troop. 

Hiking up the hill to the barn was hard work, but we were happy to find the horse barn we had been looking for!  Thank you, Jonathan for telling me to bring a map!

 We were so happy to see this sign!

The girls (and Mommies!) had "Turtle Time" when we got back so we could rest up for the rest of our busy day.

Such sweet friends!

 We are so proud of you, Lily!

The girls went out to gather 4 sticks to make a picture frame:

 We split up into two groups and went on a short hike to see the large Tree House:

 Under the tree house was a place to learn how to tie different knots. 

Kendal and Lily have become such sweet friends through the Brownie Troop.   

 Troop 20355!!! 

 After the tree house, we took a hike to the Observation Tower.  On the way we saw the platform tents just like I stayed in at Camp White Rock when I was a Girl Scout!

 Another gorgeous view!

 Lily enjoyed looking through binoculars.

Before supper, the girls all worked on friendship bracelets.

We ended the night with yummy ice cream sundaes!

 We were sad that it was time to leave, but thankful for the wonderful time together!

Thank you, LORD for my precious daughter, Lily, and the special time you allow us to share together! 

It was wonderful to get away from all of the busyness and to just take time to enjoy God's blessings and His amazing creation.  Can't wait to go camping again!

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to [the disciples], "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

Mark 6:31

Something New

Hi blog readers!  After much prayer, Jonathan and I have decided to make our family blog private so that it is not easily accessible to everyone in the outside world.  We would like some privacy into the everyday living of our growing family and also want to protect our sweet blessings.  If you would like to continue following our blog, please contact me through e-mail:  jbuhlx2@frontiernet.net and I will send you an invitation that will allow you access.  I hope you will understand our decision. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life.  He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death.  Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children.  These blessings are kept for you in heaven.  They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. 
1Peter1:3-4

The Fruit of the Spirit

Friday night, April 29th, was bittersweet for our family.  We were so excited to see our Katybug perform on stage in her Spring Musical, "The Fruit of the Spirit," but were also sad that this was our last time at West Hills Baptist Church Preschool.  We have been part of the WHBC PreS family for 5 years and have loved every minute of it.  But, it is time to have all of our children at home together!  Here is our Katybug in her school T-shirt:

The stage is always decorated so cute for the musicals:

Each class sang two songs.  Katy's class sang "Peace Like a River" and "Standing in the Need of Prayer."

 Then all the classes came back for the finale and sang a Bible medley of songs: 

We are so proud of you, Katybug, and are praising God for how much you have grown this school year, not just physically, but spiritually too!  Can't wait to have you home with us at Buhl Academy!

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...

Galatians 5:22-23

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Basketful of Goodies!

We love doing Easter Baskets for the kids every year.

Usually I come up with a theme for all the baskets, but this year I personalized each individual basket.   

Lily's theme for her basket was "Julie!" (Her American Girl)

Maddy's theme was "Silverlicious!"

Katy's theme was "Tangled!"

And Parker's theme was "choo-choos!"

We had a fun filled morning before going to worship our Risen Savior at FBC Powell with our church family!

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:8-11

Horsin' Around!

On Saturday, April 16, Lily's Brownie Troop was given a special treat because of all of their hard work selling Girl Scout Cookies.  They celebrated with a pony party!  It was held at Pony Party in West Knoxville.  Although it was freezing cold, windy, and very muddy the kids had the best time.  Jonathan was away on a Deacon's Retreat, so I got to spend the day with our sweeties.  Here are some pictures from our party:

 The kids got to brush and "decorate" a pony with stickers and clips!

Our Troop Leaders picked out the cutest cake for the party! 

Sweet Brownies and friends!

We had a wonderful time of fellowship at the Pony Party! 

How good and pleasant it is when brothers can live together!
Psalm 133:1