Sprinkler

I remember summers as a kid when my brother and I would run through the sprinkler in the backyard. It just seems like such a simple way to cool off and enjoy some water! We thought it was time to introduce Michael to some classic summer toys...a bowl of water, a plastic cup, and the sprinkler!

He was a little frightened by the flying water at first, but got used to it after getting wet! He played with his daddy for quite a while and enjoyed trying to catch water in his cup! 

Michael loves being outside doing ANYTHING! He is loving the summer since he's able to have some time with the outdoors AND so much time with Mommy and Daddy!

Hilton Head Island

This beach trip was the best! Sam and I usually make quick trips to the beach and only have 1 or 2 days to enjoy it. However, we spent 5 days at the beach this time! Somebody write that down...I think it's a record for us!

We went to the best beach in America - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. We stayed in an ocean view condo right on the beach! We loved spending time on our balcony watching the waves roll in and watching the sunrise (one morning). My sister-in-law, Anna, her husband Elliot, and their beautiful daughter, Maylin, joined us for a couple of nights. We always love spending time with them and Michael really enjoys playing with Maylin. They are getting so close in size now, so it's more fun for the both of them!

Each morning, Sam would go out early to set up our tailgating tent and claim our spot on the beach. Then, we would all head out around 10:00 to spend a couple of hours in the sunshine! The tent provides GREAT shade for the kids and for us if we need a break from the sun. Michael did so good playing with his sand buckets under the tent, so we didn't have to worry about him getting sunburned. But, he did have his SPF 50 on, just in case! :)

We would head in around lunch time to grab a bite to eat and let Michael take his nap. We kept our tent set up so that we could go back out to the beach in the afternoon for some more time with the sun and sand!

Each night, we would go out for dinner. There's also a really fun place called Harbor Town that we like to visit. We enjoy looking at all the yachts and dreaming about owning one. Ha! There's also live music and really cute shops to look at!

The Borgs just love the beach! We're already looking for some free days in our schedule to maybe go down there again (that would be one of those quick trips)! Can you believe that summer is coming to an end? We have less than 2 weeks before school starts back up again!  Crazy!

Ok....here's our trip in pictures! There are a lot of pictures in this post, but I had such a hard time narrowing it down to just these!

The view from our balcony

Our setup on the beach - The shade was so nice, but notice my chair in the sun!

Michael loves the sand!

Michael and Maylin (looks like Michael was ready for a nap!)

Anna, Elliot, and Maylin

The three of us in Harbor Town

The new tradition with the grandkids - sitting on this tree!

Mommy and Michael

Daddy and Michael

Love the sunset!

Dominican Republic - part 2

I arrived on the last day of the youth trip, just in time to meet the kids and then say goodbye. Our friends (who were also leaders on the trip) Kory and Alison stayed with us. Our plan was to spend a few days on our own doing some ministry, seeing some old friends in other cities, and having some beach time.

We started in Jarabacoa. Sam and I stayed at a hotel beside a river. Our breakfast was included, so we ate breakfast right beside the river. We had to get our energy from our omelets and bananas because day one was jam-packed with activities. 

It began with renting motorcycles to get to the start of a hike to a beautiful waterfall - Salta de Jiminoa Uno. The hike down was nice and easy and downhill. The hike up was a different story....STRENUOUS! I've never done something that physically exhausting in my life! However, it was worth it to see this view!

Then, we drove to another place to hike to another waterfall - Salta de Jiminoa Dos. This hike was not as difficult. We did have to walk across suspension bridges, though. That was slightly frightening.

We then ate dinner with some of Alison's Dominican friends. Kory and Alison got quite a surprise when they were asked to speak at the church service that night! They're such troopers because they didn't even fear that they couldn't speak fluent Spanish. They got their point across saying "Yo amo a Jesus" - I love Jesus! The Dominicans knew their purpose for being there!

The next day we were off to a new city...San Juan de la Maguana. Our friends Miguel and Kristen live there and own an apartment in the city. They were in the United States while we were there, so we got to stay in their apartment. What a blessing! Sam and I love staying there because we really get a taste of the Dominican life. We have to cook our own food and clean the house and do laundry Dominican style and hang it up to dry!

We always find random Dominican taxi drivers to rent motorcycles from. We taught Kory and Alison the new tradition and we were off to one of our favorite spots..."La Presa" - The Dam. We love taking in the gorgeous scenery as we look at the plush mountains. And when we finally get to the dam, we get to cool off in the river! The daredevil in Sam enjoys finding high surfaces from which to jump, but I make the excuse of "watching our stuff" to stay close to shore!

After San Juan, we left on a bus to finish our trip relaxing at a resort on the beach. I was so enthralled with the ocean and the volleyball and the sunbathing that I only took one picture on our last night. This is Sam and I with our friends Kory and Alison. We had so much fun with them!

Dominican Republic - part 1

Since Sam and I are both teachers, we have the whole summer to do whatever we want! Usually, there is a good chunk of time devoted to missions in the Dominican Republic. Since we've been married, we've spent time in Peru, Mexico, and the DR. However, Sam is in love with the Dominican culture and the Dominican people, so it's really the only place we go to now.

Last summer, we didn't travel anywhere because we were waiting around for little Michael to get here and then spending all our time with him once he decided to arrive. Now that Michael was a year old, we thought he would be OK for us to travel. Sam was there for almost 3 weeks and I went for just a week. (The original plan was to take Michael with us to the DR, but after a lot of thinking, we thought it would be too hard on him. It gets SO hot there and he doesn't quite understand how to "suck it up". He also wouldn't have had his one year vaccinations, so we didn't want to risk him getting a disease. AND, we would have had to carry a truck-load of stuff just for him. That would have been slightly stressful.)

Sam led a youth group trip with some friends of ours from Indiana. We first met this youth group when we led a trip for them 3 years ago. They wanted to go to the same city and work with the same pastor and see the same people, so Sam helped that happen! The trip was 10 days long and the group has some excellent stories to tell! God used them so much to bring his love to the people in Moca, DR. I could go on and on about some of their encounters, but I will tell just a couple.

Sam and a couple of the youth were out going door to door. (Side note: Door to door ministry is widely accepted in the DR. The people are very relational and they love having you in their home to talk about anything. They are very open to hearing about the Gospel and hearing Truth.) So, they encountered a lady who had a very mentally disabled son. This son was locked up in a back room chained to the wall. People thought that he was demon possessed and they wanted Sam and the youth girls to pray for him and pray the demons out of him. Sam did not know the truth about this man, but everyone needs prayer, so they did just that. They decided that they were going to cover him in prayer and in God's love.

Sam had to approach the man like he was five years old. He was very timid and afraid at the sight of Americans in his home. Sam started the prayer like he was praying with a child and then it eventually grew to a more serious, deep prayer. The man was crying and in awe that someone was showing him love and compassion. They talked to the man and asked him "Do you love Jesus?", "Do you know that He made you?", "Do you know that Christ is King?". All the man could answer was a simple "Si" (yes). They tried to get him to speak the name of Jesus, but he couldn't get the words out.

When Sam and the group left his house, the mother of the man was overwhelmed with the love that was shown to her son and the son just sat and watched the group with a smile on his face. He was a changed man. He heard the Gospel and heard the name of Jesus and was shown love through Sam and the other youth. They were Jesus to him.

There are so many other stories, but it would take up many more blogs. The theme of the week was teaching the youth group to be warriors for Christ and to hate sin just like Jesus hated sin (think the story of Jesus in the temple). They learned a lot on this trip and they were able to grow closer to Christ as they shared his love and shared his Gospel with the Dominican people.

Michael's First Birthday

We cannot believe that it has been one year already! Michael has grown and learned so much in a year! Sam and I are so blessed to be his parents and we look forward to many more birthdays with our little Michael Man!

Michael's birthday was on Thursday, July 9th. We just got home from the Dominican Republic the day before, so we just celebrated at home with some cake and our friends Jacob and Robin. We plan on having a big party sometime soon so that all the grandparents and our friends can be there! So, we're celebrating his birthday all month long!

Here's some pictures of Michael enjoying his first taste of the good stuff...CAKE! He was really most interested in the vanilla icing. I don't think he even got one bite of cake because he was licking his fingers so much.

Here's some stats on Michael after one year of life:

-He unofficially weighs 22 pounds - We haven't had our 1 year checkup yet!

-He's walking like a champ and enjoys getting chased around the house.

-He smacks his lips when he sees some food that he would like to taste.

-He's now drinking out of a sippy cup.

-He really enjoys facing forward in his big boy carseat!

-His vocabulary consists of "gur" (Sugar), "bah" (ball), "bah bah" (bye bye)

-He's calling Sam "dada", but doesn't call me "mama" even though he says the word.

-With a room full of toys, he still loves cell phones, remote controls, and water bottles the best!

-He's sleeping 12 hours  a night...praise the LORD!

-His favorite foods are sweet potatoes and fruit...the sweet stuff.

-He would rather throw his food on the floor or feed it to Sugar than put it in his mouth. This can be quite frustrating!