First Week of School

Our first week of school went really well. Savannah and Amaris are awesome little students. They learned so much just in the first week of school and are excited about having tests every week. We didn't do tests last year, but this year I am making up tests each week to give them from what we learned during the week. My plan is to give them the test on Monday from what they learned the previous week. I can't believe how much info. we covered in just one week. I came up with 29 questions for their test tomorrow. They might decide tests aren't as fun as they imagined they were.

Jadon did awesome with his school work too. He stuck with it Monday - Wednesday and then by Thursday decided he needed to watch cartoons instead. I was fine with that since I was going to attempt getting two days of school work done with the girls because we took Friday off to go visit my friend and her new baby. I think I'll just stick with 3 days a week with Jadon so he doesn't get sick of doing school every day.

Here are the kids and their school books....


Here are some pictures of the kids and my parents new camper. They can't wait to go on a real camping trip in it.

Trying out their new fishing poles..............

Friday will be Savannah and Amaris' first day of P.E. - Bowling! We joined a homeschool group and every Friday they have P.E. For the month of September it is Bowling. Savannah is super excited about October's P.E. - Soccer!

So much to do!

Well, we are supposed to start school on Monday, and I have so much to do to get ready. We are all really excited to get started though. I love teaching the kids and they are such great students. So far they all seem to have a love for learning which is so awesome. Today when I told Jadon I was taking him and Bethany to the Library he said, "Yay, the library." Then at one point while he was waiting for us to checkout he spontaneously went over to Bethany and gave her a kiss and then me a kiss. Then Bethany gave me a kiss. They are so cute and sweet. Oh, and Jadon had to check out the Arthur book about underwear. Not sure what the storyline is, but Jadon thought it was so funny that the cover showed Arthur wearing underwear and no pants. He immediately snatched the book up and claimed it as his. :)

Savannah and Amaris are staying the night at my parents house in their new camper. They already stayed last night in it with Jadon too. They all had a great time and actually went to sleep with no problem. In September we are all going to go on a real campout in Bastrop. That should be fun. My parents bought all the kids little fishing poles and they practiced with them last night in the little swimming pool in my parents backyard. They thought that was pretty fun. They made a good habit of getting tangled up with one another or in a tree though. I can only imagine what real fishing will be like.

On Saturday Andy had the idea to go to Cabela's in Buda. For us, that's about as spontaneously exciting as it gets. We all had a really good time and enjoyed doing something different. The kids had a blast seeing all the different animals and getting to shoot guns at the little arcade shooting range. Now Jadon really wants a toy rifle. He's so funny. After we got home I asked him what his favorite animal he saw was and he answered, "The dog with the missing leg." Ok, not what I meant. We had gone to the Farm Supply store in Georgetown and they had a dog there and it was missing one of its back legs. I guess he thought that was pretty neat. He is so completely boy.

My Precious Girls

Boy, times sure have changed. I didn't even have a computer until I was in College. I learned how to type in high school on, get this, a typewriter. And though I use my computer daily, I still wouldn't consider myself technologically savvy. Well, these days babies can use computers better than some adults.

With that in mind, Savannah asked me a while back if she could have her own blog. She didn't exactly know what a blog was, but she knew I had one and so she likely thought it would be "cool" (is that word still used?) to have one too. So I gave in, and yesterday I helped her create her own blog.

She is so proud of it, and I have to admit I think it's pretty cute too. I can already tell, though, that I'm going to have to put some limits on her blogging. She is constantly asking me if she can "text" something for her blog. That's her way of asking if she can type up a new post. She hears the word "text" a lot, but she doesn't really know what it means since neither Andy or I text. So cute.

And, of course, since Savannah got a blog, Amaris wanted one too. And, of course, I obliged. Her's looks really good too and my hope is that blogging will be something that they can learn from and be productive with.

I have done pretty much all the work for them both, but I let them pick out their own backgrounds and other things they wanted on their blog. I imagine before long they will have it all figured out on their own and know more about it than I do, which honestly isn't very much.

I set up their blogs under my account and have the security settings in place so that only those who are invited can view their blog. So, If you are interested in seeing their blogs, leave me a comment letting me know, and if you are a friend or family member I'll send you an invitation. And be sure to leave them a comment. It is so exciting to them to get comments.

Life Long Friends Already Included

I sometimes wonder if my kids will have a life long friend. You know, a friend you meet as a child and somehow manage to stay friends with into adulthood and hopefully forever. Well, I am blessed to have two friends that fit that description. One is my friend Donna who I met in seventh grade, my first year of public school. I was going through a lot of changes in my life at that time, and God knew I needed a friend like Donna. The other is my friend Crystal. I met her when, if I remember correctly, she was 3 years old and I was 4 years old. I lived next to her in Leander and we've stayed friends ever since.

Unfortunately with life being as busy as it is, I don't talk to or get together with Donna or Crystal near as often as I would like, but we stay in touch and make efforts to get together when possible

This past Saturday I was able to see Crystal for the first time in probably a year. I am so excited for her and her husband. They are pregnant with their first child. A little girl named Kylie Grace. Kylie should be making her entrance into the world around the end of August. She is going to be one decked out baby. She got a lot of adorable gifts at her baby shower. I can't wait to see her in person!

Me and Crystal at her baby shower.

Well, my kids are already forming relationships and making friends that have me wondering, "Is this a life long friend?" I definitely hope they will find special friends that last. But my biggest prayer is that they will be each other's life long friend.

You know how when you buy some electronics or toys the box will say "batteries included". Well that is a huge plus because the batteries are essential for the product to function and who wants to spend an extra $5 bucks or more on batteries if you can avoid it? Well, I believe God gives us family, siblings especially, to be our "already included" life long friends and to be constants in our life that we can always count on. I love to see sisters and/or brothers that truly love one another, enjoy each other's company, and are best friends. Of course that doesn't mean their won't ever be disagreements, but they are handled with love and respect for one another. I wish I knew the secret to ensuring this would happen with my children, but since I don't I will keep praying about it and trusting God to work it all out for me.

Life Long Friends!?!.......

Savannah, Amaris, Jadon, and Bethany after getting all dirty making a mud "cake" in Jadon's dump truck!

My kids with their friends Colt and Caden.

Bethany and Emma

Bethany and Caden.

It's been a long time!

And I've got lots to share. Time has gone by so fast since my last post. Things got crazy busy around the 2nd week of June and have finally slowed down.

The busyness started with VBS at our church. I had signed up to teach the 1st and 2nd grade class this year. Last year I helped with Amaris' class, and so this year Savannah wanted me to teach her class. I was already stressing about getting everything together and ready for that when we found out the director of our VBS stepped down. Long story short, I volunteered to help out with a few things that I thought would be fairly easy, and ended up taking on a MUCH larger role than expected. Andy also stepped up big and helped out each day with the Worshp Rally and Music. He did an AWESOME job and the kids loved him. The adults were quite entertained by him as well. I wish I had some video of him!

VBS required a lot of time to prepare for and a lot of hard work to accomplish, but we had a good time and so did the kids.

Amaris and Bethany - soo cute!

Savannah and Jadon - not sure they wanted their picture taken.

My classroom that I decorated (with Andy's help)!

Another view of my classroom.

Andy helping with music.

During the planning and preparation of VBS Savannah got sick and had us all a little worried. She basically started out with a fever and feeling tired. She complained very midly of her stomach hurting and a sore throat. After a few days of fever she got a "rash" pretty much over her entire legs. Andy thought it was a virus. The rash faded after one day and was completely gone after two days. The fever and lethargy stuck around though. We took her to the doctor and after blood work and some waiting we found out she had Mono. We were actually very relieved because some of the other options were horrible to even consider. Poor Savannah had a pretty rough time getting over the mono. She's better now though and seems to be good as new.

Amaris turned 6 years old on June 25th. Time really goes by way too fast. We had a little celebration at home on her actual birthday, but for the big birthday celebration she wanted to go to the same resort we took Savannah to for her birthday. It is called The Villages Resort and is near Tyler, TX. It has an indoor waterpark which is a lot of fun for the kids. We went for July 4th weekend and had a really good time.

Since Andy's birthday is July 9th, the resort was a joint birthday celebration for Amaris and Andy. It was a lot of fun. We got to eat snowcones and see some great fireworks, go swimming at the outdoor pool, play putt putt golf, have some fun at the arcade, and play at the indoor water park. My dad was able to come for one night and the kids LOVED that!

The only bummer of the trip was the AC going out in my Suburban on our way to the resort. I'm so thankful my dad was following along with us. He let me and the kids use his air conditioned truck and he and Andy sweated it out the rest of the way in our Suburban. And thankfully Andy should really be called "Handy Andy" because he stopped and got parts along the way and then got up early Sunday morning and fixed the AC on the Suburban in the Walmart parking lot. Our ride home would have been miserable if he hadn't done that. Plus he saved us a lot of money!

Amaris and her birthday cake.

Amaris and some of the new goodies for her baby dolls.

Jadon and Bethany playing at the resort.

How Jadon and Bethany "watched" the fireworks.


Savannah


Amaris

Water park fun......

Amaris and her new American Girl Bitty Baby

that she got for her birthday. She LOVES it!

And last, but not least...Andy got a guitar for his birthday. He loves it too. Now all he needs to do is learn how to play it.

Just Sharing

I came across this article today and thought it was worth sharing. It's not long, so check it out...
http://www.savedhealed.com/trick.htm

How Prayer, Fun Tee Shirts....

....and declaring your Christian Faith are all connected.

A little over a year ago I started praying for a little boy named Noah who I didn't know, but came across on homeschool blogger. Since I began prayng for him, I have, in some way or another, come across many other children in need of prayer. Easily over a dozen. Mostly they have cancer, but some have heart problems, immune system disorders, or leukemia. Of those I have been praying for, sadly many have died. In fact, several of them died within just a few weeks of each other - in April and May of this year.

It really has been a blessing to me to pray for these precious children and their families. It has helped me to keep the right perspective on things in my life and cherish my children even more. For as the Bible says in Proverbs 27 , "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." I was just reading this with Savannah and Amaris Wednesday night (I have been trying to read a Proverb a day with them based on what day of the month it is.) It is such a simple reminder that God is in control of our lives. It is ALL in His hands. Wow! That is very comforting and a little scary at the same time.

At one point, I was overwhelmed by the pain and loss these families were going through. I would burst into tears just thinking about it. It was actually making me somewhat depressed. Especially when I would think about how it could easily be my family going through it. Andy thought I shouldn't be going to people's Carepages anymore because of the effect it was having on me. Thankfully, I have gotten better at coping with it. I think the Lord has just helped me to see that it IS in His hands. My being depressed over it isn't going to help or change the situation. BUT, prayer can. So....I keep praying. Lifting these precious families up to my Heavenly Father and trusting His plan and purpose for their life. And although I am still saddened and grieved by what they are going through, I am more at peace and don't dwell on the tragedy of it as much anymore.

Ok, where am I going with all of this? I don't know if you have noticed or not, but on my sidebar (scroll to the top of my blog and look on either side) are two of the children I am praying for - Luke and Stellan. If you click on their picture you can read their story. I urge you to do so and be in prayer for them and their family. It truly is a blessing to pray for others - a blessing for you and them.

Well, the other day when I was checking out Stellan's Mom's Blog (she seems like such an awesome lady with lots of talents and a BEAUTIFUL family) she had posted that a company called Wild Olive Tees had designed a t-shirt for her because of Stellan. And that part of the profit would go to a charity that she (Stellan's Mom) had chosen. Well, the shirt was so neat that I had to check out the Wild Olive Tees website. Let me tell you that I LOVE their shirts and the purpose behind them. They are so neat. Basically, they have one word or a phrase on the front, and then a scripture that relates to it on the back. As soon as I saw them my mind was in a constant spin with ideas for shirts. It was pretty funny how I couldn't stop thinking of ideas. I think I'm going to ask them for a job! (Just Kidding)

If you want to see some fun shirts that boldly declare God's Word, go check out Wild Olive Tees and if you want to see the shirt they designed for Stellan's mom and the story behind it, click HERE. And don't forget, if you purchase the shirt they designed for Stellan's mom, part of the profits are going to the charity that Stellan's mom chose - Until Journey's End.

So, here's how it is all connected - I've been praying for these children and was led to Stellan. While checking up on Stellan I learned about a neat tshirt that I really liked. My curiosity about the tshirt led me to Wild Olive Tees which is a company that isn't ashamed to declare their faith and uses tshirts as a tool to do just that. So there you have it. (Boy did that take a while!) :)

Love you all. Thanks for listening to my rambling and don't forget to pray for someone today!

AWANA Award Night, Graduation, Gardening.....

.........Mother's Day, Sunday School Fellowship, and Cornhole......In no particular order. So, we've been pretty busy over the last month. Here's a little (or big) update about what's been going on.

I came across this picture of Bethany from her Birthday I have to share. She got the tutu from my mom and the fish was part of her present from us. She danced around the room in her tutu holding her fish. It was so cute.


AWANA Award night was on May 13th. That was a lot of fun. Jadon got a participation certificate for Puggles and Savannah and Amaris each got awards for Sparks. I can't believe ALL my little ones will be in AWANA next year. Bethany in Puggles, Jadon is moving up to Cubbies, Amaris will be in her 2nd year of Sparks, and Savannah will be in her 3rd and last year of Sparks. They are growing too fast. Sometimes it's overwhelming to think about. Sorry, no pictures. None of them turned out very well. :(

The Saturday before Mother's Day our church had a Mother's Day Celebration called "Fashions to Follow". It was really neat. Savannah and Amaris were part of it. Lots of young girls from the church dressed up as different women from the Bible. As they came out, a biograhpy was read about that woman. After the "Fashion Show", there was a wonderful luncheon for everyone.

Savannah was Rahab - Rahab is the model of courage. A woman of Jericho, she dared to hide on her roof the spies of the people whom her city dreaded. The king of Jericho ordered her to send the spies to him. He sent men to her house to take them, but she sent them on a false chase. When she let the spies go, advising them of the safest way, she made sure that when her town was destroyed her own family would be saved. The Hebrew letter commends Rahab for her faith, believing that the Lord had given Israel the land. It took courage to rely on them – one woman against her own city. Rahab, a truly outstanding model of courage.

Amaris was Mary Magdalene - Mary Magdalene models dedication. The depth of Mary Magdalene’s love for Jesus was unsurpassed. After He restored her from her affliction, she lived for Him. She followed Jesus, ministered to Him and held nothing back in her love and service. She was totally dedicated. Mary Magdalene, our choice for the fashion of dedication.

Savannah as Rahab (middle in orange)

Amaris as Mary Magdeline (right in hot pink)

For Mother's Day Andy surprised me with a Hammock. I've been wanting one for YEARS. I love it! Now, to find an opportunity to use it. Hmmm....maybe I could sedate the kids and sneak out for a little while and relax!

Me and the kids on Mother's Day*

*Yes, those are HOLES in Jadon's pants. For some reason he is obsessed with those pants. I'm counting the days until they completely dissenagrate in the washer! :)

Now to Cornhole. Some of you may be wondering, "What on earth is cornhole?". Well, it's a game we learned last year when we were visiting Andy's family in MN for 4th of July. We had so much fun that we've been wanting to build ourselves a cornhole set ever since. And that also brings us to our Sunday School Fellowship. We invited our Sunday School Class over last weekend for a get together (lots of fun!) and it spurred us to finally build our very own cornhole game. Andy was very excited and proud of the results.

What a proud Pappa!

If you really want to know more about the game, just Google "cornhole" and you'll find all the info. you need!

Speaking of corn, we have always wanted a big vegetable garden and have planted a small one twice since we have lived here. This year, although a little late, we managed to get a garden planted. We didn't get everything planted that we were hoping for, but we did manage to plant tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, green beans, cantalope, and rosemary. It's doing pretty well so far. We have already picked a few tomatoes and our squash, green beans, and bell peppers have tons of blooms. We've been praying it will be "fruitful". So far it's looking good. Yeah! Here is a picture of the sunset from last night as we were coming in from checking out the progress of the garden. Not sure what the little rounds spots are from.

Drumroll......We have Graduates! Our first year of homeschooling went really well and I can't believe it's already over. Our last day was May 7th. We had a little graduation ceremony for the girls and then all went out to eat at Red Robin. It was so cute to see the proud look on their faces when the principal (Dad) presented them with their certificates.

Amaris and Savannah with their graduation certificates.

Awesome Song....

Here is an awesome song by Todd Agnew. Listen to the words, they are powerful.

Don't you just love it.....

when God reveals something to you about himself in a new way. I know that God will and does meet my every need...Philippians 4:19 (King James Version) "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus", but sometimes as I get wrapped up in the busyness of life I forget that truth.

Well, everyday I get an email from KLOVE (the radio station) with the verse of the day. Today's verse was Revelation 3:20, which is a verse I've known since a child. As I was reading it, it spoke to me in a way it hasn't before.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." What this verse is referring to is how Jesus wants to be a part of our life (I stand at the door and knock) and if we will ask Jesus into our heart (open the door) then He will come in. And not only will He come in, but when he does "we will share a meal together as friends." That was so neat to me.

Think about it. When we eat a meal, the nutritonal needs of our bodies are being met. And what is it like to share a meal with friends?.......fun, entertaining, full of good laughs, shared hearts, etc. Well, when we ask Jesus into our hearts, not only does he come in, but he is there to meet our needs physically, emotionally, spiritually and be there for us no matter what the situation. How awesome!

Something I already knew, but thank you Lord for reminding me!

Why is it so hard?

Spending time in God's Word daily is something I think is very important to your relationship with Jesus. But to be honest, it's something that doesn't always happen for me. It just seems so hard to find the time, or more likely it's because I haven't made it a priority, and I haven't incorporated it into my day. It's easy to get wrapped up in all the "have to's" like laundry, vacuuming, meals, etc. and before I know it the day is done and I haven't spent any time with God. And then if I try, I fall asleep.

As I'm writing this at 7:34 am, Amaris just came in and I hear little Bethany stirring. And that's typically how my day starts, being woke up by one of my kids. And it doesn't slow down until they are put to bed at night. And for some reason, I always feel like the kids have to be asleep in order for me to spend time with the Lord. But, in my heart I know that's not true. Yes, it is good to have quiet, meaningful time with the Lord, but reading God's Word where our children can see us is a wonderful way to set an example of it's importance. Even if we aren't able to absorb all we've read because of the noise around us, above all else we are practicing what we preach. How can my children believe me when I tell them how important it is to spend time with God when they never see me do it?

Well, I did manage to get a little bit of quiet time in this morning before the kids started waking up. I spent some time in prayer and then read Psalm 37 which is where I got the name for my blog. It was a nice way to start my day and is something I REALLY need to try and make a habit of. That means waking up pretty early, which is not easy for me. I always feel so much better when I do though. It's kind of funny how I ALWAYS regret sleeping in and NEVER regret waking up early, but sleeping in is the one that usually wins.

I think I've probably rambled enough. I just felt compelled to share my thoughts this morning. I plan on updating soon with what's been going on with us lately and share some pictures, so check back soon.

If you have the time please keep reading. Hopefully it will bless you like it did me!

Pslams 37

1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.

11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy great peace.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;

13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.

14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow to bring down the poor
and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;

17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.

18 The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever.

19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:
The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields,
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;

22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be cut off.

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;

24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.

26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.

28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

29 the righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.

32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
seeking their very lives;

33 but the LORD will not leave them in their power
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a green tree in its native soil,

36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

On Monday Bethany turned 2, and yesterday was my birthday. Time goes by way too fast. This scripture from James 4 is so true, "...what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." It's been such a joy to watch each of my children grow and change, but oh how I would love to have them each back at different stages of their life for just a little while. Here are some recent pictures of the kids....

My mom with the kids.

My Girls

Jadon riding Garfield at the Outlet Mall

Savannah - AWANA Crazy Hair Night

Amaris - AWANA Crazy Hair Night

Bethany's 2nd Birthday

Life as a Stay at Home mom....

is never dull. Silence is rare and most often, chaos and noise abound. As I am typing this, my 4 little blessings are playing AWANA with shouts of "everyone get your Bible." Now Savannah is asking Jadon to tell her his name, and he is saying over and over again in typical Jadon fashion (loudly) "J-A-D-O-N." Next she is asking if he has his Bible, handbook, and uniform. She must be signing him in. Sweet little Bethany is saying she has her Bible too. They are going all out with pledges, AWANA song, prayer and everything. It is so precious when they play like that together. And although there are many times I yearn for quiet, I am honestly so grateful that I rarely have it.

For your convenience.

I'm excited to offer a new feature to my blog that allows you to subscribe to it. If you subscribe, then you will receive an email letting you know that I've updated my blog. At least I'm pretty sure that's what should happen. So, please subscribe and then you will always have the latest happenings from our world. The subscribe link is on the left and all you have to do is type in your email and click subscribe........so why wait, subscribe today - and did I mention it's FREE! :)

You can also sign up as one of my "followers" down at the bottom left where it says followers. That doesn't send you an email though to let you know when I've made a new post, but I would like to know who is "following" me, so sign up for that too.

Better get off the computer and get some things done. Adios.

Jadon's Big Night....and other stuff.

Sweet little Jadon has been asking for the longest time to stay the night at my parents house. We tried a while back, but he decided to let Savannah and Amaris stay and he ended up coming back home. Well, last night he stayed the whole night at my parents. He was so excited and said he had lots of fun. Savannah and Amaris stayed too at Jadon's request. Now he keeps asking when we can go back to Granny's house.

He's also been going pee pee in the toilet for the last few days. He actually started doing that last summer, but has not been consistent at all. Well, he's decided again to try and be a big boy. Hopefully this time it will stick. He even wore underwear all day yesterday and today while we ran errands, and he didn't have any accidents. He's totally capable of being completely potty trained, it's just a matter of him deciding to do it. He will bring me a diaper to put on him whenever he needs to pooh. :)

Little Bethany will be two on Monday. I can't believe how fast time goes by. She is such a cutie and talks a lot. Her litte voice is so sweet. She thinks she wants to use the potty too, but all she does is run into the bathroom, hop onto the potty, strains real hard (sometimes tooting in the process), jumps off with a big grin, and yells, "Did It." It's the cutest thing. She has managed a couple of times to pee pee, but it has been a while. She even peed at church once when she was in the nursery. It was about two months ago and she told the teacher she needed to potty, and she actually did.

Savannah and Amaris have two weeks of school left. They have both done so great this year and learn so easily. I'm not sure if we will take a whole 3 months off or not. They like doing school so much that we might start early.

Better get to bed. I think we are going to try and go to the Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown tomorrow. Andy's friend's husband is going to be in the parade and we haven't seen them in years. Thought we might take the kids to watch the parade and do some catching up. Good Night.

God's Wonderful Works

Thought I would test myself and see how easy it is to post a picture and I came across these. About a month ago we were about to head out the door for AWANA when we got a call that it had been cancelled. Storms had just rolled through ~ lots of wind, rain, and some hail. Well, since the storm had already passed through our area, and since we were all ready to go, we decided to just go into town and get some ice cream with the kids. This is what we saw on the way home. Thought it was pretty neat. It looked like a rainbow shining through the clouds.

Psalm 145:4-6 (New International Version)

One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works,

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

I'm a Booger......I mean Goober.

I told you I was HTML illiterate. I figured out why I couldn't get the background color under the text to change colors. It's because the text is on top of the entire background. When you scroll down I thought the center part of the page was moving too, but cleverly discoverd today that the background doesn't move at all, just the text. I solved my problem by choosing a different background. Still not sure it looks how I envisioned, but it will have to do for now since I'm tired of searching through backgrounds. Anyway, slowly but surely I'm getting things figured out.

Tonight we have AWANA. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a club for kids ages 3 through senior in high school that teaches scripture memory. Our AWANA club meets every Wednesday night during the school year. Everyone arrives and meets together for pledges and the AWANA song. Then the kids all go off to their classes where they have study time and then they say their scripture to their leader. The kids all have handbooks they go through during the year. They also have uniforms (a vest or shirt depending on what age group). Savannah and Amaris wear a vest. They earn patches, pins, and things for their vest as they learn their scriptures. They also have game time, snack, and a devotion. At the end of every meeting they have award time where the kids get their patches or whatever they have earned.

They also earn "AWANA BUCKS" during the year by memorizing scripture, wearing their uniform, bringing their Bible and handbook, and participating in the theme for the night (crazy hair night, egyptian night, western night, purple night etc.). Twice a year they have an AWANA Store and the kids get to "buy" things with their AWNANA bucks. It's a lot of fun and the girls always come home with TONS of stuff!

Savannah and Amaris really enjoy AWANA. This is their third year. They started out as Cubbies and now the are both in the Sparks class. There is also a Puggles class for 2-3 year olds. Andy and I teach that class. Jadon LOVES it. He always makes sure to wear his Puggles shirt. At that age they don't memorize scripture, but we have a little Bible lesson for them. We have four boys in our class - all age 3. They really don't sit still for much, so we do their lesson during snack time. That's the only time they will sit still and quiet. :) FYI - a puggle is a baby platypus!

If it sounds like something you want to check out for your own kids go to www.awana.org, click on about us, and then find Awana near you. I think it is only at Baptist church's, but anyone can join AWANA.

Excited

Well, I'm excited about the few things I've figured out. One thing that I am really proud of managing to do is change my format from two columns to three columns. I had complete instructions in doing it, but since it involved changing the HTML I was not so sure I could do it. And I actually didn't do it right the first time, so then I was really proud when I figured out what I did wrong and was able to fix it!

There is still more I want to change/add. The biggest thing that is driving me nuts right now is that I want to put a color behind my text instead of it being transparent. I can't seem to figure out how to change it. Any advice?

The kids and I had a good time playing outside this evening - swinging and jumping on the trampoline. The other day we worked on clearing some trees to put in a horseshoe pit and a permanent place for a campfire. It will be kind of our "entertainment oasis". I think it will be really nice when we get it all done. I also want to add a hammock or two between some nice big trees in that area. I've ALWAYS wanted a nice hammock - maybe my dream is finally going to come true. :)

Out with the old and in with the new!

I've been trying to figure out for a few days how to customize my blog to look different and have features that I think would be neat. Well, since I am so illiterate in that department I decided to start a whole new blog that is more user friendly. I think I will be better able to customize this blog than I would have my old one. I guess time will tell. Hopefully with help from others I will eventually get there.

I came across the website http://www.cutestblogontheblock.com/ that has lots of neat things I can add and from what I could tell it was designed for blogspot, so here I am. I tried to get the URL http://www.myheartsdesire.blogspot.com/, but that one was already taken. Frustratingly (is that a word?) by a person who only made one post back in 2004.

Well after trying different variations I came up with http://www.desiremyheart.blogspot.com/. It immediately spoke to me as a comment from God to me, "Desire my heart". I pray it will be a reminder to me to strive to have a heart like Christ.

I hope to spend some time in the next few days getting my appearance where I want it and then I can start adding posts about what's going on in our life these days.

Blessings,

April