Sidewalk Chalk Morning...

I'm babysitting today--only full day this week, so we will be outside as much as possible! The weather is beautiful this morning and we've been outside since about 8:15! Rained last night and cooled things off enough to open the windows, sit around and play outside and just enjoy the day!

The three girls have already "decorated" the driveway with Chalk Art...a few pictures of the art and "artists" of the morning...

Castle of Cards...

Carissa built a "Castle of Cards" tonight and I took these pictures...she cracks me up at her creativity! She's in the background of one of them--so proud of her work!

School Days, School Days...

Well, the time is quickly approaching...

I start grad classes in a little over a week...

Joe starts grad classes in under a month...

Carissa starts kindergarten in less than a month...

...and Jocelyn starts preschool in a little over a month...

Where did the time go?!?! Life gets us so busy, crazy, and waiting for a moment to breathe, while all the while time does go on! I can't say it's not fair, but is it? I am excited for everyone's milestone this year, but the time has flown by!!

Joe's at camp this week (I know, I know~pray for us girls!) and we are hangin' around the house most of the week. Carissa keeps saying, "Since it's a girls' week, can we ________?" She wants to do things, watch things, and just be what she thinks girls should do and be when the boy(s) are away! So far, they've found some new toys (old toys--just didn't know where they were) to play with, cleaned their dollhouse, and continuously enjoyed trying to make each other scream...when does the screaming stop? Well, we're going to work on it BIG time this week, otherwise, Mom's going to go crazy!!!!!!! We had popcorn for supper last night, leftovers for lunch and planning on chicken for supper...we kinda like "flying by the seat of our pants" meals! They did not have any kind of rest/nap time today, so they should be in bed fairly early...I HOPE! They are starting to become more and more independent and it's nice to see them finding what they need to accomplish any given task without me helping them with every, single thing! They are great girls and I wouldn't trade anything about them....Okay, maybe the screaming :)

Here's hoping for a safe, happy, nice-weathered week @ home!

Life...

There are things in my life that I get stressed out over...
~~Keeping my house clean--just in case someone stops by
~~Keeping up with the laundry
~~Debt...but don't we all at least somewhat stress over any debt?
~~And, currently, Vacation Bible School...It's very much a "Love/Hate" relationship. I love the excitement of getting people involved and watching the kids have fun! I don't like the stress I put on myself trying to make it "The Best" it can be...when I just need to realize that extravagance is not necessary for kids...I mean, heck, my girls could have hours of fun with empty boxes, tissues, or anything that I would deem "trash" once I'm done with the item.

I love the fun that kids have, but I struggle to understand my strengths and weaknesses in Directing VBS...this is only my 2nd year as a director, but I continue to "live and learn" in each step of my "VBS career" and hope that I will continue to learn something, or lots of somethings each day, week and year of VBS.

Fortunately, I still get to come home and continue my "normal" daily things...I love my life, sometimes frustrating for me, but I love my family, friends, and God...AND I want to continue to do my best~~ALWAYS!

Swim Lessons!

So, the girls are taking swim lessons this week...they both love the pool, but didn't really like to go underwater or think about getting too wet while we're there...

Carissa's fear of bugs and butterflies didn't even bother her last night...it was AWESOME! Jocelyn didn't really want to do much at lessons, but really just wanted to play! Neither one of them had taken a nap, so by 6:30 they were pretty tired (that was only 1/2 way through the lessons)!

Tonight, however, Jocelyn and Carissa were really great! They both went under and Carissa did it quite a bit! They are getting so independent~it's a little sad and exhilarating at the same time! I think you can click on the pictures to make them bigger, but they did really well tonight considering the water was stinkin' cold!!!

Happy Fourth of July...

Enjoy time with family, friends, and all who are in your presence today...God has given us a wonderful world to live in~it is broken, worn down, and tired...but it is our Earthly home with the promise of a Heavenly HOME with God...

Happy 4th Everyone...

"Cast Off Tuesday" Recap

Yesterday, Carissa got her cast off! Oh, happy days...she did great through the removal, x-ray, and follow-up with the doctor.

We spent the afternoon together as a family and then met up with my friend Kira, from school, to eat with their family...her kids are considerably older than ours, but they all sat together and we had a great time catching up!

Last week, I spent a few hours working in the church office, so my other "duties" were a little delayed and had to catch up this week. I commend you working mothers~I don't know how you do it,even if you work part-time or full-time! The girls just sat in Joe's office and watched a movie and enjoyed a Veggie Tales movie or two...

Today, we have been home most of the day and its been nice! The weather is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! The windows are open, fresh air is moving through, and the girls are headed outside to ride bikes in the driveway. Tonight the girls and I are helping serve at the "Father/Son Banquet" and then back home after that. Tomorrow, we will be hanging around the house again, probably mowing for the July 4th festivities and then sticking around for some family time in the evening...we've been riding our bikes or walking most evenings and it's been nice to get out and about...

We have made a commitment to not eat out for the month of July~well, unless someone else is paying :) I know we do eat out too often, but I'm curious as to how much money we will save by not doing so at all for an entire 31 days! I know there are alot of people that eat at home all the time, but schedules get the best of us sometimes and we just get too lax in our commitment to eating healthier and cheaper at home! We'll see how this goes, but I think it will be a good adjustment for all of us.