Three Practices Later.....

Car Talk Part Three

BuhBuh: Today I was chasing older girls on the playground.

Me: WHAT?!?!?!

BuhBuh: I was chasing older girls on the playground

Me: What would you have done if you would have caught them.

BuhBuh: I dunno....I forgot....

What a Good Sport!

A fundraiser was held yesterday for a program that benefits needy families with in our school district. My Sweetie was asked if he would be in the dunk tank. He graciously accepted.

For about 30 minutes he sat and watched as his children and even his dad threw balls trying to hit the bulls eye that would send him for a plunge.

The Boy spent some of our money, some of his grandpa's money and some of his own money trying SO hard to dunk daddy to no avail. BuhBuh however did get to send daddy into the tank thanks to how close he was able to stand and the nice lady who let him keep trying.

My Sweetie got dunked several times by others and I'm sure he got the funds for the cause we were supporting off on the right track. Scheduled for later in the day were all three school principals and the superintendent.

He kept a smile on his face the entire time and had a great time doing it.

Laundry Helper

With the big brothers at school, I really don't want the TV to be Little Dude's babysitter (she says as he is currently sitting on the couch watching TV) and there is still mommy work that I need to get done for the family. So, we had a little fun folding laundry. It's a pain in the
back, don't ya know, to keep bending over to reach into the dryer for clothes to fold.

Little Dude was happy to climb into the dryer and pull out clothes for me

He'd hand it to me and say "I DID IT!" followed by a "GIMME A FIVE" in his very best 2-year old language

He'd set the laundry on top of the washer for me to fold, sign and ask "MORE???" and would start all over again.

First Day of School

On Tuesday the boys both started back to school. The Boy as a 7th Grader and BuhBuh as a 1st Grader. New in our school district this year is a unified start time which gives me an extra hour in the morning and I get both boys home from school at the same time. The bus time will be a bit of a challenge as it is at 7:13 a.m. SHARP!

So, when I went to take our traditional first day of school pictures before our walk to the bus stop I realized my camera had a dead battery. I charged it quick for a minute and took two shots of The Boy. Charged it again and took two shots of BuhBuh. When I went back and looked at my pictures, the camera must have only worked during The Boy's "funny face" picture.

SO, this is the ONLY picture I have of him on his first day.

HA!!! There isn't any guessing on how HE felt about the first day!

BuhBuh's pictures were blurry because I was trying to hurry.

Not only was it the first day of school but it was the first day of football for The Boy. He has been a soccer player all these years and this year has decided to try football in the fall and play soccer just in the spring. I thought he looked so cute, eh, handsome! All dressed for practice....he doesn't have his pads on and he's not even dressed for a game, so there will be more pictures!!

I'm proud of him for stepping out and trying something new.

When Daddy's Gone....

You have a movie party with a carpet picnic!!!

I thought a great way to end the day of too much TV (so mommy could get Daddy ready to go!!) was to have a movie night! It's always fun to eat in front of the TV when you watch a movie!

It was gourmet, let me tell ya!!!! Grilled Fluffer Nutters (Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff) Sandwiches for the big boys, grilled cheese for Little Dude, a half banana (because there were only two left), popcorn, and a half a glass of milk (because it was almost gone and there are three kids!!!) Not the most healthy meal, but they gave me a thumbs up!!!

The Daddy has a work team meeting tomorrow morning and then is going to a Brewers baseball game. I had to laugh at his facebook status this evening which read, "At a Brewers Game" They must have figured out what to do with their evening tonight too!

Cream Puffs with Great-Grandma

My Grandma invited us over for lunch this week. Every birthday we ask her to make the kids treats. The Boy asks for her cream puffs. Recently he asked if he could learn how to make her cream puffs. So before lunch the boys got to work with their Great-Grandma to make these yummy treats!

Unfortunately, the puffs weren't very puffy for some reason. Not wanting to let a good thing go to waste, The Boy suggested we just take the puffs and dip them in the cream. He called them, Inside Out Cream Puffs!

Puppy Boy

Little Dude like to pretend he is a puppy every now and then. He pants, he barks and he even plays fetch.

Good Times

We had yet another great weekend. (I forgot my camera!!!) We went to celebrate our niece's birthday!! She is just 5 weeks older than BuhBuh. I was fortunate enough to be in the delivery room when she was born. It was AMAZING!!! I also go to hold her when she was less than an hour old.

Her party was to be an outdoor swim party. It was rainy and cold. We ate pizza, cake and opened gifts and wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped and the sun came out!!!! It was still chilly but none of the kids seemed to mind. Since it had been raining all day, we had the pool to ourselves!

We spent the rest of the weekend with my sister-in-law and niece. Had yummy breakfasts, My Sweetie helped his dad fix her garage, we ran some errands, went to a yummy dinner, went back to the pool and just relaxed.

It was so great being there the morning of our niece's actual birthday. We got to watch her open her gifts. One was a HUGE box full of Disney balloons. She was a little confused as to why she had a box full of balloons then her mommy told her they were going to Disney World. She ran to her mommy and gave her a big appreciative hug...there were no words, but there didn't need to be. It was precious and perfect. This will be their first big vacation. They deserve it and I'm so happy for them!!!

Summer Reading

I don't ever read as much as I would like to. There are a lot of things that I'd like to do but I don't ever allow myself simple pleasures such as reading and scrap booking. Although I have done ZERO scrap booking this past summer, I have read several books. Most of these books I read during the month of June when we were unplugged.

This book was written by a man who was dying but it is all about the full life he lived. He had the opportunity to deliver a Last Lecture and after that he co-wrote this book. Even after his diagnosis he continued to create and make memories with his children. He inspired many during his years as a Professor and this book too will continue to inspire now that he is gone. What an amazing gift he has left for his children.

I finally got around to reading this! I had started last summer but then began a 32-week long Bible Study which was a lot of reading, so I picked it back up this summer and started over. I am so glad I did!!! I can see why it has been so popular.In this story you see the Trinity in a unique way. This book creates some beautiful images of what and how our relationship with God our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit can look like and feel. I found myself feeling both comforted and challenged while reading this book but mostly what I learned is the importance of being IN and staying in relationship with God. That's why He created us to begin with.

My Sweetie bought this book for me. He enjoys listening to Dr. Laura on the radio and has been telling me for years that I should listen, that I would like her too. So he bought me this book. This book was a nice re-affirmation of what I do and it has helped me to look and see things a little differently. If you are a stay home mommy or are thinking about being one, I would recommend reading this book.

After finishing In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms I told my Sweetie he could go by this next book for me. My thought is if you are a wife, you should read this book!!!! There is something in here that every wife needs to hear for the sake of making their marriages better. Some of it seemed like common sense to me and I was a little baffled at how some women actually treat their husbands. But then again, I'm not perfect either and also gained some new insight on how I myself can be a better wife. So, if you are a wife, regardless of how good or not so good or maybe even a little indifferent your marriage may be, read this book!! Or buy it on CD and listen in the car!!! Your marriage will be blessed by it!

God's Fingerprints

BuhBuh: Where are God's fingerprints?

Me: Everywhere.

BuhBuh: Are they on cars?

Me: Well, people make cars. But God gives people the gift of being able to make cars, so yes!

BuhBuh: There's a song that says, "God's fingerprints are everywhere"

Me: Yes, I know that song

BuhBuh: Whenever I see tree bark I just stare at it and stare at it trying to see God's fingerprints and I just can't see them.

Very, Very, Very Young Love

BuhBuh: Little Dude, you are too young to have a crush

Me: I think you are too young to have a crush.

BuhBuh: *smiling* Nooooo I'm not...

Me: I'm pretty sure you've had a crush since you were two

BuhBuh: I've had a crush since we were in our mommies bellies

Let's Pray

We just finished up a combo lesson on Baptism and Communion during our Mid-Week children's program at Church. Last night we made our own bread to use for Communion and the Pastor served Communion to the kids.

Two things touched my heart....

Pastor always invites everyone to kneel at the communion rail after taking communion if they choose. He made the same invitation to the kiddos. I don't usually take time to kneel mostly because it's out of my comfort zone and I can pray back in my pew. Not many others take this opportunity either on our normal Communion Sunday. But I felt nudged to do so last night....I needed to lead by example; if they saw me doing it maybe they would too.

All of the kids went up to kneel and pray at the rail after taking communion....it was PRECIOUS! I didn't stay long because Little Dude wasn't cooperating too well, but what a joy it was to watch the little ones kneeling. I especially thought it was cute at how LONG BuhBuh stayed up there!

After we were done Pastor said "Let's close in prayer" Little Dude JUMPED off my lap, looked at me, walked up to the communion rail and folded his hands and stayed there for the duration of the prayer. I didn't close my eyes....I just watched the little ones around me and Little Dude who was up front.

It was a nice way to end before our Mid-Week program takes a little break.

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I complimented BuhBuh for taking time to pray after communion last night. I told him that I noticed how long he stayed up there and asked him what he prayed about. He very politely let me know that it was between him and God! Then he said, "God knows our prayers before we say them. But he still wants to us to tell him"

Also today we were talking about the Bible and I asked him WHAT the Bible was. He said, "The Word of God"

He's 6 and just starting 1st grade. I love that my children teach and show me EXACTLY what it is to have the faith of a child. I need to learn from THEIR example!!!

Missouri Vacation Part Two

This summer as My Sweetie and I were trying to figure out what days he was going to take off for work he had said he wanted to do several long weekends and maybe go camping. One of those long weekends were in June and we went to St. Louis but opted to stay downtown. A good choice since it was SO HOT when we were there! The other few weekends we had other things going on. As his last long weekend quickly approached we weren't convinced that we really needed or should be taking ANOTHER vacation. They cost money, ya know! We had a weekend in August to go and visit our niece for her birthday and another weekend in September planned to visit our newest niece for her birthday. Did we really need to be going someplace else?

The Sunday before his next long weekend we sat in Church and listened to our Pastor talk about how God values what we do with our rest time just as much as what we do with our work time. He talked about how taking time out from our daily lives to rest and take vacations were OK and needed to recharge. After the sermon I turned to My Sweetie and said, "I guess we're going on vacation on Friday!!!"

The Boy was away at Church Camp and needed to be picked up by 5 on Friday. His camp is about an hour away from Hannibal, Missouri so that's where we headed. My Sweetie and I had camped as children with our families, but this was about to be our first camping trip with our kids.

In the 3 days we spent in Hannibal we hiked in a dry creek looking for rocks

Panned for gems and fossils

Visited with Becky and Tom

Watched the local baseball team, The Cavemen, in a game


Rented a "small" boat and cruised around Mark Twain Lake for a day

We visited a few beaches and swam and jumped in the lake


Toured the Mark Twain Cave

Visited a little train museum.

This was all in addition to all the camp stuff of cooking our own meals, falling asleep under the stars listening to the crickets and waking up to the birds and blue skies and enjoying a campfire.

The kids helped with camp chores without too much hesitation

Had a camp fire

We all had a GREAT time!


A couple of times during the trip My Sweetie said that this was a much better vacation than our St. Louis trip....He felt relaxed.

THAT in itself made the weekend so worth it.

I'm so glad for that little nudge that came in the form of a Sunday morning sermon that helped us to see just how much we needed a little rest from the day to day "happy chaos" of life and glad we took the time to rest, relax and enjoy our sweet family.

Church Camp

Friday night I drove down with another Church friend to pick up The Boy and and my Church friends daughter from a week of self-defense camp. They had a GREAT time!!! It's fun to listen to them share about their week. They were on the verge of goofy for most of the ride home but eventually crashed. We got home just after 12:30 a.m.

Here's a picture of him breaking a board....he came home with a broken board that he did an "Elbow Strike" with. AWESOME!!!

Here's a picture of him doing a demonstration...



Yesterday with my mother-in-law we drove The Boy down to a different camp for this week. He had to be there for check in at 5 p.m. making for a fast turn around.

As we pulled into the long gravel drive leading up to the main building of the camp he'd be staying for this week, he let out a big happy sigh and said, "It feels like home"

He LOVES both places and I was having some mommy issues about having him gone for 2 weeks in a row. BUT, his heart is in both places, there is amazing leadership and amazing things happen during these weeks at camp. It brings peace and comfort to my mommy heart to see him surrounded by awesome people who love God like he does. It is clear why it feels like home to him.

Side By Side

This past weekend My Sweetie and I had the opportunity to serve together during a Spiritual Renewal Weekend for teenaged girls called Chrysalis. He and I have both served separately for the same kind of weekends geared towards adults. There is something truly awesome and special about being able to do God's work with your best friend/spouse.

It was also amazing to see God working in the lives of the young women we were able to minister to. I think it was a weekend they will remember for a long time to come.

My Sweetie told me in a note that he could see that this is what I should be doing with my life. (Another bonus of us serving together I suppose.) It was just the affirmation and support that I was needing to go forth and pursue ministry.

I think God may have shown him a few things about where God is calling him. There hasn't been any conversation between the two of us about this, but just his reaction to some other conversations throughout the weekend. God only knows and I know it will be for good whatever and wherever he may lead us.

Couch Snuggles and Morning Conversation

BuhBuh: Mom, today is going to be a BIG day!!!

I had told BuhBuh when The Boy was away at camp that he could have a friend over to play. TODAY is that day!!! He is so excited!!! It's kind of a "big kid" thing and he's really enjoying having a friend at the house. They are doing whatever 6 year old boys do....taking over my living room with Star Wars ships and figures.

Mommy Hugs

The other day while we were at my parents house for the 4th I was walking up the stairs and BuhBuh was coming down. I grabbed him and gave him a big ole' hug.

He said, "It feels good when you hug me."

My heart melted.

Moments like that are magical because instantly all the whiny moments and frustrated moments just disappear. It helps me realize that I do make a difference in their lives and I'm so glad that I get to spend every day doing so.

Here's a picture that The Daddy took of BuhBuh while having fun with the time lapse feature on our camera while we were waiting for fireworks.

July 4th

Ribs

Family


Fireworks


Perfection!!!!!!!!

Breaking the Fast

Happy July !!!! My kids were up before 6:30 this morning asking for TV and video games....UGH! The dream is over. However, they did AMAZING for the month of June being unplugged. I was a proud momma and a little sad that we had to turn everything back on. I might still make a few days unplugged days so we can do other things for the remainder of the summer.

So what does a family of 5 do for 30 day while being unplugged???? Here's a brief summary and a few pictures.

We celebrated 13 years marriage

Celebrated the last day of school.



I was the Lay Member to the Illinois Great Rivers (United Methodist Church) Annual Conference.

I was prayed over at the end of the Ordinands Service after the Bishop invited those who felt called into ministry to come forward. There were 2000 + people there and I was sitting in the back. It was a LONG walk but it was AMAZING!

Had a successful Vacation Bible School...we doubled our numbers from last year!

We watched BuhBuh play T-Ball



I had a $260 calzone. It was yummy, but not THAT yummy. If you'd like a good laugh, go ahead and ask why.

The Boy went to Six Flags Great America with a friend.

Enjoyed Father's Day in St. Louis



Had a HOT vacation but had LOTS of fun! I wish I could show you ALL of the pictures, but here just a few.



Almost took Little Dude to the ER after waking up from his nap blue. After panicking we realized it was the dye from his swim shirt he had on swimming all day then laughed about it.



The kids had some time with both sets of grandparents

BuhBuh took an Art Class and a Cooking Class

My Sweetie helped in put together the new playground at the elementary schools.



Little Dude spent 30 minutes following The Daddy around the yard thinking he too was mowing.

We enjoyed garden veggies

My Sweetie has made 10 DELICIOUS Black Raspberry pies as of last night with more to come! YUM! Here are the boys picking the berries from our yard.


Went to see Transformers 2 with The Boy and my Dad

Did projects around the house

Played games, read books, did puzzles

Enjoyed our time together as family and unplugging to reconnect.

There is still a lot of summer ahead with a lot more plans on the calendar. This is one of my favorite times of the year. I wish it could last twice as long as it does. Hope your month of June was good!!! I look forward to playing catch up on all of YOUR blogs!!!!

Blessings.....