In His Hands Always

Kaitlyn's Baptism

2009-09-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, my oldest little girl was baptized today. It was a big day for her and she was a little nervous but she did well. The pastor really made her feel comfortable and was really excited about it. We are so excited about this and know that God will help us as parents to grow her in Christ. She accepted Christ about a year or so but had decided to make a public statement about her faith. Here is the video. As you listen you will hear the pastor talk about the death and resurrection of baptism. Baptism does not enter you into the Kingdom of Heaven but only by God's grace.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:8-10

Music Camp Who Is Like the LORD-NOBODY

2009-07-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Emily's 2nd Dance

2009-07-10T13:19:00.001-07:00

For the girls dance recital, the video was taken during the dress rehearsal. We are not allowed to bring cameras in on the night of. I was only able to get one of Kaityn's dance's b/c I was still watching Emily and waiting for them to call her group. There was enough time between each of their dances but they were running behind. I was upset about this but this was nothing I could do about it.

2009-07-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

2009-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Dance Recital and everything else thrown

2009-07-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

As you can tell it has been a long time since visiting my blog. It has been so busy and the summer is half over. Here is a few things that have been going on since we the winter. We have had dance recital in May, Music Camp at church and VBS is coming next week. July 13-17. We did go to Chick Fil A today and dressed like a cow. It was a little embaressing but you only have such a short time with your kids and for them to act and be like kids. So I took advantage of this and we all had free meals today! I have posted some pictures of the girls some of the activities that have gone on

Our First Snow of the Year!!

2009-03-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Emily about done playing. Those big blue eyes!

Joel playing with Kaitlyn.

Kids making snow angels.

Joel trying to throw a snowball at me while I am standing on the porch taking pics.

Looks like someone got Joel with a snowball.

Attempting to make a snowman. That is about as far as they got.

Emily says she is done for the morning. She is ready for some breakfast and hot chocolate!!

It snowed, really snowed on Mar 1. It was so pretty when it was falling. Unfortunately, I did not take any pics while it was doing so. These are pictures from the morning and then when Joel got home he played in the snow. They tried to make a snowman but it just didn't go well. I think Joel was more interested in throwing snowballs. The kids had a great time with him.

100th Day Party

2009-03-08T17:53:00.001-07:00

The finished product!

We had a 100th day party. It was not anything big. We did this on Feb 17th. I made the cake and iced the chocolate but the girls did the rest. They had a good time. We invited over the Plummers but forgot to take some pictures. Here is our cake and a picture of the girls.

Trip to DC Feb 16th

2009-03-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

This our trip to DC on Feb 16 2009. We went with a good friend of mine and her good friend. It was great time but a little cold. We got a great parking place, in front of the Washington Memorial. That is as close as we got b/c of the wind chill. We spent about 30 minutes in the American History museum and about an hour in the art museum. I just love being in DC and seeing all the history.

End of the Month

2009-01-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it is getting close to ending the first month of the new year. It has not gone as smoothly as I would have wanted it to but we are going to have bumps in the road while on this jouney called life. It is exciting to me even through some of the tougher times because I am always wondering what God is going to do next. I have felt so blessed with friends and family who are praying for us and looking out for us. I have found a wonderful group of ladies who I go to bible study with and enjoy studying the bible with. They are prayer warriors. I know I can go to them with worries and they will put this in their prayer requests. We can be such an encouragement to one another when we are going through struggles. God is teaching me to depend on Him more and more. He will see us through our good and bad times. I am just so lucky that I have a husband sho loves me and two wonderful children who I love, a house we can afford and food to eat. There are so many people right now who only have half of what I have or less than that. God is good to each of us and rewards us for loving Him and growing in His Word. Again, how blessed I am to have all of these things.

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4

Good News, But Not What I Wanted....

2009-01-01T16:44:00.000-08:00

It has been three days since Kaitlyn has had surgery. She went in for diagnostic exploratory lapraoscopy(sp). The doctor reported he was not able to see anything inside of her. Her intestines looked fine. This wonderful news for us but I wanted to the doctor to find the cause of her stomach pains. Not even a little of anything. This was hard for me to except because I wanted her to start off with 2009 as pain free. Kaitlyn was very disappointed. I think that was the hardest thing to have to tell her. I have been down for the last couple of days and on the verge of tears. Again, I know I have said this many times, it is so hard to see her suffering. I do not know the plans God has for her but I know "all things God works for the good aof those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

We all will become stronger in our faith because of this season. I have said this a couple of times to Kaitlyn but am not sure she completely understands. I know it is probably hard for a nine year old to completly grasp this. I just want her know she can always give her problems to God and know he listens. He will make us stronger, whether physically, mentally, spiritually or all three. These past three days I have kept up a continual converstaion with God. He hasn't answered back yet but I know he is listening. This is a very comforting thought. I am trying to be patient and wait upon the Lord. He has the answers and His timing is always right!

I wish everyone a wonderful New Year's with many blessings and happiness.

Here We Are

2008-12-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a rough two weeks here. Kaitlyn's stomach pains seems to be with her everyday and lasting longer. I am the only one who really sees this, it seems like. I think some of it is anxiety whenever her stomach starts to hurt. After putting the girls to bed each night, it seems she calls me at least twice if not three times for me to come up stairs to comfort her. I feel so empty because I don't know how to help her. I have prayed over her and talked to her. I don't have a solution and she understands this. I know I give her comfort and I am glad. I may not have the solution but we are working together in finding one. We have a docotor's appt. at 1:30 tomorrow, we are meeting with the pediatric surgeons. I am not sure what is going to happen. I don't want her to have surgery but will do what needs to be done so she can have a normal life without her stomach hurting. She is nervous about it, which I can understand. The unknown is always scary. As I was reading through my cousin's blog, she talks about her little boy who has many setbacks and a lot of physically challenged problems. When I read her blog their was a verse from the bible, one she found strength in. The one she uses from her most recent blog is from Corinthians, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. I Corinthians 2:9. I take comfort in this verse, knowing God has plans for Kaitlyn and she will get through this. This is such a small thing compared to my cousin's everyday struggles with her son. I know my cousin has such great faith in our Almighty God even though she struggles with things everyday. I look at her blog and love seeing the faith she has and the ever growing of it. She is a wonderful mother and puts all she has into taking care of her children.

I trust in God and lean on Him to help me through. I have asked for a lot of patience and for Him to give me a more loving heart toward this situation. Sometimes it is easier to be a little indifferent because I just can't take away the pain. All I know is God is in control and I have to trust in Him. "Trust in the LORD with all your hardt and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

2008-12-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Such a beautiful sight!!

2008-12-11T17:53:00.000-08:00

So, who is ready to help me make my own gingerbread house?! Ingrediants are all listed. Hey, that is good enough to eat.

2008-12-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

Waiting for fire works to start in Epcot.

2008-12-11T17:47:00.000-08:00

Princesses' Character Dinner Dinner with Pooh and his friends!

2008-12-11T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hear no evil, See no evil and Hear no evil. Something must be really funny?!

2008-12-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Joel and the girls inside the Akersus House in Epcot. It is in Norway. Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom.

2008-12-11T17:37:00.000-08:00

Dinner in Cinderella's Castle.

Me and Emily riding the race way!

2008-12-11T17:33:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures. The castle would change colors every few minutes. Here are some examples.

2008-12-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

Emily in Minnie's house. Kaitlyn in Minnie's house. This is her art room.

2008-12-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

Mama and her baby on a safari ride in the Animal Kingdom.

Girls posing in the dinasaur land.

2008-12-11T15:55:00.000-08:00

Joel and the girls in Animal Kingdom. This was our first full day in one of the parks.

2008-12-11T15:50:00.000-08:00

When we got there on Monday, after checking in the kids chose the Magic Kingdom to go to. This parade was happening when we walked into the park.

Disney World

2008-12-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got our pictures and video downloaded on our computer. It has been so busy since we have gotten back. We really enjoyed our time together as a family. Joel and I were ready to come home but the kids probably could stay a few more days. I think my favorite part was eating in the Cinderella Castle. I noticed the food was pretty good and the portions were not very big. That was nice. You didn't feel like you had to eat until you were stuffed. I don't have a lot to say because Disney speaks for itself. We did attend the Merry Berry Christmas parade, that was not included in the price with our park tickets. The weather was perfect, cold about 45 degrees. We were all dressed in our coats and some even had mittens. It was funny to see some of the people with mittens and scarves. I guess when living in Florida people are unacostumed to having cool weather or bring out the hats, scarves and mittens when it hits 48. We all had on light jackets with long sleeve shirts underneath. We were pretty comfortable. Well I will just put our picture so you can look at them. We have some really good ones of the kids and especially the castle at night!!

2008-11-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

I got a call from the hospital and Kaitlyn will have her procedure done Dec. 2 at 8:30 in the morning. I have to go to the hospital on Friday to pick up the dreaded barrium for her to drink. I guess through out the day on Monday she will have to drink it. They will explain how I am suppose to give it to her. I won't let Kaitlyn know what is going on until Monday. Obviously, she will notice the jug I am to pick up at the hospital. Drinking this will be the hardest thing. Please pray for her on Tuesday. Ask God to calm her spirit and to relax as much as possible. She will also have an IV of iodine. The hospital asked if she was allergic to it and I said I don't know. She has never had this done before. I am pretty sure she will be fine but that is just something else to think about. I am hoping the doctors will be able to see what exactly is going on inside her intestines and have a game plan on her treatment. I know God is good and I rely on Him everyday. I am so glad He is my Heavenly Father.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

I Can See Some Light at the End of the Tunnel-I Am Waiting on God

2008-11-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I am back from Disney but have not put any pictures on the computer yet. I am still trying to get back in the routine of our daily life. Going on vacation is great but it is nice to be back home! I will put pictures up though. We got back on Tuesday from vacation and then on Wednesday morning we(Kaitlyn and I) had to be at the hospital at 7:45am. (St. Mary's) So that means we had to get up early. Joel was off so it worked out great for Emily to stay at home! Some of you know Kaitlyn has had stomach problems since she was in kindergarten. In the last year and a half it has gotten pretty bad. It has effected how long she can do school, whether she eats a whole meal or whether or not she will enjoy playing with her friends. At times she is in a lot of pain and there is nothing I can do about it. Last summer we started to really look into what was going on, on the inside of her body. After many visits to the dr.'s he referred us to a pediatric gastro dr. Kaitlyn has had several tests done and finally one of the tests showed something. She drank the barrium while having ex-rays and it showed a small little twist or something but not a true blockage. It was such a relief the doctor was able to pinpoint something. He said it was not a blockage but for some reason the rest of the liquid was not going through. Our next test will be in the next few weeks and Kaitlyn will have to have CT scan with an IV and she also has to drink the barrium again. It is one thing to see your child in pain and not be able to do anything about it but having to watch her do medical testing and know you can stop it but can't is hard. I know that God will see us through this and there will be a treatment. It is just the waiting. Kaitlyn had a hard time drinking the barrium the first time and now she has to do it again. Please keep her in your prayers for the upcoming tests. She is a strong little girl and has tried very hard to keep to regular activities even when her stomach was hurting. I know God will use this in her life to help others who may be in pain or dealing with other things. She is a very deep thinker and is very tenderhearted.

I look forward to the time Kaitlyn does not have to worry about whether or not her stomach will hurt if she eats something or will it bother her when she is playing. It will be such a huge change for her!! I will keep you guys posted on our journey. Thanks for everyone who is praying.

2008-10-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Here is view as we were going through the lake. Very pretty time of the year!

This is one of the views from the boat at the dock. I really like the fall colors!

2008-10-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is on the head of the boat. The boat is still on the slip.

Here are some ducks that the girls wanted me to take picture of. They followed us as we walked up the dock.

On Dad's Boat

2008-10-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

We went to my dad's house to visit Oct 14th and stayed a week. Overall it was a good week. Emily had a fever the night we arrived and end up getting sick the next day. Thank goodness it was just a 24 hour thing. She and I did miss going to the Barter Theatre and seeing Beaty and the Beast. My stepmother said she was mesmerized by it. Kaitlyn was also mesmerized. We did school on Thursday, Friday and Monday. It was a little harder since Emily was a little more distracted than she usually is. We walked to Macadoo's to eat on Saturday with my step sister Becky and then came home and played games. The weather was very nice overall but I did a horrible job of packing. Especially for Kaitlyn. I packed no short sleeves for either of the girls so Nana bought each of them a couple of short sleeve shirts. At least that was some relief for them on the warmer days. Poor Kaitlyn had no jeans, hardly any pants. I have never been so unorganized with packing. Hopefully when we go to Disney in a couple of weeks I will do a little better!! Overall it was a nice trip but we were so glad to come home and get back into our regular routine. Plus, we were looking forward to seeing Joel again.

2008-10-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Emily looking from the out side in. (head of boat)

My dad standing on the head(It is the front of the boat) of the boat. Sorry dad if this is the incorrect terminology!!

Vist to to Dad's

2008-10-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn and Emily on dad's boat in the slip.

Emily & Kaitlyn sitting on one of the beds on the boat.

2008-10-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Golden Delicious Apples down the row! The other picture is taken at the top of the mountain and you can see the skyline. The weather was wonderful that day.

Carter's Mountain Apple Orchard

2008-10-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

Joel, Kaitlyn, Nicole and Emily

On Saturday, we went to Carter's Mountain to pick apples. The flyer said it would be a festival weekend. When I think of a festival I think of a lot of vendors selling food and crafts. This was nothing like it. There was a total of about 7 vendors and only one of them offered food. The farm itself had somethings to eat but it was more like apple cider donunts, yummy apple carmel cookies(they were out of this world, I am trying to find a recipe on the internet still like these), choco. chip cookies and apple pie. They also had some really good apple cidar. The main thing you did there was pick apples. Everyone except Joel had never picked apples. I had a great time. It was so neat to see row after row of apples. The apples they had to pick on Saturday were red and golden delicious, stayman, granny smith and jonagold. We picked about 30lbs of apples, mostly the jonagold. The price was a good one, $.99/lb. We invited the Plummers and had a picnic lunch in the parking lot of the farm. We all had a good time. We took home some apples, cookies and apple cider!

Not Long Enough

2008-09-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Nancy and Ronnie, July 4, 2008 @ Mike & Joyce's house on the River, Calleo
Ronald Earl Brooks
BROOKS, Ronald Earl, 64, a beautiful light of God, was called home to receive his heavenly rewards on September 11, 2008. He is survived by his beloved and devoted wife, Nancy A. Brooks; his father, Fredrick F. Brooks; his brother, Fredrick M. Brooks; sister, Peggy Strong; daughters, Lisa B. Rick, Karen B. Nickolaou and Melissa B. Goodwin; and stepsons, Carlton L. Clark, David C. Clark and Jason A. Clark; ten grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 19, at 4 p.m. at Hunton Baptist Church located at 11660 Greenwood Road in Glen Allen.

Last week started off not so good and got worse by the end of the week. A week ago Sunday I stayed in bed most of the day with sinus problems and achiness. I have such a hard time staying still because I get so bored but just don't feel like doing anything. I really like to be doing something instead of just having idle time on my hands, not that I don't like to waste a few good moments every once and a while!

As the week went on I was feeling better but couldn't seem to get my energy up to what I am use to.

Then in the middle of the week my uncle went to the hospital...

The last two years my uncle has been trying to beat cancer. He lost his battle Thursday, Sept 11. This was not a shock but a disappointment. He was so kind and always had a nice compliment for me. I will never forget just in joking he did call me Aimless. He had kindness in his eyes, and you didn't have to look very far into them to see if it was genuine. He loved his wife and his last parting words to her were, "You were the best thing that has ever happened to me." I am so glad that he was conscious enough on Wednesday to say those last words to her. I know she will cherish those for the rest of her life. Life without him will be hard especially for my aunt. We always want our loved ones to live longer than they do but God has a plan and he knows when we have suffered enough. My uncle is in Heaven and that is a comfort to us left behind. Knowing we will see him again is in God's great plan.

As the bible verse says I have plans for you declares the LORD....Jerimiah 29:11

Science Museum

2008-08-31T18:41:00.000-07:00

On Friday we met some friends at the science museum. The kids had so much fun. They played on the moon walk. When we went outside to see the trains and trolley the kids ran all over the place and even some places they should not have been. If mamma hen ain't watching then the little ones try new places to jump from. LOL All in all they had a great time and was sad when it was time to leave. We told them not to worry b/c we have a year membership and we can come back as many time as we want.

2008-08-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

Abby and Clara head's on a platter of fruit.

Emily's head on a platter of fruit.

Kaityn is getting ready to walk on the moon.

Having Fun Surfing!!

2008-08-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

Having Fun Before Bed

2008-08-31T18:17:00.000-07:00

One night last week Kaitlyn decided to have a party for her squirmmel (sp). It is one of those fuzzy caterpillars that have an almost invisible string so it looks like it is moving by itself. She decided it was going to be beach party. By the way the party only lasted about 15 min because it was time for bed. Both the girls decided it was time to go surfing. I thought it was cute and they had music from the Beach Boys, Surfin' Safari. Me and Joel just kind of watched them and told them how well they knew how to surf!! It was fun and it is always interesting to watch the girls come up with their own ways to do things.

First Week of School

2008-08-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

We started school last week. We only did three days. They went pretty good. It is a little overwhelming for me to do two children but I should get in a routine within a month or so. Emily likes school but is impatient at times and seems a little bored. I need to play around with her curriculum and see if I can't do a couple days at a time. She just needs a little more challenge! Kaitlyn started just fine. We started our read a loud from Sonlight and it is a bit slow but sometimes that is just how things are when you first start to read a book. We are hoping it gets better! I am glad to be back into more of a routine. I just feel we accomplish more during the day and things flow better. I am looking forward to a fun and exciting year.

Last Free Week

2008-08-21T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well, this is our last free week before we start school next week. It has been quite busy this summer. Even though we won't go on vacation until November it has been a nice summer! We saw a lot of our friends, went swimming a couple of times and played at the park. This week has been pretty busy getting ready for our co-op to start. Tonight we have our meeting to sign up for co-op. I think we will lose a lot of the older members. We have several new families coming tonight. I am excited about this. The other two core members and I have planned a good year and are looking forward to it. New topics this year are sign language, earth science, the human body and a theatre course. Not sure how the theatre course will go, not quite ironed out all the details. We will be doing a latin course with a group at one of my friend's house. Kaitlyn is looking forward to this. I think she just likes hanging out with her friends. But that is typical for a child of any age!

We will hit the books hard next week to really get going. It will be interesting this year since I have two kiddos to teach. Emily is looking forward to it, at least she acts that way. I am hoping she will enjoy her first year. We have done math during summer and she has enjoyed doing her math book. We were able to complete about 1/3 of it this summer. I think we will slow down once we start the phonics and she has to learn the concept of adding. I am looking forward to this school year. Once we hit summer I felt kind of lost b/c we didn't have that much of a routine. It got better once we started doing things with our friends and it was nice when we didn't have anything to do some days! I think we all need days like this. It helps us appreciate the down time. Well, I will report back sometime next week to let you know how our first week of school went. Until then....

2008-08-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

There is a kid in all of us!

Joel helping Kailtyn. She doesn't seem to sure about this.

The girls are discussing their biking strategies!!

Learning to Ride

2008-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn and Emily received bikes for both of their birthdays this year. We are trying to teach Kaitlyn how to ride a bike. She is very independent and doesn't want a lot of help. First she needs to learn to balance herself. It is very frustrating to me when trying to help and she doens't want any. Slowly, I am learning to let her try things her way. It is hard but as we know, our children have different ways of learning regardless of how WE want them to learn! She is coming along fine. The most she has peddled it two complete rotations of her tires. One day she will get tired of taking little steps and just jump on the bike and go. I have told her this but she still doesn't believe me. I guess I could compare it to growing in Christ. You have to take small steps sometimes when it comes to keeping faith in God. It is hard to just let go and let God as the saying goes. Or someone who has just recently come to receive the Lord. In order to listen to Him you need to understand what it is He wants you to do. A lot of the time you can't just have everything you ask for. For God, everthing has a time and place regardless of how fast we want things to happen. So for now I will just let Kaitlyn do her thing until she wants help.

Emily on the other hand has training wheels. She is just happy to have some wheels of her own. Thanks goodness she seems to control her steering unlike one of those motorized cars. She had an unfortunate event at my friend Laura's house. She was steering and ended up in a ditch upside down. She seems pretty confident so far on her bike and hasn't not had any accidents!!

2008-08-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Emily opening up her presents.

Behind Emily, her friends Kaitlyn and Kirsten are looking at the new talking cash register Emily received for a present.

Emily's 5th Birthday

2008-08-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turned the big 5 last weekend. She will start school this year. I can't believe she is 5. Time goes so fast. Her party was a lot more subdued than Kaitlyn's. I learned to watch the number of children who are invited. Emily invited 5 kids, 4 from Sunday school and one from her preschool. We had three show up all together. It was fun. She wanted a Hello Kitty cake so I ordered her one from Ukrops. After looking at it I could have probably done it myself. I just didn't want to take the time and do it. For one of the activities the children drew pictures on a puzzle that was blank and already cut into pieces. They seemed to like that because it was there own puzzle and could put whatever design they wanted. We also played a game where the kiddos took turns opening a box with wrapping paper and the last box had a suprise in it. The kiddo really enjoyed it and wanted to play some more but I decided to cake and then presents. The noise level was very comfortable and the children got along very well. All in all in was a very successful party!!

2008-08-11T16:14:00.001-07:00

Smores-Where's the Campfire

2008-08-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Sunday Kaitlyn wanted to make smores. I really like them and the are one of my favorite things to make. We went to the store the night before and bought the items we needed. On Sunday for dessert in the evening we made smores. We have no fire place or chiminnea(sp). So we resorted to what we had around the house. We used votive candles. It took a little longer but still tasted just as good. It didn't really have the campfire taste and the marshmellow didn't melt the chocolate as well as I wanted it to. Kaitlyn had a ball putting her "sandwich" together and experimenting with two marshmellows on her graham cracker instead of one. Emily doesn't like smores. It is almost a sin not to like smores but she seems to be picky when it comes to sweets. So she just had a chocolate drumstick icecream cone. Those are also yummy. It is nice to spend time enjoying the splendors of your childhood and remembering back to when things were simpler.

2008-07-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of Emily's friends in her class for vbs. It's okay to smile a big smile!

2008-07-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

Emily is getting ready to start her day in the pre-k classroom. Looks like she is fixing food.

2008-07-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn is working on her paper mache parrot. She is just getting started.

2008-07-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

This is our music falls.

2008-07-25T15:04:00.001-07:00

This is another part part of our island. In the background you see our little tiki hut. Everything turned out real nice.

2008-07-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is the front of the sanctuary with the Outrigger Island.

Outrigger Island VBS July 21-25

2008-07-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of vacation bible school. It was a wonderful week. Our theme was Outrigger Island. I just learned what exactly an outrigger is. We learn new things every day. I really loved this theme b/c I have always wanted to go to a tropcal island! Me and another girl decorated the sancutary. A lot of it was her idea from the vbs books. I came up with some ideas also but she had the bulk of it. I have worked with her the past two years in the craft room. She use to be an art teacher but now owns her own Ceramic Shop. She is so wonderful with kids. It was just fun working together and creating a tropical island. I was the craft teacher for grades 1st-5th. All the kids had a good time making their week long projects. It was very busy every moment but it was fun. Emily had a good time and didn't cry this year. She just clung to my leg a little. She just does it for me b/c once I leave she is fine. I believe we had about 20 children accept Jesus as their personal Savior and one of the leaders. It is just wonderful news to hear especially when the child is so young. The impact they can make around their world can be so strong. Kaitlyn had a good time too although you wouldn't be able to tell it the first morning when I took their picture. All the third graders made paper mache parrots. It was interesting watching them paste the goo on their balloons. I thought i would hear a few not wanting to do it b/c of that but everyone had a good time. In about 2 weeks our church has music camp. I am going to help with this also. I really enjoy helping in church and seeing the kids growing and becoming more aware just how awesome God is!!

Getting Ready for the New School Year

2008-07-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it is that time of the year when all the stores start putting out items for school. Notebooks, pencils, lunch bags, book bags and etc. I am so glad that I am not in a rush to get school supplies. When homeschooling you have most of the necessary supplies here with the exception of pencils, paper and notebooks. It is such a relief to know I don't have to go out and try to find the best price and can just casually buy what I need. Also, buying the new clothes. Not stress in that. I just buy them when my girls need them. What a blessing!
Next week we are having Vacation Bible School. I am really looking forward to it!! I am doing crafts again this year. I love doing crafts and being creative. I am not really too creative but it is neat to see the other kids and their creations. I am also helping with the decorating of the sanctuary. It was kind of a last minute call but that is the fun of it is to put your ideas together and make it all work! I have been stressing a little because I haven't been able to find nice card board boxes. I had called several appliance places and came up empty. Today I needed to go to the Dollar Store(my favortie way to waste $$)and buy a spray bottle for our little toad we found. Will put pics up later, if we haven't let it go. As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed an Utz truck. I saw broken down boxes in his truck. I thought, wow what a perfect opportunity to get some. I did not see the guy as I pulled in but wanted to stay there until I could figure out what store he was working in. (strip mall) As I was trying to straighten the car in the parking spot I spotted him. I put the car in park and jumped out of my car, asked the gentleman if he had any card board boxes I could use for VBS and he said YES. I was so excited. I thanked him and told him this was a Godsend. It is so amazing how He works. Something as simple as needing boxes for VBS and he provided!!! God is wonderful and mysterious in how he works things out for us. So keep that in mind when you come to God and request something from him. You never know how he is going to answer.

Remember: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Phil. 4:6-7

Pics at the River

2008-07-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Joel relaxing in the hammock. That is pretty much what he did while we were there.

View from my aunt's yard of the River.

My sweet sister and niece and my oldest baby girl, Kaitlyn.

Emily with her shell collection! She just loves shells.

Mud Pies

2008-07-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things my girls like to do is make mud pies. They like to dig around the tree in our front yard and mix water to make their recipes. It is great to be a kid and not mind getting your arms and legs covered in mud. My little one though picks the dry stuff- grass, sticks, clovers. and sometimes little rocks. She does NOT like to get wet or dirty. To me it is funny. She is such a little priss. I have told several people she needs to marrry a rich man who has a lot of patience. Of course, he needs to be a Godly christian man and love God more than his wife. She will make her recipe in a cup with maybe a little water but that is about it! Both girls have played well together this summer, which is real nice. On the 4th of July we went to Calleo, past Tappahannock. We had a real good time. The weather was beautiful and the water was pretty calm. My aunt has a summer house that use to be a gargage and a front porch and they have made it into a house. It is so quaint. We grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and everyone made sides to bring. Their hammock is positioned right between two trees, which catches the breeze off the river. We took a 10 minute boat ride with my uncle in his boat and that was just great. It is nice seeing everyone since some of our relatives we only see during the Christmas holiday. We left later that day and enjoyed some fresh picked blackberries I picked with my aunt.

The Summer So Far....

2008-07-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer so far has been quite busy, despite our vacation is not until November. The girl have gone to bible school at one church and will go to ours July 21st. They have been able to play outside a lot this summer because the summer so far has been mild. The humidity has been pretty low and that is great. We said goodbye to our friends who are going on a great adventure-Japan. They are military and are looking forward to the tropical breezes again!! We met at the park in her neighborhood and the kids played and ate a picnic lunch. Everyone got along and enjoyed their time with the Migliore girls. While at the park one of the girls found a nest where a frog had laid eggs. Several of the kids brought them home, including us. We are real excited about watching them grow but I think they had died. I don't know much about taking care of baby frog eggs. I did let tap water sit out for about 30 hours before adding it to the already water from the stream. I will have to find some more eggs or look at Insect Lore and order some. When it was time to go we gave the Migliores hugs and wished them safe travel. It was bittersweet but I will treasure the time we all had even if it was just a glimpse of their exciting and Godly life.

Were all for the Jonas Brothers!

2008-06-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

Such a concentrated look!

2008-06-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

Camp Rock The Jonas Brothers June 20th

2008-06-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sitting here in the classroom/computer room. The last couple of hours have been interesting. Kaitlyn has two of her friends from church over. They have been waiting for a little over a month now for this movie, Camp Rock to premier. The excitement over a show! To be a child again and to have such things as this, to build up so much excitement. It makes me remember the little things that come along and brings out the child in me. I wish all of us had that much enthusiasm when it came to living for God. It is a hard journey but He said life as a Christian is not going to be easy. He wants us to depend on Him for everything and talk to Him, not just in the bad times but in the good as well. Just as the kids are looking forward to watching Camp Rock, we too must look forward to telling our Heavenly Father about our day, our cares and needs. As the show ends, some of the excitement has gone away, but the memory of watching it with your friends is ingrained and something you can hold on to forever. That is the best thing about having a relationship with Christ, you never lose the excitement, especially when you see His hand at work.

Field Day The Olympics May 13

2008-05-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

We finished up our last scheduled activity for our homeschool co-op. It was field day. It was at our church in the back of the parking lot. The kids had a lot of fun. They played 5 different games and everything went relatively smooth. It was nice and sunny but the breeze was a bit cool still. The kids played a game with a plunger and a ball. They carried the ball in the plunger like a torch( for those of you reading this the plungers were brand new and never used!) to the finish line and then back to pass it to their team mate. They did a javelin throw, tug of war, broad jump and one more game I can't remember. After it was over everyone received their own medal that was made by the mom who put this whole field day together. After playing the games everyone had a picnic in the back of the parking lot. We talked some and the kids played a little. One of the kids took home a souvenir, a tick. Lucky him. The mom spotted it in enough time before it came an issue! Right now everything is slowing down and getting ready to finish up school.

2008-05-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is our little turtle we found.

Trip to Maymont May 1st

2008-05-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well we headed to Maymont on May 1 to meet with our homeschool group. The girls and I rode with one our friends, Laura and her three girls. It was a beautiful day to go and the sun was out. No rain for a change!! It was a little breezy but it was wonderful being out, especially with friends. We had a picnic there and then toured the grounds starting with the petting zoo. The kids really liked the animals but not too fond of the smells they give off. After this we went down the paths that led to the wild animals. We saw horses(not wild), a bear, who looked like he wanted to come right out of the caged surroundings, a vulture, and fox-stunk like a skunk! There were also some cows I think, can't remember. Boy, I must be getting old! The kids climbed up some of the embankments and had fun. It was nice exercise for all of us. It is amazing how far you can go and then you hear children say how tired they are. They have more energy than we do. It just amazes me. I guess it is just a sign that they are bored and ready to leave! Just my theory. Oh, we made our own discovery. As you will see we found a teeny tiny turtle. Most of the kids wanted to hold it. Most of them got the chance do it before we let him go. All in all in was a great day and the kids got to see their friends.

Kailtyn's 9th Birthday April 25

2008-05-02T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday party on April 25. Her real one is the 27th. We had 12 girls all together. I don't think we will do this again unless we have a bigger house. It was all fun but trying to fit 12 girls at an eight chair table was very challenging to say the least. It seems now it was such a blur with the eating and cutting of cake. As you will be able to see I forgot to take a picture of the cake before I cut it. It was that hectic!! The party was a slumber party. Only 4 of the girls slept over. One of the girls asked when our bedtime was. Well I told them they didn't have one! Not thinking that this is presenting a challenge to them. Kaitlyn had one last year and they were all asleep by2am. Obviously, everyone had a goal-TO STAY UP ALL NIGHT!!! Let's see.....the girls came down half past 3 am and wanted to watch a movie(mind you, they watched 2 back to back from 11pm to almost 2am. ) Joel sent them back up. Then, around twenty to five they decided they would try another chance to watch a movie. I met them at the stairs and said go the sleep. I believe all but one fell asleep around 5 that morning. There is always one in the group who has that determination to beat the odds. She finally crashed around 7:30ish that morning. I had a decent sleep but was still tired. I got up shortly after the one fell asleep and made homemade blueberry pancakes and bacon. Everyone seemed to like them. Everyone left by 10:30 that morning.

Lesson in all this: DON'T FORGET TO GET CHILDREN A BEDTIME! LOL