Princess Scrolls

I spent two hours today cutting, rolling and hand tying these lovely Princess Party Invitation scrolls today. I felt that they deserved their own blog.

Baby Goats!!!

We got to go out to Bobby and Martha's for dinner tonight. The main attraction of the evening were these precious, teensy, soft, prancy, dancy baby goats! They are so cute (and my sister, the baby goat lover will be so jealous!)

It was so therapeutic to hold and pet these little guys. I nearly cried I laughed so hard at the way they jumped and pranced around - they are so playful and happy! I just fell in love with them. I am still afraid of mama goats though.

Here are some pictures from tonight. I missed the kids feeding the goats, because I was still at work. Charles was good enough to take some pictures for me! We also saw donkeys and peacocks and a Dalmatian named Princess that Jonathan says is "very intellable"....I guess that's intelligent/incredible maybe!

I feel so blessed!

My husband met me with hand picked sunflowers in a vase and corn dogs when I got home from work today. Now - please don't go out and buy me a box of corn dogs - I have no paticular affection for them. I do however have an overwhelming affection for the fella that made me dinner tonight in spite of all the other things he had to do. Boy, does he ever know when I need a little boost.
Thanks babe (even though you never read this)!

Horses

I can't believe I forgot to post these precious horses that Connie and Mickey brought to the school last week. Jonathan just fell in love with them (they are just his size)! He said he wants to go live with them!
Last week K's class was learning about the farm, so they brought these horses for the kids to see. Everyone just loved them including me. Aren't they sweetie pies. They were so soft and had such beautiful eyes. I can see why Jonathan wanted to keep one for his own. I also think he wanted to ride one just a little.

Thanks so much for bringing them Mickey and Connie!

Jonathan

http://www.lisadawngalleries.blogspot.com

Go check out my photog blog to see Jonathan's 4 year old pictures. He won't be four until November, but he just looked so cute today that I decided to go ahead and take them. You can see my favorite pictures of my little flyer at my photography blog.

Homecoming Week

Crazy Hat Day Crazy Hair Day!!



























Kim Possible! (Cartoon Day)

Peace, Love and Flower Power

Kaitlin wrote this poem for her teacher:
"I love my teacher. She is so sweet. She loves Diet Dr. Pepper and she is so neat."

100th Post

On October 14th, Kaitlin will be getting baptized!
Praise God!

They say your 100th post should be about something really special, and since I was so close to 100 I've been saving this special announcement for my 100th post!

Let's Try A Video

You can barely see video #2 because it is so dark. Occassionally you see a spinny thing - that would be me.

Skating Pictures

So my kids got the skating gene. We had a great time Saturday night. I only have pictures of Jonathan because Kaitlin's friend is in the pictures with her, and I don't know how her mommie would feel about her face being on the internet. You'll just have to trust me that she did great as well. I'm going to try to post some video, but that place was dark with loud rap music, so you can't see much except for Jonathan's video.

The little girl in the picture with Jonathan is a little girl he met at the skating rink. She said, "You wanna hold hands?" so he just held her hand. Later she said, "Do you want me to teach you to skate?" He said, "Nah, I already know how."

When Jonathan would start to fall, he would flail all around. Once he told Charles, "Daddy, it's like I'm dancin!" He also said, "I have special skating powers!"

My Little Optomist

Have I blogged lately how much I love my daughter?
Charles' car is somewhat of a joke at our house. It has hail damage, no air conditioning, cracked windows, melted crayon in the backseat and its always full of books. The driver's side window does not roll down, because the roll down handle is broken off (a slight problem at drive thrus and b/c the air doesn't work). Then today, the back driver's side window was busted out by a flying rock (thrown by a lawn mower). It was a very pathetic sight to see - let me tell you, especially with fall and rainy weather right on our heels.
So I came in and told Kaitlin, "Daddy's back window got broken out." Without missing a beat, my little optomist exclaimed, "Great! Now Daddy has air conditioning!" She really is great to have around!!!

Weird Friends

So there's a lot of people getting tagged to blog 6 or 8 weird things about themselves. I've been tagged a few times myself (that was an earlier blog). So I have a new twist to put out there. I'm going to blog 6 weird (or unique) things about one of my dearest friends. Then that friend will be tagged to blog about someone else (and possibly get me back if they'd like). Blog about someone that actually reads your blog (so that it can be fun for everyone) and be nice of course. Don't put a name. Your friend should know who they are, and people can guess in the comments if they think they have it figured out!

So here's the starter of this new blog game:

1. She knows the lyrics to practically every song she's ever heard.

2. She used to sleep under my bed occassionally.

3. She once very nearly injured herself trying to do dance moves from "So You Think You Can Dance" in her bathroom.

4. She is terrified of squirrls.

5. Avacado is one of her favorite things along with the word "Pants"

6. She can swing dance better than anyone I know, and I'm so very jealous of that.

So I could go on here, but the game is for 6. Since this game is new - you are ALL tagged.

Where Am I

If you've been wondering where I've been (blogwise) lately - don't worry - I'm having trouble keeping up with myself too.

Charles is taking 15 hours, I am taking 10, K is in first grade, J is homeschooling Pre-K. (So that's the school part.) Charles is of course preaching (at our wonderful Cross Roads Church), working as a GA (and teaching Hebrew lab which he loves), being Super Dad (especially helping me with dinner since I don't get home untill nearly 7), and studying like a mad man to get through this LAST YEAR OF SEMINARY!!!

I am LOVING my job with the afterschool program. I have 12 kindergarteners and it is GREAT! Its an educational program, so I am doing lesson plans and teaching units (such as nutrition this week) and I have a great opportunity to love on some great kids that really need it. I have purpose and affirmation out the wazoo right now. Yay for those things! The down side is that I don't get home until nearly 7:00. That means that I have to really cherish the time I have with Kaitlin in the evenings. When I get home it's time for supper, showers and bedtime rituals. The up side is that Charles has been doing supper several nights a week (see Super Dad and Husband) and he's doing a terrific job of helping Kaitlin with her homework every night. Of course the fact that I really love it is an up side too. I have pretty much had a three week sore throat. I guess its a combination of talking, singing and reading so much between home and work and the fact that my kids hug me and then say things like - "I'm taking medicine because my mommie says I have puss on the back of my throat." They also hug me and then say, "My sister threw up today. She sounded just like a pig." "Lovely", I think to myself. Then I wash my hands and take airborne. At least a sore throat is a good excuse to drink more hot chocolate.

Kaitlin loves first grade. She's having a great time and reading away. She is still reading thru the Magic Tree House Series. If your kids love to read, these books are great and educational. They are written on a 3rd grade reading level - I highly recommend them. The newest one just hit shelves recently (we don't have that one yet.)

Jonathan is doing great as well. He is counting to 30 and recognizes his numbers 1-10 which is big improvement over last year for him! He is even starting to recognize some letters (although its pretty hit and miss right now.) He knows a J is his letter and a K is sissy's letter.

Sunday I asked him, "What did you learn in Sunday School this morning?" He said, "I learned to say Moses and we painted!" "What did you learn about Moses," I ask. "Moses took a big pole and went fishing in the red sea and then he opened it up!" Hmm, he got part of the story there, right? Of course the announcement guy at church overheard all of this and relayed the story to the entire congregation.

K and J are both mighty power rangers still. Shhh, Kaitlin is getting the pink ranger costume for her birthday - she'll be very excited.

And the picture at the top is just because I have a thing about picture-less blogs. I tried to find one of my super-hubbers! Isn't he terrific. He never even reads my blog, but I just gotta share the love!

I get to Zoom

K got invited to a skating party. Do parents get to go - yep. It's like a little post wish come true. Ha Ha. Post it and it will come? Maybe? I even put some skates on my header to celebrate.

Zip...Zoom..Spin...7 more days. Why don't I go more often? If I had a skating rink in my house I would be in such good shape.

I also wanted to post a prayer request. My friend Mandy's daughter Sadie has Scarlett Fever. She has had strep throat 5 times in 12 months, so I'm sure you can imagine where she's heading. Poor little sweetie. Keep them in your prayers this weekend.

Something to Ponder

This mornings Yahoo Headline caught my attention. The key word "Dinosaurs" jumped out at me. I've always loved dinosaurs! I'll read any article that pops up about these mysterious reptile creatures of long ago! And an article assuring me of the reason for their demise was a sure clicker! Their newest theory makes very good sense, and they even rate it with 90% accuracy. You can read about it here.

But what really stopped me this morning was the last sentence of the article:

"Was humanity inevitable? Or is humanity just something that happened to arise because of this sequence of events that took place at just the right time. It's hard to say."

If you are breathing, surely you have spent time thinking over this question. Even if you were raised in church and you were born to parents who lifted you in the air and said, "I thank the God that created you, Baby!", you have still probably pondered this question. Ask my PKs "Who made the world?" - "God did!" They will reply ever so quickly and with total confidence. Ask my PKs who made the sun, moon, flowers, trees, children......... They have the answer down. It has been drilled into them since birth. But somewhere between childhood and adulthood the inner part of us called doubt sprouts and makes us less sure of what we hope for and less sure of the unseen. Its the doubt that robs our hope and makes us grow weary in our steps.

The same God who created the dinosaurs created ME! (Wow - that's pretty cool!) The wonder and amazement that I feel when I see dinosaur bones or even a dinosaur footprint should be there everyday when I look in the mirror. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the God of the Universe. Psalm 139

Here's the catch. I can't prove it to you. There are books and books and books on this stuff - so for this morning I'm not going to add my blog to that list. I understand your doubts. Were we put here by accident? Do we have a purpose? As much as I would like to give you all of life's answers, I can't even begin. But in love, I want to reach out to you and say - God is big enough to handle your doubt. Take it to him. Don't give up the search. Keep reading, keep praying, keep reaching.

Indescribable images burst into my mind when I read Genesis. To imagine still waters suddenly filled with life. To imagine emptiness and chaos suddenly turned to order. To imagine darkness turning to light. *Stopping as I type and realize* That is quite possibly my best proof. I believe in a God who turns darkness into light, because He did it for me - little me- personally and in a very real way! Hmmm, not very scientific maybe (oh how I love tangible evidence), but it is oh so real in my life!

Well I hate to give you this terribly wordy blog without pictures, so let's see what I can come up with...Ah, this little guy seems to have loads of personality!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND

Today is my friend Mandy's birthday. Happy birthday Mandy! I hope its a super great one!!!

You can send her some Birthday Wishes at her blog.

The Bookends

During the school year I do what we call our Monday Prayer e-mails. Charles and I are both at a computer so much that we've found it to be a great way to share thoughts and prayer requests for the week. I haven't done it all summer and I have really missed it. I usually share a little of the e-mail here on the blog. I'll hopefully start that again next Monday.
However, this morning our devotional with our kiddos really reached out to me. Their verse is simply "My help comes from God. He made heaven and earth. " Psalm 121:2 Some of the bullet points of the devotional are:
* God made heaven and earth. He is strong and can help you to be strong too.
*If God wants you to do something, he will help you do it.
* You don't have to be strong or important or smart to do great things for God. He will be all of those things for you.

We read about Jeremiah today. God told him, don't be afraid of people. I'm with you. I will take care of you. Oh, our wonderful God who promises never to leave us nor forsake us. What a comfort to me today. What a comfort to know that its ok if I'm not smart enough, or I don't talk the right way, or I'm not strong enough (because I am none of those things). God will be those things in me according to His purpose.
Today I have been praying especially to keep the fruit of the spirit. I had a hard day at work yesterday, and I know that I need an extra dose of His holiness within me right now. As I prayed today, I felt God telling me to focus on the bookends of the list of his fruit. Love and Self Control. I will focus on those today and trust God to fill in the middle!
God asked Moses (who we read about yesterday) "who gave people their mouths? Who makes people hear or see?" (translated in a children's Bible). God has given me this mouth and he has given those around me the eyes and ears to hear and see what comes out of me. I want what comes out of my mouth (and my life) to reflect Him.
Pray for me today as I try to keep it all between those precious bookends of love and self-control.
LOVE, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL

"Sea" Food

Tonight we made ocean jell-o. It turned out to be so cute and really fun, so I wanted to share the idea. It would be a great end to an ocean theme for you home schoolers out there.

Its just blue jell-o with those cake topper treats and some cool whip! Yum and Fun all in one!

The kids had a blast with this one! It was a great way to end our day off!

Its Possible

It's possible that each of the 5 of you (who do let me know you are here) have visited this blog 60 times each in about two weeks, but I doubt it. I think it is much more likely that I have silent blog stalkers. If you read my blog, but you've never commented - show me some love. It makes it much more worth my while anyway. Who are you???

I want to go roller skating.........

Zip Zoom Spin

Oh how I love to roller skate!