Her Birthday cont.

  It was day 3 of Laura's birthday celebration.  Lately, she has been joining Amarin as he practices piano.  She has also been venturing into the piano room on her own to plunk some keys.

 Finally, it was time for her birthday treat...strawberry shortcake!

Hmmmm...what is my wish this year?

I thought of one!

 So happy to be 8 years old!

Laura's 8!

What a blessing to celebrate, with this sweet girl, her 8th birthday.

She is such a joy, has an easy going personality, loves being cuddled, adores her siblings, definitely Daddy's girl,  and surely has her own way of letting us know what she wants...or doesn't want! 

 Every milestone in the past 7 years she has been with us has been amazing...and sometimes a hoot!  When she waves bye-bye...you'd better watch out because she swings that arm like a baseball bat!  And lately, when we ask her a question, we sometimes get a head nod or shake...usually one right after the other...over and over and over.  She leaves us in stitches.  And she knows how to retrieve her own cup in the kitchen for a drink of water.  Well, it may or may not be her own cup.  She quickly realizes that she has chosen incorrectly when she dumps a cup of water all over herself and the floor.  Oops...that one didn't have a lid on it!  No worries.  Just throw it on the floor and try the next one.  She alternates feet now while walking up stairs (holding our hand) while trying to hold the railing.

She smiles at her school bus when it pulls in front of our home.  Such a big girl now.

But on to her birthday.

On Wednesday, she took birthday cookies to school to share with her friends, teachers, and bus drivers.

 Then on Thursday, her real birthday, she "told" me she wanted to go to Olive G@rden.  Or maybe I just knew because this girl loves her some pasta!

 Oh, yeah.  This is good!

 And when she discovered it was chocolate milk instead of her normal water to drink, she gulped down 1/2 of it at once!

 Back home for birthday presents.  The kids all picked out something they knew she would love.  Amarin chose red tissue paper...

 ...and fish crackers!

 Jacob chose chocolate animal crackers.  I think he's hoping she will share them.

 I love how Jenna is helping Laura reach into the bag.

 Surprise!  More food!  Chocolate graham crackers!

 Char ventured out of the realm of food, and chose a little pony.  

 Score!  And she's happy she can finally put something in her mouth!

 More tissue paper.  I think she's getting the hang of pulling it out of the bag.

 Sandals...

 and more food...I mean...a dress.

 And her canine friend, Suki, gave her a new nightshirt.

 Of course, she had to model it and thank Suki.  So sweet that her friend is here for her birthday!

We decided we were all too stuffed from dinner to properly enjoy her birthday treat.  I guess her birthday will have to be extended to day 3!

Happy birthday, sweet girl.  We love you!!

Can You ChipIn?

Jamie is heading to Shanghai soon.  I'm a little green.

I keep hoping he will surprise me with a ticket.  :)  Just in case you're reading, Honey!

But...

He is pretty excited about the chance to help out the Baobei Foundation in Shanghai.

 This is a US registered 501c3 charity which provides life-saving surgeries for orphans born with neurological and/or gastrointestinal birth defects.

Jamie's goal is to take 2 suitcases filled with over-the-counter medications for the babies.

Some of the meds they need right now are liquid vitamins with iron, infant ibuprofen, Triaminic, fast/good thermometers, hydrocortisone cream, benadryl, neosporin, A&D ointment.

None of these are expensive, but what a blessing it will be to provide for these babies!

 

We will provide what we can, but wanted to open it up to you!

There is a ChipIn at the side of my blog.  You can donate, through PayPal, any amount.  We will use the full amount of donations to purchase the meds.

Can you spare a few dollars to cover the cost of one of these items?  No amount is too small!

And, if you have a blog or FB, can you share this?  

We only have until Friday, July 20th to collect the funds.

Thank you for your generosity!

 

The Toilets Last Cleaning

We were chatting about the upcoming Summer Olympics today at lunch.

We LOVE watching them, especially the opening ceremonies.

We love seeing the different countries represented, their people, their flags,

and, of course, the countries represented in our home.

We were talking about the medals, and how the gold medalist gets their national anthem played.

Charlie asked what our national anthem is.

I told him it is the Star Spangled Banner.

He didn't know the song.  It's not like we sing it often.

Perhaps if a certain cucumber and tomato sang it, he may know it.

So in my most awesome singing voice, ahem, I sang...

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?"

Amarin piped up with disbelief..."At the toilet's last cleaning?"

Laughter prevailed.  Explaining was necessary.

Second languages are so much fun!

4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!

So blessed to live in the "land of the free, and the home of the brave."

Testimonies

So our big kids arrived home Saturday evening from camp.
Exhausted.  But a good exhausted.
The next morning at Sunday School, the teens and adults met and discussed some of the topics covered at camp.  The teens had some pretty tough topics.  Preacher wanted to be sure the adults were on board to help these young people in whatever way they needed.

But...Sunday evening.
What a service!
It was a time for the campers to share their testimonies of their week at camp.
What they learned, how the Lord worked in their hearts.
It was amazing.
Some of them realized they needed to be showing more respect to their parents and teachers.
Others realized how strong a muscle the tongue is, and how quickly it can hurt another.
And how gossip is nothing but messy.
Some were going home to clean out their movie and song collections, removing anything with offensive language, scenes, etc.
Many of the kids realized they needed to share the truth and love of Jesus more.

It was such a blessing to see Amarin share his testimony.  My little guy, who less than 3 years ago, had no idea who Jesus was or how He could change his life.

Jacob first told how much he loved drinking M. Dew soda at camp.  Joker!

 After the testimonies, the kids sang Amazing Grace.

There was not a dry eye in the house.

"I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth."  

3 John 1:4

 

And they're home

 My biggest boys are home.  Safe and sound...and totally, utterly exhausted.

They chatted for almost 2 hours when we got home about the fun they had, the funny things that happened, the late nights, the treats, the speakers, new friends.

And they both shared some things that challenged them.  Not easy.  But we know God uses all things for good and that their characters were being stretched. Kind of like muscles.  It hurts a bit to stretch them, but we know it's for good, right?

I was thankful for camera phones on Jacob's bus.  We got to see a little bit of what was happening on the road.

Here he is with a buddy.  I can only imagine, from Jacob's stories, what it was like to ride with a bus full of these goofies!

 These came through on my phone yesterday as they drove home.

Can you tell it's been a busy week with not a whole lotta sleep?

 He's going...

 going...

 and we lost him.  

Hitting the floor of a bus can wake a person out of a deep slumber!

 So happy to see my boys home again.

 Yes, Amarin was there, too.  Just no camera flashes in his SUV!

 Char missed his brothers like crazy.  He even started crying when he saw Amarin.

Char was in his glory last night when Amarin said he would play the Wii with him.

So nice to have all my chicks back in the nest!

Dedication Sunday

I forgot my camera...again.  But someone had their camera-phone and

shared with me. Thank you!

Last Sunday, Jun 24th was a busy day.

Our 18th wedding anniversary...

the 33rd anniversary of our church...

and,

Amarin and Jenna's Dedication at church.

It was special dedicating them on the same day, and with such a sweet group of church 

people excited for them.

They each received a certificate, as well as a little Bible.  

I wish I would have had a picture of Jenna when she was handed her new Bible.

She turned around to the church with a huge smile and said, "Oh, cool!"

Of course, everyone laughed and thought it was so cute.

And this certainly started off the week well for Amarin who was headed to camp for the first time.

More on that later as the boys are due home today!

See that happy piano player in the background?

Yeah...she's always that happy!

Just the Littles

 So, it's just me and "the littles" as we refer to them...Laura, Char, and Jenna.

We're keeping busy, but the days are much, much quieter. 

And I find I have more chores to do, and no babysitter.

I may have to rethink this camp thing next year!  :)

Laura's in school every morning. Sorry about the sunshine in your eyes, sweetie.

 Char, Jenna, and I met friends at the zoo.

 Char was "the preacher" and instructed Jenna, Laura, and all stuffed animals within hearing about Luke, John the Baptist, Job, and how "...some boast in chariots."  I must have missed the part when he told about how those topics/people correlated.

I texted our preacher's wife and told her that they could relax coming home from camp...Char could cover Sunday services for them.

Build-A-Bear is always fun.  Jenna made a bunny and Char made a bear.

Then they came home and painted their animals' homes.

Now I remember why teaching preschool drove me nuts...no sooner do I have all art materials out for them, then they're saying, "We're done!"  But you only painted one inch of the house...

My littles.  They won't be little for long, though, will they?

Camp or bust!

 By reading some of your blogs, this must be THE week for Bible camps!

This will be Jacob's 2nd year going to camp and he could not wait, even

though it's a different camp than last year.

When we first talked about going to this new camp with his new friends from our new church,

he was not thrilled with the idea.  He wanted us to drive back to our previous home so he could go with his "old" friends.

But, he has become good buddies with some of the guys at our new church, and decided this is where he wanted to go after all!

And this is Amarin's first year going to camp...no hesitation at all.  I kept asking him if he was nervous or scared to be away from home for a week, and he answered with a sound, "No."

Alrighty, then.

So, we had to be at the church, ready to pull out at 6AM.  

Thankfully for all involved, I was able to down 2 cups of coffee before heading out at 5:30.  Ugh!

 Jacob was so geeked to be riding "Short Bus" with the teens.  Bless those drivers!

 All the kids got a gift bag with snacks, a water bottle, and a few fun trinkets...

 like these!  I just know the drivers will have a sense of humor!

 

Amarin is riding "shot-gun" in the SUV.  He was told that he could hold the phone with the map.

He's in his glory because the boy loves maps!  But if we get a call from Timbuktu, he will surely be relinquishing his seat!

 

 Before pulling out, we had a time of prayer...for fun and safety, but mostly that the Lord would work in each of their lives and they would grow closer to Him this week.

And then, as Preacher put it, we had "an opportunity," not a problem.

Appropriate that he just preached last night on suffering well and seeing challenges and trials as God's way of molding our hearts and shaping our lives.

Yeah for opportunities!

Jamie was walking out the door to loan them his SUV for the week, when they called and said all was good.

Yeah that it was an easy fix!

Next Sunday night will be a special service for the campers to give their testimonies from camp.  We can not wait to hear their stories and experiences!

Our Morning

  What's a great way to spend the morning?

Working at the foodbank with my kiddos!

We organize this outing once per month and invite other

homeschool families to join us.

Our job each month is to package meals in a bag to be 

delivered throughout the USA and around the world...

wherever the need may be...so those in need will have a nutritious meal.

Today we were finishing a pallet heading to Africa!

First, we have to don these really handsome hats.

(Note how I'm not in any of these photos!)

Then we start scooping rice, spices, beans, and a veggie protein.

We've tasted it and it's good!

 Can you tell they're serious about their work?

 Then it needs to be weighed.  

Not too heavy, not too light.

Char learned how to read the scale and adjust the contents so 

it weighs just the right amount.

Such a big boy!

 Then, in her pretty hat, Jenna organized the bags into 20 groups of 2.

 Those dots help her count the bags.

What a great idea and a perfect job for little ones that can't quite do the scooping and weighing.

 Then those 40 bags are placed in a box and taken out to the warehouse.

 And when little legs need a break, they can rest while putting labels on bags.

And that is how I love to spend the morning with my kiddos.