Graduation Party

Well, my "little" sister is graduating high school this weekend!!!! Exciting times! The girls and I went up for the Open House. I thought I would share a few pics from the weekend. The first one... is right across the street from my parents house. Those are the bikes from the elementary school kids. Isn't that cute? ALL the kids in town walk, ride bikes, roller skate or scooter to school. It is so safe they don't have bike racks, you just lay them down! There are some photos from the Johnny Appleseed Museum, my sister, the party and a few of my walk through town with the girls. I am glad to be back and excited because my husband should be home tomorrow!

Not forgotten

I wanted to get this down before it slipped my mind... again. On Memorial day the girls asked why there was a sticker on their calendar. I explained VERY briefly about it. VERY briefly. I really thought they were a little young to "get it". Boy did they prove me wrong. We were driving down the road HOURS later and the oldest asked, "Will Daddy be like the soldiers we think about today? Will he have to die too since he is a soldier?" Wow. You wanna talk hard? Try answering that one. I did and it brought up more questions, so I explained about freedom. I told them that lots of Mommies and Daddies are soldiers and go far away to fight for us and that Daddy joined so that one day he can take his turn and that will let another Daddy be home with his kids and that is part of the reason why we are so proud of Daddy. The conversation kept going and has returned over the past few days. Just a random, hard to answer, question every now and then. But yesterday the youngest said, "Mommy, can we go see the soldiers who died for us?" I explained that they would be buried and she said she understood, but wanted to see them anyways. I was amazed. How many times do we underestimate our children? Obviously I am quite guilty of that. I hope we are all helping raise a generation of children who will want to see "The soldiers who died for us" and that they will understand how blessed we are to live in this country.

Cookie Baking

Today was really busy and the girls were SO good for me! We had our final lesson with Sunshine the pony. It was rather bittersweet. We absolutely loved her teacher and the sweet pony. If we had land, we would have bought Sunshine. She loved our youngest. Today she seemed to sense something different and anytime the youngest was out of range Sunshine would look for her and paw the ground. She kept kissing her and nuzzling her with her head. The youngest loved it and was giving out plenty of her own kisses. She even gave the pony her favorite stuffed horse "Yipee". The rest of the day was filled with cleaning, packing and baking I don't know how many dozen cookies for my sister's graduation open house! This time tomorrow I will be there! I am glad for something to fill up the time! When we get back it will be almost time for my husband to return! Blogging may be hit or miss for the next few days, but I will try!

Field Day

1. Wake up and realize, "oh no. Our oldest has poison ivy and with her it NEVER goes away." call the pediatrician and get a last minute appointment. Go to pharmacy and wait to get medicines.
2. Youngest decides she really wants ice cream and to get some is ready to try riding without training wheels!! Yea!!! Bicycle seat breaks. Boo. No husband here to fix it. I attempt it till I am greasy and sweaty. Give in and call neighbor. He comes out and has it fixed in less than 4 minutes. Get child on bike and have a few great runs, then wipe out and time for bandaids.
3. Realize the blinker is out and have to call and get appointment to get it fixed.
4. Lights in the kitchen went out.

I think that covers it. Seriously, it was not that bad of a day. The girls were really good and everything. I just miss my husband already. I have some fun things planned this week, so hopefully the time will be flying by!

Chalk

The girls were outside creating masterpieces on our driveway with sidewalk chalk. The youngest was making a very happy, very pretty sun. Her sister asked if she could draw around it.
5 - Whatcha making?
4 - A sunshine
5 - Want me to draw a pink circle around it?
4 - No, that would not be very pretty.
5 - It would be very pretty.
4 - Oh, OK!
5- Want me to draw it here?
4 - No, that would not be very pretty.
5- Oh, it would be pretty.
4- Oh OK!
Can you tell who the easy going one is in our family?

Also, the cowboy boots are still in high demand. Literally the MINUTE she got out of the bath she ran and put the boots back on. I walked into her room and found her naked... with boots on. She was looking for her new outfit which she managed to put on without taking the beloved boots off! She is so sticking cute!

From the toy room

5- Stop saying what I say
4 - Stop saying what I say
5- Stop repeating
4- Stop repeating
5- That's not even a word
4- That's not even a word
5- (giggle) This is kinda funny
4- (laughing) This is kinda funny
5- I love my little sister (Lalalalala)
4- (singing) I love my sissy..... She is so greatful.... love her SOOOOOOO

If only all fights were so easily resolved. Next time you have an argument with someone try this logic and let me know how it works for you. =)

Picnic at the horse farm!

Today was another super day here! We hit some garage sales and then went to the horse farm for a picnic. The girls had a blast and were covered in sweat and dirt! Then we hit the mall and my sweet husband let me go have a much needed pedicure done. Then he took the girls to the track so I could catch up on housework. They were wiped out and are sleeping like little angels.

Trip to the Water Park

To say that today was awesome would not begin to cover it. We found a free water park area up in the big city =). It was SO much fun! We walked about 1 mile to get there. The girls rode their scooters and we stopped at some playgrounds along the way. One had a sandbox. Anyone care to guess who jumped right in? Yeah, the youngest. She said, "Mommy, today is the first time I have ever played in sand." I reminded her of all the times she has played in sand before. She sighed and said, "Yeah, but it has been so long that it feels like the first time and sand is really, really diggy." Man, that kid is cute! Throughout the day we picked up cowboy boots for the youngest and the oldest got a new bike (early) for her birthday! My husband and I found a place that serves our favorite cold coffee Big Train! We ate out twice in one day and had beautiful weather! Thank you Lord for wonderful, memory building, relaxing days like this one.

Video (same one)

Video

Please click on this link and watch this video. My husband and the girls are in it (3 times). This is one of the many, many reasons I am so proud to have him as my husband.

Video

Stolen Moments

We start off every day of school with a short devotional. I always ask the girls if they have any questions. Today was the story of Elijah and Elisha. The oldest asked, "How did Elijah HEAR God tell him to go to the river?" I used that moment to explain pre-Jesus how people heard from God etc. That led into the plan of salvation (at their level). I tell ya, if you are not a believer in home-school, you should be. If my girls were in public school I would not have had this moment with them today. I love our girls and I love being here with them. I love my husband who believes in me and believes in me being with them and who supports me constantly!

Promises

After spending a few hours outside today I told the oldest it was her turn to choose bath or shower. She said, "Well Mommy, we have a little problem. You know how sometimes when you are gone Daddy gets a little confused and doesn't know what to do? Well, yesterday it was little sister's turn to choose and she said 'bath' but Daddy did shower. I told her that if she would not get dirty today that I would choose bath for her and she did not get dirty so I want a shower but need to choose bath for her." Is that not both completely sweet (and a tad humorous as well)? I used that opportunity to talk about the importance of keeping our promises. I love being a mom!

Big girl

A few days ago our girls were outside riding bikes and their friends brought over their small bike without training wheels. The oldest hopped on and took off. When my husband came home he took the training wheels off our small bike and she took right off! We let her practice like that for a few days and now she is on her real bigger bike and zipping around like she was born riding her bike! It is so cool and very exciting for all of us!

Hot Dog

Yesterday our youngest was busy collecting the dead grass from where I had done our yard. She filled her hands and then came and strategically scattered it all over our drive way. I asked why she was doing that. She turned her big, innocent eyes on me and lisped, "So the horsies will come and eat it in our yard."
Then we were driving and she exclaimed, "MOMMY! I saw a dog that looked just like a hot dog!" She was so excited! They were both thrilled to learn that lots of people think those weiner dogs look like hot dogs. It was quite cute!

So, um, how's that working for ya?

Oh. My. Word. Playlands attract the weirdos. Maybe that is why we go so often! LOL! But today was crazy! There was a little boy there named Barrett. Barrett was a cute kid. It all started with, "Barrett. Come sit down and eat honey. Barrett, Come and eat. Barrett, come and sit down NOW. Barrett, I mean it. eat your food." It went on for at least 5 minutes and Barrett was blissfully playing. Then he stole a toy from another girl. His mom said, "No no Bubby, give it back." Surprisingly he complied and THEN commenced to screaming. Even MORE surprising was his mom's reaction. She said, "Awww, come here and Mommy will buy you a toy but you have to come and sit and eat." This, AGAIN, went on for about 3 minutes and he just kept screaming and playing a little. Finally she went and bodily removed him to the table, where instead of sitting he sottd on the bench. But mommy went and bought the toy. I think he ate one bite of food and grabbed the toy and hit the ground running. A few minutes later they were ready to leave. It was kinda like being at a movie that you really don't want to see the end of but cannot help but watch the whole thing play out. Here is how it all went down. "Barrett come get your shoes on. It's time to go." Blah blah they kept yelling for him till it increased to "we're gonna whip your butt." At the end of their ropes they were both pounding on the plexiglass saying, "You're gonna get it (WHILE THEY WERE LAUGHING!!!!!!!!)". Eventually, again, she had to climb in and pull him out. Then he commenced to screaming AGAIN and they put his shoes on and carried him out with promises that he could come back another day. Seriously? It was so hard not to strike up a conversation with them. I just bit my tongue and quietly praised the Lord for the sweet girls He has blessed us with.

Giving Back

We embarked on something brand new today and I am VERY excited to see where it will lead.
To be completely honest, I never once have wanted to sponsor a child. I had a mental block against it. I hate going to a concert and having 30 minutes eaten up with photos of children who steal your heart. I also had a mistrust of the companies. But, both my husband and I were feeling like we wanted to give in a different way. I guess we were a little unsure how but we had been thinking about. Then about 1 month ago my care group leader spoke at MOPS. Again, to be totally honest, I was like, "Oh great. Another sponsor a child thing." For me though, this day was totally different because I heard her story. They sponsored children based on their children's birthdays. She shared some stories about how they had started sponsoring a girl who was born on their daughter's birthday when the girls were 5. Those girls are now 13 and her family has been sponsoring her and corresponding with her for 8 years. She shared how it was impacting their family in so many ways. I started feeling this little inner niggle. I asked some questions because I had two big reasons why I never wanted to do this.
1. How do we KNOW the money is being spent on the child?
Compassion International is different than what I expected. 90% of all money goes directly to the children. 10% is salaries, advertising and overhead. That was impressive, but they go a step further. They have independent auditors and switch them regularly. (I am not sure but think they switch them every year or so). Very impressive and now that niggle was starting to wiggle some.
2. What had ALWAYS bothered me... Do the kids in the photos really need help? Do they seriously take their photo and NOT help them?
Answer: Yes, but not in the way you think. See, I had this image of them tracking down kids who look cute and needy. Here is what really happens... They register a child's family with the local center and take and post the kids pictures and once a sponsor had stepped up they know where to find the child to ensure they are getting the help they need. But most of the kids ARE currently receiving bible classes etc.
I was starting to feel excited at this point because all my questions were getting answered and I liked the answers. So we decided to do it.
Meanwhile I told my friend about it and she decided to sponsor a child for her boys and she told a friend who sponsored a child for her children!
So, on this rainy afternoon the girls and I logged onto the internet and sponsored two children of their choosing.
We have Ashly from Nicaragua and Vicky from Ghana. When you are ready to choose a child you can be SO picky! We decided to base on their birthdays. Each girl picked a child from their birth month and year. Essentially they are the exact same ages as our girls which will make it really neat to compare their lives.
I look so forward to getting our packet and having some pictures to share with everyone!

From my best friend

Hope this works!

Watch this clip

Party Time

Today we decided to throw an impromptu surprise party for my husband! It was quite the success! We got him a card and gift bag and filled the bag with treats the girls chose for him. We decorated with streamers and balloons. The kids from the neighborhood even gave him a welcome home parade! It was all so cute! I made one of his favorite dinners (shepherd's pie) and we all had a great time! He asked what it was for and it was just because we love him and I am SO thankful for a husband who works SOOOO hard to allow me to do what I love best... being home with our girls. He does so much for us and it was fun to something neat and unexpected for him. Let me know if you try our idea and how it went!

He's home

Need I say more? Ahhh, everything feels all right again!
The girls were great today! We played outside for HOURS and they had so much fun! Their summer confidence is returning (riding bikes faster etc...). They are getting their endurance back too. It is so fun sitting outside and watching them play. They were not even sad to miss soccer because we got to go get Daddy! He will be leaving before they are awake to go clean tanks and stuff so he was thrilled to get home in time to eat some waffles with them. Homemade waffles are the best and so is my hubby!!!!!

Keeping it on the Down Low

My girls actually managed to keep a surprise from me! I woke up this morning and came into the living room. They both started saying, "Happy Mother's Day" and the youngest gave me a HUGE hug! Then the oldest went back to her room and called the youngest to come with her to her privacy box. She brings out.... my favorite shampoo (Tea Tree), a new pair of sunglasses and a card from them and my sweet husband! They had signed the card and everything! I was so surprised and pleased! Then my husband snuck in a very quick phone call to me. The whole day went real well. I went to one of my favorite places for lunch and then got a very, very small pool for the girls. We came home and washed the van and they wanted to use their pool. My hope is that it will save on our water bill during the summer. They had a blast playing in it! I was feeling so happy and the sun was shining and everything was going great! Then my husband texted me and said they will not be home today either. Maybe tomorrow? I sure hope so, I miss him like crazy!

More sun

We saw the sun again today and the girls were able to play outside! Yea! They went to their Moms Out kids In today and I hit a few garage sales. Afterwards I took them to an art festival and to riding lessons. When we came home the ICE CREAM TRUCK came! It was their first experience with one and it made their month! They were so excited! My husband did not get to come home today but I am praying tomorrow and early tomorrow!

Juicy

I knew last night that I was forgetting something very funny but could not remember it until I woke up this morning. How I could ever forget this I have no idea. We were driving along yesterday and the oldest was talking to Nana on the cell phone. I looked over and saw the cutest little pudgiest bird taking a bath in a rain puddle. I told the youngest to look and took great joy in the way her whole face lit up and this sweet innocent smile spread over her face. She gave a small, very cute giggle and said in her lispy voice, "Mommy, are birds juicy?" I questioned her and what she wanted to know is..., "Well, they are always kinda round and I thought that one day if I could catch one I could sorta smush it open and see if that round is juicy stuff like a lemon. wouldn't that be neat?" How could I have forgotten that? What a hoot!

Food Pantry and Organization

My girls had a brand new experience today. We spent 1 1/2 hours working at our church's food pantry today. The oldest gave every family a big pack of Bounty napkins and the youngest put a Bible in everyone's cart. It was really neat and all the people seemed real tickled to see such little kids helping out. And they did. They handed out mints to all the children and they worked the entire time! I was SO proud of them! The oldest was hilarious! Every time she handed out a package of napkins she had to rearrange the whole stack to keep them nice and orderly (type A anyone???). The lady in charge commented on it and I said that our oldest is very organzied etc... On the way home the youngest says, "Mommy, I am good at organizing too. When I play in the mud I keep the mud with the mud and the dirt with the dirt." The oldest chimes in and says, "That's right Mommy she does! She always keeps her mud organized." I was literally choking on my laughter! What a riot!

Day of pleasant surprises!

Let's see...
1. The sun came out today and the girls got to ride their bikes!
2. A neat package came in the mail for me from my sweet friend! I got the first of the Twilight books, some tarts and Karen Kingsbury's autograph!!!! It made my day!
3. I took the girls to see "Hannah Montana". I was nervous because we do not let them watch the show and I was a little afraid. The reviews were good, but still, I was not sure if their ideas on "safe" were the same as ours. I was VERY happy with the movie!! Very sweet, great music and extremely clean! The girls actually loved it, which surprised me too! I am not sure I would own this movie on dvd, but it was great for a 1 time deal.

No more surprises but I am excited to be another day closer to my husband returning!

More rain

It has been raining non-stop for what feels like weeks! I feel so bad for my husband who is out in it. I asked where he would sleep if it rains. You may be thinking that is an odd question, BUT unless it is below a certain temperature they sleep outside. No exceptions (at least none that are reliable) ;) He said they would sleep in Strykers. He said they typically sleep 5 to a vehicle. That may not seem too bad until you remember field time = NO SHOWERS. So, I imagine it is kinda stinky! Plus they are not allowed to turn the vehicles on. So, not exactly ideal conditions for getting a good three hours of sleep. I feel so bad for him.
Other than the rain, we had a really great day here. I took the girls to Chick-Fil-A and ran into friends that I don't usually see. I got a chance to talk to some grown ups and the girls wore themselves out in the playland! It was great! Now we are another day closer to my husband being home again!
As for now, I have some decaf coffee brewing and plan to do a little reading and find out who is getting kicked off of American Idol!

I should be used to it

My husband was leaving this morning to be out at the field all day. He expected to get home after dark tonight and do the same thing tomorrow and leave for 5 days on Thursday. He left this morning and around 5:45 my phone rang, "Um, can you pack for me? We are leaving for the field right now." This ring a bell for anyone? Sigh. He had planned ahead and had all his things laid out. I just had to throw them together and pack his favorite foods for him. I was just going out to load it in the van and he pulled in on the motorcycle. I guess they gave him time to get home and pack BECAUSE they sent out the email at 8 p.m. last night telling everyone to come ready to leave. I think about 1/3 of the class got the email. My husband was not alone in his dilema! I have a good friend whose hubby works on base and he was able to tell me that he THINKS they may be home on Saturday! I would be thrilled but am not going to get my hopes up (yeah right)!
In other news...
We actually had a rare visitor here today. The sun! Ha! It was great! I took the girls outside for about 2 hours or so. They had a blast! After that we went to soccer practice. They passed out when I tucked them in tonight.
The only other blog worthy thing is a lady who is at soccer practice. She has two kids. Boy. Then a younger girl. Her little FOUR YEAR OLD girl is on our 4 year olds team. They are the dreaded "soccer parent" types. WAY too into their daughters performance. Tonight she was bragging about this, "Oh I am so hungry. We won't eat dinner till 9:30 tonight. See, M had pre-school and right after I took her to dance and we changed in the car and came straight here for soccer. We can only stay here for 30 minutes and then she has t-ball practice and her brother has a game at 7:30 so we won't get home till 9:00 or so." I just want to know why on earth someone would have their little kid in so many activities!!! I have trouble when we have a sport + awanas. It feels like a lot to keep up with. As I was pondering this the dad was constantly yelling out things like "Hustle M! You don't walk in soccer! Keep up! Go after it! Attack the ball M!" Seriously????? Poor kid. She has to be exhausted!
Stepping off the soap box....
Good night!

Cheesy Post but true

I apologize about the potential cheesiness of the following blog entry. So read with caution.
My friend was chatting with me on facebook today. They currently have 4 kids (all boys) and pretty soon are going to start trying for number 5 and maybe someday number 6! She was talking to her husband about really wanting a 12 passenger van instead of their mini-van. They started looking into it and decided to go ahead and do it. They are shopping around but sometime soon, they will get one that is right for their family. This same husband also encouraged her to go to a women's conference over the weekend. He even had clean kids and a hot supper ready for her when she got home. My husband does these same things. He will be with the girls whenever I need him to and he never says, "I will baby-sit". He knows he is just being a dad. Tonight, even though he has lots to to, he plopped down and played candyland and read to the girls. He bathes them, feeds them, plays with them, tickles, chases and does absolutely anything they need him to do. He is such a wonderful dad! And an incredible husband too! He always encourages me to go out alone or to line up a sitter while he is gone so I can have some alone time. He surprises me with little things quite often! I have other friends with great husbands too (so please don't feel excluded). All this was to say that we are so fortunate. My girls are so lucky that they have their daddy. So tonight if you have a husband as great as mine, please take the time to tell them. Husband of mine, you totally rock!!!!!!!!

Contentment

I was sitting here on the couch listening to my little girls in their room. They are having their nightly in room play time before bed. What they have done so far tonight is play Sunday School. They took prayer requests, prayed, talked about why we go to church, told a lesson and now have their cds and are listening to scripture music and dancing together to it. Just now they got a pretend call from a friend wanting them to play but they told them, "Sorry we are at church." It just gave me this huge feeling of contentment. I could sit here for hours listening to them play innocent games like that. I love their innocence and sweetness.

Thanks for coming

After church today (sans my husband =( ) I took the girls to our favorite Mexican place to eat. We had a great time together and the service was nice. The waitress brought our ticket and said, "Thanks for coming today" or something very similar. The oldest said, "Why do they always say that when we go someplace? I think it is because they want more of our money." I almost spit water out my nose! That just tore me up! Kids are so cool.

Playing in the rain

The girls had soccer today. In the freezing cold raid. Actually the parents on our oldests team decided to cancel but our youngest daughter's team decided to play. We did stay... in the van. We took turns standing to watch her play in the drizzle. I just thought it was crazy that they were out there playing. Other than that it was a great day! We had tickling, playing, horse lesson and then my husband took me to O'Charlies for an early mother's day lunch since I will be alone that day. I also finally got my hair trimmed. No big news other than that. Oh wait... we do have big news. As of today we officially OWN our 3 year old Kia Sedona mini van!!!!! We are free from the burden of car payments. For now at least! ;) I never thought this day would come and it feels great! Lord willing, I would like to never have a monthly car payment again, but that just does not seem real likely. We shall try though!

What does our daughter want for her birthday?

I LOVE to hear what our girls ask for. I guess because they do not get to watch commercials the things they ask for are pretty unique. Here is what our oldest has asked for for her upcoming birthday.
An electric cheetah that either she or her dolls could ride on.
a music box that she could keep stuff in.
A pillow holder so that she would not have a messy bed and then she can pick one pillow at a time.
And an animal holder so she can pick one doll or animal at a time too.

Is that not a sweet list? You just gotta love her!