Sam Went To The Lake

Grampa took Sam, Erika and Alli to the lake today.  He had a wonderful time.  His eyes just lit up when he found out he was going to be able to go on a boat!

 High Fiving after tubing.....

 Sam and Grampa

Next is driving the boat.

Paper Dolls

I don't know about you, but when  I was a kid I loved playing with Paper Dolls.


Dover publishers has a great selection of paper doll books at very reasonable prices.  I purchased a few for Sarah and Alli to play with as they pass the summer days relaxing and enjoying the lovely weather!

They have spent hours cutting out and dressing up their dolls in period costumes.    I am really glad we were able to provide such a fun activity for them. :)
Honestly, it can get so quiet I wonder if anybody is home!  And sure enough, I can go onto the porch of into the bedroom and find them creating and cutting out, organizing and making up stories.
Such good healthy play!

School's Out For Summer!

This is our first full week of NO SCHOOL!  Wow!  We are out of school until, August 15th! :)
That is when our new school year begins.

I am starting our summer with a summer cold! :/  Hoping to get over this irritation soon! I couldn't sing at church today because I sounded more like a bass than an alto!

We have had a good reunion since we came home from camp.  Daddy took some of the girls and a few friends out on the lake today after church.  Anna and I stayed home and did laundry and went grocery shopping to prepare for the week.

I loved spending time with Anna. We missed each other last week. :)

Anna did a wonderful job taking care of the house while 3 of us were gone!  Daddy took her and Alli shopping, which I found rather amusing. :) 
I think he is enjoying being a dad to 4 teenage girls! :)

Anna and Alli were able to pick out a few outfits while Erika, Sarah and I were at camp. :)
I didn't know he was such a shopper! LOL

This week, I think we are going to "summer clean" and prepare for a garage sale, prepare for the Vacation Bible School skit that our Junior High Sunday School Class is doing, and spend time at the library!

There will be plenty of time spent on the lake in the evenings, and we are also looking forward to Joe and Becca moving back to Texas with Sam, Truman and Felix!!!

Joseph has been accepted into the Doctorate program at UTD! :)  So they are all coming home! YEAH!!!!!!

I think before summer is over, we will have a few extra boaters! :)

Tomorrow is our youngest SON's birthday.  He will be 30. Wow.
I cannot believe it has been 30 years.... it seems like yesterday!

I love my family.... I love all the activity of summer, minus the heat....

I love the free spiritedness of the season.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer full of memories!

Winding Down Our School Year and Random Thoughts

Beginning Summer Thoughts

Today was the last day of school for the public schools in our area.
We will be off tomorrow, and then beginning on Monday, we will be doing Math and Language Arts until the end of June.
The girls are already looking at next year's curriculum and 2 of  them have asked if they could start their foreign language early. :)  I think I can handle letting them get their feet wet with a new language!
I purchased Spanish, French and Russian.

It is also boating season.  We should be back out on the lake soon!  This is such a fun time of year. We are adding to our summer agenda, Fishing!   I actually really enjoy fishing.  Alli and Mike went fishing last Thursday and she fully enjoyed herself. :)

 We have had some spectacular Thunder Storms, and we are thankful that we have been preserved from the Tornadoes that sometimes come with them.  This a.m. a storm was right on top of us.  As soon as the lighting struck, the thunder was right there, rumbling the house!  It was 6:00 a.m. and still a little dark outside.  Alli came in and said, I need to go let the chickens out!  So glad she announced that!  We explained that she needed to wait because storms that are so close can be very dangerous. The chickens are better off in the coop and she is better off in the house!

The girls are all flourishing and maturing.  I don't have girlies anymore really.... They are definitely young ladies. We visited with some friends whom we haven't seen in person for almost a year and they are very surprised at how much everybody has changed!

I am thrilled to see them delve into the things they are interested in.  Sarah has been memorizing lines for an upcoming play.  Anna is writing, Erika using her photography skills to capture life in a very special way, and Alli has been drawing and painting.
There are still hints of little girls all around..... cars.... dolls.... a few mud pies..... but the tides are turning. I am seeing more books, CD's, requests to use the computer, visit friends, go shopping, and more.  Conversations are more grown up.  I love it!
Somebody is even talking about driving! YIKES!

So, here's to another lovely year, with lots of learning and growing.  I like looking back and reflecting because it helps me to see clearly that line of success; you know,  the one that doesn't just go straight up, but is all mixed up in between, but you somehow come out ahead. LOL

So what are your summer plans?

Alli's Volcanic Eruption!

Alli created a Volcano land with background and active volcanoes. :) She colored the vinegar with red food coloring so the lava would look real. :)  Her volcanoes were made out of clay.  She put baking soda down the shaft of each volcano and then poured in the dyed vinegar. 

Alli is a hands on sorta girl.  She really enjoys arts and crafts and any kind of science experiment.  We are not studying volcanoes right now, but instead nutrition.   So, since we really don't have much to "create" with nutrition, other than lunch..... Volcanoes were the project of the day. :)

I don't think Puppy appreciated being kept in her crate.... She wanted some volcano time! :)

On a side note..... Bella went boating and enjoyed the water!

Bella and her Four Little Women. :)

Making Movies

 Grannie.

I can't wait until this movie is finished. :)  I love Summer Creativity!  For the last few days the girls have been "movie making".... 
It is so fun to see them all working together, being creative together, and having FUN!

Another Sunny Day in Texas.....

  One two buckle my shoe.... Wait! Where IS your shoe? Sarah? :/

Sarah is feeling much better today after being stung by a wasp the other day.  She had to have ice on her arm, poor girl.

Miss Alli put one of her birds on a wooden plaque and covered it with modge podge. I really like that stuff. :)
We are keeping busy with arts and crafts.   I think starting next week I will make a schedule for each day, as Alli does much better with a schedule.   It just makes her feel more secure.
When we left for camp she followed a schedule and did great.  This week was topsy turvy and I needed to have something to follow too. :)  

The other girls spent their days knitting and writing, and then  we had friends over.  We'll finish it off with Friday Night at the Movies.  Tonight's feature film is going to be Tom and Huck! :)

Summer Is In Full Swing

 The girls are enjoying summer vacation.  It is hot and humid and a time to cool off with a nice cold rag,

 or just laze around on the front porch.

I truly like our porch swing. :)

It is time to enjoy friends, boating, reading, and just plain ole' resting the brain.....
Alli slept in for a while....and then she got busy with her last craft project.

I caught Anna enjoying a book on her bed.
For mama, it is time to work with daddy, and get prepared for next year's school curriculum.  I have a LOT to do!  So in light of that...... We needed to make a surprise trip to the Lobby. What Lobby?  HOBBY LOBBY!

Gotta keep them busy so I can help daddy. :)

Lake Times

 Erika

 Sarah and Alli

 The Captain

 Anna knee boarding

 Anna Enjoying the sunset

Alli's First Knee Board Attempt

Sarah knee boarding

Time to go home.

An All Around FUN Day

Our morning started with Sarah making the coffee! Thanks Sarah.
Alli was the last one to rise, and she was full of joy this a.m.
She is so cute when she wakes up. She is always in a good mood.
She cracks me up going from person to person for a hug. She has learned that
Anna meows in the morning. So she went to the rocking chair where Anna was reading a book,
and meowed. Anna meowed back, and then Alli pounced on her. LOL 
She had to have her morning hug.

I took Alli and Erika to  a horse stable to find out about costs for riding horses...they got a chance to see a lot of horses and met a really nice lady named Tina.  We talked about some creative ways to afford such an endeavor, and  the trip was really fun.

After working for a few hours in the office, I came inside, packed dinners and we headed to the Lake on the boat.  Would you believe I FORGOT the camera!!!!
That is ok. I'm glad I did, because the water at the lake is WAY down. I had to walk into the water to get into the boat. The water is too shallow to reach the dock. 
So what did I do?  I fell down! OUCH!  I slipped on the slippery goo in the water and fell.   I messed up my wrist, and have some sore spots.... nothing serious, thank goodness.

We swam in the lake for a while, jumping off of the boat.  Anna was pretending to fish with a giant rope and she kept catching ME! LOL  We had so much fun pretending I was a fish out of water, starving for oxygen. 

The water felt SO GOOD!  It was 109 today!  When it was time to leave, as the sun was setting, Alli jumped out of the boat and slipped in the same spot I did! 

We both had owies on our hands. So I took care of hers first. She asked, "will this sting?" I said, no.
IT DID!
Well, as soon as I was done taking care of her, she wanted to nurse me! She did the exact same thing I did to take care of her and then cracked up when I said, "OUCH! It stings!"   She got a real kick out of that one. :)  I told her she will make a great mama some day!

Everybody had a wonderful time......I'll bring the camera next time. :)

A New Goo Recipe

 There's my happy girl. :)

Ever since Alli and I were in North Carolina at the Children's Museum, she has been longing to make goo. She just LOVES it; the feel the texture, the sheer squishiness.  Well, after several different tries, she has PERFECTED her goo.

So here is Miss Alli, giving directions on how to make her goo!
And it really works!

Lazy Days of Summer.....

 Anna loves reading

 

Alli loves Farming.

Erika loves playing with the dog.

Sarah loves playing the Electric Piano....

ROUTINE AND THE TRAUMATIZED CHILD

Most of us know that ROUTINE can be key in helping a traumatized child remain regulated... Out of the ordinary days, unplanned activities, schedules shuffled, and no specific routine can wreak havoc on their little hearts.  Yet sometimes, especially during the summer months, it cannot be helped.

We can keep a symbolic schedule, but we are not doing school full time, camps come up, the lake is there calling our name, and we have more visitors.

For a child with a trauma background, dysregulation can creep in quickly and without warning, as they feel a loss of control.... Picture a cat in water. :) You may try to get the cat out of the water, they desperately WANT you to, but they may scratch you on the way out.....

Our day was sort of like that the other day.  I think Alli just needed a release. She held it together pretty well when I was at camp with the girls. It was the first time we had not been together. I talked with Daddy, Anna and Alli every night...  but I was gone.
When we got home, the month of no school began and everybody was getting back to normal, minus a schedule.
THEN, we had company over 3 nights in a row!  That is something unusual for us.  So, yesterday was a bit of a "fall apart" day for all of us!
I think we were all a little dysregulated!  Exhaustion set in, I raised my voice when trying to get a room cleaned out and guest bed set up in case we need it for John.  That went over like a lead balloon. :(
We all took a break and everything seemed fine.

Then, last night, it was time for family worship.  Alli is usually excited about it. Today, not so. It is the one thing we DO keep a schedule for. Maybe that confused her, since everything else is off....

She said, "Why are we doing this today?" "What if I DON'T WANT TO!"  When asked her to sit quietly,  she  began to argue.... to have the last word.... to get her point across!   I could see that we needed to step back and not head straight into a storm.
So, instead of sitting in my chair, and instead of asking her to come and sit with me, I went and sat with her.
After we finished singing, Daddy wanted to discuss Sunday's Sermon and explain it a little more.  I played with Alli's fingers and helped her find her place in the scripture and I could feel her body begin to rest... and then, she whispered in my ear...."I'm sorry mommy."  I smiled, and we all relaxed and enjoyed listening to daddy for a few minutes.  At prayer time to volunteered to pray and all was much better.

I don't think she understands why she gets so dysregulated, any more than I understand why I got dysregulated trying to prepare a room..... it just happens sometimes.  And it is wrong.

Our new norm has kicked in full force and I actually have a happy girl this a.m. :)  I think now that she realizes it is summer and some things remain the same, and some things don't, she'll be ok, and won't feel like the cat thrown in the water. :)

I can see where I should have prepared her more for what summer was going to be like. I was so worried about leaving for camp, I did a good job of preparing her for that, and forgot about the rest of the month.
I think she is really going to be able to enjoy the summer..... so far, she has played BARBIES non stop, as well as playing outside.

I guess the next step will be to prepare her for the school year.... LOL

Today, The Day Before Tomorrow!

Well, the girlies are all headed to bed. At 6:00 a.m. Erika, Sarah and I will be headed to camp. 
Daddy, Anna and Alli will start their "Camp Minich" week. :)

We have been preparing Alli for her first time away from Mama.  She has had a really great day, and is helping Sarah finish packing, as I type. :) 

Daddy is READY for a good time.... and we will talk every night as usual. 
I have to say, I'm really proud of Alli today.  She had a great day all day. :) 

I am going to miss the rest of my family, but am happy that Daddy is a great daddy and I can relax and focus on camp for the week. :)

So, signing off for the week.  Maybe Daddy will post an update???? :) If he has time.

Lake Days

Lake Days are here again! We miss Katie and Lillian, but we are having a great time!

Yesterday the girls brought a friend with them.  I love living close to the lake. It is just a few minutes away and so relaxing.