My Brother

I went to see my brother today.  He is off of the ventilator and awake.  He is still in ICU and more tests are coming back soon.  So glad that I could see him instead of going to his funeral.  It was that close!  The story of my brother's life is not over yet.  
We serve a merciful Savior.

Helping Our Children Grow

Mike and I were talking this morning about working on ways to help our girlies grow in some areas that they seem to be sort  of  "stuck" in. 

With Miss Alli especially, she has come so very far in so many areas of her little life, but has maintained some entrenched bad habits that we would like to help her separate herself from.  Sometimes old habits are just hard to break, and we need help to get out of the rut we are in.  So today, I had a talk with all of the girls before we started our morning and let them know that we are excited about them becoming teenagers or getting close to teenage-hood, and how very much we are excited that they are growing up.
Then I mentioned that we are excited about helping them grow.  

The premise of BCLC parenting is RELATIONSHIP - RELATIONSHIP - RELATIONSHIP!  When you have a good relationship established, then things fall into place in regards to obedience, guidance and instruction.  Meaning.... the art of discipline is easier.... (discipline meaning teaching, instructing, guiding)   
We have found this to be true in our family, except we need some tweaking. :)  Don't we all?  I know I need tweaking too.  That is why I have New Year's resolutions! That is also why I get really excited about challenging sermons.... I want to grow spiritually!  Life IS Change!

In explaining this to the girls, I want them to feel GOOD about changing some things that hold  them back.  I  layed before them this a.m. some thoughts that I had on my heart and they listened.  I also apologized to them for the last few weeks of just being personally disorganized.  I have been sick for almost 3 weeks and just let things go too much.  HOWEVER, this was a good thing, because it helped us see clearly, that there were areas that we have been carrying in family life that the girls need to be more responsible for.   In other words, I shouldn't have to remind somebody to do the dishes, or to take a bath, or to comb their hair or change their socks or clean their room.......   These are personal responsibilities that they are old enough to handle and SHOULD.

So, while some of our girls are farther along in maturity than others, we just threw all the topics together into one discussion and let them know we were going to help them work on improving personal skills. 

One of our girls sometimes will try  to get attention in a negative way instead of a positive way.  This morning it was eating like a cannibal. Sorry, but that is the best way to put it.  LOL
She doesn't do it all the time, but when it happens, it is usually to get attention.  I stopped her and asked her to hold her fork properly. She said she would rather not eat!   I said to her.... "that really makes me sad, because I want you to eat, but I would Love for you to eat nicely, like a lady."
I went on to tell her about her WISE words to me a few weeks ago when I complained about my weight.  She said, "Mom, don't self loathe!"  "You are fine!"  
You know what? She was RIGHT....  I was self loathing and I was wrong. 
So I told her, "Sweetie, don't self loathe,  love yourself enough to hold your fork like a young lady and not a toddler.  After all, we would not want to see you go on a date with a young man and eat like a cannibal! :)   Of course the next thing out of her mouth was, "Mom, I'm not allowed to date!"  Well you get the picture. :) 
A few minutes later, she said mom.... I'm sorry... and she ate her breakfast very nicely. :)

Soooo, fast forward to tonight!  Miss Alli wanted to light the fire for the wood burning stove and also get some of our wonderful incense burning with a coal. :)  I told her, well, that would be fine, but daddy will need to help guide you with that.   I was told "I KNOW HOW to do it myself!"   "Yes, I know you THINK you know how, but you must ask daddy for help.  "
And then, I said, "Alli, you have been home almost a year now.  I KNOW you do not like to talk back, and it makes you sad. This is one of the areas we need to work on.  You were on your own for so very long and had to do everything on your own, and you didn't trust others.... but NOW, it is time, to trust.  I KNOW you trust us! It is time to show it." :)
She got very quiet, and sat down by me.  I said, "I would love it if you could build that fire with daddy!"   "Call Him.... He will come in and help you."  
She INSISTED that if she called, he wouldn't. 
I INSISTED that if she called, he would .   (note.... fingers crossed) LOL

She called.... and a very sweet Alli said, "Daddy, can I help build the fire tonight? I want to build a fire and light some incense." 
Daddy replied, "SURE! I'll be right in."   And he was.
Alli was so excited.  She let him direct  her on how to build a real good fire and she was able to do all the labor by following instructions. :)   And then, he let her put the incense on the coal so everything would smell wonderful. :)

And here they are after finishing the job.   Yep, daddy IS a mechanic! LOL
I think she learned something really valuable tonight. She learned that we WANT to help her succeed.  And we WANT to do things that she wants to do, and she doesn't have to know everything and do it alone.  
She also came to me later and said "Mom, I want to change. I am going to work hard on it." 

I have been waiting for this moment with her for a long time; the moment when SHE wanted to change and could clearly see that she NEEDED to make some personal changes.  I don't think it could have happened without first establishing and rooting her in a relationship that she could trust and feel trusted. 
She went on to do all of the kitchen duties on her own, and did a really great job. :)
Wow, what an eventful day!  

The Adorables Visited

I love it when my family visits. Today, Marcus, Ivy, Will and Charlie came over. Marcus is done with school for 5 weeks and then he has 1 more class before he gets his master's degree! Yea! I know a beautiful young bride who will LOVE having her man home! :)

The girls played restaurant with Ivy and Will, and Marcus and I took Charlie on the teeter totter.
He really likes it.  But when he is ready to get off, you have to watch him. He has no concept of height.
He will just try to get off in the air! LOL
He also discovered the dog, ran to see Papau with Will, and Marcus had fun making Charlie's hair stand on end. :)

Will had fun playing with balloons, with the kitchen on the porch and looking at the water globes.

And they BOTH had fun playing the piano.

Reflections On Easter Sunday

Easter time is such a great time to reflect. You know, I have hearing a lot about the Power of the Cross, but I think where the power really lies is within the Power of CHRIST, not the Cross. God Raised Him from the Dead! That power was so immense, that the earth shook, the vail was torn in two from top to bottom exposing the Holy of Holies, and FOREVER, we have access to the throne of God, ourselves with no intermediary. THAT is amazing.

Last year we made a mud tomb and stone rolled away thingy.... This year we got creative and made it out of pudding and crushed chocolate oreos, with a few caramels for rocks. We even had Peter, John and Mary Magdeline peering in the empty tomb. We made a stone out of a chocolate easter bunny with his ears cut off and a little extra trimming :)

Unfortunately the ants discovered our tasty treat, so nobody got to eat it.

Here is a picture Sarah took of me in the a.m.


Here are a few of our afternoon egg hunt. We had 3 other families over...



We had to have our Egg hunt on the front porch because it was so muddy from all the rain.

Sarah helped me prepare the afternoon lunch while everybody else was still at church.
We sat down together after getting things in the oven and went over the 4 gospels and the verses that covered the resurrection. Each one explains things differently and with different detail. I explained to her that when different people hear of something, or are involved in something, what they recall may be different, but the facts that stand out are the same. There was no question that Christ resurrected from the Dead. There was no question that he appeared to the disciples.

But one passage really struck me, especially for those who do not believe Christ died or resurrected.
It was "Mark 15:42-45"
And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Aramethia, a respected member of the council who was also himself looking for the Kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear hat he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.

And then continues to story of how he was laid in the tomb. Guards guarded the tomb so nobody could steal the body. Matthew 27:66 SO they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (meaning guard of soldiers)

The sealing of that stone was an official government seal. Nobody was allowed to break it.

BUT GOD.....

Matthew 28:2-4 goes on to say : And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel fo the Lord descended from heaven and came androlled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.

Matthew 28:5-6 says, But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, AS HE SAID.

Jesus is either who he said he was, or not, which would make him a big liar. And a Liar CANNOT be a prophet like some religions claim. He could not be a "good teacher" if he were a liar, as others claim.

I believe He was who He said He was. The Son of God; I AM, ONE with the Father. Fully God and Fully Man. Without Sin...the PERFECT representation of the Father.

Of Kitties and Fair Maidens

Our kids have always had favorite loved stuffed Animals. Chuck's favorite was Doogan, a large stuffed dog. I never realized how much he was attached to Doogan until we moved and left him behind. It took Chuck a long time to get to sleep without him, and was so happy when he was reunited.

All of the kids have had various stuffed animals that they have adored over the years, and some I still have, some I don't.

Marcus's Blue Bear, which we now call Franken Bear, because the dog ate him once while he was at scout camp, is on the shelf in the living room.


Doogan is at Tim's house now, and Joe's My Buddy doll is long gone.

But now, we have a new set of animals. One stands out, that I'd like to share, as this one is about to turn 5. This animal's worn look shows that the owner has truly loved her and still does. This is one that will probably go to college and beyond. :)
Here is a picture of Anna's famous "Kitty".

Our First Cold Mornng

We woke up this a.m. to brrrrrr.....cold inside the house. Some would question if it was really cold, but Dallasites find that in Fall and Winter, anything below 80 is cold and in Spring and Summer anything above 70 is hot.
So, at 66 inside the house this a.m., we considered it cold.

Soooo, that means we got to try out the wood stove. It is the only heat source we use so we started getting it cleaned out, making sure the chimney was clean etc. over the weekend.

So here are the morning cuddle pics.

There IS No Place Like Home

Melissa wrote, "There is no place like home!" She is so right.
Sarah did great last night. She only woke once, at 4:00 a.m. I gave her pain meds and she went right back to sleep. She is sleeping now on the couch all propped up. :)

I'm so glad she is doing well. I was a little concerned things wouldn't have been this smooth, but am thankful for the break!

Now, when I get my bearings back, I'm going to try and figure out how 1 load of laundry turned into about 6 in 2 days, with 2 people gone from home. :)
This is very suspicious!

And it is soooo true that "There's No Place Like HOME!"

Dark Days of Long Ago

It isn't often that I go back to my past, or discuss the dark days of long ago. But yesterday, it came up due to a discussion on homeless and the profoundly lost of our society.

When I think about my earlier years as a young wife and mother, it comes with some joyous stories of our boys, but also with profound sadness, grief and loss.

It was a time of confusion, pouring my heart out to my Lord, misunderstanding, anger, frustration, misguidance, and hope.

Did I say hope? Yes I DID! Because, had I not had the hope of my Lord and Savior, I do not know that I would have made it through the difficulties of the days.

Very few people know my story, and I will not share it, even on my blog, as the details do not matter. All I know is, that the Lord saw fit for me to go through many things, in order to break me, teach me, and make me dependent upon him. He weakened me, so that I could be strong. He humbled me, to bring Glory to Himself. He taught me to cling to His every word, so that I could become wise. Wise not in my own eyes, but wisdom from above. Have I arrived, no. Do I know all. No. But at the same time, the only TRUE wisdom comes from HIM and HIM alone!

As we were in Ukraine, I was struck by the awesome responsibility of bringing the Good news of Jesus Christ to those who hadn't heard. Where do you begin?
How do you tell a poor homeless, parentless child that he has a heavenly father who loves him? How do you tell that child living in abject poverty that God CARES and SEES and is with him? How do you explain to that child that the children on the other side of the world who are more interested in the next "event" to attend, who have all the food they want, who have parents and schools, and clothes, and everything they need materially are no more important than them in the eyes of GOD; yet they sit and ROT in a TB Sanitarium while the other child is at Disneyworld?

It became profoundly evident to me for one of the first times in my life that I actually had more in common with some of these kids than I realized. The profound grief, the rejection, the loss of hope, the despair, the unknown; I have truly felt those things profoundly and deeply. The questions, "If God loves me AND I love him, why am I sitting here rotting like this?" That was a question I once asked.

BUT GOD....
In His infinite wisdom KNOWS what is best for His children. I am so thankful for those experiences now. I understand NOW more why they were important in my life to go through. Had I not been there, I would never be able to minister, even to my own children, as the Lord has made possible because of what my experiences were in my past.

I praise Him for HIS MERCY and WISDOM and LOVE.

And yes, I knew, even in times of despair, that He was carrying me through. There is HOPE in Christ. The TRUE Gospel does not offer the riches of this world. It does not guarantee the successes of Wall Street, (as we can see in the news today) Riches are like the chaff of a tree that blows away in in the Wind. But the Riches of Christ are not blown away, they are real and tangible and they do not wither.
The Riches of Christ can be had by all....

Isaiah 55 says "Come, EVERYONE who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come and buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that wich does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear to me, hear that your sould may live; ............. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near, let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thorughts, let him return to the Lord that He may have compassion on him and to our God for He will ABUNANTLY pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts either are your ways, my ways declares the Lord. ..........

We Are ALL Home Now

Last night at about 11:00 our luggage arrived safely at the front door courtesy of KLM-NW Airlines. THANKYOU. :)

The girlies were quite excited about opening that bag, because inside they just knew we had brought them a gift. :)

I went to the post office today to collect the mail. That is the worst part of getting back from somewhere. All that MAIL! Ok, I guess laundry is worse, but it is next to worse.

I saw this note and I assume it was for Dear Becca:

It read as the following:

Dear Mam,
I heard you weren't feeling well. Is that true? If it is, then I have a good idea. You need to take medisane each day. And you need to have a rub on your back, feet, hands and face. I know it sounds crazzy, but it feels good!
Love,
A Friend who can help you......

I'd say Becca was in good hands with the author, whoever it was. :)

We are HOME mostly!

Learning a new song at the TB Sanitarium



We are home and so glad to be here. We will be quite happy when our luggage joins us.:)
Apparently it didn't make it on the plane change in Amsterdam, but the good news is they plan to deliver!

That is REALLY good news, since this a.m. we went to take Becca to the Airport and when I got there I had a flat tire. Soooo, I had to call poor jet lagged Mike and get him to come and rescue me and Erika. He showed up with a happy attitude and 2 sleepy girlies that were fairly decently dressed, so we decided to head to church after changing the tire. We were late but made it to 2nd service. Bob was GREAT today, as my jet lagged body stayed awake during the sermon. :)

As soon as I feel more normal, I'll post some pictures and video. We really had a blessed time and so much happened. Right now all I can think about is how thankful I am that I don't have to shoe horn my body into the metro every day to go somewhere.
I honestly didn't know what really crowded was until the metro pulled up and I was thinking, "this one is full, we'll have to wait for the next one, only to be pushed in by the crowd behind and holding on to perfect strangers for dear life. Then, the "take off" like a bullet out of a shot gun and the sudden stops reminded me of why the girlies would not have been able to live and walk the streets in Ukraine, and it made me feel for the elderly and those who are less fortunate.

It was also great to see a smiling face when we arrived at the airport. We are blessed in America and don't realize HOW blessed we truly are. While we our nation is in flux and has its positives and negatives, one of the positives is the influence of Christianity, that effects MANY areas of life that we do not even understand.

Well, this jet lagged, body needs to get some much needed rest, and I must say before I go, THANKYOU ALL for your wonderful prayer support. We could sense your prayers and we KNOW that the Lord did some awesome things. We so much appreciate the day in and day out work that Papa Dima does every moment he can, and to God be the Glory.

good night... or day, or ..... see you next Thursday. :)


I'll sign off with this photo of a Praying Mantis, I thought he was a really cool guy!

We Were Able To Call The Girlies!

We just finished talking to the girlies a few minutes ago. (or I should say, I did) Mike is still talking to them right now. It was great to hear everybody's voices.
We understand that Anna wants us to bring home a alligator or snake stuffed animal, Erika wants a horse stuffed Animal and Sarah wants a glass doll.

We are so happy to hear that Becca is fairing well! Great Job Becca! I had to laugh talking with her and hearing her say she was tired. :) I know EXACTLY what she is talking about. :)

I am so thankful that she is there with the girls. It sounds like everybody is doing well.

Girlies, we are on the home run stretch! We will be home on Saturday afternoon!
We cannot wait to see you. We miss you so very much.

Love,
Dad and Mom

Hello Little Girlies

Mommy and Daddy made it safe to Ukraine! It SMELLS like Ukraine. :) It is cool here and beautiful. We miss you and think about you. We are going to leave on the train in a couple of hours. We are looking forward to seeing everybody!

More later
Love,
Mom

Last Day Trip Message

We are leaving for Ukraine tomorrow. I have a minute after finishing packing to tell all of you that we love you so very much. We have asked the Lord to bless this trip and keep us in His perfect will.

To Becca, Sam and the Girlies that we leave behind at the house:

Have a wonderful bonding time together. Make sure that you season each day with joyfulness, help Becca with the chores and help her to take care of baby Sam. We will write to you as we can when we get to an internet cafe'. MOST OF ALL, do everything to serve Jesus. He is all that is most important in life. Serving Him, in chores, work, play, family fun and all we do can make our lives full of true Joy and Peace.
Rest in the thought that Jesus has EVERYTHING under control. We do not have to worry about one little thing. (except mommy was a little worried because I have misplaced the zoo card) :(
Becca, hopefully Hurricane Ike wasn't the "calm before the storm". :P

Be GOOD GIRLS for Big Sister Becca, and we also want you EACH to know that we are so very proud of you. We are proud of your brothers and sisters who don't live at home too, and Katie, Lilly, Sam and Will.

BIG HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL, and you can only get in our bed if Becca says it is ok!


Love,
Daddy and Mommy

James 1:27

Our Parents

Our parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in July. But the Party is Today.
How poetic that a Hurricane is blowing through at the same time. They have withstood many Hurricanes in their lives. But they didn't budge. We will not be at their party today, but our hearts will be there.

The first time I met Ed and Lois, I was a little scared. Especially since I was abit of a package deal. I came with 4 grandkids in tow.:)

I quickly found out that they were accepting of all of us and 4 more was no big deal.
What WAS a big deal was that I didn't know how to play spades.

I thought Ed was being nice to me when he gave me Jim for my partner and he took Mike.
He was really taking advantage of a chance to BEAT Jim at cards! :)
Jim nearly pulled all his hair out trying to teach me to play, but I finally learned, and Jim forgave me.

I was looking at old pictures of Ed and Lois and the time has FLOWN by. I can't believe how YOUNG they looked 20 years ago. :)

We love our parents, and pray that they have a wonderful Party with friends and family.
As of this writing, the winds are really blowing and it is raining and we did make the right decision to stay home, though we really are feeling sad that we missed such a big celebration.

Happy 50th Dad and Mom!

Cable TV, Good or NOT!???

Ok, last week we got an offer that was a little too good to pass up. With a slight differene in our bill, we now can get FIOS internet, which we already have, Fios phone and FIOS TV.

We have NEVER had cable television, let alone Fiber Optic anything, other than internet. So, we decided to take the plunge, after all, there will be no channels around here in February unless we convert to some sort of signal box anyway, so why not?

Now, after watching PART of just one news show, I find this on our Bulletin Board!


The POWER of TELEVISION~!

I have to say, I am a little annoyed with the regular TV stations. If you have cable, you can get any news and hear anything, but we were unable to hear the John McCain speech on the same channel that fully covered the DNC.... I cannot help but think that is planned. No matter your political conviction, people need to be able to have access to BOTH camps and that was not provided for the regular guy who cannot afford special programming or cable.
And THAT is politics.

Shopping

Most of ya'll know I am not a big shopper. Once a year maybe, for enjoyment to see the crowds at Thanksgiving, and then after that, only what is needed.

Well, I NEEDED to get a few things for Ukraine. So for a couple of days, Sarah the first day, then all of them again, have done a little "shopping".

Sarah LOVES shopping. She longs to walk the corridors of a mall or shopping center.
She gets all dressed up and has a wonderful time.

Anna and Erika are more subtle. They enjoy going, but I think Anna would prefer to stay home and take care of animals and Erika would MUCH rather clean tools for dad.
(but dad is out on business)

So, we all went. It is so funny watching the girls interact in a store vs. the experiences with the boys at the same ages.

The girls get all thrilled when walking past the clothing sections, the bra section,
and toys. The boys, turned their heads at the bra section in horror, they hated clothes, toys were common but much preferred the check out counter where the baseball and playing cards were kept.

They never really pretended to talk with friends that weren't there, bring fake cell phones, speak in british accents or be happy that I was trying on jeans.

The girls do all of that, and insist I show them the jeans I tried on before I take them off.

"Oh motha, you look just lovely!"
Why thank you Sarah. I never felt so lovely in a simple pair of jeans. :)

The guys, if I dared take them with me, when we would pass through a clothing section would get on either side of me and say, "Dad said don't spend any money." They were all in Jr. High and High school at the time and it would crack me up that they would want to protect me from myself. :)

I really didn't need any protecting, but they were so funny to try and help.

My Daughters in Law do enjoy shopping.
I am considering asking them if they would love to take Sarah out for a day of hit the mall all day shopping. She would LOVE it.

Me, I think I'm more like Anna. I'd prefer to stay home and take care of animals.
It's a zoo out there in those shopping centers!

Exciting Times

The air is full of excitement around here. I cannot wait until I can tell you why, but right now, let's just say the girlies are bouncing off the walls with excitement.

They are making plans, cleaning up, and making more plans......

Mike and I are so excited too. We are waiting on the Lord, and when you do that, no matter the outcome, you are in HIS will. We have been praying and meditating on HIM most of today, and also waiting for important phone calls.

Those calls have come and gone and now we wait for a final call.

But when that call comes, it will all make sense. Why has the Lord put certain things on our hearts lately? Why have we been talking with the girlies about certain things?
And then it seems to become crystal clear.

Right now, it is clear, I'll wait for that final call before I say "crystal clear". :)

Praying to be in the Center of HIS will.

The Early Morning Events

We started off with an event filled morning. First off I had a great night's sleep due to a new mattress cover we just purchased for my back. It is 4 inches of foam part regular foam, part memory foam and it was VERY helpful. Now, this a.m. we felt like we had to climb out of bed, as it is pretty soft, but ahhhh, not having to toss and turn all night with terrible back pain was really a pleasure.....

So, first thing, darling Erika gets up early while Mike and I are having our morning coffee and our new little "bra wearer" says, "Mother, you need to put on a bra!"
Hmmm....
"Erika, don't you know that your mom is a card carrying member of the national burn your bra society????"

She says, "Yes, now go put on your bra mother!" LOL

Well, Yes Maam!!!....


This is Sarah's Pirate Look! AYE!
How's that for a challenging look to a good game of backgammon?


Guess who won?


And by 1 move!!!!!




All the while, Anna was quietly reading her new favorite book on the couch.



I love it when kids start to read for pleasure. Marcus and Tim used to LOVE Calvin and Hobbs.

Our Anniversary Date

Pictures the girlies took on our date: We had our own personal camera crew.
It is good for kids to see mom and dad admire each other.




Anniversaries are always fun. They give time for reflection and future plans. It is funny how different each anniversary is. I remember when our guys were little, we'd get out a table cloth and candlelight and make a quiet dinner with nice quiet music while the boys sat at the top of the stairs and giggled. "GO TO BED!" OK.......

Then there were a few years where we went to a nice dinner alone.

Then, the girls came. To be honest, my memory of the last 5 years is nearly a blurr!
But I know we went swimming one time, we were home from the hospital another time, once we went to a movie, and then this time crept up on us. With all our plans for the next few weeks, school starting etc. here it was, and the day before we were talking saying, "What should we do for this anniversary?" Hmmmm.... There were no movies playing, and it is a Tuesday night. So, we decided on dinner. The girls got real excited and we then decided to make it a family dinner since we are leaving for our Ukrainian missions trip in less than 3 weeks. (that is our real anniversary plan :) )

So they all got dressed up and we took them to "On the Border". Then, they said, "Can we sleep in YOUR room tonight and fall asleep to a movie? It IS your anniversary and it would be so special!" (NOT) LOL

Mike was so funny..."Yes it is OUR anniversary, NO, you can't!" LOL

They were all looking at us like WE were being selfish, ruining their special day of enjoying our anniversary. "You always want to be alone and you don't let us sleep in your room!" Sarah pouted....
Yes, that is right. Moms and dads have rooms and kids have rooms. That is the way that it is! :)

I just love childhood innocence.



Here are our 3 little stowaways. :) They had a great time on our date.

The Back to School Countdown

Sarah was asking for "olives". Now those olives are VERY green!


Anna discovered how to make some rather uncomfortable shoes with tin cans and string.
She loves them.



This is Anna resting after a busy Sunday afternoon!



Katie and Erika really enjoyed braiding hair. Erika especially loved the end frizzy results. :0



This a Sarah kicking back and relaxing. :)


We start school 1 week from tomorrow. We are all looking forward to starting back up to a full school year of learning and discovery.
Now I need to go and finish our schedule.