Open House at School

Sarah in the library
Ethan's classroom
Ben's "Kissing Hand"
Ben inEthan's locker Ben's classroom (the kid in the red is in his class. He is actually 3 months YOUNGER than Ben. He is at least a head taller than Ben is.

Girlfriends are the Best!

Waiting for the movie to startA picture, before we head out
Tasha --- Love Her!!
Tiffany -- Love Her!!
Tiffany scaring the, you know, out of me! (reenactment)

I thought that since I hadn't posted in awhile, I would do just that this afternoon! We had such a busy Thursday--goodness. First, we made a trip to the salon so that Ethan could get his hair cut. Mercy that kids got the thickest hair! Then there's Sarah with the baby fine hair that hasn't grown past her chin.....ever. poor thing. Maybe by the time she hits high school!

Next we headed on over to the football field for practice. Sarah and Ben are getting quite good at flag football...and it pretty cute to watch too. After that hour we had to make a pit stop a none other than, yep, the golden arches. We had 15 minutes to eat (in the van) so that we could make it to Meet the Teacher Night for Sarah's class. THEN at 7 o'clock we had Open House for all three of the kids!

And because I didn't feel like I had been on the go enough already, I took in a movie with my girls, Tiffany and Tasha....the late showing, of course! I got home around one-ish, but we had a blast together. I'm tellin' ya, these girls are crazy, crazy, crazy!! The night started out with Tiff scaring the you-know-what out of me when I pull into the church parking lot and she comes tearin' out of the cornfield all crazy-like. I made her reenact it so that I could get a picture of it. It's not a very good picture, but it gets the point across! Next, we picked up Tasha, who forgot to put her clothes in the dryer, so she had to throw something together--she did a "bang up job" if you ask me. The next stop was Fazoli's for some carbs, Target---just for fun,and then we went to see Hairspray. Let me tell ya, this was such a fun movie. Do you know, they played that movie just for us---- we were the only people in there, so there was lots of dancing...oh yes there was. The three of us have so much fun together.... it doesn't happen too often with the busy lives we all lead.



I am SO EXCITED about the Siesta Fiesta --Yippee!! It will be so fun to see all of the wonderful blogging siesta that go.



I hope that everyone has a great Labor Day weekend. I think that we are going to have a beautiful weekend!

Blue Tongues, Headstands and Velvet Voices

We had busy but fun weekend with our family. On Friday night, my friend Tasha and I went to Purdue University in Lafayette, IN to see the Purdue Glee Club--- Wow, they were awesome! My sister, Michelle, is now on the Purdue Musical Organization staff. When she went to Purdue, she was a member of the Purdue Bells and now she is the director. I know this is SO bad for a blogger, but I forgot to take my camera, so I have no pics--sorry!! On Saturday we had a birthday party for my nephew Zach, he is 6 years old now. You can tell by the picture that the icing on his cake was blue.... dark blue! I also got to give my newest nephew a bath in the sink. I love the smell of a newly bathed baby! Oh, and Eric and I are officially "in the now" when it comes to cell phones! We have cameras AND voice mail..... can you believe it!! ;) I might even try texting, but I don't want to push it! On Sunday Ben thought that he would try out a new position in his car seat. Obviously, that didn't last long! Anyway, that was our weekend in our little town of cornfields and beans!

Do you think the icing was blue enough?

Calvin (my cousin) and Michelle (my sister)

Ben's new position..... I don't think so buddy!
Blake (4 weeks old)

Blake

Thanks for the Award!

Suzi sent me this wonderful award on Saturday....... Thank you Suzi! I will be forever grateful for the blessing that was given to me when I ran across Suzi's blog. I am so enjoying the friendship that has already been started. I am new to the blogging world. I never knew what a blessing it would turn out to be! Now, I am supposed to pass this award along. I will pass it on to 3 ladies.

First, I am going to send the award to Boomama because she makes me laugh every single time that I read her blog... EVERY TIME! She is a blessing to me.

The next one goes to Amanda and Beth at the LPM blog. I have learned so much from this blog and from all of the comments that are made by the wonderful group of "siesta's" that read it. They are so good at mixing wit with their extensive knowledge of the Bible. They are so sweet to share their busy lives with us. Thank you for giving us this "meeting place." The LPM Blog is, after all, why I decided to join the blogging community! I wanted to get in on all of the fun!!

It Will Be Worth It All.... When We See Jesus

We sang a hymn tonight at church that I just absolutly love. The chorus goes like this:



It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.

Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ.

One glimps of His dear face, all sorrow will erase.

So bravely run the race, till we see Christ.



I just wanted to share these words with all of my blogging friends. All 2 of ya! :)



Love ya,

A Fallen Soldier Honored

Cpl. Shawn Hensel

This flag was about 12 blocks down from where we were, it was huge.
Firefighter Greg Ulery waits to follow the procession. In the meantime he was blocking off traffic from the side roads.

The Procession

Logansport lost a soldier last week in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Shawn Hensel died Aug 14th when he was caught in enemy crossfire. He was 20 years old and newly married. His funeral was today. What seemed like the whole town gathered along Market St. with flags in hand to honor him as the procession made it's way through our small town. I had never had to experience anything like this before. Remember to pray for our troops.

The Wonderful World of Webkins!

Meet the newest members of our family! Their names are Pugsy (Ethan's), Fluffy(Ben's) and Stormy(Sarah's), and they are from the Webkin Adoption Center - aka: a little shop in town called The Nest. Yes, we have entered this wonderful cyberworld of Webkins. These may look like ordinary stuffed animals, but no, no, no, they are not! We GET to go online and feed them and decorate their rooms and play games to earn "cyber money" to buy their food and clothing and furniture-- the list goes on and on and on! We get to take care of our "cyber pets" for one whole year! These things will even be "sick" if you forget to feed them..... I just pray that I don't kill the poor things! I guess it is a fun way for kids to learn some responsibility. This could be interesting! Luckily, the stuffed versions are just that...... stuffed.

Thankful for the Reminder

Hi All! I wanted to post the verses from today's devotions. The lesson today dealt with encouraging our children and others. One of the things that stood out was that we need to let our kids know that their self-worth is not dependant upon how much praise they receive, but is based on the fact that they were created by God for a purpose. Everyone is worth something.
Our encouragement is meant to help them face the opportunities and challenges of life.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up - I Thes. 5:11

A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver - Prov. 25:11

If God is for us, who can be against us - Romans 8:31

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
- Prov. 12:25

Putt-Putt PGA

Yes, it's that time of year again.... Putt-Putt PGA Time! Eric, Ethan and I participated in the miniature golf outing that our church has every year. I have to say, I didn't do too bad. I finished the 18 hole course with a 44 on the first round and a 46 on the second. Eric had a 37 after the first round and .......well, we won't talk about his second round! This was Ethan's first year to play and he had lots of fun, we all did!

The leaders after the first round-Eric(37), Natalie(38), Pastor Brian(38)
My Dad & Mom

That's me
That's Eric

The man in the white is our Pastor.

What I Do on the Side

The cake that I did this weekend
Aunt Mary

Making cakes is something I do for a little extra cash. It allows me the chance to use my creativity and God-given ability. My Aunt Mary from Alabama taught me how to decorate. I've never seen such a patient woman! Every summer she would have cakes ready for us to decorate when we would come to visit. If you are interested in seeing more of the cakes that I have done, scroll down to the slideshow at the bottom of my blog. I can draw just about anything with a toothpick and icing, but give me a pen and paper and I'm pretty much useless!

Precious Kylah

Today we went to a birthday party for the little baby that I watched last school year. I don't get to have her this year because her mom got a teaching job closer to home and there is a daycare available where she works. I was sad the day she told me that I wouldn't have Kylah because this little girl has made her way right into my heart. Our whole family loves her to pieces! (Ben says he's going to marry her someday) I was hesitant to keep her at first because she is blind and I wasn't sure that I could take care of her. I admit that I was a little scared, but doggone it if she hasn't been anything but a true blessing! I think I've worked out a way to get her a couple times a month..... I have to get my Kylah fix! One of the things that I love to give her is Eskimo kisses and I did that ALOT last year. When I held her today, the first thing she did was lean into me until her nose touched mine..... she remembered that. I think she's going to be very smart!
Kylah, you're a precious gift.


Happy 1st Birthday

Figuring out who has her

Love those kisses

One day this spring----I didn't know what to do with her, so I just took her picture!

Ben and Kylah last winter

Just a Swingin'

Well, the school year is now in full swing. Eric has two classes that he is teaching at Ivy Tech this semester, so he will be gone a couple evenings a week. Our Wednesday night Kings Kids program at church will be starting very soon and Eric and I are going to be the game leaders again. The kids are all adjusting well to the schedule, but Ben is already bored. (oh no!) Ethan will be starting Karate soon. He was a little hesitant, but we finally told him that he was going to try this. We are such mean parents... making our kids be active and all!! :) Ben and Sarah will be starting flag football this weekend. Yes, I said Ben AND Sarah, No prissy priss in this house! I have been getting used to all of the kids being in school and entertaining Cassidy, the little girl that I watch. My PTO responsibilities will be kicking in soon too. Yes, I'm one of those people who always has to be doing something! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It's supposed to be sunny and in the 70's here. Sounds good to me!

That's Cassidy in the picture. I've watched her since she was 3 months old.

The Lost is Found

We found it, well, Eric found it. Here is the culprit in my early morning wake up calls. My wonderful husband decided to get up Sunday morning and find it while it was going off. This watch belongs to my oldest, Ethan. I haven't figured out yet why it was taking up residence in our bedroom. Anyway, yeah!!!

First Day of School

Well, it's very quiet in the house right now. It just doesn't feel right, actually I think the dog is even freaked out a little! The morning went well though and there were no tears from anyone, not even me! Ethan is officially too cool to have his mom and dad come to his classroom, so I only have a couple of pictures of him. Sarah was great and went right to her class. Ben look slightly worried when we left, but I'm sure he did fine.... I think it's going to take me a little longer!

Big Man on Campus

Ethan is going into 5th grade - Wow, where did the time go? We are so proud of him, he is a great kid.

That's My Girl

Sarah is off to 1st grade tomorrow. I'm sure that she will be keeping an eye on her little brother!

My Kindergarten Baby

I'll miss having him with me every day. He's excited to go to school. We got to visit his classroom today, I think we just might make it after all!

This one is for the Siestas!

Okay, so this morning I was putting on my mascara when all of the sudden I felt the urge to sneeze. Sneezing and mascara don't mix.... at all. You just cannot sneeze without shuting your eyes...... tightly. Unfortunately, it takes longer than 2 seconds for mascara to dry.Needless to say, I was a little frustrated at having to wipe off and re-apply! Thankfully, that wasn't a sign as to how the rest of my Sunday was going to go. It's been grand, but I think allergy season is upon us because I have been sneezing ALL DAY!

Would someone PLEASE turn off that alarm!!

Monday morning 6:45, Tuesday morning 6:45, Wednesday morning 6:45, I think you get what I'm saying here. There is a watch lurking in our house somewhere that is set to go off at 6:45AM---- AND WE CAN'T FIND IT!!!! This is becoming quite an annoying thing for me as I am more of a 7 or 7:15 kinda girl. We have turned this place upside down trying to find it and of course I'm not going to get up at 6:45, when it's going off to try and find it. Now, I realize that 6:45 is probably late for a lot of you and starting next week(school will be back in session)I will probably be thankful for it. It's just the fact that I can't find it that is driving me crazy!
Here is another little somethin'. At supper tonight a kid walked in with this shirt on- "Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions." That cracked me up! :) LOL

Wizard of Oz Video

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Here is the video of the kids in the play that they did last weekend. This was a Junior Civic production with kids ages 3-18. They had lots of fun and love to act. Sarah is in the white skirt and orange/blue shirt and Ben is in the orange short and green shirt.

It's Just Plain HOT!!

Whew! It is hotter than hot here in Indiana. We've bypassed 90 degrees for several days now. Humid too......so humid! Eric and I have decided to rejoin the local Y this week. We quit going in the spring because we told ourselves that we could get plenty of exercise without the Y---- we were so very wrong! Now that we're back, I hurt in every possible place. We have a run here in November called theTurkey Trot (go ahead and laugh, you know you want to) that is a 4 mile run.... that's my goal for now. This will be my third time to run in it. Last year Sarah ran the one mile, so she will probably want to do it again. Enough rambling for now.

Tomorrow (Friday) is our 11th wedding anniversary- Yeah!