...and then there were 5

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Baptisms, fireworks, and prairies.

Activities around here have been in full swing. I can't believe that in just a month it will be time for school! I don't want summer to be over!

I suppose I'll try not to get ahead of myself, and just enjoy the remaining days one at a time.

The best news of the summer has been Audie's decision to follow Jesus. Last week, we had a baptism and a pool party following. Nothing makes me more proud as a parent!

The Fourth of July was a lot of fun this year also. We had a cookout and shot fireworks with some of our friends. Selah ended up with a bout of the "Big D" and I had to take her home early. However, my mom graciously offered to keep her so I could go back to the party to enjoy the fireworks. I was anxious to stretch myself to try to get some pics of fireworks, and I think it was a success! I didn't really see the fireworks because my eye was through the viewfinder on my camera the entire night. But I don't regret it! I love the pics we got.

It was brought to my attention that there is a one room schoolhouse not far from here. Since the girls are into the Little House on the Prairie series, we thought it would be fun to make them some dresses and bonnets and go do some pictures in front of the schoolhouse. We took a mini- road trip to see it all. What a fun afternoon it was! Such cool history that remains. The girls thoroughly enjoyed dressing up and pretending a little bit. Not only did we get to the one room school house we were after, we came across a homestead still standing from 1859, and got to walk through some really neat barns.

Several deer, ticks, and hours later, and a spoiled stop for some frozen yogurt, the girls crashed in their beds and slept tip 9:30 the next morning. A day to remember!!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

The last 10 days...

The 10 days Matt was gone, went fast and slow at the same time. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how it was. The first few days we planned activities in the evening time, and the full week he was gone, Corinne went to VBS and Audie went to Theater (day) camp with CYT. Both of them had a good time, and that helped the days to go by faster!

Maybe if you're lucky, Matt will post pics of his Brasil trip.

We went to the Botanical garden one evening. We took grandma, and it was perfect weather. While the girls rush through, I find it nice to read which plants are what, and stop to smell the roses. I'll maybe have to go by myself one evening to enjoy it to it's full potential. Still, the kids like the children's area, everything is hands on and a good experience!

Audie's camp was every day, from 9-3. At the end of the week, she had a showcase performance with all they'd learned. She talked about camp all week, and loved it. I'm happy she had the experience, and a good one at that!

While Corinne was at VBS, and Audie at camp, me and Selah had some good quality time together. I took her to get her ears pierced...

She had been asking for earrings. Several times over the last few weeks. I tried to tell her that it would hurt, but she never grasped that. I was very nervous to take her...she does not do well at all at the doctors office, and places like that. I asked the ladies if they would do two guns at once- over in one shot. They agreed, and that made me a bit more confident to go ahead with getting it done.

She didn't want to sit in the chair, and I knew she was going to cry. I kept reminding her that she would have earrings soon, and tried to distract her as much as possible. Two ladies put the guns to hear ears on each side, and in the earrings went! She flinched, then cried and put her head down and closed her eyes and didn't want to look up. I tried to get her to look at her earrings in the mirror and she didn't want to. Finally, the lady offered her some lip gloss, and that calmed her down.

After we got to the car, she said, "that didn't hurt" and was pleased with her earrings. Also, she was proud to show them off to her sisters when we picked them up from camp.

Another day, we were invited to go to the zoo with some friends. I was happy to go to the zoo with just one kid...something I haven't done in years!!

Selah and her buddy Raef.

By Saturday, I was very ready for Matt to come home! I took the girls shopping at the mall that night, we each got one new shirt/outfit...and then had chick-fil-a for dinner. Matt returned the next day, and we were all happy to have him back!!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Stuff

This might be the calm before the busy storm. While we have had many activities over the weekend, our weekdays are pretty low key. Last weekend, a cousin of mine got married, and we had family in town. It was a great time to visit, and catch up with some 2nd cousins we hadn't seen in a while, along with some time with my favorite aunt(s) and cousins.

Matt leaves for Brazil in less than a week, I'm excited for him. It will be long days for us, but this will be a trip of a lifetime for him.

Keeping up with making it my goal to have my camera out to take pics and make prints, here are some photos of the last week or so.

Because a light switch is where you hang your keys. (Selah did this)

Riding bikes is a daily occurrence

Corinne and Audie get along so well. Neither of them dominate the other, and they keep stuff pretty low key. I'm trying to introduce them to making Selah a part of their playtime, but it really doesn't work out as well as I like it to. I also don't want to disturb the peace between Corinne and Audie, so I don't push it too hard. I hope eventually the three of them will play together nicely. For now, Corinne and Aud are good friends, and that pleases me!

Today, they made their lunch on their own, and are having a picnic outside on the porch.

The girls have chores of cleaning their room and practicing piano, but a 50 cent incentive to clean some toilets works pretty well to help get some stuff done. :)

And to keep things real all the way around, here's a pic of Selah throwing a fit one day after a nap. The smiling faces you see in the above pics are generally our day to day, but there are hours in the day when I am putting out fires, too. Selah is learning the art of first time obedience, but not very well. She is a test of my patience for sure. From time to time, she does say, "Okay mom, I'll obey." And the heavens break forth with rejoicing. That makes my mom heart happy, and is just enough juice to keep going with the three year old stage!