Summer Reading

I love to read.

Always have.

Always will.

The problem is that I don't have much TIME to read anymore since motherhood hit me almost 7 years ago.

Usually the only things I have time to read is my Bible study (which I thoroughly enjoy), or children's books with my girls (that's enjoyable too), or all the blogs I follow (which I highly recommend for some good reading - look on the right side for some great suggestions!).

But this summer I've really taken the initiative to MAKE TIME for reading. Here are some of the great books I would recommend...

Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson
A must read if you have girls.
If you have boys he also has one called Bringing Up Boys

Pocahontas: True Princess by Mari Hanes

This book is fabulous. Zora and I read one chapter every night together before bedtime. We studied about Pocahontas last year in her first grade history curriculum and she loves the Disney movie, but this book is based on real journal accounts of her life. It not only tells of her amazing life and love for all people, but also her spiritual journey and the life she found in Christ.

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

I "borrowed" this book from my dear friend Amy Voss a few years ago. I had no intentions of keeping it this long, but I'm just now getting around to reading it. I'm about half-way through it and I've enjoyed every minute of it. It is, however, very challenging for me to read because I see so much more that I should be doing as a mother. I'm taking serious notes! (So, Amy, if you're reading this please allow me to "borrow" this for a few more weeks and then I'll mail it to you!!!)

Here's what is coming up on our reading list. I found these books in the Bargain Bins at Target. They are some of the old classics and they were only $1 each!!! What a Steal!!! I can't wait to read these with Zora :-)

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Flowers Make Me Smile

It's true. Red roses are actually the way to my heart and my husband has learned that lesson well.

However, there is another little "flower" that steals my heart in a completely different way...

My Lily flower

I tell you what, this little girl beats all I've ever seen. She is the most unique kid I've ever met. Her personality is so different.

Sometimes she is as shy as shy gets; other times she is literally bouncing-off-the-wall crazy.

Sometimes she is very tom-boyish; other times she is a very girly-girl.

Sometimes she is as ornery as all get-out; other times she is my little cuddle love-bug.

Sometimes she has me in stitches with her far out sayings and thoughts; other times she is very serious and contemplates the big questions in life.

Sometimes she is very frustrating to parent; other times I'm honored to be called her mother.

So this post is in honor of my little flower that makes me smile.

Today she counted by two's all the way to 28! I had no idea she could do that. I never taught her that, she just figured it out herself!

She also fixed her own hair today.

Hilarious, I tell you.

She got these new head-bands from her Mamma Dee, but she doesn't want to wear them like a normal head band. She has her OWN STYLE.


She was so proud of herself for fixing her hair, but all I could do was laugh. I felt like I was looking at a miniature version of the recent "star" of the last Survivor, SHAMBO. What do you think???

Something else I love about her is that she LOVES hand-me-downs. She gets so excited when her sissy outgrows something and we get to move it to her closet. This week was like Christmas to her because her "big cousin", Alli, gave us sacks full of clothes & books. She also gave us her daybed! While Lily was a little bit sad to see her other bed taken down, she is thrilled to have a "new bed" with a "secret bed" (a.k.a. trundle bed) underneath!

OLD BED
(which was also a hand-me-down from our little buddy, Noah)

NEW BED

Thank you, Lily, for being so unique and for making this flower-loving-mama smile!

I love you!

KBA Church Camp

A couple of weeks ago Zora got to go to her first church camp! I've been so excited for her to reach this age because some of my fondest memories are the years I went to church camp. There are so many lessons to be learned and friendships are made that will last a lifetime!

I took so many pictures and videos while we were there, but I'm going to share just enough to give a good overview of what went on during that week...

At the church waiting to load the bus
Zora, Alli, Micah

Getting a run-down from Pastor Greg of the schedule and the rules

When we signed up to go we weren't sure if we would know very many people there, but it turns out that we knew quite a few - some were even family! We had a great-aunt and several cousins that were there. Zora was really excited to see her cousin, Camryn.

COUSINS!!!

(Camryn, Canaan, Rachel, Alli, Tara & Zora)

Our first day of camp was mostly setting up the cabins, scoping out the grounds, and learning the rules. Our first night we even got rained out of service because of the severe thunderstorms in the area. So really, the second day is when all the fun began.

During the day there was some free time for the kids to do activities of their choice. Zora really enjoyed the water slides and canoeing.

The girls and Pastor Greg on the trail to the lake for some canoeing.

Beautiful Lake

Zora & Allison having fun!

Worn out, but still smiling!

Zora enjoying the water slides

There was also a time of organized sports. We played a lot of fun games, but I must admit that it was very hot and the kids got tired quickly! Zora did great though and dug her heels in there (literally) and played hard. Here she is in a tug-of-war match during a game called "Steal the Bacon". Our team rocked at this game!

Here is a relay race that was fun, but our team wasn't too good at it.
We lost every match :-(

Although she was the youngest one from the church we went with, she figured out a way to make friends. Each day Zora seemed to make a new friend.

Zora and Maggie

Zora walking with Mackenzie

And even though she was having a blast she did have moments that she seemed a little homesick. But Daddy came to the rescue by sending her some mail. She was so excited about that!

Reading her mail

Another major highlight of the week was the very last night. We had a special "Girls Only Day" in our cabin. The female sponsors treated all the girls to manicures, pedicures, make-up, and fancy hair-dos. We then had a devotion about how inner beauty and the love of Christ inside is much more important than outer beauty. The girls loved it!

Zora getting her hair curled

Our beautiful (inside and out) group of girls :-)

All dolled-up

Zora's beautiful hair-do!

Of course, the main focus of church camp is to learn more about God and build a strong and lasting relationship with Him. I must say that the worship band, speaker and after-service entertainment were all spectacular!!! Just let Zora's face during service speak for itself!

This is a ventriloquist who not only did puppet shows, but entertainingly taught the Bible in a fun way!

Our favorite puppet was Gigi. She was hilarious and even had the adults in the crowd in stitches!

In my opinion the best part of camp was the speaker - Keith Coast. He not only did a fantastic job of teaching the Bible to 800+ kids each night, but he also kept them entertained and had incredible object lessons and demonstrations to really illustrate his messages.

The first night his message was about OBEDIENCE and what happens when we don't obey. He taught about Jonah and how he ended up being swallowed by a "great fish". He illustrated what it might be like to be in a fish's belly by getting inside a balloon. Sounds crazy, I know, but just see for yourself...

The second night he talked about how a life of sin is like being a prisoner because we miss out on what God has planned for our lives and on the blessings He is waiting to give us. To illustrate being a "prisoner" he escaped out of shackles and two mail bags...

The last night his message was about how our God is greater than any other God because He is the One True God. He told the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal. He did a demonstration of what it could of looked like when Elijah called down fire from heaven...

Not only was this guy a great speaker, but he also did off-the-wall games with the kids and sponsors. He had the funniest ideas! Here are a couple.

The Bobble Head Race

He attached a pedometer to the kids' heads and gave them 1 minute to get the counter as high as they could. Hilarious to watch!

Pantyhose Game

He placed a tennis ball inside pantyhose and pulled it over the kids' heads. After they got the tennis balls to latch whoever could get the pantyhose off the other person hands-free was the winner.

Even though our time there was loads of fun Zora was tired and ready to be headed home by the end of the week. But we'll be ready to go back when next summer rolls around!!!

Waiting on bus - Ready to head home!

Swimming Lessons

For the first two weeks of summer the girls enjoyed swimming lessons. We went to the same lady who taught me from the time I was 2-years-old until I was a middle-schooler. She is absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend her! Not only do the children learn the many different swimming strokes and proper breathing techniques, but they also learn to conquer their fears and swim with confidence. Here we are with Ms. Denise :-)

Exercises before class

Zora with her teacher, Miss Rachel

Zora in the diving pose

Zora on the diving board

Zora wins the race!!!

CANNON BALL!!!

Zora goes off the high dive! Way to go, sister :-)

Lily with her teacher, Miss Julie

Little fishy :-)

Lily LOVES jumping of the diving board. She was actually the only one in her class who would do it all by herself and not cry! We're so proud of you!

Lily also jumped off the high dive, but not very willingly. She was excited to "walk the plank", but when it came to jumping she got nervous, so Miss Julie had to drop her.

And that's a wrap on swimming lessons until next year!

SPLASHING into Summer!

So far we have thoroughly enjoyed our summer. The majority of our activities thus far have revolved around WATER :-) After all, what is better in the summer than splashing in the sun with friends?!?!?!?!

We kicked off the summer with a fun-filled day with the Fieldens. We always have a great time with them! They bought their daughter an awesome blow-up pool with slides and invited us to spend the day playing.

Isn't this the coolest?
All three girls playing in the water...

Addie's face is priceless coming off that slide!

Lily helps herself to a drink from the water gun :-)

Zora running through an obstacle course in the pool...

The girls played in the water for at least four hours that afternoon. It was endless fun for the kids and parents alike! I think the dads had just as much fun on those slides as the kids did :-)

As if that wasn't fun enough, we ended the evening with a walk to a nearby pond for some fishing.

Joel helps Lily fish

Zora liked playing with the worms

They all caught a lot of little fish, but Trev won the biggest catch of the night!

Thanks to the Fieldens for an awesome day!

Our next big summer party was a Hawaiian Luau with the Rogers' family. They were celebrating the college graduation of their son and future daughter-in-law. It was a very hot day, but we all took refuge in the shade. Lily's cuteness suckered a sweet lady (who we had just met for the first time) into rubbing ice on her neck and face to keep her cool...

The party was a huge success despite the heat. The food was fabulous and there were fun games like softball, volleyball, and even a hula-hoop contest. I think my kids' favorite part of the day was playing in the creek in their yard and trying to catch crawdads. BOTH of my kids fell in the creek which made for an interesting afternoon, but they loved it anyhow. Mommy was a little stressed, though!

This is probably my favorite picture from the luau... the girls are taking a break between volleyball games. Those smiles just melt my heart!

Thanks to the Rogers' family for such a wonderful day!
(And for letting me use your washer and dryer to wash the mud out of my kids' clothes)
(Oh, yeah, and for letting me borrow the wrestling singlet - ha!)

A little more recently we have had the privilege of attending lots of birthday parties! My nephew, Nathan, turned 13 this year which is nearly impossible for me to believe! He was born right after I graduated high school... that makes me old :-(

I made him a shirt...
...I think it embarrassed him a little...
...but I think he liked it!

Nate's party was a pool party. I'm pretty sure that my kids would LIVE in a pool if they had the option. I just love taking pictures of my kids in the water. Here is my little brown beauty. I lovingly call her "My Little Puerto-Rican" because she is so dark! Lily asked me if she looked like a "Pork-a-Rican" too! :-)
Lily absolutely LOVES to swim and seems to never tire of it. She is wearing a floatie in this picture, but I think that's the only day she's worn one all summer. She is such a little fish she doesn't even need one!
We also celebrated my little brother's 3rd birthday. His was pool party, too, but I didn't get any water pics at that party because I was in the pool myself most of the time and didn't want to soak my camera!
We also enjoyed a swim day with our homeschool T.I.E. group. Thanks, Laurette, for hosting all of us!

And we can't forget our little buddy, Kylan, who just celebrated his 4th birthday! We had a great time at his pool party as well!

(Again, no pics at those parties either due to me being in the pool.)

Our playgroup also had a fabulous day with lots of little kiddie games. I forgot my camera that day :-( but we had so much fun with all of our friends! Thanks, Lacy for hosting such a great party and for all the yummy food that was shared!

And thanks to ALL our friends and family who have made this summer SPLASH-TASTIC so far! We are looking forward to the rest of our summer and much more fun!

SUMMER!!!

Well, it's finally beginning to feel like summer around here!

The weather is warm... okay, maybe HOT, because you know Oklahoma... there's no such thing as nice weather. It's either COLD, HOT, or SEVERE STORMS :-) But we are definitely enjoying the warmth and the beauty of the outdoors. And I love that I don't have to tell my kids to go outside...they beg to play outside as soon as their pretty little eyes pop open in the morning!

Another reason it feels like summer is because our school is taking a break! Woohoo! Three cheers! One for Zora, one for Lily and one for MOMMY!!! Seriously, we all need the break. Actually, we will do a little bit of work every morning after breakfast because I don't want their brains to turn to mush, but we are finished with our schedule and all of the curriculum they needed to finish for the year.

And finally, we know it's summer because we are busy, busy, busy with activities! We have been to school programs and park playdates, and now we are looking forward to swimming lessons and church camp!

WELCOME SUMMER!!!