Together With Friends

This summer we've had so many great times with friends. We are truly blessed with many great friends. We have so many friends from church, playgroup and our homeschool T.I.E. group that we've really enjoyed playing with. I haven't been able to get pics at every playdate, but here are a few that I managed to get the kids still enough for a few seconds...

We truly miss the Voss family who now lives in Arizona, but we were excited that they got to visit us back in June.

Noah, Zora, Eva & Lily

Lily, Emma & Zora at the bowling alley

Lily, Mark & Zora at Mark's house. Thanks for the swimming playdate!

Zora, Addie & Lily at the bowling alley

On our recent trip to Texas for a family reunion we also took time to visit some other friends who we miss very much, the Cutsinger family. I met Kendra and Joshua at a library storytime and they became regulars at our playgroup. Soon after little Micah was born. We got to be great friends and then they moved to Texas. It was such a blessing to go to their home.

Joshua, Zora, Micah & Lily listening to Kendra read a Miss Nelson book

We've had so many other great playdates and we don't want to leave anyone out... we had another special visit from some far-away friends who live in Georgia, Reed and Pierce (we'll see you again soon in a few weeks!); a splash pad playdate with cousin, Ty; a swimming playdate with Kylan and Kynlee; a fun playdate with Hollyn, Myli and Alexa; playdates with Aub and Levi, and several fun get-togethers with playdate and our T.I.E. group. Thanks to all of our wonderful friends for making our summer so memorable and fun!

Skiatook Lake

A couple of weeks ago we had a great little weekend getaway trip with the Fielden family. We took a trip with them to Skiatook Lake and had a day of fun we'll never forget!

Here are the girls all geared up and ready to go on the boat ride

Jennifer and Me

Daddy swimming in the lake with the girls

Daddy takes the girls for a ride... they LOVED that thing!

Isn't this precious? Three tiny hineys sunbathing on the intertube :-)

Each of the girls got their turn driving the boat when we were out in the middle of the lake with no one else around.

Lily driving - doesn't she look cool?

Addie driving

Zora driving

We also all took our turns tubing behind the boat (except for Jennifer because she is expecting!) We had so much fun - adults and kids alike.

Zora & Trev

Lily & Trev

Addie & Me

Lily with Daddy

Zora with Daddy

In the background you can barely see Trev & Addie taking their turn, but I couldn't resist this picture of my girls. It was nearing the end of the day and they were getting tired.

When we weren't driving around, tubing or riding on sea-dos we had a lot of fun just swimming in the water. The girls loved jumping off the side of the boat.

Lily jumps in!

Zora jumps in!

Jasmine Moran Museum

We recently took another visit to the much loved Jasmine Moran Museum, but this time we went with our friends from playgroup! Here are some pics of our visit...

Zora & Lily teaching
students: Emma, Hollyn & Myli

In the room learning about living with disabilities

Lily's favorite room... Car mechanics

Zora's favorite room... the baby unit at the "hospital"

Drawing in the sand

Here is something new they've added since last time we went. It was a tornado tunnel that allowed the children to experience winds up to 75 mph. I got in there with them once and it really takes your breath away!!!

Of course we had to visit the bubble room.

Driving the fire truck. Don't you love Lily's pig nose pressed against the glass?

Lily checks Zora out at the "grocery store"

Lily in the dentist chair. Open wide!

Junie B. Jones Tour

In case you don't know about Junie B. Jones, she is a character in a series of books written by Barbara Park. She has a hilarious personality and a very funny viewpoint in life. In the beginning of the series she is a kindergartner and as the series progresses it follows her through the elementary school years.

Zora absolutely LOVES reading Junie B. Jones books. The only thing I don't like about Junie B. is that she has a major attitude problem and sometimes says words we don't use - like stupid or dumb, etc. I allow Zora to read the books, anyhow, and we just have to talk about not doing the unkind things that Junie B. sometimes does.

Now to the point of this post... The Junie B. Jones Stupid Smelly Bus Tour only went to a few select cities in the nation and our city was one of them!!! It was at one of our Barnes & Noble Bookstores. They had the actual Stupid Smelly Bus parked outside the store and then a short little show featuring Junie B. and the bus driver inside the store.

Zora and Lily in front of the Stupid Smelly Bus

Making bracelets waiting for the show to start

The girls in a sea of little people waiting for the show to start

Whoever plays the actual character in these little shows is absolutely hilarious. I honestly think she was funnier than some of the books. The girls got a seat close enough that they could see really well. I think all the kids enjoyed it. Just look at their faces. Can you find Zora & Lily???
When the show was over Junie B. was available to sign her books, but the line was VERY long and when I asked them if they wanted to wait they said NO. We settled instead for a picture with the backdrop. :-)

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!