July Recap

July seemed to fly by with Vacation Bible School at the start and swimming lessons at the end. Here are all the pictures I took before, after and in between which I wanted to post but never took the time.


We spent July 4th with several families from church at this great little cabin. Felt like we were miles from home and a hundred years in the past; actually just 15 minutes from home!


How exciting to all the kids to see a horse up close!


And even better... to get to ride! This was Philip's first time on a horse.


Go Philip!


Yeah, now it's Braewyn and Daddy's turn.


Miss Kelly was helping Braewyn practice her riding.


When it was Philip's turn again, he hesitantly let me ride with him. I had a great time, but just couldn't walk for a few minutes after getting off (having Braewyn really left me with a sore right hip).


Finally it was fireworks time and our baby girl did NOT like it!


Philip however loved the show and especially getting to hold his own sparkler.


We had a great afternoon and evening with our friends. Surely wore out the two little ones in our car.


This was only 5 minutes down the road.


The next weekend we attended a birthday party for our neighbor and Philip's friend Anna Grace (she came to VBS with us) at our city's Science Museum. Here Philip waits in line to touch a snake!


Braewyn didn't want to stand in line but preferred just to walk around all by herself. (Thanks Jessie for this great picture!!)



In our random mornings home this month, we did fun stuff... like make jello! The kids had never had it before (as far as I remember) and Philip enjoyed sucking it up through a straw (college cafeteria habit I had from days long past). You should really try eating jello with a straw. Great sounds!


Also, we brought out the playdough one morning while Braewyn napped. My friend Julie gave us these cool playdough accessories! We love them, Julie.


One Saturday night, the air felt just right to spend some time at a local park.


It's great watching them "play" together.


Braewyn didn't seem to be a big fan of swings tonight.


But Philip and Matthew sure did like them.


Yes, this was a Mommy posed shot. Pretty cute if I say so myself.


More fun for Daddy and Philip.


The kids were wearing down. We got Braewyn to quickly sit beside Philip for this shot but Matthew was only steps away. I love how you can see their little reflections!


Philip wasn't in the mood for photos anymore and wanted to be left alone!


One last chance to climb as this rock was up in the parking area.


Philip received this chair from Aunt Elise and Uncle Arden for his first Christmas (he was 11 months old) and now it fits Braewyn just right!


Philip was excited to see it again too as it had been tucked away in the attic for some time. Not sure if this is a good fit. Yes, there were some sharing issues to be resolved over this chair at first. Then Philip no longer wanted it, but we had to repeatedly tell Braewyn to sit down as she discovered how fun it was to stand up in it! Crazy girl.


I came down the hall to find this scene one day. So sweet.


And this is another scene which I just had to share. Maybe we should enroll Braewyn in clown school!


And then came swimming lessons. This picture was from his first day.


Looking quite the little swimmer in his cool shark goggles!


Off the group walks. My baby is getting so big. This will be him walking into an elementary school in just a few years. I'm not ready!


And finally... here's Philip at 12:15pm on the last day of swimming lessons. I was leading my last day of the "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" Bible study so Ruth Ann took Philip to swimming lessons and then dropped him off at the church. I drove myself and the kids home at noon. Philip walked into the livingroom and laid down on the couch. By the time, I had carried a sleeping Braewyn from the car to her crib, Philip had fallen asleep too. He slept on the couch until 2:30pm!! Those two weeks of swimming lessons can really tire a boy out!!

Thank you Lord for ALL the many blessings July brought to our family.

A Good Day From Beginning to End... Well, Almost

Today was a fun day. It started with getting up, having breakfast with Daddy, getting the kids and I dressed, and heading out the door to Philip's swimming lesson. All the kids seemed to fall right back into routine. I wasn't sure how some of them would do as it had been three days since being there. Philip has lost a little of initial excitement and seems to come out of the pool shivering to death each day, but he hung in there and I could see that he really is making improvements. About 10 minutes until 10:00am (the lesson is over at 10:00am), his teacher leads the class to the deep end of the pool. A few other moms and I were wondering how deep that part was so I walked down there to see and watch the group close up. It is 11 1/2 feet deep!! When Philip's turn came, he calmly climbed up onto the platform (like a swim meet starting block), and lept into the water where his teacher was waiting, floating herself on some sort of "life-saving device". He bobbed to the surface and she got him headed in the direction of the ladder. Philip swam about two feet all by himself!! The funny part is that I'm amazed how brave he was, but honestly the 3 1/2 feet shallow end is over his head too so where he jumps in really doesn't matter.

Next we drove over to the hospital to visit our very good friend Mary Ann who had suffered a mini-stroke on Friday but sustained no side effects at all. Thank you, Lord!! It was great seeing her and I believe Philip and Braewyn provided (as they usually do) much needed comic relief for her and her husband, Hank (our pastor). Philip and "Pastor Hank" (whom Philip called "Papa" by accident once, but made Hank's day) played "I Spy" out the room window. The parking garage was in view from the room so Hank suggested to Philip that if Mommy would drive him to the top, he would wave to Philip from the window. I had parked on the 5th level so it wasn't a problem as there were only 6 levels. We got to the top and could actually see Hank waving from the window. Cool! The other really cool part was that there were hardly any cars up there and no obstructions. I had a strong inclination to do doughnuts in my car, but remembered that my pastor might be watching for one and simply thinking of him as a family friend, I didn't want to portray myself as a DSS-reportable mom slinging my kids around in the back of the car!

Matthew met us at home for lunch and we cleaned out the fridge of leftovers. My favorite kind of meal. Braewyn actually slept through lunch and so I was hoping to get Philip down for a nap while she was still asleep. I took him to my bedroom (where he naps usually) and started reading "Green Eggs and Ham". He was bouncing around and I was falling asleep midsentence ("I will not eat them in..." "Mommy, read!"). I figured at least one of us should get some rest, so I let him play Tinkertoys while I slept for 15 minutes. My funny boy says as I kissed him on the top of his head before he left my room to go play in the living room, "Mommy, don't kiss me on my head. Kiss me on my... my... sweet face."

Once up and at 'em again, I cooked Chicken Divan (great recipe of Paula Dean's!) for Matthew's aunt Elise and family. (I should have posted this earlier, but Elise broke her ankle while in Honduras a few weeks ago on a mission trip. Can you imagine flying home with a broken ankle?! She had surgery on it two weeks ago and is now into 8 weeks of not being able to put any pressure on it; i.e. out of work from her job at the hospital operating room, and spending her days propped up on the couch playing Wii and reading blog! Hope you're having a good day, Elise! We're praying for you.) After it was finally finished, the kids and I drove the casserole to Elise's house and visited for a few minutes with her, Mollie (her daughter and one of my best buddies!), and Michael (Mollie's hubby).

At 6:35pm while driving home, I called Matthew who was just leaving work (big project at the end of this week) and we decided to meet at a recently renovated McDonald's (they actually have a coffee bar and free WiFi!). Philip was excited as I told him it had a really nice new playground too. We headed over to eat in the playground room, sitting down beside two Hispanic families. Philip says OUT LOUD, "Mommy, I can speak Spanish. (insert three-year-old's attempt at Spanish here)." I may as well enroll him in Spanish class since he already thinks he can speak it.

We drive home and the kids go in the tub. Bathtime goes fairly well, but I could tell they were both getting cranky and tired. After getting into pajamas, we should have gone straight to bed but went to the living room instead. Philip starts saying he's hungry (too excited at McD's to eat much) so I gave him one option: bread with peanut butter on it. I thought he said yes so I went to fix it. Braewyn meanwhile was enjoying typing on Daddy's laptop. He had been working on the couch and she was looking on inquisitively. Matthew clicked over to Notepad so she could type away. Somehow she would click it back to his program (a few seconds before he noticed) and scared the life out of him. After doing it again, Matthew said "No more, Braewyn, all done." Side note, Braewyn does not adjust well to being told no to something she's enjoying. The temper tantrum starts and my flashbacks of walking the floor with a five-month-old banshee return. Meanwhile, back to Philip, I return from the kitchen with a piece of peanut butter bread and he says he wants regular bread. I say "Sorry, this was what was offered. Let's just go to bed."

Matthew and I walk two screaming children down the hall, place them in beds, tell them we love them, and close the door. Ten minutes later there is silence in our house. I am totally and completely blessed to live with these three amazing people whom God has brought into my life.

New Post Below

I started a post about Philip's swimming lessons but had trouble uploading the videos. Hence, the post "Two Peas in a Pod" showed up yesterday, but now the swimming lesson post is below it. Wanted to make sure you saw it as the "Pod" post is very long and you might not scroll down past it again.

Two Peas in a Pod

Philip and Braewyn have shared a room since she was 5 months old. They slept in the room at nights while she napped in the office and he in their room. Finally around 8 months, I moved her back in their room for naps and told Philip if he woke her up he'd be disciplined (obviously if it wasn't an accident, i.e. jumping on his bed saying "Braewyn, wake up!"). They did ok for a while if I could get one of the two in first and asleep before the other came in. About three months ago (she 12 months, he little over 3 years old), they began virtually throwing parties in the room at nap time. It would be 30-40 minutes sometimes and I'd say several times, "You need to lay down. Philip, if you don't talk to Braewyn, she'll fall asleep." That's when I decided to let Philip nap on mine and Matthew's bed and leave Braewyn in her crib alone in their room. This worked!! There were (and still are) many days when Philip says, "Mommy, can this be a day when I don't rest?" He's trying to worm his way out of a nap and I'm trying my hardest to find a way to squeeze one in (for ME!). Somedays, I risk it and put them in their room together. Some days it works, some days not so good. Some days Philip and I can fall asleep on my bed together, some days I'll dose off only to be poked awake five minutes later. I suppose Philip is outgrowing napping but I'm hanging on to it for dear life as long as possible.

Now there's also the nighttime issue these days. Sharing a room has pluses, but also minuses as in one early riser means two early risers. When we only had Philip and he was 14 months old, he slept a good 12 hours at night (bed around 8pm and awaking around 8am) plus two naps during the day. Boys and girls are as different as night and day, but before I tag Braewyn as whiny and high-maintenance, I really need to give her a chance to get more sleep. The poor girl is only getting the same amount of sleep as Philip gets these days and he's 2 1/2 years older, whole different sleep pattern. Now with the two, we're doing good to get them in bed by 9pm. And then they sleep like rocks until... 6:45am!! (Also I've been hearing Braewyn cry for a few seconds around 5:30am most mornings.) That's when Philip gets out of bed, loudly opens and closes their bedroom door and uses the bathroom. Poor Braewyn is probably soundly sleeping until CLICK! She then cries and some mornings will fall back asleep for 45 minutes to an hour. But some mornings doesn't. It makes for a long day especially this week and next with us going to swim lessons during the time she would love to be napping. She has fallen asleep in the car on the way home each day, but she usually awakens when we get home or to whatever destination is next. I think next week, I'll just come straight home and let her sleep for an hour.

Well, just wanted to "jot this down on paper" so I can read it back in ten years when I'm telling them for the fourth time, "Get up. You need to get ready for school!" And yes, Lord-willing, we'll be in another house by then and they'll each have their own rooms!

We love swimming lessons!

July continues to be a month of firsts for Philip. This week, he started swimming lessons. I really didn't know how he would do, but I say as humbly as possible, he's maybe the best in his class! I knew he was very comfortable being in the water before starting the lessons but sometimes he gets kind of bashful in different circumstances and his lessons are in a big aquatic center pool with classes of all different types going on all at the same times. Well, my questions were answered the first morning when I could see across the room his teacher asking all the kids to put their faces into the water. A few had to be asked again to do it and some complied but barely let their noses touch the water's surface. And then there's Philip... his teacher says put your face in the water, he's COMPLETELY UNDERWATER! I couldn't even see him from where I was sitting. As there are 6 kids in the class and the teacher can only take them into the water one at a time, there's a lot of down time waiting on the submersed platform (the pool is between 3 to 4 feet deep so the kids stand on an underwater platform so they are not underwater themselves). Well, during that down time, Philip is underwater, up for air, underwater, up for air, and so on. When it is his turn, he's so cute kicking his little legs or jumping from the side into the water toward his waiting teacher. My heart goes out to the parents of the screaming, anxious children, but I am thankful that by means of water cups over the head during bathtime and his daddy's comfort level in the water, we've helped Philip develop such a love for the water. This fact was a main reason we thought he better takes lessons now to bring guidance to his fearless abandon. Well, enough said. Here are some cute videos from today's lesson. Mom joined us this morning which was helpful as Braewyn was glad to walk around. Braewyn's fearless abandon will be the subject of my next post.

VBS was great!

Last week our church held Vacation Bible School and we averaged around 350 kids every night! It was an amazing week as the kids learned the foundational truths of Christianity: God is real, Jesus is God's Son, Jesus is the only way, the Bible is God's Word, and our actions show what we believe. And it was all set to a Hawaiian Luau theme, "Outrigger Island: Living God's Unshakeable Truth".
I had a rollercoaster week teaching the rising 6th grade girls. Sylvia (my co-teacher and great new friend) and I were thrown a curve ball on Sunday afternoon (the day prior to VBS) when we found out our class roll only had two names on it! How would we teach only two girls? We thought about combining with the rising 7th grade girls, but it took the wind out of our sails for the moment. However, I knew God would provide and He did: we had six precious girls show up on Monday night!! The first night I was actually very nervous and to me the night seemed to bomb. I was so grateful that VBS would only be a week long. That night I felt such admiration for professional teachers as I was wondering how I would get through just doing this for a week.

Each night of the week got progressively better and a lot of great things came from the experience: making a great new friend in Sylvia; enjoying spending each night with Kelcey and Ashley, our assistants I recruited from my 10th grade Sunday School class; getting to know the six sweetest little girls who made up our class; and finding out that one of them gave her life to Jesus on our decision night! I also enjoyed the drive to and from each night with Philip and our 6-year-old neighbor Anna Grace. Our family night program on Friday evening was a big hit as the sanctuary was packed. Philip sang two songs with the younger group (3-year-olds to rising 1st-graders) and was just precious. This video was from our Sunday morning service to let our church members experience a little taste of VBS. Philip joined in the hand motions but didn't sing like he had on Friday night. Still, my little munchkin!!

Cardboard Testimonies

A friend sent me an email containing a link to this YouTube video. It is truly powerful. If you have asked Jesus to be your savior, you KNOW how He changed your life. If you have not asked Jesus to be your savior, you might see Christians and think they are uptight, stuffy people or the extreme opposite: people living just like you just with a fake front trying to look all high and mighty. For me, being a Christian really has nothing to do with the church I attend, which Bible studies I've taken or how many Bible verses I've memorized. Giving my life over to Christ means I have been RESCUED from the complete mess my life would have been without Him. It also means I have been promised a home in heaven after I die and leave this world. This video shows real people who have been through some real things. Please watch it.

Recent Philip-ism's

Yes, having my two little ones is pretty tiring as that previous post stated, but every day is worth it to have little people grow up before your eyes. I need to document some of Philip's more recent phrases.

• I passed Braewyn a cheese stick at lunch one day and said, "Here's some cheese-arooni." (Motherhood makes you silly; you know!) Well, Philip said, "Easy-rooni!" and looked at Matthew. "That's Spanish for butter." (Since watching Dora and Diego, he thinks he knows Spanish. He cracks us up!!)
  
• While reading his story Bible, we read about Joshua and the wall of Jericho falling. The next page reads, "When Joshua was an old man, he reminded the people to obey God's Word. 'Choose this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'" I looked at Philip and said, "Will our house serve the Lord?" He said frankly, "No, people do that."
  
• After brushing his teeth last night, he points to the back of his throat and says, "That's where my scream comes from!"

I love him!!!

Registered for Swim Lessons!

Philip is going to take swim lessons the last two weeks of July, Monday thru Thursday of each week, at our local Swim Center. I'm so excited, but what a day we've had! I called Saturday about enrolling him and was told that I had to sign up in person. Today was the first business day since then so it was on my to-do list this morning. It felt awesome outside at 8:30am so I decided to take the kids for a walk to get some fresh air first. Well, after getting us all dressed (with some relunctantly on all parts), taking a couple of phone calls, lugging the double stroller out, and pouring three drinks, we headed out at 9:50am. After a short 15 minute walk around the block, we arrive home and I'm dripping with sweat. A quick bathroom break / diaper change inside the house, and we pile into the car.

First stop, Big Lots. As I've said, I'm teaching Vacation Bible School next week and we had our last planning meeting yesterday. The countdown is on so I'm now really motivated to begin purchasing supplies, decorations, etc. In Big Lots, I found some expensive leis, cute but unnessecary flipflops and surfboard plastic plates and Philip tried on a plastic shell, hula girl string-bikini top! I was pushing Braewyn in her stroller and asking Philip to stay where I could see him. About 25 minutes later and no purchases made, we headed back out in the heat to the car. Philip was strapped in his seat, changed Braewyn's diaper in the front seat, strapped her in, and then drove down Pine Street.

A few minutes later, I called Matthew as the Swim Center was no where to be found. He looked online at work and found it to be located on S. Church St., instead of S. Pine as I thought. He gave me back road directions to Church St., and I reassured Philip that it wouldn't normally take this long to get to swim lessons. Thankfully, Braewyn slept for about 25 minutes during this driving around process. After passing it on Church St. and doubling back, we parked and walked into the Swim Center. I was a little intimated upon entering and asking about registering for swim lessons as I was greeted by several older teen guys (think Hollister ads) and a really nice person whom I thought was a guy but then realized to be a girl. Well, I filled in the sign-up form and then was told they only take cash or check. Oh no, that's one question I didn't ask over the phone. Guess I'll have to stop back by after lunch I told her. Back into the heat, into the carseats, and across town to meet Daddy for lunch at Moe's.

Moe's has a lunch special (burrito, chips and large drink) for $5.99 on Mondays so it was packed. We were famished and hot, but enjoyed a really, yummy lunch after waiting just about 10 minutes in line. We were almost through eating, but it was time for Matthew to head back to work. He gave us all kisses and bid us farewell until this evening. The kids and I finished our lunches, I wiped off hands and faces with a baby wipe, took Braewyn out of the high chair to put it back, escorted she and Philip away from the two girls in the next booth whom they were talking to, and corralled us all into the bathroom. Philip stood on my feet to go, I used the toilet, washed our hands and scooped Braewyn up off the floor where she had been unpacking the diaper bag.

Now, I headed out across the parking lot with diaper bag on shoulder, Braewyn on one hip, box of extra chips in one hand, my drink in the other, her drink in her hand, Philip's drink in his hand, and he holding onto my pinkie finger. We made it to a grass island where Philip dropped off and played pretend basketball on top of a grate. I told him to follow me as we were still in the parking lot. He did not start walking so I told him he would receive a pop at the car. Continued walking to the car, and unlocked the doors. Asked Philip to stand beside his wheel (the left back tire, his designated spot) while I strap Braewyn in. Going around to her side, she squirmed when I put her in her seat helping me realize her diaper was wet again! I brought her back to the driver side, stood her beside the wheel as I decided just to go ahead, pop Philip and strap him in, but alas, she doesn't stay put and begins walking into the parking lot lane. I stood her between me and Philip's door, gave him the pop, strapped him in, changed her diaper in the front seat, and then strapped her in her seat. All back in the car, air conditioning on, and heading off again to the Swim Center.

Once out at the Swim Center, I gave the girl my check after telling her my checkbook had been in the car all along! I walked Philip and Braewyn into the big room where the pool was to see where swim lessons would be. Philip's registered and I was told I can take free water aerobics or enjoy $2 open family swim time (I think it's $2 for me and for Braewyn but not sure!) while he's in his lesson. Back to the car. I strapped into her carseat, a very perturbed little girl who was signing to me, "All Done!" She was sick of being in the car and we hadn't even left town. Whewww! What a day.

Just wanted to post this to let others know the joys of toting around two little ones, but mainly to remind myself what it used to be like one day in the future when I feel overwhelmed by driving them to and from school and activities. They will both be able to get in the car themselves and there will no longer be diapers changed in the front seat!

Happy Birthday to the Best Husband in the World!!

He's not perfect, but he's perfect for me!! Saturday, Matthew turned 32. We had bought a Nintendo Wii earlier that week (Mike had brought his to the beach and we enjoyed it; Matthew's stock dividend check covered most of it; and I am excited about trying to get in shape once our Wii Fitness accessory pack arrives from Circuit City. More on that later.) so I decided his birthday present would consist of his favorite foods. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, BLT's for lunch (with tomatoes from our garden!), and lasagna for dinner. His mom came over for dinner which was followed up with cake (with his favorite homemade icing) and ice cream. (Lori, can you believe it was the first time I made lasagna from Ruth Ann's recipe? It turned out great so I need to put it on the monthly menu! Oh, yeah, I need to make a monthly menu first!)

Thank you Matthew for being such the wonderful husband and father that you are. We really do have so much fun together! I love you and look forward to celebrating your next 32 birthdays together. Can you believe in 32 years we'll be the parents of a 35-year-old and a 33-year-old?! Let's just work on getting them each to kindergarten for now. I love you, sweetie!

A few spots down memory lane...

The Garden!

God has blessed our garden as it is really producing a good bit and we are enjoying every bite! So far we've eaten several yellow squash, some okra, a few tomatoes, a lot of cherry tomatoes, a white eggplant, and two green bell peppers. On the vine/plants outside now are lots of the things I've listed PLUS small cucumbers, at least eight small ears of corn (!!!), more white and lavendar eggplants and a random canteloupe vine which got thrown in from there being canteloupe seeds in our compost pile.



A few of our home-grown veggies.



The makings of a perfect horror movie: nighttime, small pool, woods and scary CORN!!!

Barnet Park

Barnet Park is a fun walk through water fountain area about 10 minutes from our house. Last Wednesday we had a MOPS playdate there which was a lot of fun and one I was very much looking forward to as it would be Braewyn's first time there since she's been walking. This is the third summer Philip has enjoyed the water park and he seems to be better equipped at playing in it each year. Here are some photos from last week thanks to my friends Markel and Tashma as my camera battery was dead.


Looks like Karter and Braewyn have the place to themselves!



Eating a snack lunch. I must be eating something YUCKY!


Getting wet!!


Funny Karter.



Check out Philip on the left.



Feeling cool in the hot summer sun.



Braewyn is getting the hang of it too.



Philip's buddy Josiah loves the water... we think!



We like it here!

Beach photos!

Here's a little glimpse of our week at Cherry Grove Beach. We had a lot of fun helping the kids get used to the surf and sand, visiting Broadway At The Beach, eating out a few times, playing putt-putt, having WAY TOO MANY snacks at the condo, sleeping not at all as much as we would have liked (Holden decided morning came around 4:00am most days!), but overall had a wonderful time together and created lasting memories. We celebrated Father's Day and Mom's birthday while there which added to the specialness (made up word!).

Speculative Philip

I had to jot this one down to keep for years to come. We were getting ready to leave this morning for my Bible Study at church. Philip had a hard time last night about going to Preschool Team Kid (his Wednesday night activity at church), so I wanted to really talk up his going to church again today.

Me: "You know if we get there early this morning, you can welcome the other kids to the room. Maybe there will be a little boy there for the first time and you can make him feel special by saying you'll be his friend."

Philip: "Well, not exactly because there's a problem." (A three-year-old is saying this!! And he's wringing his hands as he says this.) "When I'm crying I don't like anyone messing with me. But if I'm not crying then I do like people messing with me."

Back from the Beach!!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Just a quick update to say we had a fantastic week at Cherry Grove beach (just above North Myrtle Beach) from Saturday, June 14 thru Saturday, June 21. The four of us shared an ocean-front condo with my parents, brother Mike, sister-in-law Andrea, and sweet 7-month-old nephew Holden. I have tons of photos and videos to post which I will work diligently to squeeze in over the next couple of days.

Lots going on otherwise as there is always the house to clean and kids to care for, Vacation Bible School in two weeks (I'm teaching the rising 6th grade girls) so supplies to gather, and MOPS Steering Team planning meeting this Friday night which involves organizing the info for which I'm responsible. God will provide me the strength and ability to get it all done as long as I remain faithful to Him. Hence, I feel Him telling me, "Walk away from the computer!"

Braewyn is up and walking!!

I know I never even posted a video of her crawling and now here she is walking all around. Just wanted to get this up before she starts running, which somedays she almost is. Such a sweet, silly girl.



As was the case before, this video was shot in widescreen mode but I can't get it to post like that so she looks stretched.

Sidebar Addition...

Since Blogger added a new easy Blog List feature, I've re-added (is that a word?)links to the many blogs I read on a day to day basis. Alison is the kindergarten teacher my mother-in-law Ruth Ann works with. Carrie is a college friend. Casey is Matthew's cousin. Ellen is a friend who I met through Matthew (her husband and Matthew grew up together). Jessie is a friend here in town. Jo Ellen is another friend here in town. Lori is my sister-in-law (Matthew's brother's wife). And Melanie is a friend who I met here in town but who now lives a few hours away. Their blogs are fun and informative so whenever you have time to kill... read away! The number under each blog tells you how long ago each blog was updated.

Today...

Matthew and I are both sick. He has severe head congestion to the point of having a shooting pain in his left ear when he sneezes or yawns. I have some head congestion (like my head is underwater while I'm going about my day) making all sounds extremely exaggerated (not good to be in the present of a preschooler and baby) and body aches causing lack of energy. There were rough moments today (telling Philip I had played with him and now he needed to play on his own after only 5 minutes; gathering energy to bath both of them when I'm very much ready for bed myself). I know, and here I am blogging!

Just wanted to recap how the Angela Thomas Bible Study went yesterday as it was our first session. I was very nervous mostly due to the unknown factors (how many women would attend, would they like the material, would I flub over my words, etc.), and the morning was pretty rough as both kids were crying at the same time at varying moments before leaving the house and Philip did not want to go into his classroom when it was time. He probably felt my nerves and it rubbed off on him. However he was a great helper in stacking the desktop calendars on the counter which I forgot to mention for the ladies to take!

Anyway, our church is offering two Bible studies this summer. Beth Moore's "Breaking Free" really helps in uncovering some deeply hidden burdens in your life and how to work through those things. And the "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" study by Angela Thomas which I'm faciliating which deals with women coming to the realization that our God, Maker of the Universe, finds them beautiful (Ps. 45:11) and wants them to live life feeling as such and leaving behind all the baggage the world dumps on them. Well, "Breaking Free" has about 30 women in attendance and "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" has 6. God is so wonderful! I am so excited to get to know the other five ladies in this study with me as I know also those ladies in the other study will be blessed incredibly. The best part is how God brought together the group in my study. There's me who was asked about faciliating a different study (another Beth Moore) but declined due to fear of keeping up with the home assignments (Beth's studies are amazing but very time-consuming). Then "Breaking Free" was decided upon and Betty who is the veteran faciliator said yes to that which left "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" open to me to say yes to. I had seen Angela speak in March at a conference and after praying, said yes. Enough about me.

Next there's a girl who attends our church and MOPS but just wanted a change from Beth Moore. The second girl happened upon our church website after looking for a MOPS group in the area and found our MOPS summer calendar on the web. How awesome that she just showed up at our park playdate on Wednesday and as I walked by her, God urged me to say hello to her. She said she had seen the calendar online and asked if the Bible studies would be starting the next day! So she came the next day too! The third girl has been attending MOPS this spring but I just really met her at a Chuck E. Cheese playdate in May. We chatted for a while at the park on Wednesday too and have really hit it off. She's been attending our church too and is really growing in her faith. The fourth girl and I met Wednesday night at our church dinner. Her family has been visiting and her son was actually in Ruth Ann's kindergarten class this year. And the fifth girl attends a church across town but saw Angela Thomas' name on our church sign and since she attended the same conference I did, wanted to come to the Bible study also.

God works in amazing ways every day... you just have to look for Him.

And to really change the subject, we put up our backyard pool this evening!! It's identical to the one we had last summer (that one just got folded down and really dirty) so I know it will be really fun. The huge difference this summer is Braewyn will be joining us! If she can get over her fear of water (a little scared i.e. screamed everytime ANYONE jumped in the last pool we visited). Hopefully as the water warms in our crazy hot summer heat, she'll grow to love it too! Can't wait to post those pictures.

Philip's first talk with "Ms. Ann"

"Ms. Ann" is our Children's Ministry Director at church. I heard lots of friends say their children went to speak with Ann when they had spiritual questions so after a few recent questions, I thought it was time Philip had a chat with "Ms. Ann". I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Philip grow in his understanding about the Bible and Jesus. No, he's not got it all figured out, but even preachers have things they're waiting to ask God about. From the last two years in Sunday School and Bible Study, Philip has learned a lot of the stories and this year is even beginning to understand why Jesus died for us (he'll tell you, "because of our sin").

Well, the recent conversations went something like this.

Me: "Philip, why did you just hit Braewyn? That was mean."

Philip: "Mommy, I like being mean."

Me: "What? Why would you want to be mean?"

Philip: "Because I want Jesus to die. Then He can come back to life."

Me: (thinking to myself) "Whoa! That's approaching the theological debate Paul addressed in Romans 6 ("What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" v. 1-2)."

And thus came my thought to visit "Ms. Ann". After having a short chat with him, Ann told me that Philip had talked about thinking Jesus didn't love him because he had been mean to Braewyn. She reassured him that no matter if he did the worst thing he could ever do, Jesus would always still love him. (You gotta love children's ministry workers!) I also expressed my concerns to her that sometimes I worry about overdoing the spiritual teaching and that Philip will end up being a rebel. She said a lot of parents struggle with that. She made me feel better by saying her daughter Kim was a deep thinker like Philip is and she went through the same thoughts with her being their first child. However, Kim accepted Jesus as her Lord at age 4 and she has turned out to be a really great girl (today attends New Orleans Theological Seminary!). We'll see what God has in store for Philip over the next several years. It's really exciting!