Snakes!

Our library hosted a program for the summer reading participants called Snakes Alive. The 2 big girls loved getting to hold the snakes. Betsie liked looking at them, but didn't touch any of them. Very fun program and a fun way to kick off a new school year.

Still Here!

So life has been quite busy! I so want to blog more regularly. I have started working part time as an administrative assistant at my husband's CPA firm. Plus I have added another part time job...couponer! Of course I do that one at home, but it really does take a few hours a week. The good news is that I have saved a TON of money this year on groceries and household items.

Then there is that homeschooling thing. Yeah, that's another part time job.

Anyway, I haven't figured out what I want this blog to be about. I used to just throw up the occasional photo or story about the kids. But I no longer have a camera and I'm not sure I want to put too much on here about my kids anymore. Truth is, I don't know what to share.

But in the interest of keeping this blog pretty, here is a picture of my favorite animal lover!

Makes Me Smile to See This

Re-entry sure is hard

I mentioned that Jason and I went to a marriage conference last weekend. We drove down to Florida and had two nights in a beautiful St. Augustine resort while attending the conference. Saturday night is the scheduled date night. We drove into St. Augustine and walked around in the shops, had dinner at one of those really cool hole-in-the-wall but yummy restaurants, and just enjoyed being together.



The conference itself was wonderful. It was a Family Life Weekend to Remember event. We attended one about 8 years ago. Both times were good but this one was more intense for us. I won't share details here, but I'll just say it was needed and very valuable for us. I highly recommend it for ANY married couple, no matter how long you have been married and no matter the condition of your marriage. I have wanted to blog about it, but I have decided that it was just too personal and I want to keep it between my beloved and myself. Anything I would feel comfortable sharing can be found on the Family Life website...great speakers, names of sessions, etc.



We got home around 9:00PM on Sunday night. We came home to our sweet, sweet girls and were so happy to see them. But the older two had sunburns and Rachel was running a fever. She continued to be sick until Tuesday night. Betsie was clingy and whiney and needed a day or so to re-attach to us. Mary Evelyn was so sweet and gave us a welcome home picture she had made and some applejacks (she said she knew the drive would make us hungry...LOL!), but by Monday morning we were battling a bit. Mary Evelyn was not remembering what it means to honor us as her parents and I confess it was pretty hard to keep my cool a few times. By Tuesday night I decided she and I needed to do something fun together. So I took her to a movie and things have been a lot better since. (not perfect, but better) By the way, I loved Kung Fu Panda...and I am not always a kid movie fan!



Rachel is better but now I am sick. Jason was sweet enough to make sure everyone had breakfast and was settled before he went to work this morning. Plus he made me some hot tea to soothe my raw throat before he left. I do love that man! I think I just have a cold, but colds seem to feel worse the older I get so I am resting a lot...at least until we have to be at swimming lessons this afternoon.



So we are back in the trenches but trying to apply the lessons learned and the old reminders we were given this weekend. I am thankful for the time we had together, for a husband who initiated the whole trip because he is committed to our oneness, and for parents who are willing babysitters. And I am thankful that God is with us in real life.

Some Updates

There have been so many reasons to blog in the last week and a half. I wish I had not missed them all!

• House fever is not gone but it is not spiking either. We have decided to wait until after tax season next year before there is a "for sale" sign in our front yard. In the mean time, we have made an enormous to do list to get this house ready to sell. The previous owners put carpet over hardwood flooring down the hall and in the bedrooms. We have been rough on the carpet so it will need to be replaced. However, Jason is thinking of ripping up the carpet and refinishing the hardwoods instead. Crazy, crazy...but way nicer for showing the house.
• Mary Evelyn turned 8! Shame on me for not doing a birthday post for her. Sigh... We had a little mini celebration with my friend Hollie and her guys on her birthday. Then Hollie (being the servant kind of gal that she is) drove the big girls to the movie theater to meet my dad so they could see Prince Caspian. My dad says he still hasn't seen the movie because they sat on the front row and he kept his eyes closed. He says it sounded like a good movie though! Then the girls spent the night with my parents...including little Miss Betsie. The next night we celebrated with Jason's parents.
• The above mentioned night at Mom and Dad's was Betsie's first night away from us...she was not a good sleeper unfortunately. But she told my mom, "I yuv you, Mimi." so I think she was forgiven.
• While the girls were with my parents, Jason and I used a gift certificate to a lovely local Bed & Breakfast. So, so nice. Our 15th anniversary was the day before Mary Evelyn's birthday so it was a special getaway for us. Did I mention that about 2 months ago Jason surprised me with a new van (Odyssey...woo hoo!) for my early anniversary gift? Pretty cool. He got an ipod nano. So come the big day, we were broke and just had to be sweet and skip the gifts.
• I painted my master bathroom. It's lovely. I might have to start a new blog category showing before and after pictures with all the projects we have planned.
• I got excited when David Cook won American Idol.
• Then I was broken hearted just an hour later to learn that Maria Chapman, daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a terrible accident. I have been grieving for them since Wednesday night and praying for them constantly. I just received a prayer email asking for prayers for wisdom about when they should return home. They have been staying with friends since the accident. Please pray for the Chapmans.
• We are almost done with school for this year and excited about our short break until mid-July when we'll start back up.

Mary Evelyn's Early Birthday Gift

She got to pick out a pooch at the Humane Society. (although I said no to her first few choices for a variety of reasons.) Meet Foster. He just turned one year old and seems to be a terrier/lab mix. Mary Evelyn ADORES him. He is very friendly but needs lots of training. Rose keeps barking but Foster just stands there and looks at her like she is crazy. Maybe Jason and I are the crazy ones!

I am not crazy about his name. Jason and I had a dog pre-kids named Foster and I loved it for that dog...that and this dog has had about 4 names today. I insisted that the name he had at bedtime tonight was the final answer...so I guess we have Foster Jr. Sweet pooch though.