More Party Stuff

Okay...my sister Laura has better pictures of the party at her blog so go here to see more!

Pre-Party Pictures and Stuff

Well, the party was very successful. So successful that I didn't take a single picture during the party. I was too busy helping with food and spending time with friends and family who came to celebrate surviving another tax season with us. Here are a few pictures from before the guests arrived.

Rachel in front of the jump castle. You might be able to see her face paint too. We had the jumpers plus cotton candy machine, a face painter, and a sound system. It was great!

Mary Evelyn getting more and more excited while she waits for her friends to show up!
I felt this slide was a tad obnoxious since it was taller than our house, but no neighbors have complained yet so I guess we're okay. The older kids loved it and I even went down once. My sister made me go with her. I have a terrible feeling that someone else took pictures of that but I wouldn't count on seeing it on this blog anyway.

Mary Evelyn after sliding

Rachel getting ready to slide.

The jump castle. Some of the younger kids loved this one. But not the littlest ones like Betsie and my two year old niece. They were a bit overwhelmed.

Rachel in the jump castle

Jason working two grills with hamburgers and hotdogs

Mary showing me her face paint

My Dancing Elves

This is fun. You can watch my little elves dance and then make your own elf fun.

My New Favorite Series

I have to say I am surprised how much I am enjoying the Yada Yada Prayer Group series by Neta Jackson. There are 6 books out now with the seventh to be released soon. I have read the first five and the sixth has already been shipped from Amazon. (The library did not have that one.)



The basic story line is that a hodge podge group of women are "randomly" put into the same prayer group at a weekend Christian women's conference. They could not be more different and get off to a kind of bumpy beginning. However, circumstances lead them to continue praying together even after the conference. Over time they become close sisters in the Lord, but only after enduring and praying through many trials.


I love how this group hangs in there together even when they struggle with community. They hurt each other but eventually deal with it. They speak the truth in love. They minister to each other with meals, carpools, baby sitting, visits, and lots and lots of prayer. They make a lot of mistakes but there is always someone in the group who is able to draw the rest back to the foot of the cross.


I love the scenes where they are praying together. There are a few in the group who love to pray scripture and I love to do that too. And they make a point to always begin not with a long list of prayer requests, but with a time of praise to God.


This series, which would probably not be too appealing to most men by the way, is fun to read. I can read each book in a day or two depending on whether or not Jason is home to help with the kiddos. However, I am always challenged as I read the books. The friendships in these stories were built on prayer rather than what the participants had in common. They had little in common other than the fact that they belonged to Jesus, but they learned that this was the only bond that they really needed.


Big thumbs up for the Yada Yada Prayer group and sequels.

A Few Concerns About High School Musical 2

It seems that girls Rachel's age are nuts over High School Musical, including Rachel. She is saving her money for a High School Musical doll. It also seems that girls everywhere are getting all excited about this weekend's premiere of High School Musical 2 on the Disney Channel.

Before I share my concerns, let me say that I liked High School Musical. It was cheesy of course, but there wasn't anything that really upset me in that movie. I'm not crazy about Rachel wanting to own anything with High School Musical all over it. Marketing to kids like that really gets on my nerves...it makes me the bad guy when I have to say that word that nobody seems to know anymore, "no."

Also, before I share my concerns let me share a little of what I want for my girls. I want them to be feminine in the Biblical sense, not in the worldly way. I want them to understand the masculine and feminine roles that God has shown us in His word. I want them to learn to wait on God and trust Him for his provision and His timing. Pretty tall order and something that does not come naturally...for them or their mother. I also want them to care about the boys and men around them and learn how to be beautiful and feminine without being a stumbling block.

That said, here are a few of my concerns from the sequel. First of all it is a summer movie and some of the characters are hanging out and working as lifeguards at the local country club. My guess is this means less than modest attire in many of the scenes. Yes, we swim. I am not anti-swimsuits or anything. But I do try not to put unreal images of beauty in front of my kids if I can help it...or myself for that matter!

Perhaps my bigger concern is the competition for the boy between two girls in this movie. The website says that Sharpay's number one rule is to "get Troy." She seems to do this by offering him opportunities that he otherwise might not have. This puts her and Gabriella in a little competition for Troy. Ick. Maybe the movie won't be so bad, but good grief, this sounds like nothing I want for my daughters. And I know Rachel, she will want to watch it again and again and again.

Because of my "gut feeling" and because my concerns are still there after some time in prayer, I am saying no to High School Musical 2. Or at least, not yet. The movie will still be there later if I find out I am totally wrong, but we can't un-watch it once we have seen it. I keep thinking of things from scripture like be transformed by the renewing of your mind and I will set before my eyes no vile thing and be not conformed to the patterns of this world. Even if this movie is "okay" and my concerns are invalid, will it do anything to draw my child into a closer walk with Christ?

I am not condemning anyone who chooses to watch this movie. We watch more than Veggietales here. Much of it has to do with my own child and her tendencies. I am attempting to explain our seemingly against-the-norm weird choice for our family, and my own blog seemed like the place to do it. Mary Evelyn does not like High School Musical...she says it's too teenagey and we tend to agree. Too teenagey for a 9 and a 7 year old.