Home Alone

Danny took the girls to visit with family for a few days and I stayed here with Buxton. It's SOOOOO weird being alone!!! I spent the day cleaning the deck, gardening, organizing the kids rooms (I filled three trash bags full of stuff), I went to church, and I went treasure hunting!! I shopped at 5 thrift stores today and found some really cool things! I got a bunch of 4th of July decor, a new chair, clothes, things for the girls, and my favorite find...North Face flip flops. They are SUPER comfortable and practically brand new. All they needed was a little Lysol spray :0). Call me crazy, but I love searching through junk to find something cool! Tomorrow my family comes home! I guess I should enjoy the silence while it lasts :0).

Wrestling w/ Dad is GOOD!!!

Does it drive you nuts when your husband gets your kids all wound up right before bedtime???? I can't stand it! By that time of the day, I'm ready to wind down, read them a story, kiss them sweetly, and send them to bed! When I walk upstairs at 7:40 and hear thumping, laughing, screaming, and roaring I roll my eyes. There have been some nights that I sit there in the middle of the bed with the bedtime story in my hand while they act like the wild things around me. Sometimes I'll sit & wait while Danny tries to calm them down and sometimes I'll get fed up, toss him the book and say, "If you want to get them wound up at bed time YOU can wind them down!!"

Yesterday, he sent me an article that he wanted me to read. It was called, 'Dads Empower Kids To Take Chances.' This morning I read it and really appreciated what it had to say. Not only is the rough & tumble play good for their bodies, but it teaches them life skills. As I read it I also appreciated the times Danny encouraged the girls to scramble over the big rocks, walk out further into the flowing river, and climb a little higher. So instead of letting my blood pressure rise the next time I hear the craziness start, I'll take a deep breath and let it go...for a while anyway because he's doing what dads do best!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37741738/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

I Love Our Church!

This week is Vacation Bible School week and what a blast it's been! The theme this year is the Rainforest. I helped ahead of time with the decorating & I'm working in the craft room in the afternoon session. The building looks so awesome! I was feeling a little nutty after making 20 hanging monkeys from scratch out of posterboard, but it was worth it. I enjoy working in the craft room because it's so fun to see all 200+ kids which range from kindergarten to 5th grade. Each day I'm there I feel the Spirit in the lessons we teach and in the interactions with all of the wonderful people involved. This parent came up to me today and said that her son was talking about me last night...how sweet!!! Another child said, "I like you." What a simple thing to say, but it brought me so much joy!

I'm so grateful for our church and for all of the people involved who made this event possible. It's incredible to think about all of the 400+ kids and hundreds of volunteers that have been touched in some way week. While I write this I think about my latest Bible study on a book called, You Matter More Than You Think by Leslie Parrot. There are so many ways we make a difference in other people's lives that we may not even realize and I love to think of the differences that are being made this week in not only the little one's lives, but the big ones as well.

Moms Can't Call in Sick!

Ughhh!!!! Yesterday was awful!!! Elise was home with a fever (but with her normal activity level), Sadie was home, and I was feeling horrible!! I went to bed w/ a sore throat and fever & woke up at 4:00 feeling like I had razor blades in my throat. I manged to get Anabelle ready for school and I even went to my chiropractor appointment. I called to tell them my daughter & I a fever, but she said they wanted me to come in anyway! So...I dragged the girls with me and let them do their thing. I did feel a bit better, so I ran to Target to get a few things...big mistake! While waiting in the checkout line, I thought I was going to fall over. It took every ounce of energy I had to drive home. By 11:00am, I couldn't move on the couch and I decided to call my doctor to make an appointment. I knew I must have strep throat. I get it every year and know the symptoms! After waiting ten minutes on the phone, I finally got through to find out they didn't have any appointments until Monday!!!!! What??? I couldn't believe it. So...I decided to go to the Minute Clinic w/ my two girls. Poor kids! I went in my jammies, hair in every direction, and with a 102 fever. My girls were super sweet and concerned about me, but they got bored. While waiting they wanted to try on every pair of reading glasses, play with the water dispenser, and give each other back massages with the vibrating back thingys while squealing the way little girls do! I'm so glad I didn't see anyone I knew! The doctor at the Minute clinic was not the warm & fuzzy type of person I was hoping for. I think she was having a bad day like me and took out all of her frustrations on my while giving me the throat culture. OUCH!!!!! I think I have scarring in my trachea. As we were waiting for the strep test, she said, "I don't think you have strep. I'm sure it's just a virus." Well, it was positive, so take that you mean ol' doctor!!!!!!!

So...as I write this, I've had three doses of penicillin and I feel SOOOOOOO much better!!! Today, I thank you God for Alexander Flemming for discovering penicillin, for health insurance, and for my sweet hubby for picking up dinner & letting me sleep last night while I snored like a grizzly bear :0)

Party in the USA!

She did it! Anabelle performed in the talent show by herself last night and rocked out to Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. She went 3rd out of 30 which I think worked out well. I could tell she had some butterflies by the look on her face, but she did fantastic! She remembered all of her moves and said she had fun. I was SO proud of her! I have NEVER been the type to want to perform in front of others, so I'm thrilled with her confidence and determination to do it on her own. It took a lot of guts to go up there all by herself after her friend had to drop out!

I wanted to download the video, but it's way too much data for this site. Here is Anabelle being interviewed after her dance by Mrs Smith her principal and a picture of her with her proud teacher & proud mama!!

Remember to Pray

I found this on our easel the other day while Anabelle was at school. She was going to have a big day and was feeling a little nervous. She was teaching an origami lesson to her class at school and she had her first rehearsal for the talent show (which she is now doing by herself). So...she chose to pray. Finding this made my week!

Happy 7th Birthday Elise!!!

Today my baby turns 7!

I will never forget the day she was born and those big blue eyes trying to soak up the new world around her. I kept saying to myself..."She's so beautiful!" and she grows more & more beautiful everyday. I love her sensitivity, her strength, her laugh, her joy, and her thoughtfulness. I can't imagine my world without her.

Thank you God for my precious Elise!

Is It Broken??

We took our first and hopefully, our last trip to get x-rays last week. Sadie came home from her water day at school and said her right foot hurt. All afternoon & evening she could only walk on her tip toes. By bedtime, her ankle was very swollen. So...in the morning (the day before our camping trip), I ran into a pediatric nurse friend of mine & had her look at it. She said it could be broken and recommended we go to a place called Ortho-on-Call. So, we went that morning and were in & out within an hour. They took lots of x-rays and Sadie was a trooper! Thankfully, nothing appeared broken on the x-rays, so it was a definite sprain, but she could have had a fracture of the ankle bone right near the growth plate. So for a week now she's been wearing this brace/boot all day. I took her back today and the doctor said she looks much better and only has to wear it during high physical activity. Isn't that all the time for a 4 year old????? Anyway, it's off until her last soccer game tomorrow and she's thrilled!

One Proud Mama!!!

At Anabelle & Elise's school, they have a program where they ask the teachers to select one student a month from their class as the Core Value Student. The Core Values are Respect, Responsibility, Accountability, and Honesty. We were thrilled when we got the notice that Anabelle was nominated by her teacher for April. She was SO happy, she leaped off the bus and did a sprint with backpack flying to me to tell me the news. I was so proud of her, but I also felt a little sad for Elise. I could tell it bothered her that she hadn't been nominated this year. It's so hard having two kiddos so close in age at school!!! You want them both to excel and feel good about themselves. In the end, it all worked out. Last week Elise came off the bus grinning with excitement. When she said, "Guess what Mommy!?!" I knew she got it and I was so excited for her. This morning they had the breakfast reception and the girls received their certificates. I was one proud mama!!!