BIG DAY

Today was a dramatic day. Not in the ordinary little girl emotional drama that we see around here. But drama of parents who are not ready to see their little girls grow up. We know how truly blessed we are by our children, and we are without a doubt grateful for who they are. But man, handing them over to a place where we are not in view is.....tough, to say the least!

Kindergarten Orientation

We met Mia's teacher this morning at orientation. It looks like a good group of kids and we already really like her teacher. She is very excited about going to school. When I asked her how she felt, she said she was a little scared, but after the orientation she said she wasn't! I know she'll adjust to it with gusto and have friends in no time. It's going to take Mike and I a lot longer to adjust! Mia already has planned out what she's going to wear and all! Like I said....she is ready!

I'll be posting first day pics tomorrow....check back then!

Date Night

I seriously think I have the best friends in the world! One of my girlfriends took the kids for the night so Mike and I could have some alone time! I didn't tell Mike, so the whole time was a complete surprise to him. I've never done that before and it was a lot of fun! With our schedules, that doesn't ever seem to happen (except for maybe an hour or so around 1am!)

We went up to the River for some relaxing and chatting time. It was beautiful. I got some chocolate covered strawberries, and since Mike doesn't like strawberries, they were all mine! mmmm...We sat on the rocks watching the rapids and just enjoyed each other's company. We used to spend a lot of time pre-kids on the river or at the river, so this was really nice for us. However, some dummy thought it would be a good idea to try and cross the river just up from the rapids. So we saw this kid nearly drown as he was being swept away by the rapids. Neither one of us was going to risk our lives to jump in after him, so we ran down the river (over the rocks, barefoot...ouch!) yelling commands at him. He made it to the calm swimming hole part and was able to get himself to the rocks. The he disappeared out of sight. I'm sure he was shaken up a bit, but fine. Lovely start to our "alone" time!



We went to PF Cheng for dinner and then to see Get Smart. That is a funny movie! If you like Steve Carell, you'll love this movie. We got to sleep in the next morning and then went to the House of Prayer for a bit. It was a great overnighter!

Funny Faces

I realized I forgot to post our funny faces! The kids love to make funny faces...especially Mia! Usually Mia starts and then the others join in. And when I have the camera in hand, they totally can't resist!

FAVORITE food

Seriously, Cal could eat these all day long and be perfectly happy having nothing else! He's been known to have 2, maybe 3, in the mornings if we're not up quick enough to fix breakfast. He can get in the pantry and get them out all my his proud self! I guess, at least it's not chocolate cake!

Boy Toys

Cal has been such a good sport with all the girl toys in the house. He plays with the girls and uses his imagination constantly. He loves to cook with the girls' oven, play Littlest Pet Shop with them, and of course, what's a girl's house without Polly Pockets! Well, Grandma came to town and said that enough was enough! It was time for some serious Boy Toy shopping!

We went and filled the Target cart with some serious, never before seen in our house, boy toys. Star Wars, Tonka, GeoTracks, and crashing cars! His most favorite though was/is the Little Einstein ride on Rocket! He had to ride it even before we got it out of the box!

Now he rides it non-stop. He even rides it into his room at naptime and bedtime and has to put a blanket on it so Rocket can, "go night nights". It's so cute!

Water and Sand fun

We broke out the sand table the other day and the kids had a blast! The sand was really fine, so they decided to mix in the water in order to build with it. This, in turn, made for a huge mess. Go figure!

Our 4th....a little belated!

The girls were in their first parade this year! They did a great job walking with the kids from the church. We went and got lunch and had a picnic at the sprinkler park. The really cool part was pulling up and seeing that we were the only ones there! After good food, playing hard, lots of laughs and running, we went home for a nap. We went and saw the fireworks at night too. If you were within about 5-10 ft of us you would here, "See that, Mommy? Cool!" Pretty much after every one!

We've spent some great days at our friends pool this summer. There have only been a few days though because of all the smoke. It was bad for about 3 weeks, thus we were confined to the house. That part was not fun at all. But now that we can see blue sky again, we are grabbing our suits and heading back to the pool!

Another year older *sigh*

I had a really nice birthday this year. After a day of hanging around inside with the kids and an alone trip to my favorite scrapbook store (hehe) we took the kids to our friend's house and set off for an A's game. It was a blast! They won, so that made it even better! It was nice to get out of the smoke and awful heat for a few hours. Although when we returned home at about 11pm it was still 95 degrees out. Ugh. But all was well, and I had a great day. Thank you to all those who showed me you love me and wished me a Happy Birthday! I truly appreciate it! You know how I love birthdays!

A letter to all parents

I recently read this forward of a Max Lucado book and just wanted to share it with all you parents. It's a challenge to you....and I.

"God prewired your infant. He scripted your toddler's strengths. He set your teen on a trajectory. God gave you an eighteen-year research project. Ask yourself, your spouse, and your friends: What sets this child apart? Childhood tendencies forecast adult abilities. Read them. Descern them. Affirm them. Cheerlead them.

You've been given a book with no title - read it! A CD with no cover - listen to it! An island with no owner - explore it! Resist the urge to label before you study. Attend carefully to the unique childhood of your child.

Uncommon are the parents who attempt to learn these God-given abilities - and blessed are their children."

Last night, Mia wasn't feeling well, and came in to our room for some comfort. She then fell asleep on our bed. Before we moved her back to her bed, we sat and prayed over her. She's starting kindergarten this next month, so we lifted up that experience. We have not done preschool with either of the girls because I strongly feel that my children will attend public school. Therefore, we have the first 5 years to impart 100% of our desired foundation in our children. As Mia embarks on this life long adventure of the public educational system, it is imparative for us as her parents to be covering her with prayer. Daily.

Last night we prayed for everything. From her friends next year, to her future teachers, to her future husband, we covered it all. It was such a profound opportunity for both of us; Mommy & Daddy to pray over just her. I loved every minute of it!

Our pastor has preached many times of how we as parents must be at the doors of our children everynight, on our faces in intercession for them. This generation has a multitude of challenges that my generation never had to face. It is going to be extremely hard for them to perservere and become the person God wants them to be in the midst of it all. Especially if we are not doing our job as parents to interceed and cover them in prayer. I truly believe that is the only way to equip them with the armor they will need. And I for one, am not going to wait any longer to continue this battle for them!