Making up for those last 2 pitiful posts...

Welcome to our first full week of nothing to do! June was busy, busy...but July is going to require us to find our own fun! We started this past weekend spending time with new friends that we have grown to love very much. Then Monday and Tuesday we had a lot of house time...playing, watching tv, painting pictures, and basically just hanging around. By Tuesday night, the kids were fighting a lot, so we got out yesterday and headed to the pool at our friends' house. We took our babysitter, Maddie, with us to help out, since my kids are prone to jumping in at any time, whether or not anyone is in the deep end to catch them! We had a blast.


Paiz is doing her runway walk.

Cheezits in the pool.

The girls and I on our float. Molly loved it, Paiz, not so much.

This is Madelaine. I wish I could say those were my legs, but alas....I'm not seventeen anymore.

Aidan loves the water.

I think Molly understands the term "summer vacation". She looks really relaxed!

I'm going to enjoy this month with my kids. We have no plans, just a few parties, and our 9th anniversary is one week from today! I'm trying to think of something cool to do with Michael. Going to dinner is fun, but we've done that a million times.

God is teaching me a lot about myself. I'm learning what really matters. I'm learning to surround myself with people who make me better. I'm learning that when you're sitting in a waiting room, that's a great time to read your Bible. I'm learning that people seeing me as a Christian is a lot more important to me than people seeing me as smart, talented, pretty, or even a good mom or wife. And yes, all this learning has been going on just this past week!

Happy summer...

Now I feel stupid.

Went to the doctor. My pain didn't alarm him in the least. So apparently, I'm not suffering from some kind of weird disease. And I'm not in need of bedrest (which I hoped for, ha!). I guess I'm just overreacting and should probably delete the last post just so people won't think I'm an idiot. But my new resolution is to not care what people think, so I'll leave it. We'll just chalk today's adventure up to my low pain threshold and leave it at that. I'm even willing to say that I was having sympathy pains for Heather Avery. That makes perfect sense to me!

My kids have lost all conflict resolution skills. We have to get out of this house tomorrow. Wonder what trouble we can get ourselves into??!!

what is wrong with me? this hurts!!!

okay...i don't know how else to do this...but i have some medical minded friends that read my blog and i am not sure what to do about this, so i'll just post about it!
i woke up this morning with a sharp pain/cramp in my lower right abdomen. that was at 6:30, and it's still there. i can walk around, but just barely and bent over. it mostly goes away, but not completely when i'm sitting down. it really, really hurts! i ate, and it didn't help. i laid down for a bit and it's still there. not sure what to do about this. i have my yearly checkup today, so i'm holding out till this afternoon to talk to my doc about it...but if anybody has any idea what might be the problem, please let me know. my kids want to play treasure hunt and paint pictures, and i just want to lie on the couch. this makes me feel worse than the pain!

thanks for the feedback.

Longest day of the year!

Saturday the 21st of June was the longest day of the year. We celebrated by going to the Yogi Bear waterpark in Pelahatchie. It was so much fun. I didn't get the camera out much, so these were the only two pics worth posting.

I hate that Paiz's cup is in her face, because she was so very cute in her suit!

My mom and dad got an awesome hammock for their front porch. My kids loved it, but they love their Nonna more!

Dad fixed the tire swing. It used to be on a rotted rope, now it's on cables, and really swings out far. It's a playland at their house!

VBS is going great. Michael comes home tomorrow. I've kept the house mostly clean. Except for a little weariness, we've had a great week. Today Aidan and Molly played in shaving cream, and the word on the street is that they had a blast! Paisley has found a friend in Mary Alice and gets toted around the church, spreading the joy of being Paiz. The ladies in the teacher's lounge can't believe how big she is. Last year, I worked in there and she was about 4 weeks old. What a year we've had since then!

I can't wait to see Michael. I hope I sleep tonight, knowing he's flying all night. Tomorrow will be a happy day.

Roll with the punches...

Today was the first day of VBS. Actually, I'm with the 5th and 6th grade, so that would be VBX, Vacation Bible School Extreme. We had an awesome day. I met some really great kids. They were so funny! My group played Truth or Dare, and they were such good sports and we laughed a lot. I guess my kids had fun. They tell me nothing. But they were all smiles at pick up time, so I take that as a good sign.

Michael left yesterday before daylight for another trip. He's got a lot going on these days. We're fine, but today we had a van issue that really made me wish he was here. Our air conditioning has been going out on the van lately. Michael takes it to this place in Canton to get it fixed. Today when we left VBS, it was hot again. So I drove straight to the mechanic to get it fixed. They told me to go inside and wait for a bit while they "looked at it". I woke Paisley up, got the kids out and sat in the waiting room for quite a while. After 45 minutes, I asked if they would be done soon, and they said, "oh no ma'am. Probably another hour or two." At this point my kids were crying from hunger and pretty much running wild in the waiting room, so I asked if I had to stay or if I could call someone to come get me. The man (who is so nice) realized that I was standing there with 3 screaming kids and offered to take me home. He promised he wouldn't kill me (and I did ask) and I accepted a ride from a stranger for one of the few times in my life. He brought us home and said he'd call when the van was ready and somebody would come pick us up. I got the kids in, fed them, put a movie on, and tried for a long time to get Paisley back to sleep. Around 3:30 she finally crashed and then the guy called at 3:45 and said someone was going to come get me to pick up the van. In my nicest voice, I told him I had just gotten the baby back to sleep and he immediately said they'd just bring it to me. So Paiz got her nap, I got my van, and the kids went to bed early. All in all, not a bad experience. But in the moment, I was getting a little frustrated.

Now all the kids are fed and sleeping...so I have a choice to make. Do I exercise, watch tv, read a book, clean my bathroom, take a shower, or just sit and do nothing? I'll enjoy getting to choose!

A Renaissance Day

I don't know why I can't get my pictures to line up the way I want them to...but oh well. These are in backward order...


Yesterday, Michael took the afternoon off and we went to Renaissance. We ate at Sweet Peppers (I was really disappointed in the chicken salad) and then let the kids get wet in the fountain. We brought towels and changes of clothes, and they had a wonderful afternoon. We changed their clothes there in the little plaza behind a curtain of beach towels. So now my kids have been naked in a mall. I figured we'd get it out of their systems now so when they go to college, this will be one less stupid thing they'll need to do.

Aidan loved just running through the water at full speed.

This would be a cute pic except for the water drop on my lens right on Aidan.

Molly was shocked that I let her wear that dress. She asked if I was sure she could get it wet. I told her, "just because there will be pictures, darling!"

And I'm thinking she was ready for those pictures!!

Paisley was a happy, happy baby.

She was fascinated by the water. She loved just putting her hands in the spray.

Paisley had a bit of trouble keeping her footing. It was really slick, and she busted it many, many times. But she never cried. Apparently the fun of it overruled the frustration and pain of falling.

I wish I had gotten her face up close. She was joyful. That's the only word I can think of. Just completely joyful.

Aidan doing a little fork and knife action.

Molly was mad because the food wasn't there. I was trying to make the best of it. We had to go ask for crackers to get us through the wait.

Paiz loves the crackers.

Today we went to the Yogi Bear campground waterpark. I'll post the few pics I have later. We had a great time there. We saw my sweet cousin Jenni with our friend Leslie and their beautiful girls. The kids wore themselves out. And I've got a nasty sunburn. I was so worried about getting sunscreen on the kids and Michael...I forgot to put it on myself. It was cloudy, so I didn't feel the sun on my shoulders. Next time, I won't forget. I just get so caught up in getting everybody ready, it's amazing that I get out the door with pants on! Anyway, we had a great time. I want to go back with my family and stay in a cabin. It's very relaxing and kid-friendly, except for one thing. There are NO diaper changing stations anywhere. And there were babies everywhere. But not one changing table thing. And the lady acted like I was crazy when I asked if they had one. Yogi apparently was thinking like the boy bear he is and forgot that detail.

So that's our weekend. Tomorrow will be a good day...except that Michael is going out of town again. That's always a bit sad. But a day at church will be wonderful. I look forward to it so much.

Have a happy Sunday. Rejoice!

Lunch break...

yesterday when Michael came home for lunch, this is what we did..