Interesting Fact:

Interesting Fact:
Did you know that Walgreen's will refill your ink cartridges for like half of what you pay to buy a new one! Yes! I just did it! AND there is a 50% off coupon on the box for next time!!! Go to their photo department and just ask!

A little bit of everything since April!

These are some of our photos from track this past spring. I wasn't sure if I had shared these. I just love that these two babies have something that they really enjoy!

Sarah is running the 100 yd. Dash and placed 3rd!

In the long jump, she placed 3rd!

In the shock put, she placed 6th, throwing the ball 9 ft and 11 inches!

Nate place 2nd in the 50 yd.. Placed 6th in the 280....

and he won the shot put ! He was amazed that he got a medal! He threw the ball more than 13 ft.!!

Nate and those LONG legs won 4th in his age group for long jump!

To the very end, these two kept pumping those feet and did their

VERY BEST!

They slept very well that night!

We had Easter at our house with several families!

It was great fun this year at our house for the big hunt and dinner. In total there were 8 more children to hunt and get excited..

It was a blessing to be able to share the Lord's Resurrection with our family and friends.

Nate's Birthday Party!

Mid-June

Procrastination! Wow! We FINALLY had Nate his 9th birthday celebration. He decided that he wanted to take a few fellas camping out in the real deep woods. So, Jerome, the good dad that he is, took Nate and 5 other young lads, ranging in ages of 8 to 14 out to my Dad's land to camp. (UGGG! I'm not sure what has happened! I went to download the pics and they are GONE! I'm so upset!...............back to my story then...) The fellas were great! They loved the being outdoors in the MIDDLE of the night. They played hide and seek by MOON LIGHT. Our Peter, the dog that kept climbing the fence and we took to Papa's to live, stayed right with the boys. At some point in the middle of darkness, the boys were sitting around the campfire and Peter began to growl, bark and carry on over near the tent. One of the young lads had already retired for the night and was in that tent. Jerome thought Peter had found a snake! With shovel in had, he went to "deal with it." When he got closer, shinning the flash light, he began to hear a slow, but loud snore! Peter is unaccustomed to the nightly people sounds and he was ready to protect everybody in the camp! The young lad never new that Peter was growling and barking at him!!!! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......The crew went fishing the next morning at 5 AM!!! Jerome got them all up and hiked the property before the fog had lifted! By the time I arrived with the van to pick up the boys, the tents were down, things packed and they were waiting! One tired but happy crew! Nate is talking about doing it again!!!

Next, we went to American Village, the Big kids and I enjoyed ourselves greatly! The amazing thing is that it was FREE and they served lunch to boot! The program had us pretend that we had somehow warped back into time (Michael J Fox and Back to the Future thought!) and had to get out before any one of that time realized who we were and put us in jail then of course we ended up fighting in the Revolutionary War!
(Sometimes, I wish I had one of these devices!)



Later this month, two beautiful baby boys were born!

Swimming

This summer Sarah has learned to dive down and get things from the bottom of the pool. Sam has lost all fear and jumps from the side of the pool, as you see limbs flying!

Chloe and Nate are just fish!

The other day I spent the day with Jane and Nina picking corn in a deep woods field somewhere off the beaten path somewhere down south! The corn was perfect and the company was excellent!

Yes, this is me... in Jerome's big hat, I was prepared for bugs...and this is my friend Jenna...and Jane...whom I trust, I even followed her down here! Smitty says I'm a corn picker now! Is that ugly? If it is, I don't want to know.

For the fourth we ate yummy BarBQ that my mother-n-law and Jerome's step dad cooked. They all came to our house and enjoyed the evening by helping us shell peas!

THE END!

Today we REJOICE! Chloe has been promoted to USC in ballet! That means pointe from now on and modern dance to boot (they actually dance barefooted!) ! She is very excited. I'm praying for NO UNITARD in modern dance. Wow Wee! That just shows TOO much detail! We just may have to step out of the dance for the recital! I'm not fond of that idea, UNITARD. If you are wondering what that is, it is a one piece (body, arms, legs) leotard. Skin tight!





BACK to REJOICING! She is so excited about moving up! She has dreamed for this day. She was in USB for 3 years and now she is moving up to dance with the "big" girls. (I still think of her also Wendy as that 9 lb baby that Mrs. Kathy said 13 years ago: "... she's a chunk.")

Nuthing like a fresh start to Spring....

3wks old

The kittens are getting so big! They now climb out of the box, or maybe I should stress the 3 or 4th box that I have tried to keep them in!

5wks old

6 wks old

They have gotten to rotten too! They love to be held and loved on! I'm so surprised that they have lasted this long! My two youngest are not exactly gentle with them! The babies get picked up by their tails, heads, legs...what ever Sam can get a hold of but maybe that is what makes them good cats.!

I still need some takers! We should be ready to give them away by the 2nd Saturday of June. That makes them 8 weeks old. Heather Small (You can find her blog at: http://thesmallones.wordpress.com/) is getting one for her daughter. Chloe is getting to keep one. She has chosen the kitten featured running in the grass. Her name is Dixie. That leaves 3 to go to a good home!If you live in area give me a line! Other wise I will have to go to WalMart and give them to strangers!

You know what this Cat thing started, oh about 4 years ago when my friend Rebekah, whose blog you can find on my favorites, gave me a kitten. I named her "Sue." Well, Sue became Chloe's cat. Sue had kittens the following spring. We kept one for our other daughter, Sarah. She named her "LuLu," short for Lucy. Well, (How'd you guess!) Lulu had kittens the following spring. We kept one of them! Sarah named her....well, "Sarah." I know. She was 4 at the time. How can you tell a four year old not to name the cat after her?! So we call her Sarah Cat. Well, now we are on our 4th generation of kittens! We are keeping Dixie for Chloe. Why you say? Cats just last long around here for odd reasons. It is nothing that we do. They just seemed to have "died off " from last summer till fall. So we are starting fresh with another round of kittens. Please, somebody tell me you have these issues at least once in your life!

Other than kittens, my life has been very full with CBS ending at the end of April,

Ballet ending on Mother's Day,

a field trip to Turkey Creek in Pinson. We learned about God's beautiful creation:

and Jerome had a BIRTHDAY! We made a huge paper sign to hang on the side of the house and then chalked all the way up the driveway: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! WE LOVE YOU!"

One of our driveway letters!

Chloe was inspired to lighten up her room! It is amazing what a string of Christmas lights and push pins do for a room! She has white lights going all along the top of the ceiling and then these pink lights on her top bunk. Both girls are loving it! I think it is pretty cool too!

Now I have sat at the computer working on field trips for next year. There are 11 on their way. Dates to confirm along with time, prices and don't forget about LUNCH! We have to have lunch planned! All done with that, I had to focus on getting the grades averaged and fill out the report pages to have them ready for Paula. (Look back to the CBS picture, that's her, in the Center on her knees!Hey Paula!!) Done. Done. Done. Now,

I just found a really cool "give away place"! My friend Wendy has it on her blog spot! Go and check it out! Just click the icon that I added to my blog!
Have a good day!

Some sisters in Christ and I will begin a summer study on how to raise virtuous gals in this messed up world, starting in May.

Vicki Courtney is the author and I am very tickled to learn from her. I've read the first section on beauty, and honey, she tells you like it is!! I LOVE it. Thanks Heather Sm. for sharing this book with me! Our ladies are going to love it.

Another thing! This awesome lady has a blog in which you can visit!!!

http://www.virtuealert.com/

A perfect blog! I've watched a couple of her videos on there and she is just like us! A mom, that well, does Mom things.

I encourage you to sign up for her blog so that you can learn from her. I know I want to be on top of what I can do to help me girls stay in Christ!

Blessing to you and your daughters!

Mommy and Sarah!

Clam Day

One disgusting animal!

And to think PEOPLE EAT THESE THINGS!

On Science Day last week we dissected clams. You never know what you are going to get when you open a clam! . Everyone's but Nate's was good color and clean! His on the other hand had thick, bottom of the river slimy mud all through its parts.

That makes me think of our lives before Christ. We are slimy, sticky, & no one wants to touch our soul. We've been kept at the bottom of the river. In the dark, where nasty things (sin) thrive.

"For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed..." John 3:20-21

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, he reaches down into that darkness and pulls us up into the light exposing that sin and begins to clean us and bring us to His grace. The slime and the stinky mud begins to wash off.

"But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God." John 3:20-21

We become clean creatures once again. Much like the other clams at the table, who had been brought to cleaner water and their systems had been cleansed by it.

We should glorify our Christ by shouting off the rooftops His healing, cleansing, grace and mercy that has changed us from that dirty, slimy clam to the clean, gleaming white clam that we should have been all along! Then, :

"You should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4: 12

Not to mention:

"Set an example of good works yourself, with integrity and dignity in your teaching." Titus 2:7

Do you know of a dirty clam. Or someone who just needs some grace? We are also told :

"But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception." Hebrews 3:13

As sisters, and brothers too, we are to be there for one another and not walk away.

We are to say, "Hey, what does Christ's words say about ...."

Call on them. See how they are doing.

PRAY!

God hears all prayers! A wonderful councilor once said that God can take the belated prayers and use them in the time that they were needed! Yes, that means that today's prayers that were needed 2 days ago are used 2 days ago! Before you every uttered the first prayerful word! God doesn't go by our time! He is not held to our standard measures. He created time! He is the great and almighty that can do anything that he wants! In His great and merciful time!!! I am not in control! Praise God for that!

"O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress," Jeremiah 16:19

Isn't that just relieving to know that in our failures he reigns and makes the world a better place.

I think I need to stop drinking coffee!

Gotta go get the kids up! Busy day.

Keep the Lord on the phone and talk to him every second!