Pictures of what's happening at my house!

Sarah sits up on the front row with the "yout" for worship service. They grow up so fast!

Friends came to play,

We went to play with friends.

Agape had it's kick off meeting.

School.

Looking for ferns. Aren't we a gang! (Shovels in hand.)

Nature study logs

I don't know who wrote this but it is SO true!

I just have to share this with everyone! I DID NOT WRITE THIS even though it sounds like something that would happen to me or several of my "Lucy and Ethel" friends. Please enjoy and give me no credit for the truth of the matter: (Be sure to have a tissue for all the tears! Oh, and go TT before you start!)
When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usuallyfind a line of women, so you smile politely and take yourplace.
Onceit's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall isoccupied.
Finally,a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving thestall.Youget in to find the door won't latch.It doesn't matter, the wait has been so long you are about to wet yourpants!Thedispenser for the modern "seat covers"(invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy,but empty.
Youwould hang your purse on the door hook, ifthere was one,but there isn't- so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it ontheFLOOR!),
yank down your pants, and assume" The Stance.">
Inthis position your aging, toneless(God I should have gone to the gym!!!)thigh muscles begin to shake.
You'dlove to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or laytoilet paper on it, so you hold"The Stance".>
Totake your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to bethe empty toilet paper dispenser.
In your mind, you can hear your mother's voicesaying,"Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you wouldhave KNOWNthere was no toilet paper!"
Your thighs shake more.
Youremember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in yourpurse.(Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying notto strangle yourself at the same time)..That will have to do.
You crumple it in thepuffiestway possible. It's stillsmallerthan your thumbnail.

Someonepushes your door open because the latch doesn't work.
Thedoor hits your purse,which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest,and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.

"Occupied!"you scream,as you reach for the door, dropping your precious,tiny,crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, andslide down directly onto the TOILETSEAT.
It is wet of course.You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late.

Yourbare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on theuncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper- not that there was any, even ifyou had taken time to try.
You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a publictoilet seat because, frankly,dear,"You just don't KNOW whatkind of diseases you could get".

> By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of thebowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down yourlegs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toiletseat. You're e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.
You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out in conspicuously to the sinks.>

Youcan't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, .....so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry papertowel and walk past the line of women stillwaiting.>

Youare no longer able to smile politely to them.A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet papertrailing from your shoe.(Where was that when you NEEDEDit??)
You yank the paper from yo ur shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell herwarmly,"Here, you just might need this".>
As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left themen's restroom..
Annoyed, he asks,"What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around yourneck?" ...................>
This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms(rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long.

It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom inpairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse, and hand youKleenex under the door!>>


Send this to all women that understand what bondingin the bathroom is all about!> AFriend Is Like A Good Bra...> Hardto Find...> Supportive....> Comfortable ....AlwaysLifts You Up...NeverLets You Down, or Leaves You Hanging,> And Is Always Close To YourHeart!!!> Sharewith anyone who needs a good laugh!>No virus found in this incoming message.> Checkedby AVG - www.avg.com> Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.55/2301 -Release Date: 08/13/09 18:16:00

Beautiful Sarah

It has to be the age! She is keeping me cracked up! Okay, I guess I should have tried Chinese!

Today was her first official day of K! (With me anyway!) I had planned to start on Monday, but ended up taking my Mom to get her stitches out. Chloe got the privilege to doing Sarah's first day. They played on the computer. If only my day had been SO EASY!

Okay, I have gotten 2 children SUCCESSFULLY through K. This should be easy, right? Look at that face. Does she look like a "hard to deal with" child? She is normally a joyful, compliant child. I was so unprepared for this day. She must have her Daddy in her. She goes from crying and whining to smiling and joyful laughter in seconds!

That child fought me nearly the entire hour we did school! AND SHE WANTED TO DO SCHOOL!!!! She wrote her letter of the day, which happens to be the one she doesn't know the name nor the sound of it and she doesn't care to know them either! Every time I say, "okay, now what does C say?" I get that look of (imagine screaming and gnashing of teeth). I had A B C D cards laid out in order for her to recognize the ABC order and to help recall with the names of them. It's only the 3rd letter of the alphabet and she has thrown in the towel. She would sing the ABC song but that is only a song. She doesn't that those are the letters themselves. This may be a long year... this too shall pass, I'll keep telling myself!

On an excellent hand, Chloe and Nate were done with school by 12:30! We got up at 7:30, started school at 8 and WERE DONE!!!! Yahoooooo!

Apparently, they knew that I was going to need my strength to carry on with Sarah.

How was your first day of school? Any mishaps to make me feel better?

I was recently working with Sarah to write her thank you notes to her sweet girls friends who came to the spend the night. I talked about how important


it is to send thank yous and what to say: " Thank you for coming to my spend the night. Thank you for the gift that you gave me." Thinking that I had given enough explanation, I asked her how she would like to say that... he reply was : "In Chinese." I tried.

Sweet Sarah

MY SARAH!

Our sweet Sarah had her birthday party this weekend! She is now 5 1/2ish! Sweet Sarah's official Birthday is in December, actually, 3 days before Christ's! So, that she doesn't get lost in the fast paced holiday stuff, I held off for her real birthday party! AND SHE LOVED IT!

Being 5 1/2 ish she could have her 1st spend the night! She invited 2 little ladies from church and CBS to celebrate!

She chose hot dogs for dinner! Nate grilled them! EASY!

She picked out a watermelon cake with the cutest ants crawling on it from W+++++++. Easy!

She picked a spend the night! I had to do no entertaining! EASY!

She picked to color! I had all those supplies! EASY!

She picked to have 2 WONDERFUL+PERFECT little girls over! EASY!

They played with the balloons! EASY!

The best thing was that I got to read them a good night story: We acted out Chicken Little! Then they listened to a book on tape: "I DON"T WANT TO GO TO BED!" Then, Do you know what they did?!? THEY WENT TO BED!!!!

This morning up they were up and had chocolate chip muffins and then...

Then they went outside to play with the cats!

A sweet sweet birthday party for a SWEET SWEET BABY GIRL!

Our Saturday & Sunday

Yesterday was BUSY! N went to a buddy's birthday pool party! It was great! It was a total surprise to the young lad and he was such a good sport! I went to guitar orientation for N, while he was at the pool. I brought C a friend to play, um hang out with while I went back to the pool for N. They had a great time. Very trustworthy ladies. They even cleaned the kitchen like I had asked! (Maybe I should do that more often...) When I returned I had another friend in tow! The girls were multiplying ! They congregated in C's room and did make up and hair! They had hot rollers, REAL make up (which just blows my mind! Are they really that old? Old enough to be powdering their faces and glossing their lips? Of course they aren't! That would make me old!) They all wear makeup lightly and beautifully. In our house the motto is "Less is More!" Less gunk on the face shows the true beauty that God created.

C is thrilled that she has a curl! Something rare for her!

We had a busy Sunday. Up at 6:30! Okay, okay.. I hit the snooze once or twice! Off and running! We had nursery at 9. We had 4 little boys, all loud and fun loving. The smartest thing I ever did for my nursery day is take them outside equipped with balls and bubbles! Our church has a great, flat, grassy area for such a thing. Our youth sometimes get out there and play "ultimate Frisbee." It is really fun. I play too! I SO embarrass C! (N can't wait to be 11 so he can go to youth! Just so he can play the game!!!)

Okay back to my day, Jerome had parking duty for second service, while I rushed home to let everyone in for Small Group Sunday (SGS). Normally we don't have all these duties all one day. They just all kind of happened this month, because of this or that. SGS lasted til 3:30. I RUSHED to nap. All morning I sat at the kitchen table, during SGS, and watched my hammock rock in the wind, calling my name. I was so ready to run to it and relax! But the Good Lord had other ideas for my napping place. HE SENT RAIN! A good soaking rain that lasted for an hour or so. It was wonderful to hear the thunder in the distant and the clouds roll in. I'm hoping my tomato plants will take off now and grow 10 feet high! (Tomatoes are one of my favorite foods of the summer, fresh off the vine. )
I am so easily sidetracked! Nap was disturbed by C knocking on the bedroom door, with the plea, "I have 45 min. to get to youth!" J drug himself out and drove her there in time.
Now they have all returned home and we are preparing for the evening rest. I still hear the thunder rolling in the distance. MORE RAIN TO COME! Grow Tomatoes! Grow!

I'm getting the point across to Nate! His hard head cracked the bell!
I'm working on my idea for the video that we are to do for Agape. I'm not sure where to begin after so many years of schooling at home! I remember the day the book shelf fell with a crash in the basement, the day that Sarah scrubbed the toilet with Nate's toothbrush, Chloe sleeping till noon and us rushing to ballet, Sam scribbling all over my lesson plan book! The days of getting started with school around lunch and then ending at 7pm are countless and the days of loading the van at day break for field trips to the great beyond are great in comparison and the days that I get to just sit are very far apart! My life has become consumed with my children, their education and the great endeavor to instill in them the great love of our Lord. My daily life is almost always never the same! I'm tired, I change my mind daily, hourly. My days are lost without my plan book and calendar! But the Lord refreshes me every morning and gives me only what I can handle and gives me the strength to handle the rest! He has called me to take on such a task as this and there is no other place that I'd rather be, except maybe on the beach.



Today, we started school at 7:45 accomplishing Bible, History, writing, health, and some science and math. Watched a movie on Rudyard Kipling's: How the Rhino got his skin. Lunch was actually at 12 and we ate a Russian potato salad that Nate made for a study of Russia. We actually liked it considering it had salmon, boiled egg, boiled potato, sauteed onion and mayo. S & S are still trying to clean up the toy area ( for a good hour now, I guess it would be faster if I wasn't sitting here) and C & N are listening to CS Lewis' The horse and his boy. I only hope this afternoon goes as well. We still have a little math and Lang. and geography left.

Thank you Jesus for a good day.