Back to School Night Music Video

Here's the kids playing at Back to School Night. Our friend's daughter was playing with them too, so I had to pan the camera back and forth. I wish now I would have found the tripod to put it somewhere else so I could have had them all in the frame the whole time but oh well. Enjoy!

Project 365 (#196 - #202)

Sunday ~ #196/365

Yohn has really been practicing at his guitar and now all his hard work is starting to pay off... it's starting to sound like actual music!

Monday ~ #197/365

Another picture of Bethany at gymnastics. Really did you expect anything else? She got to try out the poles tonight (or whatever gymnasts call them) and loved it, but really had a hard time getting up there. At home later on she chatted non-stop about everything she had learned so far.

Tuesday ~ #198/365

Lots and lots and lots of music practice going on around here this week!

Wednesday ~ #199/365

Scored a free photobook from Shutterfly so I used it to make Bethany a birthday book. It came today and we had fun looking at it together. I really should do this for each of their birthdays, ya know, if I could get a free photobook every time!

Thursday ~ #200/365

Back to School Night and Spagetti Feed
The kids were asked to play and having been practicing like crazy for this night. They played Mary Had a Little Lamb, Aura Lee and Ode to Joy.

Friday ~ #201/365

Look you can actually see the floor in the kids' room!

Saturday ~ #202/365


Elisha and Anthony's team are now 3-0! Can you tell they are excited?

And that's my week! What about yours? Are you brave enough to try it? Hop on over to Sara's blog to see more!

Oregon Vacation - Day 5 (Part 2)

Well, now that I no longer have the excuse that my computer is down, it's time to get back on track. I hope ya'll don't mind if I jump back to July and finish up my vacation posts. No where was I...

The second half of day five brought us to Pizza Hut where we met up with Grandpa Gerald (Yohn's dad) and had lunch. Remember this day was a cold one, so that's why even though it was July my kids were in long sleeves and hats.

A photo op with Grandpa.

Someone had given Grandpa Gerald a real Coonskin cap and everyone had to try it on.

Well, I'm sure you noticed, everyone but me tried it on!

After hanging around Grandpa's house for a while it was time to get going. We normally take the kids to the park on visits with Grandpa, but this year it was a no can do, as it decided to rain on us on top of being cold.

The kids were still pretty tired from their visit. Or maybe it was the fact that we let them stay up too late the night before!

I snapped this picture of the flag as we drove past. Actually I had Yohn stop so I could get a decent picture. I wish the sun was shining just a little bit brighter but all in all I'm pretty satisfied with it.

When we arrived home we found out that the calf had been born just an hour after we had left! Bethany was kinda sad she didn't get to watch, but I certainly was not. I'm not really into "reality shows" that much if you catch my point :)

My mom bought this bag of the biggest marmallows I had ever seen!

And we made stove top smores with them for dessert. Yum!

Project 365 (#189 - #195)

Sunday ~ #189/365

This is why she is told repeatedly to leave the cat alone!

Monday ~ #190/365

Monday night was her second lesson and she is still havin' a blast!

Tuesday ~ #191/365

Baseball practice night, guess who misjudged a ball and took one to the face? You can see the red spot on his cheek and a dark circle under his eye. The black eye the resulted was not that large and is now almost gone.

Wednesday ~ #192/365

Burger King recently opened down the street from our house and the kids and Yohn all wanted a nice flame broiled treat. Since I really have a disdain for most fast food I just stayed home.

Thursday ~ #193/365

Family Night! We went for a walk/bike ride (meaning the kids rode and Yohn and I walked) down a nearby trail that goes right past the airport. We've never really gone past the park on this trail so this was a real treat for us, but it wore us all out big time. I think we need to get in shape. I also think that Yohn and I will never do this again without bikes.

Friday ~ #194/365

Crazy, crazy kinda day at work that I never would have made it through without him. Thanks, Babe, for being there!

Saturday ~ #195/365

She lost one of her front teeth! Too bad the other one isn't loose :(

Can you say Yay! That I only had to post one week this time around. Check out Sara's blog for more 365 Projects.

Friday Funnies - Sunday Drive

Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22 MPH. He thinks to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he notices that there are five elderly ladies-two in the front seat and three in the back-wide eyed and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"

"Ma'am," the officer replies, "you weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."

"Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly...Twenty- two miles an hour!" the woman says a bit proudly.

The State Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that "22" was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error. "But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask... is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't muttered a single peep this whole time," the officer asks with concern.

"Oh, they'll be all right in a minute officer. We just got off Route 119."

Project 365 (#175 - #188)

My last catch up post (too bad I didn't have any mustard to go with it, ha!), and then next week it'll just be a one week 365. Sorry it's gonna be a long one again.

Sunday ~ #175/365

It was Bethany's actual birthday and we had some friends and family come and sing happy birthday and share cake and ice cream with her.

Monday ~ #176/365

One of Bethany's birthday presents from us was a gynastics session. This was her first class and she learned to do a bridge.

Tuesday ~ #177/365

Forget the fact that my daughter just got some new clothes for her birthday. No, she has to wear her brother's old clothes because she loves them so much :)

Wednesday ~ #178/365

We got a new (used) couch. This picture actually makes it look kinda stained, but it's really not. It is soooo comfy AND reclines on both ends.

Thursday ~ #179/365

Elisha had to change his black shoe laces for his white ones. He has since decided he likes the black ones better (please don't look at the unvaccuumed floor, K?).

Friday ~ #180/365

Fantasy Football drafts. We draft a little later so we can check out the pre-season stats. This year I am not the only female in the group - yay!

Saturday ~ #181/365

Our boy had a friend who wanted to play baseball for the first time so then Elisha decided he needed to play fall ball too. With that decision also came the fact that he had outgrown his cleats.

Sunday ~ #182/365

The view from out porch: The cross of the Baptist church next door with the setting sun shining on it.

Monday ~ #183/365

Happy Labor Day! The kids sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seven inning stretch at the A's game. It was sooo hot.

Tuesday ~ #184/365

After finding out they had miscalculated our son's age I headed down to the league office to find out why he wasn't on the same team as his friend (they'll allow you to choose teammates in fall ball) and our boy had his first practice on the right team.

Wednesday ~ #185/365

It looks as if we are not going to have the Indian Summer I was suspecting we might get. After a rather usually cool summer, the leaves are falling early for our neck of the woods. Fall is announcing its arrival.

Thursday ~ #186/365

I had the kids clean out this small section in front of our porch to put the rocks they have collected and had given to them over the years. It beats the old pan they had them stored in.

Friday ~ #187/365

The Ten Commandments came from Netflix today and the kids were excited. They have since been playing Moses and his life and it brings a smile to my face when I hear them out in the yard yelling, "Let my people go!".

Saturday ~ #188/365

This is my favorite picture of Elisha and his friend Anthony in the dug out on Saturday, waiting for their turn at bat.

Whew! There we go, two week worth and I'm all caught up! Thanks Sara for letting me join in!

September 11 Tribute

I saw this on GodTube yesterday. In some ways I can't believe nine years have already gone by, but what have we learned from it.

Where were you when you heard the news. I was four months pregnant with our son, riding in the car on the way to work listening to a Christian radio station. One of the morning dj's came on in tears as she recounted what had so recently taken place. I remember not being far from the radio all that day, and our tv station tuned into news most of the evenings. Watching waiting for updates, praying for survivors and that God still had his hand on our country. Wondering if now was a such a good time to bring a baby into this world (please don't mistake this for me thinking I was getting an abortion, it was nothing like that). We have come a long ways since that day, but may we never forget...

Friday Funnies - Kitchen Help

A wife was busy frying eggs, when her husband came home. He walked into the kitchen and immediately started yelling.

"CAREFUL!!! CAREFUL! MORE OIL! TURN THEM! TURN THEM NOW! WE NEED MORE OIL! THEY ARE GOING TO STICK! CAREFUL! CAREFUL! TURN THEM! TURN THEM!!! HURRY UP! ARE YOU CRAZY! THE OIL IS GOING TO SPILL! USE MORE SALT! THE SALT!!"

The wife was very upset, "What is wrong with you? Why are you yelling like this? Do you think I don't know how to fry an egg?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted you to know what it's like for me when I am driving the car and you're sitting next to me."

Need a laugh? Check out more Friday Funnies at Homesteader's Heart.

Moments...

There are moments when my children come crashing through the house yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs...

There are moments when my kids scratch, bite, and pinch each other and it seems I can do nothing to stop them...

There are moments when they are rude, whiny, and sarcastic depite what they have been taught...

There are moments when they just can't seem to control themselves and anger or tears always end up being the end result...

There are moments when one of my kids gets hurt and all they want is to climb in my lap for me to make it all better...

There are moments when they climb into bed with me for an early morning snuggle...

There are moments when my children are triumphant in what they put their minds to do and I can celebrate in their victory...

There are moments when there are giggle wars with uncontrollable laughter that just cannot be contained...

There are moments when a simple "I love you" from one of them is what I really needed to hear...

There are moments I've already forgotten about and some I will treasure forever...

Dear Lord,

Help me to live these moments with my kids, each and every one of them. Help me not to be distant, not to be so involved in my own world that I forget about theirs. Help me to reach them at their level and point them to you in times of hurt, pain and confusion, but also in times of joy and celebration. Help me to push them, help me to encourage them, help me to teach them, talk to them, motivate them. But most importantly, Lord, help me to love them as deeply as you do.

Amen

Project 365 (#154 - #174)

Okay so before you read this I realize it's up a whole day late. I'm sure you probably also noticed that it contains about three weeks worth of pictures. I am sorry for that but with my computer giving me so many problems I had a hard time posting and then it had to go and get fixed and there was another week gone by. I had debated whether or not to even continue participating because I was so far behind, but decided since I was still taking pictures that I really didn't want to give up that easily. So keep in mind that these pictures are from the the 8th of August through the 28th and I'll post the 29th of August to current in next week's 365 Post. I hope the length of this does not bore anyone!

So without further ado...

Sunday ~ #154/365

Yohn and I started this study together and are loving it! I've already read it, but I just can't seem to get enough of it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deeper relationship with God.

Monday ~ #155/365

VBS at the Baptist church next to our house started tonight. Their theme this year was Saddleridge Ranch. The kids had so much fun that they couldn't stop telling us about all they did even when they were supposed to be in bed.

Tuesday ~ #156/365

There's Bethany's poppies again. Official count for this picture brings us up to 46 flowers. To say she is excited about how well they have grown is an understatement.

Wednesday ~ #157/365


Please forgive the bad quality of these pictures, but indoors at night at a distance doesn't always make for the best shots. These are taken at the church. The kids are singing their Saddleridge Ranch song at the closing of VBS for the night.

Thursday ~ #158/365

Forgive me, but I still haven't re-installed my photo editing software or I would have zoomed in on this picture some. This is a Farmer's Insurance blimp that passed by the school I work for in the late afternoon. After running to get my camera this is the shot I got after it was already heading out of our area.

Friday ~ #159/365

It's the last night of VBS and the kids were encouraged to dress up as cowboys and cowgirls.

Saturday ~ #160/365

Yohn and I watched some kids for a church event and Bethany, another boy named Victor and I all worked together to build this castle out of Legos.

Sunday ~ #161/365

We bought the kids' new school shoes the day before and I allowed them to wear them to church on Sunday morning. It was a very big deal, so we had to take a picture.

Monday ~ #162/365

Elisha pulls ahead once again in the race to see which one of us has the most stars in Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo DS. In this picture he has 50 and I have 49, but it didn't take long for him to get the upper hand and I am still struggling to catch up!

Tuesday ~ #163/365

The walnuts on the tree are coming in nicely. Too bad the squirrels run off with most of them!

Wednesday ~ #164/365

I saw these flowers in the empty lot behind our house when I pulled in the driveway one evening and knew a certain little girl who would thoroughly enjoy them.

Thursday ~ #165/365

You want me to do what? Hold still? Impossible!

Friday ~ #166/365

I found these at the store and bought them for the kids for a pencil box. I know they are old school lunch boxes but just because that's what they used to be used for doesn't mean they have to be now. I know Bethany's isn't as girly as most would expect but some of you have been following long enough to remember Bethany's obsession with R2D2 and that I had to make her a costume last year.

Saturday ~ #167/365

Somebody got a trim!

Sunday ~ #168/365

It's time for Aqua B.L.A.S.T.! Our children's church started this annual tradition last year (that they hope to continue for many years to come) that the last Sunday before school starts they have the whole outside courtyard set up like a mini water world. The kids love it! You should see them worship soaking wet in swimming suits, so cute!

Monday ~ #169/365

I finally got my computer back over the weekend and this is how many e-mails I had when I realized I should take a picture. The original count before I started deleting was somewhere around 570!

Tuesday ~ #170/365

Yohn had all four wisdom teeth taken out! Poor guy. He was on two pain meds and an antibiotic.

Wednesday ~ #171/365

First day of school for the 2010 - 2011 school year!

Thursday ~ #172/365

One of the things I forgot to do was back up my screen saver file, so here I am trying to find August photos so I can have my slide show screen saver back.

Friday ~ #173/365

It's a sad day in our house, Christopher's Pizza is closing its doors forever. The owner of this restaurant was Elisha's first baseball coach back when he was 5 years old and in the pee wee division. Thankfully we'll still see him in church, but we are really going to miss this pizza!

Saturday ~ #174/365

Bethany wanted the zoo for her birthday and so since her birthday was on a Sunday this year, we went on the Saturday before and had a blast! This lion even came out and posed for his adoring public!

Well that's it, three weeks in a nutshell and still more to come. Next week I'll post two weeks worth and then should be all caught up and back on track! Until then, pop over to Sara's blog for more 365 posts!