Kickin' it off right!

Today was the last day of school. Summer has officially arrived, and we started it off with a bang! This morning was spent at the school, spending time in each child's classroom, watching as they got rewarded for all their hard work. They got out at 11:50, and I took them to lunch at our favorite Mexican hangout, Veracruz, where we saw numerous friends and relatives who were also celebrating the start of summer.
Now, Rachel and Robby both have good appetites, but this was amazing! They consumed an outrageous amount of chips, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and cheese dip before the rest of the food even got there. You would have thought they had not eaten for days. But, it WAS really good, so I can't blame them too much for being enthusiastic. And they thoroughly enjoyed talking to all their friends as they passed our table.
They spent the afternoon playing with friends. Rachel even got in the sprinkler with some of her friends in the neighborhood. As soon as she got home from that, John told her to put on her bathing suit to go swimming. The water was very cold, but they still enjoyed it. I think what they like best is coming home after playing hard in the pool and getting in a hot shower.
They had such a good day. Summer has arrived!

Discovery Place

Last Friday, I went on a field trip to Discovery Place in Charlotte with Rachel's class. It was a very fun day. The kids had such a great time! The girls all loved the thing that did this to them...
The other thing that was best loved was the Gizmotron. It's a little hard to describe, but you can see Rachel and others from her class working on it in this next picture. Essentially, there are beads in it that get moved through various tubes, and it takes at least 5 people to do it. It was a very good exercise in teamwork, and they did it for almost an hour before they got tired of it. They also had a very large dinosaur exhibit, and an Imax movie about dinosaurs. It was a long day, but well worth it. I really enjoyed spending time with Rachel, as well as fellowshipping with the other parents that went.

Moving Rooms

We had a very productive weekend. We spent pretty much all of Saturday switching the weight room with the boys' room. I love the progress we made. Robby and Matthew both seem to be very happy with the results, as well. The original plan was to make a space room for them, and we definitely will have that as a major element. We have a shelf shaped like a boat that will be converted into a space ship, and we already have a good start on solar system posters. However, it seems that the hobbits will be moving in as well. And John and the boys spent the evening painting pictures of Mount Doom and the Eye. So, I guess it's going to be Hobbits in space.

Happenings of Late

I am finally able to post pictures from Robby's play and Rachel's country report. They were both so good! Here is a picture of the three robbers from the Bremmentown Musicians talking. Robby was Curly. You can see the mustache and the hair the teacher drew on his arms. He had such a good time!

Rachel's report was on Austria. Her Aunt Kathy let her borrow this cute dirndl to wear. They lived in Germany for a few years, so they had some authentic clothing. Thanks, Kathy! Her cousin, William, to her right, did his report on Germany, Kathryn did Vietnam, and Jonathon did Italy. All of the kids in her class did an excellent job on their reports, and the costumes were all very authentic. I think the hit of the day, though, was a young man by the name of Caleb. He did his report on Egypt, and dressed like a mummy. Very cute!

This last weekend was my 12th anniversary. John told me to stay away for most of the day while her prepared the house. He rearranged things to make the house look like someplace else. He met me on the front porch with wine, and surprised me with a new porch swing. While we sat on the new swing, John's dad came up with bruschetta, which happens to be one of my favorites. Inside was candlelit, with music playing. A table for two was set up in the dining room. He showered me with gifts, including a dress, a necklace, and earrings. Dinner, made by his dad, was fabulous! Chicken marsala, pasta with homemade pesto, and veggies. Chocolate pie for dessert. We danced and ate, drank wine, danced more. We ended the evening by watching a movie. It was all very nice. Thank you, Papa, for the wonderful food. Yes, I am going to say thank you, John. But he wasn't done yet.

The next morning, he took me to see Iron Man. Absolutely fabulous movie! I would go see it again. Then, we went to have lunch, at Chili's; another favorite of mine. On the way home from that, he had one last surprise for me. He dropped me off for a massage at the home of a young lady by the name of Victoria Payton. Vicki just got her Licenced Massage Therapist certification, and she is very good at what she does. She even helped me with a painful area in my shoulder. It was very nice, indeed. So, thank you, John, for all that you did to make this weekend special. It was all very relaxing and enjoyable. It meant alot to me.

Sunday, we had Matthew's birthday party. He will be turning 5 tomorrow. We invited a few of his friends and grandparents for dinner, and then we had the rest of the family over for dessert. It was all alot of fun. Lord of the Rings was his chosen theme. As you can see, John made a wonderful mural of the hobbits for the boys to have their pictures taken with. And yes, Charlie does have his eyes crossed; a trick he is very proud to have learned recently.

I made two cakes: one of Hobbiton, and the other, Mount Doom, made of brownies. All in all, I think it turned out great. Matthew got this fabulous Gimli costume. I just had to post the picture. He's so darn cute in it!

Needless to say, the weekend was really busy, but it was also wonderful.

So much good news!

I know it's been almost 2 months since the last time I posted, but things have been really busy around here. At last, I am TOTALLY finished with my classes! I finished my last CPT class on the 13th, and I am completely shocked at my grade. I ended up with a 100 on the final, after the teacher went back and gave partial credit on some things. I got a 105 in the class! My teacher said that this is the first class she has ever taught that the whole class passed!

My internship starts on the 23rd, and being that it is all online, it will seem like another class, I suppose. But, if I decide to get a job, it will give me credit toward my internship! I think I will wait and see just how much work is involved in the internship before I get one, though.

In other news, I just talked to my mom, and she is on her way to get an infusion! There has been a big mixup with her insurance, and she hasn't been able to get one, even though she really needed it. But, praise God, today, everything has been cleared up, and she is on her way to getting better!

We took Matthew to the doctor this morning, about some behavioral concerns(nothing bad, just...different), and the doctor says he is doing very well, and the concern we had is a very common thing, especially in boys! I am so relieved!

Robby has a play coming up on Thursday. He will be Curly, a robber, in the Brementown Musicians. I will post pictures when I get them.

Rachel has a country report due on Wednesday. She has chosen Austria, since that's where John's family is from. I think she has done well on it, but there are still a few things to get together for it. Please pray that we can get it all accomplished on time.

I got back from New Mexico on Saturday. I went to visit my friends, Theresa and John, and family. They moved there 2 years ago, and I have only seen Theresa once since. NM is such a beautiful place! I had a really good time. They took me to some absolutely gorgeous spots, and it was nice to be somewhere with no responsibilities for a time. It was a very nice, and much needed, break. Thank you so much, John and Theresa, for letting me stay with you, and for taking such good care of me while I was there. It was wonderful to spend time with you again.

And to my husband, John, thank you for taking care of things while I was gone. I really appreciate the support, and the down time without worries.

Theresa has an adorable puppy, named Mejito. He is a teacup yorkie, and he's no bigger than a guinea pig. He spends most of his time with his tongue stuck out. So cute! Theresa says you can't even get teacup yorkies in NM. It's probably because the birds are big enough to carry him away, not to mention the mountain lions and bobcats.

I recently heard that our friend, Fr. Ted, will be staying with us for a week this summer. I am so excited! He is currently living in Africa, so we only get to see him once a year. It is always a blessing to have him in our home. He is Matthew's godfather (one of them), and we have always considered him family.

Please pray for John(my husband) this week. He has to have an endoscopy to dialate his throat, on Thursday. Pray that it is nothing, and for a quick recovery time.

The Tempest

Rachel's play was Friday morning, and it went great! The kids did a really good job. I was there most of Thursday and Friday morning to help get things ready. I helped the kids get dressed, and put makeup on all the girls. Rachel was so excited, and rightly so. She did a really good job as Ariel, even if it is me saying so. She made up her own tunes for the singing parts. She was a little disappointed that her back was to us in alot of the video, but it was still great.

Thank you, Mom, for the beautiful costume. Everyone has been asking me where I got it.

The first picture is of Rachel with her cousins, Jonathon, William, and Kathryn. The second is the whole class. The last is Rachel with her teacher, Mrs. Murrell.

Thank you, Mrs. Murrell, for all your hard work. I think this is one lesson the kids will always remember. They had so much fun!

Much needed prayer

Please pray for my mom. On Friday, when I last saw her, she was fine and dandy. By Friday night, apparently, she had come down with a horrible case of the flu. Dad says he hasn't seen her this sick since they had the Hong Kong Flu in '74. And that's saying alot, since she has an immune deficiency that causes her to catch things fairly easily. I'm so worried about her. I hate not being able to help her. Please pray that Daddy doesn't get it, either.
Lord, please heal Mom quickly. Help her stomach to settle, and her cough to lessen. Help her to rest peacefully, and regain her strength. Please keep Daddy healthy. Give them both the grace they need to get through this. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings and healing. Amen.