Sweet Sleep is on the Way!

Oh! It sure has been awhile since we posted anything here. This is because there has been so much happening!

One of the main events is that R. finally had her tonsils and adenoids taken out! This great event happened last week on December 3rd! She handled it so well. We are so thankful that her sleep seems to be deeper, more relaxed and peaceful. With the exception of her waking because of her sore throat, she is bouncing back like the little trooper that she is!

A noticable difference since her procedure is that her little voice sounds different! Not so congested sounding!

We praise the Lord for giving the doctor's wisdom!

Glorious Apples! A Fall Harvest!

Yesterday, the girls and I had fun making apple crisp and caramel apples while watching Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility! Great memories! Great treats!

Enjoy the glorious fall harvest of apples while making great memories!

Tombs, Pharoahs, The Nile, Mummies...

Egypt has been the theme! We have had fun so far making a salt map of The River Nile to turning E. into a mummy (Charmin!) Soon we will be building a pyramid with sugar cubes and writing messages using hieroglyphs!

A Day in the Life...

Is Darth Vader in the House?

Our dear little R. has suffered from not being able to breathe well through her nose for most of her 2-1/2 year life. It has been joked that she sounds a bit like Darth Vader! :-) But all joking aside, this has made sleeping very difficult for R. because she actually has moments when she stops breathing and jolts semi-awake to take a breath. This very disturbing to listen to. Supposedly, little R. is not even able to reach REM sleep because of this pattern. Thus, she can struggle with being somewhat irritable during the day. So, we are going to have a sleep study done so the doctor can decide just what is going on and what is the best way to address this problem. So, we would appreciate your keeping our little girl in your prayers. We pray for wisdom for the doctors as well as they determine what to do. Perhaps we will soon get Darth Vader out of the house! :-)

The Wild Life!

Fishin'!

The kids are ready to go! We are heading to Lake Corpus Christi with our fishin' poles...

E. has his Zebco.
A. has her Barbie pole.
S. has his Diego pole.
R. has her Spongebob pole!

Wanna come?
Adventures await....:-)

So Thankful!

Wow, we are so thankful for being spared from Ike. At the same time, we are hurting for those who experienced so much destruction in Houston and Galveston areas. E. learned much about praying for others through this. I hope that he will continue to mature in this area. This kind of fruit in his life makes me so thankful.

Yikes! Now It's Ike!

We are keeping a close watch on this one!

Please pray for E.

We know who is in control! :-)

A View of the Rooms

The kids wanted to show yall their rooms...R. does have a bed in the girls' room...it's a trundle! :-)

Boxes

As I continue to unpack, A. is doing the environmentally conscious thing and recycling the boxes. In this particular scenario, her puppies get a beautiful arrangement of row houses. Each have their own "unit."

They seem to be enjoying this new living situation!

Design on a Dime! or Should I Say Dollar!

A. and R. needed a new lampshade for their room. So, a visit to the dollar aisle at Target helped us add a little bling to make a plain white shade acceptable for the girls' room! A. was quite pleased with the results!

The Final Countdown!

Our "Summer Vacation" is winding down. The final countdown toward a new school year has begun...

We are planning to start our official school year on Monday, August 25th! Any and all prayers lifted up on our behalf in this area will be greatly appreciated! It is always exciting to begin a new school year. Even seeing the school supplies on sale at all the stores makes me want to go buy new pencils and crayons! (We don't need either this year! but $0.22, come on!!)

Anyway, we are starting a new core curriculum called Tapestry of Grace. I am really excited about this History focused curriculum which emphasizes God's plan of redemption being unfolded throughout time. I love it! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow!

Creativity!

A. loves to create things. Mega Blocks are fun to build a two story building to house her water animals on the bottom level; land animals on the second level and some flying animals on the roof! Here she shows us her Playdoh pizza and cookies.

We Survived Hurricane Dolly

Popcorn and a movie, anyone? This was before we lost power but the storm was raging outside. So the kids were cozy in the closet!

The Flintstones and no power. Praise the Lord for batteries!

S. is showing the base of the tree that fell. Thankfully, this was about the worst of it!

We are free from the closet!!! Yay! (Notice the tree in the back ground.)

This was after a couple hours of the storms sitting right over us!
Thank you so much for your prayers! We cannot even begin to say how much they mean to us. We are quite aware of how protected we were!

Power over the Wind and Rain

E. continues to keep his feelings of nervousness in check. It is evident that he is trying not to act on those feelings during this time of anticipation as we wait to see if Tropical Storm Dolly develops into a hurricane.

We are thankful that we know who ultimately has power over the wind and the rain.

Please pray for E.'s continued comfort and peace at this time.

Weather Video

E. loves watching the weather. He is so intrigued by the power that God displays through the elements! So, he wanted to make sure you were connected...Check out his link to the Weather Channel video clips. Its located on the side bar! Hope it is interesting and helpful to you.

This picture was sent to us by Uncle E. Thanks!

Remember When...

What Flavor is Your Milk?

In this house, the kids got milk. The question is, what flavor is it?

Chocolate?

Dulce de Leche?

Strawberry?

Just plain white?

What flavor is your milk?

I chuckled this morning as I realized their wanting milk first thing in the morn was just their way of greeting the day. As I enjoy a fresh cup of joe in the morning, they appreciate their milk. The flavor of the day is strawberry and we choose the Nesquik powder because it touts that it has 25% less sugar.

Go get ya some!

Butter, Yummy, Butter

"Butter, yummy, butter;
I think I'll have another!"
--R.

Happy Belated Birthday, E.!!

E. celebrated his 8th birthday on June 22nd! I cannot believe how quickly time flies! E. continues to appreciate weather and planning cities with his matchbox cars and wooden tracks. He also enjoys playing SimCity 4 where he can create cities and play the role of mayor! A budding politician? or city planner? or weather man....? We shall see.

PS Thanks H. girls for the great cake design!!!

After listening to this catchy (& I mean catchy!) tune (a favorite of the kids) just once, you will be amazed at how much Spanish you pick up! Mira! El pepino!!!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

Planning his miniature towns is something that E. thoroughly enjoys. He has shown an interest in maps since the age of four and that appreciation just continues to grow. Come visit the neighborhoods of Fairview, a cozy place which could be reminiscent of Mayberry...

It is so much fun watching my kids be creative. To watch them make something that in some way is a reflection of who they are. It is an interesting way to get to know them. Their play has taught me alot about what their interests are, what sticks in their minds. It is a great way to discover what truly is influencing them. My desire is to stay tuned to what they are communicating even as they play! Enjoy the discovery!

Fun Hangover?

Is it possible to have a fun hangover? Well, if it is, I do believe A. is sleeping one off.

What caused such a condition?

Yesterday's family getaway to SPI...
*Digging for clams;
*Building sand mountains with waterfalls;
*Floating in tide pools;
*Finding pretty shells (not bottle caps this time);
*Jumping the waves!

I am so glad that they can play to the point of exhaustion! :-)

"Relax. It isn't all as hard as the experts make out. We are human beings, persons, created to live. To have life more abundantly. Wonder together; grow together." -- For the Children's Sake, Susan Schaeffer Macaulay

The God of All Comfort

Last night, we had a terrible thunderstorm! The lightning was as a strobe light. Flashing as if a hundred paparazzi were snapping pictures of some celebrity just outside our window! E. was jolted awake by the booming thunder. So, we went downstairs to sit together in a cozy chair to wait out the storm. In the midst of a fear that truly caused him to tremble physically, E. remembered to pray that we would be safe and not scared. He showed great courage and self-control as he knew where to turn during a time when he was frightened. This was such a time of encouragement for my soul--to see my little guy, who once could not control his crying for fear of the storm, show signs of maturity not just emotionally, but spiritually, as well. This is fruit over which I rejoice greatly!

In addition to the Lord's giving me a glimpse of the work He is doing in my son's soul, my son saw for himself the Lord's personal touch. What should be the next passage that E. was to read this morning in his personal Bible reading time? Mark 4:26-41 -- Jesus calms a storm!

My prayer is that E. would continue to see how the Lord cares for him personally! Again, my soul is encouraged!

What Do You Collect?

It is pretty much a universal tradition for people who visit the beach to collect sea shells. We pick up one after the other amazed at the variety of sizes and shapes. Monday, we were able to spend the day at South Padre Island. It was a beautiful day with many beautiful shells scattered here and there. A. and I walked around and marvelled at their "Pearliness"!

Yesterday at breakfast, I noticed something gold and shiny on the dining room table--it was a bottle cap for...

(I know it's a little blurry)

"Where did this come from?" I asked.

"I found it on the beach." E. said matter-of-factly.

I guess I can be thankful that he is helping keep the beach clean!

The Words of Our Children

"I love you better." -- S. (4 yrs old)
"Me do dat." -- R. (2 yrs old)

Grey Skies, Mud Pies!

What would you do after the biggest rain of the season? Make mud pies, of course!