Kathryn turns 6

Pictures from Kathryn's birthday parties:

Cute feet, cute Kathryn

Just a few pictures of Kathryn taken in the last few weeks

New sandals - $5 on sale!

She really dresses to exercise, doesn't she? A dress and pink crocs.

She has way more fun on the treadmill than I do, that's for sure!

1st Day of school

Things went very smoothly this morning in getting ready for school. Although this is the first day, we have been going through the same routine for the last week or so, just to get ready. The kids were excited and neither seemed to be especially nervous. They looked so cute in their new outfits (and did you see their new shoes?). I am really going to miss them while they are at school...

Julian's email

I don't think Julian would mind me sharing this...

Julian has been asking me to start playing this game that he loves - Poptropica. I have told him over and over that I don't really want to play because it is a game for children and I normally don't play children's games on my own. He sent me this email the other day:

He is so funny. I love it!

Fink Day July

I realized I forgot to share the pictures I took (and the ones Ronda took with my camera) from our last family get together. So here they are:

Camping

Last weekend we went camping again and had Fink day while we were there. The weather was not great but Saturday was storm free all day. Thankfully, Dad and Sherri were camping down the road from us in their wonderful motorhome, so we were able to take refuge there. Ronda and Evan were able to come visit for a few hours on Saturday, and a good time was had by all!

Ants. Yuck.

We have had an infestation of ants for several weeks now. I assume they are coming inside because it is so dry, but I have gotten very tired of them. I don't like sprays, so we use terro, which is a sweet liquid you put out and the ants drink it and take it back to their friends. It has always worked well in the past, but seems to be taking forever this time. They are really gross all over the counter, but I thought this picture was kind of neat:

A change of scenery

Recently, I got a laptop as a graduation gift. Awesome! I have had a wonderful time moving around to work instead of being chained down to my desk for hours and hours a day. I have experimented with working in the backyard while the kids play, in the kitchen, watching them through the window with their neighbor-friends. But, here is my favorite spot to work now:

It is such a happy spot with a sunny window and a view of my roses. Unfortunately, the roses have been infested with beetles recently and I lost many flowers, but that seems to be resolving itself now with no intervention on my part. Beetles are bad, but did you know cardinals eat beetles? I have been delighted on several days to see cardinals sitting on the branches of the rose bush, eating the unwanted bugs. Hummingbirds like the red flowers as well. I actually see a new batch of roses forming as I type this, so hopefully my feathered friends will come back to enjoy the new flowers the same as me.

I am so thankful for this gift - something I have wanted but not needed for quite a while. Hopefully, it will also prove useful for school things this semester. I will be in class for 8 hours each day day Tuesday and Wednesday, so perhaps I will be able to use the laptop on occasion on campus as well. Happy days!

Camping

We went camping (for the first time) over the long weekend. It was a big success - aside from the rain that held off just until it was time for us to pack up Sunday morning....guess we should have gone home Saturday evening as we had originally planned, but no one wanted to rush home. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Random, not necessarily related events

The children have been out of school for 2 weeks now, and I must say we are adjusting rather well, although some days are better than others. We have a routine established, and are getting ready for some fun after finally getting myself caught up on work and home things. I am enjoying my summer vacation and now with the kids home, hopefully we'll be able to have lots and lots of fun together.

Here are some pictures from places we've been the last little bit that I had not yet posted:

Kathryn and Vivy at Fink day at Pappy and Nana's pool

The kids after going to VBS with a school friend of Kathryn's

Jackson at his 1st birthday party

Kathryn and Kaitlyn at Jackson's party


And portraits taken by Jason on a Sunday afternoon:

Summer

School is out in 2 more days, and we are ready for it. Just some pictures of fun in the back yard...

And by the way, Kathryn says she is a cool kid (that's what the V with her fingers means??):

Charlotte weekend

We traveled to Charlotte this past weekend to spend some time with my family there. Randy and Emily were able to come for a couple of hours on Saturday, and we were able to see the adorable Vivy enjoy the pool. The kids and I stayed overnight since Jason was stuck at work for the whole weekend. It was nice to be able to spend some time with Pappy and Nana.

A side note about the dog photos - Minnie is Dad and Sherri's permanent pet (all brown, smaller). Mickey is a foster dog they are caring for for at least the next month. She has heart worms and just underwent a pretty painful procedure to get rid of them last week. She is not allowed to run for a month! She is very sweet and was so good with Kathryn.

Summer 'dos

The kids got haircuts last weekend. Don't they look nice!

And in case you didn't know, this was Kathryn's hair before she went to get it cut:

Fun with a box

Who need toys when we have boxes? Each time we get something that comes in a big box, it's a struggle to get it to the recycling area because the kids want it to play. I guess Julian had more important things to do, but Kathryn enjoyed the box we got yesterday...who cares what came in it! I guess it does look pretty cozy.

Awana

The kids finished their Awana year last week. They both finished their book, and actually Julian was given his 2nd book for T&T a while ago, but the commander asked for it back when he found out. He said the clubbers are not supposed to start their 2nd book in their first year...so he gave it back and started working on the silver and gold sections (which was why he made the solar system model). I am so proud of both of them. I'm glad they are learning God's word and the truth of salvation through it. We were worried sending them to a different church than we were used to, but it was all for nothing. They did really well and even made some new friends.

My newest picture frame

Do I have too much time on my hands now??



I just really like pictures!

Our weekend

Our 11th anniversary was on Saturday, and this in combination with my graduation made me really want to get away to celebrate. We decided to spend a short weekend at Biltmore in Asheville. I had been once before in junior high, and Jason had also been once, but I'm glad we went again. The house and gardens were beautiful, but there was a lot of walking. I'm glad for a day to sit at my desk and work; my poor legs need a vacation now. Here are some photos of our weekend:

Meanwhile, the kids were spending a nice weekend with Ronda, Evan and Emileigh. From what I heard, the kids were not terrible and Emileigh actually wants to dog-sit for us again, so I guess Lucy minded her manners.

Graduation

I graduated with my associate's degree on Friday! Woo hoo! This is the halfway point for me - hopefully my graduation with my bachelor's degree will be in another 2 years (but it looking more like 2 years plus a semester??). Regardless, it was a big day for me, and I am proud of myself.

I was so happy that my Dad was able to come, and that Jason's Mom and Dad were there for the ceremony. I also kept the kids out of school (still not sure if that is an excused absence or not...) Jason and the kids and I went for lunch with Dad after the ceremony before going our separate ways to do real life things - like pool cleaning and work. I had a chuckle when I thought of the differences there are between graduating when you're 20 and when you're over 30. Get the ceremony done and back to work!

There aren't a lot of photos, Jason had issues with his camera, but here are a few I swiped from his folder on our hard drive :

The graduates

Aren't they cute?

Time for a change

Really, I just didn't want my mother's day post on top anymore!

I have started my semi-annual process of clearing out the kids' closets and drawers of things they have outgrown and finding a place for things I shoved on the shelf until later when I had time to do something with it. Well, now is that time and I have huge piles of stuff and need to figure out what to do with it. Too bad our storage building is also nearly popping with things we shoved in there until later. My motivation for starting was the nudge I received last week from the lady who gives us a lot of the hand-me-downs for Kathryn. She emailed to say she has more and asked (again) if I have any to give back...

Anyway, I really enjoy these homey chores that I just don't have time for while I am in school. They give me an outlet and are something I can use to take a break from looking at the computer on these long work days. I know it seems a little weird to daydream about doing chores, but sometimes I do while I'm really busy with school and work things... I think about how things used to be when I had a lot of free time and how they'll be again some day. There will be a day again when if I want to indulge in my OCD tendencies of organization, I can. And I will!

My mothers day weekend...

I don't like mothers day.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, and I love the thoughtful handmade gifts they give me each year.

But I don't like mothers day because I don't have my Mom. Some years I'm OK, but this year I have been teary and sad. I'll be glad when some time passes, and I get distracted again from thinking about what I don't have.

This year, we went to dinner with Jason's family Saturday night and then we went to church Sunday morning. Later in the day, we went on a long walk on a new trail we had seen that goes along one of our rivers. It was perfect. And of course I have pictures:

Happy Mothers' Day to all moms

Graduation invitations

In my haste to get the invitations in the mailbox before the mail carrier came, I forgot to put my name on them!! So, if you get an invitation to a graduation of some unknown person in my county, it's me... And sorry for the anonymity - it was not deliberate!!!

An anniversary

When facing big events in my life, I tend to get reflective. Does anyone else do that? Facing graduation, the uncertainty of the next couple of years in school, my upcoming anniversary (11 years!!), etc. I find myself looking back.... As I was cooking dinner last night, I was thinking about how different I am now than I was before Jesus saved me. I realized my "anniversary" of becoming a Christian is also here. It seems like it's been a million years, but it hasn't been quite that long...

14 years ago, when I was 17 years old, I attended a TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend, which is a Lutheran run program for making disciples and leaders of teenagers. A couple of friends who had already gone asked me to go. It is a 3 day program, each day focusing on a major theme of being a Christian. The first day is DIE day - it focuses on the death of Jesus. It teaches how Jesus faced a brutal death on the cross - not for anything He had done wrong, but for what I had done wrong. The 2nd day is RISE day - it focuses on the resurrection and how Jesus conquered death to bring new life to those that believe in Him - even those that had committed the sins that put him on the cross. The 3rd day is GO day - it focuses on making a commitment to serve God and take what you have learned to the world around you. On GO day, there is a re-confirmation ceremony. All of the other kids had already gone through confirmation and were renewing their commitment to God. Well, I realized I had no commitment to God.

From the previous 2 days, I had learned of the sacrifice Jesus made for me (and you!) and the joy of his resurrection. I wanted to make a commitment to God! I wanted Jesus to know that I now understood what He had done for me - as much as I could at the time. He had died in my place. He had died for the sins I had committed. He took my punishment. In tears, I asked Jesus to help me know how to be His, and I consider that the first day of my Christian life. Through the years, Jesus has become more and more real to me and has become the One I can always count on, even when people disappoint me (and they surely will). He is the One that will never leave me - even if people do (and they surely will).

There were bumps after that. I didn't know what it meant to be a Christian and didn't really have a church family to help me out, so I struggled along for a few years with finding myself in Christ. I had a lot of doubt and a lot of anger at God and at the people in my life (and sometimes still do even now). I still struggle with trusting and following and submitting. I am still stubborn at times and say no when I should say yes. I still do the wrong thing when I know what the right thing is. I am still filthy rags compared to His goodness and holiness. But I am SO very thankful that He loves me anyway.

I just wanted to share my joy today and share again how thankful I am that God loved me enough to die for me and loves me enough now to forgive me when I do the wrong thing. For I truly believe life is hopeless and shallow without Jesus Christ as your guide.

Did you know he loves you that much too? It's true! The Bible tells it:

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:9,10 "If you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him (the son) will not perish, but will have eternal life."

Big brothers....

Kathryn lost her third tooth last night after being kicked in the mouth by her loving brother (who swore to us he didn't kick her! Sorry, kiddo - the tooth on the floor proves you did!)... It's not often Kathryn gets paid for being abused by her brother - lucky her, now she gets a trip to Dollar Tree for a new toy (or a plain ol' dollar - but she has chosen the toy so far...)

2 things

...and I call them 'Thing 1' and 'Thing 2"...no, sorry. Dr. Seuss on the brain...

Julian made this solar system for one of the sections in his Awana book:

And this beautiful iris bloomed yesterday. This particular plant had some sort of deformity last year and did not bloom. This is the first time I've seen these colors in an iris. This (and many others blooming at my house right now) are from Grandma Knight who shared with me when I told her how beautiful her flowers were. I hope one day my flower gardens look as wonderful as hers!

I had a wonderful half day off today. Not much work work, no school work. Great day!