long awaited pictures of our summer so far

Kids and Great-grandma at Price Chopper posing next to the coke flag. The trip to town was a fun one, filled with laughter and Brach candy.

Can you tell he is excited to be done with 4th grade for the time being??:)

The kids goofing off on their first official day of summer break.

Playing chinese checkers with Great grandma

Spending time with a new baby cousin

Nathaniel looking cool in Eskridge, Kansas.

kids are ready to learn how to make great-grandma's famous apple jelly. Nathaniel's got the jars ready and Hannah has the sugar:)

Here are the pictures I promised along with some from our marriage retreat. It was an amazing time. The information was eye opening. What a get-away!! Only thing is making it happen in our home. Wow, so much more difficult to live a married life the way God asks. Old habits die hard!

The kids had a great time with Noel and Lorna. They spent one day mostly playing Mario party. It was great for Lorna to just be a kid. They went to the Shreveport boardwalk and got to ride the trolley too. Lots of memories made there while Chris and I tried to remember why we got married to each other:)

We came back and jumped right back into life, as vacation bible school was the very next day. It went smooth and I enjoyed so much working with the friends of mine from church in the preschool and kindergarten area. We made bracelets, picture frames, treasure maps, apple magnets, bookmarks, statue of liberty dress outfits. It was a fun time!

This week we are trying to get caught up at home. Laundry, dishes, and all that fun stuff has been put off the last 3 weeks, so we have plenty to do. Also this week, Chris has an appointment with the intestinal doctor, who will tell us what he thinks of chris' hernia and whether or not a surgery is impending this summer. I hope not, but we will see. I have a feeling they will want to repair it as it has been the cause of some intestinal issues for C.

We have a few weeks until church camp at Dry Gulch, which is located near Tulsa. I am looking forward to the experience the kids will have with church camp as well as the experience it will be for me as a mom.

Thats about it. Its been a busy summer, and we are glad the busiest part of it is over. Just want to enjoy my time off and hang with my kiddos.

Summer begins

Well, as I sit here unable to sleep, I am amazed that summer is already here. We spent the last week in Kansas with my grandma. What an amazing time! I cherish her company so much and just hearing her talk and laughing with her and gleaning from her wisdom, I wish she lived closer. It was so nice to get away from here and just rest in her hospitality and comfort. I must say coming home was hard.
When I got here, the reality of all the things I have to do was overwhelming. We head to Houston this coming weekend to go to the Weekend to Remember marriage retreat. I am looking forward to that as I hope to learn more of how I can make our marriage better. The kids will be staying with Noel and Lorna. We will come back and jump right into vbs. I am the preschool craft director, so that will be fun. I don't feel as prepared, but thanks to another lady in church, the crafts are set up, i will just need to get them implimented. That is what I will do the next 3 days, as well as figure out what we are going to decorate with.
Since last post, Hannah turned 9 as well as was baptized. She is growing up right before our eyes! Nathaniel too. I am not sure I am ready for them to be all grown up. They will be going to church camp for the first time this summer as well. I am going as a sponsor. The camp is up near Tulsa, so that will be nice. Right before we leave for camp, we will travel back to Kansas to see my brother, his wife and my niece before they fly to china for 2 years. We are hoping to get all 4 of us and our spouses there that weekend. If we can do that, it will be the first time us siblings and our spouses have been together ever. That is pretty sad to say, but we are hoping to make it work. Someone has always been "Missing in action" when we have had get-togethers. Mostly Chris has been the missing one. If we can coordinate it right and get everyoone there, it would make a really neat family picture!
We still have lab puppies. They are over 10 weeks old. We really need to find them homes, so if anyone needs a sweet puppy, please let us know.
That about sums up the last few months. I was super busy finishing online school, graduating, finishing up preschool, prepping and holding their graduation, and awards assemblies. All that plus Hannah's birthday was in one week, almost. It was crazy. Anyways, when I get a chance, i will update some photos. I have many to share.