Amazing Video...please watch

This video is of the song Slow Fade by Casting Crowns. It's shows how one sinful decision can lead to a multitude of problems and destroy a family. It is powerful.

Looking for God

Tonight at church, Kent was leading singing. He had already led a few songs when I noticed Austin looking up at the ceiling. I guess I gave him a puzzled look because he looked back at me and said matter of fact, "I'm looking for God."

I pray that I can have eyes like my child. That I can look for God anywhere, everywhere, and anytime.

On another note, I'm really going to miss the Olympics. I've been a junkie these last 2 weeks. My favorites have been gymnastics and swimming. But I would often catch myself getting really engulfed in a good sport I'm not accustomed to watching like... water polo. Never watched it before, but it really kept my attention while I was at the gym one day. Also, the women's triathlon. Wow, I would love to be able to do that. Swim, bike, then run. Amazing. So, I was wondering....if you could have your dream fulfilled and be in the Olympics (pretend your still in your late teens or early 20's) what sport would you be competing in? Me...remember this is a dream...I would love to be a gymnast.

I was also wondering if any of you teared up during a medal ceremony while the national anthem played. Just curious.

Have a great week dear friends. Keep your eyes open and look for God.

Great day!

How can I have a 2nd grader and a pre-K4? I can't believe how old they are getting. I swear they both grew a foot over the summer. Rain, rain, go away.

Big blue eyes!

The boys both had a great day for their first day of school. Derek does NOT like change, so he teared up a bit this morning. He gets so nervous with anything out of the norm. Bless his heart, I'm not sure why he is this way and I must admit, it gets really frustrating. I walked him to where his class was sitting in the hallway, talked to a few of his classmates, and turned around to say bye and he's all teary. Being that he cried himself to sleep last night, I was in no mood to deal with it this morning. I told him I loved him, that I would not come pick him up if he threw up (something he can do on command) and I would be back at 3:15 to pick him up. I know no mother of the year awards are in my future, but Kent and I both feel we can't "give in" to him crying about so many things. Last night I reminded him of how smart he is and about how many friends he has. I told him he should be so confident, not so scared. Any advice from all you blogger friends on how to deal with him?

Of course this afternoon he was all smiles and said "You were right, mom. It was his best first
day ever!" So prayerfully, tomorrow will be much smoother than this morning.

Austin is a different bird all together. He was so excited and couldn't go to sleep fast enough last night. He walked in this morning like an old pro. All smiles when I picked him up, too. Yea!

As you can see from the pictures, I has rained ALL day. These are from our back yard. We haven't seen it this bad and we've lived in this house for 6 1/2 years. Rain is in the forecast for the whole week.

Last Day of Summer

Really the actual last day of summer is September 21. But in my children's eyes, today's the day. School starts tomorrow at 7:55. Derek is having mixed emotions. He's excited but knows he's going to miss staying up late and sleeping in. Me too! I am not sure how Austin will act tomorrow. He begins 4 yr. old preschool. He gets dropped off at 8 and picked up at 11:30. I have missed the quite mornings with Brylee that we enjoyed at the end of last school year. It will be great to have those back. Also, it's going to be much easier to make it to the gym just getting Brylee ready. It has been a struggle to get all 4 of us up there these past few weeks.

The agenda today is to wash clothes and clean the boys room (with their help). We are going to take the boys bowling today, too. One more afternoon of fun before summer ends. : )

Pictures from our vacation

Ok...once again, I know you all are used to this...these pictures are in the opposite order that I wanted them in. You'd think I would remember from time to time how to do that. Oh well! Here are some pics from our time in Branson and Lake Norfork.

The fam in front of Sight and Sound Theater.

Waiting patiently for the musical to begin.
This is inside Marvel Cave.
The wound before stitches.
Jason and Kent tubing.
Austin helping Jody drive.
Brylee and Jarett enjoying Fred's Catfish. Yum, Yum!
Sweet boy lovin' on his momma and daddy.
Beautiful sunset on the lake.

A nice time away!

Our family just returned from a wonderful time away from our usual rut. We left town Sunday after morning services and headed to Lake Norfork. We spent two days with my immediate family playing on the lake and eating some delicious steak and catfish. I know...I'm headed back to the gym on Monday!

On Tuesday the five of us drove 2 hours north to Branson for some family fun. We went to see "Noah the Musical". It was really fantastic. The play lasted 2 1/2 hours and both boys stayed awake the entire time! That tells you how spellbinding it was. Brylee was entertained for the first hour and then fell fast asleep for the remainder of the time.

Wednesday was spent at Silver Dollar City. We were there when the doors opened and left 30 minutes before they closed. It was so fun and the boys had a blast and behaved so well! We explored Marvel Cave, too. Over 600 stairs and 550 feet below the Earth's surface. Really cool!

After we got back to the hotel the boys, though tired, were ready for some time at the pools (one indoor and one outdoor). We all put our suits on and headed out. One hour later we were in the Skaggs Community Hospital ER waiting for Austin to have 3 stitches put in his chin. He was having a great time in the hot tub and was changing sides, when he slipped and hit his chin on the outside of the tub. He was a real trooper. The Branson ER is an interesting place. Lots of tourists...grandparents and their grand kids, moms and dads with kids in tow (like us), etc. It doesn't take too much to fill a waiting room when you have to bring the whole family. We were there for 3 hours!!!!!!! But we made a memory!

Thursday was our departure day. We went to Playtime Pizza and spent over 3 hours before heading out. I'll post some pictures soon. I haven't even downloaded them yet. Today was spent washing clothes and putting things back where they belong. All in all, it was a wonderful time spent with my sweet family. Another great vacation in the books!