I know two little kids that have summer fever and they're momma isn't far behind them!! Today they wanted to put on their swimsuits and go swimming in the tub. Fine with me! They had fun and it kept them busy. At one of our MOPS meetings last year, we had a speaker that talked about all the fun experiences she let her children have. Of course, your answer can't always be "yes", but it's important to just let the kids live out their ideas sometimes even though it may be inconvenient for us as moms... like having a picnic in the back of the minivan or taking all the pillows off the couch to dive onto. And it makes for really great pictures in the future. I remember when...

T minus 14! Exactly two weeks from today I'll be leaving for Orlando to run my first ever HALF MARATHON! Of course, I like to do things big so we'll be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon on March 7th! There are 8 of us going - all ladies from church, all different ages and in all different stages of life. I'm really looking forward to getting to know everyone better and to have an awesome time hanging out in Orlando. It's going to be a blast!

Here are six of the eight of us (Sorry, Shannon. I stole your picture, but it was really good!)

Ivey loves to take pictures. And, I try to let her use her creative abilities as much as I can stand. However, she hasn't quite mastered the art of cleaning up her messes, so those times usually just consist of crayons and paper... she gets paint, play dough or craft supplies every once in a while. One of her favorite arts is photography. It's always interesting to look at the pictures after she has a photo shoot because she takes pictures of random objects around the house...

Here we have a very beautiful picture of a torn advertisement from the newspaper.

Intriguing, I know.

Here we have one of Gavin's favorite toys, a truck.

Of course, we cannot forget Ivey's most favorite food group. Candy!!!!!

And we abolutely couln't leave out the self-portrait.

If that isn't talent, I don't know what is. :)

And, yes, I have been crafting a little bit lately. My neice just turned one and I wanted to make a really cute gift for her. I finally had the idea to make a few cute applique shirts. And, yes, I cut the pattern, picked out the fabric and sewed them all on by myself! I especially love the Sunbonnet Sue applique. I happened up on the pattern while I was searching for new ideas on the internet. I picked the Sunbonnest Sue because my sister especially loves all the quilts that my grandmother made with them and I love the antiqueness of the Sunbonnet Sue. I think she'll love it! We'll be on our way to Charleston this weekend for my niece's birthday party and to spend time with my sister. It will be a fun weekend!

And, yes, we did take Gavin to Chuck E Cheese for his 4th birthday. The only friend he wanted to invite was a neighbor friend. Even after we suggested other friends, he still only wanted to invite Will. Will also happens to have a twin sister, Emma, so it worked out quite perfectly for Gavin and Ivey both to have someone to play with. So, off we went to Chuck E Cheese (aka Germ Fest) on a rainy Saturday night. It was quite crowded, but the kids didn't care and all in all we had a great time. The only problem now is that Gavin asks every day if we can go back. I'm trying really hard not to say "Son, you don't know how hard I try to not get within 100 yards of that place." So, I smile and say, "Sure, honey. We'll go back one day." The following day we had a family party for him. He had a great birthday weekend.

Yes, I know... it's been almost a month since I posted last. Life is busy with the every day needs and wants of the family, time with my husband, church activities, personal interests and hobbies and trying to live in the grace and mercy of Jesus. Also, I begin to think... does anybody really care that I took my kid to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday? Or that I made a cute little shirt for my niece? Or that I'm praying about one of the biggest, life-changing decisions of my life so far... homeschooling my teenager? So, I guess it is what it is and I guess people are interested. At least I'll pretend that they are today.

So, here goes...

The last few weeks have been a time of realizing, once again, that God is so much bigger than me yet he cares about every small detail of my existance. He cares that I felt like I was hitting a brick wall with my teenage son, so he sent me to a discipleship class called "The Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens." Yes, it has been most definitely a God-send that has changed my life. Literally.

My teenage son and I now spend each night not only praying before he goes to sleep but reading from the Bible. For lots of reasons, more than I have time to write and more than you have time to read, this is huge. God has made me keenly aware of the spiritual warfare surrounding my child and I will not allow Satan to devour him. I will do everything in my power, by the One whose power is within me, to protect, to teach, to show and to live out the importance of living for Christ each day.