SOME LIKE IT HOT-WEEKEND RECAP!

The weather that is!

Honestly, I don't know how people handle living in over 100 degree weather! That's how it was here all weekend! It was crazy!

It seems like we've been on the go since last Friday! With different functions going on all weekend, it felt like we were moving non-stop!

We cancelled our home fellowship on Friday night because our two older kids (plus a few of our friends kids) were involved in the skit that the kids in day camp performed that evening. My kids were not in the play, they were there helping out all week. After the play, we all just hung out at church with our friends and chilled out!

There's Miranda on the left and my friends kids who were getting ready to paint the kids faces! Because they helped out at day camp, they are able to take $25 of the summer camp fee!

Miranda painting a tiger face!

"The Guys." That's my hubby on the far left. It's hilarious being around them!! All our kids are good friends too. What a blessing!

I call Miranda a poser because she's always trying to look cool in her pictures! That's her and her BFF! Her dad is the one in the white shirt above.

Isaiah (on the far left) and his buddies. These boys are awesome! They can be goofy and silly, but they all respect each other! I love them! All these boys take turns sleeping at each others houses!! I think I saw Isaiah one day last week..lol!

On Saturday, our church had an outreach that consisted of a bbq, 3 on 3 basketball tournament, and a demo by professional Christian skateboarders. Approximately 20 kids got saved that day! Isn't that awesome??!! Besides the 103 degree weather, it was all good!

Here's Danny taking a break from skateboarding. Can you see the dirt on his sweaty face?

"You go, honey!!" My baller! LOL!

After the outreach, we all headed to a birthday party at the park. Of course, it had to be the hottest weekend, ever!!! It was fun though. More bbq, and more sports for the guys!

Love this picture I took of Veronica, Danny, and my friends girls. She has five girls all together! Her eldest is Miranda's friend above!

I don't know how the guys were able to play football in that crazy heat! See the shade at the bottom of the picture. That's where all the girls were sitting! We're the smart ones! :)

Sunday was Eli's birthday! After church, a bunch of us went to Hometown Buffet! Can you imagine seeing this bunch of kids walking into a restaurant? After lunch, they all went to our friends house to go swimming!

Later in the evening, I bought his cake. I know..bad mom! I told him that I would have baked him a cake if it wasn't 100 degrees outside! He totally understood and didn't mind that I bought an ice cream cake from the grocery store! It was really good, too! In case you're wondering what's on the top, they are Oreo cokies! So, that was pretty much our weekend in a nutshell! Busy, but fun!!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

I am linking up with my friend, Mom's The Word to participate in her Monday meme, "Making Your Home Sing Monday." It's a day when we share what we are doing to bless our families in our home. If you would like to join in, click here.

My husband and I are co-teaching a class that they are having at church every Wednesday night. I'm sure most of you have heard of Tedd Tripp's book, "Shepherding A Child's Heart."

We're not actually "teaching" because every week we watch a couple of sessions from his DVD, and afterward there is table time for us to discuss some questions that are given to us.

This will be the third week of the class and we have already learned so much from it. Honestly, every week we are convicted!!! Even a seasoned parent has much to glean from these videos.

What he focuses on is the matter of the heart issues. The bible says, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34b. Without getting to the heart issue, we will only fix a problem on the surface. We can manipulate our kids to behave the way we want them to, but that is not getting to the root of it.

We will never reach our kids with the gospel, for example, if we say, "Stop acting like that! You're being so obnoxious! I've had it with you today! Oh, and Jesus loves you and died on the cross for you."

You see, it will never fit together, my friends. We have to get to the heart, and what is it in their hearts that is causing them to behave a certain way. Our words can't change it, but Gods word can. That's the only way. Yes, it will take time, and you have to be consistent, but in the long run, it will all be worth it. And really, while the Lord will be working in their heart(s), He will work in your hearts too.

Jesus will always be involved as long as you are focusing on the heart issues!!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY, ELI!

Eli, my third child, is turning 9 years old today!

Wow...where did the time go?

Ever since he was a baby, he had the sweetest disposition. He hardly whined, he never complained, he loved to cuddle, and he just melted your heart with his "smiley eyes."

Here you are, almost at one year old. So sweet! (I had to scan this photo).

When you meet him, you know there is something special. He is ALWAYS looking for the positive in any situation, and genuinely cares for the people he meets. I still remember when he was around 6 years old, his Sunday school teacher would tell me that he was such a blessing in the class because he would not goof off with the other kids. He'd start drawing and that would attract all the boys to him because they were curious about what he was doing.

He's polite, sincere, a leader, sensitive, artistic, smart, loving, creative, and a good friend. Most of all, he loves the Lord! He does not hold back his faith, and will ask questions now and then that will baffle us!

I just pray that we continue to train him up in the Lord, and that God will use him mightily for His kingdom!!

Eli at day camp, doing what he loves the most!

Happy Birthday, my sweet son! You bless us more than you know!

MY MOM + NEW LAPTOP = HEADACHE

When I was a guest poster over at Roni's blog "Stacy Family In Dallas," I wrote this story about my mom getting a new laptop. I thought it was funny, so I thought I'd share it with you guys too!!

Here ya go:

My grandma and a couple of my aunts pitched in to get my mom a laptop for her birthday. My mom recently got laid off from her job, and without a computer at home, it can be very inconvenient to have to go to the library to use one. Especially looking for a new job..it's just hard!

Anyway, they had it sent here because they knew I would be able to get it started for her, and help her out with the basic functions. My mom was super excited to come over the next day and try it out!

But, before she came, I had to pray and ask the Lord to PLEASE give me the patience to show her how to use it because..uh..how do I say this nicely...things can just go right over her head sometimes. You get what I'm saying?

Anywho..I showed her how to turn on the laptop, open the DVD drive, bookmark pages, shut it down..you know...all the basic knowledge she needs to have. I felt pretty confident that she could handle it from there! I think she was mostly excited that she could play CD's and DVD's on it! LOL!

She ends up calling me about 30 minutes later, after she gets home, and we were back at square one.

I want to share some of the questions she was asking me. It's hilarious now just thinking of it, but not at the time!

I'm not making any of this up..I promise you! Here goes...

"I just talked to Auntie Ofelia (her sister), and she was wondering how I could watch a DVD if I didn't have internet service yet?"

"The DVD player isn't working. Am I supposed to turn the computer on for it to work?"

"Do I need Wi-Fi to watch a DVD?"

"It doesn't have a handle?"

"Does it have Ebay?"

"You mean, I can bring this to the library and use it there?"

"Do I have to stand in the kitchen while I'm using this?"

There was probably more, but those are the ones that stick out the most. I don't even want to tell you what my answers were to her because then you would think I was very rude..LOL!

She started getting frustrated and said, "I'm just going to turn this off. I'm scared I'm going to break it. How do I do that again?"

Gotta love her!

Oh..and just an update. She is very comfortable with her laptop now, and she also visits my blog everyday! HI MOM!

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Just sign in to Mr. Linky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

1972-1973

I'm taking you back...way back, to Moffett Field, California! We dad was in the Navy and we were stationed there. We lived there up until I started Kindergarten. I had to be around 3 or 4 years old, and yes, I was skating already!! Those weren't the plastic wheels, those were the old school metal wheels..lol. And as you can see, my parents did not worry about me spraining my ankle (see the unlaced boots). It' so funny when I look at this picture because Veronica totally has my legs!

This picture is a little blurry because I'm sure I was skating, and back then, the cameras didn't have the "sport" option. Oh, and I just remembered something! My dad took my sister and I roller skating when I was in elementary school (in fact, it's the same place we take our kids to go roller skating now) and I remember him skating so good! He was rexing and skating backward! I found out later that he was a roller skating champ in the Philippines when he was a teenager!!! No wonder my kids picked up on it so quick..heehee.

18/52 PICTURES OF ME

I'm participating in a year long challenge, created by Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans. The goal is to be in one picture a week, for 52 weeks. Since us moms are always behind the camera, this gives us a chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. So, click here if you want to join in on the fun!

This was taken last week during the kids day camp at church. That's Isaiah on the far left, Veronica behind him, and his buddy Freddy sitting next to me. What a busy, long week! I didn't even really do anything, but I was so wiped out by Friday!

WORDLESS & WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

I think we have another little artist in the family!

This is one of the many art projects my kids did at day camp at our church last week. Isn't it beautiful? I think she did an awesome job!

Be sure to visit 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday, and 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday.

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT...

TO TAKE A GROUP PICTURE???

CASE AND POINT...

We went out to lunch for Father's Day (sorry no pictures of the food this time, but I assure you it was delicious Mexican food), and before we left I wanted to take a nice picture of my husband with the kids.

Who would think that saying "cheese" would be such a huge challenge? "Cheese," then "click." Simple, right? You would think they would know the drill by now.

(Oh, and no editing or cropping on the photos...I'm too lazy today, so you can click on the picture to enlarge it)

Okay...look up please!
Veronica looking at Eli's FIRST balloon going up, up, and away!
My bad...wrong setting (but they're not looking anyway).
Miranda, stop texting, Eli, open your eyes, Veronica, fix your bangs, and Isaiah, get the balloon out of your face!Eli, the sun isn't that bright! And Miranda, why are you bending down? Oh, Veronica, fix your bangs please.
Stop flexing, Veronica, and fix your bangs! And Eli, open your eyes just for a second!Isaiah, please stand up straight, Miranda, stop laughing, Veronica, put your arm down, Danny, please smile just one more time, and Eli, stop squinting...PLEASE!Isaiah, stand up straight, and Eli, fix your face next time.
Isaiah fix your face, Danny please smile and Gabe are you going to sneeze?
Ahh..forget it...I give up...

Is it just me, or do any of you go through this too?

MAKING YOUR HOME SING MONDAY

I am linking up with my friend, Mom's The Word to participate in her Monday meme, "Making Your Home Sing Monday." It's a day when we share what we are doing to bless our families in our home. If you would like to join in, click here.

My kids thoroughly enjoyed Day Camp last week at our church! It was a long day, no doubt. 9-3 for a homeschooler is a long day!!! But, they had tons of fun, and church is literally like our second home anyway!

ART was the theme for last week's camp, and this week's theme is Cooking and Drama! Well, Eli told me he doesn't want to do it because he did the cooking last year. Well, with more pressing, he also said he doesn't want to wake up early again..LOL! Of course, Daniel wants to do EVERYTHING Eli does, so he doesn't want to go either. Miranda liked helping last week, and Veronica wants to go to camp, so I will be dropping off the girls' every morning.

This week, I will dedicate my time to the boys, and I'm excited about that! Of course, Isaiah is included with that too! I'm not sure what we'll be doing, but I'm sure whatever it is, it will be fun! My home will sing because everyone is where they want to be!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children.

He's affectionate, strong, caring, protective, and loves the Lord.

When they see his truck or van pull up, they go crazy! They"ll run outside and start yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!" What a blessing!

Just like so many other fathers, he would do anything he possibly could for them, and he always puts their needs (even mine) before his. He would rather spend all his time with his family than do anything else.

Of course, he does do other things on his own..lol. For someone with a broken bone in his lower back, you would never know it! There is literally not one lazy bone in his body. He works hard all day (gets up at 3:45 to start at 5 and done by 1:30), but yet will still have the energy to exercise and still have quality time with the family. But, you know what he would say to all of that? He would say it was only through God that he could do this. It's not of his own strength, but the Lords. I love how he wants to be aligned with Gods word, and to be obedient to what His will is for our family.

This picture was from last fall at the end of the soccer season. He has coached my oldest sons team for 7 years now, and has coached each of our childrens teams at one time or another. For a few years he has always coached two teams at a time.

He worked at church for a few weeks when he was laid off. God is good because we did not go without during that time! We went to visit him one day, and you can see that Veronica was so happy to see her daddy!

This is from a few months ago. Danny was helping him put a dresser together. I know I've shared this before, but I just love this picture!

Everyone says that Eli looks like Gabe, but I don't think so..lol. We think he must really look like Gabe's biological family because he totally does not look like anyone on my side of the family.

Daddy's girls'! This was at the Father-Daughter Princess Ball at our church last September. I can't wait for the next one this year!!

And here he is doing what he loves the most....worshipping the Lord! This was during our home fellowship. LOL, Isaiah looks like he's in a daze, but he's looking at music notes.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, HONEY! WE LOVE YOU!

DAY CAMP SUCCESS!

I tell ya, I was pooped out by Friday and I didn't really do anything. It was the kids who were busy for those six hours everyday, and I pretty much just took pictures and helped out here and there! They did so many awesome projects, and on Friday, they put on an art show for the parents! Instead of me showing you tons of pictures of my kids working on the art work, I will share pictures of the actual "art show." I think you will be impressed with these kids!

I also want to mention that we're so blessed by our Children's Ministry Leaders. All this was handled by three women, who took care of every detail. There is soooooo much work that goes on behind the scenes, and for the most part, it goes unnoticed.

My children's favorite project was definitely these paper mache masks! I love how they have them displayed on this cardboard tree! On the table are sandcastles, but the mixture was sand and glue so this way it would be permanent! That was probably the messiest project of them all!

This was really cool too! They blew up black & white photos of the kids faces, cut them in half, and the kids got to draw the other side of their face. A semi-self portrait! The 3rd-5th graders did this project.

Now, this is a project the 4-7 year olds did. They had the same black & white photos, but they had them just cut their face and eyes out and glue it on a piece of paper. They partially glued the eyes down, but if you flip it open, they drew their eyes on the paper too. They also decorated around the face by drawing hair, etc.

If you are familiar with my blog, then you will notice that these lighthouse paintings look very familiar! Well, that's because one of the teachers is Eli's art teacher on Mondays!

Some of you may recognize that picture in the middle. It is called "Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh. I think the kids did an amazing job with their interpretation of it!

More Starry Night paintings!

Aren't these gorgeous?

If you look at the first picture with the banner, you will see two vases with flowers. Both of the age groups had to paint them.

More vase paintings!

The "wall flowers." Can you believe these were paintings done by the 4-7 year olds! They are all so awesome!


And there ya go!

Next week...cooking and drama!!

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Just sign in to Mr. Linky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

Norfolk, Virginia 1995

My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary that year! I still remember buying my ticket at the last minute because I procrastinated so much! I'm pretty sure my family thought I was going to flake out on the whole thing! It was nice to travel back east to see my mom's side of the family! Going to my grandparents home always feels so relaxing! I only have the best memories of them growing up! They always wanted to make my sister and I happy, and they never got annoyed with us! Well, I'm sure they did, but they never showed it. I pray that I will be the same with my grandkids!

This is us before we headed to church that morning. It was beautiful to see them renew their vows! My mom on the far left, my grandparents in the middle, and myself on the far right.

Later in the evening, my grandparents were surprised to find out that my mom, aunts, and uncles chipped in to have a reception at a hotel! I remember being relieved to finally put my hair down and change into another outfit! It was really fun dancing with my family that night, but I do remember sitting here with my mom because my feet WERE KILLING ME!