The Final Week of Summer

I can't believe it's over...the final week of summer. I'll share with you the highlights of our week.

First, some well deserved alone time for Mom. I spent a night on Ono with old friends, Barcley and Elizabeth. It was a wonderful night...less than 24 hours...but still well worth it. We talked, ate, laughed, and enjoyed the salt air. I haven't been away from the boys for a night in two years, and it felt good. I have to say that it appeared that they did not miss me at all. Everyone was hyped for "boy weekend" and thus happy to see me go! I also had Tuesday away for a few hours. I had my first day babysitter of the summer and was able to enjoy a CGS work day with friends and lunch with former students and teacher..lots of fun!!

Other than that, we spent the week playing with friends and getting organized. Check out what we did with the massive amount of Legos we have accumulated.

We also did a little much needed organizing on the sunporch...aka play room!

And a place to hang all the paper that comes home from school!

Over the week, we furthered our love for Star Wars. Over the past couple of weeks, Chris and Philip (and Daniel if he is awake) have been watching a Star Wars movie on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Philip is becoming a little obsessed. I took them to the bookstore to spend some birthday money and then another day ot the library. You can see what we picked out!

Philip also created his list of things to do one day. Can you read it?

Saturday brought my birthday and Chris and my eleventh wedding anniversary. We celebrated Friday night with Catherine and Zack at Ruth's Chris and Saturday with the family here. GranGran and PopPop came over and enjoyed a simple supper with cake and ice cream.

I had lots of help blowing out my candle!

So, summer is coming to an end. Preschool and MDO start for Daniel and William in the morning. Philip and I have one more week together before he starts five days a week. Such an adjustment...Daniel and I will really miss him!

As I look back on our summer, I am so very thankful for the time the boys and I had. There was time to stay in our pajamas, time to swim in our backyard pool, time for bike rides around the block, time to visit with friends and family. There were milestones...birthdays, William dropping a morning nap, Daniel dropping his afternoon one. Overall, I am struck by two things.

First, the close bond that has further developed between Philip and Daniel. Our uninterrupted time together this summer has deepened that relationship and I am so thankful. I hope that they will always be such good buddies and the relationship is one they can count on as they grow up. I also hope they'll let little William in as he grows up too!

Second, I am struck by a change in my own day to day life. This summer brought the first time in five and a half years that I haven't been pregnant or nursing. With that came a freedom...freedom to slip away for an evening with friends...freedom to exercise consistently in the morning. But I am also struck by an increased lack of time to get anything done. I barely sewed a thing this summer. With afternoon naps a thing of the past, time alone is scarce and honestly I long for more of it. In due time, I know.

It was a great summer...one I know that I will remember for all of the ordinary days. I hope the boys will remember them too!

Vacation Bible School

The boys and I had a great week at Vacation Bible School. It was a remarkable week...a good one for Trinity.

You see, about five months ago, a friend and I confronted Father Matthew about the lack of funds for VBS. He graciously said if you'll lead it, I'll find you the money. We did and he did too! We had a great showing...52 children and over 40 volunteers. Not bad for a church our size.

We had an Egyptian theme. Father Matthew graciously accepted the role of Pharoh.

Even though I have helped out at VBS several times, this year was the first that my boys were able to participate. It was so much fun seeing them have a great time. They did great...no tears when having to say goodbye to Mom...no meltdowns during the day.

In addition to story, snack and games, and arts and crafts, we added a rotation of Catechises of the Good Shepherd. I spent most of my week in the atrium teaching. I loved being able to present to older children since I generally work with the 3-6 child. Much different giving the Good Shepherd to an 11 year old who really understands Jesus' symbolism of the sheep and shepherd.

Daniel loved his first exposure to CoGS and the atrium. He sat, watched, and listened like a champ. He did not seem dependent on me...very comfortable getting help from other catechists. Philip, of course, was thrilled to be back. In fact, I let him help me set up the atrium Sunday morning. I got things ready while he sat quietly for over an hour doing work. His favorite during VBS was definitely setting the altar. He loved moving on to Altar II and learning more about each of the items on the altar. Brings me such joy to see them respond so well to their time in there.

They weren't the only ones. One little girl that does not go to our church told another catechist on the last day that she "loved this room."

I compiled pictures all week for an end of the week video. I'm posting some from the atrium since many of you are unfamiliar with what we do there...

a catechist teaching how to prepare the chalice and the meaning behind the amounts of wine and water that a priest uses to do prepare the chalice

a catechist and two girls learning the gestures of the Eucharist (namely the Epiclesis and Offering) after setting the altar

a girl caring for the plant in our atrium

two boys preparing the cruets

It was a great week. It was fun to have something to do everyday, but I have to say we were a little worn out at the end of the week. I am so thankful that Scott and I decided to see it through. A huge undertaking but an even bigger reward.

Mardi Gras in July??

Ever since my boys saw this, they have been asking - no begging - to go to the Mardi Gras Museum. I told them, "we'll do it this summer." I looked over my calendar about a week ago and realized that I was running out of time. A trip was in order!

We gathered GranGran and Dee and headed downtown to check it out!

(Note: if you look closely, Chris just pointed out that Philip's sandals are on the wrong feet. Yes, I put them on. I need help with that...)

It was great! The boys weren't too interested in the numerous pictures and trains on display, but they loved the "den." In it, there were tons of costumes to choose from and a float that they could climb aboard.

We had a great time dressing up and pretending to ride. Here's some shots to share!

Sweet Daniel

Sweet Daniel, here's how I found you after "the incident"

You had fallen asleep. Long day I suppose.

It began this morning when I made the declaration that Sheep Baa-Baa needed a bath. (For those of you that do not know Sheep Baa-Baa, he is Daniel's new friend. We adopted him after the original Baa-Baa was lost in February. He had a chip inside of him that said a prayer. I haven't washed him five months due to this chip...hence he was filthy.)

You consented but refused to watch. You gave Sheep Baa-Baa a hug and kiss and I took him to my sewing table. Philip assisted me as I cut him open and removed his prayers. Philip reported back to you that "surgery was successful, Mom's sewing him up right now." When the stitches were done, Philip returned him to you for another hug and kiss. Then he was taken to the washing machine. He looks great, but I think the whole thing was a little much for you.

Then, this afternoon..."the incident" occurred. You and I were happily coloring a picture. I answered a phone call...stepped away for a minute to check on something...got off the phone...came back to color...only to discover that you decided to color on the couch...my nice one.

I was furious but kept my cool. I didn't yell...simply put you in time out. I cleaned and reminded you that you are big enough to know what surfaces are appropriate to color on. You didn't cry...listened well. I then told you that when Daddy got home he and I would discuss an appropriate punishment for you. Here's where you got me...

Tears streamed out of your precious eyes. You looked up at me and said in the most serious voice, "Mama, I don't wanna go to the lion's den." I wasn't really listening...I made you repeat it.

I was thinking a little less serious than that, son. Maybe no cartoons...no treats... Maybe no more Bible stories for a little while?? Sweet Daniel, no lion's den for you no matter the severity of the crime.

Exile

We have been living in exile...first the lake, then the beach, then a trip to Birmingham. Some planned...some not. I say exile because all were a nice break from the window renovation going on at our house!

When the boys and I returned from the lake, Chris and I decided that it would be best if we got lost again due to the mess caused by the windows. So, Mom graciously offered to travel with me and the boys to the beach.

We had a great time. Mom was a big help in that she would stay in the condo with a napping William while I took the big boys to the pool. Chris and I generally argue over who gets that quiet time when we are on vacation, but knowing that wasn't an option, I really enjoyed my time at the pool and on the beach with Philip and Daniel.


They both loved the pool. Philip is swimming all over the place and Daniel loves floating on his noodle. We were able to stay down there for hours which was nice.


Philip loved playing on the beach. The waves had created a bit of a bluff and he loved sliding down those.

Daniel did not enjoy playing on the beach. He was very concerned about the oil. The sun reflecting off the sand also seems to bother his eyes. He would play for a short time, but it was then back to the pool.

Speaking of the oil, if you didn't know about the spill, I think you could have remained clueless. It was no where to be seen or smelt. I did come across quite a bit when the boys and I began digging deep tunnels, but other than that, it wasn't around.

Wednesday brought us home and we regrouped for our trip to Birmingham. On Saturday, we headed up for Mary Frances' baptism. We made a stop at Barcley's where she entertained us with rabbit hunts, balance beam walking, and fort building in her dining room!

Then it was dinner with the Trimms. So much fun to see them and their brood. The boys all had a blast playing with their toys!


Sunday morning we headed to Church of the Advent for Mary Frances' baptism. It was a beautiful service...very powerful to watch an almost five year old respond to those difficult questions in our baptism liturgy. She did great!!


We then headed to lunch at the Springfields. I didn't take too many pictures...too many little people to watch. I wish I had one of all the children there playing baseball in their church clothes!

A great weekend spent with great friends! To say we are tired is an understatement!!

Lake Livin'

The boys and I headed to Lake Martin earlier this week to have a girls' weekend. Yes, I realize that there were more boys than girls, but the point was for Caroline, Barcley, and I to have some time together to visit.

First, you must realize that I haven't traveled alone with children since Philip was 15 months old!! I missed having Chris load the car, drive the car, etc. I was a little anxious before leaving, but we had an uneventful drive both ways.

So, what did we do?? We swam...a lot!

We played in the sandbox.

We threw rocks.

We tried to feed the ducks...they weren't too interested.

We did the slip-n-slide.

We played out on the porch. You name it, we did it...puzzles, blocks, coloring, reading books, etc. I laughed to Chris that the Springfield's taught us how to play school. We taught them how to play hunting camp...including turning markers and blocks into guns. What good influences we are!

We went for a boat ride. William's first!

We fixed a lot of meals and washed a lot of dishes!

It was a great getaway for the boys and me. It was tons of fun for me to be with old friends and even more fun to see our friendships develop among the next generation.

I loved watching Mary Frances and Philip play together. Their imaginations were big and they seldom needed much from their mothers.

My other favorite part was spending the day in our bathing suits. In fact, I think I exchanged my bathing suit for pajamas and vice versa every day!

Very relaxing...very fun! Thanks Caroline for the invite. We had a blast!!

Happy Fourth of July

Here the boys before church on the fourth...


I relaxed the church dress code so that everyone could sport their red, white, and blue!

After church and naps (for some), the Weekleys joined us for a cookout. The boys loved having the Weekley girls join them in the pool!


We grilled hamburgers and sweet potatoes and had corn pudding...cheesecake with blueberries and strawberries for dessert.

No fireworks for us...they simply start too late for this crowd. We did have a fun day with good friends.


The rest of the weekend was good too. Chris and I took the big boys to see their first movie in the theater...Toy Story 3. They were so well behaved...didn't say a word through the whole thing. We treated them to pizza afterwards.

We are off on an adventure later this week. Can't wait to give a report!