Beach Fun!

Here is a little slide show of our beach vacation. We had a fun trip.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Painting

I have a new favorite painting in my house. It's this one:
My sister painted it. I really like it on the orange wall. You can see more of her artwork here: http://zinnartstudio.blogspot.com/
Hope you enjoy it; I do.

Swim Team

We have been having a busy summer, mostly at the pool. The boys are both on the summer swim team at the YMCA. They are enjoying it and learning a lot.






Ella Beth also likes the time she is able to spend playing in the pool. And I am excited to say that for the first time ever I am a little tanner than Lee. I know it won't last long though.




Jack got to race against his good friend, Stroud. Jack swam hard, but was defeated in the end. Stroud has been swimming competitively longer. They enjoyed the friendly competition.


Moms from both teams are ask to be the timers for the races. Not a difficult job if your timer works - mine didn't. I missed a race or two, then got a new timer. I was much relieved that the problem was the timer and not the person working it!


Swim team will end in mid-July, but I'm sure we will still be swimming until the summer ends.

Granny Allday

We recently took a trip home to see the family. My grandmother was so thrilled that we came. She always enjoys seeing and spending time with the kids.

I remember spending a week every summer at Granny's house. I had so much fun. There was always kittens, puppies, or baby chicks. We would swing on the porch swing, dig in the dirt with teaspoons, play with animals, gather the eggs, work in the garden, and cook in the kitchen. She also had a big bag of scrap fabric in an old trunk. I would get some of it and she would help me make baby or Barbie clothes with it. She was a hands on kind of grandmother. I am so thankful for her.

Re - dress

I made a new dress for Ella Beth last week. Over spring break, my sister gave me a shirt that just wasn't right for her anymore. She thought it would turn into a great dress for Ella Beth. I think she was right! I took in the side seams, made the shoulder straps, and added the ruffle. It took about 2 hours. (I am a bit of perfectionist when I sew. I finish inseams with a zig-zag stitch. It takes a little more time, but I think it is worth it.) Here is the result:

A Psalm

I just thought I would share a psalm with you today that Jack wrote earlier this year. Our kids our truly blessed to have great teachers at our wonderful church!

A Psalm of Jack

I praise the Lord, oh my soul!

You gave me life, hope, mind, and strength.
You gave me to the world.
You let me live.

You are like a daisy moving in the wind.

You gave your Son to the world.
You let Him die for us
And that is all that matters.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

Ella Beth's Recital

Ella Beth and I experienced our first dance recital a few weeks ago. And it was very much an experience! I told Lee that I felt like a crazy pageant mom getting ready for the event (no offense to any pageant moms). I'll start at the beginning....

At 9:45 the morning of May 2, Ella Beth had an on stage rehearsal. She bravely went into a strange building, sat next to strange little girls, and waited for her dance teacher, Miss Debbie. While she practiced in a closed rehearsal, I met with a very stressed but organized helper of Miss Debbie's. She showed all of the moms where the dressing rooms where and answered many questions. We were told to have our girls dressed and ready to dance at 6:15. We were also told to label all items and put them in a box so they would not get lost. When our meeting was over, Ella Beth and I were off to Wal-Mart to purchase the box and aqua net (another suggestion from the organized but stressed helper). We arrived home, some time later, with a box, aqua net, and lip stick! While Ella Beth took a nap, I labeled every item and placed them in the box. Here's a list of the items in our box:
costumes - 3 with matching hair accessories
2 pair of tights
hair pins
brush
aqua net
scissors
safety pins
hair nets to help secure the bun
pony tail holders
wet wipes
make-up which included lip stick, blush, mascara, eye shadow, and brown eyeliner to be used to make her face dirty for the final performance.
The list might explain a small amount of how I felt.

At 4:00, I began getting Ella Beth ready for her big event. We started with fresh nail polish. Then, we put up her hair, did her makeup, and put on the costume for her first performance. She was a beautiful little princess!
At 5:00, Ella Beth, Will, and I left so that we could get pictures made and save some seat. I'm sure you are wondering why Will would come with us. Well, on this same night at about the same time, Jack was awarded his webalos badge for boy scouts. (I'll post pictures of that later). Because Lee had to be with Jack, I took Will to save our seats. His job was to tell everyone that these seats were taken and patiently wait for me to get Ella Beth settled backstage. He did an outstanding job! By the end of the evening, Will had sat waiting and watching the performance for 4 hours. All I can say is wow!

Ella Beth had 3 dance routines. Each time, I had to go back and get her ready for the next performance. It was crazy backstage, lots of little girls and lots of moms. Ella Beth did a great job of staying with her group and getting ready for each performance. Here are some pictures of each routine and how she occupied herself backstage. We had a great evening, even though it was long, and look forward to doing it again.