A Little Bit of This & That...

The month of June has come and gone in a blur of activity! Birthday parties, Eclipse parties, time by the pool, picture shoots in the woods, and of course beloved down time!

This summer we decided not to spend our money on a vacation. I thought at first it might be a little boring, but we have found lots of ways to fill the time! We have all enrolled in a summer reading program with our local library, spent countless numbers of hours by the pool, caught lots of fireflies, eaten too much junk food, and stayed up way too late! And we still have another month :)

I don't want summer to speed by too quickly though...I know with all three boys in school this up coming year is going to fly!!

Hope you are taking the time to enjoy your summer as well!

SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMERTIME!!!

Well, I can't fully exhale yet...I am taking 6 hours for my masters and going through the Ketucky Reading Project. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel...July is in sight, and with July comes the end of classes!!!!

To celebrate the beginning of summer, and the death of our camera, we bought a new one. A new glorious, wonderful camera. A Canon Rebel XS!!!

We love it and the pictures it takes! We are still learning, but playing around with it is half the fun!!! I am still waiting for one of those cool evenings where the kids and the hubby are all in fairly good, cooperative moods. When this blessed event does happen (or should I say if) I am loading everyone up in the new mode of transportation and heading out to Kevin's grandparents to have an impromtu photo shoot in the woods!!

Love, love, love this picture below. A little wine (for the adults) + Jazz + potatoes + butter knives + my boys= some good times!!!

Well, WKU is calling me...be back later to talk about the pool, it's pivotal role in our lives, and our new wheels!

Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words

God...Give Me the Strength!

Take a look at our van...

It was a good van! We loved it since the day we bought it. Countless trips to Wal-Mart, doctor runs, trips to the beach, even a trip up the east coast!! Yes, many memories were made in this van.

And gosh darn if some lady didn't just take all that away in a split second! One minute I am sitting in the van (with two of my boys!!!!!!) waiting to turn, the next second I'm watching this blur fly into us and my world is changed...Now I know it could have been much worse, but because that lady was not paying attention my family has been affected! Our van is totaled, my son and I had to go to the ER, I have a bruised bone in my wrist and a severe sprain, and my children are slightly skiddish about getting in a car. All because of her bad choice!!!! Obviously I am still having some issues dealing with this...I don't know how or when we will all feel better about this, I don't know when my heart will stop pounding in my chest every time I see someone come up behind me, I don't know what we are going to do about another van, but what I do know that my God can handle this situation.

Let's switch gears shall we.

Tonight the two ladies that I teach with and myself were recognized at our Board of Education meeting. We recieved the Star Cluster award. Our school uses the CHILD model of teaching, and we LOVE it! To read more about it click here. I went sans brace and boy I am paying for it now.

Say a prayer for us. At least we are entering the home stretch...summer break is in sight!!!!

I absolutely love this! I want to raise Godly children...some days I do better than others, but it is my desire to instil in them morals, a definite sense of right and wrong, respect, and soooo much more!!! I spend every weekday working with a lot of children who haven't been taught this, and it just breaks my heart. I know my tongue is often too sharp and my patience thin, but it is my prayer that as my boys grow up some (if not all) of these things shine through.

Our first "official" day of Spring Break and we decided to head to Mammoth Cave. I have wonderful childhood memories of family reunions there, so it's important to make sure my children have a bank of good memories to draw from as well. This was our view as we walked from the car to the Visitor's Center to get our cave tickets. Ahhh, so sweet you might say. I nudged my husband and said quick! Get the camera out they're not fighting!!!! For the oldest and youngest to get along, much less hug each other is an act of God! They are sooooo much alike it isn't even funny, and that's putting it mildly!
We had an absolute blast hiking! We were on the trails for about 2-3 hours!!! And boy did we hear the whinning on the way back to the Visitor's Center for lunch...
I think it's safe to say they got their fill!

My boys crack me up...yes, they are all boy-rolling in the mud, wrestling over nothing, going from 0-100 in 2 seconds flat...BUT when a wasp/bee/moth/fly buzzes by- you would think their very lives are being threatened! This area had to be 100% secure before Alex would even dream of stepping in, and the other two were off when the first bee buzzed. Boys will be boys I guess, and I know I wouldn't trade my FOUR for the world!

**I picked up something on the way home...check back for a post on it!!

Life Is Good...

Wow...it's been awhile folks, and things have been busy!! KTIP is finally over and I no longer have extra busy work piled on my plate...what a sigh of relief. The weather around here has been beautiful and to top it off, we are starting our Spring Break...WOOHOO! No big plans, just hanging out with the hubby and boys.

But in the spirit of Easter I decided to play Betty Crocker and make this...

It wasn't the most fun thing to do, but my baker son liked to help.

Getting a family picture at our house is like finding gold in your backyard...darn near impossible! I was determined to get one of us today...see how the whole family one turned out...

Alex crying, no pretty flowers, and lots of asphalt.


If only Landen would have kept his eyes opened, it might not have been half bad. Oh well, I'll take a head full of wonderful memories from today over a good picture any day! It was chocked full of fun...hope you enjoyed the day as well!