Substitute Teachers

Chris and I can now add substitute teacher to our resume. We substituted in Ashlyn's Sunday school class yesterday and in Avery's class last month. I always have a renewed appreciation for teachers when I attempt to teach or be 'in charge of' a group of kids. And I also have a better appreciation of my own children and their behavior as well. I am equally impressed by how much these young children know and believe about Jesus at such a young age. I enjoyed being a part of teaching these children and our girls really were excited for their mom and dad to be the teachers.

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

Saturday was Maddox's 5th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! This is one of Ashlyn and Avery's favorite places to go. They both love the games and Ashlyn loves winning the tickets and trading them in for prizes. Ashlyn actually won 100 tickets in one turn on a game this time. She was so excited as she watched all 100 tickets spurt out of the machine. Ashlyn and Maddox are pretty good buddies even though they don't see each other very often. The whole family had a fun time celebrating Maddox's birthday and playing games, eating pizza and seeing Chuck E!

Ashlyn is a planner!

As I'm typing, Ashlyn is making a Christmas list (in the middle of July)! I'd say she is quite a planner, much more so than me! On her list... Chixos (version of Pixos-thanks tv commercials!), Webkinz, American Girl doll, books, movies. I better make a mental note!

Finally, potty-training is accomplished!

Avery did it... she decided to accomplish potty training! We started last Monday, July 20, 2009. I decided we'd go "cold-turkey"... no pull-ups except at bedtime. She had a few accidents on Monday, but only one accident each day from Tues-Thurs. Thursday's accident just happened to be in the middle of Target, but at least she didn't leave a puddle! We stayed home all week until Thursday to really focus this time around (this is our 3rd attempt over the past 6 months). I think the trick this time was being able to stay home and truly focus only on potty training. We were just too busy with school and other activities during the school year to be able to stay home and focus. Avery seemed to learn very quickly. I think she finally was willing to do it; she IS a bit head strong at times! I did also change on other aspect of the training this time... "positive reinforcement", a.k.a. bribery! I tried to avoid it the first 2 times but this time is was inevitable. I bribed her with skittles. Every time she used the potty without an accident, she received a couple of skittles. It worked! She is very much like me though, in that she would rather 'hold it' forever than use a public bathroom. It has been one week since starting the training, and I think we can call it, mission accomplished!

So, it's official... I no longer have a 'baby'! No more diapers, she calls me 'mom' now instead of mommy, she's become a 'chatty Kathy' with so much to say, she wants to pick out her own clothes each morning, and she is sprouting upward like a weed! But, she is still my little cuddle bear who loves to hug and sit in my lap.

Vacation Bible School

WOW! What an amazing week! We just finished a week of learning about Jesus and having fun with friends. Ashlyn, Avery and Abbie had a great week and they woke up each morning excited for the day ahead at VBS. Our church's theme was Camp E.D.G.E. (experience and discover God everywhere). I was a leader for Ashlyn's 5 year old group- 15 of them actually! Ryann was in our group also. We had a blast learning about God through music, crafts, science, drama and recreation. My favorite was the music. Ashlyn said her favorite part was, "all of it". She especially enjoyed Friday's water games with water squirters and water balloon fights. The songs are so catchy and send such an uplifting message. The girls and I found ourselves singing the songs throughout the day all week long... "L-E-T-S, G-O". I was amazed to see what an impression this week had on Abbie. She learned and believed right away that "Jesus is my friend" and talked about it with us a lot with much enthusiasm. Moments like these are what bring me and the 200+ volunteers back each year.

We also participated in VBS at Payton and Hudson's school, FBC of McKinney, in June. They had a "Boomerang Express" Australian theme. I again volunteered in Ashlyn's group, although I requested (but was not assigned) to be in Avery's group so I could have a chance to volunteer in each girl's group. This was another amazing week and I left there each day feeling positive, happy, renewed and energetic, despite the time and energy required to make each day a success for the kids that attended each day. The girls had so much fun, despite not knowing a single person on the first day. Praise the Lord!

Time with Cousins

7/13/09

We took the girls to get their hair cut. Ashlyn and Avery got braids. 7/14/09

Abbie is very interested in the video game!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July at Grammy and Poppy's Allen house. The kids spent the day jumping in the bounce house. Abbie and Sophia were in town with Grammy and Poppy, and Brian, Payton and Hudson and Mimi also joined us for the day. In the evening we enjoyed the city of Allen fireworks from the neighborhood pool area. The kids were entertained by their glow bracelets, the fireworks and the neighborhood playground.

Fun in the Bounce house!

Watching the fireworks!