Sisters!

Sisters!  This is just about the happiest post I've made in the seven years I've been blogging!  Keeping in mind the goal of the blog was to keep our family know what we're up too. We are in Texas and everyone we are related to live in other states.

 

Part of that family that we miss dearly includes Frankie's three beautiful biological sisters. Growing up they grew up in their adoptive homes within 45 minute to an hour away from each other.  The girls were able to go to McDonald's for play dates; they attended church camps together; they even had summer sleep overs. Not all four of them in each event but in different combinations they have stayed in contact.

 

All four of them have not been together since Frankie was probably 13 years old.  But today, for Frankie's 29th birthday all four sisters were able to get together and celebrate!   Look at the smile on my baby girl's face!!! So happy!!  Words fail me to say how warm and fuzzy and filled my heart is to see them as grown ups together!  Life was not fair to these young ladies.  But God was abundantly gracious to each of them.  They are lovely and kind; warm and gracious; and most importantly each love the Lord!    

In love  he predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— Ephesians 1:4-5

Still Celebrating!!

Be prepared for a few more birthday posts, because when you are as awesome as Frankie, you can't just have one celebration!  The baby girl is 29, people everywhere want to share in the celebration!  I just got to be the chauffeur transporting the birthday girl to see all her fans!!

 

Stop number one was to see my mom, step-dad and brother, surrounded by family, enchiladas, cupcakes and mariachi band, or the El Chico's wait staff singing!  So fun!  My mom stopped by my cousins bakery shop and picked up the most decadent cupcakes! 

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you  and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

A Young Lady of 29!

It's not every day that a girl turns 29, for the first time!  Tomorrow is actually Frankie's birthday but we are headed on a road trip today so we began celebrating a little early. 

 

Of course the day began with breakfast in bed and to make that even more fun, Abigail took my camera, flash and all and captured Sissy's first waking moments!  Not how she wanted to begin her day!

 

The twin beds are getting a little small for all five of us to sit on and open gifts, so we moved present time downstairs!  Her favorite gift was the Hello, Kitty sheets from the Gungans! 

 

Love this little girl to pieces!  That sweet smile and bright eyes can light up any room!

When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face was precious to them.  Job 29:24

Wear Your Cape Day

For the last several weeks we have been cleaning out closets and preparing for the annual garage sale.  My general rule is if it doesn't fit, or you haven't worn it in a year, it goes in the sale. 

In cleaning out closest the girls tried to toss my Wonder Woman cape into the sale pile!  True I hadn't worn it in a year, but it was my Wonder Woman cape!  So, I declared a 'Wear Your Cape Day' and we all wore out super hero capes! 

Abigail wore her Super Girl cape and Frankie could not find her Bat Girl cape so I bought her a brand new purple cape.  Fortunately Caleb had to work and got out of the cape nonsense. 

In case you're wondering, if you wear a cape out in public, expect to get a lot of questions or funny looks!

I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.  II Corinthians 12:11

It's Bigger on the Inside

 

Very rarely are we without children, very rarely.  But today turned out to be one of those days.  Caleb had to work, and Frankie and Abigail decided they would prefer to hang out at the pool. 

 

While we were running errands and generally just goofing off, we stopped by the British Emporium in Grapevine.  With the introduction this weekend of the new Doctor on Dr. Who the store had everything you could wanted dedicated to fans! 

 

The store sells all things British from lemon curd, Downton Abbey, Monty Python to Dr. Who.  In the parking lot were cos-play fans sporting great costumes.  There was the tardis, a dolic and even K-9!   Next time we will bring kids!

 

He settles the childless woman in her home
    as a happy mother of children.  Psalm 113:9

First Day of School: aka. My Happy Place

School is back in swing for the kids and Mom! We weren't very far into Physics and Trig before I realized I was NOT ready for school to start!   At round 11am as I looked at the options for lunch I realized there was only one serving of ice cream left in the Blue Bell carton. 

 

I quickly grabbed the carton and spoon and headed down the hallway, unfortunately the youngest saw what I had in my hand.  She asked where I was going, I told her I was going to my 'happy place!'  I made a dash for the master bath, there are boundaries where the kids just don't follow me.  And yes, that is my laptop streaming the explanation of the Physics lesson. 

 

However, when it was discovered that I was enjoying ice cream while they were expected to be diligently working, someone snapped a photo or two to send to the principal!  Busted!

 

it was a time of happiness, joy, and gladness
Esther 8:16

Special Delivery

Today the kids received a wonderful surprise in the mail from Camp Blue Haven.  Both Abigail and Caleb memorized all fifteen passages for camp.  Each grade was expected to memorize a minimum number of selections with fifteen being the maximum.   They memorized all fifteen with no expectation of receiving any 'reward.' 

 

Today when the package arrived it was a big surprise!  Inside were two Bibles, each with the kids names inside and an inscription that it was awarded for completing all the memory work.

 

The leather covers have the beautiful embossed Camp Blue Haven logo on the front! Aren't they lovely!  The scriptures they memorized for camp were:

 

1 Peter 1:3-5

1 Peter 1:8 & 9

1 Peter 1:14-16

1 Peter 1:22 & 23

1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Peter 2:9-10

1 Peter 2:11 & 12

1 Peter 2:24 & 25

1 Peter 3:8 & 9

Psalm 34:12-18

1 Peter 4:7-9

1 Peter 4:11

1 Peter 4:12-14

1 Peter 5:5-7

1 Peter 5:8

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  I Peter 1:22-23

Books We've Read for the 2013-2014 School Year

 

One of the great things about keeping the blog is it serves as a great place to save things I want to remember.  I try to keep up with the major books we've enjoyed through the school year, but I don't always remember to mark everything we read. 

 

These post serve as a great reminder of books we read, sometimes they are books we want to read again!  Some of our selections are predetermined by our school curriculum and some are books Jon & I chose for them; still others are the kids personal sections. 

 

Abigail was drawn to the Grimm Tales.  Caleb loved Jon's selection of 1984 and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  Frankie was a fan of Huck Finn. My Monday night ladies book club took on Adrift and Muscle and a Shovel.  I didn't list Jon's books from the year because he is currently reading Burton Coffman's New Testament Commentaries, for fun.  So far he has finished Matthew through Romans!

 

Anyway, for posterities sake here is the list for our 2013-2014 School Year:

1984; A Grimm Conclusion; A Hiding Place; A Tale Dark and Grimm; Adrift; Allegiant; Battle of the Ampere; Behold the Pattern; Bible; Books of Umber; Cress; Dracula; Frankenstein; Grapes of Wrath; Gulliver's Travels; Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; House of Hades; Huckleberry Finn; Last Disciple; Last Sacrifice; Liberty for All; Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe; Lost Hero; Men of Iron; Mother Daughter Book Club; Muscle and a Shovel; Orthodoxy; Our Town; Power of Six; Pride and Prejudice; Rob Roy; Scarlet; Scarlett Letter; Sense and   Sensibility; Seraphini; Sherlock Holmes; The Blue Cross; The Fall of Five; The Magicians Nephew; The Scorpio Races; To Kill a Mockingbird; and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

 

Here is a look back at previous school years:
 2008-2009 Book List  2010-2011 Book List
 2011-2012 Book List
 2012-2013 Book List

 

give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer,
“I can’t; it is sealed.” Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say,
“Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”  Isaiah 29:11-12

 

". . .With a Little Help from My Friends"

 

We are blessed with some really great friends, and I can't say thank you enough.  Each week we see a lot of different needs at Metro Relief as we try to help others.  Just when you think you can't meet everyone's need, God reminds you that you don't have too, He will do it. 

 

I put out a call to friends on behalf of pantry guest and our friends answered in a big way.  One homeschooling family sent groceries for the pantry!  Friends from church bought a brand new shower chair for a mom of two that is wheel chair bound.  Another church friend brought a bed rail for an elderly mom struggling with cancer.  Yet another home school friend brought us clean socks for Metro's bus ministry to the homeless.  A friend from high school who lives in Oklahoma, sent a check!

 

All I can say is Thank You! What a blessing each of you are to our family and those in need!

“Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you,
and how he has had mercy on you.”  Mark 5:19

Midnight Madness Tournament

Abigail is warming up for game 1 of Midnight Madness. Her team plays at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4 am & 7am

In 12 hours Abigail's team played five games in the Midnight Madness Tournament.  They played at 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am and 7am!  She had six at bats, scored three times and had two RBI's, plus a game of kick ball, a card game of War, 3 Gatorade, 4 bottled waters, 2 Dr. Peppers, and a plethora of sugary treats and no nap!  I'm the only one who napped between games and apparently got busted doing so! 

She had an awesome double hit past second and almost to the fence in center field!  It was her best hit today, plus when she rounded home, she got to slide!!  

I lie down and sleep;

    I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

Psalm 3:5

Still the Best Ice Cream in the Country

At our house, we love ice cream.  Jon's grandfather, Granny's dad,  made ice cream for a Crawford's Drug Store in Tulsa. And, my dad drove through neighborhoods in his 'Wayne's Ice Cream Truck,'  with Michael and I in a play pen in the back of his remodeled mail truck 

Next to homemade goodness our favorite is Blue Bell is our family favorite.  Today we saw the Blue Bell truck at our local Kroger store and had to snap a few pictures.  Blue Bell has one of their factories in Broken Arrow, OK, the town I grew up in and where my Mom and step-dad still live.  After taking pictures, we of coursed had to go inside and purchase two half-gallon containers!  

I remember the days of long ago

Psalm 143:4

Slippin' and Sliding through Summer

So what are girls to do after chasing the Ice Cream truck, well, head to the local water park of course!! This is the slide that goes straight down, we have had no luck getting Frankie to slide down this one, but it is one of Abigail's favorites.  .  Frankie set up with the camera at the end of the slide and waited for Abigail to come down the slide!  We then headed to the lazy river which is Frankie's favorite ride. At the end of the day we stopped by our favorite cotton candy stand!  You've got to love summertime! 

my strength was sapped

    as in the heat of summer

Psalm 32:4

Our Extended Family

It was a great day at the pantry!  Do you see all the cans in the top photo that the volunteers are sorting through.  Several donations came in this week to help fill our shelves.  

Metro Relief's shelves are looking very thin!  A lot of donations come in over the holidays but during the summer, with vacations etc. the donations slow down considerably.  Unfortunately, with kids out of school, during the summer months the number of families coming through the pantry increases.  Primarily because the kids are home from school one more meal per day. 

This summer Metro Relief is serving approximately 150 families each week!  

I love that these pictures show our sweet friends, Mr. Arvid, Mr. Jerry, Mr. John, Mr. Oscar, & Mr. Mike. 

To them I was like one who lifts
    a little child to the cheek,
    and I bent down to feed them.  Hosea 11:4

Brotherly Love

The girls missed Caleb because he has worked most of the summer, so today we headed to Hawaiian Falls to at least catch a glimpse of him.  Frankie always takes the little camera with her to try to take pictures of Caleb making cotton candy.  She thinks that looks like the best job ever! 

Frankie had run over to say hi to her brother and Abigail and I were arranging our stuff, grabbing what we wanted to put in the locker before riding rides, etc.  Abigail and I took a couple of pictures and then threw my phone in the locker.  Pretty soon, here came Frankie with her camera and threw it in the locker.  When we got home I realized while Abigail and I were goofing off killing time, Frankie was taking pictures of Caleb working.  I now have a series of 30+ pictures of Caleb using the cash register at Hawaiian Falls, oh, and no pictures of Frankie! 

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;

in honor preferring one another Romans 12:10

Sixth Floor Museum's Youth Summit

Today was the JFK Corps Youth Summit.  Caleb and other members of the Sixth Floor Museum’s Youth Advisory Committee invited youth volunteers from the Dallas Heritage Village, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth.

The kids heard from motivational speaker Raul Magdaleno.  As a youth, Raul accumulated over 30,000 hours of community service since the age of thirteen.  As a result he earned the US Congressional Award Gold Medal, the highest civilian award for youth given by the United States Congress.

The youth attending the Summit brought school supplies to be donated to Reconciliation Outreach’s Back to School Bash that serves hundreds of families in East Dallas.  Reconciliation Outreach all runs “The Refuge,” a shelter for battered women and children in East Dallas since 2001.  Reconciliation Outreach is one of the largest privately funded non-profits in the Greater Dallas area offering low-income housing, elementary school, community soup kitchen, separate single women and men homeless shelters, a Children’s and Youth Recreation Center and a multi-story non-profit leasing center.

Following a morning of inspiration on ways the youth can give back to the community the youth then headed over to Reconciliation Outreach to serve.  Caleb and his group worked on washing and cleaning vehicles, others painted and cleaned.

You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.
2 Chronicles 19:9 

Practice, Practice, Practice

You know, we don't seem to get enough softball in our lives, oh wait, our lives are flooded with softball.  In between games, tournaments and practices, Jon takes Abigail out to Extra Innings at least once a week to hit balls.  

In the Texas heat, this is my favorite way to practice, in the air conditioning!  Today Frankie and I joined them and both of us even took swing at a bucket of balls each.  This is huge for Frankie, because there was a time when she would not stand in front of 50MPH balls, not even with a bat and helmet!  

With Caleb at work, we followed up the batting cages with an encore viewing of Captain America II at the dollar movie.  Poor Caleb outside in 100+ degree temperature for seven to eight hours!  

mourn with those who mourn Romans 12:15