Asthma

My poor Zacky is so tired. He coughs non-stop and has almost lost his voice. He feels "good" and wants to play, but I am afraid to let him go out side. It has been a hard, frustrating week.

This "asthma stuff" is all brand new to us. What can he do? What should he avoid? How much longer will he need to use a nebulizer? What do we do if he passes out again? What do we do when he starts wheezing? Can he still play basketball? How many more medications are we going to have to try? How many more doctors will we have to see? . . . .so many questions and so little answers.

There have been lots of tears this week - his and mine. There have been lots of doctor's bills to pay and lots of prescriptions to fill. There have been lots of sleepless nights and lots of prayers.

If I could sum up this week in one word it would be "fear" and I am so tired of being afraid.

Do Do

Zacky has an imaginary friend named "Do Do".

Yup. Do Do.

Not dodo, like a dodo bird.

Do Do, like, well, you know.

Do Do makes our life very interesting. Like today. I went into Zack's room and opened his closet to get his clothes out for the day. Zack was sitting in his floor playing with legos and he SCREAMED "Noooo! Close the door! Close the door! Do Do is in there! You're going to let him out! I put him in there because he was being mean."

Do Do eats lunch with us every day. He usually has the same thing Zacky is having.

He also rides in the car with us everywhere we go. I have to remind Zack to leave Do Do in the car when we go to church, out to eat, or to the nursing home to visit my grandmother. People can be so judgmental about imaginary friends named "Do Do."

I have to be careful where I sit, because I don't want to sit on Do Do. I've done that before and it was very annoying.

Zack had a race with Do Do one day. I asked him who won and he said " I don't know. I can't see him."

I'm learning to love Do Do. He has a way of making me laugh.

My Seach for Balance

I am up to my neck in post-it notes, lists, calendars, schedules . . . .

The kids have an outside activity to attend 4 days a week. When basketball starts in a couple of weeks, we'll add a practice and game every week. Oh, and extra ballet rehearsals start in two weeks and run through November. On top of all that is church stuff, issues with my grandmother, and Kris working 2 jobs. It is out of control.

I have to look at our calendar every night to remind myself what we're doing the next day.

With Bailey needing a structured routine, I am wondering if all of this craziness is what has put her on edge. She's had a rough few weeks. I keep reminding myself (and Kris) that she can't live in a cave. She needs to stretch herself a little. She is most happy at home, in her room, by herself. But she can't stay in there forever.

I'm trying to find balance. It has to exist out there somewhere.

Second Honeymoon

I have, once again, been on a huge purging / re-decorating frenzy. I've cleaned out some closets, again. (I do this every few weeks. It's cheap therapy.) Re-arranged furniture, hung some window treatments . . . .

Then, my mom found this great sale just in time for my re-doing craziness. She bought 2 wire baskets, a clock, a bathroom set, some wall shelves, 20 wash cloths and 8 framed prints . . . all 90% OFF!!!!! I was doing a happy dance!

So, I was able to "fix" my kitchen color scheme, cutsy up my scrap space, and add a new "something" to almost every room of the house.

I think we're on a second honeymoon, my house and I. It's a happy day.


Our bedroom



Kitchen window



My scrapbooking Nook

Hillside Canyon Before and After

It's been 5 weeks since launch Sunday and we are having so much fun at Hillside Canyon. We leave the house at 6:45 every Sunday morning and get home around 1:30. We unpack, set up, have 2 services, take is all down, and pack it all up again. It's a lot of work, but worth every minute. These are just a few pictures of Exteme Kids. During the week this room is Canyon High School's choir room, but on the week ends it is an awesome children's environment. These pictures are pretty fun, but it's even better when the lights are on, the music is blaring, and the room is full of kids worshiping our amazing God. We just can't wait until next week!

At'l Do

I know, I know . . . I took a lot of pictures. It's only because I LOVE autumn, I LOVE pumpkins, and I LOVE my super cute kids!

We loved our trip to the At'l Do Farm between Shallowater and Lubbock. It was a perfect day for our little family!

Mountain Climbing

Zacky has been talking about climbing a mountain for several months. So, we took him up Clear Creek. It's a perfect little "climb" for a 5 year old.

We had to stop about half way up because Bailey Boo got tired.

If I hadn't been so afraid of the wild life, I would have taken Boo back down and let Kris and Zack keep going until they reached the top.

Next time, I'm going to let the boys go by themselves.

Kris

The other night I was getting the kiddos ready for bed and I heard Kris in the living room playing his guitar.

This isn't really all that unusual. When has a down time, you can almost always find him sitting around, barefooted, playing his guitar.

But it was a little different this time.

You see, he was playing a new song. My favorite song.

He didn't even mention to me that he was learning it. He didn't say a word about it. When I asked him about it, all he said was "You like it?"

The week before he had given me a beautiful flower. No note. No explanation.

A few mornings later, I found a love note that he had left on the bathroom mirror before he left for work.

Bailey saw me reading the note and asked who it was from. When I told her she said "Daddy is always in love with you."

It's little things like this that remind me of why I married this guy in the first place.

The Honeymoon Is Over

We've lived in the house for 16 months and the honeymoon is coming to an end.

I am very frustrated with the kitchen. The windows are bare. Mini-blinds. That's it. Yuck. And the color scheme? I'm still not sure. This cannot be allowed to continue.

The laundry room. I spend a lot of time in there. Isn't there something I can do to make it more appealing? I mean, no one ever sees it except me, but still . . . . .

And our "school room" is a little too much "school" for my taste. I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have to share my little piece of scrapbooking heaven with our homeschool classroom. But what to do?

The backyard. Augh! I don't even know where to begin. It's just not. Not at all.

I loved this house last year. I think I can love it again. I've just got to get busy and make something happen. I've gotten too comfortable. It's time to make some changes.

Homeschool and A Violin Lesson

What a great week! We started back to school this week and it was so much fun! The new curriculum is incredible and the kids are loving every minute of it.

Monday morning, I went into Zack's room to wake him up for school. He is usually an early riser, but he was still so tired from our trip to the mountains that he slept later than usual. He hopped right out of bed when I reminded him it was the first day of school. Tuesday, he was up at his normal way-to-early-for-me hour. He came bounding into our room and said "Mama! Did you forget we have school today? Get up! Get up!" I am so glad he loves school and he is doing great! He is a super-fast, eager learner. It is so much fun to teach him new things.

My sweet Bailey wants to learn and really enjoys school. She is doing really well, even though it's more of a challenge for her. She had a rough day on Friday. Lots of rocking and buzzing . . . unless you have a spectrum kiddo, it's really had to explain. Nothing seemed to help. We finally got through the school day and we were both exhausted. It was one of those really hard days. We were both in tears.

I had to pull myself together and try to calm her down because we had a violin lesson at 2:45. I really questioned whether or not we should even go, but she desperately wanted to see Molly and Lamb Chop, her violin teacher's 2 dogs.

So, we went.

And it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. She played flawlessly.

The music just flowed from her.

I have never heard her play that way before. It was amazing. Where did this come from?

It was a gift. A gift that may not be there next time, but it was there on that day and it touched me.

Love, Love, Love This . . . . . .

That Kid Makes Me Laugh

I guess he has his daddy's sense of humor - slap-stick, off the wall, sometimes warped, always a tiny bit odd. . . . . Zack is always making us laugh. He is such a silly little kid. From grapes between his toes, to his not-so-subtle life observations, he keeps me smiling.

Candy Land and My Amazing Life

Sometimes is it something tiny that can make me stop in my tracks and thank God for my amazing life.

Like today.

I found two little cards from our Candy Land game under the couch cushion and I just froze. My heart skipped a beat. "Oh my goodness" I thought "there are two little kids living in my house. I can't believe I'm a mom."

I spent so many years dreaming of what life might be like if I were a mommy. You would think that by now, I would be accustomed to two little people sharing my life, but I'm not. I am still amazed that after nine childless years, God blessed me with two beautiful children that I can call my own.

Who would ever dream that Candy Land could make a person teary eyed. . . . .

Summer Suzuki Recital

Bailey's summer violin recital was last weekend. I love the summer recital because it is in the park. There is just something special about music out doors.

Bailey always gets so very nervous and I end up having to sit on the stage beside her while she plays. Her little hands get cold and clammy and her chin trembles. Then when it's over, she does her little happy skip off the stage.

I hope I'm not still sitting there for her senior recital when she's 18. Then again, I'm sure I will miss these days terribly when she doesn't need me close by anymore. I enjoy being her security blanket.

So now, we get a two week summer break and then it's back to work. The next recital is in September.

Bailey and Zack's Lemonade Business

Last Saturday, Bailey and Zack wanted to have a lemonade stand. We painted a sign, found their little aprons, set up a card table, and made a pitcher of lemonade. They only had to wait 5 minutes for their first customer. Our neighbor came over, gave them a whole dollar for one little cup of lemonade, and they were off and running. Two hours later, they had made almost 12 dollars - most of it in "tips". Maybe Kris should talk them into helping him sell real estate!

Homeschool

At the end of May, I was ready to hang up my "homeschool mama" hat and take a nice looooong summer break. No lesson plans, no class schedules, no frantic trips to the library to find "just that one book" . . . . . And I have to say, I am LOVING summer!

But . . . . .

yesterday I went to Mardel to buy all of our 1st grade curriculum and now I have a bad case of the "homeschool bug" again. I love all of our new goodies and I started making lesson plans last night.

So, maybe I'm not ready for summer to be over just, yet. (We are just having WAY too much fun!) But, at least I know that the first day of school won't be so bad after all.

(These photo's were taken last year, during kindergarten.)

My Etsy Shop

I started an Etsy Shop a few days ago. I love creating things and this is just a chance to share what I love to do. You can "click" on the images on the right to check out my shop. I think this is going to be fun!

Art Class

Art classes have been too much fun! I'm not really sure what Bailey and Zack have created. They want to keep it a secret until the big art show in the gallery on Thursday.

They have been inspired by their teacher. Every day, when they come home, they have been wanting to paint, draw, cut, glue . . . .

I have enjoyed having mornings to myself. I've been catching up on some reading and doing a little bit of knitting. I've finally had time to open an Etsy shop (more on that later).

When I registered Bailey and Zack for this class last spring, I thought this would be a great time to work on lesson plans for next school year. This is the last week of class and I haven't done a single school-related thing! Oh well . . . .

An Email From Our Adoption Agency

Oh my goodness. Our adoption agency sent us an email yesterday about a little boy in South Korea who needs a family. He is two years old, has mild special needs, and has been waiting for a family since birth.

We receive emails like this every few months and they never cease to break my heart. We simply do not have the finances to adopt again, but oh, how my heart aches for this baby boy.

Please pray that this baby finds his family soon.

A Few Favorite Quotes . . . . . . . . . . .

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

"Don't cry over spilled milk. Get a mop and do something about it."

"The grass isn't greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water and fertilize it."

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Our 4th of July

It was a perfect day.

We went to the parade in Canyon, ate hot dogs, and went to the "Fair on the Square".

Bailey and Zack loved shopping at the fair. Bailey bought a coin purse and a tinkerbell necklace. Zacky bought a wooden snake and a toy race car. All I wanted was a strawberry lime-aide!

When we got home, we had a cook-out. Hamburgers, stuffed jalapenos, potato salad, watermelon . . . . yum!

We finished the day with fireworks at the park, then came home to dance around the front yard with sparklers.

What fun!

Why I Love Summer . . . . . . . .

Bailey and Zack helped plant a flower bed in our front yard in April. It is so exciting to see their flowers starting to bloom!

Something New

I saw an interview last night with a lady who is a checker at a super market. She wears her dance shoes to work so she is always reminded of who she really is. A dancer.

Today I thought about wearing my ballet shoes out to run errands. I didn't. Instead I submitted 4 sketches to a company that is looking for a new artist to join their design team.

Nothing may ever come of it, but I feel good knowing I did it. It reminds my of who I really am.

It's a happy day.

I Like to Play With My Food

I bought Bailey and Zack a kid's cooking set last year with aprons and real cooking utensils that are just their size. I'm always looking for cute recipes for them to try. I love Family Fun Magazine, Taste of Home Cookbook for Kids, Kids Can Cook, and All Time Favorite Recipes for Kids. These cookbooks are the best!

These are a few of our most recent projects.

We have a lot of fun in the kitchen!



Lawn Mower Cupcakes for my Dad's birthday









Octopus and Sea Weed












Grass Hopper Dip and Carrot Sticks











Dinosaur Nachos