Spotting the Ladies

Last weekend was the Ladies Retreat at church. The theme was "Spotting the Ladies - Becoming a Godly Lady." An elder's wife from our congregation was the speaker and she did an outstanding job. We went ladybug crazy and I will never see a ladybug again without reminding myself to be a Godly lady.

This is Lucy Ladybug. During each lesson Kim (the speaker) added a spot with the lesson topic on it to Lucy. I think my favorite lesson was "Talk Like a Lady." My big mouth often gets me into trouble and her lesson was very practical and thought provoking. All of the lessons got my mind rolling and were very inspiring.
The weekend was also a time to have wonderful Christian fellowship. My dear friend, Lacie, came down and we had the best time chatting. Holly, Heather, Lacie and I stayed up until 4 am the first night and midnight the second night. We talked about concordances, sweet families, future plans, the lessons and we giggles until we cried! On Saturday, Robyn got to come up and it was a special treat to spend time with her. Since Kaci was born, Robyn has been one busy mama! Below are Holly, Lacie, Robyn, Kim and Heather. These girls are my rock! :)

Two other dear friends - Tamara and Daesha. Poor Daesha got her arm twisted in to planning the craft...that's what happens when the planner is one of your closest friends! The adorable little pots turned into ladybug wind chimes. It was a fun craft! These two ladies are such blessings to me!

The two crazy ladies behind all the red and black spots! Marla and I had such a fun time planning, shopping, praying and getting ready for this retreat. This was our second year as a team and it was much smoother than last year. She is another blessing to me!

One of my favorite things we did...playing Catch Phrase for about 2 hours Saturday night!
Another favorite part was the cross-generational groups. We were divided into groups by age and given discussion questions based on each lesson. It was so wonderful to be in the middle - younger than some and older than others. It was also a great way to live Titus 2:3 - "Let the older women teach the younger women..."

Picture-less Update

The last two weeks have been a fun-filled, full and busy time! Marla and I were in charge of the Ladies Retreat, which was this last weekend. Once I load pics, I'll elaborate. Bottom line - the lessons were fabulous and the fellowship was wonderful! Getting ready though was a lot of hard work, but with the help of several friends, we got it all done and had fun doing it! :)

We have also been working to try and get home. We thought that last week was move home time. A cleaning crew came on Monday and Tuesday the carpet cleaners came. Thursday when I was bringing in the food for the Retreat, I was alarmed that the carpet was still wet from the cleaning. Jason was too and he noticed that a bolt came off the master toilet, causing a slow leak. And since we don't live here, we did not catch it, and water was flowing for a while. In the grand scheme of things, the water loss was VERY small. The contractor brought over a water-sucker-outer machine and 4 huge fans. 3 days later we were ready to go again. No need to replace carpet or wall at this point.

So that brings us to this week, a box at a time we are moving back. It will be wonderful and weird to be home!!! The correct fridge came yesterday - they delievered the wrong one last week. So now I get to go buy groceries. In all seriousness, I am looking very forward to it! I am the dork that plans all the meals for a week and actually enjoys going up and down each row...even with my kids. You see, I'm also THAT mom who give constant commentary to her kids about each shape and color in sight... and we touch things. But I promise, we buy everything we touch!

Daesha and I have also been writing more Bible curriculum. Have you ever taught Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians to first graders? It is a little challenging, but we have had a blast putting our two heads together to come up with a good idea or two. She has been adding LOTS to the Bible Class blog... check it out! :)

So, I guess there had been a lot going on, nothing really picture-worthy except for the retreat and those will be coming soon. Now off to cook supper!

Sunny Days...

What can make even the most cloudy day sunny? Why, a trip to Sesame Street, of course! This Friday we ventured to the Big City and saw Sesame Street Live! It was soooooooo exciting! I think the adults were as excited as Rylan and Jacob. Before the show started we got a few cute family photos. Granna and GPop with Rylan and Jacob. And we could not resist an SPT! Kim, Rylan, Jason and Jacob

Big Bird announced that the show would start in 3 minutes and from that point on the boys were in a trance! Jacob had his head down on Jason's lap and when he heard Big Bird, he sat straight up! It was funny. The fog started (which reminded me of Pop Show in high school choir) and the lights turned on...then the real fun began!

When I was pregnant we went to see Lion King the Musical and I totally cried at the opening number and the finale - tears streaming. At SSL, I got a little welled up too! It was so exciting to see the boys so excited. The lights and music reminded me so much of Spring Sing at HU - which was one of my favorite things about college. I know it's silly, but I did get a little emotional.

My sweet Jacob glued to the stage. He has an obsession with the stage at church and this was a whole new dimension to being "on stage." We may have a preacher or performer in the making!

The opening number! Can you feel the excitement? Can you hear the squeals? Can you hear the money changing hands from all the merchandise? hahaha

My sweet Rylan - equally glued to the stage. He sat on my lap almost the whole show. His arm grabbed my forearm for the whole first act.

More of Jacob...

The guys watching the opening number of Act 2. I love the wonder in all 4 faces! :)

This was during the finale. Rylan was dancing!!!!

Our dear friends from Sesame Street. They sang and danced very well and we LOVED the show!

Our family after the hour and a half of fun! And we only bought 2 shirts...not bad for a sucker like me! :)

Call me Mr. Vehicle!

Rylan, Rylan, Rylan! THat boys loves is vehicles! He loves to connect them to make a long train. He lines them up in a row for races. He makes them go down the ramp and squeals in excitement as the purple track always wins. He loves a big pile up. He is Mr. Vehicle! Car, truck, train, bus...it does not matter. He loves them all! He and Jacob got their first Tho*mas the Trains for their birthday in August... and that hatched the full train obsession. Now they have 13 trains. I think Thomas is still Rylan's favorite...or Billy... or Toby... or Duck...

One of his favorite places to play trains specifically is on the window sill. It is a huge long window and makes a great track. A favortie book is Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis. Rylan's official first obsession is trains! :)

Looking back I think my first obeseeion was Strawberry Shortcake. What was yours?