Lovebirds and Pumps

Clay got his braces off! : )  Yippee!  We are so happy for him, it's been a long road (for both of us!).  Lots of broken brackets, reminders to brush and wear rubber bands, and appointments.  So thankful for our orthodontist, Ethan is next..it'll be our fourth set. :O

We've seen all these fabulous birds lately around our house.  We had a pair of finches outside our kitchen porch.  They nested in a hanging lantern, and flew in and out all the time..now I think they are gone.  Poof. : (

Now we have these sweet, bigger birds on our front porch..another couple!  (We are soo in the lovebird business!)  They fly in and out of our front porch..but there is no nest, and really nowhere to build one.  I think the lanterns out there are just a date.  They have not shown any PDA, heehee. ; )
 

Can you see them both?!  One on the top of each light! : )

Our lives have calmed down a little bit since school let out and baseball ended.  We are SO regretting not signing up the kids for camp earlier in the year.  Clay and Mary Claire agreed to go to Camp Sweeney, but there were no spots for the camp that began June 27th, and we go on vacation during the last session.  We are going to plan to sign them up early for next year.  I've only heard wonderful things about it! : )  And even my shy girl agreed to go!
 

We got to see the sneak preview this past Thursday night, fun!  ..and Ethan has decided he doesn't like family pictures. : (  He was hiding behind Kevin for the first four shots!

I had this very surreal moment today.  My kids were all out swimming, and Ches was with them.  I was making cookies, and they wanted grilled cheese sandwiches, so I never got to get outside with them in the day.  Anyway, the big kids had eaten and needed their pumps to bolus for food.  The pumps were in their bathrooms.  I ran up and collected pumps, and had to stop to catch my breath.  Never did I think this was in my future.  That I'd have TWO kids on insulin pumps.  That I'd be fetching their pumps so they didn't have to stop swimming, dry off, and go upstairs.
  

I just got overwhelmed.  It's easy to just keep going, to just suck it up and focus on today.  To change their sites, fill the reservoirs, change the sensor, charge the battery, fill prescriptions, and keep. on. going.

I guess seeing the pumps together, tubing sets together, it hit me.  It'll pass.  It's almost gone.  Another site change at 2:15 this morning, and one tonight after dinner.  Just keep going.  After all, I have a million other things to get done.

I've been working on a couple of bulletin boards at church, they needed to coordinate.  One in English, and one in Spanish.  I used some cute fabric for background:

I added colored border, then used my Silhouette Cameo to cut letters and make banners with ribbon.  I also printed and matted some pictures from Vacation Bible School of all the kids together.

I totally underestimated how many notices needed to go on these boards!!  It looked really busy.  At least one of the huge posters will come down this week, so I need to go and rearrange them before I go out of town!

We also sold tickets for a raffle for three big items (Jump Castle-yes, the ENTIRE thing! a big screen TV, and a sound system), and used the old Welcome Booth (cart) that I worked on many years ago!  Boy, I need to redo the bulletin boards on that too!  The money for the raffle goes to pay for seminary for the priests in Arkansas.  (If you want to buy any tickets, let me know!  They are only $2 each!) : )

We are leaving for vacation next weekend, so it's starting to get busy (HAHA!).  I usually try to coordinate all of our clothes, and we'll do laundry about halfway through.  It's a huge undertaking.  But it's totally worth the kids not clashing, ha!  Oh, and all the diabetes supplies!!  They need their own zipcode.  The kids have been growing, upping their basals, and EATiNG!  Lots of insulin lately.

And toothbrushes.  And shampoo.  And swimsuits.  And beach toys.  And my camera.  And lots of movies.  And electronics.  And they are pushing for me to get Netflix.  How much data will that take?  For four kids watching movies for roughly 24 hours each way?  Oh, and Chicago on the way home?  That only adds a few hours. 

at the 14th Street bridge/pier.  You can almost see Angelo's behind Caroline's arm.  It's where we eat pizza EVERY day.  Yum.  And sit in our sandy suits.  And use their bathrooms. ; )

I'd better get packing, we have more memories to make.  Hope you are having a great summer! : )
Hugs,

CatchUp and Hugs

I'm still hanging in there!  Sitting with a good friend at chemo today..it's every third Wednesday. : )  She hasn't wanted me to say anything, so I've been quiet.  We're all making it.

Summer is officially here, and school's OUT!  We've swam, fished, watched fireworks (had one blow up right in front of our garage!), read, had VBS (the kids were Crew Leaders!), baked, and made miniatures for Mary Claire's American Girl dolls. : )  Oh, and we've been to Kansas City AND Dallas for tons of AG fun!!

Here's my photo montage that was backlogged (ok, only about 5% of it, haha!) : )

Clay was a leader in the preschool room!  He was soo good with them!

This little boy just adored him!!

His buddy.

Ethan's new friend!

Clay got to be with Carter, and it's a good thing!  He was so clingy.

Soo sweet.

His friend again, Love This!

He was going back and forth between siblings. ; )

He was soo patient with Carter!  Feeding him. : )

The leaders were handing out food. : )  Sweet sissy.

On the last day, they all wore their VBS shirts!

Oh my goodness, Veronica's sweet baby girl!!  Love playing peekaboo with her!

On the Friday of VBS we had church (the kids sang and presented the blankets they made for a shelter), then a hot dog lunch while we watched a video I made from all the photos from the week. : )

Near the end..I think Clay is tired.

Mary Claire with Veronica's daughter, Isabella.  Precious.

Knocking the paper cup off Carter's head without touching it.  ; )

He loved it.

I love seeing Carter want to sit in Ethan's lap..and Ethan so proud that his brother wants to sit with him.  When I catch glimpses like this, I know it'll all be okay.

Shoot, he caught me!

Mary Claire with Sophia, leaders together, checking the schedule. : )

Their group

Ethan's group

One of Arkansas' seminarians, John, joined us all week.  Every day he had prayer partners up front with him to pray, LOVE!

A quick meeting after the second day to see how it was going for all the leaders, what they could do to improve, etc.  Good planning!

Leading us in music, ministry, and prayer (motions in music at this second!)

He didn't really want to go..he thought he was too old.  But he had a great time, met new friends, participated, and I'm so thankful.  A sweet week.

Mary Claire's group (the bible story ladies did a wonderful job decorating and acting out scenes!!)

Daddy got him the Baymax (from Big Hero 6) mask and fist (that shoots off!)

American Girl Grace movie premiere!  With Leigh & Emma, and Stephanie & Sydney! Sooo much fun!  (...I just realized MC and I both were in Navy Chevron.  Ohmygosh.  Eeeekkk!)

Day Two, Brunch at the AG Cafe!  With high chairs for all the dolls.  Mommas squeezed into the small side of the table, haha!

She was so happy.  This is her appetizer, tiny fruit kabobs, blueberry muffins, and yogurt dip (in a flower pot).

Entree: Tiny hot dog, tiny/slider hamburger, more fruit, teensy pickle slices.

Dessert: Full size chocolate cake!

Happy Father's Day, Ches!! :o)  We love you!  He got a case of Topps Finest Cards, a frame, some cards, and dinner at his favorite Mexican restaurant, Jose's! : ) 

My friend, Rodney, took his life in May.  We were all distraught, we won't be the same, but we did our best at his Celebration of Life last weekend.  We were encouraged to remember all the wonderful moments, and we all just adored him.  I wish he'd known how much.  I miss him so much.  Thankful that I got to see old friends too.  Big hugs to all of them.

My baby has pots and pans in my drawers.  He generally uses them to bang or play cook on the floor.  I caught him trying to USE MY OVEN.  ALL BURNERS.  Ok, he didn't light the burners, but is he an overachiever, or what?  Haha!

Last picture.  I wasn't even done yet..I was just so proud of myself.  This was a disaster closet, and it's now upgraded. ; )  There are more shelves above that didn't fit in the picture, and I added pictures all up and down the left wall.  I might just get you another picture.  In a month.  Just kidding! ; )

 
I've been cleaning little areas around the house, the garage, Carter's in a big boy bed, I gave away his crib (wahhhhhh!!!) (I can't keep everything.), sticking with my friends through some sadness, my family through some icky-sticky spots, and sharing our stuff since I don't need it.  It's been a busy six weeks.  Thank you, Mom, for prompting me to get back on.

I feel like God has been leading me to something, but I'm not sure what it is yet.  I am seeing such juxtapostion in the people and things around me (related or not, I don't know!)  Example 1: Chemo is pretty to look at (except it can look like it's full of red food coloring-bad) and it kills cells, but it's good, and I'm thankful for it.
Example 2: I love being only a text away from my kids while I'm here, but texting can kill if used at the wrong time.  (and hooray for Minions released a day early in some cities!  and i love u!  and like this phone case?)
Example 3: Bacon is da bomb.  Therapy Dogs love it.  I love it.  Friends love it.  I didn't have to cook it. (#thebest) But, it's full of sodium and fat.  And makes your feet swell.  (And you gotta get it by 11, or she sells out!)
Example 4: The sweetest, most loving people sometimes are spiritually and physically attacked, and it's hard to watch.  Painful even.
Example 5: I love all the different colors of people, and sometimes I wish I was different, darker.  But the beautiful colors can cause people to hate and become so ugly.  (I think once we all mix up, we'll all be the same color..but it won't be as striking..but then maybe we'll be a kinder people?  Is it worth the trade?)

Anyway, I think I'm just finishing up (read: sleepy!) and my brain is foggy. :o) 'Cause I don't normally cite examples, haha.  Have a peace-filled day, think before you say the thing, and give a few hugs out tomorrow.  We all need to be touched (especially our kids.  And our elderly.  And our momma friends.  And the weak ones.  And the hurting ones.  And the brave ones who won't let us in.  And the ugly-hearted ones.  And the slow ones.  And the don't-get-too-close ones.  And the someone else's problem ones.  And the beautiful ones that makes us nervous.  And the ones we think get enough hugs..but they probably don't.).