The One Where I Sang!

Hey there! : ) We have been working a local fireworks stand (indoor, whew!) to raise money for Mary Claire's trip to the national youth conference in November!  It's been good for both of us to spend time together, we've met some super sweet people-and youth!  It's not just for our church (although our men's club runs it), other groups can come learn and work too.  We sign in and out, and they give us a percentage of the total sales based on the hours worked by each group.  

We also had an Arkansas Naturals ballgame today in cooperation with JDRF as a fundraiser!  We didn't have that many people, but it was fun! : )  I got to meet two new families that have kids with diabetes, so that's a total win!

We made little last minute treat bags, mostly with fireworks since a.) we were working at the fireworks stand today.. and b.) we couldn't bring food into the stadium!  I snuck a few chocolates into them, but they let them pass.  Score!

Carter with Brody!

I did something kinda crazy.  I agreed to do LIVE karaoke in front of everyone at the ballpark.  At the end of the third inning, I stood on top of the dugout, and sang.  It was very brief (thank you, sweet baby Jesus!), and I LiVeD!!  I was DYING beforehand, sweating, sooo nervous, but I lived.  I got some free stuff that I gave to two families who attended the game with us, totally worth it. : )  When is the last time you did something that SCARED you?!

Oh, and then my friends and kids said nice things to me.  Like, I know I can't sing well (or AT ALL), but them being positive was really awesome!

We met another new-to-us family with a sweet young lady, both with diabetes and with some anxiety, about a year younger than Mary Claire.  We have been there!  It was good to talk with her, encourage her, and I think she's on the right track.  Her momma is doing a great job!  We do remember how hard it was in the middle, I have not forgotten.  The above happens to be my girlie on the other side, hooray!  She's winking at me, it totally makes me laugh..and she knows it.  God is good, friends.  Please pray for our friend, Brianna, as she grows confidence in herself!

Hugs!

Foundation!

So..I was wrong about the foundation last Friday.  But..it has been poured now!  Hooray!

Front of house, and little side porch.  Pallet, anyone?  I've seen only 547,000 things to do with those things on Pinterest. ; )

Front of house.  And our lovely sewage pipe.

And the back porch : )

Now I think it'll just sit for a while.  We hope to see lumber show up soon..and maybe some framing take place shortly?

 Other things in our world exist!!

Last week, we had a Last Dinner with Ashley, a fellow mom of a child with Type I Diabetes.  We will really miss her!  She's originally from Kansas, and she and her family are moving back there now.

We tried to think of something cute to give her, and we decided on a little Arkansas with a heart over our area. : )  I got an Arkansas shape off the Silhouette website, and a heart, and just cut and pasted them into a frame we picked up at Hobby Lobby.  Leigh totally picked the colors!

We *love* Arkansas...just a little bit!!

Our going away dinner for Ashley : )

We stood around and talked for so long afterward..and it was hard to just say goodbye...so we went to the movies!  There was a sneak peek at 10pm for The Heat, so we all decided to go.  It was hilarious!  Some harsh language was the biggest surprise, but I will tell you I laughed harder than I have in at least a couple years.  It was somehow easier to say bye and run off at 12:30 in the morning when we were all tired and laughed out!

..We've totally been getting used to the house here, and we've met a couple neighbors.  We scared a bunch off two nights ago when we blasted the street with noisy stuff.  It was THE most fun watching the kids work together to light their 'works, and not get hurt.  No arguing..it was good stuff.

They were really concentrating.  Plus they had me screaming to "Get Back!"

And here they are, "staying back"!

After they lit this little tank that drove around and shot out of its cannon, they kept putting black jacks into it to continue to blow it up.  Great teamwork and entertainment.

Then last night, we had mom and dad over to eat hamburgers (and shoo flies off) (and eat their cake!) and then went to see a church firework presentation.  We haven't done this in a year, so we forgot to bring important things.  Like a blanket, chairs, bug spray, snacks, water.  We'll get better.  I should write myself a reminder for next year!  We did lose a shoe, found it, caught fireflies, rubbed them on their wrists, and the boys climbed trees.  It was great.  The finale was the fireworks!  And my daughter tickled pink. ; )

Gigglebox.

She had so much fun!  She actually cuddled up to me, cold.  The temperatures have really dropped this week (hooray!), and it was a little chilly.  Ethan was in my lap too!

Hope you have a cool, bright fourth of July (bring a blanket..and bug spray!).  And in my words..Be safe, and "Get Back!!"  Hugs, Ya'll!
 

Late Nights

Hey, ya'll!  Did you miss me?  I've been to another planet and back!  heehee What fun traveling is. (and shopping!)
*Ok, go get a drink-this is a long one!*
Mary Claire and I went to Branson on Friday, and we went to White Water with Angie and Andalynn until after 10pm!

It is surprising that when you are having fun, you don't get sleepy.  We thought the girls would get tired...but No!  This picture was at about 9:35pm, and they were still going strong.  We'd been to the wave pool, the Water Works:

Lazy River, the rides down in the tubes (Ohana Falls and Raging River Rapids), and to the play area (Raintree Island), then they chose to go back to the Raging River at 9:45!  We let them go down it by themselves-we took turns walking the double raft up the concrete walk and stairs, then helped them get it, hold on, and push it slowly to the starting line, then the other mom would wait at the bottom to help them out.  We figured out that we couldn't do both, and beat them down the chute!  They were so light they just skimmed the little pool at the bottom, and glided right over to the stairs.  By then, it was really dark and getting cooler.  I didn't want to get wet anymore, so it worked for us.  Our last stop was the gift shop-they had the best shells-and some were less expensive than Hobby Lobby!  I got the most beautiful flat-ended shiny conch shells:

Then, our girls have learned: they get some fun, then WE get some fun!  We shop till we drop (or our feet hurt really bad, and we have to change shoes..am I getting old when I take cushy shoes to change into around 6pm?  Don't answer that.)!  We got around late, since we went to bed so late (and had baths and ordered Pizza Hut at 11pm..), so it was a late start shopping.  We met our favorite friends at Gymboree,

(this is Dina hugging a crying-not anymore-baby while the momma shopped!  Isn't she sweet?) we ordered lunch and ate in the back room (while shopping the shelves-the girls shopped the cake-purses!), and then we were back on our way again. Thank you, Dina, Sara, and Dawn, for your hospitality!  We love you guys! (and thanks for letting us park behind you!!)
Then we had to speed-shop to get the girls to Justice (the new fave).  Mary Claire had a little melt-down over the dolls, Zhu-Zhu pets, and eraser sets.  I mean, Really!  She said no to all the clothes I picked (what?), since I'd said no to her toys.  We'd already had a talk (to prevent all this drama).  She had a pad of paper and a pen.  She was supposed to write down her favorite thing in each store, and at the end of the day, we'd go back to get the REAL favorite.  Thing is..she couldn't wait!  It was driving her mad!
We got back on track, and we did go back to Justice (after some Krispy Kreme *and they were Hot Now!*to clear our heads) to get a baby Zhu-Zhu.  So, don't feel sorry for her.  : )  Not that it was likely.


Ok, so in the next missing post...
We had a great July fourth!  We had church, went to Tim's for pizza, swam,

and got ready to have company.  We had mom and dad, and John (my brother), and some friends Angie and Tony(a different Angie!) and their kids over.  We had fajitas and dessert with fruit, and then drove to see fireworks at the Naturals ball park.

But-so did the rest of Northwest Arkansas!  It was so packed with cars everywhere!  We made it for the last couple minutes, but then drove around to see lots of fireworks, even a great show at a house by JB Hunt park!  We got to bed late, so we skipped baths.  Don't smell my kids! : )


Today we played with friends, sewed a tiny bit (didn't finish anything!), and then took naps. I'm absolutely wiped out!  I haven't even put away the stuff I bought in Branson!  Sad.  I just piled it in the laundry room, and it'll have to wait.  I still have Bible study tomorrow, and MUST do the homework tonight!  then more to come (playdates on Thursday and Friday! woo-hoo!). I have the trip to Little Rock to see her doctor on Wednesday, and I am not sure when I'll catch up.  I think I have a house-full of company coming on Saturday, so I have to figure out how to fit in some cleaning (or hiding stuff?  ..maybe that's faster!).


I am making this (ultra-long post, huh!) book I already told you about, and I was looking up stuff on prayer for others and compassion.  It is suffering with, or bearing the burden with.  It just touched my heart.  I feel for all you moms in the thick of it.  I mean, I am in the thick too, but I'm feeling for you with smaller children.  It is REALLY hard to have a baby and older kids.  It's a hard balancing act, and I know all about it.  So, I have compassion for you.  I understand all that monotony of doing those selfless acts (over and over and over again) for your husband and kids, and many times we are alone in the day when we have lots of work that goes unnoticed (for the most part).  Just know you aren't really alone-I'm doing laundry at my house too, thinking of you!
As God's chosen ones (this is us!), holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Colossians 3:12

Birthday in Animal Kingdom, and Wild Ones!

Well.
Disney has seen US! Today was my sweet baby girl's birthday, and we had fun! She got to choose ALL day...We went to WM early this morning so she could pick a cake, and she chose cupcakes with buttercream frosting and butterfly rings on top! Woohoo! more groceries, then home to pick up Ches and Clay..
Then to Animal Kingdom, have Rainforest hold the cupcakes, get signed in for her *birthday*! (If you've registered in advance for your birthday, you can choose free one day pass, Fastpass all day-my choice!, or a $63 Disney gift card for the shops) and she chose the gift card so she could buy a Cinderella's Castle! So, we went into Dinoland, USA, played in the Boneyard play area, then rode the Triceratops Spin (or Twirl? it goes around..), then headed toward the Rainforest Cafe for our noon reservation. They got to watch the fish, we got a booth (for Ethan to get exercise, apparently!), and ordered. They came and sang Happy Birthday to Mary Claire, and brought her an ice cream sundae with a candle-which really made her smile! Then we requested the cupcakes we'd brought in, so the waitress dressed them up on a plate! : ) Another big smile! She was on cloud nine!
We separated and Ches took Ethan to the safari and the train, and we went to get Fastpasses at Expedition Everest, only to discover it (fastpass) was closed. Mary Claire really wanted to ride (to redeem herself after last year's crying, maybe?), so we WaiTeD! for 65 minutes. It wasn't so bad, but I was really wishing for those fastpasses! We'd gotten fastpasses (no line needed, BTW) to Dinosaur the ride, but they were for 11:55-12:55, the entire time we were in the restaurant!! So, no Dinosaur this time.
Then we walked, had drinks, left, came back to the hotel for naps. When we were all rested, we swam, got dressed, and headed to Magic Kingdom for the Wishes fireworks! It was great again this year. The newest? Heart-shaped red designs (shapes?) in the fireworks! So cute. There was a fairy godmother shape with wings that Clay really liked too.
We stopped in the Emporium and got a few little things/gifts. The kids had such trouble deciding, and then Mary Claire decided to get the little red Minnie heart-shaped suitcase with stamps, paper, etc. inside. She decided against the castle. ? We were trying to talk her into letting us ship the castle home so we didn't have to take it on the plane, and she knew she couldn't play with it till we got back, so maybe that was it? I just agreed, and she was happy. She can be very easy to get along with when she wants!
Clay, on the other hand, has been very difficult. He's obnoxiously loud, he totally splashed Mary Claire in the face-about 12 times in a row (so she couldn't catch her breath), then yesterday, reached over and squeezed Ethan's hand, and popped his knuckles (and made him cry), and did the same thing to Sissy today. ugh. Why can't he be nice? He is having trouble controlling himself. He's been ultra loud, and he revs up the other kids. There's not a lot to take away (punish him with) when you are in DiSNeY! So, it's been hard. He just doesn't seem to care. Ethan has been very good, doesn't complain, sits in his stroller, and generally seems to be happy to be along for the ride. I really thought he'd stress me out, and complain about being hot, but not once. He gets a little restless before he needs to nap, but is otherwise fine. I know it's a phase, and we are on vacation-it'll be okay when we're back at home, and everything's back in our control.
Speaking of, last night was so nice-it rained for a while, and we came to the room, ordered pizza and got to spend time together since there were no toys (grown up or kids' toys) to distract us. It was just nice. Makes you wonder how it'd be to have not "stuff" in their rooms or even ours. And Mary Claire and Ethan are sharing a room, and doing fine. They went to sleep immediately tonight!
Alrighty, more photos will be below, and we have more fun to come! : )

ps-don't you think that the bath/body bar of soap in a hotel is exactly the same as the facial bar, just a different size?

pps-My new favorite Bath & Body scent is White Citrus! It's awesome, clean, fresh, and aahhh amazing. : ) Does it help that the sales lady massaged the sample into my hands? I just washed my feet, and they feel so refreshed! So that's why Jesus did it! : ) What an amazing feeling.