heavy on my heart and mind...

My dear friend from college, Mck Mama, is greatly in need of our prayers. So, please, if you have a chance, visit her blog AND pray for her and her family as they continue to trust God. She is 24 weeks pregnant and her little one is having some life threatening heart problems.

She is SO heavy on my heart and mind...will you please join me in praying for them?

Olympics 2024...Here They Come!!!

OK, so maybe after taking swimming lessons once a summer (since age 4 when they can start here) for a mere two weeks at a time, my girls aren't actually ready to sign up to be on a road to the Olympics in 2024.

BUT...they DID have two weeks of great lessons, lots of fun, lots of swimming, and successful passings into the next level for both of them!!

Here are some pictures of their time in the water!!!

As you can tell, Kylie LOVES being the water! Every picture of her and every moment of her time in the water was spent smiling away! I will say that she made me nervous a couple of times as she got a little too "brave"...but, by the end, she really was doing so very well!

Mackenzie swimming on both her back and front...

Caleb really was really a trooper as he sat day after day watching the girls swim! He says that he is looking forward to being able to doing swimming lessons next year when he is FOUR!!!

Can you tell that they had a good time???

A Couple of Close-Calls...

It started out as a typical Monday night. Mackenzie had gymnastics from 6-8; and like most weeks I sat there and watched the girls flip around. I thoroughly enjoy it (for a number of reasons!) even despite the HARD, totally uncomfortable chairs.

About 7:15, I decided to leave for about 10 minutes to run and get some gas so that I wouldn't have to do it on the way home and could just get Mackenzie straight home and to bed. I REALLY needed gas and had already "pushed the limits" to and from swimming lessons that morning (if you remember this post, I do tend to let my gas run low at times!). So, I really needed it THAT night - it couldn't wait!

I took a back-road behind a local grocery store. It was a road that was pretty narrow and had apartments on one side; therefore, there were cars parked all along the street there. I was just driving along (probably loudly singing with my music - or else just enjoying the quiet!), when from out of the parking lot, a red car seemed to be approaching my lane and my van as she pulled out into the middle of the street. There was NO room for me to swerve with all of the cars lining the street, so all I could do was just watch her approaching my van. It was like it was all in slow motion or something. I hit my brakes only to discover that my van had been hit.

The impact was minimal...I barely even felt it. Both the other driver and I were completely fine. She was an older lady and was kind of frazzled - I felt bad for her. She claimed that she was hitting her brakes and they just weren't locking and working. So, I don't really know what happened really.

Here was the damage after being hit by a car going about 2 mph. I can't imagine the damage of being hit at 60 mph!

However, one of the FIRST things that came to mind when the accident occurred was that I KNEW that I didn't have my proof of insurance in my van with me. I remembered getting the new card in the mail, remembered thinking that I SHOULD get that in my van, but remembered that the follow-through was not good and the proof of insurance was still at home. I didn't think that this would be a good scenario to be caught in...in an accident with no proof of insurance.

So, after calling the police to come to the scene of the accident, I quickly called Pat to tell him my dilemma. I step-by-step led him to the basket of piles of bank statements and bill receipts (you know, the stuff that one of these years should be filed away!)...and sure enough very quickly he found my ever-so-needed proof of insurance!! He got Kylie and Caleb packed up and ready to come and save me and my forgetfulness!

And a close-call that it was! Right after we talked with the police officer and told him what happened, he gave us cards to fill out with our information. I almost had another heart-stopping moment when he asked for my driver's license, and I took my purse out and discovered that my wallet wasn't there. WOW, 0 for 2 wouldn't have been very good, would it?? But, luckily, my wallet had just fallen out of my purse when my purse fell over after I quickly pulled out and turned earlier that day. What can I say...even though I live in a semi-small town, I still am a true "city driver"!!

I started filling out the card, trying to SLOWLY write in order to give Pat time to drive over and slip me the proof of insurance. And, what a blessing that we didn't live too far from the scene of the accident (probably about 2 miles!). Right as I got to the end of my information card, I saw his little Honda come around the corner and into the parking lot!!! The insurance card was given to me and we were "good to go"!!! Whew! That probably stressed me out WAY more than the bumps, dents, and scrapes on the van.

At least ONE "close-call" was averted that evening!!! And, even though the other one wasn't...at least no one was hurt in the accident!! :-)

BUSTED!!!!

Tonight, after gymnastics, Mackenzie was eating some cereal for a snack before bed. The other two kids were already in bed, so Pat and I were just chatting with our oldest daughter about the different "shows" that she has been in.

Mackenzie then asked Pat, "Daddy which of the shows that I was in was your favorite?"

Pat thought for a minute and said, "My favorite was the Christmas program at church, when you had your solo. I loved that one. I think that that one was my favorite."

Mackenzie then said, "Oh...I thought that you were going to say that the SPA show from this summer was your favorite. Kylie was in that one too, and she wasn't in the Christmas one. So, I thought that you would like THAT one the best because BOTH of us were in it."

Daddy was BUSTED!!! :-)

I gave him a little grin and a look that said "Good luck getting out of this one," and he sheepishly replied, "Oh, I DID love the SPA show so much. I did love that both you and Kylie were in it."

It's gets a little tricky when your kids begin to "out-smart" you a bit with these trick questions...even in the little things and even at age SEVEN!!! :-)

Strike a POSE...

...there's nothing too it!

My Kylie loves to pose. Whenever I go to take a picture of her, you can bet that she will tilt her head one way, or move her hips to the side, or give me a sly, sweet smile. There is no just standing still for this girl!!! She's sees the camera and her model-like poses come from out of nowhere!

It happens ALL of the time...these few pictures are just from one afternoon out in the backyard!! Oh, Kylie Joy...you make us laugh! :-)

Cousins are the BEST!!!

As I mentioned in previous posts, we had a busy weekend FULL of visiting family and friends!

Of course, one of the highlights for the kids is having the opportunity to hang out and play with their cousins on BOTH sides of the family!

On Pat's side, my kids have five cousins (and one baby on the way!), ages 8, 6 1/2, 5 1/2, 4 1/2, 4 1/2 (yes, twins!). And, on my side, there are four cousins, ages 4, 2 1/2, 1 1/2, and 9 months! What fun it is to have cousins SO close in age!

So, for now, I will let the pictures do the talking and share with you some of the FUN we had this weekend!

Here are the kids playing with Pat's sister, Jenny's kids. We stayed with them two nights while we were there, so the kids had more time than usual to play together. They had so much fun putting on plays and dressing up and changing roles! It was entertaining and so fun to watch them interact and do this!

Grace, Kylie, Mackenzie

Ryan, Sean, Caleb

Action photo of one of the skits!!

We also took a road trip an hour away to see Pat's other sister, Katie and her family. We went to a beautiful flower garden and got some fun pictures of the cousins playing here! The kids also enjoyed playing in Kendra and Jackson's pool...definitely a high-light!!

Mackenzie, Kylie, Kendra, Jackson, Caleb

Pat's Mom with the kids

A family picture

And, the trip wouldn't be complete without seeing the rest of the cousins who live in the area too!! We had fun going to my sister's house - dress-up was another activity of choice and so was the sprinkler...it was REALLY hot that day!!

The girls - Kylie, Avery, Olivia, Mackenzie

The boys - Caleb, Isaac, Jackson

What a blessing are cousins...we love you all dearly and always have so much fun playing with you!!! Thanks for the FUN weekend!

When Bloggy-life and Real Life Collide...

Although I have never been one to "connect" over the internet, I have really enjoyed getting to know a few "blogging friends" by regularly reading their blogs. It has been so fun to watch their kids grow and see pictures, connect about life, and even now again share some emails too.

However, yesterday, at my friend from college, Mck Mama's birthday gathering, I had the opportunity to meet in flesh, a few of these blogging buddies AND at the same time reconnect with some of my dear, dear friends/roommates from college!!! It was an encouraging time of heartfelt conversation, lots of laughs, and sharing of our lives in such a neat way! How wonderful!!!

Here are the old "roomies" from the college days...

Back: Me, Mck Mama, Rachel, Yvette

Front: Shanel, Becky

And, the great "collision" of blogging life and real life...

Hilary, Angela, Mck Mama, Rachel, Tiffany, Me, Yvette

Thanks to Mck Mama for hosting this gathering! I SOOOOOOO look forward to this being a yearly time of connecting and sharing our lives together IN PERSON in this precious way!! What fun! :-)

Answer to the mystery picture...

Well...we are back from our four-day excursion out of town!!! And, what a weekend we had!

It was full of traveling from place to place to visit family and then was topped off with a wonderful gathering of old and new friends!!! I had such a blast seeing my college friends from back in the days (it is amazing how long ago "the days" really ARE now!), reconnecting, seeing their adorable kids, and just spending time being together, AND meeting some new blogging friends as well. What a blessing!!! I definitely will have more pictures of that time to come a bit later...

BUT...before I do that, I thought that I better let you know just WHAT this picture is!! Thanks so much to those of you who guessed! I so enjoyed reading your thoughts and guesses!! :-)

The "winners" are Jaci and Drew!! Yes...it IS water and yes, it IS splashes!!! :-) Good guess, you guys!!

However, no one really guessed the mystery colored-object in the middle of all of these splashes! It was KYLIE!!!

Here is the full picture of Kylie going down our slide and into our blow-up pool! How she got herself fully immersed in the water like this is beyond me!

Here are some more pictures of the kiddos in action...(don't ask me what Caleb has on his head! What can I say...he is a silly boy!). :-)

Thanks again to those of you who played my little "game"...and to those of you who thought that I was creative enough to do something with clay, paper mache, or something else creative like that!!! That was so kind of you! (I really am not that creative!)! :-)

A little guessing game...

I like games. Any kind of games, really. Board games, athletic games, mind/thinking games. I like them all. Well, mostly all of them.

So, I have a little "game" for you all to play here. Are you ready? It is going to be SO FUN and SO EXCITING!!! ha ha ha :-)

Here is a cropped-in picture. Any ideas as to what this picture is???

I would LOVE to hear your guesses!!! :-)

We will be taking off tomorrow for a four-day trip to visit family and see some old friends as well. It most definitely will be busy, very fun, and I am sure tiring too!! But, we are very much looking forward to it! SO...I won't be able to share the answer to this picture-mystery until we get home on Monday!!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend too!! :-)

**And if you have a chance, please visit my friend Mck Mama's blog. She and her family most definitely need our prayers right now as they just found out that their unborn baby has some heart complications. So, please pray for them! Thanks!

And the Race is on...

Our busy, very fun 4th of July weekend started out bright and early on the 4th!!

My sister, Katie, and I signed up to run in our town's annual 10K race called the Firecracker 10K. Katie picked me up bright and early at 7:00, and off we were to a local park to wait for the race to begin at 8:00.

I had never run a 10K before...and really, hadn't really run a road race since my track and field days in high school (and each year that is getting farther and farther away!). So, to give me SOME racing experience before I attempt to run a 1/2 marathon in September, I thought that it might be fun to try this out! And, I reeled my sister in to join me on this endeavor since they were coming to town for the weekend. It really was lots of fun!

Well, let me clarify. The actual race itself was a great experience and I DID enjoy it! However, let's also just say that the last mile was anything BUT "lots of fun"!!! :-)

I really had no idea how to "pace myself" and may have started out a bit ambitious in determining my pace. BUT...I persevered through and ran hard...even when I really wanted to just quit that last LONG mile. OK, maybe it really wasn't any LONGER than the other miles...but it sure felt that way! :-) And, of course, the finish line had to be uphill a bit too...isn't that the way that it always works??

All and all it was fun...and I actually finished in a better time that I was anticipating (and so did Katie). So, I guess that was good too!! :-)

Pat and Craig (my sister's hubby) brought the kids down at the end of the race so that they could see their mommies run!

The kids just waiting and watching

My kiddos with me just a few minutes after I finished

Katie and her girls right after she finished (her Isaac was back at home with my parents)

The running sisters

They also had a little "kiddie race" there for the kids to run if they wanted. Each participant got a ribbon and some candy...so, that was exciting!!

The whole crew

Thanks, Katie, for training and running to do this with me...it was a fun thing to do together!!! You did great!! :-) I look forward to more races together!!

Backyard Camping Experience!!!

Last night, to get fully ready for the big 4th of July (one of my kids' favorite holidays for some reason!), Pat decided to do a backyard camp-out with the kiddos!! They were SO excited and anxiously awaited it all day!!

So, when Daddy came home from work, they were ready to help him get everything set up and ready!

First the tent had to go up...

Then, it was supper "camping-style" using the camp stove (even though the real stove was just feet away!)...we had to get the "real" experience, you know??

And, what would camping be without a campfire and some Smores??

And, without a "food pack" put up high in the trees so that the "bears" can't get it ("it" being their packets of oatmeal for the morning!)??

Ahh...nice and clean and now ready for bed...and SO excited!!

As Pat often does at night, he brought his guitar out to relax the kids and soothe them to sleep...

Everyone slept GREAT (well, except Pat)...it was a little cramped in this two-person backpacking tent! And, the kids had a most excellent time!! I am so thankful for the fun memories that we are creating with the kids and as a family...I feel so blessed!!

Oh...and for ME, it was weird to have the house to myself last night. It was crazy to go to bed that way!!! But, there really wasn't any room for me in the "inn" (AKA, tent!) AND I had a 10K to run this morning...so, I needed a nice, comfortable, GOOD night of sleep!! :-)

I hope that you all are having a great 4th of July! We sure are! More pics to come later... :-)