summer stuff

Caeden got a bike! Actually, he was given two! One is just the right size for him now, and the other will fit him well next summer! He is su-uper glad not to have to ride his sister's pink and purple bike, and to have his very own!!! Thank you Kellers!!



We're in Indiana again, for our last trip of the summer. We got here Wednesday, and have already been swimming a few times, picked and eaten LOTS of yummies from Grandpa's garden, and had lots of fun!!

Grandma got goggles for visitors to wear in the pool.
Caeden tried them on to see what they're like...


How do you like this creepy crawler?!? It's pretty gross looking, but so cool! Sylvia saw it when she was visiting Gram & Grandpa last weekend, and the kids are checking on it every day, seeing what it's doing. It has eaten the leaves off of at least 4 branches of the little tree and growing bigger each day! It is a Cecropia Silkmoth Worm, which is also sometimes called the Robin Moth, and is apparently America's largest moth. (I found more information about it here, with lots of photos.) The kids are hoping they'll get to see it hatch in the spring, but that would be some lucky timing, since we live 200 miles away...


Yesterday, we got to spend the day with [second] cousins! Wendy brought Aidan and Esme down from Michigan, and Samantha is here all week visiting her Grandpa & Grandma. We all enjoyed some swim time, eating, and laughing and visiting. The kids play SO well together, and it was so nice to sit and chat with Wendy all afternoon!
L to R: Esme - (24 days from being 5!), Samantha - (9), Annah - (7), Aidan - (8), Sylvia - (5), Caeden - (3)



I forgot to add in the last post a little brag on my husband! I am so proud of him for many reasons, but last week he found out he was chosen for the Leadership McLean County program for 2009! It is an honor, and he is really looking forward to being involved in the program over the next year or so, as well as serving in our county after that!

new banner!

How do you like our new banner? I LOVE it! The very talented Kristine made it for me! She is awesome!! Thank you so much Kristine!!

Speaking of Kristine, I should report that I am so happy she has chosen me to be the new Blog Coordinator at her fantastic site, Creative Scrappers! I get to update the blog each week with the Design Team reveal, Guest Designer info, and other fun stuff that's going on around the community! Fun for me! I'm honored to be a part of such an inspirational, fun online scrapbooking community!

What's new around here to report on...?? Well, first off, I am in shock about how fast summer has gone by! The girls start school in 10 days! That means in 10 days my heart will, once again, be ripped right out of my chest as I have to watch Sylvia get on the school bus and go off to kindergarten. I am dealing with that by just not dealing with it. Can't even. And that's that.

We've made a couple trips to State Farm park in the past week. LOVE that place. But, I will not take my camera there. Our little Cybershot doesn't operate anymore, so no SF Park pics. Sorry! But, we have tons of fun there. It's like Disney to the kids! That makes Mommy & Daddy very happy too!

Friday, Jeremy decided last minute to make the trip to Indiana to see some of his family coming in from Arizona and Georgia. He took Sylvie along! They packed lots of adventures in to the quick trip! They went swimming, fishing, to the family gathering, Sylvia had a date with Gram & Grandpa to the Magic Wand, and they got back home Sunday evening. She loved her trip with Daddy.

We have done most of our school supply shopping now. The girls have all their supplies, except for their good every-day gym shoes, which will wait a while. Annah will also start with her old P.E. shoes from last year until we get her foot measured. I figure they're going to want to wear their summer shoes for a while to school anyway. Sylvie is now saying, "I can't wait for these next 2 weeks to be over, so I can go to school!" I have their school supplies sitting out in the living room right now, so she is looking at them, itching to go to school and use them all!

Last week, we had Ashley overnight for 2 nights. She and Annah are just so "BFF!" We only had a little bit of drama and hurt feelings for a few minutes the second night. Then I realized they were just toooooo exhausted, got them calmed down, and put them to bed! It was fun to have her here. Annah is just in pure joy when they're together.



Yesterday, we spent all afternoon at a sprinkler park with Ash and her brother Jacob and their mom, my friend Carlene. Although I was a bad mommy and didn't put any sunscreen on any of us (I know!!! Shame, shame!!!!) and we all got a little pink, we had SO much fun!! Didn't take my camera there either...I'm finding there is a downside to having an expensive camera...There are places I don't want to take it, because I'm afraid it will get damaged. And, then I miss out on great photo ops.

The girls love to craft and scrapbook when they can. The recently did these pages using photos from their scavenger hunt earlier this summer, as well as some of my paper scraps. They chose their papers, and I helped them punch out the squares. The rest the did themselves. Well, Daddy helped Sylvia with her journaling! They are now in our big scrapbook for 2008!

Here is Annah's page:
Her journaling says, "At church in KidMo we did a scavenger hunt. Two of the pictures was: Me by the sandbox and me in a flower garden."



And Sylvia's page:
Her journaling says,"This is Sylvia on her scavenger hunt. 'I am sitting by the sandbox.' 'I am still on my scavenger hunt and I am sitting by a flower bed.'"


I feel like I haven't made the most of this summer and done all the fun things you're "supposed" to do in the summer, like go to the zoo, and take a big vacation, but we have had a lot of fun and a lot of relaxing time. We have a lot to do in the next 10 days!

Dr. Alfredo Sauce?

The kids' have a new-ish pediatrician. Really he's probably been around over a year, but we haven't had many occasions to visit him, as the kids have been pretty healthy in the past couple years. (Thank you, Lord!!!) But, we went last week for check-ups/school physicals for all three kids, and we saw Dr. Ebreo. His name is pronounced like uh-bray-oh. So...that is a little different word in Caeden's mind, and he has taken to calling him either Dr. Alfredo Sauce or Dr. Ebreo Sauce! Love it. I'm half tempted to call him up and tell him about his new name. He's very cool. I think he'd appreciate it!


It was interesting taking all 3 kids for their physicals... (In fact, the doctor's office wasn't going to allow me to bring them all on one day "because it's too much paperwork at once and it get's too confusing." I was a little peeved about that, and told them [mostly] nicely that I live 40 minutes away, and I was not making more than one trip over there, unless they would like to pay the $20 for my gas to get there twice! After speaking with Dr. Ebreo, we received "special permission" to have all 3 children's appoinments on one day. That's good, because if we hadn't, we'd have been finding a new pediatrician. Sorry to rant. Not many things annoy me like that, but that just got my goat! I really do love our pediatricians office!) Anyhoo...

The kid were hoping for no shots, and I was pretty sure none would need them. They were all up to date on their vaccinations, so that was good. But, since we live in a high risk area for lead poisoning, they all had to have lead tests. Caeden went first, and he only winced and whimpered a little bit when they pricked his finger. When he got a cool band-aid, he was fine. Sylvia, on the other hand, was crying while Caeden was being pricked and was really freaked out by the time it was her turn. She continued to cry while it was Annah's turn...

Annah had had a rash all over her torso for more than a week, and I noticed that morning it had changed from raised bumps to tiny, darker spots. That was concerning, so I had the doctor look at it. He immediately said they would have to do a blood draw to check her blood cell and platelet levels. That was concerning too, and ordinarily I would have probably been extreeeeeeemely worried. But, we went through the very same thing with her when she was about two. I remember it well, because I was pregnant with Sylvia and all emotions were greatly heightened when Dr. Kramer mentioned platelets and leukemia and I had to hold my baby while they stuck needles in her. I remember Jeremy leaving work immediately and rushing home to be with us. Dr. Kramer called us himself to tell us everything was clear. We prayed so hard that day. I remember begging God not to take Annah from us, not to let her be sick. And, I thank Him to this day for her health, and for the reminder we had last week when she had to be tested again--and everything came out fine again. God, I am thankful to have health--for my children and myself. Thank you Lord, for being so good to us!

In the stats category...Caeden officially weighs more than Sylvia (I've been suspicious for a while.), though she is still 1.5" taller than he. Annah can now tease me that she is only 1' shorter than I. They're growing!

Giving, Conviction, and Scrapping

I am up too late, so who knows how coherent this will be, but I wanted to blog anyway. A couple stories to share first, about the girls...

Yesterday, Sylvia went to a little boy friend's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. (She was the only girl, but didn't mind at all. They were all boys from her preschool class.) Anyway, she chose a gift for her friend, which Daddy was kind enough to pay for. She had for herself a $25 gift card to Toy 'R' Us, and wanted to buy a big stuffed bunny. When a bunny couldn't be found, she chose 2 doll babies she could carry in back-pack fashion, some Pull 'n' Peel Twizzlers, and maybe something else i can't remember. She was so excited when Daddy brought her home to show me. Her face was just glowing and she was itching to open her dollies and play with them! She opened one and was just beginning to play with it as Annah watched, when I started listening more intently to their conversation... Sylvia chose to give one of the babies to Annah, without Annah even suggesting she would like it (at least not with more than her eyes), because she had one dolly and "didn't need" two. I think Annah was practically speechless. I was crying. Jeremy was in total awe. It was beautiful. We were so happy to see Sylvia so giving and unselfish toward her sister.

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Totally unrelated story (as far as I can tell)... Tonight about 10 minutes after we tucked the kids in bed, Sylvia came out into the hallway and told us that Annah was crying in her bed...pretty unusual for Annah, at least since she was fine when we tucked her in. So, I went up stairs, and there she was in tears. When I asked her what was the matter, she said, "I haven't done anything nice for my family!" After a little discussion, it came out that she was feeling bad that she doesn't do nice things or give things to anyone. (Totally untrue, I must say. I quickly listed off several nice things she's done for people in just the past few days--including using her KidMo "money" at church this morning to "buy" a pair of flip-flops for ME!) I don't know why she was feeling so guilty, but I think God was really convicting her heart! I talked and prayed with her to help her calm down, but remember her feeling of conviction and to act on it tomorrow and in the following days. I pray that God will bless her with a servant's heart, and that she will continue to be a blessing to others throughout her life!

That is something I really struggle with and am convicted of regularly--being a servant and encourager to others. I SO want to!!! I am still learning... I often sing this song as a prayer...I learned it as a child, and have loved it most of my life...

Make Me A Servant

Make me a servant, humble and meek.
Lord, let me lift up those who are week.
And, may the prayer of my heart always be
Make me a servant. Make me a servant. Make me a servant today.

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In other news, I've been scrapbooking all weekend for the Sketchfest at Creative Scrappers. I got a lot of pages done and am still working on some more. It's been very inspiring. Here are a few...(click to see them larger)

Sylvia
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Caeden & Great Grandma
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Share The Love
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Gliding
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Free
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com


If you like, you can see more in my gallery at Scrapbook.com.


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In other news, work on the house is not really going... We are in search of a contractor to finish the windows and siding and do soffetts on the upper level, but the ones we've contacted so far have not followed through. It's very frustrating and stressful. We would appreciate any prayers if you'd like to join us in praying to find that reliable, available, quality contractor!!

Garden Update

Our [first] gardening adventure of 2008 has been...well...I wouldn't say a real success. But things are growing!
Since I have no tiller and everything was planted by hand, the weeds have been impossible to keep up with in such a large space. But, we've managed to keep them away from the sunflowers (which are very tall now!), the tomatoes (of which there are many green ones, and the cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen), and all the squash plants.

We have cucumbers, zucchini, and yellow squash ready. Spaghetti squash, and a couple of watermelons are growing, and pumpkins are blooming.

Sylvia and Caeden were super excited to help pick these things from the garden today!






Unsuccessful things: We have tons of expanding bunny families in our neighborhood, and the bunnies ate ALL the green bean plants as soon as they came up. (They also ate most of the peas, but after I put mothballs down, a few miraculously continued to grow. I picked a handful today.)
The lettuce, spinach, and cilantro was ready precisely while we were gone for 10 days and went to seed before we got back to get any of it. And, I never did get around to buying pepper plants.

So, we have at least learned a bit, and been happy to see some things grow that we can enjoy.

Parachute fun!

Did you ever play with a giant parachute in P.E. class when you were a kid? That was one of the very few things I remember loving in P.E. (Man, I hated P.E.!) Anway...! We have a small one I got through Oriental Trading, and the kids had fun playing with it today...




They like to see how many of them they can get under it at once.

Usually, they all make it.

"Daddy, see?!"

The kids love to play under what few trees we have in our yard. Under this one, they pretend to have parties, and decorate by hanging jump ropes and ribbon rings from the branches.

Recent Scrappy Pages

Haven't posted any pages in a while, so I thought I would. I scrapped quite a bit while we were on vacation, and have done a few this week too. (As always, click the photos to see them larger and with more details.)

This page, I did for a sketch challenge at Creative Scrappers. I am so honored that it was chosen as the "Layout of the Day" there today!

Home
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

One of Caedzeroo...

Squishy
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Annah's violin recital...

Recital
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Some older photos of Caeden a couple years ago...

Raincoat
by TarynLeah
Scrapbook.com

Empty Me

I heard this song on the radio the other day that was new to me, and I was caught and drawn into worship right there in my car by the lyrics. Turns out, it was Chris Sligh singing. As in, Chris Sligh from American Idol a couple-few seasons back. Anyhow, I've just been singing and praying these lyrics over and over in my head this week, and thought I'd share.

Empty Me

I’ve had just enough
Of the spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood
I’ve tasted my share
Of the sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough

I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds onto
Lord, empty me of me so I can be filled with you

I’ve seen just enough
Of the quick buys of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away

‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you, compared to you
‘Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you, so I surrender all

You can hear the song here.

Camp Wa-nik'-ska-ka

Today was Annah's first day of Camp Wa-nik'-ska-ka, which is State Farm's kids' day-camp. She gets to go with her BFF Ashley, and has been SO excited about it for months!

Daddy got her up early and ready for camp this morning about 6:15. He made sure she set out her clothes and everything she'd need for camp--backpack, swimsuit, towel, gym shoes, socks--and slathered her with sunscreen. He took her to breakfast at McDonald's on the way, sweet and thoughtful daddy he is. And, after camp he picked her up and took her to her violin lesson.

Annah had a total blast at camp! She thought it was cool that each activity lasted an hour--a really long time in her world. They did crafts, went swimming, played games, ate lunch, and did all kinds of stuff she thought was awesome. She can't wait to go again next Tuesday!

Hopper

Grandma Lopshire gave Caeden a Lightning McQueen hopper for Christmas. Caeden finally got Daddy to pump it up over the weekend. Man, this is the perfect toy for our bouncy kid!!! He loves it just as much as he thought he would, and is having a blast bouncing all around the yard on it!! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!