Things that make my heart smile

VBS in our little village next week!

Funny truth:

For real:

Seeing and hearing Annah at the piano

The girls were both babysitting yesterday, and it was just me and Caeden at home.  We had some fun playing with a new SnapChat filter while he practiced drums and guitar.

Annah and Nola baked rainbow alien cookies with Oreos yesterday.

And today, they baked a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting and gold sprinkles!

Aunt Martha and Roger were staying the night in Normal on their way from Arizona...through Kansas...through Missouri...through Illinois...through Indiana...to Georgia!  We met them at Giordano's for some Chicago-style deep-dish pizza this evening.  

It was so nice to see them and chat for a bit!

College Dorm Room Shopping

The guys were volunteering at Midwest Nationals Wrestling Tournament today, so Annah and I decided to go shopping for her college dorm stuff!

We went to Dollar Tree and got a bunch of really great storage items, and a few school supplies.  Then we hit Target with some gift cards.  As we were going into Bed Bath and Beyond, we saw this poster for a sale tomorrow!  So, we staked out exactly what she wanted to buy so we can just go in and get it all on sale tomorrow!

Anything soft must be touched.

She did find a comforter she loved for a STEAL, and we were afraid it wouldn't be there tomorrow, so we got it today. She is really excited to get one of these rolling carts tomorrow, along with some hangers for multiple pairs of pants, and some more bedding.

Jeremy suggested I take her to Oberweiss.  

She got this huge strawberry milkshake--which wasn't even a large!

And she conquered it!

The guys met us there as we were finishing up and ordered their ice cream to go.  Annah and I went to Michaels to see if we could find some yarn so I could make a pillow anything like an expensive Ugg pillow she saw.

I really had such a great time shopping with my girl!  I know it will be emotional when we move her into her dorm room, but I am excited for her to have her own adventures and glad I could spend this day helping her prepare.

We saw her!

It's been hard not having contact with Sylvia the past few days, and I've been repeatedly checking Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp social media for any glimpse of her in the sparse photos they post.  Today, I saw her!  There were several photos of rehearsals around camp posted, and when I saw this one of the cellos in orchestra from the back, Sylvia's in her space buns stood out!

Annah noticed she was sitting third chair, and I recognized the same director she had last year and knew she had made Masterworks Orchestra again!

I also noticed her wrist brace was on, and that there are TONS of cellos in this orchestra!

I hope we will get a letter from her, but it was so wonderful to get a little peek at her this way!

Here at our house, Annah has been doing all the babysitting this week that she and Sylvia usually split.  She love hanging out with Nola too, and thinks she's really funny!  Today, Annah showed Nola a little bit about the violin.

Caeden mowed our yard today.

I'm working on an entrelac bag in cotton for my mom.

Back at Blue Lake

A year ago, both Sylvia and Annah attended Session 2 at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and loved it! Because of all the unexpected expenses we've had of late, and the upcoming expense of Annah going off to college, we had not planned on anyone going to camp this summer.  But, when we got home home from vacation, Sylvia had a letter from Blue Lake offering her a nearly half-tuition alumni scholarship to attend Session 1 or 2!  She had loved it so much she didn't want to leave last year, and she grew so much as a musician as well...Daddy immediately agreed to send her again!  

Because I had promised all my students that I wouldn't be taking any more Wednesdays off, Jeremy agreed to take Sylvia up to Michigan.  They left around 9pm last night after Ridgeview Youth Wrestling Camp ended and Jeremy got a shower, and they drove until about 2am and found a hotel. This morning, Sylvia's assigned check-in time was 8:30-10am, and they got to camp about 9am.  

After making sure she was situated in her cabin, had her medicines checked in (and that they did, in fact, have her health form on file), and putting emergency money in her bank account, and taking the below picture for me, Jeremy left Sylvia for the next 12 days.

Her next task would be to audition for placement into an orchestra.  She was very nervous!  Auditions are not her favorite.  But, I'm sure she did well, and we are looking forward to hearing all about it when we go back to get her!

We already miss her and are praying for her health, safety, and entire experience!

Annah needed something to do with her hands, and she wanted to learn how to make scrunchies.  So, I reminded her how to do a slip knot, chain, single crochet, and double crochet.  She is working on a dishcloth before we try scrunchies.  

I love seeing her enjoy creating something.

Wrestling Camp

This week is wrestling camp week.  

I saw these pictures, and it occurred to me that Caeden is there as a "big kid" high schooler this time, not as one of the little kids just learning!  It was a little shocking to me!

After church this morning, we had one last cookout for the weekend together.

It's a wonderful kind of chaotic when we all have a meal together. 

Love this grew so much.

After lunch, we headed home. This was just as we were getting very near our house...