Beating the Heat

Popsicles and back yard baby pools...two of my fondest summer time memories. We would always have a small pool in the back yard and eat popsicles. The two kind of popsicles I remember having when I was young are icees (the long skinny tubes of flavored ice in plastic sleeves) and the kind Mom would make out of kool-aid in some Tupperware molds. I liked the kind Mom made except, when I made some homemade popsicles of my own last week, I was reminded of the one reason I liked the store-bought kind better. The only problem with the homemade kind is that when you suck all the good flavor out, it's just like eating an ice cube. Oh well...it sure didn't stop the kids from enjoying every sticky drop!
I found a fun recepie this summer for some "Patriotic Pops." I saw it in a magazine with just juice, but found one that worked even better on familyfun.com. They take a little planning ahead since you have to freeze each layer seperately, but they sure have been a big hit in our family! The cousins even enjoyed a "patriotic pop" after we got back from a swim at the city pool! (Spidergirl - a.k.a. Sylvia and Liongirl - a.k.a. Aly even took a break from dress-up to partake in the pops!!)

Amber Waves of Grain

Summer in Kansas is one of those things that was not easy for me to find beauty in. Especially after living 8 years in the Ozarks, the flat, treeless land has taken me a while to learn to appreciate. One of the pretty summer sights (besides the wild flowers and sunflowers, of course) is the wheat. I especially like it when it is beginning to grow and it is that vibrant green color. When it waves in the wind, it is so alive and beautiful. I am also beginning to appreciate it at harvest time when it turns golden brown. It is a rich yellowish color that reminds me of Rumpelstiltskin spinning his gold. :)


Chuck has been blessed the last two summers to help a farmer friend of ours harvest his wheat. Farming is one of Chuck's loves so he looks forward to the chance to be able to drive a combine and help cut wheat. They work very long hours, but the kids get to go and ride with him. They think it's great and they get to spend some good time alone with Daddy! God's creation truly is amazing...even in Kansas!

Brandy's Edifying Meme

My friend, Brandy, who I knew from when we lived in Missouri tagged her blog readers with this meme:

1. The best parenting advice you've ever received.
2. The best marital advice you've ever received.
3. The one thing you would do differently with your kids if you could do it all over.

I thought they were great things to think about so I will post my answers on my blog and TAG all of my readers as well. Hopefully you will all share your advice with me.

1. The best parenting advice I've ever received:
We have gotten so much great advice over our years as parents, but I think the thing that made the biggest impact (and still is) on both Chuck and me was from a video series we watched before Caleb was born by John Macarthur called Parenting by the Book. Dr. Macarthur said "You are not parenting for control but conversion. You are not parenting for submission but sanctification...Parenting first of all is redemptive." We are not parenting just to make our kids be 'good.' We are parenting to show them Jesus!

2.The best marital advice I've ever received:
Nurture the husband/wife relationship first...date your mate...make your relationship with your spouse first after your relationship with the Lord.
We were given a practical way to do this from the Growing Kids God's Way series by the Ezzos. They instructed us to take 15 minutes a day (while the kids are awake and home) to talk - just the two of us. This "couch time" as the Ezzos call it, has been a great habit to form.

3. The one thing I would do differently with my kids if I could do it all over:
Wow! To narrow it down to one thing! :) I think the main thing I would do differently would be not to get so frustrated or angry over the little things. Things like the kids spilling juice all over the kitchen and creating a layer of stickiness, or forgetting to bring shoes in from outside and having the dog chew them up, or anything else that just happens because they are children! I want to look back on this time of four small children and not remember me as a frustrated Mom, but as one who could find the good about having my shoe stick to the kitchen floor!

Mommy Training!

Here we go again! The joyous job of potty training. Since this is my third time around, I finally have it figured out --- God created us to excrete our waste solely for the purpose of teaching Mothers valuable lessons!!

My first two were relatively easy to potty train - they both took less than a week from start to finish, never wet the bed at night and were completely trained by age 2. But still as easy as I've heard that they were, it was one of my least favorite tasks to endure as a mother. And now...with our third...the age of 24 months is long gone!!! He is now 31 months and I am embarrassed to say he is not potty trained yet. He is my mold-breaker! He does things his own style. From labor to talking to being corrected to inventing his own language - he's going to add his own twist to life. Why should I be surprised that potty training be any different!?!

I am thankful, however, for the lessons this training process has taught me or re-taught me!

*PATIENCE, ENDURANCE, PERSEVERANCE!!!

*Each child is a unique, special gift from God in every way! They don't conform to my narrow mold.

*Any child can learn! (It just may take more creativity, work, and PRAYER to aid in the process).

*I don't have it all figured out yet even though I've "been there" before!

*The more I struggle and work, the sweeter the accomplishment.

He has made some great improvements and I do think the end is right around the corner. I thank the Lord for this chance to lean on Him a bit more and to learn to love Jake more! I do hope, though, that these lessons are over SOON!!

Baseball Update

Caleb's first time batting!
Caleb's baseball has been going well. His team is undefeated! (3-0) He has played a few different positions...short stop, right field, second base...but mostly he has been catcher. It is so cute to see him all decked out in the catchers garb! The only bad thing was that we weren't prepared for him to play catcher and the ball decided to take an unexpected jump! We went right out and bought an athletic cup for the second game :)

He does look small out on the field but he hustles and tries his hardest with the best of them! He has had a few really good hits. Chuck noticed he has picked up some habits from the many hours of Cubs watching at my parents house! Chuck couldn't figure out his little "batting ritual" he had each time he came up to bat. Caleb would step up to the plate and methodically stretch his bat over the plate and scrape it towards himself. Then he would line up with one foot a little in front of the other and he was ready! As they were watching the Cubs the next night, Chuck watched as Soriono stepped up to the plate, stretched his bat over the plate and scraped his bat! Then he lined his feet with one ahead of the other and hit the ball! It just reminds me how much our kids learn from simply observing! Amazing and very scary. My prayer is that he would be able to discern from an early age the things that are worth imitating and that he would have Godly examples to imitate!
Caleb's first game

The Beach

On our way to Illinois from Michigan, we got to stop off at the Indiana Dunes. It is a state park on Lake Michigan with giant sand dunes all around. The kids had a blast! The water was freezing - it was only 80 degrees outside and we guessed the water to be around 40-50 degrees, but it sure didn't slow them down!

We were there with my parents and my brother, Curtis and his family. His son Cade is almost 2. He and Jake had fun together (most of the time)! :) They are about 7 months apart so they liked a lot of the same toys. :) We had such a great time with them!

This is the closest we'll get to being at a beach this summer, so I took lots of pictures and pretended we were at the ocean!

Back Home

We just got back from a 12 day trip to Illinois and Michigan. My Grandfather on my Dad's side died, so we went to his funeral in Michigan. It was a hard couple of days (especially for Dad). But we were able to see family we hadn't seen for a long time and when Dad and all his brothers and sisters get together (even for a funeral), they usually have a good time together. They are a crazy bunch! :) It was good to see everyone again.