Another wonderful week....

The children and I started an online Vacation Bible School program through Holy Heroes called "Summer Faith Adventure."  Each day, there were videos, crafts, snacks and games that revolved around the teaching for the day.  We learned so much!  We learned about King David and the parallels between that shepherd and our Good Shepherd.  We learned about the wisdom of his son Solomon.  In the pictures below, are cookies we baked shaped like crowns and keys.  (crowns for the early king David and for the Heavenly King, Jesus.  Keys to represent the keys David gave to his master of the palace on earth and the keys to the Heavenly Kingdom given to Peter).  Another day, we made stained glass windows as crafts and as snacks, learning that that is how many learned important stories of the Bible if they could not read or afford one.

The kiddos also enjoyed swimming in their grandparents' pool.  Amazing how kids can just jump right into freezing water!  The hose wasn't even out yet and they were on their way in.  :-)  Just the thought of it would put my husband and I into coronary arrest, but I guess, that in our younger years, extremes in temperatures of all kinds were not so bothersome, either.  :-)  They had an awesome time, as you can see.

The first fruits of our little garden were also harvested this past week.  We enjoyed the cucumbers and tomatoes immensely and are looking forward to the peppers and eggplant, as well.

My husband and I took the children on a weekend excursion to Hershey.  He only has off on a Friday and Saturday once every two months.  When that coincides with his military duty, it could be as long as four months.  So, since the rain last week stopped our visit into Hersheypark, we promised the kids that we would try again on dad's days off.  What fun we had!

We went to an Adventure sports facility for batting cages and miniature golf.  We drove into Lancaster for an all you can eat smorgasbord and ended that night with a swim in the hotel pool.

The next morning, we headed to Hersheypark and went right into the waterpark where we literally spent most of the day.  The kids laughed that the giant "beach and wave pool" was so much better than the ocean since there were no jelly fish and mom didn't have to say "don't go out too far."  :-)  It was awesome jumping the waves with them over and over again.  And to see the boys taking turns lifting their sister over the waves was awesome.  There were lots of other water rides, too, that kept us plenty occupied (and soaked) for the day.

We shut down the park (along with everyone else trying to squeeze every last minute out of their admissions fees!) at 11pm, having gone on lots more rides and just having fun together.  We didn't want to come home!  :-)  And, yes, we indulged in chocolate and enjoyed every bite.

On Monday, we continued our Summer Faith Adventure with the kids making their own prayer books.  I really was impressed with how seriously they took the project and how they chose each picture so carefully.  I printed what they chose on photo paper, so they came out quite nicely.

Monday night we were treated to a "show" by our youngest two.  They reenacted "Jungle Book" complete with each of the characters.  It was very authentic and very sweet.  Each of us was given a personalized ticket and had a seat waiting with our names on it.  They did a great job.  Our 9 year old kept asking me to take pictures and to make sure that they were "put on the blog."  :-)  So, here they are:

And to put the icing on the cake of our great week, our tadpoles and caterpillars arrived.  Time to see and learn about the miracle of life and development first hand.  We will definitely post updates on these new arrivals!

Another week gone by.  They seem to do that faster and faster, don't they?  But, I do realize how richly blessed I am to have made even more wonderful memories with my family, whom I adore.

Highlights of the Week

What an event-filled week we have had here!

Last Saturday, Mike and I took the kids to a local carnival followed by fireworks.  They had a lot of fun on the rides and we just "happened" to have some chairs and blankets in the back of the van, lol, so we were all ready for the fireworks demonstration which was quite impressive for a local township.

On the 3rd, we had a barbecue with family and enjoyed lots of food and good company.  I wrote about the 4th in a previous post.  We spent the day quietly together and got some much needed work done outside.

On the 5th, I took the kiddos bowling.  They have gotten quite good the last few months bowling with our homeschool bowling league every week.  The league will continue in the fall, but the kiddos still like to go each week to work on their skills and have fun!  :-)  They all scored close to or over 100! (better than their mom, that's for sure, but I'm getting better, lol!) 

On the 6th, Kiddo #4 had her much anticipated last day of sewing class.  She has been in a homeschool sewing class since after Christmas and has shown incredible skill.  The quilt she made as her final project literally took months to complete.  I am not only proud of how breathtakingly beautiful it is, but with her patience and perseverance.  It amazes me that each of those tiny rectangles had to be cut out and sewn into squares, each with a precise position and then, in turn, each of those squares having to be sewn in their particular place, as well.  It really is gorgeous and we are so proud of her!

Yesterday, Mike was off from work, so we surprised the kiddos with a half-day trip up to Hershey.  Since it was lightning and some of the rides and waterpark had to be closed, we chose to go into Chocolate World instead and save the park for another day, maybe next week.  :-)  We not only got to see and get photos with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, the kids got to be "Factory Workers" and make their own batches of Hershey Kisses, complete with their photos on the containers.  What a great memento!  We ended the day with dinner in a lovely little cafe.  I thought my little teacup so lovely and delicate that I just had to take a photo of it.  The kids liked the lion fountain. 

What a wonderful and fun-filled week together!  We are blessed.  I am looking forward to making many more memories with my family as the summer marches on.









Happy Independence Day!

Sometimes it is overwhelming when trying to comprehend the magnitude of what took place during those days in July of 1776.  For us, 200+ years later, freedom from a controlling or colonial power is expected and even commonplace.  For our founding fathers, it was not.  No colony had broken off from a "mother country" in the history of the world to that point.  And if considering doing so wasn't monumental enough, to consider doing so from the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world was what seemed to be an insurmountable task. 

Yet, we achieved it.  And we achieved it by not only winning militarily, but our founders infused into a merely revolutionary document (The Declaration of Independence) statements regarding rights and freedoms.  They stated for the whole world to see that this was more than a war against tyranny and oppression, it was a statement of human dignity.  It was a broadcast to the world then and for generations to come that our Lord God made us free and no one on earth had/has the right to take that from us.  That is what is overwhelming sometimes to ponder, yet ponder it we must, perhaps even more so during these times than the times in which it was written.  We must always remember what those brave men had the courage to sign, at risk of their lives and those of their families, an incredible "expression of the American mind" that forever enshrined the values upon which this nation was founded.  May God bless America!

Flashback: Trip to Historic Philadelphia

Last week, I surprised the kiddos with a trip to historic Philadelphia.  We are blessed to live so close to the birthplace of our nation.  My kids yelled out "Yay!  We're going to see the Liberty Bell!"  Wow!  :-)  My favorite part of the day was our taking a horse and buggy ride.  There is something amazing about hearing things like "on that corner is where George Washington sat for the portrait that is on the dollar bill" or "there is where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence."  There were some lesser-known (at least to me) facts like the location of Dr. Physick's home and that he is more famous for inventing soda pop, not being the father of "modern" surgery.  Go figure.  lol.  :-)  We even got in a visit to the Mint and were able to see money being made.  Visiting Benjamin Franklin's grave and seeing a copy of the Declaration printed in his print shop ended our visit.  Another day filled with wonderful memories together....

Versatile Blogger Award

I was so excited to win this award!  Thank you to the Spangler family from the Writing Garden for selecting my blog!

The rules of the award are:
1) Thank the giver
2) Tell 7 things about yourself
3) Award fifteen bloggers with the award

My 7 "things" (in no special order):
1) My husband and I have 4 children: 3 boys and 1 girl
2) My husband is in the Army and I take quite seriously my obligation as a military spouse and I am proud of him beyond words.
3) I love to bake.  My kids keep saying I should open my own business.
4) I always am looking for new recipes to cook for my family.
5) My background is in education, with both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in the field.  I currently teach American History in the evenings for a local college.
6) I am proud to be both a devout Catholic Christian and a conservative.
7) My greatest and proudest achievement is homeschooling our children.

Here are the new award winners:
1)Totus Tuus Family
2) Our Side of the Mountain
3) Does it Come in Chocolate?
4) Raising Real Men
5) The Chuppies
6) It's the Little Things
7) Growing with My Girls
8) Slightly Crunchy Catholic
9) Light of My Life
10) Embracing Motherhood
11) Pondered in my Heart
12) Defining Beauty
13) Catholic Icing
14) A Catholic Life
15) Home with the Boys

Father's Day 2011

Fathers have a special role
In each young child’s life
To mold and shape them to become
A follower of Christ
To show them the Father’s heart
And help them understand
How God’s love can be their guide
As they take Him by the hand.
© By M.S.Lowndes

For Father's day this year, we took a day trip to Lancaster, PA to "ride the rails" and enjoy a "day out with Thomas."  The look on our 9 year old's face when he saw the lifesize Thomas engine coming down the tracks was priceless!  The kids all had a good time. 

I truly treasure such time as a family and am grateful beyond words for a husband who is such a wonderful and loving father.

Flashback: Kiddo #1's 13th Birthday

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the 13th birthday of Kiddo #1, who decided to make an entrance into the world 5 weeks early! (and still was over 7 pounds, lol!) Our precious preemie has turned into a wonderful young man who is not only handsome, but thoughtful, kind and smart. (and very tall, lol! He is already over 5'10". Definitely going to be tall like his dad!)

We celebrated his day by visiting an indoor water park and boy did they have fun!  I mean after 8 hours, I still had to coax them out of the place, lol!

For his choice of dinner, he decided on homemade pizzas!  More fun and tasty, too.  :-)

We are so blessed!

And yes, for the record, I did climb that 4 story staircase several times to come down the waterslides.   Mission accomplished: Kiddo #1 had an awesome 13th birthday!  :-)