Fun Fact Friday: The crazy days of Summer

Hey folks. I know I've missed the Fun Fact the last couple of Fridays, but this summer has been C-RAZY. Fun, but crazy. I thought I'd just give a couple of picture highlights of the fun times.

We kicked off the beginning of summer at church with a simultaneous girl pajama party/boy camp out on the last day of school. I had the camera with me at the pajama party, so those are the pictures I'll share. Brad & Bryce were at the camp out, but unfortunately have nothing digital to show for it.

The pajama party was a lot of fun. The girls got mani & pedi's, hair & makeup, karaoke, tattoos, story time, build your own sundae, cheerleading, and we showed the movie Enchanted. What more could a girl want......except another poster of High School Musical (which is what we gave out as door prizes). The book that I read at story time is entitled, The Princess and the Kiss, and it is a wonderful story for young girls about purity. Enjoy the pictures, they are pretty self explanatory. Obviously SK had a blast!



Next up, we have Bryce getting his Orange Belt in Karate. He started in January. He had to earn his white belt, and then 3 red stripes had to be earned. Then, you actually test for your orange belt. So, he was psyched about it.


Now, on to VBS. The kids have been having a great time this week in "Jerusalem". They have loved all the shops and songs and tribe time and activities. Bryce was in the tribe of Levi and Sara Kate was in the tribe of Judah. They have both made some great memories this week.

Bryce is having some tribe time with the tribe of Levi.

Sara Kate is proudly displaying the sign she made in the art shop.

Brad hard at work in the carpentry shop.


I was in the jewelry shop helping the kids make some fabulous cross necklaces, but I don't have that digitally documented either. (I'm always the one with the camera).

In addition to these things, we've hosted some things for Tres Dias and I'm facilitating a bible study for the ladies at church.

Fun or not, the fact is: Summer is crazy. But, we think it's fun........busy, and tiring, but fun. We hope all of y'all are having a fun filled crazy summer too.

Sky Diving?

Apparently I'm the only one in the family that is a scaredy-cat. I've pretty much always been that way, although at one time, I would actually put myself on a roller coaster by the strength of my own free will. That was then, this is now. Now, I will not put myself on a major roller coaster and I have near panic attacks just watching my son get in the line for one. Now, I see the danger in everything, and I don't miss a minutes opportunity to pray......um, or worry about it. Those of you who don't know me that well should know that I hold the record for the most "full clothing jumps"-scratch that-"SAVES" into the pool for a child who had even the slightest appearance of struggling. I've done it at my parents, and two different friends houses.....more than once. All the kids were fine, although I'd like to think that my full clothing heroics made some sort of difference.

Anyway, all that to say that when my brother told me he was going skydiving I nearly passed out. He told me his jump was to be Sunday at 1:00. I said many a prayers, and at 12:50 on Sunday I announced to Brad that Scott was about 10 minutes away from shear death....um, I mean jumping.

He survived it and he loved it, and he posted a video on his site that I thought you might like to see. While we were watching it, Sara Kate said, "let's not do that." No worries Sara Kate, we won't, and you sure as heck better not change your mind.

Apparently all the "guts" went to Scott, so no wonder I'm a worry wart.

For your listening pleasure

Two Short Years Ago

On this very day, two short years ago, my sweet Sara Kate was in the hospital. By this date, she had been in the hospital about 4 days and would be in the beginnings of kidney failure, that would eventually have us transferred from Chattanooga to Knoxville for a two week stay in the PICU at UT Medical Center. This was by far the most terrifying and horrific experience of our lives. But, the dates always stick out in my head, and the memories are so vivid; and honestly I just can't pass up the chance to be publicly thankful yet again......

Thankful for so many things, and although I've already posted them on Sara Kate's site once, I can't help but express them again. For the next two weeks, I will be remembering, reliving, and recounting all of my blessings. One of which was God's nearness. God was so incredibly present during that time, so real that it was almost unreal. I won't lie and say that I had peace the whole time. In fact, there were several times that I completely lost it, the life and vitality of my baby was very much in question, very much up in the air. But He was there, and He was faithful. Faithful in the small things, and faithful in the one thing that mattered most to us: her healing. I'll never get tired of thanking him for that.

Another blessing was the nearness of family. I've really never had any doubt or question that our families love us and are devoted to us; but if I ever had, this would have expelled them forever. Our families very literally got us through. They came to our rescue in an unrescue-able situation. In my mind, there is nothing more dear to my heart than our family. I have tons and tons of examples that I could list, but it's not necessary. They're not looking for any accolades, their one and only motivation was love for us. And, boy was the love ever shown; shown in tangible ways over and over during those three weeks and the weeks that followed. Just know everybody, that we love you too, and the love you poured on us will never be forgotten.

The blessing of friends and church family can not go uncounted. We've never felt more loved or cared about in all of our lives. Genuine concern and over the top love and care were lavished on us in so many ways I couldn't possibly recount them. Your acts of service to us were touching and heartfelt and quite frankly, life changing. And, please don't think I'm saying that flippantly. Your examples of community and bearing one another's burdens were ingrained in my heart and I quickly resolved to "pay it forward" as an opportunity presented itself (and I hope I have).

I must mention also, the blessing of wonderful medical facilities; kind, compassionate doctors and nurses, and the blessing of medicine and medical technology. God used these things to heal my baby, and I'm grateful.

I guess, all in all, I'm just thankful. Thank you Jesus, for healing my KatieBell. Thank you for family and friends who love us. Thank you for the lessons you taught us along the way. Thank you for your faithfulness, and an opportunity to share about it.

Adoption Update

Hey guys~

I posted on Malley's site today. Please head on over there and help us pray.

Skygazers

So, about 6 years ago I bought a used telescope at a yard sale. At the time, we had no kids, and I had always had an interest in "stuff' like that. I just thought it might be fun to have one. Promptly after we bought it, we put it away.......and that's exactly where it stayed for the next 5 years.......absolutely untouched.

Last year before we moved, I tried to get Brad to sell it in the yard sale that we were having to "clean out" and "de-junk". But, he wouldn't. He kept saying we would use it eventually.....especially now that we have kids. Well, we moved a year ago, and the telescope has held a special place of honor......in our attic. Again, absolutely untouched.........UNTIL NOW.

Recently, when Brad was getting our camping supplies out of the attic (for the Father/Son camp out) he noticed it. He actually took it with him to the camp out, but said he never had time to get it out and set it up. Anyway, Saturday night, there was a full moon; and luckily Brad thought about the telescope. So, he got it out, and set it up.

If I've ever looked through a more powerful telescope like that I don't remember it. It really was very cool. We could actually see craters on the surface of the moon. It was also really fun to watch Bryce & Sara Kate finally "get it" as mastering the "one eye technique" required for telescope peering is difficult, even for an adult. But, they were truly fascinated, as was I.

You know I had to take some pictures. But, I wanted more than just pictures of the kids looking through the telescope. So, we put the digital camera lens up to the telescope lens. I thought the pictures were kind of neat, although they don't show the true clarity that we could see. So, I thought I'd share them with you.





taken as/is-just looking in the sky


taken through the telescope (sorry it's off-center)

A Little Experiment

OK- I freely admit, to the known world that I am not a fru-fru person. I've been a tomboy since the days of my youth, when the younger version of me was consumed with catching worms and pretending to host my own TV show called VET TV where I would miraculously save the dying worms by washing them in the pool (chlorine does wonders y'all) and laying them out on the concrete to dry......um, ok, maybe fry. And, this show was complete with step by step instructions for all of my faithful viewers out in TV land. With all that worm saving, I never had time to think about girly stuff and hair-dos. I can actually call to remembrance a time when I jumped in the shower and literally counted to 200, thinking that surely one can get completely clean in 200 seconds. I'm sure this admission has just made my mother gasp with horror, and now she's thinking, "oh, where did I go wrong." I have absolutely no idea how old I was, but I promise it wasn't in the last two decades. And mom, no worries, you did just fine. I'm an adult that loves the Lord and so far, no one has banished me from anywhere due to uncleanliness.



Anyway, why this admission? Well, because my kids just spent a week with my sister. My sister is the definition of fru-fru, and has been all of her life. She can fix hair like nobody's business. And it's not just that she can fix hair, she LOVES fixing hair, and doing anything else that could be considered fru-fru. You name the topic, and she could have a conversation about it. Style, make up, hair care products, fashion, etc., etc, blah-blah-blah. Well, at home, my KatieBell is usually sporting a pony tail or a hair barrette, and that is pretty much the extent of our hair styling abilities. Now, don't get me wrong, not even for a minute.....my KatieBell is cute as a bug without that stuff. But, it just seemed like she enjoyed a little of the fru-fru last week. So much so, that Shelley decided to post about it, and in the process, gave me a good natured ribbing.



So last night after Sara Kate had her bath, I had a brainstorm. I thought to myself, "you know, I should really try to do something cute with her hair." But, my aforementioned lack of fru-fru-ness left me a little empty handed because I don't own a curling iron or anything. Heck, I don't think I even have a can of hairspray in the house. But, I happened to remember something I did once in high school called rag rolling.



I asked Sara Kate if she wanted me to make her hair curly, and she screamed, "yes, yes, yes." Clearly, she is her aunt's child. I am quite certain that if mom had been so kind as to give me the option when I was 3, I would have flatly refused those proverbial Saturday night sponge rollers. Anyway, I took a stab at rag rolling her hair last night. I don't know if this is exactly the look we were going for, but it took quite an effort to get it done, and I sure wasn't going to take the time to try to straighten it. This, my friends, is precisely why I don't venture out in to the world of fru-fru. Oh well, I tried.



Check her out.. enjoy the before and after:
We've got a long way to go!! I guess it's off to Walmart we go to get some pink sponge rollers.....or maybe a curling iron.

Fun Fact Friday: Hard work pays off

So, this week my kids have been at their Aunt Sissy's (my sister, Shelley). This extra free time allowed for some long overdue work on the house. Since we moved in last year, we've been wanting to paint the small half bath and our master bathroom. Both were just the "contractor cream" color or the standard off-white. But when we first moved in we painted both the kid's bedrooms, the office, and the dining room; and quite frankly, the thought of opening another can of paint around that time made me all twitchy.




Anyway, right before the kid's left I had found this cool little box to put in my half bath; and purchasing that box was the inspiration I needed to finally get the paint. So, while I was at it, I went ahead and got the paint for our bathroom too. I had also found a few accent pieces last week when I was in Atlanta, so I've had fun this week decorating.




The fact is I hate painting and I'm really not that good at it. But, the fun fact is: hard work pays off, and the sense of accomplishment you get with a little elbow grease is a nice little feeling, not to mention the great looking rooms (if I do say so myself.)




This is the box that started it all. I just really liked it, and thought it was pretty. I also found a great rug to match, and some hand towels that matched a flower on the outside of the box. (SCORE) The hand towels are actually rolled up inside the box, but the picture doesn't reflect that.



I am actually priviliged to have my own decorating consultants (named Tammy & Tamara ) who suggested that I hang the lid of the box on the wall........doesn't that look good?




It dawned on me that I should have taken before and after pictures, but I thought about it too late, so an "in process" shot will have to do. Did I mention I hate painting?





Here is the finished color with some new accents on the wall. I super love this iron shelf. It was a steal at my favorite places for home decor (Ross', TJ Maxx, and Marshalls). I'm not keeping the things that are on the shelf now, I just put them up there for the picture because I haven't gotten anything to put up there yet. I think I'm going to get glass jars with the chrome colored lids to hold cotton balls, etc. Or, maybe some pretty glass bottles that would have bath salts, etc. What do y'all think?

I had been wanting a large clock to put on the wall above my bathtub. It is a large wall, so it needed something big. Plus, we didn't have any time keeping device in the bathroom. I'm sure the new addition will aid in actually having us on time for church, but I think I've mentioned before that I need to develop a love for my alarm clock. So far, it hasn't happened. Anyway, the large clocks like that are kind of expensive; and if you know me very well, you know I'm cheap. So, I've been waiting to find one on clearance forever. Well, Saturday was my lucky day. Thanks to Michael's, I'm the proud owner of this clock at a whopping 60% off. Thankyouverymuch!! And, gosh y'all, I think it looks good. And yes, it was 5 'til 11 when I took the picture.

And, lastly, I just had to share this picture. This is our beloved Gigi. You've no doubt heard me mention her before. But, here is what she did the whole time I was slaving away. Every time I would emerge from a half painted bathroom, there she'd be, snoozing away. It was just comical. So, I thought another fact worth mentioning is that DOGS HAVE IT MADE.

Fun Fact Friday: Family fun in the sun

People, the fact is: IT IS SUMMER. Just like most families, our definition of summer is fun, fun, fun......especially when Maci & Bayley are in town. Just see for yourself: