Leah is maybe our funniest preschooler yet.  Or maybe we just get a huge kick out of her b/c she's likely our last.  Anyway, I thought I'd jot down some of the things that are Leah these days.

When she does something that makes me impatient or cross with her (like dumping all the crayons out all over the floor or pouring water into teacups on the side of the bathtub...which means all over the floor) she asks me worriedly "Mom, are you naughty at me?"  Gets me every time.  Especially when I'm impatient for no good reason.  It has a way of deflating my irritation!

Her most common answer to just about everything?  "a-cause"  Leah, why did you use up all your sisters stickers?  "a-cause"  Why did you whack your brother with the stick?   "a-cause"  Why are you scared of the dark?  "a-cause"  A maddeningly vague answer that she uses for just about everything.  If we really push, we can get a "a-cause I want to do dat". 

She sings and sings and sings.  If I drive anywhere with just her, I'm treated to many songs from the backseat.  And, she gets them word for word...I just love it.  "My God is so BIG"  "Hear Chwist calling 'Come unto Me'"  "The B-I-B-L-E"  "Jesus Loves Me"  "Upside Down"  and "Jingle Bells" are the favorites these days. 

She's also learning spanish apparently from Dora, Dora.  This cracks me up.  The other day she was singing, "Abre-open, Cierra-closed....I speak Spanish and English too....Abre-open, Cierra-closed"  and she takes it very seriously.  She answers Dora in spanish every time she asks the audience a question.  The other day it was the spanish words for up and down.  She can count to five in Spanish.  And the funniest thing is when Leah gets stuck somewhere....like on a counter, the window sill, or on top of her brother's dresser....I hear her yelling "Help, Help! Ayudanme!  Help!"  The first time she did that it took me a bit to figure out what on earth she was saying and where she got it!

She's going through a phase where she's really scared of the dark.  For awhile, she'd talk about monsters in her room.  I'd come in at night, and she'd say "Monsters" and I'd pray with her, and she'd be fine with that.  But just recently, she's really upset if it's too dark.  And "too dark" is a relative term b/c even with her nightlight on and white Christmas lights all around her window, "It's getting dark!  It's going to get dark!"  It's bright as day in there!  I had to take the bulbs out of her overhead light so I could say "look, they don't work" otherwise she'd want to sleep all night with it on.  I asked her the other night why she was so worried about the dark...."What does dark do to you?", I asked.  She said, "Dark does this...." and gave me an intense look from under her eyebrows.  It's so interesting sometimes how little kids communicate things and feelings. 

She's little Miss Independent.  Wants to do everything herself.  Except go to the bathroom.  She can't seem to manage that yet as far as getting herself properly arranged, and inevitably has to go right when I've just sat down to teach or just bundled her up to go out.  "Mom, are you naughty at me?"    

She's very into role playing and caring for all her stuffed animals, talking to them just like a little mommy.  And, the other day I heard her in Anna's room just talking and talking away on Anna's fuzzy princess phone.   It was the cutest thing! 

 I can't ever let her out of the cart in any store b/c she has a strong love of "hide and seek".  She loves nothing more to play this at home, and thinks it's great to play at WalMart in the clothes section....or anywhere that a hiding place comes to mind.  The more mom calls her name, and the more panicky her voice....the more fun it is!  Just last night, we were all at a relatively small family video store and I suddenly realized that I couldn't hear Leah's running commentary any more.  Where was she?  I circled the store once, twice, began calling for her louder and louder.  Finally enlisted dad and the kids.  About the time we were getting really wild-eyed and other patrons were starting to look around too....I heard a little giggle.  She'd been hiding behind a shelf in the game section.  "I was hiding!" she said gleefully as her dad pulled her out and gave her a good talking to.  I couldn't help, but remember doing that to my Grandmother once and taking some years off her life.  Even worse, I was older and not playing "hide and seek", but purposefully watching her panic.  I know.  God is giving me my just rewards. 

But, there is nothing more snuggable and kissable than a little, pig-tailed Leah in her footie PJs.  I can't kiss and hug her enough....what will I do when she's too big to sweep up in my arms and squeeze!?   We are very thankful for Leah Joy, and she has certainly lived up to her middle name....bringing us joy even on the most discouraging days!  And since she just arrived at my elbow, informing me that she has to go potty....I guess it's time to close.

Wow, finally!  We've had it lurking in the backs of our minds for a year, and Matt's been writing since March!  And last night, it made it's debut.  Well, kind of on Thursday night.....it was the final dress rehearsal in front of the staff.  I took the kids that night.  It was the first time I'd seen it as well.  I'd read the scripts and heard this and that from Matt, but hadn't really seen anything of the actual acting.  I was blown away by the coherence and power of the messsage!  Praise God!  I have witnessed in an amazing way how God slowly put this thing together in Matt's mind, and gave him each bit.

It is a powerful dose of truth and aims to reveal who Jesus Christ is....the Truth, the Light, our Hope!  Straightforward.  Way more straightforward than last year's show, which was wonderful too....but, a little more couched in warm fuzzy and spectacle. 

Satan has fought this show tooth and nail.  He has attacked Matt, our family, the cast, individual cast members, the technical details, even the weather!  I expected it this week.  Relationships inexplicably tense that had to be worked out, one cast member (with a powerful closing monologue) has a little boy with epilepsy who had an unusual 24 hours of seizures every half hour....causing him extra stress and little sleep.  Flu is going around...both stomach and cold.  Yesterday, I was moved to pray almost all day long for everyone involved.  That God would protect it all from Satan's counterattacks, that the Spirit would be there and move in hearts.  I knew for a fact that there were close to ten individuals attending opening night who probably did not know the Lord.  I know that God is going to use this....please continue to pray!

Tonight, I get to attend with my MIL, her friend, and my neighbors from across the street.  I can't wait.  Last night's audience was super....they wanted to laugh, they were attentive...it was a great way to start.  And everyone (according to Matt) seemed excited and happy as they left.  I can't wait to hear how certain people responded.  Our entire RVA office was there....the administrator and his wife, the teacher's assistant and her friend.  I'm pretty sure they do not know the Lord.  Tonight is another full show with people coming who need the truth.

Another cool side note is that Anna has a small part in the opening scene.  She has been unusually stage shy in the end (unusual for how dramatic she is).  And yesterday afternoon, I sat down with her to give her a pep talk.  I told her about the special message that God had given daddy to share in this show.  How God wanted to use it to bring people to know Jesus.  And how she had a special privilege and job from God to do her part in it!  That she didn't have to think about Anna or the people or being shy.....she just needed to be her 6 yr old self and do her job best for God!  I told her she needed to sit up (in the bed), speak loudly and smile!  And do her part with as much energy as she could, and remember it's not about her, but how God would use it!  AND......she did super last night!  Matt said she was visible, she spoke loud and happily, totally different than at the dress rehearsal.  We were so proud of her!  Even though her part is small, I loved that she could catch the vision and have a chance to do this with her dad. 

Well, I'm overflowing with thankfulness this morning....can you tell?  And Matt is a bit euphoric as well.  But it's still going to be a long weekend, and we not only have lots of housecleaning to do today, but also school (Johnny has a test on Monday) and more dinner theater! 

OH, and how could I forget????  Little Micaiah David Peters was born on December 2nd around 4 am.  Look up in the Bible where his name comes from (II Chronicles?).  A prophet who spoke the truth.  Pretty cool name, I think.  He was over 9 lbs and is doing great!  Congratulations, John, Andrea, Charis and Alathea!  And welcome to the family, Micaiah! 

I suppose it's about time to update.  I was seriously contemplating shutting down the blog.  Maybe I still am.  I just don't have enough hours in a day lately.  Not even on the weekends!  It seems that with both boys in the RVA now, plus David's extra testing and IEP procedures, plus David's health struggles this fall, plus Anna's stubborn strep that won't go away no matter what, plus Matt's health scare, plus usual ministry craziness......I'm either frantically trying to get caught up on schoolwork and housework or we're rushing to a doctor's appt. for someone.  It just doesn't quit. 

Dinner Theater sold out.  That's a good thing, and they decided to add another night the following weekend.  I think it's about 1/3 sold so far.  Matt will have a busy week of dress rehearsals.  Please be in prayer.  We have felt that God really put this program together and have felt the spiritual warfare against it!  God is really working in our community right now, and I am praying that the message and theme of this is really going to touch lives.  Dark/Light, Truth/Lie, Fear/Peace....these are themes that the show is built around.  I have seen God's hand put this thing together though, and I am excited to see what He will do with it.

We were in Chicago for Thanksgiving.  That is always a fun time, and something the kids especially look forward too!  A big deal for Anna this time around was getting to go to the American Girl store with A. Beth and U. Barry to pick out a doll.  We'd been reading the books for a month or so, having her get to know some of the characters.  She picked Felicity (colonial times) and she is beautiful and much loved!  She also got to partake in one of our favorite Chicago activities.....'doing' tea.  She, A. Beth and I had tea at the Ritz (with Felicity of course).  A real, live tea party!  I'd been looking forward to the day I could take her along. 

School has been very, very busy.  Johnny got his first quarter grades and has all A's.  We have a very, busy week ahead as he has his third tests coming up next Monday.  David is just getting officially started with his Verticy stuff.  It's very good, but also quite time-consuming and hard for him.  I'm struggling fitting in enough time with Anna in this mix....she's so good at her schoolwork, and Grade 1 isn't exactly strenuous.  Therefore, sometimes I feel like she gets the short end of the stick time-wise.  Another reason I was happy to get to spend some special time with her in Chicago.

We just watched the Packers lose.  Again.  We aren't happy.  Actually Matt is mildly gleeful.  He bought himself a Jets hat while we were gone.  He's still bitter that they drove Brett away, and a small part of him (OK maybe not so small a part) wants the Jets to do awesome, and the Pack to stink it up so that it will prove that Ted Thompson messed up in a big way.  Yes, we've been watching Jets games too now....one of our local networks is carrying their games as Brett has such a huge following here.  I am not hoping for the Packer's demise quite as much as Matt.....it's not Rodger's fault, and they have some great guys there!  They deserve to do well.  I think they have the most talented team of receivers in the league.....as well as the best receiver coverage on defense in Woodson, Bigby, and Harris).  I want them to win!  But we are two games out of the playoffs now, and it's not looking good.  SO....go Jets!  I think the Pack is lacking some leadership on the field this year....Matt is right there.  Brett was the leader of that team, and Rodgers is young and new.  He doesn't pull them together yet.  And watching the Jets play with Brett has made us realize what the Pack is missing....that key veteran leadership role that Brett played.  Now that I've waxed eloquent about that, I should go downstairs and see if the Jets are still winning!

Well, we are awaiting the birth of our new, little boy cousin!  When will he make his appearance?  Every morning I wake up and check e-mail to see if there's any news!  The next time I decide to post, I'm sure there will be some!

The lake is frozen.  And yes, we had a bunch of ice fisherman out there today.  Some day maybe I will figure out what the attraction is. 

Well, time to go chip away at the pile of Thanksgiving laundry! 

Johnny has to write a weekly composition assignment, and this week it was two poems on colors.  They provided the form "looks like, sounds like" etc. and Johnny was to write the rest, using whichever colors he chose.  The second poem was to be about his favorite color.  They were not to be rhyming poems, but more abstract.  I thought it was really fun and enjoyed reading what he came up with.

Colors by Johnny Hoffland

Yellow looks like a grumpy little duckling.

Blue sounds like my brother whining.

Brown smells like the dog poop in my yard.

Orange tastes like very, sweet candy corn.

Red makes me feel mad!

 

Green by Johnny Hoffland

Green looks like the trees outside.

Green sounds like the leaves rustling.

Green smells like fruit snacks.

Green tastes like peppermint candy.

Green makes me feel cool.

I love it!

This afternoon, Leah was finishing up her lunch and I was lost in thought staring at her. 

Leah:  "Mom, why are you wookin at me?"

Me [startled out of my reverie]: "Because you're cute and I like you!"

Leah:  "Oh.   You're wight". 

One other tidbit of information....Johnny is praying every night for a parakeet.  Hmmm.  Every night.  I feel caught btw. a rock and a hard place.  I mean, this is the kid who not too long ago asked me, "Mom, how do I know God is really there?"  On the other hand, I know firsthand that parakeets aren't the hardiest of animals....particularly when there are younger siblings around.   Mine died of pneumonia (or something) and was always a grouch after my preschool age sister tried to pull its tail out and shut it in a dresser drawer.   I also remember that I particularly hated cleaning its cage.  Plus there's the fact that Betty loves nothing better than to bring us dead baby doves...remember?  We're btw. a rock and a hard place here!  I'm trying to stall him.  I asked him the other day if he thought God would give him a parakeet like next week or maybe wait for a special occasion.  He thought He might wait.  AND, he has assured me that he is only praying for a parakeet if it's what God wants him to have.  So there....maybe we do have an out. 

This is mostly a school related update.  But, some exciting things are going on with the boys schooling and I wanted to share!  First off, I am having a fabulous experience with the RVA.  I love the administration, the other parents, and all the support and resources that are available to me.  Johnny is doing so well and flourishing with all the great stuff we are learning.  The first quarter is drawing to a close, and he currently has all A's.  It's been a little challenging keeping up with all the appts. we've had lately, but if we can keep up now, we can keep up anytime!  We've just had to be doing some school on the weekends when we're running around alot during the week.

We had our first virtual field trip on Friday to NASA space center in Houston.  It was really cool!  We had a 'tour guide' who took the kids on a tour of the astronaut habitat on the ISS.  We could see her, she could see us and we could interact with her.  The kids were able to ask questions and all.  David was awesome!  He sat in the front row and asked some VERY GOOD questions.  Johnny got to participate in a dizzying experiment to give an idea what space motion sickness feels like.  That was the one thing David didn't volunteer for.    Anyway, it was really cool.  I'm looking forward to the other ones this year.

Now, here's what's new.  I went to my first PAC meeting (parent advisory council) and learned more about a brand new section of the RVA called "The Verticy Academy".  It's a partnership of Calvert school and the Jemicy school.  Jemicy is a well-known school in Maryland (I think) for college-bound students with language based learning disabilities like dyslexia.  They have partnered with Calvert to present a new home-based program called Verticy.  They use the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory approach to teaching LLD students.  It's a top notch program and there are currently less than 40 students nationwide.  It looks now like David will be one of them!  We have completed the pre-screening process and are now in the process of taking placement tests in order to customize his curriculum.  So he will also be in the RVA as of next week, and be going through this fabulous program alongside of Johnny.  David will technically be doing Grade 4, though, so their material will be somewhat different plus David's will include all the Jemicy school adjustments to provide for his level of ability with language writing/reading/spelling/organization. 

Alongside of all this, we are meeting with the administrator and the special ed director at the elementary school on Wednesday to set up some services for David throughout the week in support of what he's doing through Verticy.  I hope to have some tutoring maybe twice a week and possibly even some occupational therapy as well!  David is really excited about all these developments, and I hope that the added structure and accountability and feedback will really enable him to flourish as well.

I am so thankful that we have this opportunity at no cost to us.  And, I've been getting info from a friend whose son has been in special ed all along due to a major seizure disorder.....she gave me glowing reports about the special ed director and the actual teacher, who is on worship team at her church!  I feel so good about it! 

SO, that's what's going on.  'whew'.  On the physical side, David has had a really good week.  His anxiety has subsided a good deal.  We are still working on the epigastric pain, he has a procedure on Monday.  We will do this and maybe one more procedure to rule out anything fixable going on.  He's been going to weekly cognitive behavioral therapy and enjoying that.  I feel like we are on the upswing. 

Matt is completely wrapped up in the dinner theater now.  It's crunch time.  Check out the camp website to see the new poster.  It's called "The Light Before Christmas".  Be in prayer as it is definitely an outreach event with a pretty heavy underlying theme.  (light vs. darkness) 

Now, we are having neighbors for dinner tonight and speaking of crunch time.......  I have alot to cook, alot to clean, and should probably get a shower sometime here soon!

Here is a link to the photographers pics of the wedding Leah was in.  Beware....there are 278 pictures!  When you go there, the slideshow w/music automatically loads and plays.  I recommend clicking on the grid below it to look at the gallery pages.  Then click on the first picture and scroll through them individually.  Or by page. 

Lisa's wedding pics

To help family....here are the numbers of pictures that feature Leah or Anna.  Pic #2 features Anna in the corner of the mirror.     #28-33 are Leah practicing beforehand and the pictures beforehand that she was in.  She was in a great mood at this point!  So was I, seeing as how her hair was done, heer bow was tied and she was willing to keep her flower wreath (which I made) on her head.  #75 was right before the processional....2.5 hrs later.  She was exhausted, about to lose it completely and proclaiming that she didn't want to do it.  In a desperate scheme, I gave her the binky and then tried to hold it hostage until she did her duty!   Didn't work.  What did work was her daddy scooting to the front.  She hadn't seen him all morning, and was happy to march down properly if he was at the end.  The other little ring-bearer had long abandoned his post...the boy walking down just before Leah is his big brother.  Thing was....Leah was scared of him.  So we sent him down alone.  #89-90 capture the big moment.  You can see me scooting out of the picture in the back in #89!  You can also see me standing in the back during a bunch of the ceremony pictures.  My back hurt too badly to sit down anywhere!  Finally, #248-249 are of Anna.  She helped me serve at the cake table.  Her best partner-in-crime Nellie Hopkins was with her pretty much non-stop.  #272-276 are a hilarious set where Anna, Nellie and two other girls were touching and licking the ice sculpture.  The second one cracks me up b/c Nellie is sticking her tongue out to lick and Anna is in the background with her tongue out in full empathy! 

Enjoy these....I'm not sure how long they will be up.  This gal does such a nice job.  She's the one who took those great pics of our family 2 yrs ago.  The outdoor pics at camp afterwards are particularly beautiful!  I don't know how Lisa will pick!

OK,  about the endoscopy.  David did just fine.  He didn't get sick afterwards from the anesthesia, which was nice.  We came home with some great pictures of his insides.  They did find that his upper stomach was swollen and irritated.  This is what is causing the epigastric discomfort he has been in.  They took some tissue samples for a variety of tests that we won't have back for a week.  But, in all probability, he suffers from acid reflux issues like Leah does.....and the severe anxiety and stress he puts on himself only exacerbates the problem.  That is where I think we will end up.  Also the fact that he is over-sensitive to any sensory disturbance and overreacts not only to pain, but also to fear.....you can see how it's all a 'perfect storm'.  So, continue to pray that we would have wisdom and direction as far as how to proceed.  Thank you.

The last month has been really rough.  Have there been any good things?  Yes, and perhaps I should start with those.  No, I think I'll end with those.  It's always good to end on an up note, right?

David has really taken another nosedive since early August.  He began to have some gastric discomfort after eating about that time.  We kind of wrote it off as anxiety, and didn't think too seriously about it.  But it gradually got worse until a few weeks ago, he was crying and screaming with pain and fear off and on all day (and sometimes at night) and refusing to eat at all unless we absolutely forced him to.  At this point, we felt alot of it had to be anxiety based b/c he was also clinging to some 'props' that have to do with his fear of throwing up.  Huddled over a bucket was his preferred position.  But eventually we were able to get rid of the props and 'drama'.....but he was still writhing and crying from pain that now seemed frighteningly genuine. 

Was it anxiety that had led to a gastric issue or was it a gastric issue that had triggered the anxiety?  That is the question we (and all his physicians) have been dealing with.  We actually worried that it was his heart at one point....prompting a pediatrician-recommended trip to the ER and an ECG.  We found he had an untreated strep infection.  We are exploring PANDAS....an autoimmune malfunction that is associated with strep and can cause OCD type symptoms.  We have been in to the psychiatrist, the psychologist, multiple trips and phone consults with his pediatricians, the ER and lastly a GI specialist in order to rule out a physical cause to his pain.  They've done bloodwork, ultrasounds and tomorrow will do a endoscopy (a colonoscopy, but at the opposite end).  So far.....nothing.  Yet I have a child who every half hour or so writhes on the floor in pain saying he can't stand it any longer.  He's not really getting any fun attention from it.  There is literally nothing more I can do for him.  And he's a bit distraught b/c Johnny and Anna got to go with Matt to St. Louis today.....a trip we were all to go on, and which would/should have been alot of fun.  But, it was out of the question to go with David at this time. 

I feel strange praying that they find something tomorrow.  I guess I want them to find something physical that we can fix.  The alternative to me is way worse.  Physical problems are easier to fix I think than mental or spiritual ones.  I have found that it is a difficult thing to look your child in the face while he is crying from pain and tell him there is nothing wrong.  The thought that we could have to go on like this makes me want to give up now. 

Alright, you get the picture.  Pray for us.  Pray for David.  Pray the Lord directs us as far as future treatment.  Pray for Matt as he's got alot on his plate ministry-wise and complete insanity at home.

The good stuff.  Leah was an absolutely adorable flower girl in my very good friend Lisa's wedding.  Lisa and I have known each other since Grade 3.  I usually say she's my longest friend, meaning a friend I still have that I've known the longest.  Although even as I type this I'm realizing that I actually met Charity when I was 5 or 6.  Hmm, guess I never thought of that!  Lisa and I have followed each other around for years....elementary school, then high school, then college and now we both work at CFS.  I'm so happy for she and Michael!  Anyway, Leah made it down the aisle despite the fact that it was an hour past her nap time.  At the last minute, she didn't want to go...but thankfully Matt had the presence of mind to scoot to the front of the chairs and let her catch a glimpse of him down there.  Then she went down just fine and remembered half way to toss some leaves!  I am hoping to post a link here to the photographer's pictures when she has them up.  I took some too, but I won't reiterate my computer problems once again.  I threw my back out something terrible the Thursday night before the wedding.  I survived the weekend on Aleve and crawled in to the chiropractors office on Monday.  Thankfully, I am now completely healed!  It was miserable with all the flurry of wedding activity....I couldn't even sit comfortably or bend or drive or anything.  And you can imagine all the crouching and bending I had to do!

The other high note in my life right now is Johnny's school.  I think we both find it an escape.  I am so glad to be doing the RVA right now, he is enjoying the material so much, and I am enjoying how well-laid out it is.  Plus all the support from the staff.  He got all A's on his first round of tests and seemed to enjoy the whole testing process.  His writing/composition is getting better and better.  This week's composition was TWO pages!  At first, he'd complain about a paragraph!  Now, he's really getting into it.  I'll have to start posting some of his compositions.  I am actually talking to the administrator about enrolling David in the Verticy academy.  It's offered by Calvert in partnership with the Jemicy school, which is a school for college-bound kids with language-based learning disabilities (like dyslexia).  They would screen David and basically tailor make a curriculum for exactly where he's at, and it would all be geared towards multi-sensory learning and kids with LLD.  This is a new opportunity the RVA is offering.  If we can get through this latest stuff with D, I would really like to get him into this program even still this year. 

So that's about it.  I've got tons to do before we go in tomorrow morning, so I'll just end now.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

We had a very nice few days!  Celebrating D's birthday in Wausau was great.....the kids are at a good age for a small waterpark!  It was so relaxing to just hang out there.  I will try to figure out how to post some pictures of D's WallE cake and all.  I am now the proud parent of a child in double digits.  (age 10)  That is so crazy, I can't believe it.  He is getting so big.  On Friday after much swimming and celebrating, we headed out to the cabin.......after a couple shopping stops.

I have to stop here and rejoice that I actually managed to find 2 pairs of jeans.  I was desperate.  I had one pair for this fall, and they were quite snug.  I have no luck finding jeans though.  My attempts consist of me rushing through the department grabbing every pair in my size, dragging the kids into the fitting room, throwing pair after pair on and not finding a single one that doesn't make me feel like I'm stuffing my 35 yr old self into a 13 yr old's jeans.  But, I was getting really desperate and asked Matt if I could quickly just run into TJMax and see if they had anything that worked.  They typically have very nice brands at a discounted price there.  I grabbed everything I could see that might work and ran to the fitting room.  I can always tell the minute I stick a leg in if they are going to work or not.  Finally....I put on a pair of Nautica jeans that were perfect.  Exactly what I was looking for....exactly.  I couldn't believe it.  So I ran out to comb the racks for another pair and found one!  Yay.  Now, I have 2 pairs.

So we got to the cabin just as it was getting dark.  We saw a black bear lumber across the road on the way in, plus lots of deer.  You have to understand that this place is WAY deep in the woods.  You turn like 6 times and each road is narrower and the woods are closer.  By the time we got to the cabin, I think Matt felt like we had reached the end of the world.  And, the silence was deafening when we got out of the car.  No traffic.  No neighbors.  Just woods....it was great!  After unloading the car, Matt set about building us a nice campfire....something he did wonderfully all weekend!  We had lovely fires that burned almost nonstop!  What is it with men and fires?  I don't think there's a man alive who doesn't enjoy poking around in a pile of burning logs....and sitting there enjoying the furnace he has built.  I had to laugh out loud.....at one point just as Matt had reached the pinnacle of fire satisfaction......Anna says, "Daddy, could you build a smaller fire?" 

We sat around the fire a ton.....we still smell like campfire.  We had lots of smores.  We played 2 games of Life (much more complicated than I remembered).  We played quite a bit of UNO, games that went on and on and on!  The kids played Legos, we cooked hotdogs over the fire.  We did some fishing and some 4-wheeling.  David and I went fishing one evening.....we weren't even getting a nibble on the bait we were using.  So, on a whim I changed to a kind of worm.  One cast, and I caught a little bass.  So I changed David's bait and he pulls out an enormous largemouth bass!  Biggest one we've caught all summer.....it was so heavy, his pole was bent double and couldn't reel it in....I had to grab the line to lift it out of the water.  It was very exciting.  I did get a picture or two.  He caught one more smaller one before we packed it in.  We could hear the rest of the family making all kinds of noise through the woods (howling?  singing?  I wasn't quite sure.....turns out they were playing pirate in the tree fort and that was their pirate song).  The kids rode their bikes and I showed them the art of making a genuine Indian "stove" out of big rocks, so they could gather food and 'make soup'.  We even wrapped a small log in a blanket like a baby, Rach! 

Anyway, it was really nice to just be together with nothing to do but give the kids attention and relax.  I even got to read a little bit.  Honestly, I could have stayed a few more days.....but unfortunately real life calls.  I find myself on Ladies' Day committee this year, and that means I have to be at camp a couple days this week.  Still haven't arranged childcare for that.  Plus, we have school to accomplish.  Johnny has his first big test coming up.  So, we packed up yesterday and headed home.  We stopped at a little zoo on the way out......not terribly exciting, but the kids did get to feed an empty ice cream cone to a big African tortoise and shook hands with a crowd of curious raccoons.  We also saw pot-bellied pigs.  Matt was commenting about how he wasn't sure it was worth the money, but Johnny said "Dad, we have never seen a real pot-bellied pig before."  So then...it was totally worth it!    We also drove through a couple big downpours, and after both were treated to gorgeous, full double rainbows....so pretty that we had to stop and stare at them.  And take pictures.  And then a beautiful sunset as we were nearing home.   A fitting end to our nice, little vacation. 

[I really will try to figure out how to download our pictures into the laptop]

We just finished our third week of school.  It's going very well, in my opinion.  My goal was to have Lesson 15 completed before we go on vacation the 4th.  And we are on Lesson 13 right now.  SO, I think we can make it.  We've still been on family camp schedule, so it hasn't been a nice, structured day necessarily.  We do some stuff in the morning, go into camp for lunch, come home do another subject or two, go out for session/supper and maybe squeeze in some reading before bed.  That's kind of how it's been going.  But, the good news for me is that we have been getting it all done.  It hasn't been as hard to do that as I feared.  And, I discovered when we did a built in review lesson btw. lessons 9 and 10, that Johnny seems to be retaining the info! 

For those who may have forgotten, we are trying the RVA (rural virtual academy) this year with the boys. It's a public charter school that actually isn't much online, but provides the entire curriculum and support while you teach the child at home.  David isn't actually enrolled, but he has an extra math workbook that they let him use.....and is trying to keep up with Johnny.  I'm using the same material with him except his special spelling program.  Mr. Heckel (the teacher/administrator) mentioned to me that they have a special curriculum/program for dyslexic students that is now available beginning in 4th grade if we are interested in using it with D next year.  So, I have some research to do on that.

I feel like so far, the program is really going to strengthen Johnny in some areas where we've been weak.  Writing and composition for one.  He is required to write a composition and journal entry each week.  Plus, many of the assignments ask that he answer in complete sentences.  When you homeschool, you get used to evaluating their understanding orally and we have not emphasized being able to communicate clearly with written words.  So this is so good for him!  And I can see him getting better already.  In Math, it's alot of review so far for him, BUT they emphasize logic and problem solving way more than Abeka did.  So again, I feel like it's nailing in some things that we were weak in.  As far as the basics, Johnny is so very quick, neat and accurate....he whips through a page of problems and misses none on a regular basis.  So I'm happy that he's got such a strong foundation there b/c it will just make the more complex processes that much easier for him. 

In Spelling, they take a pretest at the beginning of the week and then do various activities to learn the words and then a posttest at the end of the week.  Well, he was taking the pretest cold turkey and only missing one word.  Mr. Heckel noticed and said if I wanted to give him a day to study and see if he could pass the pretest perfectly....then I didn't have to do spelling that week.  Well, I think some of the activities are beneficial for him, so I decided to give him only 5 minutes to study.....this last week was a little tricky with different s, c and g sounds.  I thought no way he'll ace it.  The little turkey did.  SO, no spelling this week for him! 

In History, we are doing biographies of Famous Americans.  Started with the revolutionary period and we have learned about Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, John Paul Jones, Molly Pitcher and Nathan Hale.  Next up is Presidents and Leaders.  There have been some fun activities....like we made "Johnny-cakes" one morning for breakfast.  (corn pancakes that were often eaten in camp and on long journeys back then)  They were really good....more filling than regular pancakes.  Johnny liked that they were named for him.    Science is the only thing I'm a little disappointed in.  Not the information, but the way it's organized.  It's McGraw-Hill, and it just seems very randomly organized.  There are alot of activities and some of them are so random....like they would fit way better in a different chapter.  It's just not ideally laid out for remembering information, IMO.  And of course, they touch on this and then jump to something else completely unrelated like a typical elementary science book.  We will still enjoy it b/c we love science, but we definitely got spoiled with the quality and depth of study we did in Apologia's books.

There's lots of reading.  I love all the reading.  I have two kids now who are reading ME bedtime stories!  Johnny is reading "Tales from Far and Near" to me at night.  And Anna is reading books as fast as I can check them out.  She loves that she can read herself now.  She has even surpassed Johnny in how well she is reading for her age.  She's got great instincts....easily figuring out words that are way above what she's learned so far just by contextual clues and sounding out parts.  At the rate she's going, she won't need another year of phonics emphasis....Johnny was bored some with Grade 2 phonics too last year.  Anna spends alot of time too listening to the boys material.  I think that may factor in to how the younger kids do better and better....b/c they've spent so much time listening to me teach their older siblings.  They pick up on all the tips and tricks early on, making it seem like review when it's their turn to do it.  Leah will be no exception.  She's already begging every morning, "I do school?"  One nice thing is that Anna has gotten so good at doing some things with her.  If I give Anna some coloring or a craft or playdoh....she is really good at sitting down and doing that with Leah.  She's getting to be such a good, big sister.

So, that's our school update.  Going well.  And, I have to say I'm really enjoying all the support not only from the administrator and his staff, but also the other families in the area who are involved in the RVA.  I have been going in on Thursday afternoons to drop Johnny's work off when I pick up our produce box and it's nice to have someone who's so interested in how we're doing.  I love having so much variety (we're also doing geography, art, critical thinking skills and mythology) and not having to come up with it all on my own.  The next interesting milestone will be Lesson 20, when Johnny will go in and take his first unit test.  That's going to be hard for him I think.....firstly, b/c it's alot of testing all in one day.  And the reading test, in particular, has an essay type section where he has to answer some questions that are more what he thinks....in complete sentences of course.  That will be a challenge.  Johnny has trouble sometimes sorting out his thoughts and communicating them clearly.  So, I'll be very interested to see how that goes. 

Speaking of farm produce, OH...the boxes are getting so good now!  Zucchinis, eggplant, tomatoes and cucumbers.....don't forget fabulous sweet corn!  All my favorite things.  I made a big batch of fresh salsa last night, and just couldn't stop eating it.  The corners of my mouth are beginning to blister.  But, so worth it!  We did manage to squeeze some blueberry picking in and have a few quarts in the freezer.  Like I mentioned, next week we are going on vacation.  We're heading to Wausau to celebrate D's birthday and do our annual after-labor day stay in the lodge there with the small waterpark.  David wants a Wall-E themed birthday....so I have to come up with a Wall-E cake soon.  The other two were easy on me, picking bundt cakes over a decoratively frosted one.  On Friday, after we check out of the hotel we'll be driving over to my folks' cabin to hang out for the weekend.  I am planning to bring some games, and am really looking forward to just being together in a quiet place with no TV, no phone, no campers.....just us spending time together.  We're planning to do lots of games, fishing and campfire.  Can't wait. 

Well, I've just finished my coffee and am feeling the rush.  Actually, I've been pondering whether it would be ridiculous to have salsa for breakfast!    It just looks too good sitting there in the fridge.  I think I'll go have just a little.  Have a great weekend!

The worst thing happened on Sunday. Dear Betty has an unfortunate (and almost unforgivable) taste for dead and rotting carcasses. She apparently indulged herself sometime on Saturday. I noticed Saturday night that she never came upstairs to sleep, which was unusual, but in the rush to get out the door to church....I didn't notice that she was off color in any way. Big oversight.

We have been shutting our bedroom door when we leave b/c we discovered not too long ago that she makes a beeline for our bed the minute we leave, making herself a comfy nest right where we sleep. I find that tremendously annoying, and she's almost human when I scold her for it. She totally knows what it is I'm upset about, and she's properly submissive in body, grovelling at my feet. But there's this look in her eye....a look that says, "You know I'm going straight back up there the second you drive out". Grrr. Anyhow, we had no reason to believe she was using the kids beds as well. Another big oversight.

We came home from church starving as usual. That changed fairly quickly though when we encountered a puddle of dog vomit on the dining room rug. Uh Oh, there's another one. Arrgh....there's one on the stairs too. ACK...one in the hall outside the boys bedroom. Oh NO, please Lord don't let there be one....NOOoooo, there's one on David's bed!! I rush into Anna's room. You have got to be kidding me. On Anna's bed too? And the last little treat was discovered in Matt's office where she at least had the decency to do it on a drop cloth that could easily be discarded.

Yes, Betty was a very sick dog. She continued to be sick outside for a good part of the day. We almost took her in, but after talking to the vet realized that if it WAS something more serious than a bad case of garbage stomach....we probably couldn't afford to fix it. We decided to wait it out. And she turned the corner that evening.

Took us the better part of an hour to clean it all up. Suffice it to say, we weren't terribly hungry after. I almost lost what was left of my breakfast. Dog is way worse than kid, hands down. Took us the better part of two days to deal with the psychological aftermath with a certain boy. Poor D. But, you know what? He made it through. He came back in the house eventually. I had to wash his quilt twice, and even then Mom and Dad had to help him get over that last hump of getting in that bed. He just couldn't get past that horrible thought, and I don't totally blame him. But, he did get past it. And, I have to honestly thank God for the whole experience. Because every time he has to go through it, and is exposed to it....he gets a little stronger and more victorious. God seems to be presenting D with a tremendous challenge every few months or so, and I am thankful for that despite the difficulty that it is for all of us.

And Betty? She's grounded. Big time. She no longer roams the house in freedom while we are gone. In the kitchen for her. She's lost her privilege to sleep in our room as far as I'm concerned. Her place is on the pad in the hall IF and when I decide to let her out of the kitchen. And, she gets tied up outside now when we aren't there with her. She knows why too....I can tell. And I'm not convinced she's sufficiently repentant. There's that look in her eye...the one that says, "It was totally worth it, and given the opportunity I'll do it again!" Maybe she's a little sorry about the beds. Silly dog. I guess we love her anyway.

That's the book I just finished by John Piper.  It was a timely reminder for me.  It's funny how so often I'll start reading something and it will just perfectly go along with thoughts I've been having or things I'm dealing with. 

Last week, I watched alot of Olympics.  I've always loved the Olympics.  Summer or Winter, doesn't matter.  There's just something about it.  This time around though, what stuck out to me was the incredible amount of time these athletes invest over the course of their young lives.  Most of them don't have normal childhoods.  Especially the ones who live in China!  Those young gymnasts are selected and taken from their families at age 3, never to return home again.  They eat, breathe and sleep gymnastics for the next decade of their lives......living only to succeed and bring honor to their country.  And to give their families a better life.  I heard an announcer comment on the leader of the chinese gymnasts....how she had begged to come home as a child.  And how they hadn't let her.  He almost sounded as if we were to think this moment on the world stage was worth the sacrifice.  And of course her family got a bigger home and a better than average life. 

That's communist China, though.  Those athletes have little choice.   What I spent more time pondering is the American athletes who pour everything they have into their skills.  Their lives revolve around developing them.  Michael Phelps, for example, told NBC that a typical day in his life is to get up at the crack of dawn, swim for 6-8 hours, with breaks for an unthinkable intake of calories (like 12,000 calories a day, no lie), and then he says he plays video games or watches movies and goes to bed.  I guess we were supposed to be impressed by his dedication to his sport, but I found myself thinking his life sounded incredibly depressing and narrow.  Sleep, eat, swim and play video games?  I mean, Yes, he's now the most successful Olympian ever.....but at what price?  Another afternoon, I'm sitting there watching with the kids while he's interviewed.  I'd just gotten done explaining to the kids how he'd broken the records for most Olympic medals ever in modern history.  And he's sitting there being interviewed with his mother.  Talk turns to those who tormented him in Jr. High/High school.  And, he tells this story of how a former teammate who had been mean to him approached him to offer congratulations on making the Olympic team the first time when he was 15.  Michael pretended not to know who he was, saying he couldn't place him......gleefully taking revenge.  And his mother tells Bob Costas how mature she thought that was for a 15 yr old not to acknowledge that teammate.  I was not impressed.  I had to discuss with my kids right then why that was actually NOT what a good leader would do.  That real wisdom is gracious....true maturity would have been a humble response, being the better person, not stooping to take revenge the minute you have a bit of leverage.

So, I don't know......while I enjoy watching the incredible amount of skill and the high level of competition that takes place at the Olympics, there is a sense of alot of time and effort put towards temporary human glory.  As I even pondered writing this entry however, I was reminded that there are a few who do strive for athletic excellence to glorify God alone.  My longtime hero Eric Liddell, for one.  Now there was a true Olympic hero.  A man who ran only to honor God, and if it wouldn't honor God....he wouldn't run.  His running did not interfere with his faith, and when it was over.....he gave his life on the mission field....literally died in a concentration camp in China I believe!  There was a man who wasn't going to waste his life. 

Anyway, these are just some of the thoughts running through my head.  I've been trying to wrap my head around the immense amount of time and preparation and focus these athletes have.  And wondering how much worth in the long run it is.  Maybe it is more than I think.  I mean, I look back at my athletic days as a time which made me a better person.  I was more disciplined in other areas of my life and happier when I was running.  I guess if your athletic focus can support and improve your faith and joy in Christ.....then it can be a worthy calling.  But, only then. 

These last couple weeks, I've been feeling an increasing burden for those in my neighborhood.  We have no shortage of sad stories here in our small town.  But, sometimes the darkness and sadness overwhelms me.  Anna's little fishing buddy has his family falling apart.  Mom has a new boyfriend, dad is living 30 miles south, dad was even arrested a few weeks ago for smashing up their apartment (wonder why?).  Dre has been acting out more than usual.  The other day, he broke into someone's garage and drove their snowmobile out.  He's 6, by the way.  He seems to really like hanging out here, and I pray that we can be some kind of haven for him.  I fear for these kids....saw our Susan the other day (used to live across the street) in town at the carnival.  Way, way too much makeup.  Matt commented how he just wanted to hug her and tell her how much prettier she was without any.

We have an older man who lives in those same apartments who sits all day, almost every day in a lawn chair in the yard on the corner, with his table of beer.  Says nothing, does nothing, just sits there and stares day in and day out.  It's really weighing on our hearts....it's like he's watching and waiting for something.  We've been trying to say hello to him as we go by.  Hoping for an opportunity to interact.  Another man who lives on our block......his wife died in a freakish choking accident 4 yrs ago.  He became an instant unemployed alcoholic.  His two young boys were finally taken away by other family members b/c they were being abused and neglected.  He is almost never sober.  Lately, he's become more sociable when he's drunk and has been hanging out some with the neighbors across the street.  Tonight, we were over there for a campfire.  Matt had his guitar, and Bruce was there....not sober.  But, he seemed to be enjoying the music and even joined in on the chorus of "I'll Fly Away!"  It breaks my heart to think of the immense sadness and failure that he must feel constantly.  He's drinking himself to death, if he can. 

It is amazing how dark the world can be.  How much pain sin causes....and how far-reaching.  Our neighbors across the street are believers, but have a real rough past that still haunts them.  Pain and troubled families are everywhere we turn.  We have a short time and opportunity to be a light in that darkness.  To share the treasure and hope that we have.  God, give us the courage and will to reach out in love to those around us.  Open our eyes, Lord, and don't let us waste another moment!

Hopeless it is to try and catch this blog up.  First off, my main excuse is that our home computer is off right now.  It's caught some bugs, and needs to be purged.  Not working, and honestly it could be a blessing from God!  I only have computer access with Matt's laptop when he's home and not using it.  We do have a laptop for Johnny's RVA schoolwork, but I don't want to be using it for my surfing.....don't want it full of cookies and junk.  SO, the real downside to all this is that we have lots of pictures from the last few weeks and I can't download any of them yet.  Now that you are all used to seeing pics.  :(

I'm going to just have to touch on what's happened here lately and what's coming up.....for those whom this interests. 

1.  Sent my folks back to Korea.  It was great to see them, and Leah has mentioned them in conversation almost daily since then.  I'm glad to see some memories solidified a bit in her mind.  I am confident as well that they liked their little nest in the North Woods enough that we'll get them back whenever possible! 

2.  We have been getting our produce deliveries from the CSA farm weekly.  I've been cooking and enjoying vegetables that I'd never even heard of before.  Also loving the farmer's market on Saturdays when I can get there.  And because I'm never going to get around to posting about the books I read which sent me down this road.....I'll go ahead and say what I read.  "Animal, vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver.  Great read!  In fact, if I had to pick my best two reads of 2007, it would have been this book and the Marsden bio of Jonathan Edwards.   Anyway, AVM has turned me into somewhat of a "locavore" (eating locally grown food).  And with food and fuel prices what they are, it makes even more sense than when I first read it last fall.  Anyway, everyone should read it....it's not only informative, but it's actually a really interesting and enjoyable book as well. 

3.  Anna turned 6!  She is growing up a ton this summer.  It's frightening sometimes.  We had a small family birthday party for her....plus a few neighbors.  She and Johnny both have eschewed the typical birthday cake b/c they don't care for tons of frosting.  She picked a rich bundt cake called "Too Much Chocolate" and asked me to put a few frosting flowers on it.  It was SO good.  And she wanted Littlest Pet Shop stuff for her birthday, and that's what she got!  They've all been playing with it.  Oh, and she wanted a hula hoop.  They've all been doing that too, and it always makes me laugh to watch it!  We were blessed again yesterday when the family who was responsible for pretty much her entire adorable summer wardrobe in hand-me-downs showed up at family camp with 3 bags of fall/winter stuff.  And shoes!  The girl is going to be dressed to the 9's for the next year.    A. Beth sent a pair of shoes straight out of a little girl's dreams!  I'm going to try and post a link to a pic of them later.  So cute!

4.  It's family camp.  The time of year when Matt is out from morning to night....oh wait, he's been doing that for a couple months now.  It's been unusually cool.....I thought for sure we'd get some high 80s here in August, but it feels like fall right now!  It's so cold in the morning and evenings that we have to put sweatshirts on!  Crazy.  Anyway, at least I'm done in the nursery now.  We have 2 more full weeks, 2 short camps and summer will be over.  Wow, that really flew by.

5.  And lastly, we started school yesterday.  We're keeping it flexible b/c obviously we're still in a summer schedule and out at camp alot.  But, I felt like with 2 weeks of trips in Sept/Oct, we had to start getting the work done.  There is plenty that is going to be challenging about school.  I'll update soon.  But, it's going to be good for us I think!  The kids seemed to enjoy it yesterday.  Everyone had a positive attitude, including me.  We got everything done, even though we started late and ended up having to take Leah to the clinic where we discovered she has strep throat.    Poor Leah.  And poor us for having to go to the walk-in.  Ugh.  Actually, it was the quickest trip through the walk-in that I've ever experienced so far!  The PA was actually friendly and non-patronizing.  She agreed with me that it was unnecessary to make poor Leah have the throat swab since she A. had the rash all over her belly B.  had a nasty, nasty looking throat  C.  had a bright red, painful right ear that needed to be treated D.  had a fever for a couple days with no other cold symptoms and E. had our neighbor with whom she plays test positive for strep yesterday.  I appreciated that.  Typically the walk-in forces every possible test known to man on you, and if you balk at anything, they get their backs up and make you do even more!  So, I liked this lady.  And, so did Leah, who was in no mood to have her sore throat scratched.

Alright, sorry this has been so late.  I'll try and post more this weekend. 

I still seem to never have my camera when I really want it.  But, I'm doing better!  I'm trying anyhow. 

Here is a picture of each of the boys when we first arrived at their cabins for youth camp!

 

We had a couple days off right before Take-7, so we decided to go to Big Falls as a family.  We'd never been there...it's a river that winds through the woods and has lots of giant rocks in it and along the sides for climbing and wading.  It was fun, and Betty really enjoyed it too!  We hiked around for most of the afternoon.  Here's a picture of the river....isn't it pretty?

You already saw pictures from the Rockford trip to meet my brother.  Next up....4th of July.  We had our usual campfire with marshmallows, lots of watermelon slices, and some mini-fireworks and sparklers!  Then, we sat across the street in the grass by the lake and watched the local big ones!  It was really fun.  We had lots of kids around....our neighbors, some friends from camp, and the Wrights (minus Danny and Matt who were at camp most the evening).  I didn't get many good pictures unfortunately.  But, here are a few:

Leah stuffing down the watermelon with both hands.

Anna with flaming marshmallow.

Some of the Wrights at the campfire

And, Leah with one of her first sparklers!  Fortunately noone got burned....not badly anyway.  It seems like someone froze with a sparkler a little close to their clothing....was it Leah?  Or Charis?  Can't remember.  What other day will parents let their little children run around with flaming sticks?   I was the one responsible for the only really scary moment.  I set off one little firework that I'd never done before....not really knowing what it would do.  It was supposed to go UP and then burst, but I lit it upside down.  Therefore it spun around on the street and exploded lots of little colored, flaming balls in all directions.  I was fortunate that our little audience was sitting up on the grass and that the curb blocked all the flaming balls.  No other close calls, however.  And, I won't make that mistake again! 

And lastly, David caught a nice largemouth bass last week....just at our little dock across the street.  He was very proud.  But, not so proud that he wanted to hold it himself for the picture!  "It has little teeth", he protested.  So Johnny did the deed for him.  And here's the picture for posterity.

That's about all I have for this entry.  It's been a very busy few weeks, and no end in sight.  It's been fun though, just crazy from one thing to the next.  We had fun seeing Danny and Charity and family, although it is hard to have quality conversations while trying to keep only two sets of eyeballs on 8 children 9 and under!   But, I hope there will be many more excursions north for them in the future, assuming that the massive grudge against Wisconsin does not spread any further in their family. 

The kids had VBS the following week, which they really enjoyed.  We've done strawberry picking, pea picking, and lots of freezer jam!  Matt spoke at Junior High, and it went wonderfully!  He really enjoys doing that, as much stress as it is beforehand!  This week he got the coolest comment I think he's ever received!  It made me actually sit up in bed during our late night debriefing session (when I'm usually mostly asleep).  A kid pulled him aside and told him that 4 yrs ago when Matt spoke for the first time at Take-7, he had gotten saved.  Then, he said he went home and told his family everything that Matt had taught them all week.  His dad started reading his Bible and the whole rest of the family got saved!  Now, they are involved in a church and this boy "just wanted you to know that God used you to save my whole family".  Is that not the coolest thing?  You just never know where a seed planted is going to go, and often you may never know.  I thank God that He allowed Matt to get that encouraging glimpse of how He used him.  The Word does not return void.  It's great to see kids wanting to learn more about God, and to see them come back year after year, and often then work on summer staff!  Watching them grow and mature in Christ is one of the neatest things about working at camp, I think.  If you stick around long enough, you see campers grow, marry, and return with their children and the cycle begins anew.  (and we've been around long enough now....yikes)   Family Camp starts on Sunday, and that will be a whole new shift in our focus.  Pray that we will have endurance to keep going through the next 5 weeks, and be able to minister to the families who come.

 

 

My kids only have two of them....soon to be three, though!  Their first boy cousin is on the way!  WooHoo!  Well, on Wednesday morning the kids and I headed out early.  I dropped the boys off at Grandma Sue's house and the girls and I headed down to Rockford, IL to meet my brother and his family for one night at a hotel.  We were so happy to get to spend even just a little time with them and to cement a few more memories in the girls' minds as to who their cousins are!

The girls did so good on the trip.  Really, I was shocked.  We must finally be getting to that age where car travel isn't quite so much torture.  Here are a few pictures:

After swimming and baths, Anna read some bedtime stories to Charis.  Anna's expression left something to be desired (she's still focusing so hard on getting the words), but Charis hung right in there with her! 

And Leah got a story from Uncle John.  I have a similar picture of him reading to she and Alathea from last summer.  It was fun to compare them and see how the girls have grown.

The next morning, after swimming a little bit, we found a nice playground to hang out in for awhile.  Alathea was so proud of herself for being able to climb up and over this one element on the playground.  It was pretty high and required some courage and dexterity for sure!  Here she is at the top of it, and then I got the cutest shot of her at the end.

Here are all the girls!

I snapped this cute one of Anna and Charis while we were walking into Red Robin for lunch!

And lastly here is the whole group....minus me.    You can't even really tell that Andrea is 4.5 months pregnant!

I'm so glad we got to see them!  Then we headed our separate ways.  I fought traffic back up through Madison, but thankfully Leah slept nearly the whole way.  We hit a couple firework stands to pick up our small stash for the 4th.  Got the boys and headed home. 

I'll post more later about our 4th of July and our friends who were here this week.  I have to sign off for now.  We will be celebrating Matt's birthday this afternoon with his mom.  I tell you, we have rushed from one thing to another for the last week and a half!  And, the calendar doesn't let up all month.  Anyway, I have a cake to bake! 

What a beautiful morning!  I'm sitting here squinting in the sun as I type.  A pair of something I haven't put on our backyard list yet just flew in and perched in our bush.  I can't wait to look through our guide and figure out what they were.  And, last night something loud and creepy sounding flew through our backyard!  Scared us to death!  It brought Matt out of bed, looking wildly around.  (we finally had a hot enough night to leave windows open)  I at first thought "bat" as it was kind of squeaky, but I think it sounded too big.  Owl?  I'm thinking probably some kind of night hawk who found something yummy in our yard.  I'm going to listen to some hawks in our bird song book and see if anything sounds remotely similar to what we heard last night.

Fishing!  The kids are infatuated with fishing this summer.  Every day.  Every evening.  It's "Mom, can we go fishing?"  There's a little dock across the street where they can cast to their hearts content.  And occasionally they even catch something nice!  Anna's gotten a perch and a bass...both good size!  The boys have only gotten bullheads there.  The other night, I documented Anna's very first fish ever with the camera.  We have the cutest little boy that lives down the street, who is an "expert" fisherman.  (as much as you can be at age 5)  He comes down almost every night with his box full of "muskie baits" and wants Anna to fish with him.  It's the cutest thing ever!  Here are some pictures.

That evening, Dre (pronounced 'dray') came down with his "fishing hat" on.  So Anna had to go find something she felt was comparable.    It was a beautiful evening to sit by the lake, and since I was right across the street, I let the neighbor girl come in and water paint with Leah while I watched the kids fish.  2 yr olds and fishing docks (not to mention hooks, lines and 5 yr olds) don't mix so well!

In other excitement, the other day I was on the phone with a friend and Leah came down crying with a bleeding foot.  She'd stepped on a broken plastic storage container in the attic and sliced her little foot.  SO after giving comfort and first aid, I thought it safe to call my friend back.  Wrong.  Not 5 minutes into the conversation, I see David running across the lawn with a neighbor man running not too far behind.  David's face was a mass of blood.  Apparently he'd crashed on his bike on the other side of the block.  The neighbor feared his tooth had gone all the way through the lip.  Not to worry, once we got it all cleaned up....it was just a nasty scrape.  And so he was left with a fat lip and a hitler-esque mustache of a scab.  I documented the occasion.

Oh, and why did he crash?  I'll tell you in his words. 

D:  "I was imagining things, and suddenly I swerved" 

Me:  "You were imagining things?  What did you 'see'"

D: "I swerved so I wouldn't hit the imaginary boulders" 

Another funny camp story.  David participated in choir for the week.  At the end, John Windle asked them all to write down exactly how they wanted their names to appear on their certificates.  He was thinking like if their name was Christopher on the registration list, but they go by Chris....they could write that.  So after they collected the papers and looked through them, they saw David's.  It said, "David Hoffland the Great"  HAHAHAHAHAHA!  That made for some good chuckling around the staff lunch table.