Sneaking into Mommy's Bed

I woke up with a start last night at 3am. I was laying on my side and realized that there was a sleeping 3-year-old firmly planted against my back. I have no idea how she got there or how long she had been sleeping beside me. Either I am becoming a much deeper sleeper or Kaelyn has found some pretty stealthy moves in her ability to get into my bed without waking me up!

Handy Mommy

On Tuesday evening I decided to tackle a freezer toleration that had been bugging me for a month. The ice maker had jammed and wasn't dispensing ice any longer (and somehow the water dispenser wasn't working either). So, I spent literally 2 hours working on this project. I removed all the ice and then proceeded to use a hairdryer to try to melt the built up ice that had frozen the "easily-removable" (HA!)ice bucket to the door. I thought I would never get that thing off but I continued despite my mounting frustration. Once the bucket (finally) defrosted enough to release from the door...I then spent another 30 minutes getting all the frozen ice out of the crushing mechanism inside the bucket.

I am proud to say that after those 2 hours I did FINALLY have a working ice AND water dispenser! YeAh for ME!!!! Zeke walked into the kitchen as I was completing the project, looked up at me, and said, "Wow Mommy...you fixed the freezer...I think you are handier than Papa!" While I appreciated the compliment, I quickly told him, "no, no...that certainly isn't true and even if you ever think that...let's keep that idea to yourself....we don't want to look overly self-sufficient around here...Papa might stop coming over to help us!" :)

"Doing what is asked of you....and then some"

On Sunday evening the kids and I were saying prayers after a very fun-filled evening of 4th festivities and fireworks. Being the exhausted mommy that I was, just before their heads hit the pillows, I gave firm instructions to Kaelyn and Zeke. I told them that it was after 11pm which was VERY LATE and I expected them to stay in bed until at least 7:30 in the morning. I went on to say that anyone who got up earlier than 7:30 would immediately be sent back to their bed.

On Monday morning I woke up suddenly. By the light coming into my room I could tell that I had slept in. I looked over at the clock to realize that it was after 8:30! (my children NEVER sleep past 8....ever....they rarely sleep past 7). At 9:00 I heard them stirring. When I walked into Zeke's room to tell him "Good Morning" he turned to me and said,

Zeke: We did good didn't we Mommy?
Me: Yes, Zeke....I cannot believe that you and sister slept all the way until 9!
Zeke: I know Mommy....we wanted to let you sleep. It is like my teacher talked about in Bible class on Sunday. She said if your parents ask you to do something, you should do it and then some. Like if they ask you to clean your room. You should clean your room and then your sister's. So when you told us to sleep til 7:30, we slept a whole lot longer than that. Was that good?
Me: Yes, Zeke...that is REALLY good!

Happy 4th Everyone!

Pictures from MeMe Camp

Ok, this first picture really makes me laugh....do you think they are a little tired of smiling for the camera. I've never seen so many fake smiles in one place....ha!




Happy 7th birthday Callie & Happy 6 1/2 Birthday Zeke!

Zeke's Half-Birthday

The Saturday following Camp Breakaway ended up being the best time to host Zeke's half-birthday party. The weather turned out to be unbelievably hot, so it was perfect for a swim party. Zeke was so excited this year to have an opportunity to invite friends from his class at school. The night before his party he said a special prayer, telling God that he really hoped his teacher, Ms. Petty would attend. I thought it said so much about his attachment to her that he would want her to come so much. It was so sweet.

Birthdays & parties are always bitter sweet because they remind me so much of Brad. His love for celebration and birthdays were unmatched by anthing I have ever seen. He was always just as excited as Zeke during those times....it was always fun to see.

Thanks to everyone who came and to those who helped! We love you and appreciate you!

Camp Breakaway

Zeke has had a VERY eventful summer so far. The first 3 and a half days were spent at Lake Livingston for church camp, Camp Breakaway. This was a camp designed specifically for the younger, school-aged children and the counselors were the high school kids from our youth group. At first Zeke seemed very anxious about the idea of going to church camp without me, but the on the very first day when Ms. Noelle camp to pick him up...he was VERY excited! He had a great time playing with all of his best-buds from church that week.