AmyDale.com

12 Years and 13.1 Miles

So, Jon and I just got back from an amazing long weekend!  We spent 4 days in Nashville for our 12th anniversary!  It was sooo much fun!  We went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Trace Atkins, Little Jimmy Dickens (he sang one of my favorites..."May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"), and Crystal Gayle...along with a lot of other incredibly talented people including some awesome Bluegrass bands!  We also did the Country Music Hall of Fame.  They had a special exhibit about the Hank Williams family...it was really cool.  One of the more bizarre items we saw there was a group of squirrels that Hank Williams shot and then took to a taxidermist and had them posed as though they were a band all playing instruments...yeah, drinking too much is a baaaad habit!

Jon also surprised me with an amazing gift (he's really good at that)!  I knew that we were going somewhere for something at 2 and when we got there it was the Gibson store and we got to take a factory tour...I thought that was the surprise and I was so excited!  It was really cool.  When we got done with the tour there was an employee sitting on a counter playing this beautiful guitar and Jon called me over to look at it.  It was amazing...the guy starting telling me about it...it's a custom, one of a kind guitar, when they make only one of a kind they name it...it's called "Bloodshot"...then after a little more chit chat he hands it to me and says "you should play your new guitar"!  I started crying and all the employees were gathered around to watch the spectacle...it was awesome and the guitar is soooo amazing!  I could not have picked a better one myself!  I love it!  It's red and it sounds awesome!  The thing about that gift is that it's more than a guitar...it's my husband telling me that he believes in me and that I should keep playing and keep writing and keep learning!  So, thank you Jon for being the best and loving me so well!

Another seemingly insignificant highlight was a trip to Cooter's!  Those of you who also wasted large portions of your childhood humming "just some good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm" know what I mean when I say Cooter!  Yes indeed I did get to meet the General Lee face to face and got to see more "Dukes" memorabilia than I thought possible...at one point I actually owned quite a few of the things that were displayed.  It was a great redneck education for my British husband...he told me that we needed to leave Tennesee quick because I was starting to sound like one of them!

So, the reason we picked Nashville for our trip is because about 6 months ago I signed up to do my first ever half marathon..."The Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon".  And on Saturday morning we awoke at 4 AM to get to the field and the shuttle and all that good stuff and stood at the starting line for over an hour waiting for my corral to be called to go.  It was raining and luckily I had bought a rain jacket the night before because we heard the forecast.  Finally, they counted us down and we took off.  I ran a 4 x 2 this time (run 4 minutes walk 2 minutes).  I did well...Nashville is very hilly!  It was a great way to see a city.  The rain didn't last long.  We ran downtown and through quaint little neighborhoods.  People were lining the streets to cheer us on and bands were playing.  There was even an older couple sipping champagne and toasting us.  It was great!  We had an awesome time.  Jon was the best support team ever...he's the reason I was there at all.  He met me at mile 1, 2 and 9 and then at the finish line (the course curved around on itself and he was able to cut across at those places).  Crossing the finish line was an overwhelming feeling.  I never knew that I could do that or even anything close to that.  I have new goals set already.  I am doing another half marathon on September 1st and this time my goal is to run the whole time.  I've also signed up for a full marathon in November...yikes!  I just want to finish that one...it feels impossible, but so did this 6 months ago!

Special thanks to our friend Tracey for helping with our kids and to Jon's parents Tony and Felicity for staying with the kids all weekend!  And thank you to all my family and friends who have encouraged and cheered me on for months!  To my husband and my kids you are the best support team in the universe and I would rather run for you and to you than anyone!  I love you so much!  You can see video of me crossing the finish line at www.jondale.com

Lego Jesus

So, we have started something new in our house.  Every night one kid helps with dinner (except Aspen...she's not on the list yet).  And their job includes making dinner (with some help), serving it, and creating a centerpiece to make the table pretty, then helping clean up afterward! 
So, this is Elijah's centerpiece from his night...Jesus on the cross and the other two guys...one who appears to be an astronaut of some sort and the other has a black face (maybe that represents his sinfulness)!  Jon and I got a big kick out of this so I thought I should share!

Run, Forest, Run!!

Well, for those of you who don't know.  I will be doing a half marathon (13.1 miles) on April 26th!  I have been training for months...I started at a really, really low fitness level, so I have come a long, long ways!  I really love it!  We found a place to do my weekend long runs and I love it...there are no other people around and the views of the mountains and wildlife are awesome...I spotted a colony of prairie dogs and one ran right in front of me, a mountain blue bird (very blue), and a hawk overhead.  I ran my longest run before the race two weeks ago (10 miles)!  My husband is the most supportive guy ever!!!  He and the kids drove to every mile and met me with drinks in hand and cheering "go, mommy, go!"  It was great!  I finished that run and averaged about 14 minutes per mile...for 10 miles...I was very happy with that!  My goal in this race is certainly not to set any records...just to finish!  I'm so excited!  Jon and I are celebrating our 12th anniversary and so we are combining the trip with my race.  The race is in Nashville...so we have 4 nights in a hotel in Nashville with no kids and I get to run a half marathon!!!  It's gonna be soooo fun!

In other news, we got Shae's haircut.  It's very cute, but I haven't taken a picture yet, but here's one right before we got it cute!  She and Anna both got their ears pierced too!  Oh...it is so cute and so girly!  I love it. 

Anna went to a father/daughter sweetheart dance with her daddy and all her friends and their daddies!  They had a great time.  They were all so excited and so adorable!  I saw some brief video footage and there was so pretty silly dancing from the daddies!

Elijah's doing well.  He loves to pretend (as do all my kids)!  He and Anna love making up worlds and going on pretend journeys.  We saw a great kids adventure movies the other day "Nim's Island".  It was a lot of fun!

Aspen tries to avoid the paparazzi!  She is running around all over the place these days and starting to learn a few signs so that she can communicate a little bit!  She is so fun and so full of life!

We also we to a murder/mystery party with our good friends (we are all super heros).  I am super-sleuth!  The super crime solver!   Wooo-hoooo!  So fun!

Totally Rad!

So, last night one of our best pals, Tony, celebrated his 40th birthday and we got to join in with him!  His wife threw a party for him and not just any party an 80's party!  It was so much fun!  My good friend, Michelle, called me from Goodwill and told me that she had found us the perfect outfits...she was not kidding!  We looked awesome!  We had a great time and even did some karaoke!  I performed Led Zeppelin and Michelle has a Def Leppard only policy when it comes to karaoke...the birthday boy had a special request for Jon, so he performed "Slim Shady"...not very 80's, but it was a special request.  It was a really fun night!  Yay for Tony!

Catch Up

I will attempt in words and pictures to tell all that has happened in the last few weeks.  I had my 32nd birthday!  It was SO much fun!  One of my best ever.  I have such great friends and that just made it for me! 

Elijah had his 5th birthday.  So, he's big stuff now!  We had a party here for him with his buddies!  They had so much fun and he has even more legos now!

We also got our family pet, Maggie, a black standard poodle.  She is huge and still very much a puppy which is challenging at times.  She did go to a month long obedience training at the prison system here.  So, she's well trained...we're just not great trainers.  She went from having an inmate who was totally focused on her to having our family with 4 kids and a house of chaos.  So, it's been quite a transition for her and us.  We are enjoying her so much and I am really enjoying having her run with me.  I am training for a half marathon in April and it's been great to have her with me on my treks.

Maggie has enjoyed Aspen a lot since she basically hands Maggie food from the table or lets her clean her hands off.  We try to keep Maggie on a down stay during meals, but it doesn't always get done and then we find Maggie standing right next to Aspen wagging her tail.

Aspen is growing up fast now.  About a week ago she started walking.  She is 14 months...so I guess it's about time, but she still seems like such a baby to me...which is funny when I think that Anna walked at 10 months.  She is so proud of herself and will clap for herself and grin so big!  It's so cute!  Check out those sexy thighs!!

Anna got to be in a class play about Queen Esther and she got to play the starring role!  She did a great job.  In the last scene they were having the "banquet" and they had real food which included one of  Anna's favorite types of cookies and she lost some of her queenly elegance in order to grease down on the cookies.  She just kept grabbing one after another and shoving them in...the last one that she took she was really deliberating over whether she should or not her hand would go forward and then she would pull it back, but finally she decided that it was just too good to pass up!  It was fabulous...made me proud.

Shae has an ear infection and has been a bit under the weather, but I found this picture of she and Eli a few weeks back that I just had to share...so funny!

So, that's all for now!  There will be more soon!  Always plenty of worthy subject matter around here!

Haircuts and Undershirts

So, apparently while the cat's away the mice will play.  And while I was out of town Shae got a haircut and amazingly it was free and this amazing stylist was a 3 year old as well.  So, she has this really interesting look now...trendier than most 3 year olds.  I do think we will have to go to a professional and have it tweaked just a little. Good times!

Yesterday my creative kids found dad's undershirts which became amazing costumes.  First, they were angels flying around the house and Shae was Mary for a while.  Then Eli and Shae came out with belts cinched around them and black boots on and, of course, their swords shoved into the belt.  I'm not sure what exactly they were supposed to be, but they were indeed cute little warriors!  Never a dull moment!

Welcome 2008

So, we survived another year of nomadic Christmas!  Although, when we were trekking home with a car crammed full of stuff and 4 kids and a dog (our new puppy, Maggie) we were wondering why we ever leave home!  But we did survive and even made it home in time to celebrate Jon's 31st birthday with our friends. 
We were only home a short time when it was time for me to leave for Texas again!  I went with a group of women representing WWF (women's worship fellowship...not wrestling...although I would be a darn good wrestler).  I went with 5 other ladies (singers, songwriters, guitar players, percussion players, intercessors, artists)to several cities in Texas for about 5 days.  My husband graciously agreed to stay home with the kiddos!  It was an amazing time!  So much learning, so much loving, so much giving, so much receiving...God met us!  It was great!

I am now in re-entry phase.  Yesterday was my first day with the kids and when Jon got home I said, "I forgot how much I do", it was pretty tiring!  Today is better...I feel like I've had some rest and I can move forward a little easier.
So, I was very entertained  by my  highly imaginative children who are getting along today really well.  Eli managed to find a pair of Jon's pajama pants (stretchy pants) and after finding another pair for Anna and some nice khaki  pants for Shae...they became the "Up-Pants People" from the planet Pants.  They have been running around the house with their little arms tucked inside and sometimes even their heads, so that they look like just the bottom half of a person running around!  Very clever and fun to watch!  Now it sounds as though the evil genius baby Aspen is attempting to glue them to the floor...it's taking a lot of cooperation for them to escape, but somehow they will overcome.   Just another day at the Dales!  I must go and see if I can  single handedly conquer baby Aspen and her super power of the  super smelly diaper.

Festivities

Anna and I had a date the other night and we went to see the local production of "The Nutcracker".  It was so much fun and we knew a lot of people that were in it.  I'm so glad we got a chance to do it.  Jon had been out snowboarding all day and he was tired, but happy to help with the other kids.  Last Saturday our church offered childcare so that we could finish up Christmas shopping.  It was so amazing!  We never have an entire day with no kids.  We did shopping and then we went to eat and saw a movie...so much fun!  The kids had a great time too.  They made Christmas cookies, cards, and even got treated to a magic show from our amazing local young magician "The Great Nicolini"!

In other news, my baby, Aspen Joy has just turned one!!  I can hardly believe it!  We had a little family celebration for her and it was really fun!  She really enjoyed getting to eat an entire cupcake...later when I put dinner on her tray she kept pushing it away and looking at me like, "where's the cupcake?"  She had a good time and so did her siblings!  She doesn't really open presents at this point, but we have plenty of volunteers in the house to help her!  We got her a little barn with animals and she had such a great time playing with it, it was really sweet!

Merry Christmas to Me!

I bought myself a Christmas present today!  I bought some JodiStyle art prints!  So, this is just a sample of Jodi's art.  I am not just a huge fan of her work, but I also have the joy of being very close friends with her.  And she is beautiful in so many ways.  Her art work touches me and continues to amaze me.  The piece on the left is called "Trust" and you can see that the girl is hanging from the word trust...it's an amazing image and one that we need to be reminded of in our walk! 

The one on the right (I feel like a tour guide now) is called "Beautiful" and it's probably my very favorite!  I watched her paint this one Sunday morning during worship.  I loved God so much more just seeing what He can create through us (us..well, you know what I mean).

And lastly, the one on the left is "Free Spirited" (a life free of guilt, shame and fear)...yeah, I don't need to say any more about that! 

I want to share her art with you because it has blessed me so much!  And if you are interested in purchasing her art (which you should be) you can click here for great deals on prints or here for some beautiful art cards.  You can also visit her at www.jodistyle.com !  So, go ahead and do some Christmas shopping for your friends and family and yourself!  Merry Christmas!

Snow Day

When I woke this morning at 7 I peeked out my window.  When I went to bed last night it was snowing and this morning there was a fair bit of snow.  So, I checked the school listing....Anna's school had listed a delayed start, which meant she didn't have to be there until 10 (why don't they do that everyday), but it was still snowing and in about 30 minutes it had changed to closing completely!  Yay!  A snow day! 

We have enjoyed our day.  The window behind the Christmas tree is beautiful with all the trees coated in snow.  The kids have been outside sledding in our front yard and jumping on the trampoline with the snow!  Aspen has been inside with me...but as long as there is food involved in some part of the activity she is happy!  I am spending the day in my PJ's and just enjoying the fact that I do not have to leave my house at all today!  Jon has been working in the Vail area and getting some snowboarding in when he can, but he should be home tonight.   So, it is a beautiful winter day here in Colorado...I'm glad we have snow and not ice like a lot of places have right now!

We even make some snow ice cream after lunch!  The snow here is quite a bit drier than the snow I encountered growing up in Oklahoma, but you can still make some rocking ice cream with it!  For those of you interested in making it yourself....just fill up a large bowl with snow, add about a cup of sugar and a tsp. of vanilla and milk until it's the consistency of homemade ice cream...for those of you in Texas you can buy Blue Bell (which we don't get here).  Enjoy!

Tis the Season

It is that time of year again.  My favorite season!  I love the holidays...the lights, the cold air, the Christmas music, the cookies, getting Christmas cards...all of it!  It's so fun and the kids are really enjoying it as well.  We are all decorated and the kids are asking multiple times a day how long it is until Christmas. 

Aspen is almost one!  Her birthday is the 17th.  I can't believe that she is already turning one.  She is such a sweet and darling baby!  I just love her...everyone in the family adores her.  Shae and Elijah are funny right now because it really feels like I have twins because Shae is so big and they are kind of on the same level in a lot of areas.  So, needless to say it's a little bit trying sometimes with the two of them.  I just keep reminding myself that they won't be 3 and 4 forever.  I am enjoying all of them so much, but they are really keeping me on my toes! 

Anna is at such a fantastic age and I am enjoying her so very much!  She was recently in a school Christmas program in the choir and did such a great job and enjoyed it so much.  She made a beautiful angel.  She also had her very first piano recital.  All of her friends take piano from the same teacher and so they all got to be there together...it was so cute and they all did great!  Anna is learning really fast.  I'm so proud of her.   

Well, in case I don't blog again before Christmas (which is highly likely)...Merry Christmas from all of us Dales! 

Halloween Update

It's been a while since I actually posted and I must admit I find it a little difficult to find the time these days!  We just got back from a trip to Texas and had a great time with family and friends.  We stayed at a lake house and the kids got to go canoing and swimming a lot and it was so nice! 

Last night we did the big trick or treating.  We had a great time and as is tradition here it was very cold I think it was right at freezing!  We went to a friend's house afterwards to celebrate his birthday and overall it was a great night!

Elijah and Shae also gave me a makeover recently.  I think they are gifted and it's a good thing I like purple.

RV There Yet?

So, the RV was awesome!  We didn't freeze to death and I maintained my sanity almost the entire time.  Family camp was so much fun!  The kids had a blast!  They all had friends their age with them and just played constantly.  Elijah and his good buddy Caelan found the best mud hole ever.  They had some good boy time there.  They also spent a lot of time having light saber battles.  My favorite was when they were both fighting next to each other against invisible hordes that must have been trying to defeat the brave Jedi, but they were not to be defeated...they were too strong and too brave.  It was fabulous!
Shae was not to be outdone by the boys!  She found that same mud hole and had a good time romping around.  Although there was a very noticeable difference in the way the boys played vs. the way Shae played.  It was very entertaining to watch!  She also won the dirtiest kid award for sure.  She would sit for so long and just play in the dirt and pick it up and pour it over herself like a dirt shower or as one of the guys there said, "she's like a little dirt fairy".  By the time we got home (and Shae had thrown up) she was thrown directly into the tub.  I don't think I've ever felt so productive as I did cleaning her up.

Aspen's camping experience was not quite as great as the rest of ours.  She's not quite the right age yet.  I couldn't just let her crawl around like she wanted too...I'm pretty sure that (as sweet as this picture is) she ate that weed or flower that she is holding because that is what she does and she's good at it.  My sweet friend, Cathleen, took this picture and she is really gifted with the camera cause I think it's one of the best pictures ever!  Aspen did survive the camping...I just got a lot less sleep.  I'm hopeful that next year will be better...don't laugh it's possible.

The kids ate a ton of marshmallows and smores.  We had a little church service with everyone there and that was really fun.  Chris (our pastor whom Shae seems to think is named Christy) was asking us to name things that we really valued and my son says, "oh my gosh, I love to fart"...I am not making that up...he REALLY said that!  Luckily only the people right next to us heard, but wow...that pretty much sums up this stage of boyhood!
So, all in all it was a great and very memorable trip!  I am so grateful for my family...they are so fabulous!  And the best part is when I got home I got a call from my mom and she and my dad are coming to visit in about 2 weeks!!!  Yay!  I am so excited and the kids cannot wait.  They get to be here for Anna's 8th birthday!  My sister and her husband are coming down for the weekend too...it's gonna be one happy party!  Smile!

Crawling Aspen

Oh yeah, the crawling is very effective these days.  She's still not doing the belly off the floor crawl, but she gets where she wants to go!  She is a big fan of crawling under the TV and playing with the DVD player...which is where I found her the other day when I walked into the room!  She is such a sweet baby and just so content almost all the time!  Thank goodness! 

Shae and Elijah are enjoying school and made puppets out of lunch bags yesterday!  Which was, of course, a big hit! Anna is also doing well and we have, so far, survived the first week of school.  We get to head out on Friday for family camp.  Where we get to hang out with other families from church.  We met some new friends who have been so kind to loan us their RV!  Yay!! No tent with all the kids...I'm very happy about that!

I just thought that I would throw in this picture of  Anna and Elijah watching "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" in 3-D!  I thought it was really funny!  Have a happy labor day weekend!

School Daze

Anna had her first day of school today!  She's going to a cottage school at the local public school 2 afternoons a week and she does art, music, PE, computer lab, science, and Spanish!  Not to mention she gets to bring home those cool Scholastic papers and we get to buy books...woo-hoo!   She loved it!!!  And she walked home all by herself.  She was almost strutting!  She felt like such a grown-up!  Very exciting!  We are starting homeschool next week.  My awesome husband built me a lot of new shelves (with the help of his brother-in-law, James) for the school room and I was in the midst of getting it all organized this week.  So, next Monday is the big day!
 
We had a great visit with James and Scarlett!  It was so fun to see them!  And they are going to have a baby and make me an aunt!!!  YAY!!!  I am SOOO excited about that and cannot wait!  The kids are thrilled about finally having cousins too! 

I also wanted to take this opportunity to post some pictures of my fat baby!  I took a picture of just her legs to show you all just how cute rolls can be and one of the top of her head to show you how ginger her hair is!

Shae is quite a kiddo and I am really excited and anxious to see how school goes with Eli and Shae.  Shae is totally potty trained, but not trained to stay in her bed yet!!  She escapes about 8-10 times a night and sometimes will have herself a great little playtime at about 2 AM (the other night it involved paint).   I am really hoping that passes soon!

Elijah and Aspen are so cute together!  They are in love!  She just laughs for him like she won't for anybody else and he just loves her so much it is really sweet!  Of course, Anna and Aspen aren't too different...they are in love too!
Love is in the air!

Dale Fam Update

Life is good!  This sweet picture is Shae and one of her best buddies, Claire.  They are 8 months apart, but the size difference is hilarious.  Shae is the size of a 4 year old and Claire is a tiny little petite 2 year old...so cute together.  Shae is now potty trained...yay!!!  I tried so hard to train her several times with NO success, but one day she followed Anna into the bathroom and sat on her little potty and did her business then went and put on panties and has been wearing them ever since.  She doesn't even have to be asked if she needs to go...she is amazing...she's even napping dry!  Kids are all so different.  I guess she just had to decide that potty training was something SHE wanted to do.  However it came about...there is much rejoicing!!!

Aspen is quite the charmer as usual!  She is wanting to eat solid food like crazy!  She loves it!  She is starting to crawl...oh boy!  She is such a happy baby and just loves to play with her siblings!  Of course, all her siblings think that she is about the best thing ever!  Elijah is a great brother and tries so hard to be a gentleman.  He's got his work cut out for him with 3 sisters.  He's now learning that a gentleman is careful what he says around ladies...which has cut down a lot on conversations at the dinner table which are about poop, farts, burps, boogers, and anything along those lines.  Now, I just have to work on teaching him tact...the other day he told me the jeans I was wearing were good because he couldn't see my bum (those darn low-rise jeans that are so popular now can give you some serious plumber's crack and when it's just me and the kids I'm not very careful about it...that'll teach me)! 

Anna is very excited to start school this year and this year we as a family are really focusing on learning Spanish!  So, it could be very interesting!  Anna is enrolled at what is called a cottage school at our local elementary.  It's for homeschoolers and is 2 afternoons a week which they do all kinds of extra stuff!  She is so fired up about it.  She will be taking piano lessons this year too!  She is really a natural at it already! 

Jon is playing soccer this season in an adult recreational league.  He has had one practice so far and enjoyed it so much!  He's also been mountain biking a lot and bought Anna a mountain bike too.  She learned how to ride her bike this week too.  Her last bike had training wheels and she really wanted to ride that mountain bike, so Jon took her down to the park and she picked it up in no time. 

Jon and I got to go on a date tonight and it was so much fun!  We really had a good time.  We went to see Hairspray!  It is soooo goood!  We both just loved it and really appreciated the message too!  I can't wait till it comes out on DVD so that I can buy it! 

Mountain Mama

So, the latest news for me is my big adventure.  I went on a 4 day backpacking trip with 7 other ladies.  It was so fun and challenging and amazing and life changing.  Trying to write about it is really difficult.  I was sick going into it, but I just thought that I would get over it.  The first day, the hike in, was by far the most difficult part of the adventure.  I had to take SO many breaks and try to catch my breath.  That night I had what's called an acute stress reaction...not really very fun!!!  We camped at about 12,000 feet, so I can claim to have climbed a 12er...maybe someday I'll climb a 14er, but for now 12 will have to do!  The day that most of the other ladies climbed the 14er I was running a fever all morning (I know it's a lame excuse), but my tent mate, Michelle, hung out with me and we had a great time talking and talking and talking! 
We went to the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.  The rest of the ladies climbed Humbolt.  It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!  More than once we had to break out in the soundtrack to "The Sound of Music".  Apart from the incredible beauty there was also the blessing of the 7 other ladies with me.  I love them all so deeply now.  Relationally it was so intense and amazing!  We felt like family from the beginning.  It was just a huge experience and God really met me on that mountain in so many ways.  I am so thankful to have a husband who is willing to let me go on my adventure while he stays with all the kids (thank you again Jon). 

Summer Fun!

This morning I took the kids to the park.  We all  had a great time!  The weather was beautiful and we have a great park right down the road.  Shae's hair is finally long enough to put in pigtails and she loves it, so now she has to have them in all the time!  It is sooo cute! 

Aspen is growing right before our eyes.  She is really, really sweet and happy!  She is taking bottles now which makes life a little easier.  She loves to do razzberries now!  That's her favorite.  It's really cute...except when I'm feeding her a jar of sweet potatoes and she decides to do it after every bite (there's nothing like a baby food shower)! 

Elijah was so proud of himself at the park because he was hanging from the bars all by himself!  He is so strong!  The other day I made him macaroni and cheese, but it was with white cheese instead of the usual fluorescent orange and he says "this tastes like throw-up"...after I gave him a stern look of disapproval he says "the good kind of throw-up".  Yeah, Elijah learning a good save will be a good skill to have later in life...keep working on it buddy cause that was NOT a good save!

Football

It's been a busy summer so far!  A lot of fun!  Elijah and Anna were in a week long British soccer camp.  They loved it and learned so much.  Anna did great and really enjoyed it...she learned a lot in so short a time and really got a lot more confident.  Elijah seems to be a real natural and dribbles the ball pretty well for his age.  He keeps it close to his feet, most of the other kids would kick it as far as they could and then chase it (he did some of that too).  We had one of the coaches stay with us for the week and that was really fun.  He was a really neat guy!

Anna and Elijah are in Vacation Bible School this week at a local church.  They are really having fun and from 9-12 every day I have only 2 kids with me.  So, it's a nice break! 

We just had a visit from my sister, Scarlett and her husband, James.  It was so nice to see them...although the kids actually got to spend a lot more time with them than we did.  We are in a group called "Greenhouse Arts", which is an artist community.  We have been working on a collaboration for months on 1 Peter 2:4-5.  So, on Sunday we got to see it all come to life.  It was amazing...paintings, films, poetry, songs, dance...it was so beautiful!  I wrote and performed a song...whew, thank goodness that's over!  It was so much fun and we love these people so much.  It was such a joy to be a part of this!

Happy Memorial Day!

It's been a full weekend with lots of fun and memories made with our Woodland Park family!  I had a great time with my lady friends doing some serious karaoke!  It was a good time had by everyone in a 5 mile radius!  We have such a great community here that has completely adopted us and vice versa!  Jon had some guys over for poker last night and I joined in the game and confirmed what I had already guessed...poker is not my gifting!  I was glad to hang out, but I think next time I will just hang out without pretending to play. 

We also had a really exciting family event...Anna got baptized!  It's great...in our community because the dads baptized their kids...so Jon got to baptize her!  She was so excited!  Our whole  community was excited.  It was awesome!  We had a BBQ at a friend's house afterwards for a friend's birthday and that was really fun!  Today is our Memorial day holiday and we went to a BBQ with our Greenhouse arts group.  It was awesome!  Hope you had a great long weekend!