First Riding Lesson

Julia and Simon...honestly, I would take lessons too if I could.

It took months.  Julia asked repeatedly for riding lessons, and the budget just wasn't budging to make this possible.  After some searching I found a reasonably priced camp and submitted an application for Julia to attend.  Unfortunately, the camp was full.  For the price of our deposit, the farm owner offered to give Julia two private lessons.  Yesterday, she had her first.  I don't think it was as she expected.  While driving home I asked which she liked better, horseback riding or gymnastics.  After some thought Julia revealed that she likes gymnastics better and really misses the bars.  Honestly, I really miss watching her do gymnastics.  I miss the conversations with the parents, and I miss watching Julia's confidence on the apparatus and her interactions with the girls as they await their turn.  I don't, however, miss the expense nor the 12 hours a week of gym time.  Nor do I miss the hours at home while my youngest was away at the gym.  Julia doesn't really miss anything but the bars.  She is, however, surprised at how quickly her muscle memory has faded and that she can no longer do what used to come so naturally.

I don't know what we will do with this.  I do know that soccer season is just weeks away, and both my little people are looking forward to it.

Grow Old Along with Me

Andy's Birthday

We celebrated Andy's birthday today.

Andy and I started the day with a run together.  This marks my fifth day of running in a row, only 16 more days until it is a habit.  It is true that you run better with a partner.  However, I think my shoes are a problem as I am having trouble with my heels.  Running is not agreeing with me.

After dropping Zach off at work, Andy and I sought out his favorite cuisine at a mediterranean restaurant. YUM!

Zach worked today, and Savannah and I left the house to pick up some clothes she needed. We used that opportunity to shop for Andy.

I did not go for the new wardrobe, but I did get a shirt that looked like Andy to me.

When asked what he wanted, Andy mentioned only one thing. He wanted frames for the pictures that we have intended to hang for over a year.  I posted about them at the links below.

Remember this post?

Wall Art

and this one?

More Wall Art

We only framed three, but that is a start.  Now the question is whether to hang them now or wait.  We are working on a plan to paint a few rooms including those where these will hang. Hang them now or later? That is the question.

Savannah and I arrived at home with the frames, and Andy was playing basketball in the driveway.  He was resting with a headache when we left, so I was surprised to see him working out again.  I couldn't get the frames in the house.  It is like 110 degrees here, and I could not get away from him, so I ended up framing these in the bakery parking lot.  Seriously.

Andy was surprised by the strawberry rhubarb pie.  I don't know why.  I get him one every year.  though I will admit that I did consider an ice cream pie this year.

I made good on making the brownies without thinking about the fact that Andy had already purchased the makings for an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink sundae.  After dessert Andy and I almost hatched an escape plan.  The noise level from four kids high on sugar was too much.  Andy said he was going to go lay down in a fetal position and find a happy place.  Yep, that's my funny guy!

We finished the day with a family movie and game night.  Looking forward to a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, America - land that I love!

Our Zany Celebration!

To celebrate our independence as Americans, we headed to my dad's house for a cookout and some pyromania provided by Joshua.  Zach worked until 5:00, so there was some frustration from others that we could not be there before 6:30, but it all worked out. Zach picks up as many shifts as he can as football fees are due, and they set us back $450, hard to come by on a minimum wage job even if Andy and I are picking $250 of that.

After a dinner of all -American hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on the grill, we headed outside for the show despite fears of fire brought on by the drought.  We ran a hose and kept water close by.  I don't recommend trying this at home though I cannot claim that this was handled by professionals. My cautious personality was outvoted on this plan.

Sparklers actually scare Andy and me the most.  We were glad to see the last of those.

Austin and Savannah set up a dual.

Need I say more about the sparklers being scary?  The wheelchair is out only because there are so many of us that we pulled every possible seat out of the garage.

The American flag popped out of this boat when it burned itself up.  This was very cute, but my favorite was a helicopter with the propellers lighting up.

Danger. Danger.

a dance train with sparklers....is anyone scared now?

I close this post with my two favorite pictures of the celebration.

The week of the 4th holds these special dates on our family calendar.

My parents would have been married 43 years this week.

My niece, Page, turns 20 this week. Page is the oldest of our nieces and nephews.  Andy took me to meet her and his sister, Pam, who happens to be Page's mom when we had only been dating a couple of weeks.  Page's birthday is a marker for how long Andy and I have known each other.

Andy's birthday is today, July 6th.  We don't have big plans, but it is tradition to get him his favorite pie which is strawberry rhubarb...yuck.  I don't like strawberries (I know, I'm weird) or rhubarb, so I think that box of brownie mix will get used today since I am not the only one who has no desire to share Andy's birthday dessert.

God bless America!

Summer Camp for Chinese Orphans

Bring me Hope

It's that time again!  Summer camp is in full swing, and Bring Me Hope is doing their thing in China.  If you've known me very long, you know that it is no secret that I want to take my entire family and join this organization in China to help with a summer camp.  They are short of the funding needed for 19 more orphans to attend camp.  You can help by clicking the link above and making a donation.

June in review

June launched us into a hot, hot summer.  No rain and record breaking heat in our area has driven us poolside lots. I have fallen short of the Joy Dare, but it has continued.
 Our month looked like this:

We started with Julia's birthday:

This happened to be a rather cool day, so you can see there is a bit of shivering in that water.

249. Julia, our funny, spunky, fashionista - 8 years old - our pearl of great worth

Zach's first paycheck.  He still loves his job.  I love that his schedule is set, but he picks up shifts every week.  That bank account...yep, lots of coaching.  You do have to write down your transactions.

Savannah's elementary art club reunion.  Savannah has spent hours this month sketching people.  She is really trying to master the complexity of portraits.

Julia's class celebrated the end of the year with a family pool party. 

Hoping for a new annual tradition...an amusement park adventure.  This year wasn't the best, and if I could find a way to budget a second trip, I would.  We did, however, have a nice enough day enjoying the amusement park with extended family.  

Gotcha Days X 2!

250. 7 years with Julia!

251. 4 years with Wyatt!

Andy and Zach went to the beach with our church for Bible and Beach.  They had a great time despite starting the week in the company of tropical storm Debby.  Andy said it was challenging but awesome, and he would definitely do it again.  They drove all night to get there (well they rode a bus with a driver) and pulled another all-nighter to get home.  They arrived on Friday morning with some foul laundry, nice tans, and bloodshot eyes.  Andy went right to bed.  Zach went right to work after buying Wyatt a Big Mac.  Zach's luggage is still in my foyer...lovely.

These are the boys who meet weekly in our home during the school year.

Our church does not offer VBS, so I took Wyatt and Julia to another church for their program.  They had a fabulous time and raised money by collecting change for missionaries.  The girls collected 173 pounds of change while the boys collected 220 pounds.  A pie in the face for the female leader was the result.  Julia actually wanted the boys to win, and and I wonder if some of the girls found a way to leave their change in the boys' bucket.

The big boys were gone, and the little people were at VBS, so Savannah and I shopped, enjoyed frozen yogurt and attended a jewelry party to help fund the adoption of a sweet family.

Savannah also played with hair chalk.

I normally don't buy jewelry, not because I don't love it, but because our budget is so tight.  I can justify it when it helps someone out.  These ladies gathered for a Premier party to help fund an adoption.  

I am posting the link for another family using jewelry to raise money for their adoption.  This jewelry is handmade and reasonably priced.  The child is from Wyatt's orphanage, and a glitch in their process has resulted in $5000 in extra fees.  I remember a glitch in Wyatt's process costing us $500 extra, and that was very frustrating. I would completely panic over $5000.

Help the Wiehl family adopt

254. "God, You gave us a spirit of adoption" stated during a prayer in church 

Wyatt's first Big Mac, courtesy of Zach who bought this as payment because Wyatt took care of Zach's gecko while Zach was at the beach.  Wyatt looked forward to it all week.  He inhaled it and then asked me to make him a burger.  Yes, we do feed that skinny, little boy contrary to what he might have you think.  Oh to have his genes...typed wistfully.

I started Kelly Minter's Nehemiah study.  I am doing it online with Beth Moore and totally loving it.  What a great fit for the summer!  The perfectionist in me had to download the videos because there is a video guide in the book.  I have to say that I am soooo glad I did.  Kelly's videos are a bit different than a typical study.  She concludes them by interviewing people with changed lives, and they are a great blessing.

and I will finish this post with more of the Joy Dare from June

256.  high school uniforms for Savannah provided by a friend

257.  good news at work for Andy

260.  Butterfly Flower returned temporarily to Bath and Body Works...totally stocked up

273.  Andy's car has been running for 10+ years, hoping for several more

281.  a nice reminder... 'and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday.  The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and he will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail.' Isaiah 58:10-11

288.  a gift found in words "Home -Where your story begins."  part of a sermon illustration

300. celebrated Dad's 69th birthday...love that his favorite cake is chocolate with chocolate icing...mine too

305. found myself a strength and fitness class that I am loving...will so miss it when school starts again

Gotcha Days Celebrated a Little Differently This Year

When we went to China for both trips, we collected gifts for gotcha days to come.  In giving those gifts to the kids, we have found that what we thought would be treasured keepsakes from the country of their birth  have been shoved under beds, lost, etc.  Therefore, we decided on a different approach this year.  We bought the kids analog watches and balloon bouquets.  I think that to master telling time, you must do it often, so Zach and Savannah both had analog watches while studying how to tell time in school.  In fact, I remember a year when every birthday gift I bought for Savannah's friends were watches.

 Both Wyatt and Julia have asked for balloons for their birthdays, and we have never gotten them.  It was a tradition when Zach and Savannah were little to have balloon bouquets.  Therefore, I splurged on balloons.  Our intention was to throw in a dessert and call it a day.  However, they will actually have a party of sorts.  Our class at church is having a family game night tonight.  We are going to feast on fried chicken and homemade side dishes and desserts then try to beat the other families in 'Minute to Win It' games.

We did not go traditional this year, but I think we were successful.  Yes, you can see our celebration was late this year.

Gotcha - June 9, 2008  Wyatt actually enjoyed Chinese food on his Gotcha Day.  Julia was enjoying a birthday dinner with her Aunt Tiffany at the same time.  I think Zach was a bit disappointed that we didn't treat the family to a Chinese meal as has been our Gotcha Day tradition.

Gotcha - June 7, 2005

Jula is a righty, and Wyatt is a lefty.  I had to explain to Julia that watches are worn on the opposite hand of the one you use for writing.

Maybe using an analog watch to tell time is a lost art with digital clocks everywhere.  I just know that the high schoolers with whom I work frequently indicate that they cannot tell time on an analog clock.  Our school system still uses them throughout the schools, so I don't think it hurts to learn.

Taking a Vote

Help a mom out. Julia is due for her yearly pictures, and we are arguing over clothes. I am posting pictures of her in the options. Vote for the one you like best. Keep in mind that it is all about the hat. She wants to wear that hat, and it is so her.

Option A

Option B

Option C

Not to sway the vote, but I really like C. She knows that which is probably why she doesn't like it.  Help me out.  Leave a comment.

July 12, 2012 Update.  We chose Option A which was Julia's first choice.  When we reviewed her album, we found that she has almost exclusively been photographed in blue and white.  Therefore, I caved and let pink be the focal color this year.  The pictures are terrific, but I cannot post them here due to copyright.