It's the most wonderful time of the year...says Daddy!

That's right! It's FOOTBALL season!!

Daddy's beloved Aggie's missed their opening game due to hurricane weather.......

So we are surprising Daddy with a "Happy Football Season" lunch!

 

 I think Little Miss might be just as excited as Daddy for our fun Saturday football party's!

My J Man

Even with strep throat you are all smiles. 

Today I am thanking sweet Jesus for blessing me with YOU...all boy, rough and tough, at times too much to handle...bundle of joy Jackson!

"I am your parent you are my child

I am your quiet place, you are my wild

I am your calm face, you are my giggle

I am your wait, you are my wiggle

I am your audience, you are my clown

I am your London Bridge, you are my falling down

I am your Carrot Sticks, you are my licorice
I am your dandelion, you are my first wish

I am your water wings, you are my deep

I am your open arms, you are my running leap

I am your way home, you are my new path

I am your dry towel, you are my wet bath

I am your dinner you are my chocolate cake

I am your bedtime, you are my wide awake

I am your finish line, you are my race

I am your praying hands, you are my saving grace

I am your favorite book, you are my new lines

I am your nightlight, you are my sunshine

I am your lullaby, you are my peek-a-boo

I am your kiss goodnight, you are my I love you!"

Author: Maryann K Cusimano

1st day of Pre-K 4

Really! Summer is over!!?? 

Whether we are ready or not all our activities resumed this week including K's school!

 Kaitlyn started a new school 2 days a week while I work (yes, I'm still working a bit!)

We are super excited to already know 3 kids in our class and when I picked Little Miss up on Tuesday she said...."Mom, I had a great day! I love school...but I didn't even learn how to read yet"

 Sweet girl-you love learning!

We are looking forward to her new class and new teacher!! 

I am learning to clothe Kaitlyn's influences and environment in prayer-I think God has blessed us BIG time with such a great group of kids and teacher!

I'm savoring every moment of my days off (M/W/F) with Little Miss because I know that BIG K word (kindergarten!!) is around the corner and our precious moments together will be shorter ;(

I love you sweet baby girl. Your courage amazes me! Leaving you in a new room with new people...made this mama spend her entire ride to work lifting your name up to Jesus-for Him to look after your heart while you are not in my care.  

Your smile can light up a room and
 I pray you let that little light shine this year! 

Here's to savoring every moment of Pre-K!!
Thank you Aunt Jane and the girls for our sweet 1st day of school surprise-this was a great reminder and super cute!!

Last Letter of the summer....Letter S

We are learning our last letter of the summer!
 Letter S 

 Our scripture is found in Galatians and has us learning to serve!

 To live out our verse, we had the greatest opportunity to help our sweet friend Betsy with her Meals on Wheels route.

In an hour we delivered 15 hot meals to some pretty amazing folks!
Everyone we visited was so glad to see Kaitlyn and mentioned how her smile made their day.

Thank you sweet Betsy for letting us be apart of your normal routine of serving others!
 If God makes a way, I would love to do this every month!!!

Our other fun Letter S activity was a Secret Service Mission I saw here!

 I gave sister a Secret Service Mission to think of 1 way to serve Daddy and Jackson.

Kaitlyn decided she wanted to serve them a football-themed breakfast Saturday morning!

 

We got up extra early and surprised our boys with a yummy breakfast..served on trays and all!

 So sad to end our Summer of Learning Letters!
God has been so sweet to our family and provided amazing teachable moments that have stirred our affections towards Him and loving others! 

 

T-Z we will see you next summer as Little Miss gears up for.....KINDERGARTEN!!!!!

Our Soccer Girl

Sister is playing soccer this fall! 

 We are super excited to have our sweet friend Maddie on our team! 

Here's to Saturdays of soccer filled fun! Go Purple Thunder :) 

Our patient

Little Miss got her tonsils out today.

This process started Monday with blood work. Daddy and I tried our best to distract her, but Little Miss did not want her blood taken ;(

Kaitlyn kept apologizing for not being very brave....Sweet girl! Afterward she was super excited to show off her "cast"(just the bandage wrapped around her arm from the blood work.)

Luckily daddy bought us popcorn after Monday's blood work! 

Can i please be a pink-lady that sells popcorn to little munchkins at the hospital someday!?

Our hearts also felt pretty full after completing our last Random Act of Refreshment -leaving quarters on the vending machine at the hospital.

Friday morning (early!!!) Little Miss was all smiles.

  The staff and nurses were amazing and getting to take her new American Girl Doll, McKenna, in the operating room did wonders on Kaitlyns courage being without mom and dad.

Since being home we have been spoiled rotten by goodies left from friends, ice creams, and milkshakes!

Thank you for all the sweet thoughts, prayers, texts, and messages! With friends and family like you, Kaitlyn already wants to go back to the hospital!

Pondering...

Just something I've been chewing on lately from the book of Corinthians. Learning the letter "R" with KK about refreshing others and gearing up to learn letter "S" and serving - has my heart in His grip.

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. "

Update: The Elder's Adoption

So many of you have asked about my dear friends Wynne and Stephen Elder and their adoption. Wynne is in Africa waiting to bring her 2...that's right double the fun...2 babies home!
You can get all caught up on this beautiful love story of God's redemption here

Baby Camp and Asher are ADORABLE!!!!!
This story right here "The day I became a mom" is a must read!!

If you are touched by their story and want to give to this sweet family of 4 do so here

And if you are in Midland and will be at the Airport Welcome Home party don't forget to order a t-shirt!! http://camptees.storenvy.com/

Learning the Letter R

We are learning the Letter R and winding down our summer of learning letters. 

What a special summer Kaitlyn and I have had learning His word.

Our scripture for Letter R is a Proverb!

 I love love love this verse and have since a sweet friend sent it to me in highschool. 

I find it harder and harder to not always think about myself...but to think about others! 

So onto "living out" our verse. 

We thought it would be fun to make a Random Acts of Refreshment List to really learn what it means to "Refresh Others".

Kaitlyn and I came up with some fun ideas!

1. Donate toys/clothes to a Women and Children's home


2. Make a "give jar" and fill with money to give to someone we see in need

 

3. Take water bottles to bus stops 

We found the coolest printables here 

 4. Tape quarters to the vending machine at the hospital

Little Miss is having her tonsils out next week (boo!!) so we will do this next week

5. Take a gift to our neighbor that had a baby

6. Make buckets of bubbles and leave them at a couple of parks

And finally.... 

Go see Daddy work on a home for Habitat for Humanity

Wow!! This was so fun and Kaitlyn really caught the "refreshment" bug.

We will finish 2012 summer with Letter S and pick back up with T-Z next summer. 

 

To know Kaitlyn will start kindergarten next fall (really!!! she will be old enough for Kinder!! sniff sniff) with 26 scriptures hidden in her heart thrills this mama's heart!!