One Day

It seems there are a few magical ages for a child. I always thought 5 was pretty big, because it seems most programs, sports and otherwise, don't let kids participate until they're 5. And, it would seem being 7 is pretty great too! Not only is Cora in 2nd grade, but she got to participate in church camp this summer! The church we attend owns/operates its own camp. It's a beautiful place that was built with the blood, sweat and tears of the people in this church. There is a lot of love and pride in this place and rightly so. The camp hosts an overnight camp for campers ages 5-7 and their parents. Cora and I made our way through the foothills of the Poconos and landed in a beautiful spot on earth. For the next 24 hours the kids are introduced to what camp life is like. We played games, sang songs, did crafts, ate in the dining hall, did a slip-n-slide, saw horses, and did the zip-line. The counselors did everything, and the parents were there more for moral support for the ...

At the beginning of summer David and I wrote down a bucket list of things to do/see this summer. We didn't want to waste the summer doing nothing. Plus, the kids have all hit a great age in which we don't need a stroller any longer, we almost don't need diapers/pull-ups, and they're all (mostly) old enough to remember and appreciate what we're doing! AND, we're in a new state with LOTS of places to explore. We were told about a cave not far from us and so embarked on our journey! It was a HOT and HUMID day the day we went. We almost didn't go because it was so hot, but we figured we'd be underground so it wouldn't be as bad, plus we really needed to get out of the house. I'm so glad we chose to go. The kids LOVED it!!!!! Ben especially thought it was so much fun and still talks about it! We went, paid an arm and a leg (ahem) and went below earth for a fun adventure. Our guide was a young college student who did a great job talking about the ...

Today is Labor Day in the US of A! Being away from any and all family we weren't entirely sure how we would celebrate. However, a family from church (who we've become friends) are going to join us at our house today for a picnic, although I'm guessing we'll eat inside as we have nothing to eat on outside! My husband is going to marinade and grill a roast, we'll have French fries, baked beans, a salad and dessert. I wanted to share my baked beans recipe with you. I LOVE baked beans. It's something I have always loved to eat, however, when my eating had to change I found that all canned baked beans come full of ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, soy, cornstarch, wheat, etc. Folks, baked beans are NOT hard to make, and there is not reason to have all these crazy ingredients in them! In reality, these are simply fillers anyway. I was on the search for a baked bean recipe that I could make from scratch. A friend of mine passed one to me. I hav...

Fridays are going to be dubbed "Fun on Friday!" I plan to have more photos here, talk about family stuff etc. ************************** I love the beach. It has to be about one of my most favorite places on earth. I've been to beaches in the DRC, Kenya, Cameroon, California, Florida and now New Jersey! I've swum in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. I love them all. And, we are finally able to introduce our kids to the ocean! There's just something about the ocean. The waves are mesmerizing to me. I am so easily lulled to sleep with the waves. The sand...well, it's not my favorite part (how does it get EVERYWHERE????), but it IS a part of it, so I'll take it! We are blessed to live 2-3 hours from the ocean. We can go on a day trip, or a weekend trip. We've done both this summer and I think it's already one of our favorite family things to do. I look forward to making a lot of beach memories with David and the kids! Here are some of my fa...

Part of raising kids is getting them to set goals and accomplish them. I don't know if I've mentioned it in my blog, but I have talked about it a lot how reading was a struggle for Cora over 1st grade. Not so much a struggle in her knowing HOW to read, but rather a struggle in getting her TO read for me. She would read for anyone else, but when she and I sat down to do school she often acted like she was reading Chinese, or something. It was so frustrating, and David and I weren't sure what to do to get her over the hump. Then, Cora kept asking if she could get her ears pierced! DING! The light bulb went off and we saw we had our "thing" to get her over the hump. We told her that if she wanted to get her ears pierced she need to read 10 books. We encouraged her to try to do this before school started, making it a summer activity/goal. We picked out books for her and she got to it. We were impressed with her sudden ability to read (sigh...) and wouldn't you kno...

I have been feeling the itch to start writing again. I see it's been a good, long time since I last wrote. Our lives have changed and so much has happened it's hard to fully put it all into a post that won't take you hours to read! I think I'll just tell you the highlights for now! *In January we finished packing for our move to a new state, city, church, everything! *February 22 was move day, and we traveled to the neighboring state. My mom, the kids and I were in our van, David and the animals were in my parents' car, and my dad drove the Uhaul with most of our earthly possessions, pulling our "baby" car behind! It was a long day, but we got to our new home and were greeted by lots of folks from our new church. The job of unloading 4 vehicles of stuff was done quite quickly, and I will be forever grateful for those people! *March saw us getting even more settled in, figuring out where to put everything, finding our way around town, getting involved...

Babies are so precious, aren't they? They smell good, they're so soft, cuddly and well, it's rare to find a person who DOESN'T like a baby! Late last week my sister-in-law, David's step sister, had her first baby! We've been anxiously awaiting this little one's birth. Her parents decided not to find out if they were having a boy or girl, so we were all anxious to find out! Well, they had a GIRL--an adorable, precious, little girl!!! We were/are so excited for them! We decided to head down to their city (2 hrs away and same place my MIL and sister live) the day after she was born because we were just too excited! The kids were excited to have another cousin, and they ALL wanted to hold her! They had each picked out a little toy for her. Here's some pictures of our precious new niece/cousin! I apologize for how many there are...ok, no I don't!