Lovin' Summer

Swim lessons finished up the first week of July, but here are some pictures from the last lessons that I love:

Grace and Rachael, poolside.

Faith and Grace, cutest friends!

Rachael gives Miss Annamarie "smooches"
(especially nice since she cried during most of the lessons!)

My OWN proud moment!
Being able to swim across the pool, keeping Rachael's head (and mine) above water!

Last week we braved the hot, sticky weather and ventured to the zoo with some friends! Thankfully, not all that long ago our zoo improved their just-for-kids area, so now there's a place for the kids to cool off and splash around. I'm told that there's also a play area and a petting zoo, but we've never made it past the water! Once the girls get there, we're done!

This week Grace has been enjoying VBS at the church where her VPK was, so she's been able to spend some time with kids from her class and of course loves that! I have been SO blessed because during this time, Rachael has had playdates so I can PACK!!! Everything is still looking good for a closing at the end of the month! The home inspection went very well -- one thing that was found turned out to be a precaution that was taken by the owner to prevent damage, and another issue was resolved the day the owner was notified of it! And it was even a minor thing that Chris was willing to fix himself!

We were at the house for the home inspection, and I just couldn't help myself...

Hugs for the beautiful refrigerator!

Maybe I can do some before-and-after shots once we're moved in! I took some pictures when we walked through, but I don't think I was able to get the right angles and everything. We'll see! It's so exciting though!! Nearly 7 years in the making, and God clearly had a plan!

Just keep swimming!

There was one week between VBS ending and our swim lessons beginning! We kept busy during those few days by having friends over so their moms could get to appointments, and I even managed to survive a couple of days with my personal worst nightmare: PLAY-DOH! As much as kids love Play-Doh, I fear it! The texture, the smell, everything! I wash my hands everytime I touch it! But Rachael had never played with it before, and I wanted to give them something fun and creative to do, so out it came. (As did the wax paper to put over the dining room table.) Amazingly, there was hardly any on the floor, and none of it went in anybody's mouth. Even when Rachael's idea of playing with it turned into this:

Swim lessons began, and Grace is still a little fish! She has some technical issues to work on (blowing bubbles while she's under water, mostly), and Rachael... Well, Rachael has to work on not screaming, crying and basically having the biggest fits EVER during lessons. She's happy as a clam when she can play on her own in the shallow part, but the minute we bring her in further to actually learn something, she goes nuts! And it's not that she's scared -- she just doesn't have control, and she hates that! (Oh, how I look forward to the teenage years!)

Here is Grace under the water (she's pretty fast!), and then Rachael, who's pouting. She wasn't allowed to play with some of the toys until she tried to blow some bubbles, or at least kick from the side of the pool. She managed to kick a few times in order to play!



Aren't these towels adorable? The girls got them for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa and I waited until now to break them out! They love them! Grace's is The Little Mermaid, and Rachael is obviously a princess! ;-)

We have two lessons left, then another week that we've already got some activities planned, and then Grace will go to another VBS, followed by a dance camp! That's going to be a good little practice for school (for both of us!), because she'll be there from about 9:30 am - 3:30 pm!

I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by already, and how much we've actually had going on! It's been so much fun, and I've really enjoyed my time with the girls! I know we still have a little over a month left, but I honestly thought I would be longing for August to come around and that's definitely not the case! I'm so excited for them to start school, but I think I'm going to miss them a little more after this summer!

Oh, and one more thing... Grace and Rachael aren't the only ones keeping busy this summer! We ask that you keep praying for us as we prepare for...

Our move into OUR NEW HOME!!! Our closing date is set for July 31st, and we are definitely asking for prayers that as we come to the end of this process everything will go smoothly! Including packing!!

Thanks to those of you that have been praying as we've been looking -- it's been a learning and growing experience, and I wouldn't trade any of it! Well, I'd probably go back to fix my attitude in the beginning, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing! ;-) Thank you so much for lifting us up, we have felt your prayers!

Obviously there will be more to come! We'll keep you posted!

Daddy-Daughter Days

Today Chris and his dad headed over to the Bass Pro Shop in Orlando -- and they took the girls! From what I saw on their website, it seemed like they had a lot to look at and even some activities for kids this weekend, so I hope they're having a good time! Chris is fearless when it comes to taking the girls places, and they love to do pretty much anything with him!

Last Friday, Chris and Grace went to a Daddy-Daughter Dance hosted by a church. The girls made cards for their dads, they got their picture taken, they got to make cupcakes, and there was dancing! We didn't think Rachael would be up for it this time around, so she hung out with me -- but Chris said later that she probably would've gotten out on the dance floor! Here's a picture of Chris and Grace before they left...

Last night as I was putting the girls to bed, I stepped out of the room for a moment and heard Grace calling me. "Mom, Rachael's doin' something!" Lately, it's usually, "Mom, Rachael's naked again!" Sometimes it's because she wants to try to go potty or her diaper needs changing -- either way, it could mean that potty training is on the horizon for her. But last night, it was just Rachael being mischievous. I came into the room and she had pulled herself up on their little kitchen counter and was standing up behind it. Check out her little face -- the picture of innocence, right?

VBS was last week, and everyone had a great time! Grace had a class filled with her friends, Rachael was wonderful in childcare (once again I was told how helpful she is when it comes to cleaning up!), and I had the opportunity to lead the children's (1st-6th graders') Bible story time each day. It was a lot of work, but it was so much fun -- my favorite part was reenacting a storm by turning on a box fan and squirting the kids with a water bottle! (It was their favorite part too -- every day after that, they asked me to squirt them!)

It seems like the calendar keeps filling up -- swim lessons will start soon, and Grace has activities through the church that she gets to attend this year! I think to be safe I may just schedule dates where we make a point to not plan anything!!

Hope you're continuing to enjoy your summer!

End of the Year - Beginning of Summer!

Grace's last week of school brought us...

Water Day!

A little bit of (cute) attitude!

Rachael's first haircut with Kathy!

Pajama Day! (Nope, I didn't join her!)
And, of course, Graduation Day!

The girls got to go to the pool with their babysitter on Friday, a birthday party for a friend of Grace's at a community pool on Saturday, and then Sunday night was Grace's end-of-the year program at church! She sang every word to every song, she has come so far!

Today was a big day for us -- it was the girls' first real trip to the beach! Yep, you read that right -- born and raised in Florida and, at 5 and 2, today was their first time to really have a beach day! Grace went when she was 2, but it was in December and it was only so her Uncle Jerry could take some great pictures of her. The girls had a BLAST! Surprisingly, Grace was a lot braver than Rachael, bounding into the water with her buddy, Faith! Rachael wanted to hang back at first. After a while she realized it wasn't so bad and let me and Faith's mom bring her further into the water, with us helping her jump when the little waves broke!

Splishing and splashing!!

Rachael heads towards the water -- you can see the hesitancy!

Hope your summer is off to a great start too!

To Know Them Is To Love Them

May has been an eventful month, and we're not even finished yet! Mother's Day, Chris' birthday, Grace's "graduation" coming up, as well as her end of the year program at church! Busy, busy! This week at school Grace gets to have water day (wearing her swimsuit to school, she's so excited!), pizza and pajama day (and yes, I'm thinking about just bringing her to school while wearing mine, ha!), and then her graduation. WOW! Then it's June and the second week of that month brings Vacation Bible School! Amazing!

For Chris' birthday a couple of weekends ago, we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa. It just so happened that they were having their first annual Glory At The Gardens event, so we not only got to enjoy a day at the park, but we also were able to hear and see a few concerts -- including Steven Curtis Chapman and Matthew West!

Originally, the plan was that Chris and I would go on our own and leave the girls with the grandparents. However, their grandparents have busy schedules too! I'll admit that I was really looking forward to spending the day alone with Chris, but I quickly warmed up to the idea of having the girls along -- and we had such a wonderful time! We hadn't been to Busch Gardens with Rachael since she was about 2 months old, so taking her was a real treat! We were able to get up close and personal views of many of the animals this time around, and the girls loved it!

The kids' section at Busch Gardens is really great -- Rachael was able to ride all but one ride, and they didn't need an adult on anything! It totally and completely warmed my heart that they chose to ride everything together, they never split up even when it was an option!

Last year, I was intimidated by the summer months approaching -- at the time, Grace was only going to school 3 days out of the week, and I didn't know what I was going to do with both girls home! This year, I am looking forward to spending all that extra time with them! I am sure that there will be days when I will be begging to fast forward to August, but really and truly, the older they get, the more fun they are!

Grace is just growing, physically and emotionally. She seems to have a really sensitive heart, reacting strongly when she sees someone hurting. She loves to draw, and anytime she does she includes her friends and family members in her pictures and tells a story about what's going on. She never wants to keep her artwork, she always wants to give it to someone -- usually me or Chris! Grace is most often given compliments regarding her excellent manners! I'm really hoping and praying that she continues with that -- it is a blessing to be around people, especially children, with great manners!

Rachael is still quite a handful, but these days it's in a more playful, fun way than a screaming, fitful way! :-) She loves to make us laugh -- and if she gets a laugh, she'll repeat what she's done over and over again! Apparently she's something of a chatterbox, but she saves that for when Chris and I aren't around! Sure, she talks at home, but I'm told she'll talk the childcare workers' ears off at church! She's definitely getting easier to understand, and she's picking up a lot from her best teacher -- Grace! It will be so fun to see how she grows when she starts preschool in the fall! I am so excited about her teacher, I know it'll be a great year!

More to come later this week -- I'm hoping that Grace will agree to wear her little cap and gown so I can snag a picture or two! Right now she's saying that she doesn't want to wear it, she said she's afraid she won't look cute!! I told her that just wasn't possible!

Hope that your family is doing well and getting ready to enjoy a fun summer!