Finally...the last of our vacation pics!

Slide Show

So, I finally figured out how to do a slide show! Although, I didn't get captions put on there. One step at a time, eh? This slide show is of some of our adventures in Rapid City, South Dakota: Reptile Gardens, Dinosaur Park and Storybook Island. Enjoy! (And be sure to check back for more slide shows in the future!)

Vacation Pics...

Trevor's New Glasses

My little precious got glasses! Isn't he cute? He doesn't have to wear them all the time. They are just for reading and doing school work. I could tell immediately that he could see better and he is no longer straining to see his papers! Yea!

See if this makes you chuckle...

...or at least makes you sing a little song from your past...

Trevor felt like he needed to (very seriously) explain Sesame Street to me as he was watching it. He said, "Mom, there's going to be four things. One of things is going to be not like the other three." Thank you, Trevor. ; )

Ahhh...Wyoming

This is a picture of an article in the local paper about the Buffalo Bill Days Grand Western Parade...which, unfortunately, we missed by a day! The important thing to note is that the picture on the bottom right is my dad! He is a "cowboy action shooter"! Hee hee!

Water Park

In case you couldn't tell from my recent photos, we just got back from a trip to Wyoming to visit my family. (My dad, step-mom, and sister.) I'm sure it would make more sense to put all of my pictures in a slide show, but I don't know how to do that and I don't feel like figuring it out right now. So, I will just keep posting them a little at a time until they are all on here! This is one of the things the boys were most excited about doing when we were there. It is a new park "in town" (That's the terminology when you live in "the country".) that has water fountains for the kids to play in. If you look closely, you can tell the "city kids" from the "natives"... My boys are the only ones wearing water shoes! Ha ha!

Mini-Golf

Pirate's Cove Mini-Golf was just one of the many activities we did on our 36 hour jaunt (from Wyoming) over to South Dakota! We all had a blast!

Mount Rushmore; South Dakota

Happy Independence Day!

God Bless America! My dad, the boys, and me.

Devils Tower; Wyoming

In Kiowa Indian mythology it was said that...

Once upon a time, seven little girls were playing in the woods far from home when they came upon some bears that chased after them. They found refuge on a great rock that rose into the sky with them on it, making them into stars. The bears tried to pursue them, but all their efforts were in vain. You can still see the struggle and their claw marks in the rock.

Devils Tower is actually a "volcanic plug" that stands 1267 feet above the surrounding terrain. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt named Devils Tower the First United States National Monument.

Silver Lining

We finally got our van back yesterday! (It was in the shop for a week, getting the scratches fixed.) So, it looks brand new again! It was completely detailed, inside and out, and I got to put 500 miles on a rental car, this past week, instead of on our van! Hee hee!

Oh NO he DIDN'T!!!

The boys and I just got back from the grocery store. All in all, it went pretty well... Until we were standing in the check out line and there was a woman in the line next to us who had pretty severe acne. I didn't really notice her, or the fact that Trevor was staring at her, until he said to me, "Are those leprosy dots?" Now, you would think that I would be immediately horrified. But, no. I couldn't understand what he was saying, so I asked him to repeat himself THREE times! When I finally realized what he was saying (while he was looking at her, of course), I just cupped his face in my hands and whispered, "Shhhhhhh...no, sweetie! We'll talk later!" I am 99.9% sure that no else heard. But, oh dear Lord! The adventures in grocery shopping with young children!

The end of an era...or is it?

There is a time for everything,

a season for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

In case you haven't noticed from my recent posts, I am going down a new path in my life! (I know the suspense is killing you, Jessica!) My journey began rather suddenly a couple months ago. In the natural it seemed as though this season of my life was coming to an end. The season in which I am to stay home and raise my children, as my youngest is entering Kindergarten! But, in my heart it didn't feel like it was meant to be over. Now I know why...

"You can't escape God's call on your life.

But when you look at it rightly,

you don't want to."

R.C. Sproul, Jr.

That quote is from a book I am reading right now called, "When you Rise Up. A Covenantal Approach to Homeschooling." Yes, you read correctly! We are going to Homeschool the boys! Now, I could write an entire book about the journey the Lord has taken me on to arrive at this decision, but the short of it (and the most important) is that it is what the Lord is calling me to do. One of the most exciting things, to me, about this process is the transformation I have gone through. I've gone from "No, Lord! Please not me!" (Can't you send someone else?) To where I am now, which is complete excitement, expectancy, and joy! The boys are excited, too, which is a direct answer to prayer! (Technically, today is the first day of summer vacation, but the first thing Gavin said to me this morning was, "Do we get to start school today?") The Lord has been so faithful in walking me through this process, as I have been faithful to obey Him! He's given me answers, guidance, confirmation, and grace, as I have asked and sought Him. (My previous posts will probably make a little more sense now, if you go back and read them.) I'll wrap this up with another quote by Sproul...

"When we trust God in obedience, He gives the grace we so desperately need."

"...His grace is sufficient unto the day. As we enter into knowing obedience, God leads us into seeing the joy, feeling the joy." (see Phil 2:13 and 2Cor 12:9.)

Phil 2:13 NLT

"God is working in you, giving you

the DESIRE and the POWER

to do what pleases Him."

Having Purpose...

When Alice was walking through Wonderland, she found herself at a crossroads. She was confused over which way she should go. Startled by the Cheshire Cat up in a nearby tree, Alice asked the Cat which way she should go. "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat. Alice replied, "I don't much care where--" The cat saucily answered, "Then it doesn't matter which way you go." to be continued...

Scriptures that have been ministering to me lately...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek His will in all you do,

and He will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.

"They are plans for good and not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.

In those days when you pray, I will listen.

If you look for ME in earnest,

you will find Me when you seek Me.

I will be found by you," says the Lord.

"I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.

I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you

and bring you home again to your own land."

Jeremiah 29:11-14

Graduation

The cutest boys in the world!

Trevor's Pre-K graduation was last night.

As you can see, he was very happy!

I think all of our faces hurt from smiling ear to ear all night!

Welcome to Blogville...

Kim finally joined the blogging community! Yea! Check them out at:

www.cunninghamrules.blogspot.com

(I will also put their link to the right, for future reference.)

Enjoy!

People

What is WRONG with people? I don't get it! Here's the story... I went to Costco this morning to get gas and milk, as they are way cheaper there. I got gas first and I pulled up to the second pump because there was a car in front of me at the first pump. (There's a sign that says, "Pull all the way forward", which seems like a no brainer to me, but whatever.) By the time I finished pumping my gas, the car in front of me had finished and driven away. No sooner had I gotten in my van and closed the door a car pulled up behind me and started HONKING at me! I looked in my rear view mirror to see a woman with her hand's thrown up in the air, impatiently. So, I threw my hands up in the air in the same manner, as if to say, "What?". (In retrospect, that probably wasn't necessary, but at least I didn't make any other gestures!) I'm not sure what she expected me to do? Was she so impatient that she couldn't wait the 20 seconds it was taking me to put my seat belt on and put the keys in the ignition? Or was she mad because she thought I hadn't pulled all the way forward? At any rate, I went along my merry way, all the while with this woman laying on her horn at me! RIDICULOUS! So, that was irritating because impatient people irritate me! Ha! I got over it soon enough, though and I drove over and parked at Costco. Wouldn't you know it, towards the end of my shopping trip, I saw that woman! I know she recognized me, too, because she kind of did a double take when she saw me! I briefly thought about saying something to her but then decided against it because, really, what would I say? "I'm sorry you were so impatient!" Ha! So, here's the clincher. I paid for my purchases and walked out to my van, only to find that IT HAD BEEN KEYED! The entire drivers side of my brand new van is completely scratched up! Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!! I am equally HACKED and DUMBFOUNDED! I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around how someone can be like that!?! And it's not like she was an immature, bratty teenager. This woman looked to be in her 40's! I don't get it! So, now I have to file an insurance claim and take my van in to be fixed and get a rental car and pay a deductible...all because I wanted to save a few bucks on gas and milk! I know that wasn't a very happy, uplifting story, but clearly, I'm NOT happy! But, in the spirit of keeping positive, I will end my post with another story about "people"... The other day I was, again, shopping. This time at Safeway. As I exited the store, pushing my shopping cart, a car stopped for me so that I could cross the street. As I was in the middle of the street (in the cross walk, mind you), a big truck drove by and did not stop for me! It wasn't my favorite, but I didn't give it much thought. Whatever. I went on my merry way. (I'm very merry, as you can see!) So, I got to my van, unloaded my groceries and as I started to get in, a woman (probably in her 50's) came up to me... It was the driver of the truck! She tracked me down in order to apologize for not stopping for me! See! There ARE nice people out there, too. How refreshing.

T-Ball

Another T-Ball season has come and gone!

Trevor had his end-of-season pizza party the other night,

after his last game.

Now we just have two more weeks of baseball to go! Buddies!

(Cameron and Trevor)

More Zoo Pictures

Saturday at the Zoo!

Running

Kim informed me the other day that I am a runner. I know it's funny that that was a revelation to me, as the definition of a runner is "one who runs". (Actually, I'm just guessing on that definition. I don't know if "Webster" really says it like that.) Point being, I run. My run today really kicked my butt! It was time to bump it up and start running faster, further and longer. Oy! Let me sum it up this way... I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night and one of his "Field Correspondents" said something [about running] that cracked me up! He said: "It combines the glamour of sweating with the convenience of not stopping!" I couldn't have said it better myself! Happy running!

Another Spring Concert

So handsome!

(I know I say that a lot, but I can't help it! Just look at him!)Gavin, Heather, and Shania:

(He's quite the "ladies' man"!) Emma-Mae and Gavin:

(Gavin has been smitten with Emma-Mae since Kindergarten! I found out, from her mom, that he gave her a necklace the other day! Ahhhhh...) Gavin's Spring Concert was the other night. He sang and played the recorder! It was fun to see it all come together and hear how all that practicing paid off! He did great!

Mother's Day Tea

Gavin's class put on a little production for us mothers, today. It was so sweet! There were a couple of times when the Kleenex box had to be passed around! (Just imagine a room full of moms with their children singing sappy songs at them!) I was so proud of Gavin! He got thrust into the spotlight when another student was absent. He ended up having 3-4 solo parts! Those of you who know Gavin know that this was a miraculous feat! He has come a LOOOONG way! Praise the Lord!