August. So far.

August is half way over and we are nearing the end of our first "real" summer. I say that because it actually felt like summer since Carley was in preschool last year.  Since I finished school many, many years ago, summer has never felt quite the same.  What was I taking a break from?  I still had to go to work.  So, since Carley was in school last year, we really felt like we celebrated summer for the first time in a long time!
And now we are gearing up for school.  AAAHHHH! I'm going to have a child in kindergarten.  It's crazy to me.  I remember being in kindergarten.  I always thought parents were kinda out of my range when they announced to me that they had a school-aged child.  And now, I'm one of them. I officially have a school-aged daughter.
Another reason why kindergarten freaks me out (a little) is because I remember very clearly when my nephew (now a senior) was in kindergarten and my niece (now a 6th grader).  My niece was 5 when Dustin and I moved back to Florida after 13 months in Georgia.  That seems like yesterday to me.  And now she's in youth group.  Time goes so fast.
Pictures from the first half of August.

Baileigh's birthday

Baileigh shares a birthday with her Nana (my mom) so we spent the evening with a small family gathering at my mom's house.  Then we celebrated with Dustin's family on August 15 for both Baileigh and Hope's birthday.  Here are some pictures:

New backpack and Etch a Sketch!

Carley dressed up in Baileigh's new dress up stuff

Making sure the backpack is still there

Celebration at Granna's

New Dora guitar from Uncle D and Aunt G!

Hope got a new Little Mermaid for the bathtub

The 2 birthday girls

They hid under the table and were found eating limes.

Back to School Torture...

Turns out I was more excited than Carley for back to school shopping.  I planned a "family" date of shopping and lunch today, and excitedly told Carley yesterday that on Monday, we got to go back to school shopping! She would be thrilled, I thought.  I know she's not a big fan of shopping, but this was a day when she was guaranteed to get something new...not just one thing, but lots of things.  Her response..."BORING!"

Undeterred, I forged on with my quest to make this back to school shopping experience one she would love.  Images of my first day of kindergarten, when I rocked a bright yellow shirt with a black and white checkered vest (don't hate, it was the 80's), swam through my head, as I imagined buying Carley that perfect first day of kindergarten outfit.

As we started clothes shopping, I quickly realized that stores have not gotten the news that Florida is stifling hot until about November, when it turns just hot.  And then December through February it's a little less hot; then we have 2 moderate days and then it turns stifling hot again.

The stores are stocked with long sleeve shirts, corduroy pants, boots, fleece pajamas (really?) and puffy vests.  I purchased every 3/4 length shirt I could find in Carter's, then proceeded to find jeans that we can roll up to be capris.

On to Rack Room Shoes, where I had envisioned buying Carley 2 pairs of shoes: one good pair of sneakers, and one fashion pair of sneakers...in this case, I had imagined a pink pair of sparkly Converse.  She would love them!  They have sequins on them, for goodness sake!

Little did I know, Carley had her sights set on "Twinkle Toes." These are some awful, light-up concoction of a shoe that Skechers has marketed to little girls. I have never heard of Twinkle Toes, but Carley sure has.  She would not be happy without a pair of Twinkle Toes.

We left Rack Room without purchasing anything. 

I don't really have anything against Twinkle Toes.  Carley would love to wear them.  So I gave myself a pep talk, reminding myself that this is for her and not me.  And there is nothing doctrinally wrong with Twinkle Toe shoes.  They seem sturdy.  They will hold up through the playground and she may get several months of wear out of them.

So after a few hours of moving on to other shopping, as well as changing Carley's attitude about the whole day (she had to have a happy heart), we went back and got a good pair of sneakers, and, yes...Twinkle Toes.

After several hours of back to school shopping, we are done.  I feel a sense of relief, and most importantly, I learned a very important lesson: get a babysitter and shop alone!

Why I Run

I don't run only to stay fit.  Staying fit is a great by-product of my running.  I run because for 30-60 minutes, I can shut out the world around me. Free of the distractions of home, where there is always something to do, I have at least 30 minutes to myself, to think, plan, dream and hope.  At the end of my run, I put Gungor on my MP3 player, and walk and look at the creation around me, that God has made by His own hands and I am overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by His love, by His power, by His might, by His holiness, by His goodness, by His mercy and by His grace. 
This is why I run.

I love the students of Avalon Church!

Today at church, the students took over the morning worship service. A lot of them just got back from camp, and a handful of them made a trip to Haiti a couple of weeks ago.  Our youth band led the music, they gave testimonies, prayed, read Scripture, and performed the "Redeemer" drama.  They did awesome at everything!  I felt like a proud mom watching them!  I wanted to stand up and shout, "those are my kids!"

For all of the "bad" teens out there, God is still alive and working in the lives of children, teenagers, and adults alike!  Praise God for loving us and showing us that love so that we might show others why we are blessed. 

Carley's imagination

Tonight at dinner, Carley asked for me to pretend that I invited her over, like she was a teenager. (We often have teens over for dinner, so I'm thinking that's where she got the idea).  She said her name was Christine, and that she is 18 years old.  She said that she is about to move into a huge house on Sesame Street, has a hot pink Jeep with a rainbow trunk, and has two 2-year old brothers and eight sisters. 

Temporary single Mom

I was a single mom a couple of weeks ago while Dustin was in Haiti, and here I am again, just me and the girls, while he's partying it up with our teens in Alabama (haha).  It makes me realize how lonely life must be for military spouses; for widows and widowers; and for divorcees.  I try not to complain, because I only have to do it for a few nights, while other mothers (and fathers) have to do it for years on end. 

May I never take for granted my wonderful husband and the father to my girls!