Prayers!

There is power in numbers! To our family and friends who are going through difficult, scary and unknown situations right now, I just wanted to let you know that we are praying for you. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
If you are reading this right now please stop and take a minute to say a prayer for all those who stand in need of God's grace and that He will send them His peace!
Thank you!

Swimming lessons

Last week Jaideyn started swimming lessons with Mrs. Rita. I was very nervous going into it because I thought that Jaidey would cry and scream the whole time. She is the one that would cry every time we washed her hair in the bath and would plug her ears because she didn't like water in them. So, I warned Rita and told her that Jaideyn will be a tough one. Well, Ms. Jaideyn, I am very proud to say that you proved me wrong!! There were absolutely no tears or screaming and it turns out she loves it! It helped that Jackson had been through it before and he was a very kind big brother to give her a pep talk the first day! The big thing was- no crying or mom will have to go in the house! So, maybe that is what did it-I don't know, but she never shed a tear and she jumped right in and is doing awesome!

She even jumps off the diving board and swims to the ladder without help!

This is the big one for the kids! They are all very nervous at first, but very proud when they finish. They have to jump in and swim to the other end of the pool. As you can see here Jaidey fought it a bit at first, but once she did it she was excited! Swimming lessons are the best. Not only is it fun for the kids and gives them a new self confidence- it takes a load off moms shoulders to know that they can swim!

Summer fun!

We have been busy enjoying the wonderful weather! I thought I would highlight some of our favorites with a few pics. One of our most fav activities is running throught the sprinklers and "washing" our bikes. The girls love to have their bucket of soap and water with their wash cloths, and away they go! Hours of happiness!
Jackson loves to mess with the sprinklers. After he is done with them the road and the driveway are the most watered!
Popsicles at Sandy Pines. We kinda forgot how much fun they could be. The kids think they are the best thing ever! So, you are probably wondering why the kids don't have shirts on? Because mom has no use for sticky red and blue popsicle juice all over their shirts! But in their minds eating with no shirt on was half the fun.

Aves first encounter with a popsicle (am I spelling this right?- too lazy to look it up!) She devoured that thing!

Yes, the play set is still neat for the kids! They are out there everyday.
So, this winter I wrote a post about the big hill in our back yard. I said that it was great for sledding in the winter, but that we have no use for it in the summer. I will now take that back. We have discovered the use for it in the summer! Jackson actually started it and he absolutely loves it! Bikes are just as good as sleds right??????
Down the hill he goes!


And of course he must fall. But, I think that it is safer than the road. At least he has a somewhat soft place to land!

Avery is still enjoying the playset also.
Jaideyns favorite hang out!

The Zoo

Tonight we made a family trip to the zoo. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it. Jaideyn was very nervous about the idea (she couldn't even eat her dinner!) She does not remember going to the zoo and in her mind there were going to be animals walking all over the place and she did not understand that they are in cages. But, when we started walking around she relaxed a bit and we all enjoyed the night!
The petting zoo was a bit of a problem for the kids. We do everything that we possibly can to get them used to animals, (short of getting a pet- of course) but we have failed this far! As my sister-in-law says - she is convinced it's genetic because all 3 of the kids suffer from a fear of animals for no apparant reason! Avery wanted nothing to do with petting the goats!
Jaideyn wouldn't even look at them! And Jackson wouldn't even go into the petting zoo area!

But this smile represents the whole night. We all had a great time and enjoyed family time at the zoo!

Our new playset!

We decided that it would be great to have a play set at our house. We finally went out and got one, not realizing how much work it is to put one together! Here is a picture of Tim and his wonderful helper trying to sort through the mess and get started. Honestly, I wasn't sure that this would ever be built, but Tim came through like a champ and worked his butt off to get it put together!
Aves is also our big helper!
Tim finished this bad boy in less than a week and I am so very proud of him! The playset is finished and we all love it! Thank you honey! The most exciting part for me is that the kids will go out and play on it by themselves. Mom does not have to help. In our world this is a very new experience. Usually mom helps do everything and plays along with everything. I have been praying that they would become a bit more independant, and my prayers have been answered! They are all 3 playing on it as I just watch! (Is that selfish of me?)
Jackson has learned to do the monkey bars which is very exciting for him!

That leads us to Aves! As you know Avery is a very independant girl, which is great, but makes me nervous occasionally. When she decided that she should climb up the stairs and go down the slide I laughed because it amazed me, but I freaked out because she will eventually fall and get hurt! So, my independance situation is a bit shattered. I do not trust her to be on the play set with out me being right there, but she must do as big brother and sister do. So, we will see what happens!