SOOC: The Paci Game

Momentary Pains

We see these a lot during the summer...

And we've had plenty of summer "pains" this summer... skinned knees, itchy spageeto (aka....mosquito) bites, poison ivy, chiggers and now summer colds :(

Really the last weeks has seemed like week after week one of us (usually ME!!) is dealing with some summer ailment :(

I"m soo thankful that they all have been minor and momentary!!! And it encourages me to pray for those with much BIGGER concerns.

During a recent trip we got caught in a torrential downpour.... cars were pulling over on the sides everywhere... yikes!! We slowed down and put on our hazard lights. The rain was soo loud the kids immediately were more concerned about the rain than their video.

And then I hear in the back, "Dear God, please help make this bad rain storm go away so we can be safe. Amen." And Chris raises his head expectantly waiting for the storm to dissipate.

In time it did. We saw the clouds breaking ahead of us and soon the bad rainstorm was a memory. But I was left with my son's immediate response of calling out to God even in the minor momentary "pain" we were in.

May I learn from him and call out to God during momentary pain/sadness/grief/discomfort instead of complaining or becoming discouraged!!

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

WW: 'Babe'thoven or 'Nate'zart

And then some siblings joined in...

Black and White Wednesday
@ The long Road to China

More Wordless Wednesday at

5 Minutes for Mom,
Go Graham Go,
To Be Thode,
Serendipity is Sweet,
Mama to 4 Blessings,
and any other linkys I find !!!

TTT: 8 Suns & Keeper of the Water Balloons

Chris (5 yrs) : "It's soo hot out there... like 8 suns!!"

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On Thursday the VBS team was filling up water balloons for Game Time. Being the pastor's kids who usually get there early so my kids saw them filling them up. We finally got them inside so we could be there to greet the kids and Brian could drive around town picking up kids;)

Lydia though wanted to go back outside. One of the VBS team members trying to convince her to stay inside and that the balloons would be ready for Game Time. And Lydia responded, "I just have to get a closer look."

He thought it was too funny and shared the story the rest of the day!

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And I tried to get a video of Nate saying his newest word. It's more precious to hear:) Anytime he sees or finds something he likes he has been saying "Waaaaaooow!"

It's like a super long extended WOW!. It's really cute;)

At first he watched...

Then he tested out the water... with just his fingertips;)




He was then ready to find some duckies!




Of course splashing came next:)




And then he was SOAKED...


so why not include the feet and just enjoy the water;)

We had an awesome ending to our VBS on Friday night.

It included a Block Party Team coming from our most favorite VA church, turning our church yard into a party with games, prizes and inflatables;) It was crazy hot... so Popsicles and water were freely given and eaten;)

We folloed it up with a hot dog dinner and the kids singing and signing their VBS songs;) I loved the songs this year so it was wonderful to see the kids really having those lyrics memorized;)

A fun, fun week:)

Weekly Wrap -Up: VBS, Not Out Much & Water Day Zoom

We went out to dinner with the VBS mission team last night. It was fun:) Mealtimes are always busy with 4 kids, so we had more opportunity to talk after the meal when the kids were busy playing at the outdoor park ...

or riding the rollercoaster with Daddy!

LOL!! I knew there was a reason we don't take him out much :)

And today was WATER Day at VBS.... a very good thing since it was HOT, HOT, HOT outside!! I used the opportunity to practice using the zoom I purchased with my camera... better than getting my camera soaked;)

Here are my keepers...

It was great practice:) I got some other great shots that we'll get to use for our finale slideshow that we all look forward to on Friday night;)

It's been a great VBS week!!! The kids have loved going in the mornings.... has made our whole morning routine TV-free which I hope I can continue into next week and into our morning routine for good:)

I have loved helping (the little bit I have done) the team minister to the students coming every day!! The kids of our community are awesome! And I'm soo thankful that they were willing to come out every morning!! The teens are serving and leading in a couple activities.

The middle group is working hard on their lessons.

And the little ones are busy with all sorts of fun in their class too;)

Which leads me to the VBS Team from VA!! They ROCK... did I mention they were a Senior Group?? You'd never know that most are retired if you looked at all they have done each morning with the kids and each afternoon preparing:) They have been such an encouragement to me and have loved on my kids:)

It's been a very fun week:)

Linking up to Weekly Wrap-up;)

When You're the Smallest

at VBS, you get away with all sorts of stuff, like....

Skipping naps;)
**although he has napped or played in the pack-n-play a bit each day:)


Rearranging chairs in the main meeting room


Stealing utensils from the kitchen


Begging long enough for snacks, that the sweet snack ladies hook him up;)


Eating where ever and whenever he wants


When awake getting lots of attention


And this is Nate's 2nd VBS:)
Last year he looked like this...

oh... so precious;)

WW: VBSing

We're having a blast;)

More Wordless Wednesday at

5 Minutes for Mom,
Go Graham Go,
To Be Thode,
Serendipity is Sweet,
Mama to 4 Blessings,
and any other linkys I find !!!

TTT-ing with Lydia & a Lucky stray

On Thursday night it was just tooo pretty to go inside too early. After dinner we rode our bikes around town and came home sometime after 8:30pm. Even though it was LATE we decided to start a firepit fire and roast marshmallows!!



As I pre-prepared the s'mores (everything but the marshmallows), Lydia said, "When I am married, I'm going to make fires with my husband."

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We've been asking the kids to take off their shoes and put them in the shoe bin as they enter the house!! It attempts to help keep the house and mudroom tidy!! But like all "good habits" it takes lots of time and a diligence on Momma's part to check to see if the kids doing as we have asked.

I caught Lydia coming in without putting her shoes away. And I gently asked her to correct it... but she didn't even acknowledge that I had asked anything. Then she got this "light bulb coming on" look in her eyes and she said


"I didn't know you asked me. But then I think-ed in my heart about putting my shoes away." And she raced off to put them away;)

Think-ed in my heart:)

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Lydia came racing to us outside yesterday evening yelling,"Chris is carrying a cat!"

Ok, we don't own a cat. So why was my 5 yr old son carrying one???

We soon found this little guy in his arms...


So we are now caring for a stray kitten. This little cat is soo small and had it's eyes matted shut... I shutter to think about it. But warm water and an old washcloth did the trick.

We've been told that it's probably a sickly cat and will probably died of an infection. So we're washing our hands A TON and loving on the kitten as much as we can:) Even with his eyes matted shut, the kitten was very playful:) And even survived Nate the Great picking it up by his tail... poor thing!


I'm not a cat girl!! But Daddy has already run to the store for milk, dropper feed him and made him a temporary "home" in the washroom.... Daddy likes cats:)


**He closes his eyes when drinking;) Cute!

Hoping Lucky is very lucky and becomes a healthy cat:)
And remembering other strays that have wandering into our yard and caused the "pet" debate!!

Make Your Own Summer Salads

One easy meal we've gotten out of the habit of eating was salads. With having younger children it was a hassle to remember who ate what with what, so we stopped trying to fix salads!

But salad is like the perfect hot summer evening meal!!! Especially when our refrigerator is bursting with fresh produce and already cooked chicken. So we've started to do things a little different around here....

it's called Make Your Own Salad!! We lay out all the toppings and let everyone make their own. An easy meal again and using containers that have lids makes it even easier to clean up and store the leftovers for another salad or two the next day:)

And here are our creations;)

Brian is the King of the Salad... his masterpiece;)


Anna's


Lydia's


Chris'


Mine with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (milk, egg and garlic-free)

** We've also given the kids a plastic lunchmeat container and had them made their own salads "to go". It's a nice, but different, for a packed picnic. Just add some fresh bread, jam and drinks and you have your meal:)

Linking up to:
Tuesdays at the Table
Tasty Tuesday
Food Friday at Momtrends