Goobers Birthday

Today is the day when my BIG MAN turns 12.

He went and did CrossFit with me and then went back to bed while I sprinted. After that he got to choose breakfast so he got himself a jalepeno sausage roll, his siblings a doughnut with sprinkles and his dad a blueberry cake doughnut. We sang to him and let him open our gifts. He loved getting the knife he so desperately wanted in Costa Maya, takis (a really spicy chip---see a trend with his taste?) and a trip with Dad to see a Dallas Cowboys game.

Then we took the littles to their camps and he wanted to go spend his Half Price Books giftcard right a way. He got a book and a book lamp. Now we are at the library...geesh, what a hard kid to please :).

Once we get the littles from camp we are headign to the waterpark with 2 of Goober's friend in tow...Lord, help me...5 kids at a Water Park!!!!!!!!!!

I forgot to mention one of my favorite things about Goober...that he looovveesss to sing along to the VBS Cd's from our church. I mean like rock it out, motions and lots of emtions and melodees and harmonys. Adam and I always laugh at how into the songs he gets....I mean these are songs from 3 years ago and he still goes crazy when they come on....which flows over to his siblings and they get into it as well.

Tomorrow we leave for our annual summer trip to see family....we are hitting up Nashville, Huntsville, Gulf Shores and then heading back to TX. The kids are excited and I am too...I NEED A VACATION. I have had so many contract jobs this summer...painting classrooms, ceilings, making posters, painting timelines, redoing furniture and now sharing doTerra that I really need to be somewhere where I can't do it...so I can relax :).

Someone found mommy's phone and hid under a desk!

Making paleo protein balls with wild orange oil...SOOOOO GOOD!

I was watching this take place last week and thought " this can't be my life"...look at my beautiful children in my beautiful home enjoying life together...It was a wonderful moment! Yes, they do wear their goggles in the sprinkler...HA

And then to make that moment more magical, DADDY JOINED IN!

Lots of laughter!!!!

Sometimes I have more thatn 1 workout partner..."look mommy, one hand!"

Fathers Day gifts...mostly handmade..nothing but the best for our Daddy!

The ribbon cutting ceremony at our new children's building at church. SO EXCITED  that we are in this after watching it go up for 2 years now!

Pan seared chicken thighs, jicama and red pepper salad and roasted green beans. YUM

Watermelon, mint from our garden, coconut milk and peppermint oil...SO GOOD

Those teefers just won't stay in there!

A messy eggplant lasagna with roasted eggplant, peppers and tomatoes, pork with rosemary from our garden, salsa and an avacado cream sauce made with avocado, almond milk and arrowroot to thicken it!

Leaving the library and he was exhausted!

My sous chef!

Round steak from Alabama, roasted rainbow carrots and cabbage!

doTerra boxes make fun hiding spots. We played the game "where is ________" at lesst 10 times. Adam even pretended to kick the box out onto the porch and send it back...THEY LOVED IT!

Cauliflower flatbread pizza with shrimp, pappers and mango!!!

Another workout in the books!!!

Orange, Mango ice cream made with coconut milk and wild orange oil!

Storytime at the library with Ronald McDonald..Ribbit was too scared of him to take a picture and Goober was at ice skating camp!

Birthdays/Camps/Library

Summer has been so fun....and so exhausting. I don't know how I work the other 10 months out of the year and only sleep 7/8 hours....I feel like just my 3 kids and their summer activites are leaving me drained and I find myself with watery eyes most nights....which means I am SUPER TIRED!!!!

We have been going to the library a lot this summer and with all 3 kids in the reading program we MEAN BUSINESS. They are so well behaved there. We all get our books and migrate to the big window seats. We snuggle up and either individually read or I will read out loud. We strated reading The little house on the prairie series and THEY LOVE THEM. I remember these from when I was little and I am love going through a series every summer!!

We are also still in the thick of camps. Goober just finished up his ice skating camp and he actually got camper of the day on Thursday ...he was stoked...out of over 100 kids he was chosen!!! We had lots of friends who were also taking the camp so we all carpooled which meant we had lots of interaction with our friends from school that we miss during the summer. Baby Boy has camp this next week....Jedi Lego Camp...pray for them, I am not sure that he will be focused enough to build legos for 2 hours a day but they can try!!! He picked it!!! Ribbit chose Science CAMP!!! We let them all look through all the camps in our area and school and out of it all she chose SCIENCE camp..not dance or cheerleader camp...nope Science. I love that she loves doing experiements and understanding how things work.

We also had Goobers birthday party this past Saturday. For the 3rd year in a row he wanted a tournament of games in our schools gym. ITS JUST SO EASY. We rent the gym, he invited his whole baseball team and all the boys in his grade from school. 22 BOYS showed up! We divided them into 4 teams with matching sweatbands and facepaint and they did tournament style kickball, knock out, dodgeball and some other games I had never heard of. Adam had music pumping and they would break out in dance moves. We even had some boys who didn't like the games so they did the commentary (which was hysterical) or were the refs. I set up a table of food and drinks and THEY CONSUMED IT in between games. Those boys were so incredibly sweet to Baby Boy..he KICKED A HOMERUN and they were high fiving him and they would run to tag him but fake drop the ball or miss him..it was insanely cute. Ribbit spent the whole party in the bathroom doing "art" on her whole body with the face paint..and that was just fine..:). Older kids birthdays are easy..especially when they want to organize it themselves and basically just need you to pay for it....several of them said it was the best birthday party because they had the gym to themselves and there weren't any girls...HA!

Can I just say that I don't like that we have an official Pre Teen.....and I don't like that he broke out in some dance moves yesterday?..I also don't like that he is treating his face for acne and that he smells like a walking armpit. I don't like that he asked if he could cut his hair into flat top this morning or if he could spend $130 on a pair of shoes that he will probably wear twice. It all means that he is making more choices on his own, growing up, looking to others for inspriation....WWWWWAAAAHHHHH, stay little dude.

Can I also admit that I love seeing who he has chosen for friends...I mean I was almost in tears at how sweet and respectful they were yesterday at the party. I love seeing how he he listened to his dad (who was the ultimate referree) and none of his friends got snotty or rude when Adam called them out. I love that he opened every card, read it out loud, gathered all his money and immediately put some of it in his bible to tithe this morning at church (without being told to). I love that he notices my reactions and says "mom, its not like you were going to die"...or "mom, your laugh sounds weird"...or "mom, this is best food ever"...he notices me and I love that about him.

Posing for part of their Superhero art camp picture.

Demonstrating on the floor so everyone can see :).

1st day Art projects..Princess and the Pea oil pastel and watercolor and SuperMan cityskape with watercolor.

Ribbit and her sweet friend building their frozen castles. 

My Princess Art Camp with their frozen castles!

Making her Fathers Day Gift.

I had THE BEST HELPERS for my camps!

Making her princess putty..I couldn't love this sweet little thing anymore!

James showing off his Captain America Tye Dye cape at art  camp!

Baby Boy showing off his shield and words!

They love Caroline, one of my sweet helpers!

Princess Anna came the last day of Princess Art Camp so we took pictures in front of  the graffiti wall my 10th graders painted this past year!

Spidey also came!!!

Yes that is my monkey on the back of Spidey!

Goober was a helper at camp and he did so well with little guys!

Playing Ships and Sailors with Spidey!

Mermaid pose!

Spidey pose!

Our sweet friends stopped by and gave Ribbit a ton of (new to her) toys and clothes...she put her favorites on and wanted her picture taken!

A painting I just finished for a friend. Its a present for his son..a bunch of different portraits of his doggy!

Chained

I have been playing with a thought for a week or so now. Its a thought that a lot of moms with littles probably have had ......loaded with guilt or loaded with potential or maybe both.

We have been studying Paul and his time spent on house arrest in Philippi. He not only wrote a letter while there but he had several visitors who he witnessed to every day...and most of them came to know Christ. He also spent this whole time in chains....not connected to a wall but to a soldier...and not just a soldier...a Praetorium soldier...who later would have say in who became the next Roman ruler.

So two things that I drew from our studies.

1-Some days I feel like I am in chains....never seperated from a child by more than 18 inches...like Paul. Chained to a soldier who noticed his every move, saw his every action (including the bathroom) and probably had a million questions....only 18 inches away. Those invisible chains bring a ton of sweetness and love to my life but they are called chains for a reason....they are there constantly and sometimes I need or want a break. Paul used those chains though as a way to minister...he had that soldiers attention and he used it to bring him and his whole family to Christ. He witnessed to him, he let his every action, every breath, every word bring glory to God. It reminded me that I have a captive audience, and I only have them for 18 years. Those chains should be a reminder that they are listening to me, watching me, taking mental notes and I should always be pointing them to Christ. Those chains are heartstrings to my greatest treasures on earth....not cords that burden and weigh on me. I should cherish my time chained to children.

2-Find the joy. Paul didn't write on and on about how awful it was to be on house arrest..in fact just the opposite. He wrote encouraging, uplifiting letters to the new Christians that he so desperately longed to reunite with. Sure, he offered constructive criticism, warnings and loving discilpine as well but he didn't focus on his own well being and ask for their pity or even their aid in getting out of his current situation. Finding joy in this life is all about looking to God and being kingdom minded. As I watch the news (only in the summer do I have time for the news) I find it hard to have joy..its so much easier to scream "Jesus, come today...RIGHT NOW...get me out of this crazy world!!!!". But God has a purpose for us while we are here on earth and since this earth is fallen we have to find joy in Him.

My 3 blessings showing off their paleo protein bites with wild orange oils and dark chocolate...YUMMY!!!!!

I took this picture to show my kiddos how awesome my spa day was..if your hair looks like this after  a facial and scalp massage you know it was FANTASTIC!

Zoo day at the library..I was amazed at the animals they brought for the kids to interact with.

Fishing!

The girls had a successful day fishing..the boys had a successful day catching turtles!

Momma kept casting out the lines for the kids and before I could hand it off I had caught something..that happened several times!

They loved taking the fish off and throwing it back in ...they aren't afraid of anything!

Catching them turtles

We even caught them in the net!

Paprika skillet chicken with kale stems, spinach and mushrooms and onions..We topped this with avocado !

We loved having the Hamiltons over for lunch after VBS one day!

IronMan is now at a chicken farm....he got to aggressive and in Baby Boys words  "every morning he would cockle doodle do and he needed a girlfriend"

Toothless buds at VBS

This was taken 2 seconds after she found out that hew new cousin is going to be a DREADED BOY!!!!!! She was heartbroken...We all had to hide our laugter...it was so terribly dramatic and hysterical all at the same time. She is coming around though and has even started to pray for him :).

Getting "submerged" in God's word at VBS

He loved the older kids version of VBS called "Wild Week. This was Wild Hair day!

They begged me to take their picture on stage the last day...they loved every minute of VBS and I loved watching them sing and dance and worship Jesus!