Happy 30th Birthday Daddy!

Mr. J turns 30 on June 29th. We decided to have a party for him at the house today. The kids made decorations and we made a cake and sang to a picture of his face taped to a doll (Miss M and my friend Kristin's idea). The only thing missing was him!! Enjoy the pics

Chris' face on a cabbage patch doll.

Mr. T loved seeing a big version of Chris' face! He misses him so much. I think he was trying to kiss him here.

The cake the girls frosted for daddy. Miss M picked blue cause she said that was daddys favorite color

Miss M cut out balloons and used pipe cleaners for string. Then she glued flowers on them. They turned out really cute. Here is sweet Miss O holding "daddy"
Sneaking some frosting

Singing happy birthday

Happy Birthday Blog!

On this day, June 24th, 2008, I started this blog! I started it as a way to share pictures with family and friends and to remember what we did throughout the year. I have really enjoyed this new hobby. Has anyone ever published their blog in a book? I know there are websites out there that specialize in doing that. If you have any recommendations, please leave me a comment!

As I was looking for an image to add to this post, I came across this silly blog http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Prayers for today

Praises -

• Yesterday was a very special day as my cousins, Mr. and Mrs. D welcomed Baby Carson into the world! They have a sweet daughter, Miss D, who is Miss O's age and had a baby girl, Hazel Hope, 2 years ago, who went to be with Lord before she was born (Mrs. D was 35 weeks along).

A few things I'm praying for -

• Carole, she is a sweet friend from Spokane that I went to church with. We also both worked as nurses at Sacred Heart. Back in February, she was diagnosed with stage 3 Inflammatory Breast Cancer. This is a rare kind of cancer that just "popped up overnight" and is not detected in it's early stages on a mammogram. She has had 4 months of chemo and had surgery today. Please check out her blog and keep her in your prayers! Once she is recovered from surgery, she will have radiation. Both her and her husband are wonderful, godly people and their attitude through all of this has been incredible... it's such a great testimony of Christ's faithfulness. She started a blog after she was diagnosed and you can read it by clicking here.
• Mission work being done in Romania. Our small group leader at FBC's daughter, who just graduated, is serving this week in Romania with a ministry called Transition's Gate. They are doing medical missions work. A neat thing about this is that she was born in this country and adopted when she was very young!
• Another FBC family who is currently in the Philippines to pick up their new twin daughters, Emily and Ashley! They have waited so long for this! You can read all about it on their blog. They have videos of the hospital the girls were born at in Cebu and it is so sad! It makes me feel so blessed to live in this country.
• The Mom's class we are doing at Vacation Bible School this week.
• Of course, my sweet husband! For his safety and strength to endure his time over in the desert.

A quick pic post

Miss E turns 3 months this week!

My attempt at a group shot. Mr. T was very upset that he didn't get to hold Miss E

Trying to be nice...

Happiness came when he found his sisters pigtail

And he finally gets to hold his sister!

A trip to the zoo...

Mrs. R and Miss O looking at turtles

Feeding the birds....

Toddlers on a bridge...

Notice Ms. M's hand on her face..

There were chickens wandering around everywhere...

Feeding the goats

Mr. T's expression after he saw the goats

Miss O waiting in the stroller while we were petting goats

BOB Books... another great reading resource

I love BOB books! Last year a homeschool mom at my church told me about these, so when Miss M was nearing the end of her reading lesson book, I purchased the last set of BOB books, Set 5, at Borders and I am so glad I did. Miss M loves reading them to her brother and sisters! I think I will try to purchase the earlier sets to use with the other kids. Here is a little bit about them from their website:

How do Bob Books work? Bob Books work sequentially for children in the earliest stages of reading. The Bob Books Fountation Sets are for children who are ready to take the first steps into reading (see Is My Child Ready for Reading? and How to Use Bob Books for more information).

Set One • Beginning Readers is very simple so your child will have early success. With only four letters in the first book, your child can sound out all the words. This terrific confidence-builder means they are excited to try more.

Bob Books Set 2, Set 3, Set 4 and Set 5 build on the previous sets, with enough repetition so reading becomes comfortable and easy, and new material so the child stays interested. Numbering the books and boxes creates a sense of progress and accomplishment. The books themselves are sized perfectly for little hands. Children love the hilarious (and sometimes mischievous) stories and pictures.

If your youngster is not ready for reading, My First Bob Books build pre-reading skills. My First Bob Books • Alphabet builds something called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear and separate sounds - and tunes your child's ear to the sounds letters make. My First Bob Books • Pre-Reading Skills introduces shapes and patterns to build awareness of letter groups. This foundation sets the stage for the magical moment when reading begins.

The good news is that you don't have to know reading theory to use Bob Books. As you read the stories and talk about the books, your child is learning. So be silly, play with sounds and make it a game. You're having fun while teaching your child important reading and literacy skills that will last a lifetime. It's one of the best gifts you can give a child.

Daddy Candy Update

You may remember that before Mr. J left, he filled containers with candy for the kids and I. We call it "daddy candy" and every day we have a piece and pray for his safety. The plan is, that when it is all gone... daddy will be home! So I have noticed that mine is shrinking! Here are the pictures to prove it.

The full pitcher of delicious dove chocolates...
My pitcher last week!

Miss O really misses her daddy (as we all do) but she asked me yesterday if she ate all of her candy if that would make daddy come home tomorrow. If it was as easy as that, mine would have been gone a long time ago!!!!

Evening Walks

My sister and I love taking walks with the kids. Since our husbands are gone, it gives us something fun to do in the evening. Usually in the middle of the walk, Deanna and I take turns running by ourselves while the other one watches the kids at one of the parks. Here are some pictures from last week....

Miss M sometimes rides her bike, and we let Miss O have a turn. I love her tongue!

Another sunset picture

Miss E loves smiling at whoever is pushing her stroller.

Notice the purple tutu under Miss O's dress!

Go Aunt Nanny!