Quiet. Not a sound in the house other than my fingers gliding across this keyboard. Ahhhh... as much as I love to hear the kids playing, talking, and laughing, I also love the complete silence when they are sleeping. Actually, Emma is at My Gym this afternoon and G is napping. Well, she is supposed to be napping... now she's calling my name which means she probably dropped a stuffed animal or blanket on the floor and can't reach it. Isn't that about like the life of a Mama? Just when you sit down to blog for the first time in three months AND you start to write about quiet, then your two year old has an issue. It's that kind of thing that really grates on my nerves and pushes my patience to its limits. That's totally why we need a good, loving, and forgiving God. One who lets us start fresh each morning (each moment if we really need to). A Lord who loves us so much that He doesn't want us to remain the same- He wants us to grow and change as we realize the plans that He has for us. So, this blog post is interupted by my two year old blessing and that's OK with me today. I'll try to start again tomorrow.

My freind wrote an entry 7 Summer season Things about her, so here are my Summer Seven!!

ONE- The biggest reason that I like the summer is because it provides a month or so of relief from my horrible allergies.

TWO- I love to swim and a good swimmer. When I was a kid I had fun taking a kids' swimming/rescue class one summer... we learned what to do if our canoe dumped us in the drink, how to rescue people, etc... I LOVED that class. I'd really need to brush up on my skills if I wanted to actually help someone now.

THREE- Living near the ocean makes summer more fun...there are limitless activities around- beach, boardwalk, arcades, rides, people-watching, outdoor movies, yummy summer snacks- you name it, if it's summer-ish you can find it around here.

FOUR- I can't wait until it is warm enough to crank up the A/C. My allergies demand it. I would love to leave my windows open in he spring, but I can't... Andy and I argue all the time- he's cold, I'm hot. We live at a comfortable 74 during the summer. I'm HOT and uncomfortable in most people's homes that we visit b/c they must have their A/C nearer to 80.

FIVE- One of the joys of homeschooling is that we can do work in the summer and take off time whenever we need or want to during other times of the year.

SIX- If I could, I would grill every single summer meal outside. Grilled food is better than anything. Guess I got it naturally... my dad is the Master of the BBQ.

SEVEN- I really miss summer in Louisiana... even though it's hotter than a jalapeno in a heat wave in Guadalajara (my friend's dad said that when we were in HS). Summer in LA lasted longer, was full of awesome festivals, and my total favorite: seafood boils (esp. crawfish). I also love fresh corn on the cob (which I can get here too).

Wow! It's been FOREVER since I posted on here. I've been overwhelmed w/ doctor appointments, some health issues, and continuing, daily pain in my neck and arms from the herniated disc. I think of writing, but can't slow my mind down enough to formulate thoughts that are worth reading... much less something funny, inspiring, or heart-felt. So, that's life around here these days... kinda blah!

On more of a positive note: Emma began soccer a few weeks ago. She had her first game las Saturday. She loved it. She's still learning the ropes, but she's determined and energetic- both should go a long way. It's a team of 5 year old girls who have pink shirts... the team name is the Avengers (funny, huh?)

Geneveive will be turning 2 on Sunday! She's excited and when asked about her birthday, she'll either:

1. say, " eat cake"
2. pretend to blow out candles
3. say, "goo", which is two- and hold up her two pointer fingers

She's a sweetie, but is showing some signs of the dreaded two year old attitude (we were fortunate enough to skip that with Emma. It came at 4 and was easier b/c we could reason with her at that point).

Genevieve, our little blonde-hair, blue-eyed surprise is so funny. She does funny things all the time and when she realizes we think it's funny, she does it again and again just for the laughs. Class clown in the making. She's stringing several words together and repeats EVERYTHING she hears. She says, "up me, down me, out me, in me, read me,". She's totally into dolls and books (and everything her big sister is doing, too).

She's a blessing and we are so honored to be her parents. We can't wait to watch the beautiful life that God has planned for her unfold before our eyes.

Happy Birthday, Jelly Bean, Gigi, Vievy, Gen-Gen, or as she affectionately calls herself (Baby Hope). We love you!

Thanks to Susan and Cris for the awesome info about free, cute blogs. See comments on post below. Anyone know why my blog has pencils near the comment links and tools near the html things? How do I rid my blog of these? Thanks.

Pretty Blogs

Just wondering where all of my blogging friends find these beautiful templates for their blogs? The only ones I can find are these generic ones. Oh how I long to join the land of pretty, pretty blogs. Someone help me... please...

Long time, no post!

I'm BACK. Between Christmas and our 2 1/2 week trip to Louisiana (and recovering from the trip), it's been a while...

The highlight of January was Emma's 5th birthday last week. We had a fancy, princess tea party with 7 of her friends. It was a lot of fun preparing for the party and the day was great! We even had a guest princess (our pastor's daughter dressed up). It wasn't a Disney princess kind of party. Emma is into GiGi, God's Little Princess, so the party was all about how to be God's little princess. We have book called, " I'll Be Your Princess". It's great... it touches on lots of character qualities that kids should strive for. Princess Hannah also talked a little about manners with the kids. We had tea, punch, and other tea party foods (and some non-tea party foods like cheese balls). The girls made princess dress jewelry holders for a craft(the only prince at the party opted for a royal chest instead). We played a few games, danced (funniest "royal" dance ever... to country music and everyone was boogy-ing!) Geneveive also dressed like a little princess.

Super Emma!

One morning a few months ago, prompted by a song on a cd of her favorites... Go Fish and an episode of Clifford, Emma asked me if anyone could be a super hero. I said, "YES!" She said, "Well, Cleo on Clifford said that you have to be born a super hero. I said, "Anyone can be a super hero for God if they love and trust Jesus and spend their lives doing what He wants them to do... being kind, helping others, being honest, working hard, trusting Jesus as their savior... She said that she wanted to be a super hero for God. Then she asked for a super hero cape. She gave me the exact specifications: pink and purple stripes. When my mom was here recently, we ( she sewed and I designed) made the cape. It came out great. Emma is so adorable when she puts it one... she swirls around the house and says, "Super Emma is here and ready to help!" When I want her to do something really helpful, I encourage her to put her cape on first... amazing what it does for her willingness. She also talked me into making a mask... that was interesting, but I finally got it to work. Enjoy the photos.