Thursday Update

It has been awhile. Things have just not slowed down this summer. This is what we've been up to.

The kids are in Vacation Bible School this week. I had planned for them to go to 6 different ones, but there are several that have been during the same weeks. Right now I have them registered for three. I'm still looking for a couple more for them to go to. Next week they will go to one in the morning and then our church in the evening. That will be a busy week. We are all looking forward to it this year. They love going to VBS and seeing friends they haven't seen in a while and some they see pretty often.

The big girl is officially a middle schooler. She is now in the 6th grade. How did it happen and where have I been? I know I've been awake for most of it, but I swear I don't remember any of it. I had told her in fourth grade that when she became a 6th grader she could start wearing lip gloss in public. When I brought up the fact that she had moved up a grade, that was her first recation. She is so happy she gets to wear make up of any kind. She is so beautiful, she doesn't need any of that junk. I never listened when I was a kid, and she isn't either. It's that some of her friends get to wear it. Some have worn it since 4th grade, which is how the conversation came up. Crazy if you ask me, but I'm not their parent.

This is her last year attending VBS. Some programs have extended to 6th grade, so maybe we'll get her in some things next summer. She will be a helper at our VBS this year. She is so excited about it. She is now part of the youth program and no longer the children's program. She also gets to be in all the skits at our VBS. She likes to be on stage and perform and this is right up her alley. I am so proud of my baby. I know, 6th grader, but she will always be my baby.

I've been taking summer dance classes. They have them for the first part of the summer and the kids being in VBS has allowed me to do this. I don't have to worry about finding someone to watch the kids or leave them in the back room. They are more than welcome to stay in the back room, but I don't like it. I don't want to have to worry about what the little munchkins are up to. And the last thing I want is to listen to fighting and fussing while I'm having a good time. It's definitely a buzz kill.

We finally finished the Harry Potter series. We listened to the last CD of "Deathly Hallows" last night. What a fantastic series of books. I will say that the last two were a little old for my two youngest. There were some things in there that raised some questions, but over all, what a good time. When my kids beg me to "listen to just one more, please Mama", I love it. I hope that I am opening a whole new world to them that reading allows. You can go anywhere, be anyone, do anything in and with a book. Now I am looking for another great series that we can listen to together. I was thinking "Lord of the Rings", but I think that may be a little old as well. They have seen the movies, but I have never read the books, so I don't know. If any of you have read the books, let me know if they are too old for 10 (almost 11), 8, and 5. I don't really expect the baby to get it right away, but she is very smart.

We are starting a new after dinner book. We took a little time off with recital and VBS and company, but we are back at it. We are starting "James and the Giant Peach" tonight. I was looking for something at the library yesterday and came across Roald Dahl's name (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and decided to see what was on the shelf. I was thinking Swiss Family Robinson, but maybe we'll do that one as a book on CD. Huh, there's an idea. When we went to Disney, the kids were fascinated by the tree house. I'll let you know how the new book goes.

We are doing summer reading camp at the library again this year. We went yesterday for a performance of Didgeridoo Down Under. It was really neat. For those of you who are local, you really should take advantage of the library this summer. For those of you who are not local, look into your library's summer programs. There are some really good ones out there. We're lucky enough to live an equal distance to three different libraries. We can mix and match and really have a good time. The program yesterday was about Australia and it's culture and nature and art and history and we really enjoyed it. He even had several didgeridoos that he played for us. It's not as easy as it looks. And we learned more about a different culture. How great is that?

And we are still saving for our vacation. We are so looking forward to our grand adventure and the baby is ready to go. She doesn't understand the concept of "two years" at this point. On the way to VBS this morning she said, "I'm ready to go to Hawaii." I am, too, baby girl. We just keep plugging away and our jar is almost full. We want to know how much money is in it, but we're going to let it be a surprise when we open our vacation account. I emailed my Dad to tell him to save his pennies. I hope he can go with us. The kids would love that. So would I, so there.

That's about all for now. We have a busy week next week. But hopefully it will be fruitful and blessings filled. I pray all of your days will be.

Have a great day!