Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Dutch Wonderland

We got tickets to Dutch Wonderland again this year .... *thanks Amber!*
we had lots of fun over in the park playing on the kiddie rides...
Daddy couldn't get off work to join us so we invited Grandma...turned out to be a great idea....



From the smiles on their faces I guess I could tell they enjoyed it...riding the train and running around the park it was a very nice day!

After lunch we headed over to the water park... and that is where the "real" fun began...

 Riley had a blast splashing in the water...






 Connor was running around and having a BLAST!
 He was not afraid to try anything....


 BUT it was a hot day and he had to wait in line a lot...



Only problem was I felt like I was playing a real life game of where's waldo..... Can you spot my kiddo?
 By the end Connor was heading down the biggest slide he could find.... and LOVING it!


Riley had no fear either, and he soon joined Connor at the bigger slides...

 

All in all we had a good day... hope to do it again later this summer :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Thoughts from a Mother's Heart: Homeschool

I want "NORMAL" kids... Don't I?
I want them to have friends..
Be loving and outgoing...
Feel confidant in themselves...
Be active in sports (if they want)...
Be active in music (if they want)...
I want them to be successful in life...
Learn self control...
To accomplish something they set their minds too....
I want them to go to college and do something they love...
I want them to be socially adjusted and Follow the Lord their God with all their heart in everything they do...

BUT... 
I kinda want to home school my children...
Will I be able to socialize them?..
I don't want them to be "Those home schooled kids"
I don't want them to slip up and not learn enough from me...
I want to be there and learn with my kids...
I want to go on family field trips...
I want to make sure that the arts and music are not cut out of my child's education...
Public schools are making cuts left and right and I do NOT want my child's education to be cut when I could do it better myself....
BUT who says I can do it better?
Who says I can teach them?
Is it me I am doing this for.. am I "afraid" to let them go?
Am I "afraid"to miss something important in their lives?
I HATED school...
I mean REALLY hated school...not even the learning but the people there...
I don't want to pass my insecurities along to my children...
Connor already does not want to go to Sunday School.... he just does not like it.... someone else giving him instruction... HE NEEDS to learn that it is ok...
He DOES NOT want to go to Bible School....
So I am not pushing him to do it... but should I?
When do I push and when do I let me make the choice? is it really detrimental for him to not go to Sunday school or bible school... I don't go...
If I choose to let them stay home... is it a choice for me or for them?
If he asked/ wanted to go I would fully encourage it.!!!
but would I be doing this for me... or them...?



Heavenly father, please help to me have wisdom to choose the right path for my boys, help me to see this situation with wisdom and discernment. In your name Amen

Thursday, July 21, 2011

An Evening on the Pier

We took a family day trip to the beach... we happened to choose a VERY hot week to take vacation... temps reaching about 100 degrees here at home...
we thought we would escape to the beach for a day... we picked the day that would have the lowest temperature (about 87 as the high)...
it was so hazy on the beach that everyone was called out of the water... the life guards couldn't even see from stand to stand.. and BOY it was HOT out of the water!...

I attempted to get a picture of how hazy it was if you look back beyond the bath house there should be a tower.. you can barely see it because of the haze...


we still attempted to have fun making the best of the beach and the sand...


We left the beach early and headed to the boardwalk....
we did all the usual activities...  
Got Pizza and boardwalk fries looked in surf shops, and got some fisher's popcorn



 ...Before we left to go home we decided to check out sunset on the Pier in Cape Henlopen... actually turned out to be my favorite part of the day

 We saw the Lews to Cape May Ferry ....
 We even saw a deer...

Best of all we got to enjoy sunset on the pier....









Thank you Lord for the beauty in every day things!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Traffic Jams

Sometimes I just wanna take a picture and remember that exact moment in time...

Life at our house... Summertime "traffic jam"...




Connor can go a whopping 5 mph... and Riley can barley make it to 2 mph in the grass...




Its a moment.. a memory...great times spent playing together!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Why I Love Summer

I always feel like summer is in fast forward...
I can tell by the way the veggies are growing in my garden...



...The pepper plants are so tall they reach over Riley's head!
and the tomatoes have grown to the top of my trellis...
The Friday afternoons spent splashing in the pool are starting to add up and Connor is jumping in with out swimmies!
Riley is my little "splash" monster trying to everything his big brother does...




We have already been to the Cabin once.....
...and the beach twice....
We are gearing up to do each at least one more time this summer...
It is corn season and we have been enjoying it!!!

Connor has been asking and asking to hit some balls on a "real field" so we did...


 ... Riley was having fun just watching ...

Riley has moved into his "big boy bed"...

Too bad he hasn't figured out the "correct" way to sleep in it yet...


...Tonight my little boy is sleeping in his big boy bed and my two big boys are sleeping out in the tent...



 Lots of stories and Daddy/ Connor bonding time....

"awake picture"
 
 "sleeping" picture

... I LOVE Summer... I can't believe it is half way over....