Biggest Highlight

I said NO BLOGGING while we were away at the beach this week but . . .

this morning i was disappointed when the boys decided they didn't want to go on a little excursion with Poppy

i was also disappointed when they interrupted my time with God. 

until . . .

Jacob returns to the room I was in, Bible in hand and asks "Can we be Bible buddies?!"  I was still reluctant to give in but so thankful I did!  God totally orchestrated our conversation from there.

I was reading in Ephesians about the Full Armor of God.  This really interested & excited Jacob.  Ben listened as well interjecting with comments like "do you want this green silly band Mommy?" , "what is your favorite silly band?"

Jacob was excited to see that my Bible breaks it down piece by piece so he took notes for him to look at later.

The boys & I have been talking so much about God's Word being TRUTH.  So it was especially timely that we discussed the Belt representing Truth.  We talked about how Satan sometimes disguises lies to seem true and how deceiving he is.  Only we as believers know TRUTH as God intended.

We moved on to the Breastplate of Righteousness and how God protects our hearts ~ our self worth, emotions, & trust.

The Gear for our Feet represents our Readiness to Share Good News of God's Love. 

We need the Shield of Faith to face Satan's attacks in insults & temptations. 

The Helmet of Salvation protects us from doubting God.  It helps us to trust Jesus & the Salvation we have in Him.

The Sword was also especially interesting for us to discuss.  Jacob learned Hebrews 4:12 in the winter so it was fun to bring the two together.  The Sword represents the Word of God and is the only weapon referred to in this list of armor.  Again this all goes back to God's word being TRUTH which like I mentioned has been a theme in our conversations lately.  We need to rely on the Truth of God & trust Him when we are tempted.

This was all so fun for us.  Of course now I am searching for some creative way to pull all of this together and make something concrete with him when we get home from the beach.  If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Of course we didn't spend all this time in Ephesians without reading the first part in chapter 6.

Tonight before he went to sleep he mentioned that he really enjoys Psalms.  He said some of those would really help him if he would just read them instead of getting mad at Ben.  (I am learning so much from this boy!)  I told him tomorrow we could share our favorites with each other.  I can't wait!

Project 365

7-1

My Beach Read Stack ready to be Packed!

How many do you think I'll actually get read?

I can't wait, I never make time for reading

but I will with my toes in the sand.

7-2

Roxy found Bambi on the other side of our fence this morning.

6:33 am to be exact.

It was really comical.

She was going crazy barking at the deer

like she was "protecting" us.

But then would run scared back up on the porch to me.

I finally got her back inside

before she woke up too many neighbors.

Random Summer Activities

The night of the last day of school

Jenn & I took our kiddos to see

Toy Story 3

at the Drive In

It was a fantastic experience. 

I can not wait to go back!

We don't like for our boys to eat either of the ingredients that we painted with this week.  CORN SYRUP or Food Coloring are both ingredients that we prefer to avoid.  It was a fun technique for painting though!  Jacob wanted to paint "the world" ; his "shadow" wanted to as well.  I love the shiny look to them.  Memaw may need to be getting some more frames.

A few of my girlfriends & I grouped all our children for some tie-dying fun. 

It turns out we did all the work.

We also got tickled a few times throughout the afternoon.

Jenn managed to capture a few of these giggles on my camera.

I can't wait to see how our red, white, & blue shirts turned out.

Then some crazy boys tried to teach us a trick

using a bendy straw & your armpit.

Of course we all had to try . . .

well not everyone, someone had to take pictures!

Everyone had a blast with SNAPS.

Even James when he offered to vaccuum them all up because

"Mrs. Regina, do you know what a good vaccuumer I am?"

(I only wish you could hear this darlin talk)

We also enjoyed some festive snacks

of watermelon, lemonade, & cupcakes.

Tonight I had to find something really special for Ben & I to do.

Jacob had gotten himself into a bit of trouble and was in his room.

Immediately Ben said, "okay mommy,

what are we going to do special

because remember how you did something special

with Jacob last time I got in trouble"

First we jumped on the trampoline

then we made blueberry pie.

(thanks Maggie)

Ben even wanted to wash the dishes when we were done!

He had to take his shirt off to do them!

I simply LOVE the laid back days of summer.

Project 365

6-20

Our Father's Day pet

6-22

Summer Reading

I do NOT make him do this. 

He loves to read!

6-23

Our Art this Week

6-24

I hung up Jacob's torn paper self portrait from Kindergarten

next to Ben's in the craft room. 

Aren't they great?!

6-25

 ~ Reading again ~

6-26

We've had these things forever

and thankfully Ben still gets use out of them.

6-27

6-28

They found a box of baby clothes . . .

as in 12 month size.

They managed to get them on.

6-29

We painted with Corn Syrup this week.

Jacob decided he wanted to paint the world

so he wanted to see a pic online for better accuracy.

6-30

Red, White, & Blue Tie Dying

K & 2nd No Longer

So we've got to say good bye for the summer . . .

These are pictures from the Moving-On Celebration

on the next to the last day of school.

and these are the traditional

"in front of the door last day pics"

both boys were blessed with amazing teachers

(or did you already know that ;) )

I'm not sure what is more shocking:

having a 3rd grader or B being in 1st grade!

"baby ben" just still seems to fit.

I love our boys and continue to be so proud!

Our Art This Week

After seeing how Meg's Art time went with her children

a few weeks ago, I decided our boys would enjoy it as well.

She found the idea here.

I've mentioned before how I love this site as well.

There are so many art & craft ideas to try that won't break the bank!

Here are our final pieces.

Top Middle is Sam's, then clockwise is Jacob's, Ben's, Mine, & another one of Jacob's.

I definitely suggest you trying it! 

The boys "took their time" ~ they really did.  Spending over an hour!

That sure beat spending it outside in the heat!

Surely we'll be framing some for the SkamFam Gallery too!

Today I Love

~ drive in movies

~ a sweet visit w/ a friend blessing us with fun summertime treasures & treats

~ banana pudding

~ the reminder of the story about Silas thanks to the naming of this beasley baby

~ vbs . . . i'm so excited about SUMMER's arrival but having vbs the week right after school lets out gives us just a little more time to ease into the summer routine.

~ pool days . . . 5 children in tow with me yesterday.  we loved every minute of it

~ air conditioning!!

~ sun block

~ good nights sleep

~ brainstorming things to do.   isn't this cute?!

~ how quiet the van ride home from the library is