An overview of July...

So here's what we've been up to...

Last week, was the VBS progam at our church. I've haven't been involved in a community outreach, and it was a blessing to me to see the church body functioning together. I subbed for my sister for 2 days, since she was out of town. I had the 1st grade class, and wow, the potential there for God's kingdom! The kids were so sweet and cute. So many different personalities and creative minds! I loved the funny things they said. They were all so enthusiastic too!

Each of the activities tied into something in the lesson. The memory verse for the week was Joshua 1:9. I added actions to the verse, to help me and the kids remember it! That reminds me, I need to work on scripture memory this week with the kids. They're like little sponges, and I want to fill them w/ as much of the Word as I can! It's amazing to me, how easy it was to memorize scripture when I was little! I love the promise in Proverbs 6:20-23, where it says, "Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." So my job, is to get the Word into my children's minds, and I'll trust the Holy Spirit to use it to change their hearts.

A few of the teachers and helpers...

Getting ready for a game...
(goodness, doesn't Samuel look little?! a year or two really makes a difference. they allowed pre-schoolers who really wanted to come. Samuel was thrilled)


Madeline and I hung out in the nursery the other days, to keep an eye on Samuel and just to be around people. Justin had a crazy week, so the days seemed long! Being around all that energy helps!

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Library Hour was last week, for 3 days. Samuel and William had so much fun. There's a sweet lady from church who has done this project w/ the community children, since her son was little. Each day, the kids would listen to Miss Alison read a story, then they would do a craft, and then they would have a snack. I think the older ladies who work at the Library, enjoyed having so many children there. I'm so thankful for dear ladies who serve in this way. The last day, each of the kids planted a flower to take home.

Samuel was quite proud of all his crafts. I'm afraid his marigold bit the dust, while we were in Chicago for 2 days. We transplanted it, and it got a little too thirsty. Oh, well.

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2 weeks ago, Krista came down and played a wedding w/ me. We had a blast and got all our chatting in! My very sweet hubby watched 4 children under 3...including 2 1 year olds. When we checked in, he had the kids down by the creek in the wagon of the 4-wheeler. They were all excited b/c they saw a turkey. They had a blast and everyone stayed safe. ;) Krista and I stayed up late and watched a movie! (Flywheel: same producers as Fireproof. It was a good story line!) I never do that! :)


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The kiddos' friend, Alaina. We ate lunch at K & G's house a few weeks ago. Although we felt like we dined and dashed, we had a good time! We're planning to go on a double date soon!


I think Alaina was a little overwhelmed at the commotion the Goff kids brought to her world. Overstimulation might be a better word...



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Bountiful harvest. The kids love to help us harvest produce from the garden. Madeline and William will lug around big zuchinni or squash. There favorite tomatoes are the green ones. ;)




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Blueberry Picking...just South of town...we ended up w/ 7 gallons! The kids' buckets weren't too full...but their tummies were! I ended up ordering 40 more lbs from the Amish. We go through lots of blueberries throughout the year. They're easy to freeze and the kids and I eat them every morning for breakfast. Either on oatmeal or in a smoothie. Justin likes them as a snack in the evening...right out of the freezer. Yum!


The blueberries were huge this year! And big clusters too! Made for fast picking!



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Pre-school Finance Class :) Samuel's doing FPU Junior (www.daveramsey.com) He gets a commission (not an allowance) for his designated chores. He has 3 envelopes for his cash: Give, Save, and Spend. He's saving up for a new pop-gun. The chore chart helps me stay on track, and not do too much housework. It takes extra diligence to train the kids to pick up after themselves. I know in a few years, it'll pay off, though! It just seems like now, it takes twice as long. ;)




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Inside fun: Playdough! = BIG MESS!


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Catching some rays and relaxin'

Visitors...

Well, I'm still having trouble uploading pictures. For some reason, the pictures from VBS last week, won't upload. So, anyway...we had fun last weekend w/ Justin's step-bro and family. We had fun visiting, playing, eating, and working...we did put them to work pulling onions. You know you're a city-slicker, if you think gardening is "fun". Hee. (actually, gardening is one of our hobbies...we like it!) They actually posed for that onion picture. Justin was teaching them the art of onion harvesting.




Uncle Brian helping Madeline ride her horse.

The boys had fun "camping out" in our room, on the floor. When Justin went to check on them, this is what he found. I'll use this as footage when they're older. ;)

"The Guys"...I meant to get a picture of "the girls" but forgot. Must've been too busy cooking or talking. Ha!!

Keep trying!

I keep trying to upload pictures from the last couple weeks. For some reason, blogger is not letting me. So anyway...we've been busy! Hopefully there will be a picture post soon! For now, I'm freezing zuchinni puree for the freezer. The kids are down...for now. Better go get my stuff done!

Madeline and Dolly

Pooltime!

Here's Samuel and his friend, Krayten. They became friends 2 years ago and it's so fun to see them actually interacting w/ eachother. It seems like for a long while we'd have playdates, but they'd play separately. They entertained eachother, imagined they were swimming to "Chicago", and swam for a few hours.
Here they are on the "island" This is actually at Krayten's Grandma's pool. Lots of fun swim toys!
Madeline loves the water!

Where's William, you ask? Pulling security. He walks the perimeter, most times. Occasionally sticking is big toe in to test the temperature.
I feel like I have 3 at totally different stages: one very enthusiastic little swimmer, who always wants to swim in the "big pool", one who's scared to get in, and one who scares me b/c she's not afraid at all. Madeline actually dove into the baby pool 2 days ago. She was right next to me standing up and before I knew it, all I was holding onto was an ankle. She came out sputtering and crying....heart pounding wildly. Goodness!

Princess Room

Awhile back, I promised pictures of the kid's newly decorated bedrooms. I think I may've posted about the boys', but I know I haven't put up any of Madeline's. I just finished it last week. I had been brainstorming about how to make a girly canopy over the crib. Finally, after several different tries, I used some sparkly tulle left over from the weddings and pinned it up w/ some white thumb tacks and string. I need to find some fishing line to replace the string. It may not be as noticable that way. Until then, string works. ;)

Madeline's name is above her bed...it's the same vinyl lettering that I have in my kitchen. Cool stuff! If you click on the picture, it will enlarge so you can see what it says.


The picture of the girl playing the piano is especially meaningful to me, since Justin gave it to me for my 19th birthday. I was hoping to use it in Madeline's room. Amazingly, the matte matched the wall color perfectly! I decided on the wall color after I picked out her bedding. I white-washed the frame, to match a little better.

The rocker was a garage sale purchase that my Mom made when she found out she was expecting my brother, Isaac. She handed it down to me, and Krista recovered it w/ "boy" fabric...blue plaid. Since Krista wasn't around in February, I took it upon myself to recover it. Looks great...just don't look behind the cushions. She's a seamstress, I'm not. I used some scissors and a glue gun. Hey...I figure, if I need to change it back to the blue, I'll just peel off the glued fabric. Yes...kinda funny, but it works! (You'll have to check out my job on that, next time you're down, K)

I saw these picture ideas in a magazine and thought it was cute. I bought 2 wooden skirt hangers from Walmart and 2 8 x 10 mattes. Tape the picture on, and waaalaa! Cheap way to display pictures...and handy to change out!

This is what you see when you walk down my hallway...looking into Madeline's room. I love the lighting in there 1st thing in the morning. It's especially welcoming to see a sweet face peeking through the slats or over the top rail. She's awake usually at the crack of dawn. ;)

The shelf in the middle, was an old shelf from when I was little. I used it in the boys' nursery. Now it's a basket shelf for Madeline. I painted all the baskets (the used to be orangy-colored) the same as the wall color. I also repainted the lamp and hot glued the matching valance onto the lamp shade. It worked out perfect, and definitely was way cheaper than the matching lamp that went w/ the bedding set!