trying to stay cool

We hear this is the hottest summer since 1980.  Therefore, the hottest summer of my life.

It's all we can do to BEG our kids to let us stay inside when they want to be out.  Even the very little they want to be out.   

There haven't been too many things we've found to do to stay cool - other than shutting ourselves in a cave with the blinds all down and curtains closed (opening them all up raises the temp in the house by 2 degrees!).  So we were thankful to get an invite with friends to swim a few evenings ago.  

 And of course the diving board was a hit!

This little dare devil asked to jump to a parent one time, and then never needed anyone again.

 I guess she gets her daring nature from her dad.

I always try to remind him that I used to be able to do a 1 1/2 flip off the board and probably still could.

But I'll show him another time. Being pregnant is my excuse for now.

 Our little guy is a bit more cautious, but not much.

I love being in the pool with Taylor.  She reminds me of how much I loved to swim when I was younger.

I loved swimming lessons - taking them and then teaching them.

I loved being on the swim team!  So many fun memories.

I get excited even THINKING about our kids possibly loving swimming enough to do these things too!

Taylor loved practicing swimming without her life jacket again.  Her newest skill learned this evening was swimming down to the bottom for diving sticks.

And...

jumping off the board with no life jacket and swimming to the ladder all by herself!

(I know some grandparents who will LOVE this video!)

We've got another weekend at Tablerock coming up soon - so I know there will be lots more swimming in our near future.

training them...training me

One of our speakers at Premier's Rally was Dr. Gary Smalley (widely known as the author of the book, The 5 Love Languages). 

I know, I know, nothing to do with jewelry.  But that's kind of how Premier is.  Not much focus on the jewelry and sales - but more on people and much more important things for this life and eternity.  I love that our founders who started Premier 26 years ago will NEVER allow 8,000 people to be in one place without them hearing about God's love and saving grace.  I've personally seen lives changed for eternity just through this little jewelry business.

So needless to say, we have some pretty amazing speakers and sessions, with Dr. Smalley just being ONE of them this year.

I loved the truths and experiences he shared with us.  And I was so excited to purchase this book at his table afterwards (I bought the LAST one!)...

I struggle daily with trying hard to teach my kids obedience and yet so many times I realize that I am making this about ME and not about God.  And already in the first chapter of this book, I am reminded that it's about what's in MY heart and MY thoughts that will reflect in the ways I'm teaching my children.

Funny, how purchasing a book that I thought would help my children is changing and helping me.

From the back cover...

"Most people have 20,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. And for Americans, more than half of those thoughts are negative. So how do you teach your children to guard their minds and hearts in today’s society? The last thing you need is more parenting advice that proves futile.

Your beliefs strongly influence your thoughts, words, and actions, which in turn form your emotions. So the key to a high-quality life is to create powerful beliefs within your heart that control your behavior. You can think whatever thoughts you want, but what would happen if you mainly thought about the words Jesus told you to think about more than two thousand years ago?"

This book is centered around 4 core beliefs that keep your children from straying from God: humility, loving God, loving others, and gratitude.  All beliefs that I need to saturate myself in as well.

The book includes Parent Points, sections on guarding my heart as a parent, and Parent Plans, as well as scripture to have myself and my family meditate and memorize.  It's SOOO applicable!

"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Prov. 31:26

Oh, to be that woman!

In the short time I've been reading this book I realize so much of how my emotions drive my actions.  How my emotions control the way I discipline at times, the way I talk to my children, my husband, and in turn, my motives are mostly all wrong.  If I don't constantly keep my thoughts and beliefs Christ-centered, my focus for my children is based on their outward behavior and "acting right".  When I should be teaching them daily to "think" right, training them in righteousness which ONLY comes from the Word of God.

So I must be in the Word of God myself.

So many times I'm fooled into believing that I can teach my children to be better than I am.  I can TELL them the right things to do and hopefully they will do it.  But who am I kidding.  God is using my kiddos to train ME.  I have to get things right, my thoughts, my beliefs, my obedience, my day-to-day life, right - before I can teach them, or at least WHILE I'm teaching them. 

Never forgetting that ultimately it's God's work - THROUGH me and IN me.  He requires my obedience and commitment to him, my surrender to him that I cannot do this on my own,
and then he graciously gives me grace over and over and over again. 

rally 2011!!

Every July I head to Ft. Worth for Premier's National Conference (RALLY!)

We had a special treat this year - our leaders Meg and John won a two-story suite at the Worthington and they invited us all in for our "family" recognition party!

This suite was the coolest thing I've ever seen - grand piano, two "living" rooms, an amazing master bedroom and bath and balcony overlooking downtown Ft. Worth, which is so lit-up and pretty at night.

 Meg and John - awesome awesome leaders with such servant hearts!

 Getting spoiled with lots of recognition!

 A highlight of Rally is definitely the presentation of the fall line of jewelry - which is AMAZING!!!

Seriously the best line yet!

 Amanda E and I ran into each other backstage before we were getting recognized for our promotion.  We played basketball together in highschool and it was so fun to walk across stage together!

Getting big hugs and congrats from my upline!

Yay for another award - this one involoved $500 free jewelry - so fun!

Meg and John on stage for Sr. Leader formal night!

Premier's co-founders, Andy and Joan Horner, LOVE America!  Being from Ireland and Canada and finally making it to the US - they are SO proud to be Americans.  There is a big patriotic celebration every Saturday.  Each branch of the military was represented at the end of the program - and it always makes me so teary eyed.

Our group was FABULOUS this year!!

Love this time with these girls, and the time we get to experience and hear about what an amazing company we are a part of!

a three year old on skates

We picked up some roller blades (the kind with 2 rear wheels) at a garage sale for $1.

Dave said I was gonna be sorry.

It wasn't like I had planned for him to actually be able to skate on his own.

We didn't get far, and when we did it took a lot of energy on mommy's part to hold him with both hands and move with him.

Any my chins were sore and bruised from the skates hitting them way too many times.

But we got LOTS of laughs- definitely a dollar's worth.



a new look for my bench

We've had this bench since we've lived at this house - so maybe 5 years.

We bought it for the front porch - but moved it after awhile, didn't really like it there anymore.

It's since been on the deck, just up against the house.  Serving no purpose and really not looking too great these days.

Dave got sick of it on the deck and moved it out by the sandbox.  Good idea on his part.

It sparked some creativity on my part!

We've wanted to give this little corner of our backyard a nice look - but haven't really gotten around to doing much. 

But I knew this bench would look way better with some color.


And I even had a little helper while big sister was having her first REAL sleepover with her cousin!

 I've been drawn to turquoise lately, but this color didn't exactly come back to me as I had planned.
I guess I was going for a more true turquoise and not aqua (there's a difference in my mind at least)  That's what the paint card I gave to the guy was anyway.  But I didn't say anything and just took it home hoping it would grow on me.

And it did.  I love how it turned out!

 

So now, help me out.  I need something else back there.  More color. Something fun!  I thought about hanging some things in the tree - mason jars, fun lights, painted bottles. But I'm not sure the Kansas wind would be very nice to my cute details.  I need to be realistic. So maybe I should stick with something on the fence or on the ground.  Should I paint a pot or two?  Should I hang a big painted star back there?  Should we paint the bird bath? A colorful bunting along the fence?

a partial look at our weekend in Branson

Nothing like getting the flu (or food poisoning, not sure) less than 24 hours before we are leaving with our small group for a weekend in Branson and Tablercock.

There was definitely a few hours that I was pretty sure I wouldn't be going.

But I stopped puking 6 hours before departure and slept up till the hour before everyone would be meeting at our house to leave.

I learned that maybe I should prepare for a trip a few days early, and not the day before - just in case I need an 18 hour break to throw up and sleep.

I hadn't packed myself or the kids (who were riding along to stay at my parents house for the weekend), hadn't made the food I was suppossed to make, hadn't shaved, hadn't done anything.

And I crawled out of bed an hour before we left, just to throw my stuff in a pile, so Dave could put it in a bag for me.

I knew if I could make it through the 5-6 hour drive to my parents house, I could stay there until I was better.  Getting one day with the group would be better than none.

If my parents hadn't lived there - I wouldn't have gone at all.

But I was so thankful for the cold, dark bedroom that I got at their house - so I could sleep for 13 hours straight.

I joined my hubby and the rest of our friends with a few hours left to spend on that lake.

I think I pushed myself too fast to get back, I knew I was over the worst and felt more rested, but my stomach wasn't right at all.  That dumb bug brought back my weak pregnancy stomach that had been gone for weeks.  I threw up a few more times, my gag reflexes made a huge come back and I missed out on an afternoon of shopping so I could get some energy back for the evening.

So if a weekend can be GREAT and AWFUL at the same time - that was my weekend.

My camera saw barely any action.

The boys wanted to take the polar bear plunge into Lake Taneycomo - really freezing water!

 I hung out in the shade.

 We spent an evening at Branson Landing - dinner at Macaroni Grill where Jake, our server brought 4 free desserts - 3 for each of us pregnant girls, and one for a birthday.

I'm pretty sure Rachel enjoyed hers the most.

(we were missing the Goods!)=

 Laurel created a tribute to Jake.

 I guess you're seeing a lot of pregnant bellies in my posts lately.

I guess when I have 6 or 8 or 10 (i can't even remember) friends pregnant at the same time, that's what happens.

 If you only knew how many outtakes were taken of this shot - I could do a post all on it's own.

 Oh, but wait! Christy and Ryan are having baby too (adopting from Russia) - that's her checkbook on her belly.  And Bill and Olivia (the only couple that couldn't make it) are too - making our entire group next year EXPECTING!

To catch all the parts of our trip that I either wasn't a part of, or didn't even feel like having a camera out for, check out Rachel's blog here.

We are so blessed and thankful for these couples and looking forward to a new year with them!

some special talents of my friends...

 (actually, just more 4th of July pictures with a fun theme)

 I have friends who are pretty amazing party throwers...

Check out the REAL party pics and details at The Macs.

and friends who have pretty cute kids...

 and friends who are pretty awesome tire swingers...

 and homemade ice cream makers...

 and cool friends who don't have kids yet that entertain the rest of our kids...

and friends that have great taste in clothes...

 and friends that like stripes AND make the cutest pregnant girls ever...

 As you can see, I have some pretty talented friends.

And we had a great time celebrating the 4th with them!