Swim lessons may give me a heart attack

My kids are taking swimming lessons.  While Mia is cautious and careful, Paxton is wild and has no fear.   I am terrified whenever he is near the pool (including while he is taking swimming lessons).  He is quick to step off of the steps into the deeper water, has no fear of the diving board and jumping off, and wants no help.  Here are a few pictures. 

How do you keep your kids safe when they love the water and refuse to wear a life jacket? 

Never Ever Ever

Today I'm linking up with Neely, Shelley, and Stephanie for Never Ever Ever.  This week, I'm saying Never ever ever will I...

• be a night owl.  It doesn't matter what time I go to bed, I always wake up early.
• not worry about my kids when they are not with me.  I believe (as wrong as this might be) that no one will watch my kids as well as me.
• be a DIYer.  I try...really, I do, but my projects always end up looking like something a 5th grader might do.
• not love the ease of slipping on a cute sundress and flip flops in the summer.  I wish it would stay in the mid 80's year round.
• like snow.  Ever. 
• not love black Friday.  I love getting a good deal.

Link up and tell us what you are saying never ever ever to this week...

Weekend Recap

I've been slacking with writing lately.  I have had a lot on my mind.  My Dad will get the test results from his most recent CT scan tomorrow.  It has been on my mind constantly.  My son is having the 1st of 2 surgeries coming up August 20th (the second- for his adenoids is Sept 6th).  The first is to repair a "leak" from his first hypospadious surgery.  UGH. 
Pax still isn't eating.  We are making zero progress (or at least that is how I feel most days).  In fact, he actually got worse with eating after having the mouth portion of hand foot and mouth disease 2 weeks ago.  I just feel overwhelmed right now.  Lastly, my daughter's birthday is almost a month away and while this should be a happy day, it is still so hard for me.  Just thinking about it and planning it breaks my heart all over again.  I finally got around to ordering invitations yesterday.  Thankfully, my friend, Kristen is a creative genious and makes it so easy for me. 

Ok, on to my weekend recap.  We actually had a fun weekend.  Friday night, we took the kids to see a local band--The Sam Grow Band.  These guys are not only talented, but super nice.  Do you know what I love most about them???  They help local families!  When they hear of a child who is sick, they learn the kids favorite song (even if it is Justin Beiber) and they cover it and send it to that child.  Sweet, right?  I love when people use their gifts to help others. 
 

This is the lead singer, Sam.  Mia wanted to meet the whole band. 

This is the drummer, Joe.  They were so nice and really took the time to meet every single person.

Saturday night, Chris and I went to an O's game.  We lost, but had a great time.

Yesterday, I was exhausted from getting home late from the game.  We basically just hung out at home.  The kids rode around outside and played in the kiddie pool.

Mia decided to "dress up" in a fancy dress and asked me to take pictures of her and Pax.  She picked out his outfit as well.  How could I say no? 

I'm so lucky that they love each other so much. 

How was your weekend?

Summer Outdoor Toys- On Sale

I don't know about you, but I LOVE a good deal.  I also love shopping at the end of the season for sales.  Amazon has some great deals going on right now with up to 50% off!  Click on the link below to see for yourself.  Here are a few that I love:
Shop Amazon - Up to 50 Off Select Outdoor Toys
For the kids:

  (great deal on this power wheels battery--we go through about 3 every weekend)
 Pax would FLIP for this!  $36.97
Really Great discounts:


 $69.09                               $107.97                      $59

 $29.97                               $149.99 (50% off)
 
$99.99 (50% off)

 For Me:

$50.47                               $122.34 (50% off)

Preschool Bible Lesson: 3 Visitors -Abraham

I definitely get a big fat fail this week for pictures.  I only took 2.  In my defense, it's been a little hectic.  Both kids are in swim lessons (Mia 5 days a week, Pax 4 days a week) and both kids are recovering from being sick.  Pax had hand foot and mouth (but only the mouth portion) and is still not eating well and often puking up his meals and Mia had a stomach bug and threw up for 24 straight hours.  Fun times at my house...
Anyway, last week, our bible lesson was about Abraham and his 3 visitors. 
The only picture I took was of Monday's project where we just had coloring pages.  Creative, right?  Ok, some days I'm really a slacker, but with the kids getting home 1 1/2 hours later than normal, crafts have to be fast. 

I will tell you the other things we did. 
-we also made a tent out of paper (ok, not so much a tent, but I cut out a triangle) and I printed an image from google images of Abraham, Sarah, and Issac and we glued them in the tent.  This is to show the kids who they were, their age (remember that Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90) when Issac was born, and that they lived in a tent.

-We also played Red light Green light, but we called it Wait and Go.  I got this idea online and liked that it taught them patience.  We then talked about how long Abraham and Sarah had to wait to have their son, Issac. 

**I am skipping this week (most likely) due to the kids still being sick and swim lessons.  Next lesson is A Bride for Issac. 

Through the eyes of Pax

Pax has learned to take pictures with my phone.....and...he loves it.  I've found about 300 new pictures on my phone.  Here are a few of his most recent:

 Through the eyes of Pax....

He really likes to take selfies

and make faces...

one eye...

2 eyes....

Once in a while, he'll get a picture of someone else.  This is the lady that owns his "learning Center".  We love Mrs. D.

He got one of Mia as well.  She also loves to have her picture taken (and take pictures).

Exploring my family tree

Last week, while my Dad was in town, we went to Whitacre, VA (named after my family, btw).  My Dad wanted to see the house where his grandmother (my great grandmother) used to live.  He had a lot of good memories there.  He also wanted to visit her grave and check out the area. 
My Grandmother was one of 14 kids.  I believe they were born in West Virginia, but then moved to Whitacre, VA. 

If you blink, you will miss it...literally.

This is the church that I believe they went to.

Dad update

I was SOOOO hoping I'd have some good news to report.  Unfortunately, I do not. 
Last Friday, we got the results of my Dad's CEA blood level test.  His levels have jumped from 4.3 to 6.1 since the end of May.  This is not a good thing.  According to his Doctor, anything over 5 is alarming.  His CT scan is scheduled for July 23rd.  Please keep him in your prayers. 

Literary Junkies

1. What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

Ok, I am a random book reader.  I read a wide variety of books.  Right now, I'm rereading Divergent for my book club.  I'm really excited that the 3rd book is coming out soon. 

2. What book first made you fall in love with reading?

I have no idea.  My mom read to me as a kid.  I remember having books that I've loved since I was a little kid.  I think I just like that I can read to escape...and I find that books are SO much better than TV most of the time (with a few exceptions of course).

3. Summer is a great time for series.  What are your series recommendations?

I love the Divergent series.  I loved the Hunger Games, Twilight, and 50 Shades.  I liked the Alex Cross series for a while, but I've since dropped those.  There are some Nora Roberts series that I really liked too. 

4. Does a song come to mind with the book you are currently reading? If so what it is?

Nope. 

5. Are you participating in any summer reading challenges?

No, I'm just reading for fun :). 

Abraham Preschool Bible Lesson and Crafts

Last week, we read "A New Home-Abraham" in our children's bible.  I have to say...this was a hard week for crafts.  I had a tough time coming up with creative ideas, but I managed to somehow pull off something.  Hopefully enough that will leave a lasting impression on my kids. 

We talked about Abraham and how God promised that he would give him more descendants that could be counted.  We used stars to represent those descendents and we talked about the number of stars in the sky.

I found this star somewhere online- probably pinterest and I just glued it to a stripe of paper that I made into a headband.  Not the most clever idea, but the kids liked it.

Mia was really into decorating hers.  Pax...not so much.

This was Mia's finished product.

Another night, we made star wands.  Basically, I found a package of foam stars I had purchased earlier for my sunday school class that I didn't use and I taped them to some leftover cake pop sticks that I had not used. 

Mia took this picture of her wand.  Pax chose a blue star, but again...not really interested in making this project.

Lastly, we sung Father Abraham and talked about the song.  This was the biggest hit!  The kids LOVE that song and had a great time singing it with me. 

Next week:  The Visitors:  3 Visitors-Abraham

We LOVE the Beach

Every Friday we go to the Beach/Farmers Market for their live music, classic car show, wine tastings, popcorn, and activities.  Mia loves the playset on the beach.

Paxton loves dancing to the live music.  What is your favorite summer activity?