Faithgirlz...

I took the boys to the library today to turn in their summer reading chart and claim their final prizes. While I was waiting, I was checking out the new book rack in the children's room. A new series caught my eye....

...I came home and googled Faithgirlz. There is a couple of different series of these books written for tweens. There are fiction books, nonfiction, bibles, etc. showing girls how they can deal with social issues in a Christian way. The series above is called Blog On! I love how it appeals to tweens and encourages them to believe it, change it, create it, and to live it. Awesome! Check out the website at www.faithgirlz.com!

Now who is going to write some graphic novels to teach my boys the same stuff?

Wordless Wednesday..

Lots of pics to share from Gman's party/Chiefs game...thought I would make my first Wordless Wednesday post...enjoy! We had so much fun!

Photographer spotlight...

A good friend took these...I know I'm prejudiced, but I think she did an awesome job!

Thanks, Mary!

Gman is 8!

Where did the time go?!!?

This child came into my life when he was 3 1/2, and he turned 8 last Sunday. He was with the puppetmaster on his birthday, so he was lucky enough to have THREE parties. He had two with us, as we had cake and ice cream with some family members that night and then went to a Peoria Chiefs game last night. We are big Cubs fans and the Chiefs are their class A farm team.

Gman was so excited that he didn't get much sleep all week! We took 16 friends and family members out to eat and then to the game. My brother, who is currently serving in Iraq, was home and able to attend as well. He could not stop smiling last night as the fireworks show ended. He was so happy as he crashed in the car!

I will post more pictures tomorrow...

Any ideas how to pull off something equally as great for B's birthday in two months?

My birthday...

Plan #1: Chicago to a WIU alumni event to watch Cubs play Cardinals

CANCELLED due to baseball!

Plan #2: Spend the weekend at both boys' baseball games

CANCELLED due to weather!

Plan #3: Meet my hubby's mom at Joe's Crab Shack for dinner

TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT!

Now, I absolutely love my mother-in-law! However, I did not love the fact that she told the waiter it was my birthday. If you have not been to one of these restaurants, you must go. Good food and good times!

The waiter came over and gave me two blown up crabs. He said that in between each line of the birthday song that I would have to yell, "I got crabs for my birthday!" I didn't yell loud enough for him, either, so had to repeat it several times....

To make the experience even more memorable, it was all posted on the Joe's Crab Shack website! I LOVE the pic of my hubby with his head in his hands and the waiter laughing hysterically. That was when I leaned over and asked who was going to explain "I got crabs for my birthday" to the boys.

Where did the summer go?

Wow! My last post was about how my summer had just begun and now I realize how it's almost over....where did the time go?

* WE MOVED JUNE 25th! (were given notice of closing date 4 days in advance)

* Baseball ended last week (4 months after it started)

* Summer school ended today (BIG class)

*Teaching Vacation Bible School this week (Preschoolers get very cranky by the end of the week)

* Ryan is home from Iraq for two weeks

*Throwing not one, but two bday parties for Gman

Hmm...those last four things are all happening this week...guess I really don't know what happened to the rest of the summer...

Here's a pic of Gman that I had to share from the "Taste" tonight. I kept trying to get one with the ice cream and chocolate all over his face, but he would wipe it off before I could. LOVE this pic that I caught!