Happy Memorial Day

We left the house this morning about 8:00 to meet Christina and Noah at the Mall of Millennia for breakfast at Panera. After our nice meal and a bit of talking we all piled into Oscar to head down to Polk County. During my PEAF conference back in February my friend won 4 tickets to Fantasy of Flight and had no desire to use them so he gave them to me. I checked the website and found out that children 5 and under are free so as long as we went before June 8th we wouldn't have to pay for Abbi. We gave two of the tickets to Tina and Noah and they purchased one child's ticket for Bresa and we were all covered. I wasn't sure what to expect but I enjoyed the Air Force Museum when I went up to Ohio so I figured it would be something similar. The girls enjoyed the beginning part where you walked through dark halls that took you through the progress of flight (similar to the old Delta Dream Flight ride at Disney) then we walked through a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. There was a filmstrip about WWI combat and the strategies the pilots used to get advantage over the enemy. The children didn't enjoy that very much but we all thought it was interesting. There were two large hangars completely filled airplanes and lots of interactive things to do. Javan loved the hangars and kept pointing to all the planes saying, "airplane airplane!" Whenever he was aloud to sit in one or climb in the cockpit and push all the buttons you can bet he was all over it. The girls enjoyed this too and had a really good time being pilots. There were a few flight simulators also that we all played around with and then we went into the kid area where they had lots of things to show aerodynamics and aloud the kids to experiment themselves. They had an air balloon simulator and a hang glider simulator (Peter really liked that) and a few other areas that got kids thinking. We walked around for a couple hours and then took the tram tour to another hangar where they did some repairs and maintenance. There were also several storage areas that we were shown and we learned all about engines, propellers, and designs. Just as we got back to the main building they were preparing for an aerial demonstration so we chose good shaded spots and waited. They flew out a Fieseler Fi-156 Storch which they pulled right from the hangar we were just walking through, that was pretty cool. Javan enjoyed watching the plane take off and fly by low and close and do a few little things in the air before landing again. After the flight show we decided to head out and grab some lunch on the way back. Our day wasn't over yet though we still had more plans. Christina's mom lives in Windermere and has a really nice pool so we had planned to take the kids swimming. When we got to the house it was all I could do to keep them from jumping in the pool straight away and put their suits and sunscreen on. The kids had a great time and the water felt very nice. We probably swam a couple hours before getting out and drying off. The girls probably would have stayed in all night if we let them, they love pools. After we got out of the pool we decided to play some pool. Peter and Noah played a few games and I played a couple. None of us are really any good but that just made it fair. Tina's mom, Raj, had a couple other guests over and they BBQ'd hot dogs and hamburgers and had a bunch of sides for dinner. Everything was delicious and we chased it down with Apple Pie for dessert. As you can imagine all the kids fell asleep on the way home. I was ready to sleep too but figured I should keep Peter company on the drive back. I am sure I will be tired tomorrow when I have to return to work after this wonderful four day weekend.

Baby fish

I don't remember when we got our fish pond out front. I remember it was Father's Day and the oldest post I could find about it was in 2005 so we have had it at least 6 years. Well, for the first time ever our fish have reproduced. I don't know when this happened or how often it has happened but this afternoon I was just watching the fish nip at the surface when I saw a little white fish that was definitely too small to be one of the 5 we have had. I told Peter and he said he saw it too. Later I took the children out to see if we could see him and much to our surprise we saw at least a dozen baby fish swimming around. There were orange ones, white and orange ones, black ones and plain white ones. I know fish lay eggs so it seemed silly to think only one had survived but having never seen any others I figured the other fish or the big sucker fish had had a nice lunch. Anyhow, the baby fish we saw ranged in size from about one millimeter to probably over an inch long. Later I took Peter out to show him all the little ones and we saw at least 20 different ones. Hopefully these baby fish will grow a bit bigger and stronger before frog season comes, I know those frogs would like to get their tongues around a nice little fish dinner. In the photo you can see a bigger black fish (which I don't ever remember having) and two other gold and white fish both of which are our new babies. They are eating fish flakes I sprinkled to get them to come up.

Guitar Case

I came out of the bedroom this morning to find Javan playing with a guitar case (nothing new). I asked him what he was doing and he opened the case up to show me that his guitar fit perfectly inside this wonderful new case a client of Daddy's had brought over. This boy is so cute!

Building Houses

The girls were working hard in Abbi's room but I didn't know on what until they came and asked me if I wanted to see the houses they had built. Naturally I assumed they were made out of Legos but when I went to take a look I found the girls had used just about everything else to make their houses. Abbi did accent her house with Legos but it wasn't the main construction. They were both very proud of their buildings and very excited to show them off, I just had to share it with everyone else.

Javan's new Do

Good Bye Fun

Tonight Peter and I took the kids over to our friend Mike's house for a surprise going away party. Mike is leaving for the summer with a group planting churches all over the US. He may not return in the fall as he was offered a Worship Pastor position up north. Mike plays on the worship team with Peter at our church so we wanted to make sure we got to see him before he left. At the house where the party was there was lots for the children to do. They have goats, rabbits, chickens, dogs, and cats with kittens so the kids had fun going around and petting all the animals. There was also a nice play area that the children had a blast on. We didn't stay too late since the kids still have school and I had to work in the morning.

Slip and Slide

When Grandma came over today she brought of a Slip'n slide she had from last year. As soon as the girls saw it they wanted to use it. While I was getting dinner ready I asked Peter if he wanted to set it up for them. Dinner was going to take 90 minutes to bake so I figured they would have just enough time to get all worn out and then cleaned up before dinner. They had a ball of course. Abbi really understood the whole "slide part" but Bresa was more into the run to the end and then fall down.
She had a blast so that is all that matters. Javan had no idea what was going on just that the girls were having fun and there was water squirting about so he should be screaming in excitement too.

Locks of Love

The temperature is rising every day down here and that means it is the perfect time for a summer hair cut. Both the girls were growing very long hair and desperately needed a trim at the very least. Abbi's hair was all the way down to her waist and Bresa's was just a few inches behind her. Daddy said it would be nice to cut off enough to donate but in order to do that you need at least 10 inches. I knew the girls had it but I didn't know if we wanted their hair that short. Daddy really likes long hair so I was pretty surprised at his thought but we talked to the girls about it and they didn't really seem to have an opinion so we decided to cut it all off. After church today Grandma came over and the hair cuts began. Bresa went first and we pulled her hair back in a pony tail and measured it to make sure we met the requirements and then we cut it off. Grandma fixed it up and trimmed and leveled it all out and I think it is really cute! Short hair really fits her face. Abbi was next and she was excited to have short hair but also a little apprehensive. She sat quietly as we tied her hair back and measured (she had over 12 inches) and then cut. Abbi's hair is really thick so the cutting part took quite a bit longer but once the pony tail was off it didn't take Grandma long to make it really cute. Both of their hair is a lot shorter than they have every had it before but they both look really cute. I figured if they didn't like it we would just grow it out again, in the meantime short hair in the summer will be a nice break from sweaty long hair. So far both the girls are very happy about their new looks.

Girl's Day Out

This morning I decided to take the girls to the farmer's market to see what they had going on. I left Javan with Daddy so we could have some girl time. We found some nice green peppers and we tried some delicious watermelon so of course we had to buy one. We picked the perfect one and it was just $3.50. The girls were very excited to get it. While at the market we ran into several people we know from church and around town and then headed home to show off our good buys to Daddy. As the day went on I had an urge to get out of the house again. Once the children had finally finished cleaning their rooms I took the girls to Michael's Craft Store to pick up some little things for a Daddy's Day present we are working on. We left there and then headed to Altamonte to the Dollar Theater to watch the movie Hop. It was a cute little tale about the Easter Bunny who really wanted to be a drummer. I was going to take the girls out for ice cream afterwards but then they got pretty feisty so we just headed home. It was nice to get out with my girls, usually we take Javan with us everywhere to give Daddy a break. Or I just have Javan because the girls are in school. Maybe some day I can just take them one on one and have some Mommy-daughter time.

Swimming

Today I picked the girls up from school with Javan and then we went straight over to our friend Valleta's place. She owns a condo in Sanford and they have a great community pool. I thought her daughter was going to be there with her kids but they had to leave before we got there. The kids got their suits on and then we all jumped in to play in the pool. The water was great and the pool was nice a shallow so the girls could touch without having to stay on the stairs. We came prepared with inner-tubes this time and the kids had a great time with them. We had a nice train going for a while but then I got tired of pulling them all around. Some other girls came out to the pool and Bresa and Abbi had a ball with them. Javan did great on the stairs and walking along the side and in his float that I pushed him around on. He even jumped in off the side to me a few times. We played for a good hour and half but then we had to be heading back so we could get some dinner before Daddy had to go to practice tonight.

Out Cold

AWANA Ceremony

As the summer draws near AWANA comes to a closing. Tonight was the ceremony for all the clubbers who had participated all year long. Since Abbi moved up from Cubbies this year both the girls were in Sparks. They both did a great job singing their songs and Bresa even had a verse to say in the mic in front of everyone. She did great and Daddy and I are so proud. Since this is Bresa's third year she was able to complete each of the books that Sparks has to offer. Because she finished all three books she was awarded a Sparks plaque for all her hard work. Way to go Bresa!! Next year she will be moving up to the TNT level with the older kids.

Learning to Bake

The girls have helped me make treats lots of times but today I helped them. They made Raspberry Cheesecake Bars pretty much entirely by themselves. Bresa read all the directions, step by step, and together her and Abbi mixed the ingredients and put everything together. Really, all I did was supervise and move things to and from the oven. Bresa even set all the timers for each thing that needed to bake. Abbi was great at adding the ingredients to the bowls and mixing things up, she even added one of the eggs without getting any shell in the mixture.

1. Making the crust



















2. Patting it down in the pan before baking it for about 15 minutes




















3. Mixing the cream cheese and sugar














4. Adding eggs and vanilla








5. Topping with Raspberry preserves after pouring the mixture over the hot crust





6. Cutting through the raspberry to make a marble effect in the mixture







7. Setting the timer for the final bake















8. Finished Product, Mmm Mmm Mmm

Our Big Boy

With Javan being two now it was time for us to start looking for a big boy bed. Both the girls were in their big girl beds by they time they turned two but boys are different and since he wouldn't be moving out of the nursery into a new room like the girls we had to find something to replace the crib. I got lucky and found this bed that starts as a toddler bed but slides out to a twin size on Criagslist for just $30. It's like new and they still sell the bed at Ikea for $180. The people lived just about next door to my mom so she picked it up and brought it over. The bed sat in our living room for a few days until I had time to figure out how to rearrange Javan's room and get big boy Lightning McQueen sheets and a pillow for him. When Peter and I set up the bed in his room, Javan was so excited. He kept getting in and saying, "I take nap now, I take nap?" After everything was all situated and where it was going to stay and all the toys were put away in their new homes we finished our evening with dinner and devotions and then it was time to try out the new big boy bed. Javan doesn't like that he is the first one to go to sleep and he usually fusses for a little while before he falls asleep and tonight was no different except now he could get out of bed. He tried it once and Daddy gave him one spank and put him back in bed and then Javan got up once more. This time, after another spank, he stayed in bed and didn't try to get out again. Hopefully this lesson will be one he only needs to learn once and doesn't continue each day. Our big boy, it's hard to see him in his big boy bed and part of me is sad that my baby is growing up but at the same time I am excited to see the young man he will grow into.

Grain of Salt

Peter had a meeting with Bresa's teacher today to discuss Bresa's goals for the upcoming year (something they do each year with each of the student's parents). The meeting went fine and only great things were said about Bresa and also a few good stories were told. Here is one of them:
During Science the children were learning about static energy and the teacher poured a little salt on each group's table and challenged them to find a way to pick up the salt with a spoon without scooping it up. The goal was to get the children to rub the spoon on their clothes to create a static charge that would hold the salt. Well, one boy at Bresa's table was getting really worked up when they couldn't find out how do it. He started saying, "It's not possible. It can't be done, it's not humanly possible!" Bresa just looked at him and said quietly, "With God all things are possible, let's pray." Oh, that's my girl!! With all the other positive things Peter told me about the meeting, this is the thing I am most proud of.

Happy Mother’s Day!!

I woke up this morning to the smell of Ghirardelli chocolate chip pancakes cooking. Moments later Peter brought them to me in bed where I enjoyed my delicious breakfast. Bresa rushed in to give me a bunch of homemade cards and pictures and a little purse she constructed filled with yummy chocolate. We had to run around to get ready for church but we made it just as the band was starting to play (Peter had this week off). After saying goodbye to everyone after the service we collected the children and picked up a quick lunch at Checkers. We went home to eat and then headed to Sanford so I could take back a pair of jeans I had bought that were too short. While we were at the mall we walked around in all the stores I wanted to see but didn’t end up buying anything. The children behaved nicely so when we left there we got them a treat at Panera (and me one too). We walked the strip mall not really looking for anything just enjoying the day. Peter did end up buying me a bunch of clothes, which I am very excited about. We went home shortly after that and just hung out together with no agenda. It was nice to just relax and not have to be rushing to prepare for something next. For dinner Peter made wonderful New York Strip Steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli (my favorite!).
Everything was so good and I ate every last bite. He even made extra so I would have some for my lunch tomorrow. ☺ I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day too; I am truly blessed with my three little dumplings.

*I didn’t know it until the next day but Peter fixed the backlight for my clock in the van. It has been out for probably over 3 years so I when I drive at night I couldn’t see the clock. It required a lot of work and removing the entire dashboard to replace. Also, he replaced with an LED light so it shouldn’t burn out again. I love presents but my favorite presents are the most practical ones, it may sound silly, but for me, this was perfect!!

Women’s Ministry Spring Conference

I enjoy serving on the WM team but sometimes I do miss just attending the events and not having to worry about all the behind-the-scenes stuff. At the end of the day though it feels good to know that I may have had some small part in blessing another lady. This year our Spring Conference was on mentoring our daughters and mentoring beyond our families. We had several different speakers that talked about mentoring different age groups and gave practical ideas on how to raise Godly children and be a light in our daily worlds. We talked about how we are called to witness to others even outside of our families and what it meant to be a Titus 2 woman. After our sessions all the ladies were brought to dining hall to enjoy a wonderful catered meal. Everything was excellent and since we assign which table each lady sits at there were many new friends made. I only heard good feedback from everyone I spoke with so hopefully the surveys we collected will reflect the same thing. After we all cleaned up and set up the rooms for church services tomorrow we all went on our ways to prepare for tomorrow (Mother’s Day).

*Just FYI, those raspberry tarts in the picture were made by the WM team. We made over 400 of those pastry shells yesterday and then today they will filled with the cream and topped with raspberries (so delicious!!).

First Swim of the Season

This afternoon I had to go to church to help set up for the Women’s Ministry Spring Conference. Since I left at about 2 I didn’t get to see the girls when they got home from school. While I was at church my friend, Rebecca, called and asked if we would like to go swimming at their community pool tonight. I thought this would be a great way for us to be able to spend some fun quality time together and I know the children LOVE swimming. Peter got all the kids ready so when I came home we could just jump in the car and go. At the pool the kids had a great time. I thought it was too cold so I just put my feet in but Peter got in and played with the girls in the shallow end. I watched Javan on the steps while we talked with our friends. They all played a good while but still didn’t want to leave when we said it was time. We will be back soon.

Muffins for Moms

The other day Abbi brought me a form from school talking about Muffins for Mom's and having to be signed up with a name of who was attending. I asked Abbi about it and what it was all about and she told me they were having a Mother's Day Party in her class and I was invited. I asked Abbi if she wanted me to go to it and she very quietly said yes. I said okay and filled out the form and told her to put it back in her backpack. After that Abbi was all excited, apparently it was pretty much all she talked about the whole time I was gone on my trip. This morning I got up and ready and went to Abbi's class at school. The children did a short presentation of songs for the moms and then we went and sat at the tables where our children served us muffins and tea. Abbi gave me a recipe book with a couple pages of information she had filled out about me and a picture of me that she had drawn. I had a good time eating with Abbi and asking about the pictures up on the walls and which ones were hers. Eventually it was time for me to go and Abbi was sad but she is a good girl and I told her I would see her after school. I am happy that such a small thing could make Abbi so happy, she pretty much just giggled the entire time I was there.

Mini Vaca in St. Augustine

When my sergeant started telling me that I needed to take a vacation I knew it was time to get away. Normally, for my birthday, I go up to Ohio to see Tina and Noah, but now that they moved to Orlando I had no reason to go anywhere. Not taking a break from work was getting to me so Tina planned a girl's getaway for us and Rena and Reba. We got a hotel up in St. Augustine and just took each day at a time. We had some ideas of what we wanted to do and see but nothing was really planned out until that day. It was nice to have a flexible schedule but still have a good number of ideas too. When we got to St. Augustine on Tuesday we had lunch at Panera and then went to the hotel to check in. We shopped at the Prime Outlet stores and found a couple good bargains and then went downtown and had dinner at Tokyo Thai. The food was great and it was nice a quiet so we were able to enjoy good conversation over our meal. Wednesday we went to Castillo De San Marcos and explored the fort. I had just come in January with Peter so I wasn't too interested in seeing it all again but everyone else hadn't been since our fourth grade field trip so it was like seeing it for the first time for them. We explored all the rooms and listened to one of the volunteers in uniform explain the fort and the history behind it all. It was very fascinating even if I had just been there. After the fort we walked down St. George Street and shopped some more. We went in to any of the little stores that one of us was interested in and before long we stopped for lunch at The Bunnery, a great little cafe with wonderful salads and sandwiches. After lunch we walked down to Flagler College and to the Lightner Museum. We explored a little bookstore and peeked into a couple other museums to see what they had to offer. Our feet were getting tired from all the walking so we headed back to the car but stopped for some cool treats first. When we got back to the hotel we took a nice 2 hour dip in the swimming pool. The temperature was great and the water felt so nice on our feet. We went back up to the room to shower and clean up and then headed out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. I hadn't been there in years and I was surprised at how much selection they had. The food was really good and didn't taste like the frozen heated up entrees I had remembered from before. After all the walking and big meal we were all pretty much ready for bed. Thursday we got up and dressed for the beach. When we got there I was freezing. I didn't bring my suit because I knew I wouldn't want to go swimming but I was the only one. We got to the beach and it was completely empty so we set up a blanket and I tried to get warm. After a little bit Rena and I started collecting shells where the water stopped. Tina joined in our walk and we found lots of washed up jelly fish. We rested on the blanket for a while after that every now and then we could see the waves bringing in more jelly fish, it was pretty cool to watch them roll in and out with the water. We saw a couple of crabs running around and before too long decided we would go get cleaned up. After we had all showered we headed back to Panera to have lunch once again and then decided to hit the Premium Outlets that we hadn't been to yet. We shopped and shopped some more and found a few more good deals. Rena had to head back to Gainesville early on so we sad good bye and shopped a little longer. Eventually we had exhausted all the stores so Tina, Reba, and I headed to Port Orange to meet Noah at Red Robin for dinner. Dinner was great and very filling. Reba headed back to Tampa in her car and Tina and Noah took me home. I had a great time and the getaway was just what I needed. It is also nice to not get back from vacation and have to go to work the next day. I really enjoyed myself but I must say I missed Peter so much and of course the children too.