Block Party

Last weekend we went to our local Downtown Block Party... It included Live Music, Food, Arts Vendors, Crafts, Kids Zone, a Car Show and more.  The kids enjoyed a sand craft and some yummy snow cones.  

 We got the coolest masks there!  more on that later!

Emma and I went early to see an abbreviated version of the Hansel & Gretel ballet we saw last spring.  It was really neat!

We were SO close to all the action, and Emma was thrilled that Gretel stood beside her for a moment and waved.  :)

Shark!

My last One Every Seven Challenge theme was Fruit so we decided to have a little fun with it...

We love the way Lucas says hi to people and inanimate objects just the same.  He's SO friendly and sweet!

Faces

"WHAT?!"

 This is what you get when you say, "Samuel, look at me"  

 Cutie pie

August pictures

Emma and Lucas love holding hands in the car...

 Samuel has finally learned to get both feet off the floor at the same time!  (He always tucks one leg under and lands on it though!)

The Apple

"In a little kingdom graced with rolling hills, sparkling rivers, and bountiful forests, there once lived a lovely young princess named Snow White.

The queen was very jealous of Snow White's beauty.  So much so that she forced the little princess to dress in tattered rags and made her work long hours as a scullery maid.

The work was hard but Snow White performed the task in good spirits."  

 The queen hatched an evil plan to get rid of Snow White but the kind Huntsman could not bring himself to cause Snow White any harm.

"'Where shall I go?' asked Snow White in a trembling voice?  'Into the woods- anywhere,' said the huntsman, gesturing wildly at the thick forest just beyond the meadow.

Without another word Snow White whirled around and fled into the dark forest."

 Snow White happened upon a small cottage inhabited by the Seven Dwarfs.  She was a welcome addition to their lively home.  

"Back at the castle, the queen realized she had been tricked and Snow White was still alive."  

She transformed herself into a haggard old woman and created a poison apple, 

"One taste of the poisoned apple and the victim's eyes will close forever in the sleeping death."

What she told Snow White about the apple, was quite different than the truth... "This is no ordinary apple.  It's a magic wishing apple.  One bite and all your dreams will come true."

"Snow White held the ruby red apple up and took a bite.  As soon as she had done so, she tottered on her feet... she sank to the ground and lay still.  The apple fell to the ground."

Since watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a couple of weeks ago, Snow White has been Emma's absolute favorite princess. She loved the movie, though there were a few parts we fast forwarded through.  I can't count the number of times she has worn her snow white dress.  On one day in particular, she wanted to act out certain parts of the story and asked me to take pictures of her...
We played different scenarios, some involving the queen, the prince, or a dwarf... But they all seemed to revolve around the apple.

*Text from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs adapted by Jim Razzi

You are my sunshine!

Praise you in this storm

I keep hearing this song on the radio and decided to share it with you all.  My family members will immediately recognize the title as it became "our song" during the weeks and months after my father passed away.  It was released in 2005, but frequently played during the fall of 2006 when we lost him.  It is interesting to me that it is still played so often on our Christian radio station... and even after all of these years, my thoughts go right to my Dad.  While the loss of him no longer feels like a storm (more of a constant drizzle), the lyrics are a powerful reminder of how we continued to praise our Lord and recognize His hand in our lives following such a shocking loss. 

(Please pause music player on the right side of the blog so you can clearly hear this song.)

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
(repeat)

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

2005 Club Zoo Music (BMI) / SWECS Music (BMI) (adm. by EMI CMG Publishing) / Word Music, LLC (ASCAP) / Banahama Tunes (ASCAP) (adm. by Word Music, LLC)  Written by Mark Hall / Music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

Milestones for growing kiddos

In addition to having children in Kindergarten and Middle school this year, we've been hitting the milestones around here left and right, reminding us in so many ways how these days with little ones are flying by us and before long these milestones will simply be memories...

After very little instruction really, Emma became a PRO at tying her own shoes!  Check out the new "tie shoes" she picked out to celebrate!

Samuel is finally using the potty some.  We are realizing that he is just now developing the necessary body awareness for potty training.  His little mind is so busy with other things that body functions have not been high on the list.  So, this won't be a quick trip with him, but we are glad to finally be moving in the right direction.

Lucas is extremely interested in the whole potty phenomenon and often has to be encouraged to move from Samuel's frog potty so Samuel can have a seat.  He's obviously not quite ready to begin though...

Emma has been riding in the same car seat since she was 10 months old:

Though she still fit in it just fine, it was about to reach the expiration date, so we moved her into a high back booster seat.

Even bigger news for Lucas-- he has the same seat he's had for quite a while, but is now FORWARD FACING!  He did great rear facing, and seems to like this change in views as well.  

He looks so BIG!

Samuel, who rode a bike for the first time recently, inherited Nathan's first bike as his own!  He even rode it a little without anyone holding on!  Go Samuel!

Nathan, Christmas 2004

Today, Emma had her first homework!  I'd like to say she enjoyed it, but that is not completely true.  I think she did a great job though!

Well, I think that's it for milestones of the past few weeks.  

The kids all seem to be growing and changing SO quickly!

WHOA- SLOW DOWN!  Don't give your dear parents a heart attack!

Puppet Show

Last week Emma and I made a Puppet Theater so she could put on shows with some little finger puppets we got and a few others puppets we've had for a while.  When Samuel & Lucas woke from their naps, they thought it was pretty cool!

A seat, 2 "sweets" and some feet!

Project 52

A few photos from the last few weeks of my One Every Seven photography challenge:

31:52 LINE

32:52 SHADOW

 33:52 LAUGHTER

Samuel Singing

Samuel loves this song, and WE love to hear him sing!

TIP:  To hear the video better, just hit the pause button on the music player on the right side of the blog.

a little Lucas song

Lucas sings the theme song for Veggie Tales fairly often.  It is not easy to catch him on video though. Here's a glimpse:

TIP:  To hear the video better, just hit the pause button on the music player on the right side of the blog.

Cha-cha-cha-changes