Selective Color Can Be Fun!

As you know, here at the Blog we're all about fun. And I've decided that there's nothing more fun than a black and white picture with just a touch of carefully placed color.

See what I mean?

Celebrating Two Milestones At Once

Earlier this summer we celebrated two big steps in Luke's life. First came his birthday. As hard as it is for me to believe, he turned 15 this year. Those years sure went by fast. Right on the heels of his birthday, we celebrated his graduation from eighth grade. It was a big month!

For his birthday all he wanted was a PHONE. Take a look at this picture and see if you can tell what was in the box he just opened. What you can't see is the smoke that virtually pours forth from said phone all day long as he texts people with lightning speed.

Of course any birthday boy deserves a great big gooey birthday cake!

It looks so innocent laying there on that plate, doesn't it? Get thee behind me, calorie laden treat.

Luke is a very good kid. He's highly responsible, tender hearted, respectful, everything you would want in a son. He's a very gifted athlete, a whiz with the camera, and a professional vacuum cleaner operator. Tim and I are both so proud of him.

Here he is with his graduation cake. Two cakes in one week...Wow! Time for Mama to hit the gym.

It's hard to believe he will be in high school next year. I still remember so well his first day of Kindergarten and exactly what he wore. He's come a long way since then. We will enjoy watching him grow closer to manhood with excitement, pride and, I'm sure, lumps in our throats.

Vacation Bible School Is Upon Us

Hello, Loyal Readers! I am truly back this time. I know there was that fake post that somehow made it onto the 'Blog several days ago saying that my return was imminent, but this is the real deal. To prove it, I've got the first of several posts for you to enjoy as I try to redeem myself for this rude hiatus.

So the big question is what exactly have we been doing while we weren't blogging? Well, taking lots of pictures, for one thing. And having pictures taken of us taking pictures.

Another fun thing we've just wrapped up is Vacation Bible School 2009. It was wonderful and exciting and awesome and fantastic! The weather was insanely hot but, happily, the Lord kept the AC working just fine so the inside was nice and cool.

I have to offer a disclaimer right off the bat. In the pictures to come, you'll notice a vast majority are of Chip. There are two reasons for this, both of which are beyond my control. Number 1, Chip is touching me, just finished touching me, or about to touch me at all times. Therefore, when I point my camera, it tends to fall upon him. Second, the other kids have reached the point of maturation where they will not allow a documentary crew to follow them around, recording their every move. And Heaven help us all, if something unapproved should show up on the 'Blog. So I get what I get and it tends to be Chip. No offense to the other kidlets is intended in any way.

Now on to the magic of VBS. Tyler and some friends carried the flags and Bible at the beginning of our first day. They were so excited to help out!

And what does any red-blooded American do when presented with our great country's flag? Pledge allegiance to it, of course!

Speaking of helping out, Luke worked in recreation this year and had a great time. Since it was so hot, they only played outside once, but I think Luke just about melted! Here is the recreation crew. Nick wasn't able to be there very much this year due to football conditioning, but I bet he missed us!

Here Chip shows us the proper form for scooter use. He's certified in this activity.

A big part of VBS is the great crafts the kids get to make every year! One day they painted a picture frame any way they wanted! We even took a sweet picture to memorialize their year at VBS. The camping setup was just too cute.

The frames all turned out really neat. Tyler's is decorated like an American flag and I already have it installed in a prime spot in the basement. Here's his all finished. Very, very cute!

Chip even got to decorate a frame. Here we have the virgin material given to the artist....

and the final masterpiece.

Another day was devoted to decorating a bandanna to your liking. Tyler really enjoyed making his just right!

The most popular craft of all is the stepping stone. We try to make these every few years and always plan for lots of extras because all the adults like to make them too! This year, Sandy brought Colter in to make his very first stepping stone. He thought the pretty shells used to decorate the stones were just delicious! But he turned out a beautiful product. Shhh! Don't tell! It's a surprise for his Mommy and Daddy!

Chip made his too and was EVER so proud of his work! We will proudly display this beauty in our garden.

There were lots of other things going on all week as well, like super lessons full of Bible truths, bouncy songs to sing, and snacks which are always appreciated. It was a really nice week of fun and I'm so glad I could be a part of it.

Allow Me To (Re)Introduce Myself

Hello, friends and family. I have been rather, shall we say, absent from the 'Blog for the last several weeks. Neglectful, really. If the 'Blog were a child I would be guilty of child endangerment. If the 'Blog were a fish, it would be dead. However, I am a lucky girl, because the 'Blog is a forgiving sort. So let's forget the past and begin again. Shall we? I have tons of things to share! Stay tuned......

Not long ago we bought some bird seed in an effort to fatten up the local bird population. Chip was really excited about serving up some seeds. I managed to capture the whole bittersweet story.

Here we have an eager young lad transferring life-giving bird seed to a smaller bowl.

That takes waaaaay too long...better to just dump it and hang the waste.

SUCCESS! Meet our fearless bird seed flinger!

Throwing (and spilling) bird seed is FUN!

The only bad thing about being so good at throwing (and spilling) bird seed is that it is soon all gone. Hence the bitter part of the story.

But no worries! Chip knows how to sign the magic word: MORE!

Batter Up!!!

This summer, Tyler's playing baseball. So what? Tons of kids all over the state play baseball every summer. What is so blog-worthy about Tyler suiting up?

Well, first because it's my kid and on my blog that goes a long way towards determining if an item is blog-worthy or not.

Second, is the fact that Tyler's never shown one tiny bit of interest in baseball...not even when he was little and we signed him up for Tball without consulting him. Yet this year he insisted that he HAD to play baseball or his life would be ruined, and so on and so forth. And you know what?

He LOVES it! Can't wait for practice, always pestering somebody to pitch to him, loves it. He's even pretty good, which we all know didn't come from the maternal genes. Be that as it may, it sure is fun to watch my kidlet enjoying himself so much!

Here are the last photos for our April Photo a Day Challenge. Next month's words look really pretty hard, so we'll see how I do! Luke took the 'leaf' picture and I'm just delighted with how it turned out.

And the last word of the month was 'spiritual.' I took several different pictures around our church, but this one was my favorite, hands down. See what you think.