Final Chapter of Craftilations

Getting ready for the ride to Blue Haven requires a lot of new and interesting things strategically brought out at just the right moment for my young uns....a symphony of activities if you will. Here are a few of the things I made this year to keep mainly Elle entertained. Also I'll go ahead and put the address to Blue Haven....it takes a few extra days to receive mail so if you are going to show us love and send us wonderful things in the mail, keep in mind that it takes a few extra days.

Shawn, Emma, Elle and Ava

c/o Camp Blue Haven

HC 81 Box 304

Las Vegas, NM 87701Paper doll I found on the internet and printed off, then laminated, then added velcro to the backs of the outfits so she can change them out.

This is my favorite thing I made. I found lots of clipart on line that I thought was cute. I also took pictures of all of us and then printed them all out, cut them out, laminated them and glued felt to the back of each thing. Then I borrowed a felt board from the workroom so that Elle can make all kinds of stories up with all her people and objects.

Close up of the fam. There are two other Elle's and one other Ava.

Two coke bottles that have lots of little trinkets in them. I have a master list of what is in each bottle and Elle will spin the bottle around looking for all the trinkets.

Close up

Lacing cards I made. Just found some pics Elle would like, printed them out, glued to poster, laminated, then poked holes in the picture so she could lace them.

Close up of a lacing card

Craftilations Chapter 2

Last week, I was a busy bee at the church building. I guess after working up there a lot for VBS I just grew so fond of the building that I needed to be up there every day. That or I started noticing things that needed to be cleaned up, fixed, spruced up, or reorganized. Last weeks' project was the Teacher's Workroom. After VBS it looked like a tornado...I wish I had taken a before picture. It was a total wreck. A few women and I got together a few days last week and tediously went through just about every inch of the workroom, purging things, reorganizing and just making it more enjoyable to be in. Everything has a place now, everything is labeled, and everything that is in there is useful. As a bonus I found a huge amount of children's books, mostly religious, that were just crammed into a filing cabinet. I took them all out, went through them, and put them in a bookcase in our fellowship hall and called it "The Children's Library." Now there are two shelves full of books for parents and kids to borrow. As much fun as I had working on it, I am so glad it's done...my poor children were as patient as possible, but they don't like when my attention is divided!

Painted this scripture above the laminater. Cute bulletin board for teacher info.

Inside one of the supply closets.

The preacher holding up the curtain I made.

Close up of the C U T E curtains.

Craftilations Chapter 1

This is part 1 of a 3 part series just so you know....been feeling REALLY crafty lately....it's weird how my mind goes through this. I will have months of non inspiration and then WHAM! I can't stop thinking of new things to make/do/create. It's enjoyable but I'm exhausted! Anyway, here's a scrapbook page I finished last night that's been sitting on my craft table for well over a month. I am 8 months behind on the family scrapbook which is a lot for me, but oh well, I'll for sure have something to do if I get bored...if.
I have begun packing for Blue Haven. It's a monstrous pile already and that's just stuff to take for the car ride. I've become more impatient with car rides as I've gotten not younger ;) And the girls + long car rides + nothing to do= bad headaches for me. The second picture is just random but I like to take "artist" shots of still life so there ya go.

Candid Crack Ups

Open Wide

Elle had her first dentist appointment today. We have been attempting to prepare her for it. She doesn't take too kindly to doctory types of things and we were expecting a freak out session followed by a referral to a pediatric dentist. Our insurance only lets kids go to the pedi dentist if they totally freak out at the regular one. So, we were prepared. We showed her everything we could think of that they would do. We talked about it a lot and acted like it would be the funnest thing she's done in a long time....it must have worked. She was so psyched to go today! And the excitement continued! They were able to do all x-rays and clean her teeth! We couldn't believe it. I haven't been that proud in a long time! I could barely contain my joy for her calmness and "maturity." I was so excited that I even agreed to go to CiCi's pizza and that's saying a lot because I abhor that place! Anyway, here's some pics of her first trip to the dentist! By the way, the dr. said her teeth looked wonderful, she has a great bite, and didn't have any plaque. :)

Just a little nervous...

Seeing what all the instruments do.

Holding on for dear life, but not fussing a bit.

Talking with the dr.

Her new toothbrush...and it has Ariel on it...she's very proud of it.

We caught her trying to floss on the way to lunch...funny...she ending up just licking the taste off the floss.

Showing off her pearly whites.

Major Uh Oh!

Before you pick up the phone and call me freaking out wondering why Ava has blood running down her leg and pooling on the ground....scroll on down and see the other pictures.

I had so much fun taking these pictures...it was effortless. The girls and the yummy homemade popsicles were a no brainer. Happy Summer!

Book Worm

I need my readers to make a real live comment....I am getting ready for a 12 hour drive to New Mexico and back as well as two weeks of no TV and hanging out while my kids take a nap so I need some good reading material. The kind of books I like are anything fast paced (Dean Koontzish), fictional historical biography type stuff (The Life of a Geisha) (I think that's what that was called?), any real life stories that are not long and drawn out when they don't need to be (Into the Wild). So, do some thinking and leave me a few of your favorites. Thanks a million!

MASH Swim Party

Oh my....I could stare at this belly all day!

A hilarious game we played that I'll have to do at other MASH events.

We had a WONDERFUL time at our MASH event this past weekend. We went to a couple's house that had a swimming pool. It was a non-chlorine pool that had a slight salt water feel to it. The water was so soft and warm and it was just a lot of fun to play in. Both girls LOVED it! Shawn even got Elle to put her whole head under the water....that is a big step for her. I think I was one of the last adults to get out...I could swim all day long. My whole body feels better after I've been in the pool a while. We ate Mexican food and then hung out and played a hilarious game... hula skirt, scuba mask, straw hat, oven mitts, fork, and knife...takes too long to explain but winner takes home $5. Loads of fun! I will have to go visit their pool again soon....

More young old friends

This past weekend we had another couple come hang out with us that we knew in Greenville. Tim and Marci are at Brown Trail School of Preaching. There son Riley was Elle's playmate in Greenville. We had a great time playing Uno which I was the biggest loser at, and staying up till 1 A.M. talking about who knows what! Here's a few pics of our weekend.

How can I stay mad?

For everyone but Shawn's siblings and my sister, it may be hard to believe that my sweet husband can irritate the FIRE out of you sometimes....but he can....and he's really good at it when he wants to be. All that said, it's very hard to stay annoyed when you turn around and see this...

Fives

5 Places I've Lived:
Tyler, TX
Abilene, TX
Jackson, TN
Greenville, TX
Georgetown, TX

5 Bad Habits
Get irritated easy
Talk too loud
Get jealous when I don't get all the attention (I've gotten better with this one)
Wanting to be on the Internet a lot
burping really loud in front of Shawn

5 Years Ago
Gearing up for Blue Haven
Trying to get pregnant with Elle
Had just quit my teaching job
Just finished a week long camp at Camp Texoma (what a blast!)
Had celebrated our 4th year of marriage a month earlier

5 Years from Now
Maybe one more kid???
All my kids in school or close to it
Having some type of job
Close to debt free
Able to really impress people with my drum skills

5 Things for Tomorrow
Get last craft ready for VBS
Go to the grocery store
Clean house for upcoming guests
Work on laundry
Try to get a scrapbook page done...lol

5 Favorite Foods
Cotton Candy
Dove chocolate
Frozen Custard
Fettuccine Alfredo (Olive Garden)
Homemade Flour Tortillas

5 Wishes
Wish I didn't have to worry so much about money
Wish I was 8 pounds lighter
Wish I always had a cute new shirt to wear
Wish I had more energy
Wish the weather was more pleasant(Colorado type weather)
Wish I had naturally olive tan skin (I added that so that's a sixer)

VBS

Monday we started our VBS. The theme is Set Sail: Spread the Good News. We are studying the life of Saul/Paul. I'm in charge of crafts and they went very well yesterday. The building looks wonderful and everyone commented last night that this is the best looking VBS we've ever had. We also had a record number in attendance. Including adults, there were 112 people present. Our classrooms were packed to the gills! Can't wait for tonight. Paul is commissioned to spread the Gospel and is shipwrecked. Here's a pic of the auditorium.

#1 Dad=2 Old Maids

Here are a few pics of Shawn with his girls on Father's Day Eve....we celebrated Saturday afternoon when we had a little time to ourselves. I honestly can say, I am VERY blessed to have a husband like Shawn.....he is an awesome father and our girls will probably never get married because no man will be able to live up to their daddy's ways.

Our Young Old Friends

We got to see from friends from Greenville this past weekend. Stacey and Shayla both have daughters that attended a basketball camp all weekend here in Gtown so they hung out with us. We had a lot of fun. We took them to a baseball game that never ended, almost, with measly fireworks that made me more annoyed than excited. We had a good time seeing them and it made us miss all of our Gville friends even more! We have more young old friends that we knew in Gville coming in this weekend so they makes it a little better. And we'll see quite a few of our last youth group and a few parents when they bring them to camp in a few weeks :) Here's a few pics from the baseball game. At least our team won even if it took them FoReVeR!!!

First taste of cotton candy...YUMMY!

I love this picture!!! It is so rare to get a good picture of Elle...I think it involved a food bribe.
My artist idea of Ava with the scoreboard.

I know it's not the best pic, but this is Elle "enjoying" the fireworks.