Obstacle Course

 We tried out something new for P.E. and because we got new stretch bands in a package from Tim's mom...we put together a little obstacle course.

  It included jumping over the back of the couch and diving off into a pile of pillows.

 doing a handstand and lots of stretch band moves. It was a lot fun and got all our heart rates up, made for a fun memory and put the new bands to use. I am so thankful for my fun and crazy family!

The Final Day of BGS!

 We had quite a crowd on the last day! They all wore their very best, which made it really hard to figure out who won the prize for best dressed! They were all so beautiful! Such a great reminder of his LOVE for each of us.

 They all worked together to make a picture on the driveway!

 My helpers...who actually talked the loudest during the story and did not raise their hands to answer questions, but blurted out answers and denied that Jesus was on the cross. But I love them!

 The game.

 everyone was ready.

 we colored puzzle pieces and then put them together to reveal a beautiful butterfly...a reminder that we are all a part of the Big God Story.

BSG Day 3

 They used chewed up gum to make sculptures. They thought that was so gross and fun.

 The boys said they couldn't live without the first letter in their names...

 Balloons always make for a good time...

 ...and mass chaos!

 They worked hard on making a banner of God's Love over themselves.

 This guy, although older, was really proud of his creation and wanted my approval! He is also the kid that tried to start a fight the day before and got kicked out...but he was back for more! LOVE it!

His LOVE covers us all!

More BGS!

 We had an action filled week with the Big God Story last week. Lots of kids came! Every day we had more!  They were a WILD bunch, but they heard the story despite lots of talking! They loved the games and the personal touch from Holly and I spending intentional time with them.

 It was crazy hair day...yes my boys are wearing underwear on their heads! I don't know who would have given them that idea...do you Mandi?? My sister and I may or may not have put underwear on our heads as kids often!

 The rubber chicken helped loosen their ideas and express themselves!

 Craft time was apparently fun for kids and adults!

 I loved how serious some of the kids were about creating something special. They LOVED our final approval!

 Annie was my little helper. She is a non-stop sharer these days. I am so proud of her. She is starting to come up against opposition from her friends. It's surprising her a little, but it's exciting to see that it is pushing her into a deeper understanding for herself. I couldn't be more proud of her! She is a really good friend to her friends!

Clean Sweep!

I swore I would never do it...but desperate times call for desperate measures! Not only are my parents coming to visit, but my in-laws are as well! So, since new couches aren't in the works just yet...although I am still hoping Tim will surprise me one day...we had to get these bad boys washed! Turns out there's a business that will come and get them...and your rugs! So we rolled it all up and out the door. 

Apparently not the most professional business, as all the couches came back with lots of dents and scratches on the beautiful veneer wood on the arms! But still...quite comical to watch them being hauled off for a good scrub!

We had this for a couple of days...which was fun and echo-ey!  Turns out there was a lot of dust under the rug! SICK! My worst enemy!

I suppose I should confess that neither my mother-in-law nor my mother actually care if my house is clean or not. They just love us and want to be with all of us. But it's a good excuse for my obsessive side to come out and give a CLEAN SWEEP of everything! Including our wall units! They were HORRIBLE! This is what is inside, taken apart...we always clean the filters, but this was past the filter! I was disgusted with myself!

All I could think was...I am cleaning off human flesh...you know the whole thing that dust is some huge percentage human skin! GAG!

Many hours later...I WON! We are now breathing healthy, clean air!

I should mention I have had a whole team of cleaners...My little wall scrubbers have officially run us out of 409 and Windex! 

But they did a great job of cleaning and were fairly happy about it!

The living room furniture has been downsized a little, we sent two pieces down to be with Holly and tried to make our space a little cozier! Hooray for clean!

The Big God Story Take Two!

 We couldn't very well tell such an amazing story to a bunch of kids we didn't know and not tell our special kids from our street! Today...despite a lot of set backs and unexpected events...we managed to pull off Day 1. The kids had a lot of fun trying to create something with different supplies. They were quite bewildered at first and didn't know what to make.  

 It was fun to see the mess and the serious little faces trying to create something worthy of our praise! They loved hearing Good Job!

 Thanks to my friend Jenny, we got a whole box full of fun supplies to use with the kids, including this rubber chicken! Whoever holds the chicken gets to be the one speaking! They thought that was hilarious!

 After the story they decorated cute little bags with special markers! They really loved having these and creating these themselves!

 They were each unique and special!

 The game was a bit of a bust for the boys...apparently numbers are not their strong suit! Look at Toby...he was so dejected...okay all out crying about losing! Can anyone tell me how to cure the tears when you lose??? The game was called "Steal the Bacon." It was girls vs. boys and when you call out a number, that number runs to the middle to get the "bacon".

These three were spying over the wall wondering what all the ruckus was! I know they wanted to make their own bag...they were embarrassed that I caught them! But this is a regular event anyway...the neighbors love to peer over our wall and stare at us! Apparently we are very interesting! I hope it's the LOVE of Jesus that they see!

This is in IRAQ??!

 Against our better judgment I am posting about our new water park! I don't want you all to get the impression that we are "suffering" anymore! It's so much fun to tell people we live in Iraq for the sheer shock of it! But now...you all know...it's on the up'n'up! That's right...we have a CLEAN water park! This place was SO fun...really expensive, had to blow our entire month's entertainment budget on one afternoon of FUN! But SO worth it! It felt amazing! My swimming suit you ask?? Yes...long shorts and a t-shirt! Holly and I were a couple of the half a dozen women among the dozens of men there that day. 

Apparently cameras are not allowed in...so after this picture I had to put the camera away! Bummer! But left more time for having FUN! Thank you God for an amazing little getaway...besides all the hairy men...I almost thought I was in America!

Tea Party!

 Thanks to Mimi...Annie has a book about tea parties and how to throw amazing ones. Every so often she re-discovers the book and lures me into helping her put on a tea party. But I do want to be remembered as the BEST MOM...so I do what I have to do! This time she invited her 3 besties...one came late! They had fresh squeezed lemonade, oatmeal cookies, cupcakes and chocolate lollipops.

 Thanks to "the Gang" for sending the cute molds so we can make fun candy shapes! We loved them!

 Thanks to my amazing sister Mandi, who finds super cool deals and really fun random stuff to put in packages! We loved these cupcake toppers! And Mom for the cute cupcake wrappers!

 Thanks Aunt Vanessa for the awesome beads...we had so much fun at the end of the party making bracelets for each other!

It was a combined effort for sure!

The High Life!

 Don't be a hater...these pants are seriously the MOST amazing pants ever! They are light weight and SO comfy! Not to mention extremely cool and who doesn't want blue roses all over their butt? It all started when I went with Carol to Istanbul and I saw this bohemian chick that was part of this Turkish band. They apparently were too cool to care about how they looked. At first I scorned this girl's big old bloomerish pants...but the more I watched her the more I envied how free her legs her, how much cooler she was than me and actually how feminine and flowy they looked. After I thought it over a couple of days I decided I MUST have a pair! So here they are and I only have one shirt to wear with them which is really limiting since I sweat through a shirt in an hour here. Notice our grape harvest and the rest of the garden in the background!

 This is Seru, our NPs daughter. I just can't get over how beautiful she is. I had to post a picture of her! We spent the day with them last week. 

Tim is officially 33, he had his birthday this week. But since we were forbidden to celebrate...this is the only picture I snapped. I tried to actually honor what HE wanted...afterall it is HIS birthday. I still don't understand why he wouldn't want to go to the river or somewhere fun. But apparently staying at home all day undisturbed by neighbors and squeezing oranges was a great day for him! Happy Birthday Tim...we will make up for this "boring-ness" on my birthday!!

Annie: The Fashion Designer of the Year

 One day I was pretty bored, I didn't know what to do. My mom said, "why don't we make felt dolls?" I thought it would be hard and we would have to sew, but it was actually pretty easy. All you have to do is cut. In one day I worked for 5 hours and learned that I am a Fashion Designer! I even made her undies that can be glasses too! Don't you wish you had a pair???

 This is Cindy "Cutie-Tootsie" outfit! She could wear it to a party or somewhere fancy! I wish I had an outfit like this...it's pretty cute! I love the tights! My brothers said they look like jail pants...but they are a fashion statement!

 This is Cindy in her "Too Cool for School" outfit! She wears this outfit randomly in the winter when it's not too cold! 

 This is Cindy in her "Tennis Time" outfit. She wears this when she is playing tennis. This is an awesome outfit...I think I should learn how to play tennis so I can get a cute outfit like this too!

This is me, the Fashion Designer, with Cindy's entire wardrobe! I even made more the next day. The swimsuits are 2 in 1. I felt pretty proud that I had worked so hard on this project! It was really fun and worth it!