Labor Day!

We spent Labor Day up at Vogel State Park with my parents, my sister, and all of the kids.  

It was kind of a last minute trip, but I was glad my mom invited us.  She and dad go camping to relax, and there's nothing about having us all together that's relaxing.  Ha! They enjoyed having us, I think, but I'm pretty sure that they were glad when it was time for us to go.  :)

We actually arrived right behind my parents, who were staying for the whole week.  Jordan went with them to their campsite to set up, and the rest of us went to the lake to swim.  

Violet made friends with this adorable little boy.  She even shared her watering can with him, with a little coaxing.  

My parents and Jordan came back to the lake and Jordan went fishing with  my dad while the rest of us kept swimming.  

I really like Vogel.  If I was a camping type of person, I'd spend a lot of time there.  

After a while we went back to the campsite for lunch.  The kids and Chris played in the river and I visited with my parents and sister.  Oh, and our friend Suzanne.  

It really was a good day!

Keep on Dreamin'

Last Sunday, my pastor preached about dreams.

The sermon, titled "The Value of Your Dream", came from Genesis 37 and dealt with Joseph, his dreams, and how those dreams ultimately led to his destiny.  

I was sick with a sinus infection that Sunday and almost didn't go to church at all.  Isn't that the way the enemy works?  I came to service with a cloudy "medicine head",  but as the message went on,  my spirit was stirred.  

Dreams.

I used to have them.  Big dreams for myself, and for my children, my whole family.  But my little family has had a really tough 3 and a half years.  You know most of the story... I was pregnant, my husband lost his job, he found work again- but only part time work.  Struggles with the kids.  Financial issues.  I really felt as if our lives were stuck in limbo...we knew in our hearts that we were where we were supposed to be, but we were barely scraping by.  God kept providing, most of the time in miraculous ways, but the waiting was so stressful!  Things are better now, but somewhere in the middle of the stress and anguish and tears and fear, I forgot about my dreams altogether.  

When I say dreams, I mean literally dreams and visions from the Lord.  Years ago, the Lord promised me things during a time of fasting.  I'm still waiting for these promises to come to pass, and I was reminded last Sunday that this day is indeed coming.  

I was reminded of dreams and promises from my God that I had completely forgotten about.

It was a really good message!  

But, I was sick.  Sinus drainage got the best of me and I slipped out right at the end of service to take some more medicine.  I was feeling a little sick to my stomach, too, and didn't want to take some meds on an empty stomach so I decided to buy a Coke.  I hardly ever drink Cokes or any soda anymore, but I dug some change out and went to the machine. 

The machine gave me this can:

Share a Coke with a Dreamer.  

I laughed and cried a little.  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I doubt it.  

I drank a few sips with my medicine and then, without thinking, threw the rest of the can into the trash when I sat down behind the info desk, where I was about to serve.  I wasn't thinking clearly- the medicine head, remember?  A little while later, after the crowd from the 11:00 service had died down, I told my friend Jennifer about the can.  She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "You need to save that can!  Get it out of the trash!"

I decided she was right.  I had literally thrown a prophetic word from God into the trash!  So I got it out.  

For the record, this was the trash can behind the information desk and nothing else was in it.  So the fact that I reached into a trash can to retrieve this Coke can isn't gross at all.  :)

I rinsed it out and now it's sitting on the desk in my room as a reminder to keep on dreaming and never stop believing that my dreams and prayers will be answered.  

I'm sharing this to encourage anyone who, like me, has let life overshadow anything that the Lord has promised you.  

...God gives us dreams.  When He gives a dream, it's for a purpose.  Not everyone will always support our dreams.  Some will think we're crazy, or just plain dumb.  Some of our dreams will make others uncomfortable, jealous, or even angry.  It doesn't matter.  Keep on dreaming, and believing.  God gives us these dreams, sometimes in times of adversity...  Just some more notes from the message.  

Keep on dreaming', my friends!

Violet's 3!

Violet turned 3 yesterday.  I know I say this at every kid's birthday, but I really can't believe it.  

We celebrated with our friends and family Friday night at Chick-fil-a.  It was a little crazy, but what fun party isn't a little crazy?  All of Vi's little friends and her cousins came, and we overflowed out of our designated party area.  The kids had fun, ate nuggets, cake, ice cream, and enjoyed a visit from the cow.  Well, some of them enjoyed the  cow.  Others, including the birthday girl, could have gone without him.  Ha!

I was really overwhelmed by the amount of love people showed us.  I was stressed out because lots of things about the party didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked, but Violet had a blast and that's all that mattered.  She wracked up on all things Peppa Pig, Sofia the First, and Frozen... all of which were on her list.  She also received several crafty items that she loved.  

And, just in case you're wondering, Wal-Mart is the only place in Gainesville that makes a Sofia the First cake.  

On Sunday, the actual BIRTH DAY, Violet proved that she really is a big girl by climbing out of her crib.  This was a first. I guess it had to happen sometime.  I really can't believe it took this long.  Both of the boys were out of the cribs and into  big beds by the time they were two.  Violet had just never tried to climb out, even though she constantly climbed and jumped on everything else.  She even climbed into her crib most nights.  

She was very cranky that afternoon and I decided she needed a nap.  I put her down, closed the door, and about 5 minutes later heard the door to her room creak open.  And then she waltzed into the room and said, "I got out".  Ha ha!

So, on Violet's 3rd birthday, we converted her crib into a toddler bed.  I cried a little.  She's growing up so fast.  The tears might have also been tears of dread...I was not looking forward to her first night in this new bed.  With free reign, I didn't know how bed time was going to go.  But, she surprised me.  We read our stories, and then before bed we talked about how important it is that she stay in bed until morning.  She knows that if she needs me, she can call and I'll hear her over the monitor.  She said she understood, but I had my doubts. Jordan used to take hours to fall asleep, every single night.  But Violet went right to sleep and stayed there all night.  I just put her down tonight and she didn't get up either.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  My girl does love her sleep, but I'm still in disbelief that she hasn't gotten out.  I'm knocking on wood right now.  

This was Sunday afternoon, right after we converted the crib.  She's still using her "baby bedding".  I  had planned to make a big deal and take her shopping for new bed clothes when it was time to make this transition, but it happened so suddenly!  A shopping trip has been planned for later in the week.  She wants a Sofia the First bed spread.  Of course, my feelings about character bedspreads mirror my feelings about character shoes.  I guess I'll just have to deal. 

Here we are just before bed.  She was so happy! 

I snuck in and took this shot this morning.

She amazes me.

It was an eventful day.  We're so thankful for our sweet Violet!

First Day of School

Today was one of the smoothest first days of school I've ever experienced.  

We started off with a BLT breakfast.  Violet slept late, but I managed to get a shot of the boys before they began their 9th and 4th grade years.

Not the best, but it'll do.  

Jordan left for school with Chris.  He didn't desire a parental walk-in, and we were okay with that.  

Shaun and I got started as soon as they walked out of the door.  He's in high school now.  I can't believe it.  He's such a good kid.  Much better than I was at that age.  

He finished all of the "hard stuff" before lunch and then had a break while Violet and I went to the gym and to pick Jordan up.

We also stopped by the library.

Then it was time for Jordan to get out.  He didn't have any complaints  about his first day, which was great.  He's not even fussing about going back tomorrow. 

I'm praying that this smooth day sets the tone for our entire year!

Last Day of Summer

Well.  

Our Sodapalooza cups have expired.  The YMCA is deserted during the day again.  Everyone is posting their kids' "first day of school" pictures on Facebook and Instagram.  The Tax Free Holiday has come and gone.  Back to School Prayer at church was yesterday.  

Summer's over.

My kids are all starting back to school tomorrow.  Shaun will be in 9th grade.  ?!?!!  I'm not sure how in the world I have a high schooler all of a sudden.  Jordan is going back to GHA as a 4th grader.  We struggled with going ahead with public school, but he decided to stay at least one more year.  Even little Violet is in on the action this year. I guess she'll be in "3 K" even though she doesn't turn 3 for a few more weeks.  I have a few things planned for her, but nothing major.  

Today, on the last day of summer, the family went swimming at the YMCA.  It was deserted. We had the place to ourselves, which was a welcome change after swimming with the throngs of summer camp kids all summer long.  

All of our school supplies have been purchased.  Lunches are ready to be made.  Lessons plans are in order.  Let's do this!  

Here's to a wonderful 2015-2016 school year!

Tubing the 'Hooch

Well, it took two tries, but we finally went tubing again.  In case you don't know, "tubing" is floating down the Chattahoochee River in an inter tube float.  I had my first experience with it 4 years ago.  It was not so fun.  You can read about it here, if you wish.  It was not that great of an experience, but the kids have been begging to do it again.  Well, the boys have, anyway.  

We made plans to ride up to Helen to go tubing on Saturday.  If you've never been to Helen, Georgia...what are you waiting for?  It's an Alpine Village in Northeast Georgia. Totally a tourist trap,  but there's just something about it that I love!  Everybody else in Georgia loves Helen too, apparently because what should have been a 40 minute drive took almost 3 hours because of all the traffic.  We drove and drove, in our little car because the air isn't working that great in the Explorer.  The kids did great until the very end, but I couldn't blame them for getting bored.  After the first hour, I was ready to pull my hair out as we inched our way up to the mountains.  

The truck in front of us provided some entertainment.  They must have gone through a 12 pack  of beer during the drive.  I know because they kept opening up their rear window to throw away the empty cans.  And one of those guys must have drank more than he could handle because he exited his vehicle and went to pee in the woods.  He could do that, you see,  because we were literally in stand-still traffic.  The kids got a kick out of it.  I was worried that we were going to be stuck floating down the river with a crowd of drunks for three hours.  

We FINALLY arrived in Helen and Violet flipped out!

"Oh, it's a castle!  We're in Arendelle!"

Bless her heart!  

It took another 30 minutes to make it up to the tubing place.  Because, again, the traffic was just nuts.  

And then, we we got there, I shouldn't have been worrying about who we would be forced to encounter during our trip down the river, because there were so  many tubers and the line was backed up so badly that no more tickets were  being sold.  

Oh, my word.  

Talk about disappointed.

We were all dressed to swim with no where to go.  We even had our sunscreen on already.  

So, we promised we'd come back on Monday and just drove home.  

The kids were so mad.  So were we, truthfully.

A friend of mine took her youth group tubing the same day and said it was so insanely crowded.  Shore to shore tubes.  I  believe it!

We woke up early on Monday and left the house  a little after 8 to get to Helen by 9, right when it opened.  

It was like deja vu.  I put on my swimsuit, coverup, and floppy hat.  (Don't get me started.  I can't believe I wore that in public).  Everybody packed changes of clothes  and sunscreen and what not.  The drive only took the regular amount of time and Helen looked deserted when we drove in.  We drove over the little bridge and there was not one single person tubing in the river below.  We really began to wonder if the tubing place was even open.  

We drove up and there was a big OFFICE CLOSED sign in the window.  I almost passed out.  I told Chris to go see what was going on.  He went up to the ticket window and then waved us on in.  We applied our sunscreen and put Vi into her lifejacket.  She was so excited until she had to put on that vest.  

Here we are, before we got into the river. 

By this time, other customers were starting to trickle in.  Since we could  only tether 2 tubes together, Violet and I paired up.  Shaun and Jordan went together, and Chris was by himself.  We walked down the little ramp and, right when we got to the river bank Violet said, "Well, I'm just not going in there".  And then she tried to walk back up the ramp!  I told her no no, it's going to be fun!  And then she wanted to take her shoes off.  She was starting to cry so I took her pink jellies off and put them with me in my tube.  I sat on them and thought they'd be safe.  

Then, we were off.  It was smooth sailing. I The water was lots higher than the last time we tubed, and we were able to actually float most of the way, instead of dragging our tubes over the sharp rocks in the shallow water. 

Vi and I were in the lead at first.  She was a little scared at first.  Terrified might  be a better word.  She calmed down but kept the look on her face that she had in the above picture.  She'd say, "NO" when I asked if she was having fun.  

The only really dramatic, eventful thing that happened was when I almost drowned.  Seriously.  We only got stuck a few times.  Chris helped us out the first time.  The second time, we were stuck between two rocks and my tube just would NOT fit through it.  I had the brilliant idea to hop out and then pull Violet's tube over.  Well, when I hopped  out, the current swept me over the rock and my tube ripped over on top of me.  I had chosen a tube with a bottom, so I was trapped.  I was so scared!  Vi was still in her tube right behind me.  Chris was in front of us and turned around in time to see what happened.  He tried to make his way back and I was swept under again.  OMG!  I got up and just waited on him to help me.  But Violet's pink jellies were gone!  :(

This whole thing took 5 or 10 minutes and I was freaking out because the boys had kept going down river. They'd been ahead of us, and now the were REALLY ahead of us.  A few minutes later we ran into a friend of ours who said they had passed her a few minutes earlier and that they were okay.  Small world!  We ran into them a little while later.  They'd pulled off to the side to wait for us.  Jordan didn't want to wait, but Shaun made him.  Ha!

The rest of the ride was uneventful and Violet even started to have fun.  In her words, "Just a little bit of fun".  

We met a family vacationing from Ohio.  They were here for a week all the way from Ohio.  We really take Helen for granted!  

We had a fun day together.  Chris has worked really hard this summer and it was nice to do something together.  We had lunch on the way home and then had time to rest before Jordan's first football practice.  

At the end of the day, the trip was so enjoyable that I wouldn't mind doing it again.  In fact, my small group has made plans to go tubing in a few weeks.  :)

Lake Day

The boys love swimming in the lake and they've been hounding and hounding, so on Monday- we spent an afternoon there.  

I've never been a fan of the "lake life" that everyone here is into.  Personally, I think Lake Lanier is cursed with demonic activity. Why else do so many people drown there?  

Anyway.

We went during the day, to a beach area with the shallow part roped off and we made  Vi wear her life jacket the whole time.  Chris was with us, so I figured we'd be safe.  Plus, we didn't get drunk, which I realize is a huge contributor to drownings.  I was still paranoid, though!

It was actually kind of nice.  The kids had a blast.  Jordan  made a friend and, once said friend figured out that Violet was his sister asked, "Tell me the truth.  How bad is it, with her in the house?"  I overheard this question and laughed and laughed.  

We were all really tired at the end of the trip, and sunburned, too, despite sunscreen. I remembered why we've opted for indoor swimming all summer!

The only downside was that Jordan came down with Swimmer's Ear yesterday.  I'm trying to tell myself that it's just a coincidence and the fact that we were swimming in a lake has nothing to do with it.  Even though we've been swimming at least twice a week in the pool all summer long.  And we didn't swim any other day this week.  

?!?!?