Fun visit

Our nephew came up to visit for a couple of days earlier this week.  It was so much fun to have him here!  All of us enjoyed hanging out with him.  (I hope you'll come back soon  Brad!!!)

The reason he came up was to deliver a table.  Our kitchen table has been a little tight for our family (it seats 6).  I mentioned to my sister while we were at the beach that we really needed to get a new kitchen table.  One of my sister's neighbors was getting rid of one that she thought would be perfect for us.  They gave us a table!  What a sweet blessing for all of us!  It is soooo nice to FIT comfortably around the table.  :-)  Thank you!



I also received another gift.  A pair of shoes.  They are cute and comfortable and they FIT!  I have had a hard time finding shoes because I have narrow feet (which it doesn't appear that I've passed on to anyone!).  Only a couple of stores locally carry anything that fits me (with a very small selection and high prices).  Having a new pair of shoes was an unexpected treat from my sweet generous sister.  It is something I wouldn't have done for myself.  Thank you Laura!



More to our visit.  The boys had been eagerly looking forward to playing airsoft.  It was hot and yet the desire to be camoflauged trumped over comfort (it was very, very hot).  They had a lot of fun together.



We headed to a local fun park for a birthday party.  The little boys were thrilled to ride in Brad's truck!





We hated to see him leave.





Hopefully we'll see him again soon!  As always, I have much to be thankful for!  I'm thankful for family - I've been blessed with a wonderful family that I love spending time with!  I'm thankful for the generousity of others.  I'm thankful for a God who hears my desires - and surprises me in ways I don't expect. 

Love,

Leslie

Look what I made!

I found this cute tutorial for making a pillowcase dress and decided that I wanted to try it.  It was very easy and I finished it in one evening!  Gotta love a project that goes together that quickly.  Here's the finished product.



Here it is on our sweet little model!



Can you tell this is a girl who is used to the camera?  LOL





Any suggestions on treating the ends of the ribbon so it doesn't ravel?  Or suggestions on keeping it tied tightly while a wiggly, active 3yo is wearing it? 



Now, she is all ready for the 4th of July!  Any suggestion on making a bow out of ribbons?  Anyone?  I'd love something cute for her hair.  It's super fine so would need to be lightweight.   It may be too late to make anything, but would be helpful to know for the future!

Now I just need to find something patriotic for the other kids to wear. 

Happy 4th of July!

Blessings

Leslie

PS  Our van is fixed!  It was a cheap and easy fix!  Thank you God!!!  For those who are curious it was a fuse and we needed a new battery.  So thankful that it happened at home and it was back to us in less than 24 hours.

And the winner is ...

For the accordian scrapbook



The winner is ...  REBECCA

For the numbers scrapbook



The winner is ...  KENDRA

Thank you to all who entered.  I'll try to get this to you as soon as possible!

Blessings,

Leslie

Uh oh ...

Not who  you want to see visiting your house.



After finding that a light had been left on last night, Roger tried to jump the van.  He had no luck and called AAA to see if they could help.  By the end of the day (he didn't work on it all day), we had no fix, so this tow truck came to visit.

Our van was rolled down our driveway.  (Luckily we live on a hill.)



And loaded onto the tow truck while we watche.



Of course we need the big van in the next couple of days for various outings.  I'm not sure what is wrong or when it will be fixed.  I'm hoping it will be a quick and inexpensive fix (are those even an option?). 

Another opportunity to work on patience and trusting God.  (And not a big one either!) 

*** SCRAPBOOK GIVE AWAY ***  If you are a night owl and want to join in - please do.  I want to do the drawing in the morning so one of my kids can pull the names.  I'll probably do the drawing about 9am.  I've got all the names so far who have entered (thank you!!!) and would love to add  another.  :-)  Thank you to all who have entered and to all who are praying! 

More later on the week-end and the rest of the day.

Blessings

Leslie

Scrapbook Give Away!

If you haven't yet entered and are interested ... time is running out!  The contest ends June 30 at midnight!  Please check out the post HERE for pictures of the scrapbooks (there are 2 of them!).  All of the money will be going to bring this beautiful little girl HOME!



Thank you for your prayers and for your help!

Blessings

Leslie

PS  I posted twice tonight, so scroll down a little farther for my latest post.  :)

Church ... Baptism, Orphan Care and more

Thought I'd update some on our church situation.  Earlier this month we attended a workshop on membership in the church.  We wanted to learn more about what was involved and the beliefs of the church.  Christopher, Roger and I all attended.  We decided then to move forward to joining the church.  I know it has been quick, but God has been clear to confirm that this is the place He wants us to be.  We have a peace and excitement being right where He wants us to be.  My heart is full and it has been a real blessing!

One of the points of membership was that you needed to be baptized after accepting Christ as your Savior.  Roger was baptized as an infant, and decided to get baptized as a believer on Sunday.   



He told briefly why he was being baptized and I was suprised to see how emotional this was for him.



I tried to capture the experience, but didn't keep  my camera out long enough to catch his excited reaction after the last photo.  I do remember it in my mind though.  It was a sweet time to share with friends who came to join us.







The last several weeks, the  sermons have been on adoption - both on adoption as Children of God as well as the act of adopting children into your family.  They have been powerful messages.  The church is starting an orphan care ministry.  There was an initial meeting last week.  Roger and I both decided to go.  We really didn't know what to expect.  I know that I didn't expect what I saw and heard.

The room was packed with more thany 200 people!  The church shared their heart for orphans and desire to have an adoption culture in our church.  They want to support people in adoption in various ways.  Several families shared their stories of adoption and foster care.  We know that we are to care for orphans and we are continueing to look for ways to do that as well as continueing to pray for God's leading in this area!  (NOTE:  If you want to do something now that will benefit one beautiful little orphan, please see my post on the scrapbook giveaway!  You can donate through the chip-in on the right side of my blog.) 

This ministry is new and I think the response was overwhelming to everyone there.  You can read more about it HERE on the church's blog.  It is a great description and I encourage you to take a few minutes to read it. 

I also wanted to share a bit about Daniel.  He is warming up more and more in church.  I see him relaxing a little more (though I still can't leave the room without consequences - they are much shorter now though!).   Last week during the worship time, he started signing to the songs and moving around like the other children.  It just blessed my heart.  Even the worship leader noticed and said something to me.  (She is a mom of a sensory kid too.)  A small step, but a big one too. 

Thank you God for the work you are doing in our lives.  Thank you for leading us and blessing us.  I pray that we will continue to have hearts open to hear you and spirits willing to follow.  I'm so thankful for all He has done for us!

With love,

Leslie

JDRF - Durham Bulls Game

We received a note from our local JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) recently.  For those who signed up for the JDRF walk (in Oct), their family could attend a Durham Bulls baseball game!  It sounded like a lot of fun, so we signed up for both!



We headed out just after talking with Joshua's endo about his numbers.  She had reviewed them and we made some changes to his morning basal rates (the constant rate of insulin he receives throughout the day).  Also a change in his morning bolus rate (the insulin that coveres the carbs that he eats in addition to covering any "high" amount).   We are hoping this will bring his numbers back to a healthy range.  Thank you for those that have been praying.  It's hard to watch your child not doing so well and do be doing all that you can to help him. 

The game was an evening game - but it was still VERY, VERY HOT!!!  We met in a "box" on the 1st base side of things.  There weren't regular stadium seating but rather picnic tables which was really nice for eating!  We had dinner provided - hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, mac n cheese, potato salad and baked beans.  No, not a special meal for diabetics.  I think this was the standard meal as I saw other groups eating similarly.  It was yummy.  My kids were thrilled by the drinks!  LOL  The vending machines were set so that you could get a drink for FREE.  They all thought this was awesome!

We ate dinner together.





Joshua is holding his pump preparing to bolus.  We actually saw just one other person doing a blood check.  It is amazing how few people we have ever seen do this!



Someone gave Isaiah a Durham Bulls hat.



Then took turns walking around a bit to see the game and get a change in scenery.  It was hard for my littles ones to watch the game.  Rebecca spent some time taking  photos of them and got some great shots!





Rebecca played with taking some close-up shots and also some creative shots.  (She was having fun with this.)  I think she did a great job.  This would be a great thing to take an interest in, don't you think?









It's fun seeing your children enjoying each other.  I don't think I could ever tire of that!





We didn't stay for the whole game - too hot and people weren't interested in sitting.  It was fun while we were there though and I'm thankful for the opportunity to go!    It's always fun to hang out with my family!  Thanks JDRF!



Blessings

Leslie

Camp - Day 1 - Butterflies

Remeber me talking about summer camp?  This is something that I have done since Christopher was a little.  I just didn't have the energy to pull it off this year.  I'm needing to work on Christopher's transcripts and do planning for everyone for the upcoming school year.  I'm also working on organizing some things for our FIAR group including starting a couple of new things.  All of these have left me feeling like I just couldn't do camp this year.  Well, guess what?  Rebecca decided that she wanted to host a camp this year!  :-)

She selected 5 topics and will be doing 5 stand alone days over the next month.  (If you are local and want to attend one of the camp days, please let us know as you as you are able to.)  The first day was today and the topic was butterflies. 

I tried to get some photos - and my little wiggly assistant helped.  Rebecca started by doing a devotion and then reading a book about butterflies.



She then shared facts with the kids about the life cycle of the butterfly.  (She even laminated them.)





Next the kids went on a scavenger hunt to find things representing the 4 stages of the life cycle.  There was the egg.



The caterpillar.



The chryssalis.  (A gummy worm wrapped in plastic wrap.)



And the butterfly.



The children each had a small bag with the life cycle on the front it in which to put the things that they found. 



Next was snack time.  I didn't get to the table fast enough!  There was juice, cheese and butterfly shaped crackers and jello in the shape of butterflies and feet (they eat with their feet).



Next they moved to a craft.  They made butterfly feeders.  They used plastic lids, pony beads, yarn and stickers.  They are to hang these in their yard with fruit (can pour orange juice on it) to attract butterflies.  It is suggested that this be away from the house so as not to attract ants.











AFter watching everyone showing what was in their hands, Eliana thought she needed a photo of that too.



Next was a quiz about butterflies.  Rebecca handed each child two pictures of one half of a butterfly.  On the back of fhe picture was an answer.  She had the other half with a question on it.  When she asked the question, they answered if they had the correct answer.  This was checked by seeing if the butterfly halves matched.





The children had some free play and then watched a Magic School Bus movie on butterflies.  It was a fun day - and a lot of work.  When it was over, one of Rebecca's comments was that it was a lot easier when the moms ran the camp. 

This is a great experience for Rebecca.  I'm proud of  her for taking it on.  I know that she will learn new skills and be a better leader from doing this.  I'm thankful for our sweet friends that are willing to give her a chance to do this too.  Next camp day will be next week. 

Hope you were able to have fun on this hot, hot day (at least here in NC).  More later on the rest of the day.  For now though, I need to get some sleep.

Blessings

Leslie