In just ONE month

My life is going to be changed.  In some ways that I can imagine and in some that will be a surprise.  I have experienced it once thus far, so in some ways, I hope that I am a bit more prepared.  In other ways though, this is going to be totally different.  Its one of the many things that remind me that I can't do this in my own strength and sends me to my knees.

In just one month, we will be taking our beautiful, talented and amazing daughter to college.  I'm so very excited for her.  I'm excited to see what she will learn and experience and what God will be teaching her there.  I have a peace about her going there because I know it is God's plan for her.  While I would have loved for her to be closer to home, I'm happy for her that she will be able to do what she loves - theatre - in a setting that seeks to glorify God.  This was a huge part of her decision to attend Liberty.

I'm going to miss her.  A lot.  Its been a sweet (mostly) 18 years together.  Almost daily - learning, laughing and experiencing life.  (And yes, some of that experiencing involved less pleasant things too.)  I know that her siblings are going to miss her too.  They have already seen the hole that having someone missing creates.

For so many years, my family was growing and increasing in size.  I loved that!  Adding more people is always a joy!  I'm so very thankful for the 6 children I have been blessed to walk this journey with.

 Rebecca - you are a joy!  You have made parenting a daughter seem so easy.  I appreciate your honesty, strength, creativity and initiative.  I have loved watching you grow and mature.  You are going to do great in college.  I know that this is going to be an adventure and its one for which I've been praying for a long time.

I've been praying for your roommate.  What a delight to meet one of them this week-end and to see y'all talking and enjoying each other.  I'm praying that you will become strong friends who laugh and encourage and strengthen each other.  :)

I'm praying for your studies.  Praying that the transition from homeschool to college will be a smooth one for you.  Praying that you enjoy your classes, that you seek help when needed and that your faith will grow as you learn more about God and his plan for you life.

I'm thankful for your creativity and pray that you will find outlets in which to express that.  I'm delighted by your love for children and pray that you will meet others there that you can love on while those who love you here are eager for your return.

I pray that our relationship will grow and deepen even though the miles separate us.  I type this through tears.   Know that I will be praying for you often as you will be always on my heart and mind.  Dream big!  I'm proud of you and am always here for you!

I love you so very much Rebecca!
Mom

A quick look at June

This post will just about have me caught up.  :)  This is going to be a whirlwind look at June with the exception of Daniel's birthday which I'll do in a separate post.

We celebrated Father's Day with this silly photo.  We had a more serious one too, but this was just a fun one.  :)  We missed having Christopher here, but the rest did a super job in celebrating their wonderful Dad!

 Rebecca made him a delicious apple crisp (gluten free) which was devoured.  (Not all by him.  LOL)

Our church had a fun evening for graduating seniors and their families.  We enjoyed an encouraging talk, dinner and a time of prayer over the seniors.  

 We loved being able to share this evening with some dear friends of ours.  These two have known each other for many years.  :)  I'm excited to see what plans God has for them!  Rebecca and Andrew, I pray God's blessings on each of you!

 This is Rebecca with our awesome youth pastor.

 One day we enjoyed a beautiful dining experience at our house.  :)  A menu with great variety and a beautifully set table.

Daniel and Isaiah did ALL of the work to pull this off.  It was wonderful.  I'm hoping that they will do a repeat performance for us too!

 We enjoyed Kids Week at our church.  Eliana had Allison as a sweet helper again this year.

 Isaiah, Joshua and Roger helped in the snack area.  It was a fun week for everyone.

 Just a peek at something I found one day.  Yes, those are bite marks in each of these tomatoes.  I just wondered if someone thought the next one would taste different that the last one they bit.  LOL  Not sure what she was expecting.  

Rebecca and I attended her freshman orientation at Liberty.  

It was a full day.  It was helpful to see a room in the same type of building that she will be living in as well as walking to see some of the buildings where her classes will be located.  This is one of the rooms that she has a class in for the fall.

 It was also a nice time to meet some other students and parents.  We toured the new library which is amazing!  We also had several very helpful sessions.

 The day ended with a cook-out and some games.  It was a great visit.  Not too much longer until it will be time to take her there.  I'm so very excited for her and also know that the transition will be challenging too.  We will greatly miss having her here, but I am trusting God that He will equip us because we do believe that this is just where she is supposed to be.

This is a peek at what Eliana's hair will NOT look like in about a month or so.  Super cute and amazing hairstyles mean that Rebecca was doing the work.  I love seeing these beautiful and creative hair styles.

Rebecca is in a musical this summer - Suessical for any readers that are local and want more info, let me know.  She has many rehearsals.  One of the perks has been that I have been able to take very long walks (2+ hours) with a dear and long time friend.  It has been sweet to have the time to talk and encourage each other and I'm thankful for this unexpected blessing this summer.

 While the path ahead is not completely clear, I'm thankful to know the One that knows what lies ahead.  I'm thankful for family and friends who join me and make the days sweeter.  I'm thankful to God for guiding, directing, comforting and encouraging me whether the days are easy or challenging.

Hoping that your summer has been filled with sweet memories.  We are enjoying the pool, playing games and reading books.

Blessings
Leslie

A field trip to go with The Big Green Pocketbook!

Did I mention in the last post that I love this book?  Some of it may be due to the sweet memories I have of doing this book with all of my children.  It was such a favorite of Rebecca's that her 3rd birthday party was a Big Green Pocketbook birthday party!  And part of the delight of this story is actually going on a bus ride just like the girl in the book.  We met some of our co-op friends (and siblings) to go on a local bus ride.  Doesn't she look excited for this adventure?  And check out that cute pocketbook!  :D

We had a beautiful day!  It was cooler than normal (end of May) which was just perfect for walking around without even breaking a sweat.  We met our friends at the bus stop at a nearby mall.  Here it comes!

 Several siblings joined in the fun - Rebecca and Daniel and Joshua came too.  Isaiah stayed home with Christopher.

 We took a ride to Chapel Hill and everyone brought their green pocketbooks/tote bags.  :)

 We were dropped off in the middle of UNC campus and spent some time exploring as we walked through the campus to downtown.

 Lots to see.

 We just had fun being together too.  I wasn't sure how much of this Eliana would be able to do, but she did a fabulous job of walking the entire day!

 Checking out the tall monument.

 When we got to town, we explored a variety of shops just like the little girl in the story.  This is the post office.  A nice lady there let Eliana mail her letters.  (I should have thought ahead to bring some and was grateful for her kindness.)

 We went into a bank and several other shops on main street.

We walked up one side of the street and then down the other.  Just on one block.  

The kids enjoyed interacting with this mural.  

The man "beside" Daniel is actually someone that we met many years ago.  It was fun to see him there.  

Eliana was delighted to see her Daddy waiting for her as we crossed the street.  

 We went into Sutton's for lunch.  Its a tradition here - kind of like the lunch counter in the story.

 It was busy, but we were there early and able to get great seats.

 This was a fun place to eat lunch.

 And especially since we were with family and friends.

 It was a squeeze, but we did all fit in the booth.  :)

 After lunch, we started walking back towards the bus stop.  On the way, we visited the church where Roger and I got married.  There is a beautiful rose garden outside.

 And here is a picture of the inside.  Roger was friends with the minister here when we met.  :)

 Back through campus.

 Just thought this picture was adorable!  :D  Love seeing her holding on to that pocketbook.

 I love watching kids explore and have fun!  They can truly make the most of anything when they are outside, can't they?

 Another sweet one with her big brother.

 This is the group at the end of our adventure.  So thankful for these friends.

 We made one last stop before going home to get some ice cream.  Christopher and Isaiah met us there.

It was a sweet ending to our trip.

If you are reading this book (and I do recommend it highly), this trip is an awesome way to really make great memories with your child.  It was a simple outing, but so much fun.

Blessings

Leslie

PS  That wraps up May and I'm on to June next!  Getting close to being caught up!  

B4 FIAR co-op: The Big Green Pocketbook

I love this book!  Its one of my favorites and I have such sweet memories of this with ALL of my children.  :)  Its the story of a little girl going on a bus ride to town with her mom.  While there, she collects all sorts of things to put in her pocketbook to remember her day.  This was our last co-op of the year and we chose to meet at a park again as it was best suited to the activities that we planned.

We started with reading the story.  

 Our devotion was on the fruit of the Spirit.

 And next was a surprise.  I was so excited about this.  I made "pocketbooks" for the kids!  I made green tote bags for the boys and round pocketbooks for the girls.  Here is a better shot of the girl's pocketbooks.  I found these made of sturdy chipboard at a consignment sale and painted them green.  The tote bags were sewn.

We started at at the "bus stop".  We decided to act out the story with all of the stops along the way.

 First they got in line to get their ticket.

After riding, our first stop was the bank.  Here the kids played with a fun sensory bin looking for money.

They were all excited to find money!

 Of course they had to get 2 lollipops just like in the story.  One for now and one for later.

 Next stop was the Insurance agency.  In the story, the little girl types her name on a typewriter in upper and lower case letters.

 We played games with some letters.  Each child found the letter that started his/her name to put in their pocketbooks.

 Next stop was the jewelry store.  Several activities here.  We first played a game with colors and shapes.  Each child was given 2 cards with a shape in a color.

 The child would state what they had and what they were looking for.  Example, I have an orange diamond.  Who has a black square?  This was a lot of fun.

Next they made a keychain (the girl in the story is given one) from beads and stretchy lanyards.

If you finished, there was time to play a color matching game.  Isn't this a great way to do it?

 For a treat they were given gummy rings.  Yum.

 Next stop is the dry cleaners.  In the book, the little girl is given a small calendar.  Our kids get one of those too and play a game with numbers.  We had chalk  numbers (several of each from 1-10) drawn on the ground and then the kids were asked questions varying from favorite number to age to addition problems.  It is a simple, active game.

 We next visited the five-and-ten store.  In the book, the girl and her mom buy fabric, sewing needles and a sack of gumdrops shaped like orange slices.  While at this stop, the kids were each given the first initial and then had their choice of colors in which to sew their letter.  I was amazed at how well Eliana stayed with this activity.  And yes, there were orange slices.

 Eliana loves seeing all of the goodies that she has collected in her pocketbook!

 Our last stop is the drugstore.  In the book, they have ice cream at the soda counter.  We thought this was a fabulous end to the morning!

 The kids were pretty excited about having ice cream too!

What a delightful time we had together.  More fun memories - and we are not quite finished with this book.  A field trip is coming up in the next post.  Bet you can guess what that is!

More soon.

Blessings
Leslie