SB



 

It isn't every day that you run across a person as special as our friend SB. SB is short for something we cannot pronounce. He is from India. We met SB through some friends from church. He began coming to our house group, and our family became fast friends with him. Shiloh has developed a special bond with SB, and he loves her as well. I have never met anyone that loves in the way SB does. We have only known him a few short months, but feels like a lifetime.  He loves our group, loves our family and was eager to come help us paint our house this summer. He has taught us to not take life or ourselves so seriously. The way he loves us makes us want to love with a more fearless kind of love.

 

We are saying good-bye to him today. He is leaving to visit his family in India, then back to Michigan to finish his degree. We will miss you, friend!!!

 





Homeschool Buffet

My mother-in-law gave me a buffet as they were moving to Florida a few years ago. I decided to give it a new look. I wanted it to be a little bit funky to go in our classroom to hold books, organize craft supplies and other homeschool articles. I gave it a good cleaning with degreaser I had left over from remodeling our first kitchen. Then I applied a sanding solution we bought from Lowe's. It is supposed to remove the sandpaper step. Next I chose an oil-based paint color, Bird of Paradise.....or something equally tropical. I applied two coats of paint with several days of drying in between. Oil based paint takes much longer to dry than latex, but I wanted the pain to stick! Then I distressed it pretty heavily. I applied a coat of Polycrylic for protection. I bought new knobs and pulls from Hobby Lobby and VOILA! I love the way it turned out. The bright pop of color is just what our classroom needed.

 

 

 

Clementine: 1 year!!!!!

Our little pixie turned ONE!! It only seemed fitting to throw her a garden fairy party. She is our little Tinkerbell. She is so fierce and full of personality. She knows exactly what she wants and is not afraid to demand it!! She just might be our first introvert we have had. She is outgoing at home, but in a crowd, she is very timid. She is spunky, independent, and very loving. We celebrated with family and a few friends. She had her first bite of apple spice cake and loved it! She brings so much joy and laughter to our family, and she builds so much character in all of us. She was the perfect addition at the perfect time. Happy Birthday baby girl!! We love you so!

 

 

 

 



Myrtle Beach 2017

We took our first vacation in five years!!!! This was Shiloh's, Jude's, Lottie's and Clementine's first trip to the beach and their first time to see the ocean! Needless to say, they loved it.....we all did. We love the beach and we LOVE Myrtle Beach! We had a nice set up this year. We decided to forgo the bell and whistles. We stayed in a small condo, with only six units! It was spacious and quiet....except for us maybe. It was beach front, so walking distance which made frequent bathroom breaks (like every fifteen minutes) easy. Marcus and I drank coffee on our balcony which faced the sunrise, each morning, while the kids watched cartoons. The beach was not very crowded each day, so we were able to snag a great spot right in front of our condo each morning. One drag was a new beach rule that was establish since our last visit to Myrtle Beach. No canopies or Tiki Bars on the beach. We have a canopy that we bring camping that is large enough for our family. We consider it a large umbrella, but Myrtle Beach considers it a canopy. We were asked to take it down the very first day. Our glorious shade, perfect for our big family! But, Dad improvised like a boss! How bought us five beach umbrellas that worked well for keeping the sun off of us!

 

We visited our favorite restaurant, Pier 14! It is located on the Pier and is a great, family friendly place! The kids love the Frisbee souvenir that get after they finish their meal (they actually eat off of the Frisbee!) We rode the Sky Wheel, a gigantic Ferris wheel that gives a spectacular view of Myrtle Beach. We rode it at night! The lights were amazing!  We built sand castles, sand creatures, sand trenches....everything you can think of with sand. We buried each other in the sand! We felt the waves, we rode the waves, the waves stole our sunglasses. We splashed in the waves from sun up, literally to sun down. We celebrated the Forth of July with a spectacular firework show on the beach. We even made a special announcement at the beach! We attended a dinner theater at Dolly Parton's Pirates Voyage. We are never disappointed with the dinner theaters in Myrtle Beach. We have seen all of them! We mostly spent our time on the beach, soaking up the atmosphere. We got sunburns and sun tans. We ate picnics on the beach. We ate out a few times, but preferred to cook in our condo most of the time. We enjoyed the break and making memories. See you next time, Myrtle Beach! 

 

 









 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitter Patter

 

We are going to be hearing the pitter patter of little feet again soon!

 



Centrikids 2017

 

 

We sent these two off to CentriKids camp again this week. This is Eli's last year! He has put in all 4 of his years and will enter the youth program next year!! They always come home with wonderful memories made and an positive recap for Mom and Dad. We trust this camp organization. They are growing in the Lord and that is what matters to us! I will sure miss them this week!



Clementine:11 months

 

 

 

What an independent personality our little girl has! She knows exactly what she wants and she expects to have things her way. Redirection can be difficult at times! She loves her binkey and has grown so attached that we do not foresee taking it when she turns one. She wants in morning, noon and night. I would prefer to give it only at nap and bedtimes, but her insistency provides long crying spells and we ABSOLUTELY GIVE IN! She loves meal times and we have started giving some milk during meals. She still nurses four times a day and occasionally at night if she wakes upset. We call her T-tine, since that is what Jude calls her. Clementine is a bit of a mouthful. Mostly we call her "T" for short. She had to have a nickname, I suppose. She is cruising on all of the furniture and pushes laundry baskets and other toys around the house. She will be walking in no time.
We love this little miss!!