believe ... now

you may remember a year ago (or so) when i gave myself a one word challenge -
i decided i really wanted to focus on the word NOW.

well ...
that is something i am still trying to do
AND
reading this book recently fit 'my word' PERFECTLY.



to give a quick background of the book if you aren't familiar -
jennifer is a mom of 2 that lives near us.
her husband, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty about 4 years ago.
since then, she has kept an amazing blog -
and has written this equally inspiring book.
the book talks about how she has dealt with grief
and
how it has affected the way she lives life now.

all i could think of as i read the book was -
this is perfect timing.

i WANT to be present in my parenting.
i WANT to be intentional in my relationships.
i WANT my love for stacey to be an absolute.
and
i WANT to be here NOW ...
i just need to be reminded :)

SO ...
tonight i decided to share one of my favorite parts of the book
because as i continue to live out my 'one word challenge'
this sums up how i am feeling -
probably better than i ever could ;)
and with summer vacation starting -
and a whirlwind of craziness surrounding me -
i need the reminder ;)

at the end of any given day,
i want the peace of mind to know that i am exactly where i'm supposed to be.
i want to live in the simple:
to live with smiles shared and love given,
to feel like i've contributed to the day,
even if my contribution feels small.
i want to know that i am valued and cared for,
and i want those i love to know that i value and care for them.
i want to see the better side of life,
not just the parts that make cry -
but the sides of joy as well.
i want to experience the moment and recognize it as remarkable.

most of all, when i go to sleep at night,
i want to know that i can rest -
not only because i am tired,
but because i've lived my day well.
i've lived the best i know how.

-jennifer silvera in her book 'believe'

i've come to the conclusion ...

although the weather today made for an interesting outdoor music festival ...



where apparently people were told umbrellas were not allowed ...
HA!

stacey and i spent our day under a tent selling lots of these ...



and even more of these ...

SO we stayed nice and dry!

by the end of our day
we had come to the following conclusions:

1. there REALLY are a lot of weird people out there.

2. a tour bus is our new preferred mode of transportation.
and if we could just get a driver so we could sleep it'd be even better ;)

3. the concept of money is really quite gross.
i am fairly certain that by the end of the day
my hands could have tested positive for cocaine and 99.9% of known bacteria.

4. sometimes it's fun for our kids to be with their grandma without us ;)
thanks mom!

5. stacey isn't that bright when it comes to recognizing faces -
he had dinner with third day and kutless tonight.
HOWEVER ... he REALLY didn't know it because he has no idea what they look like
and thinks they all look the same ;)
for the record i wouldn't be able to correctly identify them either

6. we live in the wrong state -
people that eat ice cream bars when it is 60 and rainy are NOT normal.

FINALLY ...

7. GO FISH's new cd - kickin it old school - rocks
and you should get it when you can ;)
it's officially released august 10th ;)

bed and breakfast

it is a well known fact that my kids fall asleep in random places.

however ...
this afternoon when i walked in and found alex sleeping ...



in the pantry ...



THAT was a first ;)

** for the record ...
i don't just let him go for hours unattended.
he falls asleep VERY quickly
and i thought he had gone upstairs to change his clothes **

an end and a beginning

today was the boys official last day of school -
and they had SO many things that kept them VERY busy!

they had a picnic lunch outside with their friends ...

ben's class put on a performance of the plays
that they have been working VERY hard on.
ben was the narrator in rumplestiltskin -

narrators are supposed to be heard and not seen, right?! :)

drew's class signed yearbooks, watched a movie,
and from what it sounds like - just had fun being together one last time ...

yet, amongst all the fun - it was still an emotional day for all of us.
the end of the school year
means it is the official end of our short time at johnsville.

thankfully the boys are excited about switching schools -
and REALLY i think this is hitting me harder than it is them
BUT ...that doesn't make saying goodbye any easier.

i now officially have a 2nd grader and a 4th grader.
A FOURTH GRADER!!!
and as of today we are all officially jefferson patriots.

our 'johnsville chapter' has ended
and
our 'jefferson chapter' has just begun ;)

the boys are SUPER excited that it's summer
and
they have a TON of plans for us ...
already!

so ...
no time to be sad

no time to worry

our summer adventures are officially starting

NOW.

a hole-y award

with today being the last day of school,
ben's teacher gave out an award to each student
that represented a unique characteristic about him/her.



can i just say how RIGHT on the money he was with ben's ...



if your eyes are as good as mine you may need to squint OR click on the picture

you can see that ben was recognized for
'holes in his knees'
and
that is SO fitting!!

remember this post?!

the kid has PLENTY of pants
you should know by now that shopping is NOT my weakness

the problem is ...
no matter where he is going
he is either running or sliding
AND
it doesn't take long for a good pair of pants to turn into
THIS ...



SO ...

TO BEN -
i've given up on trying to keep your pants hole-free

AND ...
i've given up on you always looking 'just right'.

BUT ...
what i have not given up on is this ...

when you get the chance to slide in a baseball game -
i expect you to be safe
EACH and EVERY time
because there is a whole LOT of money that has gone into all of your practice ;)

not a belly itcher

drew has been waiting for the chance to pitch
and TONIGHT
his inning FINALLY came!



he struck a guy out
walked a guy
and then got 2 players to hit into outs.

typically these kid pitch innings are walk after walk after walk.
SO ...
to pitch a no run inning
is not bad at all!

in fact it was GREAT!
way to go, drew!

a surprise visitor!

tonight we got a VERY special treat

well ... 2 special treats, really ;)

we went to big dipper -
and that's ALWAYS a treat.
BUT ...
it's not every day that we get to have big dipper
AND be with a friend/past teacher who we never get to see anymore !!!

mrs. levere moved to texas 2 years ago.
since then, we have had fun keeping in touch over e-mail
but we still miss seeing her!

SO ...
when she sent a message wanting to catch one of the boys baseball games -
we were pumped.
and THEN ...
we realized that the ONE night that worked for her ...
we had a bye.
GO FIGURE.
we ALWAYS have baseball!
*sigh*

SO ...
we decided that ice cream was the 2nd best thing to baseball
and decided to have big dipper for dinner ;)



mrs. levere,
thanks for taking time from your short trip to stop by, see us,
AND go for ice cream, too!
you know i REALLY wish we could've gone to a baseball game ;)
but ...
thanks for settling ;)
you hold a very special place in all of our hearts ...
and it was good to see you.

on top of that ...
my kids now think you are the coolest preschool teacher ever
AND
"the best most fast driver" too ;)

thanks for making all of us smile :)

SURPRISE

THIS ...



is what we found in the hall when we came up to bed last night.

apparently ben got up to go to the bathroom
and then ...
decided his bedroom was just too far away?!

easy to please

tonight's dinner:

taco in a bag

ben's response:

WOW MOM! this is seriously the BEST dinner we have EVER had.


have i mentioned that it doesn't take much to impress my kids ;)

how to win a 3rd grade girl's heart

me: joking around while tucking drew into bed tonight - drew, you should take a shower tomorrow morning.

drew: why?

me: because you just had baseball practice and girls don't like boys that stink.

drew: SO what. boys like smelly boys. and all the boys like me.

me: ok .... so you don't care if girls like you?

drew: mom, girls are sweet bombs and boys are stink bombs. that's just how it is. PLUS, i know the only REAL way to a girl is to get an injury.

so, there you have it folks.
the REAL way to a 3rd grade girl's heart.

what would i do without drew to let me in on these things?!