Feed My Starving Children

On the weekend, our whole family went with our church to work at Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit organization that sends food to those in need around the world.  Community members are asked to volunteer their time to pack the food and Feed My Starving Children ships it abroad.

We are very fortunate to have a Feed My Starving Children packing facility in our own community.  It is a great opportunity to actually do something meaningful and a reminder of the abundance and blessings we enjoy in the United States.  We have gone and packed food before, but this was the first time that Paige was old enough to come and help too.



orientation before the packing session



Paige and her packing crew

 

Ashley and her packing crew

We were so happy to give a little bit of our time to help feed those in need.  Looking forward to our next visit, which happens to be the morning of Paige's baptism---what a great day that will be.

1st Day of School

It's official school is back in session!

Ashley 7th Grade



Paige 2nd Grade



Paige and her neighbor friend




waiting at the bus stop

 Man, my girls are growing up fast!  For moms like me, on the first day of school, you can either be a "boo-hoo" or "whoo-hoo" mom.  I think I might be a "whoo-boo," a little of both.  Part of me is happy to get back to a structured routine and have a little quiet time to myself during the day, the other part is going to miss the lazy summer days with no homework or responsibility of rushing from one thing to the next.


I am just as anxious as the girls on the first day of school.  I spend the whole day thinking about them and praying that they will come home happy.  It would just break my heart for them to come home sad or upset.  Kids spend most of their day at school, how terrible would it be to send your child to a place they hate day after day?  Fortunately, they both came home happy as can be.  They love school and are glad to be back.  

Ashley, even got a surprise---two of her friends she wasn't expecting were in one of her classes so she is liking that.  She also learned that having lunch at 10:30 am!!!! is not too bad.

As for Paige, so far she loves her teacher.  Her best friend was not in her class this year but they played together at recess and she has already "made new friends in my class."  So I think she will be okay too!

Mom's first day went well too.  I even did great on the second day, but noticed I kept hugging and kissing the girls after they got home...I guess I just missed them!

Now we are preparing for the real storm to hit...HOMEWORK, coupled with soccer and piano for both girls, Young Women's, Activity Days, and Brownies, oh my!   

Back to School Dinner

On the Sunday before school started we had a special "Back-to-School Dinner."  Dave and I talked with the girls about starting school this year and the importance of remembering who they are, the values they stand for, and the blessings they have been given.  Dave then gave both of them a father's blessing.

We had the missionaries as dinner guests and on the menu was: pork soulvaki, salad-on-a-stick, lemon rice, peanut butter blossom cookies, and strawberry lemonade.

Good luck in school Ashley and Paige!  Have a wonderful year and REMEMBER, O' REMEMBER!

Take Your Kids to Work Day

Even though they had been out late the night before at a baseball game, the girls dutifully got up for work early the next morning.

The girls rode the train into the city with Dave for the annual Take Your Kids to Work Day!

This year was extra special because it is the only time the girls will be able to go together.  This was Paige's first year and Ashley's last.  They were both very excited and happy to "go to work."

This year there was a special guest speaker, Melissa Stockwell.  She was in the Army serving in Iraq and lost her leg in a roadside bombing.  After coming home and rehabbing, she has gone on to become a Paraolympic athlete in swimming.  She even brought her assistance dog for the kids to meet.

After a catered breakfast and the guest speaker, the kids did some small group activities and then got to spend some time working with Dave.  They put in about a half day then went to lunch and came home early.

I think they both had a good time, although between you and me, I'm not sure a bunch of corporate accountants are the best people to be planning events and activities for kids.  They try, but seriously, I told Dave I would volunteer my time for free to plan "Take Your Kids to Work Day."  Do you know how much fun it could be?!

MLB Summer Bookends

We started the summer with some Major League Baseball and we ended the summer the same way--at US Cellular Field watching the White Sox.

This time instead of driving into the city, the girls and I took the train and met Dave at his office.  We got our iPods ready and enjoyed the relaxing ride.

Of course, the tricky part of traveling into Chicago at 5pm is that you are going against the traffic.  We hit Union Station which at this time is just a blur of people and trains packed like sardines.  Even trickier is walking across the bridge outside of the station because you are definitely "swimming upstream."  Fortunately, we broke free and made it to Dave's building.


the girls outside Dave's office

From there we headed over to the ballpark.  This experience was much different than the game we went to in June.  The good part, the weather was perfect---72 degrees!  The bad part, the starting pitcher took a line drive to the face in the 2nd and the Sox went on to lose.

Paige's Dance Camp

Paige went to an informal dance camp last week.  It was held by some friends of ours and she heard about it from another friend.  She went for three days and learned two dances.  Even better, there were a bunch of other little girls that she knew taking the classes as well.

I have video of her dance "Party in the USA" but I can't get it to download, dumb Blogger.

Today is Your Special Day

On Ashley's actual birthday we just had some low key family celebrations.  Ashley woke up to find some new furniture for her bedroom, including a desk, bookcase and chair. 

After reorganizing her room, she called a friend and we went to see the movie Smurfs.

After our "cinematic entertainment" I took my girls to the mall for a little back-to-school shopping.  Ashley used some of her birthday money from Grandpa and Grandma Smith to buy a new backpack.

In the evening, after Dave got home from work, we all went to Red Robin for a birthday dinner.  Paige waited all day to give Ashley her present -- Just Dance Summer Party, Wii game!  Ashley was thrilled!  She also got to have her favorite bacon cheeseburger, plus she got an ice cream as the servers came over to sing to her.

 

The Big 1-2

Kids love birthdays.  They always eagerly anticipate their next birthday even if it is 6 months, 2 months or 2 weeks away.  They love to tell people it is their birthday and that it is going to be their birthday.  Heck, kids love other people's birthdays.  I think that is why we as parents often put so much effort into a birthday celebration for our kids.  We know they will LOVE it!

So isn't it great when someone other than their parents acknowledges a child's birthday?

At our church, turning 12 is a big milestone.  At this age you "officially" advance from Primary (the program for young children) and into the Youth program (for 12-18 year olds.)  This is something that every 11 1/2 year old eagerly awaits, counting down the days until they can join Young Men's or in Ashley's case, Young Women's. 

Of course, the leaders and teachers in Primary, put on a brave face and wish their new 12 year olds good-bye, trying not to take the child's eager enthusiasm to leave their class behind too personally :)  These teachers are good sports and do everything they can to be excited and help celebrate.  As Ashley leaves Primary, I know I am grateful for all the teachers she has had over the years, beginning when she was 18 months old.  She has had a lot of faithful and loving men and women teach her for two hours every Sunday.  I am so grateful to each of them for their service and influence in her life...they have helped her to be the darling girl that I love very much.

As a part of the Primary program, each child can work on certain activities and goals and earn their Faith in God Award.  They do this at home, at church, and for girls, in a special group called Activity Days.  It takes about 3-4 years to complete the requirements and I'm glad to say that Ashley did receive her award!

On Ash's last day with Activity Days, they had a swimming party and in honor of her birthday, she and I made a special "cake" to celebrate.

This is a three-tiered Rice Krispy cake.  So easy, yummy and cute!!  The bottom layer is regular flavored, the middle is chocolate mint and the top is Fruity Pebbles, then we decorated with Cocoa Pebbles and fruit snacks.

Ashley has also had some great Activity Days leaders.  These ladies are women that Ashley truly feels connected to.  Again, I am so thankful to them and appreciate their patience, creativity, and ability to remember to take pictures and share them with the mother (me) who always forgets!

A Six Flags Kind of Birthday

We started the celebration for Ashley's birthday early this year.  In fact, you are about to see a few posts acknowledging Ashley's birthday milestone.  Isn't nice to be able to s p r e a d out the celebration?

Instead of a friends party, Ashley invited a friend to spend the day at Six Flags with her.  We went a couple of weeks before her actual birthday and had a great time.  She sure is growing up fast!

It was an all girl's day.  Paige and I were riding partners, while Ashley and her friend rode together.  We spent 12 hours in the park and rode as many rides as possible.  Some of the lines were pretty long but overall  I think everyone had a good time.

Ashley and Kirstyn waited over 2 hours to ride Superman, but it really is a must at Six Flags Great America.  These two girls were pretty cute together.  Ashley had been on the ride before but Kirstyn hadn't.  One of the things about the Superman ride is that as you wait in line you have a direct view of the ride so you have plenty of time to psych yourself out.  Also, the moment of truth comes once you are strapped in and then the floor drops away and your tilted forward into "flying" position.  At this point, you are pretty scared because you realize there is no turning back. 

As the girls got to the front of the line, Ashley told Kirstyn, in an encouraging sort of way, "don't back out now, we have waited too long!"   

Then as the girls were strapped in and tilted forward, Kirstyn said to Ashley, "Okay, I'm freaking out now!" 

As they started the ride, climbing the first hill, Ashley says, "Kirstyn open your eyes, this is the best part!"

"I can't Ashley, I'm too scared!

This whole exchange makes me laugh, because I know exactly how Kirstyn feels.  The anticipation is pretty scary but just like everyone else, she came off the ride having loved it!

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long for most of the other rides.  Another highlight was riding the the American Eagle roller coaster.  It is one of the largest wooden roller coasters in the country.  I confess, I love wooden roller coasters.  I love the clickety-clack sound and the shakey/bumpy ride.  I don't need all the loops and twists, I just like to put my hands up and go fast!  I'm so glad that I can still ride the roller coasters with my girls.  I hope many years from now we treasure our memories of celebrating birthdays by screaming our heads off on wooden roller coasters!

Pictures of Piles

As summer comes to a close and the new school year draws near, it's time to get organized and get some work done around the house!  Because as you can see things are starting to PILE up!

After two days of going through EVERYTHING in the girl's room we ended up with this big pile of stuff to donate.  We also had another pile of equivalent size that went straight to the garbage and a third pile of clothes that was boxed up and saved for Paige to grow into.


Piles of stuff waiting to be organized

 Our "little" organize the house project has turned into a pretty "big" project.  We still aren't done.  We have worked on it for a few straight days but have had to stop here and there for other scheduled activities.  I was hoping to have it all done before school started but it doesn't look like it will happen.  We are finished with the top floor, almost done with the main floor but haven't yet touched the basement.  My new goal will be to finish by Labor Day!!


about 300 pouches of juice!

Is it almost time to start packing lunches again?  Well, then I guess I  better stock up.  Thanks to an awesome sale, I think I probably have enough to last for the whole school year.

Of course, it couldn't be the end of August without fresh garden veggies all over my counter.  This year the harvest has been later than usual and smaller than expected.  We are still getting enough produce to keep are veggie intake high, but I doubt I'll be doing any freezing or canning like I usually do.  Not even our pumpkin patch is doing as well as it did last year.  I think it has just been a weird weather type of year, with more pests like insects and weeds to deal with.
  

The Blue Man Group

For Father's Day Paige answered a questionnaire about her dad as part of a school assignment.  It had the usual stuff like how old is your dad, what is his favorite color? etc.  The last question was, an activity I would like to do with my dad is....

Paige's answer to this question was, go to Blue Man Group.

We were more than a little surprised by this answer, since the Blue Man Group has not EVER been a topic of discussion in our home.  In fact, we weren't even sure how or where she had ever heard of this show. 

Anyways, we had a good laugh and I guess Dave filed it in the back of his mind, because while Ashley and I were at Girls Camp he made good on her wish.  Daddy and daughter went into downtown Chicago one evening to see the Blue Man Group.  I've never seen the show before, but apparently it was pretty fun.  Paige said it was, "AH-mazing!"